Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“Charles,” Brandon said. “He must have told them.”
“You found her then,” Lewis said.
Layla turned toward him. Lewis pointed at her. She looked at Elle.
“You now have black streaks in your hair. It looks amazing.”
Layla waved her hand across the air, bringing some water in front of her vision, and she saw herself. In her blonde hair were multiple streaks of black, and even her blue eyes were tinted black as well.
“I am you and you are me. We’re the same person. You can do whatever I do.”
“Disaster of the Otherworld attacked?” Layla asked. She looked at her parents, then at Elle. They were all accounted for.
“The pack is fine.”
“Why would they attack and not take someone?”
Someone is missing.
“It is good for you to finally realize who you are,” Crazy Lizzie said, suddenly dancing out of the forest. She had a lollipop in her hand, and she wore a bright-pink sundress. There was a streak of blood down her face from a recent cut.
Layla went to step out of the circle, but Crazy Lizzie clicked her tongue.
“It’s not safe. Anyone could be watching and waiting.”
“Alexander,” Layla said.
She stepped out of the circle and then, without any further words spoken, she took off, heading toward Alexander’s home. She ran as fast as she could, knowing she had startled the pack with the speed at which she moved.
Entering Alexander’s home, she called out to him. The sun was still shining high in the sky. She rushed toward his room, and there was no sign of him.
The scent of roasting flesh filled the air, and she knew.
Crazy Lizzie appeared in front of her.
“They took him,” Layla said.
“They did. They had no choice.”
She heard Brandon and Lewis enter, as well as her parents. They walked upstairs and came into the room. Layla took a deep breath, and then looked at them.
“I have to go and get them.”
“If you go, it’s a suicide mission,” Elle said.
She must have been carried to have gotten there so fast.
“You cannot go,” her parents said in unison. “It’s what they want.”
“True, so true,” Crazy Lizzie said. “It is a suicide mission.”
“They’re going to kill Alexander,” Layla said.
“Not really,” Crazy Lizzie said. “Killing him would be pretty pointless.”
“He had my blood.”
She sensed the recoil of Brandon and Lewis, but she didn’t care. They could hate vampires, but he was her mate and if she wanted to share her blood with him, so be it.
“But, you see, that’s the pesky little thing about this whole ritual. You must be drained, as does Alexander, on the same day, at the same time, for this to work,” Crazy Lizzie said. “That’s the good thing about rituals and sacrifices, there are certain little nuances that have to be followed, because those are the rules.” She popped the lollipop into her mouth.
“It wouldn’t be a suicide mission if more of us shared your blood,” Elle said.
“No!” This came from Brandon.
“Wouldn’t it kill her?” Lewis asked.
“If you drained her dry, but a couple drops of blood won’t hurt her. She might feel a little woozy, but don’t we all?” Crazy Lizzie said, with a giggle. “Of course, it would require Layla to actually agree and give her complete permission.”
Layla turned to Brandon. “You will help me go and get him?”
Brandon shook his head. “I can’t risk it. I can’t risk you. You’re too important.”
“I can’t let him die.”
“Brandon, you can’t say no,” Elle said. “Layla is my best friend. Alexander helped us.”
Layla looked at her Alpha. She knew if she needed to, she could force him, but she wouldn’t do that.
“Alexander could have left the enthrallment on Elle. He didn’t. He could have left you to face them all alone. He didn’t. He stayed. If you run now, if you give up, then you’re nothing but a fucking coward.” The windows smashed as she screamed the last at him. Layla felt them freeze as she made the wind pause. The temptation to wash them through the house was strong. Her hair stood on end as she glared at Brandon.
He stepped closer to her. She felt the prickle of his Alpha. If he was trying to dominate her, then he was barking up the wrong witch. She wasn’t going to be told what to do by anyone, least of all a wolf.
“If you think what you’re doing is strong and that you’re protecting Elle, you’re mistaken. I will leave here and when I do, the protection spell that has been saving your ass all these years will fall with me. I’ll take Elle, because I am the only one who can protect her. You’ve made a lot of enemies, Brandon, do you want to make one of me?”
“No one comes between a witch and her mate,” Crazy Lizzie said. “It gets spicy!”
Layla wasn’t joking. She was deadly serious. Alexander had been taken. She knew where he was, and if they didn’t react quickly, his life would be in danger. She wasn’t going to allow him to be at the mercy of Disaster of the Otherworld. She had been put on this earth to protect it, and that’s exactly what she was going to do.