Then the door to the house opened and the two men emerged, their hands held up defensively as they carefully surveyed the immobilized group. The man Cal recognized as Gavin's brother began to laugh.
"My, my, what have we here? There I was thinking we were going to get you to kill each other and instead you present yourselves here like lambs to the slaughter. This will work just as well, I'm sure. It will be easy enough to make it look like the two groups turned on one other."
Ethan stepped closer, and Cal could see the whites of his eyes were inky black. It was as he'd suspected. The hand of darkness moving within him.
"Why? What do you gain from all this?"
"Revenge, of course. And then I can be the one to pick up the pieces. The dregs of Ether Coven are still looking for a new home, and there are many disenfranchised Wiccans who see Coven life as too restrictive, too weak. They want to be warriors not herbalists. Imagine a Coven of such strength that humans were mere toys to play with and shifters used for target practice."
Andy growled at the words.
"Where is Jared?"
"Oh, the mutt is in a better position than all of you right now. We needed a live subject to test some refinements of our spells. We decided he would do nicely."
Ethan stepped toward Cal. "I don't think we've met, but I know you by reputation. Callix, Evenfall bear and default leader of the territory. Well, former leader now. Bears have no place in my new hierarchy, and here I am, lucky enough to have two under my spell right now."
He pulled a ceremonial knife from his belt and began to chant low under his breath as he closed in. Out of the corner of his eye, Cal could see Dylan moving a little. Maybe the spell was wearing off, the Wiccans waking. But to his right, Faye remained still.
"Spilling shifter blood is an act that draws great power, I fully intend to harvest it."
The symbols on the knife began to glow, and Ethan stepped right up to Cal, placing the knife against his throat. Cal drew on all his energy to try to break the magical bonds that bound him, but they held fast. He stared unwaveringly into Ethan's eyes. He would not show fear in front of this coward.
Cal heard a low growl that grew to a roar as a blur of white launched itself on top of Ethan. There was a shout and a gurgled scream as Ethan fell, the other man rushing toward him, shouting an enchantment. But it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Ethan's voice died away, and Cal's hands and feet were suddenly free. He dived toward the Wiccan, but Anita was closer, shifting in midair as she jumped. It was all over in seconds with the man making barely a sound.
The white tiger backed away from Ethan's body then lay down. Cal fell to his knees beside him, reaching out cautiously, but Dylan was already shifting back, his body slumping to the ground.
"Dylan?" Cal called, pressing a hand to his neck. His pulse beat strongly beneath his fingers.
Around them, the Wiccans began to wake. He heard cries and exclamations as they took in the devastation.
"There may be traps in the house," he called, "be careful."
A group made their way inside as Cal carried Dylan away from Ethan. Another Wiccan knelt beside them, pulling supplies from a backpack and helping Cal to clean off the blood.
"Is he injured?" she asked.
"I don't think so. Perhaps the energy drain from changing so quickly hit him hard."
"He saved us all," one of the shifters said from behind them. "I don't know how he broke the spell."
Neither did Cal, but he could take a guess.
There were shouts from inside the house, and a few moments later the group emerged with Jared, alive but injured.
Orion directed a few to stay behind and bury the bodies while the rest piled into the cars to head back.
Dylan woke on the journey, his eyes opening. But he didn't respond when Cal spoke to him and didn't seem aware of his surroundings. A concerned Faye tried too, chanting low under her breath.
"We need to get him back to Laurel," she said, so their group headed there first.
Laurel's healer led them to their healing room and spent a long time looking Dylan over before shaking his head.
"It's clear he's in some kind of state of shock, but I've never seen this before. Nothing I've tried has helped."
Orion, standing in the doorway, spoke up.
"I think you should take him home to Evenfall, Cal. He said he was scared, right? So, bring him somewhere you know he'll be safe. Besides, Leona is there. She might know more. No offense," he added as an aside to Laurel's healer.
