Mystic Storm: An Adult Paranormal Witch Romance: Othala Witch Collection (Sector 2)

by Bella Love-Wins

  Reena led them through the tunnel, past the abandoned grotto, and up a stone ramp that led to the prison cells. Xander remembered most of the area. Everyone had access to the fortress before he and the first shifters were turned. Minassus put an end to all visits soon after he had recovered from his coma. Only the Chosen, a select group of witches, and some of his personal guards were allowed inside.

  The moment Reena took the corridor leading away from the dungeons, his inner bear bristled. Liam stopped in his tracks too. Danger was lurking.

  “Everyone stop,” Xander ordered from his spot at the back of the group. “Kiera. Where are we going? Why are you doing this?”

  “We’re close,” she answered without pausing to look back at him.

  “I said stop!” He barked. The sound echoed along the long, wide stone tunnel and froze her and Reena in place. “Liam is right to be skeptical. It does not add up.”

  “This is not a trap, Xander. Please, just come with us. We are all taking a risk here. Do you even know what this could mean for me? And Reena? The truth is, we are not embarking on a plan to free the shifters…we are doing this for the Sector. No one on this island is really free, not while we all operate under Minassus’ reign of deception, control, and repression. But having said that, we all still face a common threat, whether Minassus continues to rule or not. We must work together to defend ourselves against the ravagers. This is why we asked you to come here. Are you ready to see what we’ve discovered or not?”

  As much as he wanted to turn and leave, Xander could not argue with her logic. It was the only reason he and his men had not just picked up and left the Sector. This was their home too, and their families were here, all needing protection from the ravagers.

  “Yes,” he finally managed. “Proceed.”

  “You sense them, don’t you?”

  “I know danger is nearby, yes, but I don’t know exactly what.”

  “It’s best if you see for yourself. Reena will explain everything. She made a massive discovery.”

  “I found a way to stun the ravagers,” Reena added, continuing along the corridor.

  “You did what exactly?” Liam shouted. “How?”

  Reena stopped again and turned to face everyone. “Okay, gentlemen. There is no easy way to explain this without shocking the hell out of you two. Remember that summer when Commander Ashborn, rest his soul, led you all to Charles Mound Island to kill off the ravagers while they slept?”

  Xander nodded.

  “Do you remember he had some of the soldiers bring back the carcasses of four of the newborns?”

  “Yes. What of it?”

  “They were alive… and they still are…well, three of them are.”

  “You are not serious.” Liam shouted.

  “Will you just let me finish, for Christ’s sake? Minassus had the witches’ blacksmiths build cells to hold them, and reinforced chains to keep them locked up. As they grew, new bindings were made, and now, well, they are full grown monsters. As crazy as you think it sounds, it has allowed me to understand their physiology. And now, I believe I’ve made a breakthrough that can stop them.”

  Xander could not mask his skepticism, but most of it drained away when he looked over at Kiera. Her eyes shone with hope and excitement. “It’s true. You need to see this.”

  Liam shook his head and raised his clenched fists to his waist. “You witches are all crazy! Trapping ravagers? Keeping them here in the fortress? It’s evil sorcery, I tell you!”

  “Liam, we’re here,” Xander said to him. “We might as well see what they’ve done.” He turned to Reena. “Carry on.”

  “I found a way to sedate them for days at a time. I’ll show you. It will be easier to kill them.”

  Xander was cautiously excited now. “How?”

  “It’s a plant. The essence of wild indigo. Gentlemen, we’re about to enter the area where we keep the…test subjects.”

  “We know.” Xander did not have to be told a second time. He could smell the creatures now. Every instinct inside of him told him to shift to his bear form and fight, but he held back his beast. “Go ahead.”

  With a nod, she led them to the large room. Three ravagers came into view on the other side of the room, shackled and imprisoned behind three sets of wrought iron jail cell walls. At the sight of their almost lifeless bodies, Xander relaxed. These ravagers were practically dead. Easy to kill. He glanced over at Liam, who had also calmed down.

