“She crossed the northern border two hours ago.” Garrett marks the location on our map. “Traveling fast, but leaving an obvious trail.”
“Too obvious.” My fingers trace the route. Through our weakening bond, I feel Sage’s fever climbing higher, each moment we waste costing precious strength. “She wants us to follow.”
“Almost certainly a trap.” Garrett meets my eyes steadily. “But we’re running out of time.”
He’s right. The healers say the poison spreads faster now, targeting not just Sage’s body but the very essence of our mate bond. Each hour brings us closer to losing both.
“The council demands-” An elder starts from the doorway.
“The council can burn.” Power rolls off me in waves. “This is what they wanted, isn’t it? Their precious traditions preserved by breaking our bond?”
“My King-
11
“Get the fuck out.” When he hesitates, my roar shakes the walls. “All of you. Out!”
Only Garrett remains as I study the map. Letters we intercepted suggest Eris has the antidote, or at least knows how to make it. But the references to Blackthorn territory, to resources only Cassius could provide…
Through our bond, I feel Sage’s pain spike. Feel her fighting with everything she has even as the poison tears at our connection.
“We leave in ten minutes.” I roll the map, already moving. “Choose our fastest warriors. We hunt tonight.”
Sage
The poison burns like ice in my veins as I drift between worlds. Through our bond, I feel Alaric’s determination, his fury, but the connection grows weaker with each breath.
Memories swirl like smoke – my first shift, finding my wolf so late. The pack that cast me out for being different. The healer who helped me understand my powers…
Something tugs at my consciousness. Something important about that last memory.
“Her fever’s rising.” A healer’s voice penetrates the haze. “The poison adapts to everything we try.”
I want to tell them what I’m remembering, but can’t form the words. Can barely hold onto the thought as more memories crash over me.
Meeting Alaric. His amber eyes the first time our powers synchronized. The way he looked at me this morning during ritual practice…
The ritual. Something about the ritual preparation. If I could just focus…
But darkness pulls me under again.
1/3
Chapter 123
+25 BONUS
Alaric
Her scent trail leads exactly where we expected – an abandoned hunting cabin near the border. Too perfect. Too
obvious.
“At least fifteen warriors inside.” Garrett reports after scouting. “Northern territory wolves, heavily armed.”
Through our bond, I feel Sage trying to tell me something. Feel her frustration as consciousness slips away again.
“She’s in there.” I taste Eris’s scent on the wind. “She better have the fucking Antidote. It’s the only thing buying her a few more minutes to live.”
“She’s waiting for us, I can feel it.” Garrett shifts uneasily. “We could try to negotiate-
“No.” My beast rises at the mere thought. “She dies tonight.‘
11
11
Because I feel it through the bond – how the poison eats away at our connection. How each moment brings us closer to losing everything.
“On my signal,” I tell the gathered warriors. “No mercy.”
Sage
The memory sharpens through the fever haze – the old healer’s cottage, walls lined with ancient texts. I was so young then, terrified of powers I didn’t understand.
“Your abilities aren’t just about healing,” she had told me, showing me illustrations of the ancient healing packs. “They’re about understanding. Adapting. Learning.”
More recent memories blur through – the mutant wolves, how my powers had learned to fight their corruption. The way my abilities grew stronger each time I faced a new challenge.
“The poison spreads faster,” a healer’s voice penetrates my delirium. “Nothing we try seems to work.”
Of course it doesn’t. Because the poison isn’t just targeting my body. It’s targeting the very essence of what I am – a healer, a mate, a bridge between ancient powers and present strength.
Through our weakening bond, I feel Alaric’s determination as he hunts. Feel his power reaching for mine despite the distance. The poison tries to sever that connection, but in doing so, it shows me its true nature.
This isn’t just about breaking our mate bond. It’s about breaking my connection to the ancient healing abilities themselves. Whoever crafted this poison understood exactly what I am – what I could become.
“Her powers are failing,” someone says distantly. “The bond fades…”
But they’re wrong. My powers aren’t failing – they’re learning. With each attempt to heal myself, they understand more about what fights them. Like with the mutant wolves, like with every challenge I’ve faced…
The revelation hits through the fever – I’ve been fighting this wrong. Trying to heal the damage instead of understanding it. Instead of letting my abilities adapt and evolve.
Chapter 123
+25 BONUS
With the last of my strength, I stop fighting the poison directly. Instead, I let my powers study it, learn from it, understand how it works at its deepest level.
Verify captcha to read the content
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Lycan King's Outcast Omega (by Cara Anderson)