"None taken. Leona was my next suggestion. There's nothing more I can do here, and what you propose sounds like a sensible plan."
They met Faye hovering outside.
"Jared had been returned to Laurel, Gavin has gone with them to repairs relations between our peoples. Perhaps Simon and I could take you back to Evenfall?"
It would be a much shorter journey by car. But Cal had responsibilities here.
"I'll stay, spend some time with Rowan Pack, make sure everything has settled down. There are still more snares to be found and we need to search that house properly. It might tell us if more people were involved and if they had anything else planned."
Still, Cal hesitated.
"Your mate needs you, Cal. Right now, your responsibilities lie with him. Leave the rest in my hands."
"Thanks, Orion."
"What are brothers for?"
Chapter Nineteen
They'd been a full three days in Evenfall, and there was no change in Dylan's condition. There were times he seemed to sleep, his eyes closed, his breathing slowing, but the times when he seemed awake, his eyes open, there was little sign of life within him.
Leona spent many hours with him, trying different spells, but nothing seemed to make a difference.
"So it's like some kind of psychic shock?" Cal asked as they sat around Dylan's bed.
"I think so. Consider it a kind of power overload. He went from twenty years of suppressing every bit of power and magic he possessed to suddenly letting it all loose. It overwhelmed him. But he's not eating or drinking, and what little we're managing to get into him isn't enough. I'm sorry, Cal. I don't know what else to do, but if something doesn't change for him soon, I fear he will die."
From down the hall came the cry of a baby.
"I'll go and check on Fionn. Do you need anything?" she asked.
"No," he said, listening to her footsteps fade down the corridor.
Dylan's scent had undergone a transformation in the past few days. Gone was the human scent that had drawn Cal in, and in its place was a heady mix of shifter and magic. Dylan's first scent was still there, an undertone, but it was as if the other two couldn't decide which was dominant, sometimes the Wiccan scent would be the first to hit him when he walked in, other times the scent of tiger. Which made him wonder if it wasn't just an overload of power, but if the two were doing battle inside him. There was no way to know.
Crossing the room, he climbed onto the bed and lay down next to Dylan, holding his lifeless hand in his as he stroked his mate's cheek. Before, every touch had elicited a response, Dylan would arch toward him, rub against him. He couldn't understand how he hadn't seen it before. When thinking back on it, Dylan's cat nature had been obvious. He's done everything bar purr when they were close. And now there was nothing, not even reflex.
Footsteps heralded Thane's arrival. His brother looked tired and dazed but happy.
"How is my niece?"
"Settling, I hope," he replied. "And Dylan?"
"No change."
He looked down at their intertwined hands. "Leona fears he won't survive much longer like this."
"Have you thought of taking him to the river?"
"The river?"
"This house might be our home, but the river is the true center of our power. I took Fionn there."
"Fionn wasn't comatose."
"But he was injured, encumbered by his past. Dylan's past weighs heavily on him too. It is worth a try, Cal."
&
nbsp; Anything was worth a try at this stage.
"You're right. Thanks, Thane."
"I hope to get to meet him very soon. Fionn does too."
Fionn had popped his head in once or twice, but his attention right now was devoted to their newborn child, which was as it should be.
"I hope so too."
The sun was at its highest point in the sky, beating down on them as Cal carried Dylan to the river. He heard the rush of the water long before they reached it. When his feet hit the bank, he set Dylan down carefully on the ground and shed his clothes before unwrapping the blanket covering Dylan and undressing him too.
Taking Dylan carefully into his arms, he stepped into the water and began to wade toward the waterfall. He could feel the water rush around him as he was quickly submerged up to his waist. By the time they got to the waterfall, the water was mid-chest, and Dylan's body was half-submerged. Still, he didn't stir, his blue eyes dull, open but unseeing.
