“We have not put our wolf magic on him in vain,” Nadir snarled with a blatant hiss. “We have done so in order to mark our place in the battle between light and darkness. We will always stand for the light, no matter what.”

“Wolf magic?” I said timidly. “What is that?”

Nadir just shook his head and laughed.

Then, as I followed closely behind him, and exited the comfort and safety of my home…

I watched him shift into a wolf, right before my very eyes. It was utterly horrifying. I had never seen such a thing as this.

One member of the pack, one who looked sickly in particular, then began to rehearse some type of dark enchantment — one that made me feel a bit queasy, at the mere thought of exposure to its presence.

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all?” a mysterious voice in wolf form bellowed from behind me. I thought that maybe it was just a reflection of the fear that I felt from within.

My heart was pounding fervently inside my chest. Confusion sliced through my entire body. Darkness strongly lingered; I could feel it practically dripping in the atmosphere.

But it seemed to be another wolf from the Wolves of Spirit pack. One of those brutal men who had shifted, mirroring Nadir completely.

“What do you want with Christian? What the hell do you want with me?” my voice quavered, shivering in my seat. A cold draft seemed to have overtaken me where I stood with them out in my snowy Alaskan yard.

“We do not want Christian. We already have him. We want you,” the wolf sang in what sounded like a sickly enchantment. -make it clear that she put the spell on him since he’s also magical

“Witchy girl. You belong with us…. Not here alone.”

Scowling darkly at him, the stupid numbskull, I knew that it was going to take some true fighting before I was able to destroy them.

“Please don’t do anything against him. I mean it.” I ran my hands through my hair, something I always did when I felt nervous or afraid or else just discombobulated.

Suddenly, before I knew what was even occurring, the wolf who seemed to detest Christian the most, put some type of spellbinding magic on me that left me feeling utterly decapitated.

I felt so helpless, so unable to do anything within my own power, that it seemed almost uncanny.

Carefully observing my surroundings as I followed the pack blindly, I took note of how dreamy and ethereal it was outside, in spite of how dark and grotesque the Wolves of Spirit had made me feel as I followed close behind them.

I had never witnessed a dreamier, gentler atmosphere around me. It was so unexpected, so very out of the blue, that the beauty became truly visible in ways it hadn’t before.

“Where are you taking us?” I scowled, fiercely raising my voice as I fought against the blistering cold. “Christian and I do not wish to be held captive against our will.”

But the Wolves of Spirit, particularly the leader of the entire pack—who were now all in their human forms again—were still whispering among each other, refusing to look at Christian or at me. I heard my name mentioned a few times.

If they already had him, then what was the issue?

“You know, I’m right here,” I cried, disgruntled that the wolves were discussing me while directly in front of me.

But as the wolves were having their discussion, I decided that I would attempt to put my magic to the test. I needed to try it, for as desperately as I was struggling.

Closing my eyes, I muttered an enchantment that I knew would awaken Christian to the truth, if it worked. Not only that, but it would cause him to fall even more in love with me than he had in the past.

I had to at least try it. I had nothing to lose.

Whispering a magic incantation under my breath, I cried out in foreign tongues: “Christian me da Esperanza contra toda esperanza…”

Inhaling deeply, I could feel my nostrils beginning to flare up as I let out an involuntary scream. It was so utterly fanatical, the feeling that I got from the spell that I had cast.

“Make it stop,” I moaned as I fought against the powers of darkness, the feral spirits that threatened to choke me, to enclose around my throat. It was so utterly terrifying that I felt this close to the brink of death, so despondent, so listless, so tired of being so close, yet so far, from the miracle that was life.

I certainly did need a miracle to save me.

“Ashlee, are you there?” Gaping open-mouthed over at Christian, I scowled, thoroughly disgruntled. Now wasn’t the time to ask. I did love him, but this was too f*cking painful for me to handle.

“Why are you talking with her now?” Nadir snarled at Christian. “Knock it off and focus on what’s real. She is ours.”

“I’m sorry, Ash. I just…. I do care in spite of this. I’m sorry about them,” he whispered, muttering under his breath.

I could feel something piercing through my heart. Something utterly terrifying yet so seductively beautiful.

“How do you feel about me, Christian?” I could feel myself trembling as we stood outside in the cold. It felt like everything had been put on pause, the entire scene and atmosphere before me as I knew it. And that it was just him and me, alone, not with the terrifying pack.

“Ashlee. I’ve always loved you even before you tried to put that spell on me.”

I felt utterly mortified, but I couldn’t possibly show it. My hands flew to my cheeks instantly as I realized subconsciously that I was turning fifty shades pinker.

“How did you know?” I whispered in sheer horror. “I tried to put my magic on you but I… I feel like it failed.”

“It’s okay, Ash. I understand your feelings completely. I can feel the magic through our soul bond.”

I felt like I was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. It wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t we be alone? I was terrified that we were being kidnapped together.

