Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Chapter 61

No fucking way. I let go of the bars, ignoring the raw skin left behind.

"How do you know him?" My voice snarls.

"Knew him," Lenora interrupts, "He's the victim at the end of the hall."

I snap my head to her, then back to Randall, "How do you know him, Randall?"

"He is mates with a woman named Contessa DeCaul. They work for Santoro Enterprises," he swallows hard before he continues, "When I was first initiated into the council, they approached me and we made an agreement to help each other. I gave them confidential Council information in exchange for protection."

I rub my hands over my face in frustration.

"Did you know she is one of the Manae?" I put my hands on my hips.

"What?" he looks at me wide eyed, "No."

Based on his reaction, I believe him. He will leverage anyone for more power. If he would have known Tessa was a goddess, she wouldn't have been an exception.

Lenora takes me by the wrist," I've already called the Council to come deal with him and the body down the hall, Bronx. Come on. We have more important matters to deal with."

As we approach where Tyree is standing, I see a giant purple crystal in the middle of the hallway. Tyree looks a bit nervous as he shifts on his feet.

"Wh-where's Kas?" I look around, confused.

Tyree turns his eyes to the floor. I look at Lenora, who bites her lip and points her finger toward the crystal.

"Wait what?" I turn and look at the structure.

As I look closer, I can see the outline of Kas with her head thrown back in the middle of the crystal. A mix of panic and anger builds in my chest.

I look at Lenora for answers. Just as she is about to speak, Marco comes up from behind me and takes my attention away from Lenora.

"It's my fault, Alpha," he admits, handing me a stack of clothes.

"Marco?!" Lenora hisses.

"It's okay Beta. It's my fault. I'm not gonna let you take the fall," he shakes his head sullenly.

"Marco, what happened? How is this your fault?" I glare at him, still trying to comprehend what happened.

"I tried to wake her up. You always say not to touch her, but I did. I-I thought if I held her hand or something, she would snap out of it," his voice trembles a little as he looks at the ground by my feet. Marco, one of my fiercest warriors, sounds like he could burst into tears at any second, T-I was just worried after she looked into that room where the dead guy is."

I feel anger building in me now. Of all wolves, Marco knows better. He knows my rules. He knows Kas shouldn't be touched when she's having a vision. Before I can start yelling at him, I see he is pointing to the doorway where Tyree is standing. I recognize it as Kas's old room. I step around the crystalized Kas. Tyree steps out of the way so I can look into the room. My heart drops to my stomach. As I take in the morbid sight, I realize that in addition to his chest being ripped open, he's missing an eye.

He was killed the same way as Cordell Santoro. One of Kas's sister's did this.

"Wow. I see why everyone is trying to find you and our mate now," Saint murmurs, 'This isn't good."

I turn my back to the room and turn to Kas. I cross my arms in front of me trying to decide what to do. If one of her sisters was here, she must have used magic to do this to Kas. If she used magic, it's dark magic.

"Do what our mate would do," Saint suggests.

"Kas would figure out how to use her abilities, Saint. I don't have her abilities."

'The witch said you do."

"Lady Camille?"

"Yeah. She's a witch, isn't she?"

I look at the giant crystal, then look at my hands. Maybe if I concentrate my energy the way Kas does? It won't hurt to try.

"Everyone back up," I say, "I have no idea what's about to happen."

Everyone moves halfway down the hall, bracing themselves in case they need to run, either away or back toward me.

I place my hands flat against the crystal. I can feel energy vibrating from it. It feels like it doesn't want anyone to touch it. Even if it is dark, it's still a protective force. I fight the urge to take my hands off of it and concentrate.

I imagine my energy going into my hands and I see them glow. The crystal glows brighter where I have my hands. From inside, I see a light forming from Kas's chest. It starts as a pinpoint and gets larger, illuminating the crystal from the inside. It gets brighter and brighter until I am surrounded by the purple light of the crystal. 1

As it gets brighter, I hear a crackling sound. I look closely at the crystal, little cracks are forming all around it. I feel something clinking against my hands. The crystal is falling apart.

"I think it's working," I call out to Lenora and the guards.

"Be careful, Bronx," Lenora calls back.

I allow myself a little smile until the floor shakes. This could be it. I'm going to get her out of there. The shaking is so sudden and so violent that almost forces me to let go. I grip harder, focusing on my energy.

I look behind me to see Tyree and Marco holding Lenora up. I look back at the crystal, which is getting white hot, but I don't want to let go.

The light from inside the crystal is so bright now I can't see Kas inside. A high pitch squeal fills the air like something is putting pressure on the crystal. The crackling sound intensifies until the crystal crumbles in my hands. As it falls into a pile at my feet, I reach in to grab Kas so she doesn't fall onto the sharp shards, but she isn't there. 1

"What the fuck?" I whisper out loud. I look at my hands. They aren't glowing anymore.

"Oh fuck," I hear Marco say. I look back to see him on his knees with both hands on his head. 1

"Portal. Had to have been, Bronx. I can't think of any other way she could have just disappeared out of there," Lenora says, walking up behind me.

I look back at the pile of purple shards.

"Portal to where?"