Branches of Life

Upon impact, the air rushed from my lungs. The pitchback water was icy but was nothing compared to enchanted water. No light penetrated the water, making it impossible to see anything.

A surge of energy raced through my veins as the wall between my wolf and me disappeared. Taking the exhaustion wearing on my body with it. My previously empty and hollow chest was now buzzing with warmth and light. I could've cried at having my wolf back. If I wasn't underwater in unfamiliar territory, I probably would've while hugging my chest and promising to never go near another magical void again.

Desperately needing air, I swam toward what I hoped was the surface, uncomfortable with not being able to see.

I burst to the surface, happy to finally be able to see and breathe fresh air. But I wasn't able to enjoy it for long, because a cold and slimy hand gripped my ankle, and yanked me back under. Kicking out with my other foot, I connected with something, but it wasn't enough to loosen its hold. Of course that didn't deter me. My nails formed into claws as I bent at the waist, and swiped them at the creature. A gurgled wail came from below me, and the creature's hold loosened enough for me to kick free.

Swimming toward the surface, my lungs started to get uncomfortable with the lack of air. Before I could get far, a slimy body plowed into me from the side, sharp teeth digging into my shoulder. I swiped my claws at it, my movements slowed by the water. When my claws made contact, its hold on my shoulder loosened. Blindly thrashing about with my arms and legs, I eventually freed myself from its grasp.

My lungs burned with the desperate need to breathe. The attack left me disoriented with no sense of direction, not knowing which way was up. Panic built in my chest as I blindly swam around.

An arm wrapped around my waist, pressing my body against a strong and warm chest. All the panic building up, tightening my chest, disappeared as relief took its place. Not even a couple of seconds later, I was greedily breathing in the fresh air.

"Wrap your arms around me," Koa ordered, shifting me toward his back.

"I can swim," I protested breathlessly, but he ignored me and continued pushing me onto his back. Knowing this wasn't the place to have an argument I wouldn't win, I wrapped my arms around his upper chest.

We were almost fifty feet away from the cliff, and nearly a mile from the shores of the land blanketed in a thick white mist. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him we were too far away when a portal appeared in front of us. Without hesitation, we swam through it and landed on the foggy side of the river.

The swirling mist was so thick, I could barely see a couple of feet in front of me. It swirled around my legs and up my body, its touch cool and light. Almost like it was alive. The fog covered the ground in a thick blanket, hiding my feet from me. Kicking out with my foot, I momentarily dislodged some of the mist, before it returned to its previous position. With the mist coating everything, a permanent chill hung in the air. A shiver raced down my spine, and I was unsure if it was from the cold or if it was something else.

Ari called out my name, relief heavy in her voice as she appeared from the mist. She just about knocked me over with her rib-crushing hug. I flinched when she grazed my tender shoulder, and she pulled away with a frown, stopping to observe my injury. "What the hell got you?" Keeping her touch light, she moved the strap of my shirt and bra out of the way.

"You really need to stop getting hurt." Harmony heaved out a sigh, appearing to my right with Ander and Starling close behind. Ari stepped back, letting Harmony have a look. As she checked out my shoulder, I took the time to look her over. Color had returned to her face, and her eyes were no longer glazed over.

"I've lost count of how many times you've been hurt the past couple of days," Ander said, holding Harmony's bag for her.

Koa made a noise of agreement and I shot him a dark look. One he just chuckled at. It was almost like he figured out my obsession with his smiles and laughs, and now did that shit on purpose, just to throw me off my game.

Rowan nuzzled against me and I combed my fingers through her wet fur. "Thank you," I murmured softly. She hadn't known me long, yet she'd been willing to risk being sucked into a void, rather than leave me.

'You are my little wolf, my pup. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you.' Her solemn eyes held mine.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I continued petting her head as I tried not to cry. After spending hours without feeling her energy and not hearing her speak, I wouldn't be taking her for granted.

The memory of how we survived the tornado sprang to the forefront of my mind, making me gasp as I turned to face Ari. "What the hell saved us?" I hadn't been able to see anything, but whatever caused it was powerful.

