Spell Bound

Arabella

I feel myself slowly regaining consciousness, but I have yet to open my eyes.

The last thing that I can recall is seeing that the damn alpha escaped my chains. I should have known that he was pretending that I really had him trapped. Just like he pretended that I caught him off guard in the forest.

The most embarrassing part of all of this nonsense is that he had successfully used my own herbs against me.

I fight the urge to let out a groan from all the pain that I am feeling at once. My head is throbbing, my ears are ringing and my muscles feel like I had just got done running a marathon.

All of these pains are side effects from the disgusting wolf improperly using the herbs on me.

That just shows how uncultured these wolves really are. Any being with any type of knowledge would know that a little goes a long way. Even I was kind enough to Lucian to use only a small dosage of the herbs against him.

I don’t have to worry about being kind to the wolf anymore. I will follow through with my plan of killing him. After that I will take revenge against my ex-coven, and then go into hiding.

The fact that I get to kill him on his own territory only makes my retribution against him so much sweeter.

I continue to feign sleep and keep my breathing even as I try to come up with a plan that will get me out of this mess with minimal blood shed.

I start to slowly feel out my surroundings, and I realized that I have to be in someone’s bedroom.

The soft material of what has to be a pillow is under my head, and the duvet covering my body lets me know that I am not being held captive in a shitty place.

I am also not being restrained by anything.

I successfully fight the smirk that wants to form on my face. Alpha Lucian really is not as clever as he thinks he is. With his power surging throughout my body a basic sleeping spell will knock out him and his entire pack in one fatal swoop. Then I will be able to kill him and waltz right out of here.

The longer that I lay in the bed pretending to be asleep the more I become aware that I am being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my heart starts to beat at an erratic pace and the blood rushing throughout my body is causing it to heat up.

Alpha Lucian is watching me. It has to be. No one else has gotten my body to respond the way it is right now other than him.

That damn mutt has the audacity to be in the same room as me while leaving me unrestrained. His arrogance knows no bounds, yet it is convenient to me. Easier to kill him because of it.

“How would you rate your stay here? Out of five stars Arabella?” Alpha Lucian’s voice hangs in the air.

I drop my act, gritting my teeth while sitting up from the bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed, the sly smile on his lips as he mocks me is enough to send me into a blinding rage.

The easiest spell to cause pain to any being. It brings the blood in the beings body from their regular temperature, up to two-hundred. So their blood is almost boiling.

I don’t even have to say the incantation for my spells and charms anymore. I am just that powerful.

I smirk as I envision Lucian with the dealing with the effects of my spell, but as he continues to stare at me with that damn smile I realize that it is not working.

“Do you not remember Bella?” He asks tauntingly. “You and I have started a mating ritual. Your magic won’t work on me.”

I stay silent while I glare at him, anticipating his next move. He knows that I am currently powerless over him, he knows it and I hate him for it. He keeps his calm gaze on me, his stare feeling like a soft physical caress. This is nothing but the affects of the ritual that he forced me into taking root.

He slowly stands from the bed, causing me to follow his actions. Making sure the bed is placed in between us I gather all of the courage that I have left, glaring right into his obsidian eyes. “You enforced this mating shit between us. End it now!” I demand.

“Enforced? I did not force you to do anything. It was your choice to submit your body to my mark.” He made sure to emphasize on the word submit, and that was enough to make me see red.

“I don’t know who you think you are messing with, but let me tell you this right now. I am currently the most powerful witch on the planet. I have the ability to wipe out you and the rest of your little mutt friends. Get rid of this bond, let me go and maybe I will allow you to live.” I threaten.

He lets out a chuckle. “Fortunately for me, it is impossible to stop the mating ritual.” He gloats. “Even if it was possible, I wouldn’t do it. Why wouldn’t I want to be tied to my mate in every way possible?” He asked.

I noticed that when he began speaking he started to walk closer to me, which only caused me to back away from him.

