‘What would happen if you did that?’ River asked.
‘The pact would be broken between the pack and ourselves,’ Cordy said quietly. ‘We’d be inviting that same Darkness in that Eloise was talking about before.’
‘That’s only the least of the consequences,’ Shelley continued. ‘It says in the diaries that dark magic is addictive. Seductive. Using it once, even for good intentions, is virtually impossible.’
‘Then we don’t want you doing that,’ Adam said.
‘I don’t want any of you doing that. Not for me, or my brother.’
‘If Cain knows he could cause so much havoc as a Shade, then why does he want you to bring him back to his body?’
Eloise winced, but met Jason’s question head on. ‘Because he knows he’ll die if he continues on as a Shade without access to his own life energies. He can’t live off Morrigan and me forever. Despite his wish to kill all of you, he wants to live more. And he thinks he can get back to Morrigan—but you can stop him. You can put one of those bracelets that negate power on him.’
‘We have. That didn’t stop him from doing this.’
‘He can’t do this again without seriously damaging his body and soul. He won’t fight the magical restriction in the same way. You can hold him for the rest of his life if needed. But you can’t let him continue on how he is. Please, you have to let me do this.’
Silence greeted her plea, sawing on her nerves like an overplayed bow on a violin. Skye cleared her throat, then looked at Jason briefly before looking back at her. Her gaze was intense as she asked softly, ‘You said you’ve had virtually no training in magic and given you’ve been concentrating on your shifting, you don’t know much more now than you knew when you came to us. How do you know you can reunite his soul with his body?’
‘It’s something we’re all taught. Morrigan has used people in this way before, and so we all need to know how to bring them back.’
‘It isn’t easy magic,’ Cordy said. ‘Can one of us help you?’
No! The word almost burst from her, but she managed to hold it back. She couldn’t have any of them there. Cain would find some way to hurt them, she knew he would. Besides, she couldn’t let them see what she was really going to do. Shelley had spoken before of dark magic—and that was exactly what this was. ‘You can’t help. Only someone with a blood tie can perform the ceremony. The fact that he’s my twin makes my ability to do the ceremony for Cain even stronger. Also, the power of Oestra will help me, too. But I need to make a move now. Cain has to see that I’m coming. He could be watching right now. If he thinks I’m not coming, he’ll do something worse than what he’s already done.’ She looked around, unable to read in their grim expressions whether they believed her or not. ‘Please. We’re running out of time.’
Jason looked at Marcus, and Marcus nodded. Jason sighed. ‘Okay. I’ve got to stay here, but Iain will take you.’
‘How far away is he?’
‘An hour,’ Marcus said, his voice a low growl—although she was getting the impression that was just how he spoke, not that he was angry with her. ‘He’s on our pack lands up near Kinglake.’
‘Does that give you enough time?’ Cordy asked.
She nodded. ‘Yes. It’s best performed at midnight when the moon is at its zenith.’
‘The power of Ostara—or Oestra as you call it—is greatest then too.’ Cordy looked at Marcus. ‘That gives us a little time to source the materials I’ll need to make a stronger magical repression cuff. We can make it back well before midnight and be there for back-up if necessary.’ She looked at Eloise. ‘Although I won’t have the cuff immediately ready. The magic is best done by the light of the full moon at midnight as well.’
‘If the stories I’ve heard are true, he’ll be weakened by the spell when I bring him back, so there will be a little time.’
‘How much?’
‘I’m not certain.’
‘Then we’ll just have to hold him until you’re ready,’ Jason said, looking from her and Iain to Skye, Shelley, Adam, Bron and River. They all nodded.
Marcus growled his agreement. ‘I’ll call our people and let them know you’re coming.’ He held his hand out for Cordy. ‘Let’s go and source your things.’
Cordy gave Eloise a hug. ‘Be careful,’ she whispered, and then, joining Marcus, she left the room.
The other witches followed her lead, leaving with their mates or Shadows.
Relief and fear rose over her at once. She felt absurdly torn between spinning wildly or crouching, cowering in a corner.
