by Susan Arden
Is this what it meant to give herself to a protector? She felt safe in his presence even though he was a sentinel and the most sensual male she’d ever met. Totally aware of the erotic effect that he had on her, she leaned back against him.
“So certain…” she murmured half dazed.
“What’s the next step?” He dug his fingers into the flesh at her hips. His voice was a low growl that reverberated in her body.
She captured a quick, sharp breath. “The invocation of the Horned God. Immediately afterwards, the doorway into the ley line here in Denver will show itself. I’ll be in my energetic state so I can travel through the realms.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
“Pray. I need to repair whatever hole exists. Otherwise more and more Fae will come through.” There was no reason to tell him, she might get caught in the realm or that the Fae could consume her life force completely. She did not move from him as she solemnly requested the blessing on this ritual. For the first time, she did not feel the welcoming of the Sisterhood that was akin to a sense of joy rocketing through her being. Was it because she’d seriously messed up?
Sherry closed her eyes, focused the four elements into being and cast up a shield around the house. She turned toward each of the cardinal directions, calling into her mind’s eye all the elements. Each appeared into being along with the Wiccan goddesses who gave their approval. The Horned God was absent, his place empty. She hesitated a moment, unsure if she should proceed. Her heartbeat thundered as she hovered on the brink between her physical state, and her pure energetic form.
The pulsations rippled along her nerves, her blade became a beacon both physically laced to her hand and as a highly conductive force she manipulated with her mind. She slipped through the first portal. In this place, she hovered, becoming accustomed to the transition from human body to pure energy. She was shocked to find her lifeline was deeply embedded into Quinn’s and together they formed a brilliant hue that sparkled, flowing endlessly.
Through the vastness of the Sisterhood, the lines of energy from spellcasters and the eternal goddesses were visible as well. In this outer realm, she stepped through another doorway, deeper into the universe of interspace. All beings had lifelines, rays of energy that were connected and fed the ley lines that covered the Earth. Sherry pulled taut the elements positioned before her as she worked her blade.
She waited while sacred spirits along air, fire, earth, and water took hold, compressed and realigned in pure molecular energetic structures. Without moving, she worked her mind to counterbalance the elements, cinching tighter and tighter the universal energy that flowed abundantly until she was filled and had the capacity to hyper leap between the realms.
In her freeform state of pure energy, she glided away from the warmth of Quinn’s body. The sparks his lifeline emitted were similar to fireworks that caressed her invitingly, until she moved farther and farther, and then a majority of his energy reconnected with the ley line, an unbroken ray feeding into the static energy-rich fault line. Tiny tendrils of Quinn’s life force remained connected to her as she slipped farther into the energy corridor, moving within the interspace between the realms.
Gliding instinctively, she made her way back to the ley line center along passages where an eternal night sky presided. There were no words to describe what she saw. Until two Fae materialized. Their presence was felt rather than seen. Cold, noxious, and draining. They too wouldn’t see her, only perceive her life force. Sherry drew in her energy, and dropped to another level in the ley line, praying it would be clear.
There were dark shadows slinking nearby, lower energy forms, and she sensed they were unable to leech an iota of strength from her. She bolted down a passage, this segment of the realm familiar to her. Sweeping against her were free moving currents of energy. Then, a blast of rigid wind tangled her mind. Before her was a hole in the shield.
Using her blade, she telepathically invoked the sacred words and her blade glowed, making it possible to cauterize the edges of the tear. She had to seal the entry before any more Fae came through. They’d have the ability to render her life force void if they crossed over and through her.
The universal forces were powerful, not easily contained, and required her utmost concentration to shape. She faltered and the elements burst apart, shattering, and the pain slashed within her psyche, a repulsive ache deep in her soul.
Dimensional forces pressed against her. Her strength ebbed. She lacked the ability to weave her blade, let alone repair the shield. Even though her blade was pure energy within the ley line realm each movement required her complete mental acumen and she’d let herself become depleted. Soon her energy would diminish entirely and she’d be lost within the interior of the ley line. She had one chance but it required she show her location and Dark Fae would know her whereabouts. If she waited, she’d lack the nimble control to do complete work. She focused her strength, and sought the assistance of any spellcaster within the realm. A psychic SOS of sorts. Bleeps of light arrived, joining with her soul. Each time one packet of energy connected with her, she mentally expanded her own force field out in front of her in an effort to wield more power. Finally, the elements coalesced. She wielded her dagger rapidly weaving elements together.
One more pass and the shield would be stabilized. Using her blade, she made the draw, bonding the elements that formed a temporary patch sealing the tear. The edges pulsed with interstellar wind. She’d have to recharge in human form and then return, forging the edges for a more permanent seal. But for now, the shield was in place as it should be for the Denver ley lines.
She began to glide back down the passage, seeking the familiar life line of Quinn. That was the only way she had to find her way back. Scanning the lines, she perceived Quinn’s unique energy print and hyper leapt from level to level, weaving their lines together. Coming upon an unfamiliar passage, she flinched at the sensation encountered. A piercing sound stabbed at her neural pathways. As if shoved, she stumbled at the edge of the passage, and released a scream within her mind.
