“What happened? You did it? She's gone?”
I laid my hand on his chest, full of sorrow. “Not exactly...”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
He sat up with a struggle, looking me in the eye. “What do you mean, not exactly? And are you okay? You look like death warmed over.”
The breath that had been hanging out in my lungs rushed out my nose as I pressed my lips together in a frown. They separated with a pop thanks to the stickiness of drying blood when I opened my mouth to answer him. The words were slow to come, my shame at having failed him causing me to stutter.
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” Tears, actual tears, streamed down my face. They mingled with the brick red smears on my cheeks and dripped off my chin tinged pink.
“Why? What do you have to be sorry for?”
He sat up, wincing slightly but otherwise seeming to be okay. My mother must have healed most of his injuries within that short time span she had her hand on him. She must have some very potent magic for it to be that easy for her. Magic that could have helped me over the years. Memories floated through my head of all the times I had been injured, or sick, that she just watched me suffer, when she could have fixed it in three seconds or less. It made me sick to my stomach. Even the injuries I'd received in the last few days had garnered nothing but pain reliever and band-aids from her.
Chasing all the thoughts of her from my head, I focused on Isaiah's face, ignoring his questions about myself for the moment. “Are you really okay? You're not in pain?”
He shook his head. “Nah. A little sore, and very tired, but otherwise fine. What happened? I don't remember much past kneeling down next to you.”
I filled him in on the abbreviated version, faltering when it came time to tell him that my mom had saved my butt, but we let the spirit escape. Guilt ate at me. Even though I didn't want to, I managed to force the words from my lips, relaying the moment when I had thought my time was over. Until she entered the room with a blast of her magic.
“Leah. It's not your fault. Where did your mom go? I'd like to thank her for saving you, and the rest of us.”
“What? Thank her? Did you hear anything I said?”
“I get that you're angry, but without her we all would have died. And we know the spirit remains tied to the sanctuary. The spirit did not win. You weakened her considerably. For now, she will have to go underground to hide and try to rebuild her powers. While she does that, we will get ready.”
I decided to avoid talking about my mother for the time being, if I could. “How do I prepare?” I thrust my palm toward him. “I've lost it completely. My mark is gone and I doubt I will be able to do a lick of magic.”
“That's not how it works. The magic is in you. You can heal your ability to create it. The mark simply enhanced your natural powers. I have to believe there is a way for us to try and get it back. There must be.”
“I don't know how we're supposed to heal it.”
Frustration ate at me, almost as painful as my actual physical injuries. Temptation was equal between curling up in a little ball and sobbing my heart out and breaking everything in sight. Not that there seemed to be much left in the temple that hadn't already been broken by our confrontation.
“Remember, you're half wolf. We have incredible healing abilities. When we shift, we can heal most wounds that would be fatal to a normal human. We just need to get your wolf genes activated. Up and running, so to speak. If that doesn't work, we will find another way. Come here.”
“But I don't know how to be a wolf! I've only known I was a witch for a few days and am far from mastering that half of my DNA. I'm not sure I have it in me to start over again to try and learn the ways of a wolf.”
“But this time you have me. I'm a master at being a wolf, and I'll teach you everything you could possibly want to know. Probably more.”
He reached over and pulled me into his lap, stopping as I cringed at the pain. He looked down at me sternly.
“Why aren't you healed? You said she healed me. Why didn't she heal you too?” Anger flashed in his eyes.
My gaze shifted away from him. “I wouldn't let her. I was angry, and I screamed at her to get out. I only let her heal you because I knew I couldn't do it, and the thought of you suffering just because I didn't want her touching me almost killed me. There was no way I was going to chance losing you. I didn't know how badly you were hurt.”
“Leah. You idiot,” he chided me gently. “You need to heal. You should have let her help you. Even with her removing the physical injuries, you still would have had a long way to go before your body managed to deal with the magical fallout.”
Grimacing once more as he pulled me the rest of the way to him, I sighed. “I know. But it's too late now. And I will still heal, just much slower than you did.”
He wrapped his arms around me loosely, making sure not to put any pressure. His closeness helped me to relax, and I laid my head against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat below my ear, steady and soothing.
A hundred what ifs cycled through my brain as we sat in silence. What if the spirit escaped the sanctuary? We'd never be able to find her and banish her. What if I couldn't make my wolf genes activate? Would I never regain my mark? The thought of being almost powerless after just getting a taste of what having magic was like crippled me emotionally.
It wasn't fair. What if she killed the only people I had left in my life? I might be angry at my mom, but I didn't want her to die. And I'd lose my mind if Isaiah died on me. We were just getting to know each other, but I knew I wanted him around for a long time.
He brushed his lips across the top of my head, making me shiver in a not unpleasant way.
“Let's get out of here. We need to get you home so you can rest and heal.”
My stomach growled loudly.
“And eat. You need to eat. I'll make you anything you want!”
Both of us gave a little laugh as he helped me to stand, mine getting cut off by the pain of moving my body from its sitting position. I hissed as fire rippled through every muscle I had.
“Let me carry you.”
He reached out to pick me up, and I shied away, once more cussing at the pain. “You're crazy. That's a long walk. I'll make it.”
“Liar. And you probably weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. Are you insulting my manly man strength?”
He curled his arm up like a weight lifter, squeezing his bicep with the opposite hand. I cut my answering laugh short when pain lanced through my ribs.
“Shit. Don't make me laugh.” Closing my eyes, I drew in a slow breath, waiting for the pain to subside.
I opened them to find him right up next to me. “I'll be careful, I promise. Let me try. It will take us all day to get back to the house if you try to walk it. And you might pass out before we make it back. It's still safest within the wards, so let me get you there as quick as I can. Please?”
