“I always knew you had a dark side to you, Aurora. But imagine my surprise when I find out you’re not just a murderer, but that you killed your own father!” She laughed and clapped her hands together in glee. My stomach rolled.

“Kai! Sylvia!” I screamed.

Prudence flung her hand out quickly dousing me with mist. I felt like cement had been poured down my veins; I couldn’t move.

***

Kai was shaking my body now. I watched, helpless. Emma ran into the room. Kai must have summoned her.

“Get Max and Sylvia!” Kai roared.

Emma paled when she saw my limp frame in Kai’s hands.

***

I felt so heavy. Prudence walked back to my parents’ old room and reappeared with a little girl. She looked scared. She must have been four years old and had long inky black hair. She clung to the witch.

“Auntie, why am I here?” she asked Prudence.

The witch looked at me. “Because your mommy owes me a favor, little one.”

I lifted my right leg up a few inches and stepped forward.

Prudence pulled a small knife out and pointed it at the little girl. “Don’t push me!” she yelled at me. I stood still, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. “Do you have any idea what I am capable of?” she asked me.

“I can bring people back from the dead! I can make a poor fat man rich with women and gold. I can even bleed a child to make a woman fertile.” She smiled wickedly.

“No!” I screamed. I tried to use my magic but it was no use. I had a blanket over my powers.

***

Back with my body I sensed Sylvia. She entered the room and grabbed her chest. “No! I should have taught her more. She should be learning protections spells. This is what happens when someone with her power doesn’t know how to be a witch!” Sylvia was beside herself. I have never seen her this flustered.

Kai was barely holding onto his human form. “Fix it! What’s happening?” he roared.

Sylvia pulled her shaking hand from her purse and began lining the room with salt. “Dark dark magic. Old magic. I can’t fix this. Her soul has been split. And I haven’t taught her enough to fix it herself.”

***

Back in my dream, I stared at Prudence. “Let the child go!” I roared.

She smiled and put her dagger down. “Okay, would you rather I used Emma’s baby?” The glean in her eye made me sick. There wasn’t a scrap of humanity left in this woman. I couldn’t reason with her.

“If you touch Emma, I will kill you.” I glared. “Well, I’m going to kill you anyway.” I looked at the little girl. Her lip was quivering, her head down. Could you kill someone in the dream world? I didn’t want to find out. A thought struck me. I closed my eyes and concentrated. ‘Nahuel, help! I need you.’

***

Kai breathed in deep through his nostrils just as there was a knock at the door. Max had gathered in the doorway to the room. He left to see who was at the door and returned with Nahuel. Kai growled and hugged my body protectively. Nahuel creased his brow and looked at Sylvia then again at Kai. “You’re not doing a very good job at protecting her are you?” he mused aloud.

Kai growled again. “Why are you here?”

Nahuel pulled a feather and a dried sage bundle from his satchel. “Your mate invited me. She woke me from a nice dream.”

Kai didn’t trust him. I could see that but I could also see his desperation. Nahuel put the tip of the sage bundle to his bare palm and it ignited with flames.

“Show off,” Sylvia murmured.

He blew out the flame and a long stream of smoke rose up to the ceiling. He began fanning the smoke with the feather.

“Listen to my words, Kai. You are Aurora’s one true mate, her Alpha, her pack leader, her soul mate. Like two drops in the ocean, I cannot tell where one begins and the other ends. You must use your link with Aurora to go into her mind. Take her mind into your power. Flood her with your presence. Saturate her every being with your love. Free her from the binds that hold her. Remind her that nothing can hold power over her without her permission. Tell her that she is the creator of her destiny.” Nahuel came closer to Kai and grabbed his ankle with a firm grip.

Kai flinched.

“Let yourself go. I will keep your spirit grounded to this world. I will keep your soul together. I will protect you,” Nahuel said.

Kai swallowed hard. I could see his pride flaring up. He didn’t think he needed the protection. He didn’t want to seem weak. He didn’t want to trust an outsider. He also didn’t want to lose me.

Max stepped into the room. “Kai, do as he says. If he makes a move to harm you, I will kill him.”

Nahuel tried to stifle a laugh. I wanted to tell Max that I had seen Nahuel stop time and so I was pretty sure he would be hard to kill.

Kai nodded and rested his forehead on mine. My skin was grey and sweat beaded my forehead.

“Meri Pyari, let me in,” he whispered.

***

In the dream world, Prudence was preparing an altar of some kind. She lit candles and began chanting. The little girl seemed frozen now. She was unable to run. I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the woods behind our house. A large ball of light was floating towards me. I tried to run to it but I couldn’t. The light became brighter. “Kai!” I looked down at my body. This was a dream. I didn’t need a body, right? I shed my body and I too became a ball of light. My ball of light raced towards Kai’s light and the two balls crashed together sending out sparks like fireworks. I opened my eyes in the dream. Prudence was grabbing her dagger now. I looked down at my body, except it wasn’t my body, it was my wolf’s and it wasn’t just me; Kai was with me, inside me. We were one.