Ronan glanced around the room, hearing the some of his own heartbeat along with Josh’s. His inner wolf growled, locked in the cage of his mind. His senses felt weak. He hated feeling useless.

Damn Oren!

Josh gave him a thumbs up sign for the all clear.

The room smelt of stale smoke and leftover incense. Books lined an entire side of the room, the large mahogany desk was cluttered with ornaments and crystals.

“Jesus, how we going to find one book in this place?” Josh muttered.

Mags said its dark blue with a silver pentacle on the spine. We need to be quick and careful. Oren must suspect we’d come back here, said Ronan. He started scanning the shelves. Magda must have every magic book in existence! Some books were piled on top of others with the spines covered up.

“This could take days!” Josh groaned.

“Any luck?” Christy appeared in the doorway.

Ronan muttered an oath. “You were supposed to wait in the tunnel.”

“Ha! I spent years hanging back while others looked out for me. It’s time to protect myself.”

She and Lola joined them, each taking a bookcase as they scoured each tome.

Ronan stopped. “This doesn’t feel right,” he remarked. “Oren wouldn’t just let us walk in here undetected.”

“Mags knows her stuff,” Lola said.

“I’ve got it!” Christy pulled a large blue book down.

“Good, let’s go.”

“Maybe we should grab a few more things for Magda.”

“No, Chris. We’re getting the hell out of here.”

Lola and Josh hurried back through the open wall, but Christy froze.

“What’s wrong?” Ronan asked, frowning.

“I…feel something.” She closed her eyes.

“We need to go.” He grabbed her hand, but she still didn’t move.

“My – my clan, Ro. I think a few of them might still be alive.”

“That’s great, but we need to go. There’s nothing we can do for them right now.” He pulled out her towards the open passageway and felt her body jolt. Her hazel brown eyes flashed with light. “Chris?”

The book fell from her hands, Ronan grabbed it as she walked towards the doors that lead out of Magda’s room.

“Christy, what the hell are you doing?”

She ignored him.

Ronan ran at her, knocking her to the ground. A vase crashed to the floor as a table fell over. Somehow he knew this had to do with magic.

The door flew open as a male shifter came at them. “Hey!” Lola kicked him in the face.

Christy struggled under Ronan’s grasp.

“Josh!” Ronan called. “Help me!”

Josh knocked the guard to the ground, snapping his neck. “What the hell is wrong with her?”

Christy bucked and snarled underneath him.

“I don’t know, but we need to get her out of here before Oren shows up.”

Lola bolted the door shut. All three of them grabbed a struggling Christy up by her arms and legs, dragging her into the passageway. Ronan let go so he could close the wall behind them.

Josh and Lola struggled as Christy clawed and kicked at them.

“Chris, calm down!” Lola said. “What’s wrong with you?”

Gold light shimmered around her as Christy shifted into her beautiful white wolf form. She snarled at them, teeth bared. “Christy, stop. This isn’t you.” Ronan moved in front of her.

“Careful, Ronan,” Josh warned.

Her dark eyes flashed gold. Somehow she’d connected with the power of the alpha.

“Christy, stop,” Ronan repeated. She shot past him, bounding off down the tunnel in a blur of white.

“Told you this was a bad idea,” Josh muttered, blurring after her.

“What’s wrong with her?” Lola asked as she ran alongside Ronan.

Ronan kept hold of the book as he jogged back through the passageway. “No idea.”

Mags? he called to the witch. Something is wrong with Christy. She’s in some kind of trance.

Did you see Oren? Magda asked.

No, just a guard, but we knocked him out.

Oren must be using magic through her. You need to bring her out of it.

How?

A kiss might work. You’re her mate, you’re connected to her.

We are not mated! he reminded her.

You’re still connected. Try kissing her.

Would if I could bloody catch her!

“Lola, I need speed. Give me a piggyback.” He tucked the book inside his jacket.

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Just do it.” He grabbed onto her back, embarrassment fading.