“I am not your mate. I know I have been dealt a bad hand in life, but there is nothing that I have done that would warrant the punishment of being tied to a damn wolf.” I continue to walk backwards until my back hit the wall.

He stops a few feet in front of me. “Your words wound me Bella.” I wince at the nickname, but he carries on as if he didn’t notice. “I believe that I have been blessed by having you as a mate. You are perfect in every single way. Powerful, opinionated, and passionate. The only thing that we need to work on is your temper.”

I glare at him because of his words. “I don’t have a temper.” I quickly glance to my right to see a vase full of an arrangement of pink and red Teuila torch flowers sitting on the nightstand next to the bed.

I am not sure how he got flowers from my grandmother's native land here, but now is not the time to be asking him anything. He won't break the bond between the two of us, then I will just have to do it myself.

"Yes, you do. It is something that we will work on to-" His words cut off as I swiftly grab the face and swing it towards his face.

His reflexes were too fast for me. He raised his fist in the vase's path, and it feels like I watch the vase shatter around it in slow motion.

I feel my lips part as I watch the last pieces of the vase hit the ground. I glance back up at him again, and before he can say anything else I hop onto the bed, trying to make it to the door without stepping on any glass.

Again his reflexes prove to be better than mine, when he made it around the bed and swiped my legs from under me before I could make it to the other side of the bed.

As soon as my back landed on the soft mattress, his body hovered over mine. His left hand collected both of my wrists and his right hand grasped my hip in a firm hold.

"As I was saying my little spitfire, we will work on that temper together." He continued.

Before I could respond, his lips descended upon the mark that he left on my neck, effectively silencing me.

My teeth sank into my bottom lip as he began to switch between biting, licking and sucking on my neck. He began to get more aggressive with his actions. He catches the flesh in my neck between his teeth, causing my back to arch pressing our chests together.

He hums out his approval, his right hand traveling across my back to hold onto my waist, crushing our bodies together. Instinctively my arms wrapped around his neck as he continued his pleasurable assault on my mark.

Even though I was this close to him when he marked me I was too coiled up with nervousness to truly appreciate his scent.

His natural scent is very earthy, reminding me of sandalwood. The more I breathed in his spicy, sensual scent the more I felt my resolve start to melt.

I felt as if I was not in control of my body, as my legs wrapped around his torso, and small moans began to leave my mouth.

I tried to fight my wrists out of his grip wanting to feel his hair in my hands, but he just tighetned his hold and bit down onto my mark once again.

I relaxed my body and moaned out my submission. Je rewarded me by peppering small kisses up and down my neck.

He slowly lowered my body down onto the bed, before leaning down to gently place his lips on mine. He softly brushed his lips against mine.

"You will have to learn how to admit defeat." He whispers against my lips.

Hearing the word defeat cross his lips completeky snapped me out of the lustful haze that was I pulled into.

I buck up my hips, effectively catching him off guard, before crashing my forehead into his nose. I hear the crack off of the impact, but I don't give myself time to see his reaction.

I jump off of the bed, this time making it to the door. I snatch it open and am met with a door across the hallway, and many doors that match it all throughout the extremely long hallway.

I don't have time to contemplate which way would be the best way to go. I just choose left and start to run in that direction in the hallway.

I normally wouldn't be able to run fast, but it almost feels as if I am flying through the hallway. It must be my adrenalaine working on overdrive.

I pass by plenty of wolves, but they make no move to stop me. They actually stepped aside and make sure that they stay out of my path.

I don't pay them any mind or attempt to use my magic on them because escaping this place has taken top priority.

I continue to run occasionally making quick decisions to turn either left or right. This place might as well be a maze because there does not seem to be an end in sight.

I pass another group of wolves who press themselves against the wall in an attempt to stay out of my way. If I didn't have all the information that I have I would have gloated over their fear of me. Assuming that they stayed out of my way because they have knowledge of me overpowering their alpha. Now I know that this was his plot, an attempt to make me his mate.