‘Are you okay?’
She turned to Iain, a little burble of laughter rising up. ‘I thought I’d be in for more of a fight.’
‘They know what’s at stake. And they trust you.’
‘Yes.’ It was a heady feeling. One she didn’t want to let go of. She only hoped she was strong enough to do what had to be done so she had time to explore all it meant, and more. The thought sobered her, all the joy and relief washing away under the heavy weight of choice and responsibility Cain had laid on her shoulders. ‘Let’s go,’ she croaked.
Iain frowned, questions in his eyes, but he simply nodded and said, ‘Let’s go’.
Chapter 19
‘Mistress. I’ve made contact with her. She’s coming to me just like you said.’
‘That is excellent, Cain.’ Morrigan spoke to the Shade before her, refusing to allow excitement to rise. Her plans had so often gone awry. The animal bastards who made up the McVale Pack always seemed to destroy what had so carefully been wrought. But no more. There was nothing they could do to stop this from coming to fruition. She had out-thought even the Goddess. Nobody would ever have expected her to make Cain tear his soul from his body so he could travel the astral at will as a Shade. Not with how important he was.
And if they had thought of it, they would have expected her to use him to suck the very life from them all. But they didn’t know her if they thought that would satisfy her craving for revenge. Cain would never be able to kill enough of them, and others would live on, ensuring the survival of the Were and their abominable pact that tied them to the witches and warlocks who should be free. No. She had to destroy the pact. She had to tear them apart from the inside out. Had to destroy who they were, like she’d been destroyed when her beloved sister was so cruelly taken from her.
Her plan was a risk. A terrible risk. But, oh, by the Darkness, it had been worth it. The moon was in play again. The surge of power due to the vernal equinox was all in her favour. It was a time of rebirth, and oh what a rebirth it would be for her and her kind.
If only she had Eloise’s power to pull on too, everything would be perfect. But Eloise was completely blocked from her. That little shapeshifting bitch had turned out to be far stronger than Morrigan ever gave her credit for. Not even when she was in the coma had Morrigan been able to whisper to her, to pull her back to her side like she’d done to Cain. She had almost given the girl up as a lost cause. But Cain was going to make her useful again, if not in the way originally planned. Smiling, she said, ‘Your sister’s sacrifice will auger the coming of the blood moon and then all will fall on their knees before us. Together we will rid the world of the filthy Were.’
Morrigan expected Cain to cheer at her statement, but instead he paused and then said, ‘What of Skye and River?’
Morrigan snorted. ‘You refer to that ridiculous tale about River and Skye being descendants of my beloved sister! It’s nothing but rubbish. Morghanna would never have debased herself with one of those animals in the way Bridgette Colliere did.’ Besides, she would have known if her sister had been with child. They’d been so close. Morghanna would not have kept such a thing from her.
A sick sensation swirled inside; a flicker of doubt within the certainty.
What if she hadn’t told Morrigan because of what Morrigan had said to her the last time they’d spoken?
‘I cannot watch you make yourself less than you were meant to be. The Ca
ntrae sisters were born to do astonishing things together. It was prophesied. If you ally yourself with Bridgette Colliere and the Were, you turn your back on prophecy. You turn your back on me and I can have nothing more to do with you.’
They were words spoken in anger, fear, desperation. She’d seen how serious Morghanna was about the task Bridgette had set in linking themselves to the Were, and because of her fear, she’d uttered words she never should have. She’d regretted those words later, but pride had stopped her from seeking forgiveness, even though she knew Morghanna would give it. Morghanna wouldn’t have shunned her. Even at the last, she begged Morrigan for temperance. She’d begged Morrigan to forgive and to live on for the both of them. If there had been a baby, Morghanna would have told her then.
Yet she’d said nothing.
‘Your sister was wrong. She’s been tricked by the Were in an attempt to turn me from the task ahead. But it didn’t work. I will not be swayed, not even with tales of blood relations that don’t exist.’