He stood there as the time passed by slowly, waiting for a reaction, any reaction, from Dylan. But there was none. Was this it? Was this all they were to have. Those few meetings in the forest, those scant kisses between them, stolen touches and whispered words. Cal wanted a mate for life. Someone to be his constant companion. Someone to explore with, to grow old with. Not this sleeping beauty that was fading away before his eyes.
With a cry of anguish, he sank to his knees, the water flowing over them both, submerging them as he cradled Dylan to him, pressing his cheek to his mate's. Time seemed to stand still. Then Dylan pressed back, his body suddenly a squirming mess of arms and legs, clinging tightly to Cal.
Cal pushed to his feet, lifting Dylan, the water streaming off them both. Dylan's hands were on his shoulders, his face staring down at Cal, his chest heaving.
"Cal? What are we doing? How did we get here?"
He hugged Dylan close. "You're back, you came back."
A few minutes later they were sitting side by side on the river bank. Cal wrapped a shivering Dylan in a blanket.
"What do you remember?" he asked him.
"We were outside the house, where those men were. Then I was on the ground, they were threatening you, and I was scared and angry. And it was like the anger just boiled over, and I could feel it over the whole of my body. And then I was here, with you."
Dylan's bewildered gaze kept wandering from him to their surroundings as if he was unsure what he was seeing was real.
"You shifted, Dylan, you became a tiger and saved us all."
"I did?" Dylan's blue eyes searched his.
"You did."
"I don't remember that."
"That's okay. When you came to afterward, it was like you weren't really there. Your eyes were open, but you didn't see us or hear us. I thought I was going to lose you."
He pulled an unprotesting Dylan into his arms again, half-afraid he had dreamed Dylan's reawakening.
"It's okay, I'm here." Dylan's hand came up, stroking through Cal's hair.
He pulled back, tapping Dylan under his chin. "Yes, yes you are."
When he'd gotten his strength back and stopped shivering, Cal had helped him dress, and they'd started the walk back to the house. Dylan could see it in the distance, smoke rising from the chimney and light reflecting on the windows.
"My brother Thane is there, and his mate Fionn. They've just had a baby girl, my niece. They haven't named her yet. And Leona is there too. She was the Wiccan I told you about before. She is very kind and very smart. She knows more than anyone about Wiccans.
It still seemed like a lot of people to Dylan.
"And Orion?" He recalled meeting Cal's younger brother at the Pack house.
"He stayed behind to help sort things between Laurel and Rowan. So I was free to take care of you."
"I'm sorry I've been so much trouble."
It seemed like all he'd done since meeting Cal was cause problems.
"Yes, terrible trouble. You solved the mystery of who was setting those snares, prevented an all-out war between Pack and Coven, and in doing so saved the lives of no less than a dozen people, my brother included. And while you're at it, you stole away my heart. I can't think why I put up with you."
Cal was smiling at him, his face so full of happiness that Dylan could do nothing but smile back at him.
"What now?"
"We go say hello to the others, have some food, and take things from there. There are no pressing matters to attend to, no crises to avert. Just me and you, and the time we need."
Chapter Twenty
Cal opened the door and gestured Dylan in ahead of him. Dylan stalled at the threshold. This wasn't just any house. This was Cal's home. His family's home. He felt like he was imposing.
He was about to turn back when the smell of food wafted toward him and his stomach growled. Flushing, he turned to see Cal behind him giving him a knowing look.
"Alright, food first, then introductions. Come on."
Taking Dylan by the hand, he led him through the corridors and up a flight of stairs, pointing out rooms as they passed.
"That's the library. Thane's study. That used to be the drawing room, where you'd have guests and the like. Now we mostly have guests in the kitchen, saves having to carry trays of food all around the place."
He pushed open a door and stepped through, tugging Dylan behind him.
"And this is the kitchen, and that is the wonderful Leona cooking up a storm."
Dylan peaked around Cal to see a gray-haired woman standing at the stove. She turned toward them, smiling and wiping her hands on a dishcloth.
"Dylan, this is Leona. Leona, Dylan."
