Free Book | The Lost Werewolf King's Mate

Chapter 9: Mathew's POV / Audrey's POV

Sabrina and her friends have been performing spells on me since they got to the cave. Everytime they start chanting, it feels like hundreds of hands are reaching through my chest and trying to rip my heart out of my rib cage. I can feel Orion getting weaker everytime they do this, but he's still here trying to find a way out.

Orion, Orion are you still there?, I called out to him in my head.

Yes, Mathew. I'm still here, he replied to me.

Hang in there, Orion. I'm going to get us out of here.

"Sabrina, where did you find this strong wolf?", one of the witches said. She's the one whom I'm sure is their leader. Orion and I sensed an immense amount of energy coming from her.

"Mother Freya", Sabrina answered with manic joy. "I found him in the city. I captured a seer from a werewolf pack and he sang like a canary right before I killed him. He said the Moon Godess' treasure was hidden there. Do you think he was referring to this wolf? Most werewolves would've been dead by now."

Freya walked towards me and put her palm on my chest.

"Whoever he is, whether he likes it or not, he will help us fulfill the prophecy", Freya said with a raspy voice. Freya and the other witches' eyes looked rock hard and they were radiating with a faint blue light. Their eyes were the only source of light in this old, dark, smelly and moldy cave.

"What prophecy are you talking about, witch?", I asked with an exhausted low growl.

She looked at me with a menacing smile.

"Oh my, you're a curious wolf, aren't you?", Freya said. "Before I tell you about the prophecy, young wolf, I must first tell you about the very first warlock. Don't worry. This is a love story. I know how much your kind loves mates and love stories", she said with a sly laugh. The rest of the witches joined in her laughter.

"Once upon a time, a young witch and werewolf fell in love. As most people do when they're in love, they had a baby. A little boy named Raphael."

"Witches and werewolves started dying under mysterious circumstances after Raphael turned 13. No one knew who or what was killing them. Until one night when Raphael's mother found him performing forbidden magic on a little werewolf pup. She didn't even know he could perform magic. No boy child had ever been blessed with the gift of wielding magic. She was proud of him. She was proud to have birthed the very first warlock, so she taught him the craft in secret", Freya said. "By Raphael's 15th birthday, he had killed almost 100 witches and werewolves. With each kill, he drained their magic and got more powerful."

"By his 18th birthday, Raphael was the most powerful magical creature and no one but his mother knew about him. When he got his wolf, his thirst for power and magic became unquenchable. So, while his coven was celebrating his birthday, he and his mother started slaughtering them. It was only then that the witches found out a boy child could perform magic."

Freya looked like she was proud to be telling me such a horrific story.

"The survivors of the coven had to find refuge with other magical creatures and a few witches found Raphael's father."

She was visibly upset when she said that last part.

"At first, Raphael's father refused to believe the survivors even when he saw the bodies of magical creatures piling up everyday. He finally decided to go find Raphael and his mate. On his journey, he encountered more victims of his son and his mate's thirst for power. He finally believed them and so he decided he'd be the one to stop his mate and son."

The other witches started swearing after she said this. They were all visibly upset by this part of the story.

"Calm down sisters", Freya said sternly. We all know how the story ends. We all know that Raphael will rise again and imbue our coven with his infinite powers. All the seers have seen this. It's just a matter of time."

This calmed them down.

"You're right, Mother Freya", one of the other witches said. "Go on, tell the young wolf about the most powerful warlock to have ever lived."

Freya took a deep breathe and then continued.

"Raphael's father begged the Moon Godess to help him find a way to stop Raphael. The Moon Godess heard his cries. She sent a very special magical warrior to his rescue.

"Damn them, damn them all to hell!", Sabrina yelled.

"Shhhh, it's okay Sabrina", Freya said in a soothing voice. "Remember, we killed that woman and nearly every single one of her children. They won't be able to help anyone this time around."

Sabrina gave a bright smile.

I could feel Orion getting uneasy in my head. He couldn't sit still and I was trying to focus on this stupid story, while figuring out how to escape.

Orion, what's wrong? You need to calm down", I said to him.

Orion growled in my head. I don't know, Mathew. There's something about this story, something that seems familiar.