Cain nodded. ‘As you say, Mistress. They aren’t blood. And only blood matters.’
‘Yes.’ The ties of blood were stronger than anything else on this earth. The Darkness had whispered that to her on the night Morghanna had been slain, building on the fire of her rage, hammering her need for revenge to a fine point. Morrigan had carried those words with her through the centuries. She was doing this for the sake of her blood. ‘I know you might be reticent to do what I have asked, Cain, but remember, if you do exactly what I’ve told you, Eloise will return to us. She is lost to us now, but when her blood is returned to you, we will not only use the power of it for the blood moon, but you will tie her power to you forever. Then she will be redeemed. And you will be responsible. Think only of that.’
‘I believe, Mistress.’
‘I know you do. You are my saving grace, Cain. Now go. Do as we planned. Eloise’s blood will allow us to harness the power of Oestra and create the blood moon and with it, we will destroy the Were and reclaim what was taken. I will see you when you return to me.’
‘Until the blood moon.’
‘Until the blood moon, my precious one.’
As he disappeared through the wall, a sense of loss overwhelmed her. For a brief moment, she almost called him back. Almost stopped him. What if something went wrong? What if she lost him like she’d lost so many before? She couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand it. ‘Cain!’ But he was already gone. An overwhelming desire to scream, to tear at her clothes, her hair, took over. ‘What am I doing?’ Morghanna wouldn’t like it. She wouldn’t approve. ‘What have I done? What have I—’
The Darkness curled deep inside her, snapping out like a whip, cutting off her words. ‘Calm yourself. Do not forget your purpose, my black heart. Remember your revenge. Our revenge. We will destroy the plague of the Were and the line of witches that tore from both of us that which we once loved.’
The Darkness. The Darkness was talking to her again. Knees weak, she sank to the floor. ‘Yes, my lord. Yes.’
‘Cain knows what to do. You have primed him well, as I instructed. He will not fail you.’
Her lip wobbled. ‘How do you know? So many of the others have.’
‘Because a little bit of me is inside him too.’
She gasped. ‘When?’
‘When he was a child. His desire to protect his twin mixed with his jealousy over the abilities she had that he didn’t, allowed me entrance. He is one with us in a way his shifter twin never was. He will see this through.’
Yes. He would. He was the noose they would tighten around Eloise’s neck. He would bring her to heel and in so doing, bring the Were to their knees where they belonged; supplicants begging mercy. Mercy her sister had never received.
Mercy they would never get.
‘It has begun,’ she whispered.
‘Yes, my dark heart. It has finally begun.’
Chapter 20
Iain gripped the wheel tightly as he moved the car smoothly around another corner. The roads through the national park could be treacherous. He needed to concentrate. And yet, he couldn’t stop glancing over at Eloise.
She’d been quiet ever since they’d left, her hands clenched in her lap, face white, looking implacably ahead. Her tension was a saw on his nerves, her pain and worry tangible. He wanted to reach over, to take her hand, to stroke her face, tell her not to worry, soothe the pain away. Hell, if he was being truthful with himself, he wanted to do more than stroke her skin. He wanted to take her face in his hands and kiss the breath out of her until the strained look in her eyes dissolved under the heat of passion, memories of what they’d shared that night surging forward. It had been the first night for as long as he could remember that he didn’t relive the nightmare of his capture and torture by Morrigan and her minions. And it was all because of her. She brought a peace to his soul he’d never experienced. And a wild passion he wanted to explore.
Mine.
The whisper, a harsh growl of longing and ownership, echoed in his mind, egging on feelings he knew he shouldn’t have. Couldn’t have. He was a Lone Wolf. Lone Wolves didn’t mate. And yet, when they’d joined last night, his body had responded like it would to a mate. His wolf wanted her in the way a wolf hungered for a mate. Hell, he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life, more so now than before last night. However, the bond wasn’t there. He’d looked. It was missing.
So, why did he feel so tied to her?
