The Triplet Alphas' Curse: Rejected by the Wolfless Luna.

Chapter 192: Episode 192.

Aire stared at the hand reaching toward her.

"...it’s time."

Those words felt like a death sentence to Aire.

For a second, neither of them moved.

Aire did the only thing she could. She tried to step back and surprisingly, she stepped back. It worked.

The movement was small, pathetic, and terrified, but it was movement.

The fae woman’s smile widened.

"Oh." She sounded delighted. "You do have a little fight in you."

Aire’s heart hammered against her ribs.

The mist pressed against her from every direction.

Aire swallowed. "No."

The fae tilted her head. "No?" she repeated, almost mockingly as she took her time enjoying the challenge.

"I’m not going anywhere with you."

The woman laughed. The laugh almost sounded affectionate, and somehow that made it worse.

"You think you have a choice."

Aire’s pulse jumped. She forced herself to move, and she took another step backward. Then another.

The woman watched every movement with a calm, patient, and certain gaze.

Aire hated that certainty. She could tell from that gaze that she only moved because the woman allowed it.

"You don’t know who I am." Aire breathed. "I am not who you are looking for. You should be doubting yourself right now."

The woman smiled. "Oh, I know exactly who you are."

The words made something cold settle in Aire’s stomach.

The fae slowly lifted a hand, and mist curled around her fingers.

"I’ve known who you were longer than you have." She said softly. "I wanted your mother dead even more than the moon goddess wanted."

Aire’s throat tightened.

The woman sighed. "You may call me Morrigan."

Aire blinked.

Morrigan?

Not Marsali.

There was never Marsali. The realization struck harder than she expected. Marsali was gone, and she had never existed.

The little girl she’d tucked into bed, protected, and loved had never been real. Her heart broke, and clenched itself.

Morrigan noticed. For a moment her expression almost softened. However, it vanished immediately.

A low vibration suddenly filled the room.

Aire quickly tried to move again, and realized she couldn’t.

The wall behind Morrigan rippled apart, and the stone began turning black. Slowly, they turned purple, then black again.

It looked as though ink had been poured directly into reality.

Aire stared in shock and fear. Her helplessness in the situation destroyed her. She searched for something to fix her eyes on, but she saw nothing, just mist.

The wall split open. This wasn’t a magic Aire had ever seen. Reality itself peeled apart, and darkness waited on the other side.

The darkness so complete it made her stomach turn.

Aire’s breath caught. She looked around again, to save herself, but it wasn’t working. Nothing worked.

"No." She gasped. "Marsali, no."

This wasn’t being moved somewhere else in the kingdom. Aire could feel that she was being taken away.

Completely away.

Panic exploded through her. Instinctively, she reached for the bond. She shut her eyes, but felt nothing.

Morrigan had truly cut off all her connection to the world outside.

’Nate.’ she whispered inwardly, trying again.

The connection flickered this time. It was weak, broken, and distance, but it mattered To Aire.

Although, it sounded like she was speaking underwater.

Aire’s eyes widened.

’Nate.’ She pushed harder. She doesn’t know what Morrigan might do to him, or what he would do to her, but she doesn’t want to leave without a trace.

She needed soemone to know she was taken.

’Nate.’ She tried again, and this time, there was nothing.

The bond trembled, then vanished. It returned for a second, then vanished again. Fear slammed into her. She was so scared her lips began to tremble.

"Nate." The whisper escaped her lips this time. Her eyes fell, hopelessly. She coudknt even move.

Morrigan’s eyes narrowed. "Oh."

The fae sounded amused. "The bond."

Aire tried again. This time, she begged. The connection sparked again. For one brief second she felt warmth until the fae magic swallowed it again.

Morrigan sighed dramatically.

"They’re persistent creatures." The portal continued spinning, as it prepared itself. "By the way, your powers are useless here. Even if I give you the chance to move, you’re useless."

Aire ignored her. She reached for the bond again. ’Nate.’

’Nate.’

’Nate.’

Finally, something answered. She felt a distant pull. A distant awareness, then pain immediately flooded her inside.

Aire’s chest tightened.

The bond wasn’t gone, but something was strangling it, and causing her inward pain at the same time.

The portal widened, and darkness poured through the opening.

Morrigan stepped toward her.

Aire stumbled back. Her heel struck the bed. Finally, she felt something else in the room, but there was nowhere left to go.

Her eyes darted toward where the door should have been. And just as Morrigan had warned, she couldn’t use her power.

The purest terror she had ever felt settled into her bones.

Morrigan reached for her wrist.

Aire slapped her hand away.

The fae blinked. She smacked her lis together. "There she is."

Aire’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Tears blurred her vision. "You are evil." She cursed.

Morrigan’s smile didn’t falter. "I know." She shrugged. "I’m a dark fae. Extremely evil." She laughed softly.

Strong merciless magic wrapped around Aire’s arms.

Aire gasped. She was yanked forward, and the portal loomed closer.

