by Lauren Dane
“She’s going to be all right.” Akio handed him a cup of coffee. “So strong, this one. Witches have a spine of steel. She’ll get along well with Renee and Kendra, the witches I know in Boston.”
“Renee is Jack’s mate and Kendra is her sister, right?”
Akio nodded. “Kendra is mated to Max de La Vega, who is the Alpha of the jaguar jamboree in Boston. She took on a jaguar without being bitten. Her magick just sort of...absorbed it. Insane how powerful these two sisters are. I’d wondered if they were an anomaly. Neither of them operated within a clan or a coven. But I’ve met other witches since, and the women most especially seem to have the hearts of lions.”
Josh snorted. “Too bad they don’t have the physical strength of one. She’s so fragile. It fills me with terror. You only saw pictures of the results of what they did to Allie. My wolf is not happy at all. Keeps sending me mental images of that as he snarls.”
“Not like you’re going to be able to manage her.” Akio grinned before it faded. “We’ll keep her safe. You have my word that I will do all I can. Do you think she’d ever consider taking on the change?”
Some mates who weren’t wolves opted to be bitten and go through the change after they were claimed. It made them physically stronger and longer-lived as well. She’d already have a longer life as she was a witch, but the physical strength was something he really liked the idea of.
“I might suggest it. In the future. She’s had enough to deal with lately.”
Akio nodded. “Would you two consider staying in my home while you’re in Boston? It’s safer than any hotel. I’m near the pack house and so I can easily up the number of guards. And I’ll feel better, safer, if she’s safer.” He paused. “I know this is hard for you. She’s yours. I don’t dispute that. But she’s mine too in many ways. I just want to protect her.”
Josh understood it in ways he never could have before Akio became their anchor. This male wouldn’t ever get between Josh and Michelle. But he loved Michelle in his own way and would die to protect her. That meant a lot. And he didn’t feel threatened in any way. Not like he did when other males came around. His wolf recognized Akio as theirs in some sense.
Josh nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”
* * *
She woke up to Josh kissing her softly. “Hello, beautiful. We’ll be landing in a few minutes.”
She stretched, feeling a lot better after sleeping pretty much the entire flight. “I’m sorry, did I drool on you?”
He laughed. “Not that I noticed. You didn’t even stir as Akio and I talked. You were out. How do you feel?”
“I’m glad I slept. I do feel like my magick has recharged. I’m not feeling dirty the way I did before. Or weighted down by whatever I brushed up against.”
“Good.”
She stood. “I could totally get used to private-plane travel.”
Akio approached, smiling when he caught sight of her awake. “I was just checking with the pilot. You look better.” He hugged her before setting her back to look her over carefully.
“I’m fine. Though I will clean up a little before we land.”
“Bathroom is through there.” Akio pointed.
She grabbed her purse and headed back. Nicely, it wasn’t one of those teeny bathrooms they had on commercial flights. This one was roomy, and in the medicine cabinet, it had toothbrushes and other things she’d need to freshen up with.
She brushed her teeth and washed her face, moisturized and dealt with her hair. She was going to meet the king, or supreme Alpha or whatever he was called officially, and that was important to both Josh and Akio so she didn’t want to look like she just fell out of bed.
Thank goodness she’d tossed her makeup bag into her purse before she’d left so she could do some basic foundation, blush and some lipstick. By the time she joined Akio and Josh as they’d announced their descent and to get strapped in, she felt a lot more human.
Josh smiled as she took his hand.
“Are you nervous about flying?”
“No.” And she realized he must have felt it through the bond. “No, I’m just... I want to make a good impression on Cade and the rest of the wolves. It’s sort of like meeting the family, I guess.”
“Beautiful, they’re going to love you. And they’re your family now too. Nothing to be nervous about because you’re wonderful. You’re going to like Cade and Grace a lot. I promise.”
It seemed a lot to promise but she let it go. She wasn’t a wolf, after all. But she did love Josh and she hoped they could see it.
Akio leaned out to squeeze her knee. “They’re going to love you. Josh radiates joy. You’re the reason. If for nothing else, they’d love that. But as it happens, though I’m obviously biased, you’re pretty amazing. And courageous. They’re going to appreciate your coming all the way across the country to talk to Cade and Grace in person.”
Michelle sucked in a breath and hoped he was right. Josh kissed the top of her head and murmured that he loved her. And for that moment it was more than enough to make her smile.
“I arranged for a car to meet us with a few of my guards.” Akio exited the plane with Josh just behind Michelle. They shielded her, which was silly as hello, she was a cop for goodness’ sake! But it was sweet anyway, and to be honest, it made her feel better given what had happened to Allie.
A very large male raised a hand in greeting.
Akio waved back. “That’s Dave Warden, Tracy’s cousin and Grace’s personal guard.”
“Why’s he here then? Are things that bad?”
“Good question. I just asked for guards. I assume Dave would only leave Grace if the situation merited it.”
Josh’s body tightened and he got even closer to Michelle.
“Hey, get in.” Dave opened the door and indicated they climb up into the clearly armored SUV. He grinned at Michelle. “Introductions in a moment, let’s get out of the open.”