  “Wild indigo knocked them out like this?” Xander asked Reena.

  “Not the plant itself. The essence. It takes some time to dry and prepare the concentrated powder, but I have already produced enough for the Sector to defend ourselves, no matter how many of them show up this winter. And there’s more.” She motioned to Kiera. “Show them.”

  Kiera took a few steps toward the cells, facing one of the unconscious ravagers. “I have only tried this once, but look.” She lifted her arms to shoulder height, pointed her palms toward the creature, and a moment later, lifted it and the other two ravagers a foot off the ground. With a wave of her hands, all three ravagers were shoved backward into the stone wall, and fell to the floor again. “Oh my. Did you see that, Reena?”

  “I did. That was way better.”

  “I had a lot more control this time, and I was only trying to move one of them, but I’m somehow able to control all three. I must be improving…but it makes no sense. I just tried for the first time a few hours ago.”

  “Very impressive,” Xander told her, recalling how she had levitated them that night without even trying. “Have you tried from a distance, or from another room where they are not in your sights?”

  “Not yet…”

  “That is brilliant, Commander Oslo!” Reena said excitedly. “Imagine just perceiving them in your mind, Kiera, out there in the water before they reach the sector. If you can fight them with telekinesis, we would have another layer of defense. The potential of this is—”

  “You can move things with your mind?” Liam cut her off mid-sentence. He was as pale as a ghost, and rubbed his hand against his temple. “I think I’ve seen it all now.” He turned to Xander. “Wait. This witchcraft does not scare the holy hell out of you?”

  “Not exactly.” He ignored the shock on his friend’s face and focused on Reena again. “About the essence of wild indigo, how effective is it?”

  “One hundred percent, as you can see.”

  “No. What I mean is how certain are you it will work on the entire species?”

  “I’m impressed that you’ve arrived at this question. I wondered about it too, and you’re right that three test subjects may not be enough of a sample…”

  “So even if this works, you may still need my soldiers.”

  “Correct…and Kiera too, but hear me out. What I was thinking, was to incorporate the essence into the Nauru’s containment spells. I already spoke to their coven two weeks ago. They are willing to help. If we had started right away, there would have been just enough time to redo the spells on all the outer walls of the Sector.”

  “But now, there’s less than four days left.” Xander had a thought. “Is there enough of the powder to add to our traps and weapons?”

  “Yes. I’ve had my assistants working on this for some time. We just have one slight challenge.”

  “Let me guess. Your Regent.”

  The women looked over at each other.

  “The Regent does not believe we can implement these changes across the Sector in time.” Reena explained.

  “How long has he known?”

  “As long as I have.”

  Liam gripped Xander’s shoulder. “That man is an evil old stubborn fool. He would sooner put our shifters in the line of fire. It’s time someone puts a stop to him for good.”

  “Forget Minassus for now, Liam. Reena, is there still time?”

  She lifted her hand to her chin, lips pursed as if studying something. “Less than four days to cover the walls around a twenty thousand s
quare mile island, plus the traps and weapons. I doubt it, but that does not mean we shouldn’t try. Let me ask you something about the ravagers. Have you noticed any location-specific attack patterns?”

  Liam spoke up before Xander could answer. “I see where you’re going with this. I can help. The shifters in one of my platoons monitor the surrounding waters for ravagers. Years ago, they were spread out around the entire island, but every year, we noticed they would attack mostly from the north or west. Once we established that pattern, we concentrated the majority of our shifter patrols in those two directions. The south and east patrols do still report some ravagers, but not nearly as many as from the north or west.”

  Kiera’s eyes lit up. “That is excellent information, Reena! It means you can prioritize the Nauru’s work.”

  “What about Minassus?” Reena asked. “He will know the second they start, and there are not nearly enough men in the Boundary Protection Unit to stand against his guards and help the Nauru with these preparations.”