"No!" She argued, and fought. She twisted, kicked, and trued to oull free from the magic, but nothing worked.

Morrigan watched her calmly. She watched her with the entertainment of a person watching a bird struggle inside a cage.

"Aire." She called her. "You cannot win this."

Aire’s composure finally shattered.

"Help!" She screamed. Her voice cracked. "Help me!"

Nothing answered. The silence was unbearable.

Morrigan dragged her closer. The darkness beyond the portal seemed endless.

Aire felt herself trembling, then she stopped screaming. Suddenly she didn’t want help. She wanted one person.

"Nate."

She needed him, one last time. Even if she doesn’t survive this. Just one last time.

"Nate."

....

Elsewhere in the castle, Nate froze.

The cup he held slipped from his hand, and wine splashed across rug beneath his feet.

The room was silent. He felt a strong shrug of terror that had just exploded through the bond.

Not his terror, but Aire’s.

His entire body locked. For one horrifying second he couldn’t breathe, or move. He tried to, but he felt molded to the floor.

He feltbgruef, panic, and desperation at the same time.

The bond screamed her name.

Nate pushed himself forward. This time, his body obeyed, and he was already moving.

The chair crashed behind him, and he rushed out of his chamber. The hallway blurred, and the guards jumped aside.

Servants flattened themselves against walls, as he ran quickly, without thinking. He coudknt catch her scent.

He felt strange magic in the castle, so he decided to rush to her room first. Meanwhile, he communicated with Alaric and Xanden’s wolves through the bond in High Danish, telling them what he felt.

The bond pulled at him the closer he got to her room. His heart slammed against his ribs as he fastened his pace.

Something was wrong. Something impossible.

He reached the stairs, and jumped half of them.

The bond burned now. The connection flickered, and his stomach dropped.

.......

Aire was crying openly now. She didn’t even realize it.

The portal was right behind her, and the cold darkness touched her skin.

Morrigan tightened her grip. "It’s over."

Aire shook her head.

Morrigan sighed, then pulled her harder.

Aire stumbled forward.

Half her body crossed the threshold, and the darkness swallowed her arm, her shoulder, and her waist.

The world felt wrong. Everything felt like she was being torn apart.

BOOM.

The chamber door suddenly exploded inward. The wood shattered immediately. The stones cracked, and the mist scattered for a second.

Aire’s head snapped toward the sound.

Nate.

For one beautiful second, hope returned to her eyes.

He was there, standing in the ruined doorway, breathing hard with his eyes wild. He looked so afraid, and Aire had never seen him look afraid before.

"AIRE!" He yelled, terrified.

The scream ripped from him.

Aire broke. "Nate!"

For one impossible heartbeat, everything felt okay. He was here, he found her, and he came. However, reality remembered itself.

Nate saw the portal, and he saw the fae woman standing there, almost his height.

He saw Aire halfway through the darkness. He immediately launched himself forward without hesitation, or a plan.

He hit the portal, and the world exploded.

A force struck back at him, sounding like thunder. The stones in the wall shattered, and the entire room shook.

Nate was thrown backward so violently he crashed through a marble pillar.

The pillar broke, and the wall cracked.

Dust erupted everywhere.

Aire screamed in horror, and she tried to oull away from the portal to no avail. "NATE!"

Morrigan looked mildly impressed. "He was fast."

Nate hit the floor. He immediately tried to stand, and blood ran from his mouth. His shoulder hung wrong yet he got up.

He launched towards Morrigan the second time, and the portal struck him a second time.

Harder this time. This time the floor cracked beneath him.

Aire felt something inside her breaking. The bond felt like he’d stop breathing if he doesn’t stop. "Nate stop!" She immediately pleaded.

Aire had never felt anything like this from the bond. It felt like a whirlwind of emotions. At this time, she only had a little portion of her body out of the portal.

Nate staggered upright. His entire body shook. Yet his eyes never left hers. Not once.

"Aire." He called, reaching for her. His hand reached for her, and her hand reached for him too.

Morrigan snapped a finger, and Nate fell to the floor violently, as his bones snapped. He curled on the floor in pure pain.

Nate claws charged out, and he freced himself up immediately. However, at that moment, the darkness swallowed Aire completely.

The last thing she saw was Nate. The portal closed the moment she was gone, and so did Morrigan.

The mist vanished, and the room returned to the way it was. The bond vanished, and Nate stood frozen.

He waited, breathing hard. His blood dripping onto the floor. He growled, refusing to believe Aire going through a portal with a fae was reality.

Surely she’d come back.

The room remained empty, and the realization arrived slowly with cruelty.

Aire was gone.

Nate finally gave way. His body sagged. He jerked, and his knees hit the floor. His bones cracked, and his muscles shifted.

Grey fur erupted across skin, and his wolf emerged in grief.

A heartbeat later, he howled.

The sound tore through the castle, through the kingdom, and through every forest, mountain, and valley.

Across the realm, wolves lifted their heads, and every creature that heard the sound understood the same thing.