Raymond stood before his mirror taking in his appearance. Dark lines and bags hung below his lower lids indicating how stressed he had been over the past two months. Finally, all his sleepless nights and endless scouting and searching wouldn't be in vain. He was going to get her back in his arms, and everything would be back to normal. Everything.
"C'mon, Ray. It's time to leave."Darius said to him through the mind link.
"I'm on my way." He picked up his midnight black leather jacket, ensuring his gun and knife where in place. He tucked another gun in his belt holder and another in his boot. Putting on the jacket, he ran his fingers through his hair, taking in a deep breath.
Let the show begin.
*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:
The trip to the veils' location was quite lengthy, making everyone itch in their seats, coupled with the fact that Darius was a terrible driver. Ritchie pinched to chop off his beta's head but Raymond was working overtime to stop him from doing so.
"Darius, you are making me sick" Margaret snapped at him.
"Well, Madam know-all, feel free to come take over the wheel, if you can handle it that is." He said smacking his lips as he held the steering tight.
"You know if I could I would right?"
"Oh please, I'm not some sorry ass chick who can face her fears." He rolled his eyes sitting up in his seat.
" And who said anything about fears-"
"Can we not?" Raymond interrupted glancing at them. "Thank you."
The rest of the ride was uneventful and quiet. Everyone lost in their own thoughts, waiting when they'd finally get to their destination. Raymond kept shifting in his seat due to how antsy his wolf was.
It wasn't the usual kind, more like something else was going to happen apart from getting back his mate.
Ritchie had refused to give him any details but he knew his wolf knew something... something huge. He glanced at his watch for the hundredth time wondering why he hadn't argued further when Darius insisted on driving.
"Here we are." Lily said as they parked in the parking lot of a tiny motel.
'Of all places, this place?' Raymond thought. He could remember telling Lily to ignore this place as it looked really inconspicuous and really far from the city. They had said it was in plane sight but he expected somewhere else, somewhere more noticeable.
He felt eyes on him as he stepped out of the vehicle. He turned to see that Lily was looking at him.
"What's the issue, Lily?"
"I have a feeling you'd do something stupid in there. Please don't, please, and do not force me to either." She tapped him on his shoulder and started walking ahead, the rest of the team following behind leaving Raymond dumbfounded by the vehicle.
The last words on that letter kept resounding in his head..'Use it wisely' . 'Perhaps the Elderlys where right in the end.' He thought.
Shaking off every other thought he followed the crew, looking behind them continuously to see if anyone was watching them.
"The veil starts here." Lily said stopping in her tracks. They all looked around in confusion. The had been walking for a while and had ended up in a junk pile station, just close to a ravine.
"How do we get in?" One of the soldiers asked his hands firmly holding his gun. Lily just replied with a glare. Taking out a wand from her sack, she begin spewing incantations making the wooden wand look brighter and longer as she continued. By the time she was done it had become a really long sword.
Everyone stood in bewilderment, whereas Raymond was already beside the witch, ready for the next command.
"I know you are older than I am but I doubt you'd be able to handle such weapon." He said taking out the gun from his jacket and loading it.
"You all ask too many questions." Lily said shaking her head slightly. In one swing motion, she cut through the air revealing a very dark place. Raymond shivered in his stand as cold wind from inside the veil hit him.
"Come in, silently" Lily whispered to the crew as she stepped into the veil. Upon entry, they marveled at how huge and dark within the veil looked. There were buildings littered all over, but they were all in ruins. Completely out of use.
"Why would he go this length? Do all this..for what? I haven't done anything deliberately to hurt him. Why would he take my mate?." Raymond asked Lily as they walked further into the veil.
"That is a question I cannot give a reply to at the moment, but I promise to do that later. And I must warn you; he doesn't know that she is your mate just yet. He just thinks she's someone you like and wants to spite you by taking her.-"
"-So when you get in there, he will do all manner of things to her, you have to stand strong, keeping your wolf in check or else, I need not remind you what could happen if he finds out she's yours. Be strong." She tapped his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile.
"I can feel her" Raymond said after they had walked around the ruins for a while.
"In what direction?" Lily asked.
"Here." He said
"Here where, Raymond? We are in the middle of nowhere." Lily said in exasperation.
"I can feel her here, right here. On this particular spot." He said as his eyes searched frantically for some kind of door or clue. "Could there be another veil here?" He asked looking at Lily in desperation.
"Let me check" Lily said bringing out a pair of weird looking coweries as she started an incantation.
Raymond's blood pressure kept increasing by the second as fear grew exponentially in the hearts of the others in the crew as they watched Lily's eyes change colors.
After a few minutes, she paused abruptly.
"We have company."