Ari bit her lip as she shook her head. "What are you talking about?" Ander asked, shaking the water from his hair.

"Jade and Ari were almost sucked into the tornado, but some unknown burst of energy disrupted it and sent us flying." Koa was the one to answer, a crease forming between his brows.

Looking down at Rowan, I basically asked her if she knew, just without words. 'All I saw was the color of the energy; pink.'

A pink blast of powerful energy, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It wasn't much to go off of, but it was a start. Surprisingly, the who or what wasn't my big concern right now. "How in the hell was that magic even possible? Wyatt said—Wait, where's Wyatt?" I craned my head around, trying to see if he was hidden by the mist.

"No clue. He told us to stay here, then wandered off," Starling said, sounding distracted as she stared at the ground.

"What is it?" Koa asked, standing so close I could feel his heat seeping through my cold and wet clothes. I leaned back into him, relishing in both the warmth and the fluttering in my chest when he wrapped his arms around my middle. It was a little scary how often I now felt the urge to touch him. Looking for any excuse to do so.

Starling frowned as she squatted, disappearing into the mist, while the rest of us shared confused looks. Almost a minute later she reappeared, eyes wide. "We're in the demon's region."

"How could you possibly know that?" Ander scoffed, not even bothering to look at her. I had no clue what it was about Starling, but for some reason, Ander seemed to have way less patience when it came to her than he did with others.

Starling made a face at Ander's back, and Ari choked out a laugh. Only to abruptly stop when Ander looked her way. "The demonic symbols carved into the concrete, are a pretty good indication," Starling drawled, sounding almost bored as she yanked her hair out of its bun and wrung it out.

That got Ander's attention, and he finally looked at Starling. She paused her actions and pointed at the ground. As if he didn't understand where the concrete was. Both he and Ari disappeared into the mist as they observed the writings. After a couple of minutes, they reappeared.

"I'm not fluent in demonic symbols, but I think I found one for sacrifice," Ari said, looking at Ander.

"I saw one for soul."

"What a nice place, and definitely not a location in a horror movie," I muttered, flinching when Harmony started rubbing a damp rag over my healing shoulder. Which I'd already forgotten was hurt, because that's what happened when I was around Koa. I forgot everything else, except him and how he made me feel.

Which was both scary and thrilling. Scary because I only met him a few days ago, yet I felt so comfortable around him. The way we casually touched every so often as if reassuring ourselves, was not normal in this stage of a relationship. Everything was moving at warp speed and I haven't been able to find a few moments of peace, to really sit and consider everything that's happened. He and I hadn't even talked about our mate bond and how we both felt about it.

"You're sure he told us to stay here?" Koa asked, shifting around behind me as he looked around.

"Unless we all misheard him, he told us to stay put." Ander sighed, crossing his arms.

"He seemed distracted," Harmony added.

"This whole time he's made a big deal about our magic use, and how it would draw creatures to us. Now he wants to stay near where he created a portal? I don't like it and I'm not waiting around for demons to attack."

Ander chuckled softly, but there wasn't anything nice about it. "Look who doesn't like being kept out of the loop."

Koa's body tensed behind mine, and I laced my fingers through his, giving a firm squeeze. "We should look for him, anything could've happened," I said, intervening before either of them could start arguing.

"I second that. I don't like how quiet it is here," Ari added as she eyed the fog.

We stayed grouped together, with Koa and Starling at the front. While Ander and Ari walked at the back of the group. As we wandered through the mist, I strained my ears to listen for anything or anyone else. But it was as Ari said; quiet. That of course didn't mean anything. I remembered Ari telling me about how the woman in Portland blocked all sounds from the alley.

Ragged and harsh breaths sounded right behind me like someone was leaning over my shoulder and breathing directly into my ear, but when I looked over my shoulder no one was there. A chill raced down my spine, followed by a burning and clawing sensation. My mouth opened in a soundless cry as my body froze in place. Pure terror flooded my body and my breathing picked up. In the distance, I saw distorted figures in the mist, headed directly for me.

When I looked for the others, hoping they saw it too, they were gone.