Ryan POV
I open my eyes slowly. There is blood on the floor. I touch my face, and it is sticky. "Fallon!" I call out for my wife, but there is no answer.
"Fallon!" I call out for her again.
Libby is running through the house. She is screaming for Fallon. Alpha Mayhem comes in behind Mother Agnes. The commotion does nothing for my headache.
"What happened? Ryan, open your eyes. What happened?" Alpha Mayhem asks me. His words echo.
I shake my head and try to get to my feet. "They used a blocking spell on him. It will take a while for him to pull himself together. He is drunk on the magic they used," Libby says.
Alpha Mayhem shakes me. "Stop, that will not help, Alpha," Mother Agnes says.
"Help me to my feet, please," I ask Alpha Mayhem. I am so weak. I cannot stand it. Alpha Mayhem pulls me to my feet, but my knees buckle. Alpha Mayhem leads me over to a chair in the kitchen.
"Sit," he commands. Libby brings me a glass of water. My head aches, and everything echoes as the three of them discuss what happened.
"Please stop," I whisper.
I close my eyes and begin to try to remember what happened. I must have their attention because now they are asking me questions. I hear a name and then wait for a moment. What did she say? Who took Fallon? What? I cannot think.
"Ryan, drink this," Mother Agnes hands me a cup of tea. I think it is tea. I smell it, and it doesn't smell very good. "Drink it," Libby says.
I gulp the concoction down quickly. The taste is bitter, but my head begins to clean almost immediately. "Who took Fallon?" I ask as my vision starts to focus.
"Who do you think took her?" Alpha Mayhem snaps at me.
He is right, and this really is not a question I should have to ask. I know who took her and what they want with her. "Now what?" I ask.
Alpha Mayhem puts his fist through the wall of my kitchen. "We go get my daughter, and we kill every single one that follows Umbra. I want all of them dead. Every reaper, every witch, every wolf, I do not care who or what they are. I want them dead," Alpha Mayhem lashes out.
Libby rushes to Alpha Mayhem's side. "Crane and I will go with you," Libby says.
"I have to get her back," I say. I know Alpha Mayhem is furious with me. I was here, and Umbra's people took Fallon. They took Fallon out of our home, and I allowed it. I am angry. I want my wife back!
Alpha Mayhem touches my shoulder and smacks it a few times as if to say it is okay. "Umbra's witch put one hell of a spell on you. None of this is your fault. I am angry but not at you. Umbra's witch knocked out several of my guards and you. I should have done more to protect my daughter," Alpha Mayhem is furious not just with all of us but himself. We all could have done more, but there is no sense in talking about it. We just have to go after her and bring her home. I remain silent in my thoughts.
"I know where to start. I need to ask Crane for a weapon before we leave. He has something that will kill everyone that is with Umbra quickly," Libby says.
Libby looks at Mother Anges, and she gives Libby the go ahead. Libby rushes out of the house past Alpha Mayhem. Alpha Mayhem turns to me to see if I know about this weapon. I shrug my shoulders.
"Pull yourself together and meet me at the packhouse in ten minutes. We have to get my daughter home," Alpha Mayhem says.
I feel Mother Agnes touch my shoulder. "You can feel her, and you know she is alive. Keep connected to Fallon, so she knows we are coming for her," Mother Agnes says.
"We? Are you coming with us?" I ask Mother Agnes.
Mother Agnes laughs. She makes another one of the awful smelly concoctions and hands it to me. "Drink up. Yes, I am coming with you. I have to save her. This will be my last ride, and I want to make it count," Mother Agnes says.
Mother Agnes starts toward the front door. "What do you mean, your last ride?" I ask her.
Mother Agnes stands at the door for a moment. "Come on, Ryan, we need to go. Drink that and let's go," She demands.
I swallow the gross tea or whatever it is and put the tea cup in the sink. I look around at the mess in the kitchen. There is no time to clean this up now. Fallon and I can tackle it together when I bring her home.
I close the door after Mother Agnes and I go out. I help her down the steps, and we walk toward the pack house. Alpha Mayhem and Libby are driving toward us. Either we took longer than I thought, or something happened in the last few minutes.
Mother Agnes reaches for my hand. "Ryan, I am going to trust you with something," Mother Agnes says. She looks at me, waiting for a response.
"Of Course, Mother Agnes. Whatever you need," I say to her.
She looks at Alpha Mayhem approaching us fast. She places a stone in my hand. "You will need this when we find Fallon. This will bring her back to you. It will take more than tea. It is my life force and my magic. When we find her, they will have started draining her magic. Do you know what will happen to a witch after their magic is drained?" Mother Anges asks me.
I nod my head no. I do not know, but by the look on Mother Agnes's face, it is not good. "Fallon will die without this stone. I will do the spell, just make sure you place this on her skin and hold it tight, like you are trying to drive it into her heart. She will scream, but it is the only way to save her life," Mother Agnes says.
I look at the stone. "You will die so that Fallon can live," I say.
Alpha Mayhem and Libby stop in front of us. "I have the weapon to kill Umbra and her minions," Libby says.
We have our weapon, too, I think to myself. I help Mother Agnes into the truck. I hope Fallon does not hate me for helping Mother Agnes use her life force to save Fallon.