Page 65 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

The clearing appears suddenly, the trees breaking apart as if the forest itself refuses to cross its threshold. Standing stones ring the open earth, ancient and half-sunken, their surfaces carved with symbols worn smooth by what seems like centuries of weather and blood and prayer. At the far edge of the clearing, an old cemetery slopes gently toward the sea, headstones tilted and choked by moss, forgotten by the living, remembered only by the dead in its abandonment.

My pulse stutters, and I slow my steps, glancing at my sisters when I feel it in my chest. A tightness that tugs my heart, threatening to crack it, warning that it’s where Merlin Grimes lies.

He’s not awake yet, but his bones are close enough to feel our presence. My sisters appear as spooked as I am, but we maintain our composure, knowing what must be done tonight. Sean’s wolf stirs beneath his skin—not panicked, not feral, but alert, ready. The bond tightens subtly, our awareness sharpening together.

We spread out instinctively, witches forming an arc, the wolves taking formation behind us. Donna lowers herself carefully onto a fallen stone, breath steady but focused, one hand pressed to her belly.

Delilah crouches in front of her immediately. “You stay behind the barrier,” she murmurs. “No heroics.”

Donna gives a tight smile as she chuckles. “I’ve survived worse.” Her magic pulses once, fierce and maternal, her eyes flashing gold like the magic she possesses.

It’s like we collectively hold our breaths, staring at the clearing, when the air bends. It doesn’t break, but it’s bending. Shadows stretch unnaturally across the clearing, pooling and knitting together near the stones. The temperature drops, my breath frosting in the air.

Laughter slips through my mind like a blade.

“Well, well, well…” the Harrower croons, her voice echoing inside my skull rather than the air. “Look at you, Emily…all grown up, I see.”

She steps forward, her form flickering through the shadows, projecting images of faces overlapping one another like reflections on water; Sean, bleeding, Donna screaming as she clutches her ripe belly, my sisters burning.

Once, this projection would have destroyed me. But now I am stronger, and no amount of manipulation can faze me. I know what’s real, and he’s standing behind me in wolf form—they’re all standing behind me and beside me, ready to take down our enemy, and I take a single step forward.

“You’re late,” I say evenly. “You were not here when we arrived. We thought you’d welcome us.”

The Harrower’s smile falters, her face twitching and revealing her true form with all its wrinkles and wear that reveal her true age. She’s one of the witches who worked for Grimes during the Blood Moon War. She’s older than time itself.

The illusion she’s trying to feed me lashes outward, slamming into me, and I see Sean on the ground, blood pooling beneath him, his eyes glassy and empty.

My breath hitches, but then I remember that it’s just an illusion, and Sean hasn’t been touched. I ground myself in that knowledge, sensing his presence, sensing his warmth through the mate bond and through my magic, and it allows me to tap further into my heart space.

That’s when gold surges forward, and it isn’t wild or erratic, but it’s precise, deliberate, and I am in control. That’s when the vision fractures, shattering into smoke and ash and clearing my path to see the Harrower more clearly.

“You don’t get to use my fear against me anymore, Harrower,” I tell her, my voice carrying effortlessly through the clearing. “You don’t get to use my love as a weapon.” Light ignites around me, not blinding, but absolute.

“You think that is my name?” the Harrower roars with laughter, but it’s cut short when I open my mouth, speaking her name when Delilah says it through the mind link.

She’s using our coven magic—an ancient trick—to tap into the Harrower’s illusory powers and use it against her by reading her mind.

“No. I know what your name is, and names hold power. Like spells. Isn’t that right, Raven?”

The moment I say her name, the Harrower screams as her illusions peel away, her form unraveling under the weight of truth. She tries to retreat, but Sean is already moving. His jet-black wolf tears through shadow and screams alike while my magic flares and imprisons her on the spot. He rips Raven apart until there’s nothing left but ash drifting across ancient stone, and silence falls.

We’re still holding our breath, knowing Raven was only one step closer to Grimes. That’s why the silence doesn’t last.

A wet, choking laugh bubbles up behind me as the earth itself ruptures.

The Bloodletter erupts from the ground, magic reeking of rot and iron, her energy lashing toward us like a poisoned blade. Sean roars, but I throw myself in front of Gwen, catching the spell midair before it hits her.

The dark magic burns, corruption biting deep, but I hold it, flooding it with gold, purifying it from the inside out. The tainted magic screams as it dissolves, and the Bloodletter stares at me in horror.

“That’s not possible—”

“It is,” I reply calmly, feeling confidence puff my chest as I remember all my training. One by one, each of the Golden Tree Sisters catches the dark magic flung toward them, stopping it from taking control of their bodies.

I’m the first one to release the magic back to the Bloodletter like a counterattack of gold. Sean and Nicholas hit her together from either side, wolf and witch moving in brutal harmony when Donna sends the magic at the Bloodletter like a bolt of lightning. Arianna is the one who speaks her name and yells out, “Nyra!” before the wolves pounce on her as a group, ripping her limbs and head off. When they step back, the earth smokes where she once stood.

The shadows recoil, and the Veilcaster reveals herself at last, rising from darkness like a living absence, shadow binding around her in layers of defense. Now that her allies are gone, she’s been compromised, and there’s nothing left to shield, so she turns to flee.

Delilah, Gwen, and Arianna move as one, voices lifting, hands weaving ancient sigils. A shimmering barrier snaps into place, light and symbol interwoven. The Veilcaster slams into it, shrieking. I step forward, and every heartbeat echoes.