Page 118 of Plug and Tame

His love.

His hopes and dreams…he’d left them all in the country lane with her.

Chapter 38

Betrayal

Kira

“ No! Nathaniel!” Kira screamed, launching herself at the portal as its opening wobbled like jelly before shutting abruptly in a splash of plasma.

The windowsill vanished into thin air, and she flew through where it had been and landed sprawling on the ground.

“The curse,” she groaned, picking herself up and dusting dried leaves off her dress. Panic coursed through her as she scanned the lane around her.

I’m such an idiot. I should have realised he was planning to be the hero. I should have stopped him.

She let out a shaky breath, too paralysed with shock to cry.

He promised me he wouldn’t do this.

Nathaniel’s hollow eyes haunted her. They were the last thing she’d seen staring out from his bedroom before the portal shut. It explained his odd mood in the last few days. She’d assumed he was nervous about the wedding and the dozen other dangerous things they had planned—she certainly was.

I had no idea he’d given up. That he would sacrifice himself for me.

Her breathing became strained as she paced the spot where the portal had been, her agitation increasing with every second that passed.

I have to stop him. I have to find a way.

The crack of a twig made her spin around. A short woman with blonde hair and forest green eyes emerged from the treeline.

“Barbara!” Kira exclaimed, watching the witch approach. “What are you doing here?”

“I was sent to babysit you. Or, more accurately—” she wrenched her paisley skirt free of a twig that had snagged it, “To detain you. Nathaniel’s orders.”

“And are you?” Kira asked guardedly, although if the witch was going to capture her, she would have done it by now.

Barbara batted the air dismissively, as if she’d asked a stupid question. “I tried to talk him out of it. Told him he’s making a mistake. But he was stubborn as usual. I gave him what he needed to shut the portal, after giving him a piece of my mind, mind you. Haley and Ana were meant to be here too. They were supposed to babysit me, of all things. Ha!” She smiled in satisfaction as she came to a stop near Kira. “But I took care of them.”

Took care of them?

Kira scanned the treeline, sniffing the air, but there were no signs of the female wolves. “Where are they?”

“Detained,” Barbara said cheerfully, “In a vat of goo, if you must know.” She dusted her hands on her frilly apron, which was stained yellow with what might have been sulphur. The witch tilted her head curiously. “How are you doing?”

“Not great,” she said stiffly, risking a glance behind her to where the portal had been, while keeping one eye on the witch. “Nathaniel and I had a plan for the wedding…but he’s cut me out of it.”

“Don’t be too hard on him, dear. He only wants you to be safe.”

Kira nodded. “I know. But he can’t always be the one who saves people.”

“You’re worried for him,” Barbara observed.

“Of course, I’m worried. Who’s going to save him?” Her voice was suddenly thick, and she blinked furiously to stop herself crying. “I can’t stay here, Barbara. I have to help him.”

Barbara smiled, her bow-shaped lips radiating warmth. “I knew I was right about you.” She sank down on a nearby log, as if she was growing weary. “You are just as kind-hearted as our Nathaniel.”

“I don’t think so,” Kira mumbled. Especially not after what he’d done tonight, taking on the burden of killing his father to spare her from what Henrikk had planned for her. It would leave him cursed, and his life as he knew it would be over.