by Robson, Cecy
Bren tackled me before I could make it very far. My breath released in short pained gasps, as if I couldn’t breathe without Aric. I needed his scent, his taste, his warmth around me. What remained of my sanity rushed out in an agonized scream before my body lost control and I began to hyperventilate. Bren loosened his hold. “Jesus, Celia. Breathe, kid. Just breathe.”
My elbow nailed him hard in the temple and I clawed away from him. I staggered to my feet, my tigress eyes fixed to where Aric’s heated voice continued to fight with Shayna. Bren and Danny grabbed my arms once more, their faces battered and dripping with blood. I broke away so forcibly my body flew through a wide French door leading into an office. Taran screamed. Glass cut my body, stinging my arms, face, and neck. Warm fluid dripped down my chest and soaked my stomach, but I didn’t matter. Only Aric did.
CHAPTER 22
Bren’s and Danny’s injured faces paled with horror and panic. They approached me cautiously, their palms out pleading. I crawled backward through the glass, slipping on my blood as I moved.
“Celia, honey, please look at me,” Danny whispered anxiously. “I need you to focus. Please look at me.”
My hand clutched a large piece of broken glass. “No. You won’t keep me from him!” My chest ached with every sob. “I need him! I can’t live without him! I won’t live without him!”
“Celia!” Taran screamed.
Something shattered and Anara roared in pain. The shard of glass I held rested just above my heart, piercing through my thick sweater. Tye had stopped me from stabbing myself. His hand clamped my wrist, he dripped with sweat, and he worked to catch his breath. Bren lay across my other arm, and Liam and Danny restrained my lower body. Slowly, my fingers uncurled against my will and the glass within my grip floated away.
Emme had appeared. She discarded the piece along with the remaining shards surrounding me with the power of her force. Her face had blanched. Taran stood beside her crying.
Martin and Makawee slowly rose from the floor. Martin staggered to Anara, who lay unconscious several feet away. Martin shook his head. “Anara will be all right. He just failed to shield himself properly. I suppose he never expected Aric to break his hold.” He looked over at Aric. “And neither did I.”
At the mention of Aric’s name, I struggled again. This time the wolves made certain I couldn’t move.
Shayna waited by Aric with her arms hugging her thin frame and her voice shaking. “What about my sister? Is she okay?”
Aric’s eyes scanned the area before falling back on me. “What the blazes happened?”
“Let me go!” I sobbed. “I want to be with Aric—just let me be with Aric!” My cries grew hysterical and again I struggled to breathe.
“Sweetness, I’m right here. I’m right here, baby,” Tye said.
I screamed at him when he tried to hold my face. “Don’t touch me, you stupid goddamn lion!” With the exception of Makawee and Martin, everyone looked at me as if I’d gone insane. Maybe I had.
Makawee stroked my forehead. I shrugged her off; the only touch I wanted was Aric’s. “Celia has been poisoned,” she said gently. “Release her and I will try to cleanse her body.” Everyone climbed off me except for Tye. Makawee placed her hand on his shoulder. “Do not fear, dear wolf. No harm will come to her.”
I rushed to Aric the moment Tye let go. I managed only a few paces before Makawee caught me and restrained me with a strength that belied her petite stature. She held me by my arms while waves of nausea slammed into me like an angry tide. Cold sweat rushed down my body and the room spun. I started to faint. Strong arms caught me before I hit the floor. Makawee carried me to a bathroom and placed me in front of a toilet just in time. I threw up violently. Instead of the sickening smell of vomit, the scent of dark magic filled the air. My body shuddered with weakness. The moment I finished, I slumped into someone’s arms. “I’ve got her, Makawee,” Shayna said. Her voice trembled over Taran’s and Emme’s sniffling.
“Emme, fill the tub with warm water and then help Taran and Shayna take off her clothes. We need to bathe her. I will return shortly. I must gather some herbs to purify the water.”
“I need to heal Celia, Makawee,” Emme pleaded. “She’s still bleeding.”