“There is no way in hell that you love me,” I whispered frantically, feeling like an absolute maniac. “I’m sorry…”

At that point, Christian proved me wrong, because he intentionally placed his hands on me, pulling me ever closer to him, quite so gently. “I love you, Ashlee. Please don’t forget about that.”

I must admit, it initially felt awkward between us, but then it slowly morphed into an ethereal dream.

Christian didn’t exactly seem experienced. Especially if he, too, was a wolf. But the more that he kissed me so tenderly, the more at home I felt. My heart began to melt into his as I felt our soul tie deepening, expanding ever so swiftly.

My hands darted maddeningly across his chest. In my heart, I felt truly windswept by his soft, erotic tongue extending toward the back of my throat as our lips touched. I could feel my heart fluttering as I truly treasured this ever shifting evening of pure paradise.

It was such a soft, beautiful segue into the paradise that surrounded me, no matter how lost I was to its true meaning.

Releasing my lips from his at last, I took Christian by the hand and began to explore my immediate surroundings.

“Wow,” I breathed as I mesmerically took in the atmosphere of the place where the Wolves of Spirit had brought us. It seemed too utterly enchanting for words.

All around me, I was taking in the atmosphere of what seemed to be both a haunted and enchanting manor. I breathed melodically as I took note of the sheer, raw, enigmatic beauty that surrounded me.

It reminded me so greatly of the most peaceful, serene, paradisiacal heaven on earth. My angel on earth, my Christian, had brought me here, under the pretense of being perfectly normal and perfectly human.

It was certainly not what I had expected.

If anything, I had anticipated delving further into darkness, based on the treatment that I had received in my home from the Wolves of Spirit. But this? This was far more idealistic, far more surreal, than I ever could have wished for or imagined.

“Do you know where we are?” Christian inquired at long last, as I realized that such a long stretch of silence had passed between us.

“Of course not,” I replied, likely sounding far more snappy and rude than I had initially intended.

“I’m so sorry,” I said apologetically, almost immediately, after I realized how harsh I had sounded. “But I just have never been here before and so I’m anxious to explore, to find out what is truly going on here.”

“It’s my home. But I can show you around,” Christian replied wisely, astutely. It seemed as though he knew everything that I just didn’t. I felt so stupid compared to him.

“And you live here with… them?” I asked, puzzled, confused. “Please do explain. And how do you know them?”

“Well, I…. I honestly was born a wolf and so were they. It’s just not something that I’m proud of. But you can keep my little secret, right?” Gaping at him, I could tell that he knew I was both impressed and horrified. He smiled back at me timidly and he continued to show me our surroundings, for as vast and vivid as they were.

“How long have you been living here?” I didn’t wish to sound so suspicious, but I truly didn’t understand this. I didn’t get how this was appealing to him in any way, to be so secluded from reality and humanity, or to just.. live the lifestyle of a wolf.

And yet, he possessed the type of courage and sense of adventure that I only wished I had.

“Well, it’s been quite some time. I wish I could have taken you on some of my adventures in the past, because Mavet and I embarked on a few trips that were particularly special to me. And I just think you would have really enjoyed it.”

Shaking my head at Christian, I shuddered internally. I wanted to believe that his intentions with me were entirely pure. But I had so many different reasons for doubting, for believing the worst about others, especially men.

“What is it?” Christian seemed to have picked up on the darkness, the haunting chill that I felt in my heart at the mention of Mavet’s name.

“I’m cold,” I snapped. I knew I was being rude again, but the way my heart felt whenever Christian even so much as mentioned Mavet… It did things to me that I had a very, very hard time with combating. I had no idea who they were, but maybe I didn’t want to.

“Why? Ash?” I didn’t wish to go into further detail about it. And yet, I still felt obligated to explain myself to Christian, somehow.

If I was going to be his girlfriend, or at least, a love interest of some type…

I must at least explain myself to him, or be willing to explain my feelings.

“Fine. I just… Well, I can’t help but feel jealous of Mavet, somewhat. I don’t know who that is and you just suddenly brought them up in conversation like they’re important to you or something. I’m sorry.”

I felt beyond guilty for expressing these types of sentiments to Christian, especially since we didn’t truly know each other well. But I knew that if we were going to live happily ever after, just like I had always desired in fairy tales, I was going to have to grin and bear it. To swallow my fears, to confess them more directly to Christian.

“Ashlee, I really don’t know what you’re so concerned about. Mavet and I do have a history, yes. But it’s complicated and I don’t know that I can tell you everything just yet.”

“But you… You’ve never been in my shoes so you can’t properly say that you understand my situation, Christian. Believe it or not, I probably know Mavet. And I don’t exactly like whoever they are.”

So it wasn’t fully true, maybe not.

But I didn’t care, it didn’t matter. I just wanted to know what the h*ll I would be up against so I could prepare for whatever came next.