Slipping, unable to regain her balance, she fell, tumbling backward, dropping between the passages on the ley line. Reaching out, she swiped at the familiar energy lines that were still connected to her, those of Quinn, forging a connection with her lifeline. His protective energy acted as a tether, stopping her fall. As though a safety net, his life force immediately grew stronger around her, until she stabilized and had her bearings. She’d lost so much energy on her fall, the effort to rise took all her strength. Another level upward, the doorway was nearby, and she burst through reconnecting with her physical body.
When she opened her eyes, she was back in the circle, quivering under the onslaught of the raw force of the Horned God who demanded to know why she’d acted without his permission.
From her lips, she moaned the only name she could recall. “Quinn.”
Quinn growled, the sound primal upon his vocal cords. His instinct to protect had been on full alert this whole time, a crushing feeling that had a razor-sharp anger in agreeing to let her do something so dangerous. His name on her lips unchained a chaotic mix of foreign emotions that swept over him. Relief gave way to a spiked fervor to claim her. Until they completed the mating cycle and were truly bonded, he was denied the ability to fully protect her. The liquid flame to possess Sherry surged in his blood, urging him to make his mark upon her, and then she’d be his.
He’d watched her for several hours as she appeared in some deep trance, moving about the circle. At one point, she screamed so loud, he’d tried to wake her, finding her unresponsive. He held her in his arms, rocking her. Then without warning, she jolted, flailing against him and opened her eyes.
“Jesus. Finally, you’re back.” He picked Sherry up, at first roughly dominating but that dissipated into a tenderness at the feel of her secure in his arms and responding to him. Her limp body, chilly to his touch, shook uncontrollably. The clothes she wore were saturated
by a cold perspiration. She must have been drained from the ritual.
Hell, he felt as though he’d done a mountain run over a challenge course by the end. The amount of concentration he’d witnessed her exert must have taxed her system.
“How do you feel, angel?” he asked, leaning over her face and brushing his lips along her ear.
“The shield is in place. I was able to travel back to the main part of the ley line to do some minor repairs. The property is warded from the Fae. We can do a few more things, nothing major until I hear from the council.” Sherry’s face was ashen, her eyes bloodshot.
“I asked about you.”
“Tired.” Shivering, she hugged her arms around herself.
“You’re freezing. We need to get you warm. Thirsty? You should eat and drink something.”
“Yes. And you, too.”
“Jesus, I was the audience. Sher, I’ve never seen such abilities.” Weakly, she smiled up at him. A wholly different side from the one she demonstrated at the Den. Efficient, brilliant, beautiful—she was all still all of those, but there was a sense of fragility to her strength. As though she housed a secret too taxing.
“We are connected. Your energy line and mine,” she murmured. He didn’t understand specifically what she’d meant. Nevertheless, satisfaction thrummed in his veins—he’d have no difficulty protecting her to the end of time. And then he realized, with the danger of the Dark Fae, that could be days from now once they mated if he wasn’t on his game.
He nudged the door open with his shoulder. Walking into the room, he felt an odd sense of comfort mingled with a scalding fever of desire to claim Sher. He held her closer to his chest for a moment. Counting her heartbeat and each exhalation, he pressed her nearer to him in order to share his body heat. The quivering of her body subsided little by little. Still her body was way too cold and his hackles jerked upright. Setting her down on the bed, he couldn’t wait another second. “Let me try something with you.”
She looked up at him. “What?”
He brought his head down, and brushed his lips across her sweet tasting mouth. The softness soothing, pure magic to his senses. This wasn’t a kiss to dominate, it was a kiss to protect her. Renew her. Give her what she needed—what he possessed as a Lycan guardian. If they were meant to be, she would show the signs of hungering him as much as he craved her and also being sustained by him as her protector.
Sherry moaned, reaching up and hooking her fingers around his neck. She gave in to him, letting go a whimper. He deepened the kiss, slowly sliding his tongue into her mouth as he completely savored her lips. He drew out the moment, relishing the way she sucked his tongue, lightly bit his lips until he was the one pouring himself into her. She held a power over him as her body began to warm next to his.
Lifting his head, he stared down into her shimmering eyes, her cheeks suffused with color. “You’re going to be mine. Always. Feel better?”
“How did you do that?” she asked, running her hands up his arms and making his body ready to burst. “That was astonishing.”
He encircled her body, pressing into her, and forced himself to stop. Another second, and he’d be on the edge of wanting to peel off her clothes. Take her. “I’ve tried to tell you. I’m not the one with the power, baby. This is what we do together. It only gets better with time.”
“Incredible. I’ve never experienced such sensations. As though I’ve been replenished. I’m always so drained after doing this type of work.”
“All of the spellcasters are like you… in this ability to cross realms?”
“Some are far more advanced. I don’t practice much other than do shield maintenance. It’s why I was hoping to return to London and get involved in the Sisterhood Council. Out here, I’m nothing more than part of the maintenance crew. There hasn’t been much need.”
