Outrunning Her Past

Chapter 33

Dani

I kept throwing wave after wave of magic at Hecate. I fell asleep after spending the day with Talon, only to wake up again in her kingdom. Stupid fucking training. I just wanted my mates.

"Enough!" she roared as my blows stopped. I bent over, hands on my knees, panting from the sparring. "Seeing your mate did you a world of good," she snickered.

I flipped her off without raising my head and huffed, "Then perhaps seeing all of them would help even more."

"You might have..." she started to say when suddenly Nate appeared before us cradling his head and screaming. "How the hell did you get here?" Hecate demanded, but I was too busy worrying about him to wait for an answer and rushed forward. "Daniella, don't!"

Her warning came too late.

Mine and Nate's eyes locked as the room began to spin. "I'm so sorry," he apologized as he pulled me close. My nose wrinkled as I squeezed my eyes shut. I could tell we had been transported to the pack just by the smell. Ever since the bonding, I'd gained the ability to smell their beasts, and right now, I was surrounded by werewolves. "Father, you had no right to bring us here. I demand you release us immediately," Nate snarled at his father as he pushed me behind him.

Calming my breathing, I surveyed the group around us. I noticed Nate's mother was curiously absent from the gathering. Instead, I saw his father, the witch Kvia, a woman I didn't recognize, and three more men that I could tell were wolves.

"But son, don't you want to see this murderer punished for her crimes?" Harold Roberts asked.

"What are you talking about? Dani hasn't killed anyone," Nate replied.

A strange smell filled the air, making me feel lightheaded, but hyper-aware at the same time. I felt a pressure in my mind as if the others were trying to talk to me, but something was blocking them. The smirk on Kvia's face let me know it was her doing. I'd been so focused on her that I'd lost track of what Nate and his father were arguing about until I heard Wyatt and Leo's names.

"They aren't dead! I was just with them," Nate roared, stepping toward his father. That fraction of distance between us was all Kvia needed. Like lighting, she darted forward and before I could react, she sliced my palm with a heavy blade. The woman did the same to Nate, then the wolves held us both. "Dani?" Nate whined as Kvia squeezed our hands, causing the blood to pool at our feet.

"Break the bond, seal the line,

A life stolen, a crime revealed,

Cursed blood, wield thy fate."

Kvia's words rang through the air as both of us screamed in pain. I felt like something was being ripped out of me, and then I realized it was the bond. The fucking bitch had broken our bond, but what was the rest of the spell about?

Nate had fallen to his knees, sobbing. "Nate," I whispered, then drew in a sharp breath when he lifted his eyes to me. He looked at me with pure hatred, then growled.

"You will pay with your life, you filthy witch. I will enjoy watching you suffer just like you made them suffer," he snarled.

"Who, what are you talking about? I haven't done anything to anyone, Nathan!" I yelled back.

Nate lunged, but his father stopped him. "Son, come, you need time to rest. The guards will take her to the dungeons to await execution. You should rest, Wyatt and Leo wouldn't have wanted you to dirty your hands with her blood."

Nate allowed his father to lead him away as I screamed after him, "Nate, please, stop this! They aren't dead, this is all a spell!" He hung his head, following alongside his father as if he didn't hear me. Kvia's laughter made me turn my head, pulling hard against the two wolves who restrained me. "What the fuck did you do?"

"Just a little magic half-breed," she spat. "Too bad about your lovers."

"They aren't dead, and you just harmed a Queen. I'm not sure your precious magic can save you from that," I gritted out.

She reached out to stroke my cheek, then pinched it hard, laughing, "By this time tomorrow they will be, and both their kingdoms will be in ruins thanks to you. Of course, you'll be dead, so that will remove the bonds from Dean and Talon. Their families have already chosen their new bonds."

"You can't," I growled, yanking away. "I'll fucking kill you myself."

Her head fell back as she roared with laughter, "You? You are harmless to the likes of me. Just a helpless human with some witch blood in her that she can't even use. That stupid father of yours should have taught you to defend yourself at least." I felt my blood boiling at her words. "As for Nate, he will wake up and finally meet his mate at breakfast. I'm sure he'll mark and breed her before your body is even cold."

Her eyes widened as she saw my magic begin to swell. Before I could do anything, her hand slammed into my chest, her cold fingers squeezing around my heart. "Ah, ah, ah, not so fast little girl." A light glowed greenish purple around her arm as she whispered, "Ligatus servus." (bound servant) My body went limp. "That will keep you compliant until your execution." She pulled her arm back and nodded to the wolves who dragged me away as I was frozen in my own body, unable to resist or speak out.

Wyatt

I bolted upright in bed at the sound of alarms sounding. We were under attack. Talon came racing into the room, "Nate and Dani were taken. Hecate thinks the witch is involved."

I'm going to enjoy ripping that creature limb from limb when I get my hands on her. I raced down the hall with Talon fast on my heels. Each step drew us closer to the fighting and I let my demon push forward, taking out his anger on anything that got within reach. I saw both Dean and Leo battling against a sizable group of vampires, while Talon and I took on wolves and dragons alike. A pained yelp caught our attention.

Talon roared as he saw his mother slashing at Leo's mom, Thea. Leo's kitsune form burst forth flashing a wave of magic toward Celeste as she let her dragon surge forward. Several vampires swarmed around my father and the council members. Dean was pulling them back as quickly as he could. Thea let out a shrill yip, then a mournful howl as we watched Leo's bloody body fall to the ground.

"Wyatt!" Talon shouted, but it was too late. I turned my attention back to the wolves before me just in time to meet Harold Roberts' wild eyes.

The cold metal sliced into my abdomen as I grunted, "Why?"

"I'm doing this for my son," the wolf grunted as the sword passed through my body. With a final burst of energy, I swung my claw at him, sending him flying. I felt myself falling as the sound around me faded. 

Author's Notes:  tissues at the ready...we are near the end....ish