Chapter 531

Olivia

I paced back and forth on the gravel driveway, my heart pounding louder in my chest than I had anticipated.

The night air was crisp and cool, and the full moon illuminated the trees that surrounded the quaint villa property. Off in the distance, the gentle sound of the ocean ebbing and flowing on the sandy shore melded with the sound of the leaves rustling overhead. It was a calm night.

But it hardly felt that way.

Tonight, Nathan and I were supposed to go out and begin the ritual with Freya. We needed a piece of her fur, which would be no easy feat to retrieve. Hopefully, she was fast asleep in her cave. Hopefully.

Nathan was late. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself as I peered down the dark street, trying to stave off the chill that had crept into my bones.

Where was Nathan? He should have been here by now, and time was ticking. We needed to hurry if we wanted to finish this ritual unscathed—not to mention the fact that we needed to get this over with before Dan noticed Nathan’s absence.

Just as I was about to give up and retreat back into the safety of the warm villa, a pair of familiar headlights cut through the darkness. Nathan's sleek black sedan rolled up the driveway, and I let out a shaky breath of relief.

He pulled up next to me, and I wasted no time slipping into the passenger seat. The interior was warm and smelled faintly of his cologne—a scent that always comforted me, even in the most trying of times.

“You’re late,” I chided, although there was no real heat behind my words.

Nathan shot me a wry smile as he put the car in drive. “Sorry, love. Dan kept me longer than I anticipated.”

A pang of worry shot through me at the mention of Dan’s name. “Is everything alright?” I asked, thinking back to our tense conversation from earlier that day.

“For now,” Nathan said, his brow furrowing. “He’s getting a little suspicious, but I think I managed to throw him off our scent.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. The thought of Dan discovering our plan filled me with dread. If he found out what we were trying to do, there was no telling how he might retaliate.

We drove in silence for a while, the tension thick in the air.

As we drove, we took the opportunity to talk about anything and everything; from how dinner had been to how the twins, who were nestled safely at home with Clint sleeping in the guest room, were coming along in their development.

It became clear to me, at the mention of the twins, just how much Nathan actually missed them. He fell silent at some point, his face taking on a somber expression. I reached over and gave his hand a squeeze.

“We’ll all be reunited soon,” I assured him softly. He merely shot me a wan smile, and said nothing.

Eventually, the trees began to thin out, and the forest gave way to a winding dirt road.

“We’re getting close,” Nathan murmured, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel.

I peered out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of our destination. The moon cast an eerie glow over the landscape, bathing the trees in an otherworldly light.

This forest, situated between pack territories, was incredibly dark and foreboding—not at all like our well-kept, softly lit forests back at home. I shivered a bit and pulled my coat closer around my shoulders.

Finally, we reached a small clearing, and Nathan pulled the car over to the side of the road. He killed the engine, and we sat there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the forest around us.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked, turning to me with a serious expression on his face.

I took a deep breath, steeling my nerves. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Nathan nodded, and we got out of the car and began making our way into the woods. The forest floor was carpeted with fallen leaves and twigs, and I had to concentrate on each step to avoid making too much noise.

After what felt like an eternity, we came upon a small, secluded clearing. I recognized it well—even more so the dark cave that Freya now called ‘home’. Pausing, Nathan and I exchanged silent glances before carefully walking up to the mouth of the shallow cave.

There, in the center, a massive wolf lay curled up on a bed of moss and ferns, its fur shimmering in the moonlight.

Freya.

I felt a chill run down my spine at the sight of her. Even in her sleep, she exuded an aura of power and danger.

Nathan motioned for me to stay back, and I watched with bated breath as he crept towards the sleeping wolf. He moved with the grace and stealth of a seasoned hunter, his every step calculated and precise.

Slowly, carefully, he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pair of scissors. My heart was in my throat as he leaned down, extending the blades towards Freya’s flank.

And then, with a deft snip, he managed to cut a tuft of her fur.

I let out the breath I had been holding, relief washing over me. So far, so good.

Nathan retreated back to my side, the clump of fur clutched tightly in his hand. He gave me a nod, and we began to make our way back through the woods, our footsteps light and hurried. I was certain that our movements were so soft and fluid that, even if Freya had awoken slightly from her sleep, she might have simply mistaken us for the wind.

Once we were a safe distance away, we found a secluded spot and began to set up for the ritual. I laid out the ingredients—the tuft of fur, a bundle of sage, a small bowl of salt, and the book outlining the ritual—and lit a candle, its flickering flame casting dancing shadows across the forest floor.

Nathan kept watch while I began to chant the words on the page—a language that I didn’t understand, long since lost to time.

I wondered if I was even saying the words right, but the way the words rolled off of my tongue, ancient and powerful, and the way I could feel the air around us growing thick with magic, abated my worries.

As the chanting reached a crescendo, I tossed the tuft of fur into the small flame, and it caught on fire, the smoke swirling and curling upwards. The air filled with the sickly scent of burnt hair, nearly causing me to gag.

My heart raced as the ritual neared its climax. This was it. If this ritual really was all it was cracked up to be, then soon Freya would be cured of her feral nature; but she would also lose her wolf.

But before I could finally complete the ritual, a sudden twig snapping in the shadows caused me to jerk my head up, the sound shattering the stillness of the night.

My blood ran cold as a pair of glowing yellow eyes snapped open in the darkness, fixed directly on us.

Freya’s eyes, filled with fury, blinked at us from the shadows.