Chapter 26

MISTY

I woke with the morning sun filtering into the barn, casting long, golden rays across the bare floor and illuminating the rustic wooden beams above. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere.

Tanner had put a lot of things in place over the years. He bought the Land Rover and fixed it because the Mercedes was too well-known and noticeable. He bought this place at a bargain because the property only had a barn and no house.

I heard him on the phone and wondered who he was speaking to. Chelsea, dressed in leggings and a T-shirt, was making coffee. Adam was nowhere to be seen.

The urge to break the spell on the crystals was overwhelming, an insistent pressure building in my chest.

“Morning! Do I have to do my business in wolf form?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.

“Yup, but don’t go too far.”

I stripped behind the car, allowing Cammy to take over. My run was brief, driven by nervous impatience. With no forest nearby, I loped through wheat fields that probably didn’t belong to Tanner.

Within ten minutes, I was back and slipped into jeans and Lloyd’s T-shirt again. His scent lingered on the fabric, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Who is Tanner speaking to?”

Chelsea turned toward him and narrowed her eyes. “Now? Don’t know, but he was speaking to my dad earlier.”

I grabbed the crystals from Adam’s car, found my backpack leaning against the kitchen sink, and dug my dad’s phone out. Switching it on, I huffed in frustration. The battery wouldn’t last a minute.

“How do I charge the phone?” I asked.

“Through the generator. I’ll ask Tanner to start it.”

Chelsea handed me a steaming cup of coffee, which I sipped gratefully. The warmth and caffeine helped steady my nerves. “I’m going to break the curse now,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Can you charge my phone?”

“Um, I want to watch,” Chelsea said, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Can I?” she added hesitantly.

I looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Fine,” I agreed, shouldering the backpack.

The old ladder creaked ominously with every step. The wooden floor, just as old and worn as the ladder, groaned underfoot as I stepped onto it. Dust motes danced in the beams of light filtering through the cracks in the walls.

The area before the hay door had been carefully swept clean, and a blanket was laid on the floor. I pushed open the hay door, and sunlight flooded the loft, bathing everything in a warm, golden glow.

“It’s perfect, right?” Chelsea said, grabbing my backpack and sitting cross-legged on the blanket.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

She spread the golden cloth over the blanket, and I positioned the crystals around the edges. I placed the mirror in the center and set the candle on it. Sitting down opposite Chelsea, I tossed her the lighter.

“You can light the candle,” I said.

I opened the grimoire and scanned through the instructions. “Damn, Chels. It says we must do this when the sun is at its zenith—midday.”

“Let’s just give it a try. By midday, the sun won’t stream through the hay door, and we’ll have to do it outside.”

~“Yeah, try,”~ Cammy encouraged.

“Ready?” I asked, glancing back at Chelsea. She nodded, her expression a mix of fear and excitement.

“Okay. Light the candle.”

Chelsea lit the candle, the flame flickering in the breeze. Taking a deep breath, I centered myself and felt a familiar warmth spread through me as I began to chant.

“By the light of the radiant sun, I call forth the power of one. Illuminate with a golden glow, make these crystals’ brilliance show. Awaken their light from deep within, and let their shine and magic begin.

“By earth and sky, and flame so bright, I summon forth this crystal light. Wipe the current spell away so that all may be returned to the natural order and way.”

The crystals were gleaming to begin with, making it difficult to determine whether the spell had any effect; however, as I read the last sentence of the incantation, a palpable stillness settled over the loft—the kind of stillness that often precedes a storm.

The air felt charged, humming with an invisible energy that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I exchanged a tense glance with Chelsea, the anticipation hanging heavy between us.

Suddenly, the crystals exploded with a blinding flash and a deafening crack, sending shards of light and energy scattering across the loft.

Chelsea shrieked and instinctively covered her face with her arms, but to our surprise, the crystal shards didn’t cut us. They seemed to have burst harmlessly, like a firework display frozen in time.