Freya noticed that I wasn't paying attention. She plunged a silver dagger, laced with wolfsbane and dark magic into my thigh. I screamed in agony.

"Am I boring you? Is the story of the greatest warlock boring you?", she screamed with anger. The cave started shaking and some ruble was falling from the walls.

"You have me tied up, witch. You haven't given me any food and you've treated me like I'm some animal. I am tired!", I said with a low growl.

"Sabrina, get our friend some water and food. I want him wide awake", Freya said.

Sabrina left the cave and came back with water and a sandwich and started feeding me.

"Are you feeling any better, young wolf? Or should we go get you some steak and wine while we're at it?", Freya said mockingly.

"I wouldn't say no to that", I replied sarcastically.

"As I was saying", she continued. "This warrior was sent by the Moon Godess to help Raphael's father. The warrior blessed Raphael's father and his wolf with the power of the sun. You must understand, young wolf, no magical creature can withstand holding all that power. It's the purest form of magical energy, but the Moon Godess had chosen her champion, so Raphael's father survived this."

Orion was now banging against my head. He wanted to get out, but the chains were still restraining us.

"Raphael's father found Raphael and his mother", Freya said as she continued with her story. "When he found them, he shifted into a wolf with fur made of flames. When Raphael's wolf got near him, he caught on fire; everytime Raphael cast a spell on him, it did nothing. He was powerless against his father."

The mood in the cave was now very sombre.

"Raphael's father burned his own son and mate alive. His son and mate! Who does that?", she said in a venomous voice.

"I'll tell you who does that", Sabrina said while walking towards me. "Dogs, mutts, werewolves. You lot are animals!"

All the witches were staring at me now.

"Raphael's father killed two people who were destroying the world. He did what he had to do!", I said when I saw their stares.

"Well he got what he deserved young wolf", Freya said. "He died the moment he killed his mate. The mate bond made sure of it", Freya said with a sly smile.

Mathew, ask her about Raphael's father, I heard Orion say in my head.

"Raphael's father, what was his name?"

"Jeremiah", Freya replied.

"And what about his wolf? What was his name?", I asked her.

"Orion", Freya answered.

Orion was about to unleash a roar. I felt my hands on the verge of turning into claws and I saw light fur springing from my chest. I had to stop him. If I shifted here, I would be exposing myself to the witches. If this entire cave is enchanted, I'll be stuck here and they would see that I'm much stronger than they thought. I couldn't risk them knowing that if I didn't have an escape plan yet.

I put up an image of Elizabeth in my head. I pictured the first time I met her. She was in a coffee shop drinking a hot chocolate with cream and marsh mellows. After taking a sip she had some cream on her upper lip. She was wearing a bright yellow sun dress that stopped a few inches above her knees and exposed just enough cleavage to tease me.

Orion was calming down. He wasn't roaring and banging against my head anymore. I felt myself getting weaker and weaker, and my eyelids got really heavy. Before I knew it, everything went dark.

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Audrey's POV

"Guys, I'm hearing some really loud noises coming from the Black Claw pack's territory and I know you hear it too!", I said to Susan and Sebastian in a panick-filled voice.

Sebastian and Susan looked at one another and then looked at me.

"I know we have lost a lot because of the witches, and I know we're scared, but we can't just sit by when we can help", I said to them.

"The wolves stopped trusting magical creatures a very long time ago, Audrey", Sebastian said. "They'll kill us the second we step on their lands."

"What if Elizabeth is in trouble? What if they decided to kill her and they're chasing her out of their territory right now? I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and every cell in my body is telling me to run into that pack right now!", I said in a panick.

"Look, she chose to go to that pack. She knew the risks", Susan said coldly.

"Are you for real right now?", I screamed as I started pushing Susan's seat.

Sebastian pushed my hands away and gave me a stern look.

"You need to calm down, Audrey. Now is not the time to fight amongst each other."

I was on the brink of tears. I couldn't believe they were okay with abandoning someone who had always tried to protect us. They were too scared and selfish to go help her.

I was the newest magical creature to join Jerry's newspaper company. Everyone kept to themselves and no one would help me out, except Elizabeth.