“In sealing her wounds, you’ll trap the poison inside her. The yellow dock I’ll add to the water will help cleanse her blood, but we must hurry. We’re running out of time.”
My eyelids closed tight and my head throbbed over Tye’s loud bellows. “Let me through—I need to see her!”
“No, Aric,” Makawee answered. “Celia is too vulnerable. We can’t risk her trying to hurt herself again.”
Tye swore in frustration. Martin’s deep baritone voice boomed in the foyer. “Aric, you are keeping Makawee from helping your mate. Move out of the way.” He growled. “You will also do well to watch your tongue when speaking to your Omega.”
My ears picked up on the sound of shuffling feet outside the door before Makawee’s soft voice spoke once more. “Young Daniel, come with me, please.”
I drifted between sleep and wakefulness. The tub closed around me like a snail shell. Warm water lapped at my skin as my body floated around the spirals. Growls echoed in the distance, both lion and wolf, together as one. Aric’s and Tye’s voices had united. I wanted to sleep, but I feared drowning. Will the snail let me drown, Aric?
“I’m not looking, Aric. I swear I’m not looking,” Danny kept saying.
Makawee stopped her chanting. I couldn’t even recall when she’d come back. My thoughts were muddled, and I struggled to make sense of what was happening. “Young Daniel, I would like you to watch what I’m doing. As a blue merle werewolf, you may be gifted with the ability to heal others. Kindly open your eyes.” Her chanting resumed.
A pop followed a sizzle. “Ow! What the heck, Taran?” Danny said. “Makawee made me look.”
“She said ‘watch’ not ‘gawk,’” Taran snapped. “Reel in your damn hormones before I zap you again.”
More growls erupted.
“Aric, calm down,” Bren said. “It’s not like he’s never seen her naked before.”
There was a sudden upsurge of breaking, smashing, and more snarling. Once again, Makawee stopped her chanting. “Aric,” she said calmly, “please allow your Warriors to escort you outside and away from the building.” Her soothing essence floated above my skin. The silence on the other side of the door was immediate. “Now, young Daniel, take the black cohosh and sprinkle it over Celia while I finish the ritual.”
“What will that do?” Emme asked meekly.
“It’s the final herb to destroy the poison.”
The scents of licorice and rose water tickled my nose before the aroma of sage clouded the room. My mind flooded with visions of Native Americans dancing to the beat of a soft pounding drum. I coughed, through my mouth and through my cuts.
“Oh, shit,” Taran whispered.
“Do not fear. The dark magic is leaving her body.”
I coughed several more times. My skin felt like a sponge being squeezed, but with each cough it became easier to breathe.
I left the Native Americans and slipped back through the snail shell. I blinked my eyes open during my last few coughs to find my sisters staring back at me. Shayna lifted me from the water and helped me to sit. Danny hurried to the corner, giving his back to me.
Makawee nodded. “It is done.”
Emme healed my wounds following Makawee’s cleansing ritual. They burned my clothes along with the remaining herbs, forcing me to borrow a tunic and jeans from Shayna. I tried to apologize to Taran for hurting her, but she wouldn’t hear it. When I emerged from the bathroom, I couldn’t look anyone in the face. Even though I knew magic had influenced my behavior, humiliation heated my body. It had bothered me to be vulnerable. I could handle most things, but being defenseless wasn’t one of them.
Makawee explained I had ingested a poison that caused me to switch Tye’s and Aric’s entities. The magic was so strong Tye and Aric took on each other’s looks, scents, and apparently their tastes as well. The way his lips and tongue had swept against mine should have warned me something was different, but in retrospect my thoughts seemed so jumbled, focused only on taking in Aric. She also told me the poison had amplified my feelings for Aric, turning me dangerously obsessive and suicidal. I couldn’t argue with that. Shit. I’d almost killed myself.
Shayna slung an arm around me. “It’s okay, Ceel. Don’t be embarrassed.”
Taran rubbed at her face. “I’m sorry I knocked you out, Makawee. And please extend my apologies to Martin. I was trying to put Celia to sleep, but I was so scared for her I didn’t aim my magic in the right direction.”
