Enslaved To The Alphas-Chapter 135: Help

"She is not much hurt." Lance said evasively before he could be asked, as he felt Kael connecting to him again.

Immediately, he felt Kael’s excitement rushing through the connection, even though his voice remained the same, "Then is she with you? Have you left the human lands, yet?"

Lance exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. His brother was going to lose his mind when he heard what came next. "She is not with me."

"What do you mean she’s not with you? You did find her, didn’t you?"

"I found her. I met her," Lance said after a pause, his eyes fixed on the woman sitting across from him on the far end of the table.

She didn’t look anything like a witch. Her face was calm, her eyes distant, and there was nothing about her that gave away the black magic she carried.

If he had not seen for himself, the spell that she had cast on the house, he would have thought that she was entirely human. She looked, smelled, and even felt human. That bothered him more than he wanted to admit.

"What do you mean you met Emira?" Kael’s voice echoed sharply in his mind. "Have you not rescued her yet? Do you need backup? Mike and Sky are waiting for your orders at the border. Just say the word, Lance and you will have backup within a few hours."

Lance shook his head and let out a quiet sigh. "You’ve become quite chatty, Kael."

Kael didn’t respond, but Lance could feel the irritation radiating through the bond that connected them. He almost smiled at the familiar pulse of temper before letting Kael know softly, "Emira refused to come with me."

There was immediate silence. Lance could almost hear Kael’s disbelief, feel the surge of questions that wanted to burst through.

Before his brother could speak, Lance hurriedly explained everything- how he had found Emira, what she had told him about the Ruins and this ’master’ and why she had chosen to stay behind.

For a while, there was nothing but the hum of the connection between them. The silence stretched long enough that Lance wondered if Kael had severed the link altogether.

But then he felt it- a faint sigh, the kind that came when Kael was trying to think before reacting.

"I don’t like this," Kael said finally in a sullen voice.

Lance raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He had expected his brother to explode, to argue that the Omega needed to be protected, not left behind with witches to be used as bait. "You don’t like this? That is all you have to say? Aren’t you going to insist that I rescue her?"

Kael’s tone softened, though it still carried a thread of annoyance. "She’s smart. And if what she said is true, then her plan makes sense. I still don’t like it, but I can see the logic in it. And I can see why you would agree with her."

Lance couldn’t help but smile. "Didn’t expect you to be so rational about it, brother."

Kael swore under his breath. "Shut up, Lance, before I change my mind."

Lance grinned wider, sensing Kael’s irritation flare again. But just as Kael was about to cut off their link, an idea struck him and Lance stopped him. "K, listen."

"What now?" Kael asked slowly.

"Can you try and check inside the witch’s mind, using me as a medium? She’s sitting right in front of me."

He felt Kael freeze at his request.

The silence that followed was sharp enough to make Lance regret asking. He knew that probing someone’s mind undetected tended to take a toll on Kael but this was an emergency. They knew too little.

Just as he was about to tell Kael to let it be, Kael finally spoke in a low cautious voice. "Lance... that’s too dangerous. If she were human or wolf, I would not have thought a second time. But this is a witch. If she realises you’re trying to get inside her mind and retaliates, you’ll be the one to suffer. The backlash will hit you first."

"I’ll risk it, K," Lance said slowly "Come on. She’s the one who’s keeping Emira. We need to know what she’s hiding."

Kael’s frustration surged through the mental link, strong enough that Lance felt a dull ache behind his eyes as Kael growled, "Don’t be reckless, Lance. If the backlash traces through the link, she might end up inside your mind. You won’t even realise it until it’s too late."

Lance stared at the witch again, studying her unreadable expression. "Just do it, Kael. It’s a risk, but I know you’ll be careful. I trust you."

Another pause. Kael’s reluctance was almost tangible, but beneath it was something else

Finally, Kael muttered, "You’re a damn fool."

Lance smiled faintly. "I’ve been called worse."

Lance laid his head back and closed his eyes, letting go of the reins of his own mind so that Kael would be able to have access. When he next opened his eyes, his eyes had gone from dark to golden...

Lance felt his own thoughts blur as Kael’s presence pushed through slipping into the edges of his mind. It was like standing in two places at once, half in his body, half in a space that didn’t belong to him. Though he’d known Kael could do this, they had never done it so deeply in the past.

He could sense Kael searching, tracing the faint threads of energy that surrounded the witch.

For a moment, Lance thought he heard whispering and frowned. Why was Kael whispering. But in the next moment, he realized it was the witch’s words... Then, a pulse of energy struck against them like a warning and he heard Kael’s strained voice, "She’s hiding behind wards—layered ones. I can’t see through them yet. It’s like she is expecting to have her mind probed... Those are very specific guards... Lance, is she concentrating on something in front of her?"

Lance nodded at that and then heard Kael say," Break her concentration, if only for a few seconds."