  “I think I can help with that. I will need my familiar.” Kiera turned to Xander just then. “May I make a few suggestions?”

  “Go on.”

  “Liam, you work with Reena and the Nauru, with a focus on completing the containment spells and preparing the traps around the island. Will say, two-thirds of the troops be sufficient?”

  “I can make it work,” Liam answered.

  “Xander, the rest of your men can assemble here at the fortress. I may have a way to…convince the Regent that this plan is sound. If he agrees, he will order his guards to stand down.”

  “And if he does not?” Xander had to ask.

  “That’s where you and the rest of your men come in. And I will help…with Coco’s assistance.”

  Xander registered the excited look on Liam’s face, but focused on Kiera’s proposal. “You do understand you are talking about potentially starting a civil war, correct?”

  “It may not come to anything so ominous,” she said with confidence.

  “You need to be prepared for that eventuality, Kiera…and the repercussions.”

  “If there’s a standoff with the guards, focus your negotiations on Minassus as the common threat inside the Sector…just like the ravagers threaten us from outside. Remind them that your men protect everyone in the Sector from the ravagers, including the guards and their families. That should hold them off or at least divide them long enough for me to work on the Regent.”

  “Minassus is evil,” Xander added. “He won’t hesitate to strike where it hurts the most. He will make this personal…against me, to start. His first thought will be that I turned the Chosen against him…which is somewhat true, I suppose.”

  “You did not,” Kiera objected. “You may have provided one breadcrumb that led me here, but I take responsibility for walking this path. We’re in this together, because if I don’t act now, I’m dead anyway.”

  “Thank you,” Xander said. He was still not convinced she should take such a risk, but what choice did they have? He turned to Liam. “If we go through with this, I need you to send some men to get my mother somewhere safe.”

  “I will take care of it right away,” Liam agreed.

  “We are on board,” Xander announced to the group. “Let us meet at my cabin tomorrow at dawn. Reena, can you bring the supplies there?”

  “Yes,” Reena answered. “But as no one suspects anything yet, I should use the tunnels to bring them to the camp tonight. Liam, can you help?”

  “Of course.”

  Kiera added, “I will have to stay here with Coco…to work on the Regent.”

  “Fine. Try to convince him. Just…be careful.”

  “I will,” Kiera agreed. “Before you go, can I show you something…privately?”

  “Liam, let’s get started now,” Reena said, probably taking something more from her friend’s meaning.

  “See you back at camp,” Liam said with a smirk.

  As soon as they left, Kiera took Xander’s hand and pulled him out of the room. She led him back past the underground laboratory, and stopped outside Reena’s small sleeping room.

  He took Kiera’s face in his hands and kissed her, then pulled away briefly to whisper, “I am sorry for not trusting you when we first arrived.”

  “Forget about it. I understand,” she told him. “What I’m about to try with Coco, to stop the Regent…well, it may or may not work. He is strong, and so far, he has not realized exactly what we are up to. That will all change when he knows, and when that happens…what I’m saying is you and your men will not be at the top of his hit list.”

  “Kiera, I—”

  “Let me finish,” she urged, cutting him off as he tried to tell her he would find a way to protect her. “No matter what happens, please stick to the plan. It’s the best chance we have to stop the transformation ceremony.”

  “I get the feeling this is your way of saying goodbye.”

  She smiled softly. “You are more intuitive that you know. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  Xander searched her face, then glanced down her body as she loosened the strap at the waistband of her overcoat. She was completely bare underneath. If this were their last time together, he would make it count.

  17

  Kiera

  Kiera’s pulse quickened as Xander picked her up and carried her into Reena’s overnight room. She snuggled further into his chest, burying her nose into his neck to commit his scent to memory. She would do her best to stop the Regent, but this could very well be their last time together. The prospect of only one more time with him made her almost dizzy with regret and remorse, but if this was it, she had to have him.

