Chapter 121-1
Troy
Kiana’s whole face went slack as Ragor advanced on the past version of herself. Not wanting to see what happened next, or wanting Kiana to see what happened next, I pulled her into my arms
and toward the door. “They’re not real, Kiana. Just me. I’m real. Focus on my heartbeat,” I ordered
as I tried to open the door to the hut.
It didn’t budge.
Goddess fucking damn it, we were not going to be trapped in here. For all I knew, Kiana was still
linked to little Kiana. What kind of terror was gripping her?
Katherine’s dead body disappeared, and I slammed my shoulder against the door. There was a
satisfying crack, and I smiled grimly. Behind me, Ragor roared.
“Don’t look, Kiana. Stay with me.” I slammed my shoulder into the door again. This time, the whole
cabin shuddered.
Third time’s the charm. I slammed my shoulder again, and we broke free. The scene around us
fractured, and I closed my eyes and held her tight as the ground shook. Above me, the window
howled through the trees, but I still didn’t let her go. Not even when everything was still and quiet.
Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Back in the forest. At least we weren’t in the hut, but was it too much
to ask for a hotel room with a bed so Kiana could get some damn rest?
“All right, look at me. Are you still linked to her?”
Slowly, Kiana raised her head. “He killed her.”
“I know, baby. I saw it. I’m sorry.”
“I…I mean on some level, I shouldn’t have been surprised. That’s what he does. He kills women.”
“Kiana, that happened is in the past. You definitely need time to process, but right now, I need to know that you aren’t still linked to your past self. Tell me what you feel.”
“Me. Just me,” she sighed. “And I feel empty.”
Empty. Not good but a far cry better than whatever Ragor did to her after he killed his wife. I’d
never seen anyone change so rapidly.
I’d also never known anyone who’d killed their mate.
“All right. Sit here. Take a moment. There doesn’t seem to be anything here, but your memory
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Chapter 121-1
could start any minute. I’m going to take a look around and see if we can’t find a quicker exit.”
“How many more memories do you think I have to endure?”
Claim
Actually, my suspicion was that that was the last one. Unless her mother’s magic was able to work
after death, we might have started completely over except that I’d gotten us out. Or, maybe the spell kept working, and we’d see more. It really was all a guessing game.
“I don’t know. I’m not going to go far. Do not move.”
Slowly, Kiana sank to the ground. “I don’t think I could even if I’d wanted to.”
With one eye on her, I started walking around the space. It was clear enough that I could walk a pretty far distance without losing sight of her on one side, but the other was dense with trees and
rocks. It was harder to explore that side.
No doors to break down here, but also, the scene didn’t shake or shudder as I moved. Nothing got
angry, like I was upsetting a memory.
“Maybe it’s just her mind,” a voice echoing my thoughts taunted, and I turned, annoyed, to see Katherine there. “It is, you know. Just her mind. You managed to hammer through my spell, but then, I’m not surprised. Wolves are a thick-headed bunch.”
I looked back at Kiana.
“Oh, she can’t see me. I thought it was time you and I had a private chat since you seem so hell
bent on breaking her out.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” I told her softly as I turned and started to walk in the other direction. Slowly, one step at a time, looking for anything that was even remotely off. A tree that shimmered. A soft rock. Perhaps a giant red button that read ‘Push Here For Exit’.
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Chapter 121-2
Chapter 121-2
Claim
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” Katherine sighed. “Dane and I…we were intensely in love.
He was so devoted to me. I think it bothered him, on some level, that I couldn’t feel the wolf bond.
Like maybe he feared I didn’t feel the same way he did, but I was in love with the man. I left my
coven to be with him. Surrounded by a bloody pack of wolves.”
A pack. I whipped my head around. “Your alpha knew what she was.”
“But on some level, I think he always doubted me. You know that feeling well, don’t you Alpha?
How the null your wolf chose didn’t feel the mating bond?”
“Which pack did you belong to?” I asked.
Katherine looked over my shoulder at Kiana. “When the Crone demanded that I kill her, I’d never felt so terrified in my life. What kind of vision could she have seen to demand such a thing? She was just a child, but I’ve seen her wield magic. My little Andrea is so powerful. What if the Crone was
right?”
“I don’t give a flying fuck why you bound her magic. You shouldn’t have done it, but any explanation or apologies aren’t owed to me. You should give them to your damn daughter.”
Katherine continued on as if she couldn’t hear me, but I knew she could. Her eyes flickered to Kiana again, and I saw just a hint of redness on her cheeks. Shame. “I betrayed my husband to save my daughter, but I had no idea what it would do to him. As soon as I saw his eyes, I knew he
was going to kill me.'”
“And it drove him insane,” I finished tersely. “He murdered dozens of women after you.”
“Yes. I follow Kiana in her memories.”
That gave me pause. “You do, don’t you. You’re just an imprint of her mother’s magic, but you’re not really Katherine. She’s dead.”
Katherine cocked her head. “Do you think it makes a difference?”
“Yeah. You are the imprint of a woman who was running scared from an alpha and a powerful
witch. You were just told horrible things about your daughter, and your relationship with your husband was crumbling. You made a decision, a terrible decision, but you had no idea that you
were going to die. That you couldn’t monitor it or undo it.”
“You’re suggesting that I would have changed my mind.”
“Damn right. Once you saw how incredible she was, you would have realized that she can handle
what was given to her.”
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