He took my lack of argument as agreement, and slipped his arms around me, lifting me slowly and with ease. Once settled against his chest, I had to admit it was less painful than trying to stand on my own.
“Am I hurting you?”
Having his lips so close to my own stole my breath away for a minute, and I forgot to answer him.
“Leah? I'm not hurting you, am I?”
Making an attempt to gather my wits, I shook my head. “Not nearly as much as standing on my own hurts.”
“Good.”
His smile melted me completely. I had to tear my eyes away before I did something stupid. Nestling into his embrace, I closed them, listening to his heartbeat once more and trying to relax. It's not every day I went to war with an evil spirit who tried to kill me, and I was exhausted.
The next time I opened my eyes, a familiar ceiling met my gaze. The one in my room at my aunt's house. I still couldn't bring myself to think of it as my own. Not yet.
Isaiah had carried me all the way back to the house and settled me into bed while I probably hung in his arms li
ke a limp noodle. That's a surefire way to make an impression on a guy. Hopefully my total lack of magical skills and inability to cook had endeared me to him already.
At the sound of a slight snore, I turned my head to see him sprawled in the armchair. He'd dragged it as close to the bed as he could get it and passed out in it. Disappointment that he hadn't crawled into bed beside flooded me. Before I could say anything, his eyes popped open. He must have felt me studying him, even in his sleep.
“Hey there, gorgeous. How do you feel?”
I felt my lips quirk up at the corners at his compliment. “Not bad, considering I just had my worst day ever. And unless you hosed me off before bringing me in here, I highly doubt the word gorgeous could apply to any aspect of me.”
“Well, if that remains your worst day for the rest of your life, I'd say we did alright. Wouldn't you? And all of you is gorgeous, all the time.”
“Hmph. At least if my worst day is behind me, that means it can only get better from here.”
He winked. “You got it.”
“That chair doesn't seem like the most comfortable place for a nap.”
“There weren't any other options so that I could stay close to you. I don't care for sleeping on the floor.”
“Hmm... Seems to me there is a very large, perfectly good bed right here.”
“It was occupied.” He raised a single eyebrow at the insinuation.
“The current occupant wouldn't object to some company.”
Now both brows climbed right up to his hair line. I could feel my cheeks turning pink at his surprise.
“We both need our rest. This is the most comfortable place to get it. I promise not to bite if you want to come lay down. Unless you want me to, that is.”
His turn to be embarrassed by my advance made me giggle. Pulling the covers back to admit him, I scooted over toward the wall with a minimum amount of pain, and motioned him toward me. For a second he remained planted in the chair, and I wondered if I had misread some of our earlier interactions. Just as I was about to take it back, he stood up. Oh God, was he going to leave?
After another brief hesitation he sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, as if he expected the sky to come crashing down on top of him. He perched there, barely putting his weight on the mattress. Turning to look at me again, I could see him struggling as he debated the consequences of getting that close to me.
“Come on,” I encouraged him, “you're letting all the heat out.”
He finally stretched out next to me, pulling the blankets back over us both. For a moment he lay stiffly next to me, unmoving. Taking matters into my own hands, I pulled my pillow along and snuggled up under his arm, wordlessly demanding he make room for me, which he did. Settled in his embrace, I tilted my head up to look at him.
“Comfortable?”
He exhaled slowly and grinned. “Yeah, actually. I am.”
“Good.” I paused. “Thank you for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you.”
“Well, luckily you aren't going to have to find out. I'm not going anywhere.”
My breath hitched as his lips drifted closer to mine. “Ever?” I murmured softly.
“Uh-uh. You're stuck with me forever.”
Words became superfluous as his lips brushed mine ever so gently. The tingle that began in my toes climbed through the rest of my body, pleasure replacing the last vestiges of pain. For the moment.
EPILOGUE
Unbeknownst to the two of us, as we lay recuperating, and sharing our first kiss, a young wolf from the North Eastern pack sat idly on a rock by the waterfall in the mountain. He stared into the crystal clear water, pondering life. As he did, a chill swept over him. With the ensuing shiver, his eyes bled briefly from green to icy blue before the color faded away. Blinking in confusion, he shuddered, but pushed the disconcerting feeling away.
He looked around, feeling as if he was no longer alone, but saw no one. Deep in his subconscious, the hooks were already sunk in. He had no idea that the desire to walk back and be with the pack came not from him, but an outside influence. One who would bring him nothing but torture in the days to come.
The End
* * *
Continue the StarHaven Sanctuary Series in book two, Spirit Marked, coming in July 2021.
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tera Lyn Cortez made the leap from voracious reader to author in 2019. In addition to books of every kind, she is a lover of coffee, the ocean, and all things chocolate.
Her home life consists of being a wife and mother to five in the lovely Pacific Northwest, although she admits to being consumed with Wanderlust. Life as a writer allows her to indulge in traveling both our world and those that live only in our imagination when she can't leave her office.
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https://www.teralyncortez.com
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
So many people go into the making of a book that it can be hard to keep track. In addition to my friends and family who encourage me when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I've got the professionals in my corner helping me make these books the best they can be before I send them out into the world.
For the first time I wrote this book from an outline instead of just figuring things out as I go. Thanks, Varun, for helping me with that!
Thank you to Amanda, my editor at Dark Raven Edits, for helping to whip the story into shape and making sure that we get rid of as many of those pesky typos as we can. (I know I always make plenty!)
Do you love this cover? I certainly do! Thank you to Melony at Paradise Cover Design for creating exactly what I wanted, even though I didn't know what I wanted at the time!
And, perhaps most of all, thank you to the readers who give me the gift of their time to read my books. Without you, where would I be?
YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!
Crescent Marked: StarHaven Sanctuary Book One Page 16