Makawee smiled gently. “Not to worry, Taran. These things happen.”
I kept my eyes on the floor. Oh, yeah. I’m sure they happen all the time.
Makawee turned to leave, but I stopped her. “Thank you for helping me, Makawee. I don’t know what would have happened to me if you hadn’t been here.”
She patted my shoulder. “You’re welcome, Celia. Try to rest tonight.”
Gemini, Koda, and Bren regarded me with their arms crossed over their powerful chests. Aric was nowhere to be found and neither was Liam or the remaining Elders. I could barely catch a trace of their aromas.
My hands squeezed Bren’s and Danny’s arms. Dried blood caked their faces and hair from the injuries I’d inflicted. My shame made it hard to meet their gazes. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
“We know, honey,” Danny said quietly. “It’s okay.”
No, it really wasn’t.
“Who did this to you, Celia?” Gemini asked. His voice wasn’t so quiet.
“I don’t know.”
Koda’s upper lip curled into a snarl. “Didn’t you just have dinner with the bloodsuckers?”
“Misha wouldn’t do this,” Danny answered. He was the only wolf not scowling. “He wouldn’t want Celia to be with Tye any more than Aric.”
Bren narrowed his eyes. “Maybe not Misha, but how ’bout one of his other leeches?”
Shayna encircled Koda’s waist to calm his increasing growls. “Misha’s vampires are terrified of him, puppy. I don’t see any one of them risking their hides to harm her.”
Emme clutched my hand with hers. “Misha’s vamps adore Celia.” My head slowly turned toward her. She blushed. “Well, I mean, in their own special way.”
“We’re going to figure this out, Celia,” Gemini said. “In the meantime, I’d like to speak with Makawee about allowing you to stay here tonight.”
I shook my head. “The Elders brought me here with the purpose of hooking me up with Tye. I don’t want him. I want Aric. My inebriation proved as much. They’re not going to want me around now. Hell, you might get in trouble for even suggesting I stay.”
Gemini didn’t respond. He knew I was right.
Bren cracked his knuckles. “The Elders don’t require me and Dan to live here. We’re going back to our apartment. Come with us—you can crash at our place.”
“Thanks, Bren, but I feel safe enough going back to Misha’s.”
Taran and Shayna remained shaken by the events of the evening. They wanted to return to Misha’s house with me or back to Dollar Point. I insisted they stay with their wolves and appease the Elders. No one seemed happy, but their worry increased when Emme climbed into the car with me. It was then that everyone seemed more aware of Liam’s absence.
Emme drove behind Bren and Danny, passing through the large stretch of Den grounds. I stared at Emme, who kept swallowing hard and taking deep breaths. As we passed through the wrought-iron gates, the dam burst and she broke down. I had her stop the car before we crashed. Bren rushed over to us to see what was wrong. “What the hell happened?”
“She and Liam broke up,” I answered quietly. I slid out of the car and went around the other side.
Bren wrenched the driver’s-side door open, fired up. And yet when he reached for Emme, he was incredibly gentle. He gathered her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Do you want me to kick his ass?” he offered.
I hurried around the other side and clutched his arm. “It’s not like that.” I sighed, not wanting to announce my sister’s business to the world but worried Bren would go after Liam if he thought he’d hurt Emme. “Liam told Emme that she’s not his mate.”
Hearing the cause of their breakup in words was the emotional kick to the shins Emme didn’t need. She sobbed into her hands.
Bren looked down at her, then at me, then called for reinforcements. “Dan! Hysterical female, you need to handle this.”
I led Emme into the backseat and tried to comfort her while Danny drove our Legacy. Bren was better off driving alone in his Mustang. The moment he slammed his door shut he blasted Metallica. He didn’t do well with crying women, emotional breakdowns, or drama. He did only bar brawls, babes, and beer. And yet he’d done his best to soothe Emme’s pain.
Emme choked through her words. “Liam didn’t take our breakup well, and begged me reconsider.” She wiped her tears with the sleeves of her pink sweater. “When I asked him if he was certain I wasn’t his mate, it took him a long time to answer. I kept waiting for him to give me hope. But he wasn’t able to. Instead he promised to love me as much as he could.”