Lola blurred down the tunnel. Under normal circumstances, Ronan would have been embarrassed at having to hitch onto another shifter, but all that mattered was getting to Christy.

The tunnel walls blurred past them. “She’s gone in a different direction than the one we came through,” Lola puffed.

“Where the hell is she going?” Ronan muttered, brushing cobwebs off his face.

Lola blurred faster, jumped up when the tunnel ended and they broke out into daylight.

Josh stood a few feet away. “We’re in the Outland again but I lost her. For a newbie shifter, your girl can move bloody fast!”

“Stay here.” He let go of Lola and jumped to his feet. “I’ll go after her. Take this to Magda.” He handed Lola the book and ran off. Despite his wolf being subdued, he knew he’d find Christy. They had always been connected to each other.

By the time he reached the clifftop, he felt out of breath. Strange. He’d never been to Dead Man’s Cliff before. Everyone on the island said it was cursed. He hadn’t expected to find an entire ruined village there, full of burned-out crumbling houses. This place made his wolf edgy, and had always given him an uneasy feeling.

“Christy?” Ronan called.

He knew she was around there somewhere. He could feel her presence. “Christy?”

No reply came.

“Damn it, Christy, answer me.”

Ronan started searching through every building. His muscles screamed in protest but he ignored the pain.

When he when into a large building light shimmered all around it, bathing in a golden glow.

“Christy!” Ronan ran into the room, following the light.

Christy, now in human form, stood in the centre of a glowing circle, looking dazed.

His wolf recoiled from the vibration of magic. “Christy?”

She didn’t even acknowledge his presence, just stared at the floor. He didn’t know what the hell or plan to do but he wouldn’t let it happen. Grabbing hold of her, Ronan kissed her hard on the lips. All at once the light faded, magic fell away.

She stared at him wide-eyed. “What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Saving you.” Ronan wrapped an arm around her. “Let’s get out of here.”

She sagged against him. “How did… How did I get here?”

“Oren did something. Come on. Let’s get back to Magda.”

Christy stopped when he tried to lead her outside. “Wait, I know this place. I’ve been here before.” Christy glanced around, eyes wide.

Ronan pulled her close, relief washing over him.

“Ro, this is it. This is where they brought me after I was kidnapped.” She pulled away from him. “I feel magic here.” She motioned to the floor. “Here. In the earth. It’s still strong. I think that’s why they brought me here. I just don’t know why or what they are looking for, but it’s connected to the curse somehow.”

“Let’s go.” Ronan wrapped an arm round her, relieved she seemed to be herself again.

“Magda, we need a way to stop Oren from using Christy again,” said Ronan.

He, Magda, Lola, Josh and a subdued looking Christy sat around the main hut around a roaring fire. Christy hadn’t said much all evening. The experience had frightened them both. Magda sat reading through the book they’d recovered for her, saying nothing.

“Magda!” Ronan snapped.

“Hush, boy. I’m reading.” Magda held up a hand to silence him.

Ronan scowled, grabbed a piece of roasted meat off the fire. God, he missed real food but luxury wasn’t something they had in the Outland.

“Ah, I’ve found it,” the witch announced.

“A way stop Oren?”

“No, a way the both of you to learn magic quickly. It’s a mind meld.”

“A what?” he muttered.

“A mind meld, like all that sci-fi rubbish you used to watch on telly,” Lola said.

“What’s a telly?” Josh frowned.

Lola gaped at him. “You know a TV. A television.”

“Oh, yes I saw some of those my brief trips to the mainland,” Josh remarked. “Never watched one though. We don’t have electricity out here.”

“Yeah, I miss electricity.” Lola sighed, staring at the flickering flames. “Hey, maybe we can figure out a way to hijack some of the clan’s electricity. You’re good at making stuff, Josh.”

“I have before, but it’s too complicated since we have to move around so much.”

“What does the mind meld do?” Christy asked.

Magda held up a piece of large quartz. “I stored all my knowledge of magic and history inside this. Together you can both use it to learn my knowledge quickly. But it’s a dangerous process.”

“How do we do it?” asked Christy.