Their Mate And Luna

CHAPTER 85

THOUGHTS

VANCE

Our journey home to speak with our father concerning Nicole’s condition is cut short when a sudden wave of fear crashes over me, gripping my heart with icy fingers. I frown at this and turn to Vince. “What’s with the fear?” I know this isn’t coming from me.

“It’s not me,” he responds, his expression same as mine. “Ares feels it too.”

The sensation clings tightly to my heart, sending it into a wild frenzy, almost choking it. Axel adds to the chaos, whining in my head, panicking for no reason. “This is not good,” I mutter, starting to rub my chest. Vince is doing the same.

I feel a strange link trying to penetrate into our link. “Do you feel that?”

“Uhun,” he confirms, closing his eyes to concentrate. “It feels different, new.

The words had hardly left Vince’s mouth when Nicole’s panicked voice pierces through our link, screaming our names.

“Nicole!” we both chorus with urgency lacing our voices.

“Help me!” she screams again, this time weakly.

A sharp pain crawls over the back of my head. Vince winces just as I do.

‘Where are you?” I manage to grit out as the pain intensified.

“Walking towards the forest. I can’t control…” Her voice cuts off, leaving us in a tense silence.

“Nicole!” Vince and I shout, looking for her link, trying to connect only for Savvy’s panicked voice to reach us.

“Have you guys seen Nicole?” her voice trembles with fear.

Vince growls into the link. “Isn’t she supposed to be with you?!”

“She waited for us outside the shop, but we can’t find her.”

“s**t!” Vince and I curse simultaneously, dread creeping into our thoughts.

“Meet us at the forest,” I instruct Savvy before we start racing towards the forest.

Our mate is in trouble and she called out to us. But how did she do that? Her wolf had not emerged yet and she couldn’t mindlink anyone.

Was she lying about it?

“Quit those thoughts and let’s focus on finding her. She needs us,” Ares scolds Axel and me, snapping us back to the urgency of the situation.

At the forest’s edge, we find Torin. His eyes are fixed towards the forest. “I sense dark magic inside,” he announces.

“Vince! He wants to claim me! Vance, help!” Nicole’s desperate plea echoes in our link.

“s**t! Nicole, hold on!” Vince shouts into the link. “We need to go in now!”

With that the three of us charge into the woods, Vince and I shifting, our wolves guiding us towards her scent.

We catch whiffs of her scent here and there as we speed through the forest. Torin was nowhere around us. With our werewolf speed it would be difficult for him to.

“What could she be looking for, this deep?” Vince grunts hard as we leap over a broken tree, landing into a small pond, splashing through it and disturbing the animals taking a drink.

She called my name. I can’t stop thinking of it. She called me!

“Focus!” Ares scolds me with a low growl, glancing briefly at me as we sped away. “I can smell her scent.”

As we dash between trees and broken trunks, I notice the eerie silence and oppressive darkness. Axel’s eyes sharpen my vision. “Do you feel the darkness?” I ask Vince.

“Dark magic, like Torin said,” he replies jumping over a large stone covered with dead leaves.

“We’re getting closer,” Axel growls, his senses honed in on Nicole’s scent.

We finally come to a halt at the base of a massive tree. Here her scent ends. Torin joins us, passing through our middle behind us and walks to the tree, looking up and down its length.

Vince and I twirl round the place, our wolves sniffing the grounds, still searching for her scent.

“She’s here but hidden,” Torin announces, his hand hovering over the body of the tree.

“How?” Vince’s voice brims with impatience as we walk up to his sides.

Torin's hands ignite with a soft blue flame as he begins to chant incantations, his movements fluid and precise. We watch in awe as the flames dance around his palms, weaving intricate patterns in the air. "Agatha is here with Kaden," Torin declares, his voice reverberating through the forest. "Reveal."

Suddenly, the air crackles with energy as the darkness around us retreat. Shadows shifting and contorting. A small hole materializes in the empty space before us, growing wider till it becomes a big hole swirling with blue flames.

The hole opens into another part of the forest, showing two figures standing a stony path, something that ignites a fiery rage in Vince, our wolves and me. A man is holding Nicole in his arms, his face buried into her neck.

My muscles tense in fury, Axel fuming. Vince emits a low growl, our eyes locked on the two

Without hesitation, Axel and Ares swing into action, jumping to Nicole’s front after Torin uses his power to fling the man away from her. We sank our paws into the ground deep, growling and snarling ferociously at him. A warning and a declaration that she’s our mate.

He quickly recovers, growling and snarling back at us. A declaration that she’s his.

I turn back to look at my mate when I hear a soft voice say the word, ‘Mate.’ I do a quick look-over, checking to see if she’s okay and her quick nod reassures me before turning back to the bastard who transforms into a red wolf, almost the same size as Vince and me.

We both lunge at him simultaneously, when he leaps off the ground at us, sinking our teeth and claws into his flesh. His agonized howls fill the air as we fight fiercely to protect our mate. Vince claws a long line down his back, while I bite down on his left flank.

His wolf was strong, an alpha with a stubborn determination in his eyes.

Meanwhile, our pack members have formed a protective circle around us, but Nicole’s fearful gaze never leaves us, her eyes following our every move. A warmth settles in my chest, spurring me to fight harder.

Her cousin and uncle stand guard beside her in their wolf forms. I don’t think she even realizes they are there.

As the fight rages on, the witch attempts to intervene, urging the intruder to cease his futile resistance. But our minds are consumed by the need to defeat Kaden and ensure Nicole's safety.

Kaden somehow manages to break free from our hold, making a desperate move towards the witch who has a circle similar to the one Torin created. She snaps her fingers and in a flash of yellow flames they disappear into the circle which closes immediately, leaving us howling in frustration.

Turning back to Nicole, Vince and I nuzzle her gently, soothing her through the bond. I smell blood on her and nudge her hand, whining when I see the wounds on her palms. Vince growls lowly at this.

We start to lick her palms, healing her and speeding the process.

Our wolves purr in delight when she giggles, their hearts swelling with affection that their mate loves their ministrations.

Once her palms were healed, we retreat to the back of the nearest tree to us, finding a stash of male shorts usually kept for times like this. After changing we head back to her. My steps pause when I see Vince checking her out before pulling her into his arms.

I know he’s her mate also, but can’t stop feeling a jealous pang.

Jealous that she finds his scent better than mine.

“Don’t be so stupid,” Vince scolds me in the link, but I can’t stop the feeling of inadequacy. My wolf whimpers, begging to hold her too. “She hates our smell,” I whisper to Axel.

He huffs and retreat deep into my head.

“Just enjoy the moment, bro,” I sigh helplessly and move away from them. Tim fills me in with news from the other borders. Everything is fine.

“She’s searching for you, i***t!” Vince hisses angrily into the link.

Truly, she’s searching for me. When I turn to look at them, I see her looking around.

“I am here, Brown eyes,” I say softly, watching her beautiful brown eyes swim with questions, when she sees me.

Hoping she would see the fear, regret and deep longing in them.