He returned his gaze to the road, fingers gripping the steering wheel harder. He took a deep breath and almost cursed out loud. The scent of her, the lingering warmth of her wrapped around him and with it, the memory of her pressing up against him, skin to skin, her body wrapped around his, filled his mind with such tearing suddenness, it felt real.
Fuck! He had to tear his thoughts away from sex and Eloise and the roaring ache of his engorged cock pressing against his jeans. He’d never experienced this kind of aggressive sexual need before outside of those dreams he now knew were past-life memories. He had to control it. This wasn’t the time. Gabbie had died. More could follow her if he didn’t get Eloise to her brother and pull him back to his body. They’d taken a moment last night to express their growing attraction. It would have to be enough until this was over. Eloise didn’t need him pawing all over her or acting animalistic and possessive right now. Especially as he couldn’t back that possessiveness up with something more long term and respectful. She was a forever kind of girl and despite the bewildering feelings inside him towards her, he was uncertain he could give her forever.
He took in another deep breath. The tyres squealed on the bitumen as he took a corner too hard. Crap! Every breath was full of her. Every little gasp or quiver of her flesh was a turn-on. And he really wished she’d stop biting her lip—such beautiful lips deserved much better care. Or to be bitten by a lover in the midst of passion as he drove into her with his cock and his tongue.
‘Iain!’
Her fingers were white on the dash in front of her, eyes fearful as she stared at the road whipping by. He looked at the speedo—they were doing two hundred.
‘Sorry.’ He shot her a look of chagrin and slowed down. ‘I’m just anxious to get there.’
‘I’m not,’ she whispered.
Her whisper was an ice bath. It reminded him of how this must be for her. She was fearful and unhappy, and here he was thinking of nothing but stopping the car, stripping her naked and entreating her to ride him until they were both nothing more than trembling puddles of spent desire.
Roping back the violence of his need, he concentrated on the winding road, sweat beading his brow as he tried not to breathe in the scent of the woman at his side.
Finally, they made it through the tight curves and emerged out of the darker bushland into the open pastures that spread across the valleys and gentle green hills. Ten minutes later, he turned off the road and slowed to cross the cattle grid. As the car rattled over the metal grates, he braved a look at Elois
e. Her hands were a white knot in her lap; the flush had disappeared from her cheeks, replaced with a pallour like snow.
‘We’re almost there.’
She nodded, hands wringing tighter. ‘Good. I wish it was done already. That everyone was safe and Cain was under control and no danger to anyone.’
‘We’ll all make sure of it.’ He pulled onto a dirt road that led across the paddock. ‘But that’s not what has you truly worried, is it?’
She looked at him, her golden-green eyes pools of worry. ‘The Goddess said I’m a Nexus. That what I decide will shape the future.’ Her lips trembled. ‘I don’t want that on my shoulders.’
‘You don’t have to make those decisions alone. I’m here for you. We all are.’
Her lips trembled into a tight smile. ‘I know.’ She bit her lip again. ‘But don’t you see? That’s part of the problem. I now have something to care about. Something to lose. And I don’t want to lose it.’
‘You won’t.’ He pulled the car up outside a barn at the far end of the paddock. He took her face in his hands and brushed his thumb over the smooth silk of her skin, tamping down the absurd desire to lean forward and lick it, to savour the spiced-cream taste of it. His voice was a low rumble. ‘I… we won’t let you go.’ She licked her lips and closed her eyes as his fingers skimmed over her cheek. Fuck she was sexy.
‘Iain?’ Her eyes fluttered open, her lips wet and glistening from the touch of her tongue.
He cupped her cheek, gaze roving over her face to return to her lips. ‘Yes?’
‘Kiss me.’
His cock flexed, gaze colliding with hers. Her eyes were swirling pools of gold and green. ‘No.’
She edged forward, breath brushing over his face. ‘You want to.’
‘Fuck yes. But not while she’s there, looking at me out of your eyes. When I kiss you, I want to make sure it’s you and only you.’
She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘I think I need her, though. To do what I have to do tonight. I can’t shut her out. Please don’t make me.’
Shifter Bound Page 23
