The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 70

ALPHA MARK

through that again.

I was seeing red as I looked at this arrogant sorcerer. He had just threatened my family, and he didn't know what he was getting himself into. I had almost lost my family once when Adira was kidnapped before the children were even born. I would not let myself go I changed into my werewolf form, shredding my clothes in the process.

"If you see the sorcerer, Winslow, detain him immediately. He is a threat to the pack. You don't have to keep him alive." I sent the link out to all of the warriors, so everyone would be on alert. Winslow would not leave here alive if he laid one hand on Caulder. I lunged forward, ready to pin Winslow to the ground, but he blinked away from the room.

"Do you know where he went?" I linked Adira.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyes snapped open after a few seconds. "He's in Caulder's room."

Adira was a mix of scared and angry, and I could see her body shaking. We couldn't catch a break. I would rather have myself be the target of all of these attacks, instead of our children, but the twins were special. Because of that, I knew they would face a difficult life, but it didn't make me want to change places with them any less. I just wanted to protect my family.

"You go first," I told her. I charged out of the room, knowing I would be fastest in my werewolf form.

Adira vanished in the blink of an eye, and I knew she had shifted after Winslow. I rushed through the pack house, drawing all eyes to me. Any warrior that saw me joined me as I raced up the stairs to Caulder's room.

When I got there, I was expecting Adira to already be fighting the council member, but instead she was pounding her fists against the door, screaming in anger. As I got closer, I saw that she wasn't actually hitting the door. She was hitting an invisible barrier. "He put up a shield," Adira said in frustration. "I can't shift into there. It's blocking out my magic, and I can't even touch the door. We're locked outside."

I growled and sprinted forward, slamming my body into the door, but it did no good. I just bounced off of it, falling to the floor. It wouldn't be easy to get past this barrier, if we could even get past it at all.

-

CAULDER

A cold shiver ran down my body, causing me to jolt awake. The air felt thick and foggy, and for a moment, I thought I was dreaming. I took a few breaths and looked at my hands. The hair on my arms rose, and I knew this wasn't a dream.

I gently shook Harper awake, knowing that there was something very off about what was happening. We needed to be on alert.

Harper grunted and turned over in the bed. She had accidentally fallen asleep with me last night, which was becoming a common occurrence.

"It's too early," Harper complained as I shook her again. She refused to open her eyes.

"Harper. Something is wrong. Wake up," I said.

She only hummed in response. I was about to shake her again, but a shadowy figure appeared through the fog.

"Caulder," Winslow said, the fog clearing around him.

I jumped to my feet and stood between Harper on the bed and the sorcerer. There was something off about Winslow's energy, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. He was up to something.

"What are you doing in my room? Don't you understand boundaries?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the sorcerer the entire time.

"Harper, I need you to wake up and get out of here right now," I linked, making my voice as loud as possible.

Harper flung forward, gasping when she realized we weren't alone. She started to climb out of the bed, but Winslow lifted his hand up, making her freeze in her tracks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sweetheart," Winslow cautioned. There was something sinister in his voice today that usually wasn't there. My stomach twisted, understanding he wasn't here with good intentions. "No one can leave or enter this room right now without me explicitly allowing them to do so."

I looked around the room, and even through the haze of the fog, I could see the walls glimmering. He had put up some sort of shield or protection spell around the room. I had never created one myself, but Ginger taught me how to look at them. She always had a protection spell on the pack house that didn't allow any unwanted sorcerers to shift into our space. Winslow had been an exception to the rule, since my parents had made a deal with him. I was starting to think we should change that exception.

"What's going on here?" I asked, trying to keep a level head. Winslow definitely pushed boundaries. That was clear when he had talked to me behind my parents' backs about training me. However, I had never sensed a mal-intent from him before. Something about today was different. Alarm bells were ringing in my head, and I hated that Harper was with me.

"I am here to collect on your promise," Winslow said. "You agreed to train with me, and I need you to come with me now."

"First of all, I never promised I would train with you. I said I would think about it, but things have changed. Remy needs me here," I said. With the information about Draven and Remy getting her magic back, I had changed my mind about training with Winslow. I didn't think it would be a big deal, especially because he had disappeared for several weeks. I had just assumed he had changed his mind, but clearly that was a bad assumption.

"Second of all," I continued, "This feels like you are trying to force me to do what you want, and I'm not interested in that. Why don't you drop the magic shield around my room and let us leave here?"

Winslow smirked. "Clever boy. You can see the magic barrier I put up? This is why I need you to train with me. You have so much promise, and I can really make something out of you."

"Not interested," I said simply.

Winslow took a step towards me. "I see you have the same issue as your mother. You think you have a choice in the matter. Whether or not you said the words 'I promise' doesn't matter to me. We need you to train with us, so you will train. This is an official command from the Council of Magic, and going against us will be considered treason."

I could feel Harper's fear through our mate bond, and I just wanted to hold her and tell her it would be okay, but I wasn't sure if I could confidently say that to her.

"Mom, Dad, Winslow is here. I need you to come to my room immediately," I tried to link, but I could feel the connection being blocked. I didn't have a way to reach out for help, so I would have to take care of it myself.

"We don't answer to the Council of Magic," I said after my failed attempt to contact someone. My mother had made it clear a long time ago that we were not and would not ever be under the rule of the Council of Magic. Threatening me by saying I was committing treason meant nothing to me.

Winslow narrowed his eyes. "Whether or not you think you follow the Council of Magic no longer matters to us. You are a sorcerer, and it's as simple as that. We are requesting your help, so you will help us. You don't have a choice in the matter. Now don't cause any trouble here, son. Come with me peacefully, and this will go better for you."

"I'm not going with you," I said, keeping my voice firm. I stood my ground and summoned the alpha energy I knew was deep inside of me. I hoped to make myself seem as strong as possible to stop Winslow from trying anything.

"This is your last chance. Are you going to do this the hard way or the easy way?" Winslow was annoyed and over this conversation.

I glanced around the room, trying to figure out if there was anything I could use to help me get out of here or fight Winslow. When I saw nothing, I knew that it was going to be up to me and my magic. Luckily, I was a future star sorcerer who was also training to be the alpha and training to fight against vampires. Winslow picked the wrong person to mess with.

"Leave me alone now. This is your last warning." I charged the magic deep within me, ready to fight Winslow if it came down to it. I was just hoping this was a bluff, and he would back off when he realized I couldn't be controlled. "Hard way it is then," Winslow said.

I created a ball of magic, ready to attack him, but then he snapped his fingers. The sound of his snap echoed around the room, and Harper appeared in Winslow's arms. He pulled a knife from thin air and held it up to her throat.

Winslow's eyes were dark with power. It felt like this was his true form and every other time I had seen him was just a facade. "You will train with me, or I will slice your girlfriend's throat. I'm done playing games with you, so what will it be? Your girlfriend's life or you willingly come with me to train with the Council of Magic?"