“Seems very important to me. The Sisterhood… do they support you at all?” He didn’t know what it meant for a Sisterhood Council member to be mated with a protector. They had their own winged guardians as she’d indicated earlier.
“We meet during seasonal cycles. It’s the strength we have as a unit that enables us to do our work. Singularly, not so much.”
“I beg to differ with you.” The rest of the creatures he knew of roaming the Earth were plodding idiots compared to casters as far as he was concerned.
“You’re biased.”
“Maybe.” He noticed her skin was tinged bluish from cold. “Take off your clothing. I’ll find you something dry to put on.”
“I—”
“Don’t you dare argue. Take them off or I’ll rip them off your body. You’ve got five seconds.”
“Turn away. Please, Quinn.”
A low grumble mixed with a growl in his throat. He turned and walked toward the closet. “I left some clothing in here. T-shirts and jeans.” When he came out, she was sitting on the bed holding up her shirt in front of her chest. “Doll, need I remind you I’ve tasted your amazing skin.”
“Give me a chance to get used to the idea of you—me… us.” She swiveled on the bed and asked him a question he wasn’t expecting. “What about children?”
Choking, he almost stumbled. “We’ll have plenty. I hope that’s a good thing.”
“I don’t know what Lycan children would be like.”
“If we’re lucky, like you.” He tugged her shirt free of her hands. “You’re so beautiful.” He stared down at her, the fullness of her breasts, and his cock stiffened. Sherry touched his hand, hesitantly, and he stroked a finger down her face, neutral territory.
“I meant type?”
“How do you mean?” The wolf edged closer to the surface, being in striking distance to what it craved and unused to denying its primal instincts. The feel of her skin, like satiny cream, soft and delicious, had been an icy white-hot kick to his senses.
“I was thinking of that small child in shifter form. How soon can Lycan children shift? And how are they born? As wolf pups or humans?” Her tone was even, but he was not fooled when his wolf perception distinguished the flaring of her vocal cords.
“That depends upon the life force at the time of birth.” He glanced at her, the first woman he’d discussed children with… another startling revelation. He wondered if she’d be forthright. “Is this idle curiosity?
“Well, considering that it’s a possibility between us and I’ve no in-depth knowledge of shifter biology, I’d have to say much more than idle.”
“It’s similar to discussing eye color, one never knows what will appear. Same with Lycan. Since you’re human, I’d bet our baby will be born in human form and if by the first full moon, he or she doesn’t shift, then chances are, the child won’t have the ability. Some powers, but not transformation.” He had to be honest with her and added, “And some come to be Lycan by bite.”
“I didn’t know.” That’s all she said. She didn’t question would it happen to her.
“I’ll bring you something to eat. I want you to rest. And then, I think it’s time we talked.”
“I need my bag. There’s a journal that I must complete.”
“I’ll get it. Just relax. You’ve earned a break.” He helped get her dress, ironically all the while his hands aching to remove her clothes. Pulling back the comforter, he helped her settle onto the king-size bed under the covers. “The master bedroom is on the far side of the house away from the kitchen. There’s a sitting room and adjoining bath through that doorway. If you want to go outside to the private garden, wait for me. The bathroom is well stocked. All that is here is yours.” He walked to the wet bar and poured her a glass of mineral water. “Ice?”
“No. I can’t take the cold.”
“You live in Colorado and you have an aversion to cold?”
“We don’t get to pick where we live. I was given this placement based upon my experience and skill level.”
“Strange considering you’re working in a shifter club.”
/> “I was given choices and that was my preference. I wanted to be fully aware of the elements of sexuality. Not be blind to carnal desire. It wasn’t a foolish choice. I’ve learned much over the last two years.” Temptation played upon the sensual curve of her lips.
“I bet you did,” he whispered, holding the glass of water to her lips. “Drink.”
He set the glass down, and clenched his jaw so tight, the vein hammered along his cheek at the idea of leaving her alone.
She reached for his hand, wrapping her delicate fingers around his palm. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered.
“Be back in a flash.” Quinn left her resting in bed after he’d delivered her satchel—a well-worn leather bag heavier than the Dickens. By the time he returned, the longer than hell blade she’d brandished was sheathed and lay at her side. The color had returned to her smooth flawless skin stretched over the gorgeous curves and hollows of her face. He longed to run his hands down her body, tracing the smooth skin.
Setting down the tray of food he’d scrounged from the pantry and refrigerator, he sank down into the soft mattress on the other side of the bed. Generally, he required massive amounts of food to keep up with his Lycan metabolism but today, his wolf’s hunger for food was eclipsed by his craving to taste the woman beside him.
Sherry speared a Greek olive using an hors d'oeuvre fork. “This all is very Mediterranean.”
“Last weekend a cousin of mine was down from Chicago. They’re unusual birds.” Quinn slathered hummus over flat bread, and held out a piece. “This is good for you. Plenty of nutrients.”
“You should eat as well.” She bit into the flatbread and chewed daintily.