In my first few weeks, I messed up a lot and Jerry would be fuming each time he found out about the mistakes. Elizabeth always tried to fix my mistakes without Jerry finding out or she took the blame when he did find out. This wasn't a small thing to do because Jerry was always ready to launch verbal and physical assaults at us for the tiniest things. Elizabeth tried to make sure she was on the receiving end of Jerry's beatings and verbal abuse, even when it wasn't her fault.

"Susan, remember when you were the only person in the images department and you couldn't come in to work for two weeks? Elizabeth, took all the photos for the newspaper in those weeks, edited them and worked with the printing team to make sure they were ready in time for the each edition of the paper. She even made sure Jerry never found out about your absence!", I said to them.

Susan started darting her eyes and moving uncomfortably in her seat.

"Sebastian, remember when you accidentally downloaded a computer virus and our whole system crashed for the entire week? Elizabeth took the blame for you. She also took three hard slaps from Jerry for you."

"Come on guys, do I need to list more things?", I said with tears threatening to escape my eyes.

They were quiet for a bit and then Sebastian finally spoke up.

"She's right, babe. If we don't help Elizabeth, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives."

Susan started crying.

"Sebastian, I can't lose you. I've lost so much. I lost my family, my home, my dignity. Please don't make me lose my mate too. I won't survive it."

Sebastian gave Susan a passionate kiss.

"You will never lose me. You and I will grow old together and live to be great, great, great, great, great grandparents", Sebastian said with tears in his eyes.

"Babe, I'm going to go with Audrey and you'll stay here and guard the car. If...", Sebastian was interrupted by Susan before he could finish. "No, Sebastian! You're not going anywhere", Susan said.

Sebastian squeezed her hand and continued talking. "If you see us running back towards the car, you need to start it so we can drive off as soon as possible."

Susan started crying again and Sebastian kissed her forehead. He looked back at me and nodded his head. We both stepped out of the car and headed towards Black Claw's territory.

We could hear people fighting in the distance. I took a deep breath.

"Sebastian", I whispered. "We need to go this way". I pointed in the direction the most fighting noises were coming from.

"No", he whispered back to me. "People are clearly dying in that direction. You just follow me."

"Sebastian", I whispered louder. "You need to trust me. I'm a seer and my instincts are telling me to go this way."

He scoffed at me."But you don't even know how to use your gift!", he said. I looked at him pleadingly and he finally chose to follow me.

We were trying our best to move as quickly as possible without making too much noise, but there were leaves and branches all over the place so it was difficult to do.

When we made it out of the thick bushes, the scene unfolding before our eyes horrified us. Witches were casting spells left and right. There were werewolves suspended in the air; some were in human form and others were in wolf form. The witches were also striking the wolves with energy bolts. This electrocuted the wolves until they couldn't move anymore. The witches were too preoccupied with the wolves to even notice us.

I took out my pocket knife and stabbed a witch in the abdomen. The two werewolves that were floating in the air immediately fell down. I saw Sebastian tackle another witch and her energy bolt missed the werewolf she was aiming at.

I started charging at another witch when she suddenly held her hand up and pointed it at me.

"Ah, ah a mere girlie can't beat a witch. If you make another move, I'll kill you", the witch said.

I decided to charge at her regardless. She kept waving her hands and pointing at me but nothing seemed to work. I finally reached her and tackled her to the ground before I punched her in the face. I punched her a couple more times until she was unconscious.

I looked up and noticed a carriage filled with werewolves. The carriage was guarded by a troll. Except, unlike Jerry who masked his true form, this troll was not wearing a human mask at all. It was short, fat and had a hunch back. It had slimy green skin and three small horns on the top its head. It's face was covered in boils and it had a long thin nose and crystal blue eyes. It was wearing a faded blue robe and had no shoes on.

While the troll was looking away, I started picking the lock of the carriage with my hairpin. I had it unlocked within seconds and the werewolves that were locked inside charged at the troll.

I had a glance at Sebastian and saw him punching a witch. Another witch was casting spells while looking at him, but her spells didn't seem to work on him. She was visibly upset and shocked by this.

Then I saw Elizabeth appearing in the far distance.

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