My heart panged. “As much as he could” wasn’t good enough, no matter how much Liam meant it to be. I didn’t want their relationship to end. But I also wanted what was best for both of them.
“We didn’t say anything more once we heard the screaming inside.” Emme leaned heavily against me. “I’ve never loved anyone else, Celia. And I don’t think I ever will.”
I held her close and thought of Aric. If her mate wasn’t Liam, then it was someone else. If so, she would love another.
• • •
Bren and Danny left us at Misha’s after Bren explained the effects of my poisoning in graphic detail. Misha seethed with a rage I’d never seen. Like the wolves, he’d concluded one of his own had poisoned me. It made sense. My last meal and drink had been in his home. And the witch fire . . . yeah, that had occurred under his watch and on his turf as well. It went without saying something was rotten in Dracville.
Emme and I passed the line of vampires waiting to be interrogated on our way to the guesthouse. Most of them shook in fear of Misha’s wrath. But none like Chef. Sweat cascaded down his face in rivers and he crumpled his hat with trembling hands. “What’s going to happen to Chef?” Emme whispered when we stepped outside.
“I don’t know,” I answered. But I did. Vamps could sniff lies, but they weren’t immune to illusions or conspiracies. If Misha suspected Chef’s involvement, he wouldn’t last the hour.
“It’s hard to believe Misha would kill his own.”
I opened the door to the guesthouse. Someone had lit a fire in the family room’s small fireplace. The glow greeted us in the otherwise dark house. I flipped the lights on in the hall. “Vampires live by different rules, Emme. Disobedience isn’t tolerated. Otherwise vamps would roam the earth hurting humans and making them aware of their presence.” I focused on the dancing flames. “I’m not saying it’s right. But it is their way.”
“D-do you think Chef did it? Do you think he’s been the one trying to kill you?”
“Considering I was poisoned, he seems the most likely suspect. Still, I don’t see how he can possibly see me as the key to ending the vampire race.” I pursed my lips. “I wouldn’t want to be the one deciding his fate. I just hope Misha’s decision is the right one.” I grabbed a set of towels and placed them in the bathroom for Emme to shower. I was handing her a T-shirt when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
Aric growled on the other end, the rage evident in his words
. “Are you okay?”
I stepped into my bedroom and closed the bathroom door behind me. “I’m fine. Gosh, Aric, I’m sorry about tonight.”
“None of this is your fault.”
“You just sound so angry.”
“I am—but not at you. I blame myself.”
“Why?”
“If I hadn’t claimed you as my mate, the obsessive trait of the spell wouldn’t have been as severe. I almost killed you.”
“No, you didn’t. Please don’t say that.”
“Celia . . . I’m going to have to break our mate bond.”
My heart sank. “You want to sever our bond. The very one you started and never told me about? No. That’s unacceptable.”
“Celia, I know I should’ve explained our matehood sooner. Forgive me for keeping you in the dark. That night I was out of my mind for you and your body. My animal instincts took over and drove me to claim you. I should have held off, knowing you weren’t aware of what we were sealing between us.”
I remembered that night so well. Aric wasn’t the only one hungry to make love. And while I didn’t know what was happening between us, it didn’t take away from what we’d created. It remained one of the best moments of my life.
My voice quavered. “If you break our bond, you’ll have to obey Anara. We won’t be able to see each other. Don’t you think we’ve spent enough time apart?”
Aric let out a long breath. “I don’t want to be without you. But I’d rather keep you alive than risk another turn of events like tonight. If I hadn’t broken out of Anara’s hold . . .”
I paced the room, my entire being on edge. “Aric, I’ve finally accepted that I’m your mate. And it’s wonderful, and amazing, and it’s given me more joy than I ever could have imagined. Please don’t take that away from me.”
“Sweetness, I don’t want to do this to us. I’m just trying to protect you. I don’t know what’s after you. But whatever it is wants you gone. You’re not safe anywhere, baby.”
