Page 79 of Only You, No One Else

The invisible thread of that connection gave him the courage he needed to trudge through the darkness that seemed determined to hold him in place. He still saw nothing but the white fur of his animal self as he followed it to a destination he could only trust.

A distant hum, the call of the Underworld, reached his ears, and he shivered, the significance of it too terrifying to contemplate. He stumbled when that hum turned into a song, then a scream. He shut his eyes against the rush of pain it brought, but it was countered by the comfort of his wolf in the next second, and he resumed the journey to a destination he couldn’t see.

The siren song of the Underworld was there, permeating the darkness with its call, but the determination of his animal was apparent in every step they took together. An image of Caster floated past the myriad of thoughts in his mind, but his wolf stopped and shook its large head as if to warn him against it.

He frowned, unsure why his wolf would prevent him from reaching for the one person who would save them from this, but all questions disappeared when they reached the wolf’s destination. Here it was again, a sliver of a tear in the darkness, its light so slight, it remained insignificant in the vastness of the darkness.

Every instinct told him this couldn’t be good. The distant hum of the Underworld’s call grew louder the closer they got to the tiny tear. Mark glanced at his wolf, who now sat on his hunches, having led them to the problem. He didn’t know what to do. The last time he’d done this, Pierce and Riley had been with him. But there was no question he had to do something or Ethel would win again. Her bravery in attacking the protected mansion, knowing she would be outnumbered and outgunned, made sense now. She was desperate for the dark power they’d denied her, and Mark, in his impatience, had granted her a way to get it all back.

He took a breath and tried to reach for that roar, the primal force that he’d used to close the rift before. But just as he summoned the force and courage to attempt something he was sure would fail, the Underworld’s call became a roar. He held on to his ears, trying to staunch the effect of the deafening sound on his eardrums. A second later, the tear grew larger and red eyes appeared in its light. Mark stepped back with a gasp as a large figure cloaked in black stepped out of the light, its red eyes shining as its body blended into the darkness to become nothing but a whisp of smoke.

His wolf growled; Mark in human form trembled. The creature smiled, a thin baring of sharp teeth, and the roar of the Underworld once again died down to a low, steady hum.

CHAPTER 53

There had to be at least twenty witches on the front lawn, all chanting in unison, a language Caster had never heard before. Mark’s transformation had been beautiful to behold, even faster than before, confirmation that his trip to the Underworld had enhanced him somehow. The Water Witches’ chant reached a new crescendo, and the house shook again, this time with so much violence he feared it would break.

But it was clear Ethel was much weaker than before. The house withstood a second bout of their power, and Caster took his eye off Mark for a second to get reassurance from Riley that the house would hold. It was the Prime Alpha’s growl and Edie’s shout that alerted him to Mark’s ill-advised action.

One second he was by his side, the next he leaped at the witch, his considerable size reducing the distance to a single leap. Mark’s name tore from his lips as he too took off towards the witch and her circle. The slow smile spreading across Ethel’s face was a warning that Mark failed to notice and Caster deciphered too late.

The black mass that was her power sailed across the tiny distance separating them, landing with a sickening crunch into Mark’s wolf. The sound he made would haunt Caster all his life. It reminded him of mourning, somewhere between a scream and a tortured howl.

He crashed to the ground just as Caster reached him. His eyes rolled back into his head, blood pouring out of the wound the magical attack had caused. The wolf's body twitched in Caster’s arms and with one last howl transformed to human form before all movement ceased.

Caster was aware of the frantic movement behind him as the others battled Ethel and her contingent of witches, but all his blurry eyesight could focus on was Mark. Why wasn’t he healing? There was a large gash across his chest, the wound ghastly to look at, more blood than he thought one body could hold seeping past it to stain Caster’s clothing and the grass a deep red.

“Mark?” He cried out, shook his limp body, but Mark remained out of reach. He lost the battle with his tears as he searched for any indication that Mark was even alive. Caster took a breath, gathered everything in him, and searched for that signature heartbeat.

“Hey… Caster?”

Riley?

He recognized the voice, but he wouldn’t turn to his friend, not until he was sure Mark was still here. A heavy arm landed on his shoulder, but he brushed it off, called on his waning strength, and focused. The thud reached his senses, and relief washed over him. The next one was too far away from the first, and the hope he’d only just acquired fell to pieces.

He turned to Riley, who had since dropped to his knees. “Fix it.” The powerful witch was too slow to react. “Make him better. I want you to fix him, right now!”

He was about to reiterate his demand when Riley reached for Mark. “Let’s get him inside?”

Caster kept his senses zeroed in on the distant thud of his too-slow heart. But he brushed Riley away again when he reached for Mark. His vision blurred by tears he feared would signal his weakness, he gathered Mark into his arms and leveled Riley with his best stare. “You will fix it, do you hear me?”

His friend nodded, and he carried Mark past the lawn littered with most of the Water Witches Ethel had brought, his focus the safety of their bedroom. The others said nothing as he walked past them. He caught the Prime Alpha’s gaze. The immeasurable pain in those blue eyes was considerable, but nowhere close to what he felt.

Mark’s heart remained hidden, the beats spaced out, but he held on to the hope each thud brought. Kyle unlocked the door to their room, and Caster was faced with a new considerable battle. It took everything in him to place Mark on the bed. The grief calling to him manifested into a fury that was uncontainable in its capacity. He released it in a roar that shook the room. He paced at the foot of their bed, his anger rising by the second, and then stomped into the adjacent living area.

The pristine whiteness of the room was an affront to the darkness infecting his soul. He grabbed the couch, his considerable strength breaking the piece of furniture in two. The sound of his destruction as he tore the room apart, destroying everything in it, battled for the roar in his mind.

The door burst open, and he snapped the table in half, throwing it at the person attempting to walk in. The Prime Alpha caught the pieces with minimal ease, and Caster snarled at him, warning him to keep his distance. Dean ignored that warning, walking into the room with the foolishness of only one who has absolute confidence in their strength.

Caster grabbed what was left of the couch and threw it at his head. Dean dodged the weapon and advanced too fast for someone so large, barreling into Caster, sending both of them to the floor. Caster fought against the considerable weight pressing down on him, calling on all his strength to push Dean off him. He’d only just regained his feet before someone else was holding him back.

“Stop!” Damien’s hardened tone forced the single word past the roar in his mind. He struggled against his cousin’s strength and almost won, but then Dean stood before him, a threat in the flash of amber in his eyes.

The fight drained from him in the instant he remembered the reason for his anger, and he sagged against Damien.

“You, good?” Dean asked, his voice infused with the underlying growl of his Alpha.

His nod was small and a lie. There was no way he would ever be good, not without Mark. Why would this happen?