Chapter 29

MISTY

“What do you mean you’re not going?” Chelsea practically shouted.

“Exactly what I said. I’m safe here, and I’m not far from linking range. I need to spend time learning the spells and linking with Lloyd.”

Tanner strode in, hastily cutting his call, his gaze flicking between us. “Did I hear right? You can’t stay here, Misty. They’ll find you.”

“No, they won’t. I’ll do another protective spell and whatever else I can find. I’m not going, and you can’t make me,” I said firmly, my voice steady and unwavering.

Tanner and Chelsea stood with their arms akimbo, their identical postures and expressions almost comical in their unity. They both looked exasperated, brows furrowed and lips pressed into thin lines.

The sight of them standing like that—united in their frustration—made me want to laugh despite the seriousness of the situation.

Chelsea’s eyes were wide with concern, her fingers tapping impatiently on her hips. “You’re being stubborn,” she said, her voice tinged with worry. “You’re the only one who can break the curse. We need you to be safe.”

“I know,” I replied, my tone softening a bit. “And that’s why I need to stay. Lloyd is my mate, or have you forgotten that? I can’t just leave. And it’s not like I can pick up the phone…”

Tanner sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. “We’re not saying you should abandon him. You can break the curse from anywhere; frankly, I’d be much happier if you came along. Monolith will be protected. If Axel finds you, we’re shit out of luck…”

“He won’t,” I interrupted. “I’ll make sure of that.”

I didn’t know where this courage came from, but breaking the spell earlier gave me confidence, especially since we hadn’t waited for the midday sun. The grimoire had tons of spells, and I was sure I could find something.

“I’ll stay,” Adam said, “I’m not bad in a fight.”

Tanner glanced at him and shook his head. “Yeah, but not against a whole squad…”

“Misty has that protective barrier, and maybe she can cast a spell around me,” Adam said, unexpectedly taking my side.

They exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them. Finally, Chelsea nodded, her stance relaxing slightly. “Fine,” she said. “But I don’t like this—promise me you’ll be careful. No unnecessary risks. And ~you~ can tell your mom, ’cause I’m not…”

“I promise,” I said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be as careful as I can.”

Tanner’s expression also softened, and he stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. “I know Lloyd is your mate, but don’t forget we’re a team; as such, it would be better if you came along.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured him, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Please, just show me how the generator works so I can charge my phone.”

Tanner nodded and walked us through the steps, explaining each one carefully. He showed us how to prime the engine, flip the switches, and monitor the fuel levels.

As he worked, he stressed the importance of using the generator sparingly. “We’re running low on diesel,” he warned, his brow furrowed. “I haven’t had a chance to replenish it, so make sure you only use it when absolutely necessary.”

I nodded, absorbing his instructions, but my thoughts were already drifting to the tasks ahead. Chelsea, on the other hand, wasn’t so easily distracted. She pulled me into a tight hug, her arms wrapping around me like she didn’t want to let go.

“Be careful,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. She hugged me again, and then once more, each embrace a silent plea for me to stay safe.

“Ugh, Chels, don’t be a pain. I’ll call you every day, okay?”

Tanner handed me a power bank. “Charge that too; it will save on using the generator.”

I nodded and heaved a sigh of relief when they finally got into the Land Rover and reversed out of the barn. I’d won this round, and I had every intention of breaking that curse.

Fuck, I forgot to ask Tanner for that list of objects. I’d have to call Chelsea later.

“So what now?” Adam asked.

“You can be in charge of food, and I’m going to study the grimoire,” I replied, already turning my attention to the ancient book.

Adam’s nose wrinkled slightly in distaste, and I couldn’t help but giggle at his expression. “You expect me to play chef while you dive into your spell book?” he asked, a hint of mock indignation in his tone.

“Exactly,” I said with a playful grin. “We need to keep our strength up, which means decent meals. Besides, I trust you more with the food than—driving.”

He rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Fine, fine. But don’t blame me if lunch is a disaster.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great,” I said encouragingly, patting his shoulder. “And who knows, maybe you’ll discover a hidden talent for cooking.”

He snorted, shaking his head as he headed toward the makeshift kitchen area. “Don’t hold your breath.”

Getting comfortable on the beanbag, I turned back to the grimoire, flipping through its ancient, yellowed pages, and wondered if I could do a spell to hide the barn.

Nothing was in alphabetical order or any format. It seemed she wrote things down haphazardly. I hesitated to write in the grimoire, but it was mine now, so I dug out a pen and translated the Latin headings, which took most of the day.

By late afternoon, I found the heading ~Celare~, which meant Conceal, and read through the requirements. I needed crystals, but maybe the shards in the loft would work.

~“Oh, that might be a good one,”~ Cammy mused.

I collected the bigger pieces and placed them in all four corners of the barn. I put a bowl of water and the mirror on the coffee table. I lit a black candle and the sage smudge stick. I hadn’t bought salt, but there was some in the kitchen.

I spent the next half hour sprinkling salt and waving the smudge stick. I replaced some of the words in the incantation to suit my needs and chanted, wondering if magic worked like that. Or whether I had to use the exact words.

~“By earth and water, fire and air, this charm is bound with utmost care. Cloaked in shadows, hidden from sight, this property now vanishes into the night.”~

Adam watched me with rapt attention. He looked like he was holding his breath and waiting for something to rip the air apart, like when I broke the spell on the crystal. His disappointed face made me laugh out loud.

“Okay, I think we’re invisible. Tell me, how far did you have to run to link the palace?” I asked.

Adam did a double-take. “Invisible? Can we become invisible? Because then we could stroll around the palace…”

“Hmm, I’m not sure it works on people. I’m not even sure this worked. Let’s go outside and check,” I said, excitement bubbling inside me. If this worked, then maybe I could do the same for us.

Adam ran to the door like an over-excited puppy and pushed it open. I followed at a more sedate pace and gasped. Once outside, you couldn’t see the barn. Crap, if we left it, we would have to find it by touch.

“This is fucking awesome,” Adam exclaimed. “Good thing we have the coordinates; otherwise, we’d have the devil of a time finding it again.”

The barn was completely hidden from view, blending seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. I could hardly believe it. My heart raced with the possibilities. If I could make us invisible, it would be a game-changer.

“We need to be careful,” I said, my mind racing with plans. “We can’t afford to lose track of where the barn is. Let’s mark the door somehow, maybe with stones or something.”

Adam nodded eagerly. “Good idea. And we should test it on ourselves next. If we can move around without being seen…”

“That would be incredible,” I finished for him, a smile spreading across my face. “But first, let’s make sure we can find our way back.”

We quickly gathered some rocks and piled them in a pyramid beside the barn door, like a marker. The contents could be seen with the barn door open, but I wasn’t planning on leaving it ajar.

“All right,” I said, brushing my hands off. “Now, tell me, how far did you have to run to link the palace?”

Adam took a deep breath, his excitement still palpable. “It took me about an hour, but it will be much quicker if we take the car.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “We’ll go after dark.”

“If you can make us invisible, it will look like no one is driving…”

“Meh, it will be dark.”

I grabbed the grimoire and read through the spell again, but there was no additional information on making people invisible. Taking a chance, I tried the spell again, replacing ~property~ with Adam’s name.

“Am I invisible?” he asked, looking down at himself, a mix of curiosity and disappointment in his voice.

I frowned. “No, you’re still here.” The excitement from earlier ebbed away slightly. “But that’s still something.”

Adam’s shoulders slumped a bit, but he quickly shook it off. “Well, at least we know it works on the barn. That’s a start, right?”

“Exactly,” I said, trying to stay positive.

~“I didn’t feel that spark and energy this time,” ~Cammy observed.

~“Oh.”~

Adam shook his head. “Damn, that’s a pity.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s almost dark.”

