Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 113

Chapter 113

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Countless enhanced wolves seemed to materialize from the walls themselves-but the mirrors made it impossible to tell where they were actually coming from. Images bounced between reflective surfaces, making five wolves look like fifty, turning single attacks into an

overwhelming assault from all angles.

Kaius pulled me aside as we dodged-but the mirror’s reflection confused our direction. What looked like an empty space to our left was actually a solid wall, while the “wall” to our right was the real escape route. He took a glancing blow meant for me, his shoulder clipping a

jutting mirror panel.

“Fuck! The reflections completely distorted where they were actually coming from!” I cursed, spinning around to try to get my bearings.

“Don’t trust your eyes,” Kaius said calmly, shaking off the impact. “Use your other senses. The mirrors lie.”

He shifted into his massive black wolf form. I transformed as well, my white fur gleaming in the strange light. Instinctively, our tails touched, creating a defensive formation back-to-back.

Despite the danger, having him at my back felt… right. Safe.

I closed my eyes and used scent instead. What had looked like dozens of wolves attacking from every mirror surface was actually only five real creatures, their images endlessly reflected and multiplied by the crystalline walls.

When the next wolf attacked, I was ready. My flaming claws tore through it, incinerating it completely. Kaius drove back several others with brutal efficiency, though they didn’t fall.

Of course. Only my fire can actually kill them.

I went on the offensive, channeling lightning through my body. High-voltage electricity crackled through the tunnel, frying the remaining wolves until their fur and flesh disintegrated.

That was easier than expected, I thought, opening a mindlink to Kaius. Did you see how quickly I-

Don’t celebrate yet, he interrupted.

Five more wolves materialized from thin air-or more accurately, emerged from hidden alcoves that the mirrors had completely concealed. I tried to identify their real positions through scent, but these new ones carried barely any odor at all, as if they’d been specifically designed to counter my tracking abilities. I was forced to rely on my eyes again.

The mirror maze made fighting nearly impossible. I’d strike at what looked like a wolf in front of me, only to hit empty air because the real target was actually to my left, its position distorted by three different angled mirrors. Multiple times I nearly crashed into walls that looked like open corridors.

Exhaustion was beginning to set in, and I still couldn’t see any progress toward that distant crystal glow.

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19:13 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 113

When Kaius’s voice rang through the mindlink, I was almost relieved.

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I can feel the energy source ahead! Kaius’s voice rang with certainty. My magic sensitivity is cutting through all these illusions-I can sense the source directly, like a beacon. The mirrors can’t fool that. I’m going for it. Can you hold them off?

The moment he moved deeper into the mirror maze, disappearing around a corner where his image fractured into a dozen copies before vanishing entirely, the wolves’ attention shifted entirely to him. That confirmed his direction was correct-they were trying to protect

something.

I threw myself between the wolves and the tunnel Kaius had taken, my flames consuming anything that tried to follow him. The mirrors reflected my fire into blinding patterns, but at least the flames were real no matter which surface they bounced off.

Go! I’ve got this!

I couldn’t see him anymore—the maze had swallowed him completely. The distant crystal glow remained impossibly far away, unchanged despite his progress. But I had to trust he was getting closer.

Moments later, his voice came through the mindlink with urgent excitement. I found it! The crystal is sitting on top of some kind of portal. The wolves are being generated from beneath it-they’re coming through in waves. I’m going to destroy the crystal!

Relief flooded through me. Do it! End this-

Suddenly, the mindlink went dead.

Not just silent-completely severed. And with it came a surge of agony through the mate bond, so intense it drove me to my knees. The sensation of Kaius’s life force draining away at terrifying speed, just like when he’d been ambushed before.

He was dying. Right now. I could feel his life slipping away like sand through my fingers.

Fuck! What happened to him?

Panic shattered my concentration. I started attacking wildly, without strategy or focus. The enhanced wolves sensed my distraction immediately, pressing their advantage.

Claws raked across my side. Fangs grazed my shoulder. I was losing ground, falling into chaos as that terrible emptiness in the bond grew

larger.

Kaius! I screamed through the mindlink, but there was no response. Only that horrifying sense of him fading, dying, leaving me alone in this crystalline trap.

My vision was blurring-whether from pain, exhaustion, or the tears I refused to acknowledge, I couldn’t tell..

Hold on, I thought desperately, even as another wolf’s claws found their mark. Please, you arrogant bastard, just hold on.

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19:13 Wed, Jan 14

Alpha’s STOLEN Mate