Stranded with my mates: Rejected & Claimed

Chapter 74: Chapter 74

When morning came again, I woke before the rest. Dawn had reached the island, the pale-gray light touching down on the sleeping earth. I stoked the fire, wrapping my arms around my legs at its edge.

The ocean waves could be heard over the trees as the morning birds and bugs were still quietly resting in their homes. The wide-awake feeling in my chest gave me a hyper excitement for the coming day.

I should wait for the others to wake, but the idea of exercising my powers was too enticing to wait. I would only try for a minute, I told myself. The same as yesterday, keep it controlled and only observe.

Closing my eyes and moving into a seated position with my hands on my knees in a meditation pose, I took a deep breath in as I prepared myself. My back felt cold while the heat of the growing fire touched the exposed skin at my front.

To start, I cleared my mind. Breathing and listening, connecting myself to the crashing sound that echoed in the distance. A peacefulness fell over me as I concentrated and I knew it was the perfect time.

I leaned into the building energy, watching the feeling closely as my nerve endings began to tingle. Calling for it to hear my command, I let it grow through my chest and spread through the air. My seat rooted me into the dirt, an anchor as the air became denser.

Opening my eyes slowly, the flames of the fire before me sparked with a deep, licking purple hue. I looked around, feeling the presence of the power outside of myself. The space around me filled with a tinted fog, ending at the edges of the forest.

I breathed, holding the calm control that sat with me. I was only supposed to be watching, I told myself. Observe the energy, don’t use it. But temptation had me so curious, I couldn’t resist. Reaching out, fingers threading through the dewy mist, I pulled at the field of energy.

The ends of the fog warped, changing from a perfect circle into wavy edges that spread and receded in chaotic forms. I pushed it further out and it stretched, struggling to pass a certain unspeakable point.

I wondered if my powers had a certain proximity where they worked. Being outside of the circle meant safety. My mouth parted as I thought of Marek. Or being in the circle meant safety for him. If I could see the perimeter of his control then maybe I could grow it, or make it disappear completely.

Looking back to the bunkhouse, I listened for any movement or signs of life. After a moment, I became confident they were still fast asleep and raised both hands to push the light further out.

The circle expanded, pressing against the end of the barrier with an uncomfortable force. My body felt as if it were draining as I struggled to extend the boundary. It stretched and fizzled, a static electricity that had no source beyond the attachment to my body.

With a huff I dropped my hands, needing a different angle. Thinking hard, I wondered if expanding the circle was the wrong choice. If I were trapped in my own enchantments then maybe the circle was holding them inside of me. If I popped the bubble then there wouldn’t be anymore space keeping the curses rooted.

It felt as though I were playing chef when my experience was no greater than a dishwasher, but I had to try something. I sucked in my breath and tensed up, tightening my skin as I pulled the force back.

It crept slowly back, falling over itself as my chest collected its essence. The more it traveled the easier it was for me to control it. I was learning its technique and teaching it to obey my command.

I grew excited, the thought that I may finally be able to break the spells and fix everything all on my own before the others even rose from their slumber made me push harder. The mist drew back faster, its extension reaching the bunkhouse.

With the next inhale, the bunkhouse entered the clearing, my circle leaving its tendrils at the front of the door. A yip made my heart drop.

Suddenly, a mixture of growls, barks, and whimpering erupted from the hut before a crash made me jump. The wolves broke through the side of the hut, biting at each other in a tornado of fur and teeth.

I let go of my hold and the fog jumped back to its original size with a rushing force. The sounds of the obvious dog fight didn’t end. Their colors blurred together, ripping at each other’s fur and I jumped to my feet.

Ready to intervene, I called to my powers to make them stop. Whatever consequence came up, I would deal with as long as they would stop trying to kill each other. The energy rose, then fell away. Confused, I tried again. Bringing out the energy only to have it fall flat at the tips of my fingers. I had drained it after forcing the others into their wolf forms.

Jax ran off first, the giant brown wolf chasing after him while biting at his heels. Grayson was at Marek’s back. The sleek black fur shimmered as he gripped Marek’s neck in his jaws. They disappeared and I began to panic where I stood.

I moved with uncertainty, not sure if I should follow or wait. Had I trapped Jax and Grayson in the same curse that Marek possessed? Would they kill each other, or would they return whole and human?

Pacing around the fire that still held the purple flames that I had created, panic sparked inside my chest at what I had done. A body emerging from the forest made me jump with joy at their return until disappointment took its place.

Seeing Julien made my heart fall as his worried look washed over me. His hair was longer, a beard filled in his cut jaw making him look older than he was. There were dark circles under his usually bright eyes.

"I heard fighting, I thought... I just wanted to check on you."

His voice was rough, as though he weren’t used to speaking out loud. The songlike tone had died and rigid sandpaper erased the memory of his lyrical speech.

I reached for him and his tense body breathed as he closed the space between us. He embraced me with a sigh, relaxing into the comfort of my warmth as I cried into his shoulder.

"I don’t know what I’ve done," I told him as tears streaked his already stained shirt.

He shushed me and rubbed at my back. He didn’t hold the answers but for now he could hold my pain. Without any words, we sat together by the fire and waited together to see the outcome of my actions.

I could feel all the questions he wanted to ask but he remained quiet with the rising sun for the hour that it took before their return. Twigs snapped and leaves rustled against the ground as wide footsteps made their way into camp.

Julien rose to his feet at the sight of them. Grayson led the pack, covered head to naked toes in dirt and smears of blood. He seethed, looking angrier than I had seen him yet and Julien didn’t wait for his command before escaping back down the path he had came from.

Grayson’s glare moved to mine. Anger so hot that I was forced to look away. They collected their clothes, even Jax holding a dark resentment on his features as he avoided my glances. I was in big trouble, but part of me still rejoiced that they had returned to me in their human forms despite how angry they all were.

I would take anger over absence any day. Yet, I wondered what reaction I as going to receive for this.

"I’m sorry," I told them. "I didn’t mean to."

"You never do," Grayson hissed. "Yet we always pay for your attempts."

"You could have at least waited for us to wake up," Jax grumbled as he exited the pantry hut with arms full of breakfast foods.

"You shouldn’t have done that," Marek chimed in.

The guilt and shame made my lip quiver, I didn’t like them mad at me. Feeling their anger made my hands shake as Grayson approached me.

"What is this?" He asked waving at the still purple fire.

I shrugged innocently, eyes still locked on the dirt beneath me. He squatted on his heels in front of me and with a single finger, lifted my chin to look into his dark stare.

"What were you thinking?" He asked in such a disappointed way that tears welled in my eyes again.

I was thinking I could finally be in control of my own life and was sorely mistaken. But how could I tell him that? When I failed to answer, he let an irritated breath out of his nose and his hand fell to his knee.

Sensing his thoughts, I could see a feeling toying inside of him. It wasn’t revenge on his mind but something close. We studied each other as I tried to decipher his mind.

I finally saw it. He was planning my punishment, and the depths of his intent said he wanted every second of it.

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