Just as I am about to give up and attempt a teleportation spell that might backfire I see a flight of stairs that lead to a door. I begin to push myself to run even faster, the adrenaline rushing through my body making it feel like I am flying.

The second that I touch the doorknob, the mark that the mutt left on my neck begins to itch. I try my best to ignore it as I swing the door open and continue to run, not even observing my surroundings.

The sun blinds me for a second, causing me to stumble slightly but I keep pushing. I reach up with my left hand and scratch the mark on my neck, the itch turning into a slight burning pain.

The pain isn't anything that I cannot handle, I will figure out a way to stop it as soon as I get away from the territory occupied by the wolves and get back to Valentina and I's cabin. I know that she said there was no other way to break this ritual between the alpha and I, but there has to be. I will make sure that the two of us will be the ones to find it.

Once I made it to the edge of the forest that surrounds the pack, my body started to slowly work against me. My muscles protested as I continued to run, each step that I take is slower than the last. My vision started to blur, first on the edges, and then my vision was taken from me. I reach out, my hand brushing against a tree, before my entire body weight falls into it. My hands began to shake uncontrollably before my legs collapsed, sending me crashing into the forest floor.

I still need to get out of here, no matter what. I push up, and on my hands and knees begin to slowly crawl in the direction that I was once running.

The farther that I got, worse the symptoms that I was feeling got. Even though my vision has been completely taken from me, I can still smell the foul wolves and know that I need to go in the opposite direction.

The burning sensation that was just a little sting on my neck has now traveled throughout my body. Within minutes, I was completely unable to move my body. I laid out on the forest floor as sweat had gathered on my forehead and on my arms. Taking each inhale and exhale of air was a struggle, and I am sure after a few minutes of this I won't even be able to do that.

I am going to die here, and that was exactly what Alpha Lucian wanted. I am going to die before going back to my grandmother's native land. I am going to die before I am able to truly study magic the way that my ancestors wanted. I am going to die before living the life that I wanted, a life where no one cares that I am different than the others. A life where those around me still love and accept me even though I am not a witch who can practice magic traditionally. The life that I deserved.

I deserved more from the life that I was given. A stupid plan that I didn't think through is going to be the reason that I don't get to see my life through.

A shaky, hoarse laugh escapes my lips as I continue to struggle to breath. "Should have listened to Valentina." I whisper softly.

I feel my breaths start to get shallower, letting me know that my time is coming to an end. Even though I didn't get to see my plan through, at least I will be reunited with my grandmother. I am sure that our ancestors have a spot waiting just for her and I.

Just as I close my eyes, his spicy sandalwood scent wraps around me. The second that I breathed it in, the weight of all the symptoms my body was experiencing disappeared.

As I hear his footsteps get closer, his scent becomes stronger. I take a deep breath of it, the smell warming my lungs in a delightful way.

My vision still has not full returned to me, but I know that the figure that is standing over me is his.

"My spitfire." He speaks softly, his hand brushing one of my curls out of my face. "It was never my intention for you to be in pain." He sighed. "I should have known that you would still persist even when the pain revealed itself."

I feel his arm snake between me and the forest floor, gripping me at my waist, and his other arm cradles my head as he picks me up. His arm slips from my waist to under my knees as he holds me close to my chest.

I immediately wrap my arms around his neck, anchoring myself to him as I breath in his scent.

The most embarrassing part of all of this isn't my failure to escape him. It is the fact that I am happy that he was here to save me.

I should have demanded that he leave me there to die, insisting that I would want to choose death over being permanently tied to a wolf. In death I would at least be able to see my grandmother, and all of the other ancestors who have met m same fate. Now he and I both know that it is not true.

I bury my face into his chest, tears filling my eyes as I continue to breath in his scent, and partially accept my fate.

I am not ready to die.