Chapter 234

Charles

I stepped through the front door with a sigh, the weight of the day clinging to me like a weight chained to my ankles. As I shut the door and hung my coat on the rack, a jolt of energy crackled through the air, raising all the hair on the back of my neck.

What the hell was that? It set me on edge and made my gut plummet. It was a specific kind of power, raw and volatile, unlike anything I'd encountered recently. It made no sense what that could be unless...

Magicae mentis.

Shit.

I rushed down the hallway. My mind racing with possibilities. Another attack on the house? Was Eason having some sort of episode? The closer I got, the more intense the energy became, morphing into a sickly-sweet cloying sensation that made my stomach churn.

But it wasn't coming from outside...

It was coming from the dining room. I grew closer. The smell of blood and ozone filled the air. Fear, panic, and Grace's scent were changing violently.

I entered the dining room and was met with a scene I didn't fully understand. Grace was frozen in place by an unseen force, and her face was contorted in a silent scream, her breathing shallow and ragged. Her eyes, wide with terror, darted around the room as if searching for escape.

Eason was just inside the doorway, unmoving, but the energy around him was thick and active. He was casting, doing something, but I had no idea what.

Esme's face was pale and drawn, standing off to the side. Her hands were outstretched, fingers crackling with sickly green energy, filling the air like a shield. George was crouched down by Ethan.

I stepped around Eason and froze at the chill that rushed through me. His eyes, devoid of their usual warmth, held a terrifying intensity. They glowed like the moon. The barrier vanished. Esme stumbled and looked up at me, looking pale. Her face was etched with worry. She came closer, but she couldn't get far as if there was a barrier.

Her voice shook as she pleaded with Eason. "Eason, please! Stop it! You're hurting her!"

But Eason remained unresponsive, his body a conduit for the strange energy that held Grace captive. His lips moved silently, but no sound emerged. The sight of Grace, vulnerable and powerless, sent a surge of adrenaline coursing through me.

She was barely breathing.

"Eason!" I roared, my voice laced with command, cutting through the thick silence that hung heavy in the air.

My voice, infused with alpha authority, momentarily flickered through the haze clouding Eason's mind. He didn't even blink or flinch. The energy around him intensified even more. Grace stopped breathing altogether. Then, the feral red light vanished. She snapped out of it. Her eyes suddenly glazed over. In their place, a chilling emptiness settled in, a resignation that sent a jolt of terror through me.

As if sensing the shift, Eason shifted in place. The energy in the air dissipated in a burst of crackling sparks. He blinked slowly. Grace, freed from the invisible bonds, crumpled onto the ground, her breathing shallow and ragged. Esme, speechless, rushed to her side, pulling her close. Relief and fear warred in her eyes as she checked for injuries.

Eason didn't move. His eyes were still blindingly bright. George's eyes were shocked, looking between Eason and Grace.

As I looked at Eason and then at Grace, still struggling to catch her breath, a heavy silence descended upon us. The air crackled with unspoken questions, unanswered threats, and the chilling realization that something had been done that could never undone.

But what, I had no idea.

I looked at Ethan, who was still bleeding but healing quickly, and tried to understand what must have happened. This couldn't be about Ethan. Esme's expression said she didn't think it was about him either. Did she know what this was about?

The moment of stunned silence was shattered by Grace's choked sob morphing into a guttural snarl. Her eyes glowed with a feral white light that sent my stomach plummeting.

White. Like the moon...

Like a werewolf.

She stumbled to her feet, turning on Eason. A weak red flicker rose in her eyes, growing stronger. Esme looked terrified.

"You… you hurt me!" she roared, her voice barely recognizable, a primal growl tearing through her throat. "You almost killed me!"

Before anyone could react, she lunged forward, a feral snarl contorting her face. Esme threw herself between Grace and Eason, her arms outstretched in a desperate plea.

"Grace! Stop!" she screamed, her voice laced with fear and urgency. "It's not him!"

But Grace seemed incapable of hearing, let alone understanding. She lunged again, her claws extended. I felt the air around Eason shift, a ripple of energy I recognized from earlier. He looked at her with that vacant expression. I swallowed.

"Grace!" I roared. "You have to control yourself!"

But my words were lost in her rage-filled screeches. She was on the verge of another attack. The tension in Eason's body was growing, and the power was growing more potent in the air.

Grabbing Grace by the arm, I pulled her back. She wasn't nearly as strong as she should have been.

"Come on, Grace!" I yelled, dragging her toward the entrance of the dining room.

Eason's gaze watched us, never leaving Grace as I yanked her back. My heart was in my throat. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew I had to get her out of there before Eason, or Eason's magic, did something else.

Esme raised another barrier of green light. "Eason..."

She spoke softly. Fearfully. Fuck. If Esme was afraid, we all should be. I looked over at George, who looked just as fearful. My heart pounded in my chest. The fear for Grace started to take over. I didn't think Eason would kill her, but I couldn't be sure.

Magicae mentis was a state that wasn't entirely understood, and Eason... had a lot of reason to resent Grace deeply.

He'd be devastated if he actually harmed her. I had to get her out and away from him. I got her out of the dining room, scanning the area. Where could I take her? The care? She fought me. Grace screeched and snarled, lunging back toward Eason.

"He hurt me, Charles!" she snarled, her voice choked with fury. "He almost killed me! He thinks he's stronger. I'm Alpha! I'm his Alpha! He attacked me! Traitor!"

There was something wrong with her speech. She didn't sound like herself, but I couldn't focus on that. Before I could respond, a chilling silence descended upon us. Grace froze mid-struggle, her eyes widening in surprise. Esme, who had followed us out, gasped in horror. I turned to see Eason standing alone in the dining room doorway. His expression hadn't changed, yet all he did was watch her. The energy had seemed to hold steady now.

It wasn't good.

Whatever was about to happen wasn't good.

The air crackled with an energy different from before. This energy felt darker and heavier, like a storm cloud gathering on the horizon. Instinct screamed at me, warning me. I moved faster, but it was like fighting through leaden air.

Then, I felt the energy surging in Grace, a pull-up from somewhere deep within her. She dug in her heels. I turned back.

"Grace, no!" I roared, desperate to stop what I knew was about to happen.

But it was too late. Grace was still. She growled low and commanding: a compulsion again.

Obey me.

My eyes jumped to Eason, watching the wave of intent rush out of her, directed at him. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't speak. It broke over him like a simple breeze. The light fractured and scattered around him.

But it didn't fade.

"Eason," Esme said softly. Pleading. "Eason, please."

He didn't move. The air stirred around him, and the power that lingered in the air swelled.

Then, in a whisper that echoed in the stillness and shook the air, he spoke a single word.

"Silence."

The word hung heavy in the air, a command infused with dark power. Grace's lips moved, a soundless plea escaping her throat, but no words came out. Her eyes, wide with terror, flickered momentarily before rolling back in her head.

"Eason," I said. "Don't--"

The light from her compulsion coalesced and was threaded with light as bright as the sun before flying back at her like a spear.

"No!" Esme wailed.

But the spear his Grace in the chest. She twisted sharply with a silent cry. Then, she slumped forward and crumpled. I caught her as her eyes fell shut, and the light faded.

Panic surged through me as I shook her.

"Grace?" I asked. "Grace!"

She didn't move. I looked up at Eason, but he remained silent. His gaze fixed on Grace's unconscious form.

Esme collapsed just behind him, looking at Grace with a bleak stare.

"Eason," I whispered. "What have you done?"