Akio had Josh go first and then Michelle, Akio bracketed her other side, and Dave got in the front seat, ordering the driver to get moving.
Dave turned around once they cleared the airfield. “I’m Dave Warden. I’m sorry for lack of a proper introduction back there, I just wanted you safe right away.”
He held a hand out and she took it, his totally dwarfing hers. Josh growled low in his throat, and Akio narrowed his eyes at Dave as well. She sighed and looked to Akio, befuddled.
“Really? You do it too?”
Dave laughed.
“I’m Michelle Slattery. Mind filling us in on what’s happening so they’ll ease back a little?”
“It’s what mated wolves do. It’s all right, I get it. There’s been a fair bit of chatter in the Other community about that scene in Portland. What happened to the witch.”
“The witch was my best friend. She has a name. Allie.”
Josh squeezed her hand. “He didn’t mean any offense.”
“No, I apologize. I was told she was your friend, and if it had happened to anyone I knew and cared about, I’d be upset if anyone referred to her like that as well. So gossip about how Allie was found is all over the place, as is talk about you coming out here. Jack called from Seattle where he and Lex, the Alpha of the Cascadia Werewolf Pack, had talked, they wanted extra people on you. Better safe than sorry. Especially after the trouble the local witches here have had with mages.”
He explained that Jack’s mate Renee and her sister had been targeted by some turned witches and mages. Mages with ties to some human separatist groups who’d been working with the disgruntled brother of one of the local ruling members of the jaguar jamboree.
Michelle shook her head. “I can’t understand any of this. Why anyone would do that. I understand addiction. God knows I’ve seen my share of junkies. But a shifter working with human-only bigots? To turn over
family to those who’d kill them? What is the world coming to?”
“I wish I knew, Michelle.” Dave looked to Josh. “They’re putting a big dinner together at the pack house. I’m sure you guys are hungry. Grace wanted me to extend an invitation to stay there if you wanted. They have plenty of room.”
Akio shook his head. “They’re staying with me.”
“Okay. Good idea. Your place is locked up tight.”
Discussion went on all around her as she leaned her head back against the seat and listened, her eyes closed. A wall of exhaustion hit her, though she’d been feeling all right after she’d slept on the plane.
Everything swamped her, leaving her overwhelmed and angry at herself for allowing it. There wasn’t any other thing to do but exactly what she was doing.
She tried to manage it all. Because what else could she do? Allie sure as hell deserved better than a best friend who was reeling and out of sorts all while she was overjoyed and in love and at turns filled with so much grief she choked on it.
She wanted to sleep for a week. To sleep and sleep and when she woke up she wanted everything to have stopped being so painful and complicated. She just wanted to be with Josh and she wanted Allie back and for all this weird stuff to not be happening.
But she rode across town in an armored SUV with werewolves. Two of which she’d had sex with. One she was bonded to and could feel his emotions like waves.
“I know,” Josh murmured. “I wish things could be calmer too.”
She opened her eyes and looked into his. He wanted to comfort her. To make her feel better, and just the thought of that made everything else better. She smiled softly and he kissed her.
“We deal with the hand we’re dealt. And who am I to complain? At least I can complain. At least I’m alive and I have you and a future, while filled with strange stuff is also filled with wonderful new friends and a community of people more like me than not. I just have to—”
The rest of her sentence was cut off as their SUV was hit from the side at a very high rate of speed, sending it up into the air and then off the road and into the concrete walls that separated the road they were on from the highway.
Her ears started ringing and blood got in her eye as she took stock, trying to wipe her face to get her vision back.
“Michelle! Are you all right?” Josh shouted this as he got her out of her seatbelt.
She shook herself a little to clear her head. “I’m alive. Are you okay? Akio?”
A growl as Akio, in wolf form, scrambled into her lap, teeth bared, ready to tear anything that tried to hurt her into a thousand bloody pieces.
“We need to get out. You carrying?” Dave asked from the front seat.
“Yes. You stay here. Let me go first. We need to take care of whoever it is that hit us.”
“You need all the backup you can get,” she replied, grateful she’d brought her weapon as she flicked the safety off. “I’ve had it with all this bullshit. I’m about ready to blow some motherfucking heads off,” she muttered, and Josh barked a surprised laugh.
“Only you could make me laugh at a time like this. Keep your pretty ass down.”
“I’ve called the pack, they’re on the way with backup.” Dave kicked his door open, and she got low, her weapon in her hand. Akio leapt over her, snarling, his wolf protecting her flank.
The car that had rammed them sat a few feet away, the front crumpled, smoke and steam rising from the engine as stinky fluids leaked from the undercarriage.
It was after midnight so thankfully there wasn’t a lot of other traffic, but soon enough looky lous would start to gawk from the highway on the other side of the divider. To the opposite side were several blocks of industry, so they wouldn’t have to deal with civilians coming out of their homes.
“No one is in the other vehicle. Stinks of stolen magic though. Of rotten meat.”
“That’s them.” Michelle used her othersight and caught the greasy stain of the mages who’d harmed Allie. She caught Josh’s attention and jerked her head where she saw their energy signatures.