She stepped forward, and Dylan did likewise. There was something about her presence that he found very comforting. He held out a hand and she clasped it between both of hers, closing her eyes as she did. She opened them a moment later with a soft sigh.
"It's very good to see you awake at last, Dylan. Cal has scarcely left your side since you arrived. Why don't you take a seat? I've made some soup, full of nutrients and easy on the stomach when you haven't eaten for a few days."
Dylan took a seat at the table, watching as Leona and Cal exchanged a long look.
"You knew," he said.
"I hoped," she replied.
The answer seemed to satisfy him and he took a seat next to Dylan.
Footsteps thundered down the corridor, and the door swung open.
"Is it true?" a voice called. "Thane said he heard three voices."
The voice belonged to a man around Dylan's own age, wearing an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Leona nodded to the table, and his eyes lit up when they saw Dylan.
"Dylan, this is Fionn, my brother Thane's mate. Fionn, this is Dylan."
Fionn's pace was much more sedate as he crossed the room to stand next to Dylan.
"Hi, Dylan. It's good to see you up and about. You went all sleeping beauty, and we were worried. Cal tried kissing you, but it didn't work as advertised."
His words made no sense to Dylan, and he looked to Cal for help.
"Umm... I'm not sure Dylan is all that familiar with fairy tales as it happens, Fionn."
"Really? Funny thing when you're kind of living in the middle of one. You're a little like the ugly duckling, just this boring gray human, until one day you shed your feathers and you're a beautiful magic shifter."
"An apt description," Leona said, setting bowls of soups in front of them.
"Now, Fionn, either sit down and eat with us or shoo until after the meal. Dylan hasn't had anything to eat in days. He's probably half-starved."
Fionn slid into the seat across from Dylan with a grin.
"Thane's minding her," he answered when Leona opened her mouth to speak again.
"He is the model bear parent," she replied, taking a seat next to Cal.
"Is… is your baby a bear?" Dylan asked, regretting it almost instantly in case he's somehow insulted them. There was a long pause before the three of them burst into laughter.
/> Cal recovered first, laying his hand across Dylan's. "She is a bear shifter, yes. She inherited that from her father. Most unusual, as it has always been inherited through the male line before now. But right now, she's just like Fionn and me and you. Human on the surface."
"Will you be able to stop it?"
"Stop what?" Cal tipped his head to the side, watching him carefully.
"Stop the badness getting out," he mumbled, thinking back to Shay.
"Being a bear is part of who she is," Fionn said matter-of-factly. "Just like being a wolf is part of who I am. And being a Wiccan is part of Leona. Some of us have different parts too. Like I have some Wiccan magic within me as well. And Cal says so do you. It's not bad, just… different. But it takes some getting used to."
"Well said, Fionn," Leona chimed in. "And that was a very important question you asked, Dylan. I was hoping you and I might sit down and chat over the next few days, about magic and what it might mean for you. Cal can sit in with us, if you'd like."
Dylan nodded eagerly. He was keen to have answers to some of his many questions. "I'd like that."
He met Thane, and Thane and Fionn's daughter, after their meal. Thane was pacing back and forth trying to soothe the crying baby.
He turned to Fionn as they came in.
"I think she's…"
"Hungry. Again. It seems like I never stop feeding her."
He took her from him and slipped from the room. Cal put his hands on Dylan's shoulder and propelled him gently forward.
"Thane, this is Dylan."
Thane smiled tiredly at him, suddenly seeming much less intimidating than his broad form suggested. "Hi, Dylan. Welcome to Evenfall. Make yourself at home."
"Why don't you go and see how Fionn is doing? I think he's just in the next room," Cal suggested. When he hesitated, Cal added, "I'll be right here if you need me."
Nodding, he slipped from the room out into the corridor. It was obvious Cal wanted to talk to Thane without him overhearing. The next door was ajar, but Dylan knocked anyway before poking his head inside.
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