The Alpha King's Witch Bride-Chapter 239: _Portal Trap Part Two

"Okay, Isaiah just texted. The soldiers and their trucks should start passing this area any minute now." Kaelos whispered to me, placing his phone back into his pocket.

It took a while, but the plan went into motion that same day.

Not only had Governor Daniel managed to recall all the soldiers outside the city and send them on a false "scouting mission" at a spot in the forest close to the location of the hidden pocket dimension, but Isaiah had branded Kaelos and me with special sigils that would camouflage us.

The sigils would also act as a tether to Isaiah for if or when we enter the pocket dimension, so he can use it as a medium to track the location if the need arises.

I was nervous, drawing in a deep breath behind the bushes where Kaelos and I hid. He was supposed to be a calming force, but I couldn’t concentrate when his shoulder brushed mine.

It was only a slight brush and he was fully clothed, yet that still got me restless like a dog in heat.

’Don’t tell me we’re having our second heat right now.’ I muttered to Sirena mentally but she scoffed.

’Girl, you’re pregnant. You aren’t supposed to be in heat until the baby comes out. You’re just acknowledging the fact that our mate is a fine piece of candy.’

And he IS.

Gosh, staring at his jaw line from this angle, and those subtle side burns which seemed to be growing out more recently, made me feel like stretching my hand and caressing his face.

Goddess, why was I feeling this way NOW when we were on an important mission?

Suddenly, as if to add to my dilemma, Kaelos turned his gaze to me, causing my breath to cease in my throat.

"What’s wrong? You’re sweating and it’s a cloudy day." He remarked with a teasing voice, dimming his eyes at me curiously.

I swallowed hard, finding it hard to focus with those piercing silver eyes staring at my face. Breathing became even more of a chore and our faces were only inches apart.

’Why are you so... Hot?’ I ended up asking him mentally through the mind link of the mate bond, watching as he blinked once with surprise on his face.

’Oh... That was unexpected.’ he responded as a small smirk curled up the corner of his lips. ’Careful though. If you keep looking at me like that, I might have to remind you what it feels like when I pin you down and—’

’Kaelos!’

’What? I’m just offering to distract you... very thoroughly.’

I blinked, my face heating up with a violent blush.

This was indeed a good distraction from the dread I felt at the idea of facing the raven Witch.

"Since when do you use cringeworthy terms like that?" I ended up blurting physically, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Odessa Pierce, you are an enigma. It might take years for me to decipher the unique craziness that is you."

I parted my lips, glaring at him with mock anger. Should I find that insulting?

On the bright side, I felt a warmth in my heart, knowing that we were always there to brighten each other’s moods when things got stormy like they were now.

Suddenly, a sharp twig cracked beneath my boot.

We both froze.

Kaelos’s arm went rigid beside me. I couldn’t hear his heart, but I felt the tension roll off him as his expression became more serious.

"If any of them hear us..." he muttered, voice low.

He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.

Before I knew what was happening, my ears perked and I picked up the sound of engines. Trucks. As well as the disgruntled voices of soldiers.

"They’re here," Kaelos murmured, stretching out his right arm and drawing in a deep breath. "How did that Isaiah guy say this would work again?"

I sighed lightly as I grabbed his hand, which caused the sigils to activate. We both became invisible from each other’s view and hopefully... The view of the human soldiers.

Soon, the trucks made a stop directly in front of us and the soldiers jumped out one by one. All fifty-two of them gathered in this one spot in the forest.

"Keep your eyes peeled for the portal route runes on any of the trucks," Kaelos whispered to me and I nodded simply, squinting my eyes at the soldiers.

All of them held heavy firearms, which I was sure mostly had silver bullets in them.

"I think we should split up!" One of them yelled out all of a sudden, sounding both bored and exhausted.

"Yeah. I don’t know why the governor even told us to scout this place. This forest has always been peaceful." Another chimed.

Peaceful my ass...

I kept an eye on those two soldiers, suspecting them of being mind-controlled. Why would they suddenly suggest they split up?

’You think they want them to split up so they can go on with capturing wolves?’ Kaelos asked in my head just then, that and his warm hand gripping mine a reminder of his presence despite the invisibility sigils on us.

’I don’t know. I’m looking out for the runes. The raven witch used illusion magic to hide them, but I’m sure I’ll be able to spot them thanks to my magic.’

All witches could see runes, even when they’re cloaked from human eyes. Well, witches with magic anyway.

Suddenly, my eyes caught sight of something branded on one of the trucks.

"Runes..." I breathed out, eyes locking onto the faint markings glowing just beneath the truck’s chassis

. I tightened my grip on Kaelos’ hand — our silent signal "That truck is close to the tree with the falling leaves. That’s one of the trucks the manipulated soldiers are using."

"Good," Kaelos muttered. "We’ll use that one and then—"

"No, means no, soldier." A commanding voice echoed just then, causing me to swerve my head in its direction when I heard the tone.

A soldier, possibly the commander of the unit, stepped forward, facing the soldiers who suggested they split up.

"We’ll scout the area together. That way everyone is accounted for." He continued stiffly.

The tension that followed was suffocating even from all the way here. I subconsciously held my breath when I saw the commander staring down at the men.

"Something’s wrong," Kaelos noted and I couldn’t agree more.

Suddenly, without any warning, one of the soldiers who suggested the split drew out a dagger and plunged it toward the commander.

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