“Stay back.”
“No.”
She had been about to argue further when she heard automatic weapon fire and started to dive for cover. Only she hit the ground because her legs just didn’t work.
All around her wolves snarled. White teeth, claws. As she lay there, she watched Josh’s face as he took her in. Amazed, as grief crossed over his features, replaced by rage the type she’d rarely ever seen on anyone’s face. And then he was wolf.
Pain pelted her like hail. Bright, hot drops, like knives as she looked down at her hands. Blood. A lot.
Someone, somewhere nearby had latched onto her magick and was tugging it from her. It slipped through her fingers a lot like the blood.
Feebly she fought back. Trying to scream out to Josh, to Akio, to anyone. But nothing came out but the magick and blood pouring from her, and with it, her life.
She was going to die. Jesus, after all the last ten days had thrown into her life, she was going to die on the fucking street across the country from her home.
But she’d be damned if she was going to make it easy. She let down her inner shielding and pulled all the magick she could from around her. She didn’t know how to work blood magick, but she called on it anyway. Her control was wild, not focused, but blood was life and life was its own sort of magick and she’d spilled plenty of it there on the street so she grabbed it and she used it, sending pain and hate and rage down the spell siphoning her life away, and she knew it had hit its target when the searing pain lessened to the dull roar of bleeding out on the street and organ failure.
* * *
“Josh! Stand down. Goddamnit, stand down.” Dave. Yes it was Dave who was ordering him to stop killing the mage who’d shot his mate. The wolf didn’t care for Dave’s orders and went back to the ripping and tearing of flesh, the taste of blood.
“We have to get her to Grace.”
Dave picked the wolf up and got right in his face, screaming at him, shaking him. The man roused and fought his way to the surface, shifting hard and fast, and the grief nearly swallowed him.
“She’s not dead yet, but she’s close. We have to get her to Grace. Pick her up and get her in the car.”
Josh saw her there on the pavement in a pool of blood. She was pale as parchment, and he rushed over with a cry. He picked her up and felt her presence through the link, but it was so very faint.
One of the wolves who had shown up while they fought the mages drove up and opened the door to the car.
“Go! I’ll clean up here. Save her life, damn it.”
“Why didn’t you take her already? Why not the hospital?”
Akio jumped in and growled until Josh snapped out of it and slid in beside him.
The car screamed off into the night, weaving around bodies and the cars that had been wrecked.
Akio shifted back and moved to them, putting his arms around Josh and Michelle both. He kissed her forehead and looked up to Josh. “Dave didn’t touch her himself because he was afraid of how you’d react if you smelled her on him. And no hospital can help her. She’s been too...”
That made sense.
He didn’t know what to do.
“Give me your shirt so we can stanch some of the worst wounds,” Josh called out to the wolf in the passenger seat. He and Akio were naked after the shift.
They raced through the streets as the wolf driving called the pack house and spoke through the speakers to Grace Warden.
“We’re about three minutes out.”
“We’ll have the gates open, pull right up to the sliding glass doors and bring her into my office. I’ve set up a triage table. Hold on, Michelle,” Grace called out. “Talk to her Josh and Akio. Keep her with us.”
J
osh leaned down to her ear. “You can’t die. I won’t let you so don’t even try. I hadn’t realized how much it had hurt to lose you the first time. You’re my mate. My life. Don’t leave me, Michelle. You and I have a future to live. We have future babies to raise and a wedding to plan.”
Akio brushed his fingertips across her forehead and spoke to her in the other ear as well, the fingers of his other hand tangled with Josh’s as he did.
“Don’t leave me alone,” Josh repeated, tears in his voice. “We just found each other again. We were supposed to. I know it. I know you were meant to be in my life and I was meant for yours. I was born to love you, Michelle. I can’t imagine a world without you in it, busting my chops. Making me laugh. Loving me. No one has ever loved me like you do.”
They arrived and the doors of what he remembered as Grace’s office were yanked open. Instead of yelling and panic, the wolves that streamed out were calm and in charge, and it helped him to carry her at a run—as gently as he could under the circumstances—into the house, following directions as they were given to him.
“On the table.” Grace Warden was a petite woman, but a powerful wolf. She gave the order and he complied immediately. “Step back. You don’t have to leave the room but I need space to work.”
Akio joined him, standing close enough that they touched shoulders. Touch was always important to shifters. Add to it that as their anchor, Akio was in many ways bound to him and Michelle as well, and Josh was glad as hell Akio was there to keep him from losing his shit. He wanted to pace but all his energy was focused on keeping the wolf leashed. The wolf didn’t give a fuck about staying calm, the wolf wanted to protect his mate.
He gave in and began to pace in the very small corner they waited in. Two steps. Turn. Two steps. Turn.
Quietly she gave orders to the wolves assisting her as she cut Michelle’s clothes off. Someone put an oxygen mask on Michelle, who was so very still Josh’s breath caught.
“Even as a witch, she’s not...she’s been shot more than a dozen times across her abdomen and chest.” Grace didn’t turn to face him as she spoke. She continued to work on Michelle.
