Page 78 of His Sold Fated Mate

“Man, that’s just foul!” He pinched his nose and shook his head. “Oh my god, did someone die in here?”

I shook my head, staring at the cauldron. “No, but you’d think that.”

I stepped around the chains and took in the back of the cauldron. I found nothing new, which I knew would happen. The cauldron was the key to the problem, and yet it gave us no signs on how to save everyone.

“Find any answers?” Cal asked, looking like he was ready to vomit.

I shook my head. “No. Cal, why don’t you go back upstairs? You look ready to hurl.”

She shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’m going to stay here and help.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re turning green, and I don’t think you vomiting is going to help me. Go up, and I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Cal was quiet for a moment before he nodded. “Okay. But only because this smell is so bad. I’ll be upstairs if you need me. Call for me if you need me.”

I nodded. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

I rounded back to the front and leaned forward, staring into it. “Why won’t you just show me? Tell me what we have to do.” I knew that Riley said she heard a voice, but I heard nothing.

“Don’t you understand all the terrible things that you’ve done! We don’t deserve this. I know that the council hurt you, but all of these people are innocent.” I curled my hands into fists. “We don’t deserve this.”

I got silence in return. I screamed as I kicked the cauldron, pain radiating over my entire foot. “Fuck,” I cursed as I stepped back, taking a deep breath in through my nose.

I groaned, knowing it had been a waste to come down here. I shouldn’t have thought I’d see anything or that anything new was going to happen.

I turned and froze. My body stiffened as I stared at Mike. He looked untouched, his hair perfectly put together. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a red shirt. But his eyes had their normal blue hue. There wasn’t a single scratch on him.

I didn’t understand because I saw him. I glanced at him before I crawled out of the car, and he was bleeding out. There was blood oozing out of his forehead, and his jaw looked like it was broken. His eyes were empty as they looked at me.

“Mike.” My voice shook slightly as my heart stopped beating for a moment. He was really standing here.

“I found you.” His voice came out dense, almost like it wasn’t him.

A part of me was scared, afraid of what he could do. I knew what he was capable of, but another part of me was calm. A part that knew I would never let Mike hurt me.

I wasn’t the same person I was before. I had magic, and I wasn’t vulnerable. A part of me knew that I deserved better, and if I wanted a future with Klaus, I wouldn’t let Mike ruin it.

I quickly pulled myself together, looking him over, spotting the differences. He had dirt under his fingers, and his veins were darker around his eyes. I could see them clearly under his skin. He looked alive, but I wasn’t so sure of it.

Mike died. Everyone stated that he had died, but he stood before me. My stomach dropped as I realized magic had to be in play. It was the only way he could still be moving. I thought of what they told me about the cauldron and how the magic would leach onto a person. But didn’t they need to be alive?

“How are you alive?” I asked, trying to piece it together. “You stopped breathing. Your heart stopped beating. This isn’t possible.”

He stared at me for a second longer before taking a step into the room. “I have ways. You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?”

It sent a shiver down my spine, but I held my head up higher. I wouldn’t let him see the weak side of me. I wasn’t the same person I was before.

“Did someone heal you?” It was the only logical question I could think of. But who? Who would have gone into the morgue and healed him? But that didn’t even work. He was dead. It had to have been dark magic. But the only thing powerful enough to do this was the cauldron. But he wasn’t near it. He was in the morgue.

He smiled like he knew I realized it. “Magic is an interesting thing. It’s given me a second chance.”

I took a step back because it shouldn’t be possible. You couldn’t bring someone back from the dead. Could you?

“It’s time you stop running from me, Aubrey. There is nowhere you can run now.”

“I’ll never go back with you, Mike. Never.”

“You will. I just have to get Klaus out of the way, and you’ll have no choice. No one you can run to and hide behind like a little bitch.”