  Xander ran his palm along the side of her face, causing tingles in its wake, rousing her once more. Kiera did not break from his gaze as he lowered her to the small bed and slipped the long robe off her shoulders. He stood again to rid himself of his clothes, then got into bed beside her, pulling her into his arms. Wanting to know what he felt like on every inch of her skin, she turned away from him and pressed her back into his large, broad, naked body. The heat radiating from his chest soaked into her back. She exhaled a dreamy sigh, so safe and comfortable she could stay there forever.

  Xander kissed her shoulders, nipping the skin as he caressed her arms, along her sides and down over her hips. She moaned, loving all the heated contact, and the feel of his maleness against her lower back.

  She wanted him right this second.

  After having waited for Reena and Liam to finally leave, she was already aroused and needy. She had gone two long days without him, and all she wanted was to share every inch of herself with him, and explore his body until they were both sated and exhausted. Xander pushed her hair to the side, delivering soft kisses on her neck, up to the back of her ear. He bit her earlobe with his teeth, and she reached a hand up to his head, fisting his hair for some semblance of control.

  He growled out a chuckle as she rocked back against his hardness. “Keep doing that and I won’t be able to help myself. I’ll have to take you right this instant, Kiera.”

  She grinned. Right this instant was all right with her. Arching her back some more, she pressed her ass against his thick erection, savoring the way the muscles in his abdomen tightened up at the same time. He made a satisfied sounding groan deep in his throat and slid his hand over her stomach. A shiver of pleasure traveled from the spot down to her inner thighs, and up to her breasts, making her nipples harden.

  Spreading his palm over the spot, he slid up to cup her breast, circling her nipple with one finger.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned, letting out a breathy sound.

  He lifted his head up, looming over her. With a grin, he turned her to rest on her back and got between her legs. Just the sensation of his muscular legs brushing up against her inner thighs made her insane. He lowered over her, grinding the firm length of his body against her. He kissed her wildly, sucking and tugging on her lower lip, dipping his tongue into her mouth and alo
ng her teeth, tasting her as though she was food and he was a hungry man. With every touch, her body tightened, and she silently begged for more.

  Xander moved lower, taking some time to nip at the tops of her breasts. She pawed at his back in response, pulling him closer, struggling for more contact. He cupped her breast in one hand, and lowered his lips to entrap her nipple with his mouth, circling the peak with his tongue. God, his tongue alone could drive her wild. She cried out when he picked up the pace and flicked at her nipple, and when she wrapped her legs around his hips, lifting up to his throbbing length to rub her heat against him, he smiled against her breast. Xander seemed to be fixated on her breasts tonight. He blew one, then the other, and then licked each one and started all over again, continuing his torture.

  There was no space between their bodies, but Kiera found a way to wedge her hand down and found his massive manhood. God, it was so big, her fingers barely made it around his width. She had no idea how all of it had managed to fit inside her. Just touching it made her wet and dripping, throbbing deep in her core, longing to be filled again. She ran her fingers along its length, and Xander groaned against her sensitive breasts. His hips rocked into her hand, thrusting his hardness between her fingers. She took the hint, moving up and down his rigid shaft, more and more aroused as she fondled every corded muscle.

  Whatever she was doing, he was enjoying it enough to move his attention from her breasts down to their midsections. Lifting his head, he looked down at her for a moment, then moved her hand off his manhood. Xander made his way lower, kissing down to her lower stomach. He paused at her mound and blew a hot breath on the spot. Christ, her core clenched with excited anticipation when he positioned himself between her legs and parted her thighs even wider. Gripping his shoulders, she closed her eyes and took a breath, exhaling only after his tongue passed over her hot, swollen bud.

  She lifted her hips, eager for his touch, and let out a soft cry when he gripped her thighs with a force she had not expected. Seeming to have waited forever to taste her again, Xander let his tongue travel around her folds, then pressed his mouth to her center. He dipped his tongue deep inside her, letting it move slowly in and out before moving back to her sensitive flesh. She was gasping and moaning, utterly affected, filled with pleasure now, core pulsing and hungry.