I picked up one of the pieces in wonder, marveling at its unexpected transformation. It was colorless and see-through, like a piece of the purest glass, the vibrant energy fading.

I held it up to the light streaming through the hay door, and it refracted the sunlight into a cascade of rainbows, painting the barn walls with dancing colors.

Chelsea lowered her arms and peeked out from behind them, her eyes widening as she saw the light show.

“Wow,” she breathed in awe. “It worked—you broke the curse.”

“I know,” I replied, still mesmerized by the crystal, the heat fading from my body.

Tanner’s head popped up, mirroring Chelsea’s expression of awe. “You did it,” he said, disbelief coloring his words.

“Huh, ye of little faith,” I quipped, but I was just as surprised. “Can I use the phone?”

Tanner blinked at the change of subject and nodded. “Sure. And as soon as Adam gets back, we need to leave.”

“Why?” Chelsea asked. “Did something happen?”

“Come down, and I’ll explain.”

I stood up, reached for the phone, and called my mom. Chelsea and Tanner gave me some privacy, and I stood by the hay door, soaking up the sun. The phone rang several times before she answered, breathless.

“Chelsea? Is Misty with you?”

“Hi, Mom,” I said, fighting back tears.

“Oh, my baby, it’s so good to hear your voice. I was so worried when you didn’t come back. I died a thousand deaths every day.”

“I’m okay. And Dad is alive.”

There was a moment of silence before she burst into tears, unable to speak.

“Mom, I promise I will save Dad if it’s the last thing I do,” I said determinedly. I would save him and break Lloyd’s curse. Whatever power I’d been granted would be used for good.

There had been evil witches—Lloyd’s hatred was proof—but the witch whose grimoire I had wasn’t one of them.

Sniffing, I waited for her to stop crying. I was delighted to give her confirmation he was alive; losing a mate was debilitating and often resulted in death.

After Adam told me only alphas were killed, I’d been hopeful, but Lloyd’s confirmation eased the tightness in my chest.

“Sorry, I’m too overwhelmed to speak right now, but I’ll see you later, angel girl,” she mumbled, cutting the call.

See you later?

Tanner was planning something, but I wasn’t going back to Monolith. I needed to be close so I could link Lloyd. I climbed hurriedly down the ladder just as Adam returned.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I think Grandpa David has been telling the packs to congregate at Monolith. My dad says the first pack arrived this morning,” Chelsea said with a shrug.

“But there’s not enough space…”

“It doesn’t matter. I spoke to David, and most of the packs he visited were in an uproar and directionless, especially those whose pack links broke,” Tanner interjected, a frown on his face. “Karl will need help, and the wolves want revenge. For us to have any chance at success, we need some discipline and a plan.”

Adam stood wide-eyed, listening intently as Tanner turned to him. “And?” Tanner prompted.

“I couldn’t link Lloyd for some reason,” Adam said, “but Frieda told me Lloyd is in the dungeon. Axel has sent out squads of warriors to look for you, Misty.”

That meant we were close to linking range. Tanner could have let me tag along with Adam, but why was Lloyd not responding?

“Fuck, I expected that. And I’m sure one of those squads has been sent to Monolith.” Tanner grabbed the phone from my hand and strode out the door. “Pack everything into the Land Rover,” he added over his shoulder.

~“No, Misty. It’s not safe,”~ Cammy said. ~“You heard what Lloyd said. We should move around…”~

~“I am not leaving,”~ I asserted.

~“You still need to learn all the spells, which will take time. You can’t walk around reading from the grimoire.”~

~“True, but I could do that here, and if Adam leaves his car for me to use…”~

Adam and Chelsea were packing up a few things, and I sat in the beanbag and watched until Chelsea turned to me with a frown.

“I know you don’t have much to pack, but you could lend a hand,” she said, disgruntled.

“I’m not going,” I stated firmly.