She stopped chanting and looked over at him. “You have to trust me, Colin; this is the only way,” she said, then raised her arms in the air and began to chant again.
The mist slowly filled the room, then began to stir as she called the demon to life. Samuel was screaming at her from across the room, but he couldn’t move, held as Colin was by an unseen force. Soon the white fog began to swirl, getting darker and darker as it gained momentum until a dark figure could be seen. It was only a shadow, but it pulsed with an unnatural light, and a heaviness filled the room.
Jamison managed to make it to his side. “We have to stop her; she must be working with Samuel.”
Colin shook his head. “I trust her; she believed me when no one else did,” he said.
When the demon was fully formed, Darby reached into her cloak and removed a small leather pouch, opened it, and poured a white powder into her hands. “Demon of the ocean, I summon you only to return you to the underworld,” she said, then raised her palm in the air. “I counter your black magic with the purest form of white magic.”
She blew across the powder, and the demon began to hiss; the mist began to swirl faster, and soon the room was the center of a raging storm. Rain fell from the ceiling, lightning cracked, and thunder boomed, shaking the building and deafening them. But Darby continued to shout, her arms raised, the storm battering her.
Her voice had begun to crack when a black hole swirled to life in the middle of the floor, and the demon began fighting, throwing streaks of lighting at Darby. She deflected them, one after another with the flick of her wrist, her voice still raised over the storm.
And then all at once, the storm stopped, and the demon was gone, the hole in the floor closed up with a giant crack.
They all stood in the silence, water dripping the only sound in the room, and then Samuel screamed and ran for the door. “This isn’t over; Ballentine will belong to the Unseelie.”
Colin barely registered him running out the door, his only focus on Darby, who had collapsed on the floor and lay deathly still. He rushed over to her, knelt, down and pulled her limp body into his arms, whispering no over and over under his breath. He watched her waiting for her to breathe, but her chest was still, the pulse he so loved in her neck still.
Tears began to stream down his cheeks. “No, Darby, no. I can’t live without you. Come back to me.”
Then to his utter joy, she sucked in a massive breath of air and opened her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere,” she croaked.
He rocked her back and forth. “You scared me, Darby. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Even to save Ballentine?” she asked.
“Even to save Ballentine,” he said. “But it is convenient that you did: it’s going to be much harder for my parents to say no to our marriage.”
Darby grinned up at him. “And if that doesn’t work, we can always give them some Moon Flower,” she said. “That should calm them down.”
He grinned at her. “I love you, Darby.”
“I love you too, Colin,” she said. “By the way, I was wondering how long you wanted to wait before we have those babies. I think it might be sooner than you think.”
Colin stared at her for a second, then said, “Now I think I need a dose of that Moon flower.”
Also By Serena Meadows
Daddy Wolves of the Wild Series
Not all love stories start with sunset strolls down the beach. These powerful shifters have defended the ones they love, and picked up some painful scars along the way. But don’t let the rock-hard muscles or glowering looks fool you. Beneath the brutal exterior is a beating heart that’s just found its mate, and after such a long wait, the flames of lust will incinerate anything that gets in their way.
Mountain Wolf’s Nanny (Book1)
Mountain Wolf’s Curse (Book2)
Mountain Wolf Playboy (Book3)
Mountain Wolf’s Courage (Book4)
Daddy Wolves of the Wild Series
***
Dragons Secret Society Series
A sinister mastermind and his coven of witches are determined to annihilate the world’s shifters, once and for all. Facing impossible opposition, courageous alphas and their clans fight claw and fang to protect their innocent kin. But the only antidote to death is new life, and the only force greater than evil, is love. In this heart-stopping series, virile alphas and their men must learn to seduce instead of slaughter and bare their hearts along with their weapons.
Dragon’s First Shift (Book1)
Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Book2)
Dragon’s Flame (Book3)
Dragon’s Prophecy (Book4)
Dragons Secret Society Box Set
***
Wolves of Gypsum Creek Series
The tiny town of Gypsum Creek is home to a high number of brooding, sexy-as-sin men that disappear with each full moon. The heroes in this boxset of steamy, standalone stories will get your heart racing…and tongue wagging. But you’d better watch out. The howling has started, and no lady is safe when the wolves of Gypsum Creek go on the hunt.
Third Time a Charm (Book1)
Triumph (Book2)
Young Love (Book3)
Restoration (Book4)
Her White Wolf (Book5)
Wolves of Gypsum Creek Box Set
***
Fairplay Shifters Series
Sexy shifters who desire more than power… Bold, sassy witches who want to take control of their own lives… What is stronger: love, or the forces of darkness that threaten to destroy everything they hold dear?
Justin (Book1)
Jake (Book2)
Quinten (Book3)
Steven (Book4)
Dalton (Book5)
Daniel (Book6)
FairPlay Shifters Box Set (Books 1-6)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Serena Meadows has always been obsessed with writing short stories since she was in junior high school. She writes paranormal romance stories of all types but writing about sexy steamy alpha shifters is her passion. She lives in Denver with her two dogs. On her downtime (which is rare), she enjoys hiking and camping in the mountains or riding her bike with her own alpha male to keep her safe and warm. Typically she enjoys an evening curled up buried in a good book or watching Netflix. She also enjoys time with good friends.
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Thank You!
Serena Meadows
The Fae Prince: (Fae of Ballantine) Page 13
