Obeying her instructions, Fionn entered in the secret code she’d given him and watched as the portal turned red, pulsing for a minute before it returned to its normal appearance. “Can I use it now with another person?”
“Yes,” Mystia said. “Do you want to try it?”
Remembering what happened when his father entered it, Fionn nodded. “I think so, but are you sure? I don’t want anyone to die.”
“I promise, no one will die, mon bébé. I’ll show you,” Mystia said, then stepped into the portal.
“No, wait!” Fionn exclaimed, afraid for Mystia. Holding his breath, he watched and, when nothing happened, he exhaled in relief.
“Satisfied?” Mystia asked and, after seeing Fionn nod, continued, “Even though your portal has been modified to allow a second person, only you can operate it.”
“The same way as before, right?” asked Fionn.
“Yes,” Mystia replied. Then looking at Dylon, she asked, “What else do you need?”
“I need a portal that will allow the rest of us to arrive outside the place Hunter is being held,” Dylon explained, waving at the other people in his office.
“Do you know where it is?” asked Mystia.
“Not for sure,” Dylon said. “But I will as soon as the uncle sends its location to Fionn, which should be any moment.”
Nodding, Mystia waved her wand, silently uttering the words of a spell and another portal appeared before them. “As soon as you enter the location, it will be ready to use.”
“How do I operate it?” asked Dylon.
“Once everyone is in it, simply say, ‘now’ and when you exit, you’ll be at the location. To come back, it works the same way,” Mystia explained.
“Thanks, Mystia,” Dylon said.
“Anything else?”
“Nope, we’re good.”
“Then I’ll pop down to see Jackson. Good luck,” Mystia said, before disappearing.
~/~/~/~/~
“What do you mean he’s not awake?” asked Eideard MacDùghlas, his eyes boring into the leader, sitting across from him in his office. “Shit, you probably gave him too much…is he dead?”
“No, his heartbeat is strong…and we didn’t give him too much. If anything, it was less than it should have been for a shifter his size.”
“Humph.” Eideard drummed his fingers on the desk. So far, nothing had gone right, all because the mercenarieshe hired hadn’t done what they’d guaranteed.Fucking wolves…I should have known not to hire them.When he complained to their Alpha, all he got was a promise they’d make it right.Bullshit!After being told about the ordered attack on the Blackwood Pack, Eideard feared what the High Council would do to him if innocents were killed. That’s when he came up with an alternative plan, but now, even that was in jeopardy.
Glancing at his phone, Eideard noted it was nearly time to send the text to his nephew. He was counting on using the mate to prevent Fionn from doing anything foolish but that wasn’t going to work if Hunter looked like he was dead. “Can you give him something to wake him up?”
“Possibly, but I can’t promise it’ll work…it might kill him.”
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Eideard weighed his options, thinking of other possibilities, before saying, “Go ahead.”
~/~/~/~/~
Fionn couldn’t stop his leg from jiggling as his nerves got the best of him. Time was moving so slowly while he waited for his uncle’s text and yet, at the same time, he felt it rushing by every minute Hunter was gone. He wanted to check on his mate again, but Dylon refused his request, afraid his uncle would find out if Hunter reacted to Fionn’s virtual presence. The quiet surrounding him wasn’t helping matters; there weren’t any diversions to keep his mind off the upcoming rescue. To distract himself, he began to continually go over the instructions Dylon had given him. Deep in thought, Fionn jumped when his phone signaled an incoming text. When he read it, his heart began to race.
“Is that from your uncle?” asked Dylon.
“Yessss,” Fionn hissed.
“Forward it to me, please,” Dylon said, setting the timer on his phone. After standing, he grasped Cody’s hand, helping him up. “Ma moité, do you have the syringe from Ian?”