Adam nodded. “Let’s go now.”

I opened the barn door, and Adam reversed out. Closing an invisible door was so weird, and I couldn’t help giggling. I loved these powers and couldn’t wait to master all the spells, but it had been easy so far.

I hopped in the car, excited that I’d be able to link Lloyd. Looking behind me, I marveled at what witches could do and wondered why they didn’t fight back.

“You know, Axel could still give you an alpha command.”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t know when I’m in linking range,” Adam countered.

I couldn’t understand why neither Adam’s nor Tanner’s link had broken. Was that just a way for Axel to control them?

We drove for about twenty minutes before Adam pulled over to the shoulder of the road. “Okay, I’m going to link Frieda, and you link Lloyd, but let’s put a time limit on this for safety’s sake.”

He hauled out his phone and set a timer for five minutes.

“That’s not very long…”

He smirked at me. “No lovey-dovey stuff. Business only.”

I stuck my tongue out at him and closed my eyes to link Lloyd.

~“Lloyd?”~

~“Misty, are you safe?”~

~“I’m peachy. I broke the spell on the crystals.” ~I couldn’t disguise my pride and knew he could probably feel it through the bond. “~So don’t even try to dissuade me. I won’t abandon you.”~

~“I suspected as much because suddenly, I need sleep. Well done, my little witch.”~

I frowned. ~“Didn’t you sleep before?”~

~“Not since the curse.”~

Holy crap…

~“I haven’t found anything to break an allegiance spell. Any ideas? Maybe it’s called something else?”~

~“I don’t know. Fealty? Obeyance? Binding?” ~he suggested.

Binding? I had read something about that. Happiness welled up in me; now, all I needed was the item used.

~“I read something about binding, but I still need the object. I discovered how to make the barn invisible, so there must be a way for me to become invisible.”~

~“Wait a minute, you’re living in a barn?”~

~“Yup. An invisible one.”~

~“But you’re not there now, are you?”~

~“Nope. The barn isn’t within linking distance, and it’s not like I can phone you.”~

~“Even if you can make yourself invisible, you can’t search the palace. You have Kiralah’s grimoire, and she is the witch who cursed me. There must be some record of what she used. Remember—I can be invisible and mask my scent, so I’ll be the one to get the object.”~

That was a little dominant, but I hadn’t considered that wolves could still smell me.

~“I’ll look again. Are you still in the dungeon?”~

~“Yes. Is Tanner with you?”~

~“Um, not at the moment…”~

~“What aren’t you telling me?”~

~“Nothing. Adam’s with me. Why?”~

~“Okay. Has Tanner managed to get hold of other packs?”~

~“Yes, as far as I know.”~ I also had the feeling he wasn’t telling me something.~ “What are you planning?”~

~“I’ll let you know if I’m successful.”~

~“Really? How the hell will you do that?”~

~“I’ll find a way.”~

Adam’s timer went, and he hastily shut it off and started the car.

~“I’ll link you again tomorrow. Okay? Adam only gave me five minutes.”~

~“Good. But I’m glad your hideout is invisible. Sleep tight, sweetheart.”~

~“You too.”~

I cut the link and sighed, wishing the conversation had been a little more lovey-dovey.

There was a certain magic when we were together in person, a sense of closeness and comfort. I hadn’t felt awkward in his presence, but linking him was slightly different.

I turned to Adam and asked, “What did Frieda say?”

“Lloyd and the other prisoners are breaking out of the dungeon tonight,” he replied.

My face fell. Why hadn’t Lloyd told me? I tried linking him again, but we were already out of range. Fuck.

“And when exactly is this supposed to happen?” I pressed.

“Early hours of the morning,” Adam said. “Frieda is planning on joining them, along with some like-minded she-wolves.”

“We have to go. I can help,” I said, determination surging through me. “We can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

Adam hesitated. “I don’t know. Wait, did Lloyd not tell you?”

“He did,” I lied.