How could she be so reckless? So fucking irresponsible?
When I found her …
Two men rushed me from across the street, one holding an iron rod in his hand. I narrowed my eyes and widened my stance, waiting for the fuckers to get closer.
My beast clawed at my skin, fighting to get out. I popped my neck and let a partial shift roll through me, giving in to the pain as my arms lengthened and claws shot out of my fingertips.
My jaw popped and my teeth elongated, my mouth filling with my tiger’s fangs.
I bounced on the balls of my feet and launched myself forward.
The two soldiers attacked in unison. I ripped into the first attacker’s stomach with my claws, feeling warm blood flow as I twisted my hand into his flesh and pulled ropes of intestines free from his stomach. The iron fell from his fingers before he ever swung and clattered to the floor.
He attempted a scream, but all that came out was a gurgle as he fell, his eyes lifeless before his head ever hit the pavement. I whirled to throw the other attacker over my shoulder and slammed his body into the pavement, reveling in the crunch of bone that echoed through the night.
Another man ran towards me.
Idiots. It was like they wanted to die.
I bent and picked up the iron rod and swung it at my attacker. He disappeared, and I twisted, anticipating his intent.
He wasn’t the first telekinetic I’d had to deal with. I had one of these bastards living in my Compound.
The rod slammed into his stomach. He hunched over at the waist and disappeared again.
Motherfucker.
I whirled around, but he didn’t reappear.
Come on …
A rush of air to my right had me turning, and I reached out with my claws, slashing the man high across the throat.
He stumbled back, clutching at his neck and fell to the ground, gasping.
Blood flowed between his fingers. I didn’t wait to watch him die. If he didn’t suffocate, he’d bleed out. Either was fine with me.
I flared my nostrils. Blood permeated the air, coupled with the scent of sweat and death.
I looked for Aria in the darkened street and found her ten yards away facing off with a raven-haired woman.
I ran towards her.
Just as I neared them, the woman turned, her gaze hard, her lips pursed. She made a fist in my direction, and I felt something pop inside, then fell to my knees and stared down at my chest.
My beast writhed in agony and clawed beneath my skin to get free.
I watched, helplessly, as blood flowed from the pores in my chest, leaking through my skin to trickle out and seep through the thin material of my shirt. I hadn’t bothered with a coat, in too much of a hurry to get to Aria.
I suddenly felt cold, and a pins and needles sensation filled my fingertips. My claws retracted of their own volition.
Aria screamed, and my eyes met hers briefly before I fell sideways to the unforgiving ground. I couldn’t move. My limbs were numb, a needling sensation flickered across my nerves, and my body refused to respond to any mental commands.
“NO!” Tears ran down Aria’s face as rage and anguish flooded into me through the bond. I wanted to reach out to her. Tell her everything was fine. It would all be okay.
I tried to get up. I pushed up from the pavement, gravel digging into my palms. I winced at the pain in my chest. I needed to get up.
The woman smiled, and my beast snarled, unable to attack and madder than hell about it.
Aria’s eyes glowed like molten orbs, and with the wrath of a goddess, she rained her fury on the woman with a barrage of fire.
She was glorious. Her russet-colored hair whipped around her face, and a sheen of fire coated her body from head to toe as she charged the wide-eyed assailant.
“I’m coming!” I growled. I ground my teeth and snarled as my arms failed me, and I slumped back to the floor. I needed to shift completely and heal my wounds.
“What the fuck did that woman do to me?” I shook myself and gritted my teeth against the pain. Whatever it was, it’d hurt like hell, but she was distracted now, her focus back on Aria.
I pushed off the ground again, determined to fight beside my mate. I managed to get to my hands and knees.
Fuck it. I shifted. My clothes ripped and my back arched as my beast came roaring to the surface.
My human mind melded with that of my tiger, and all I could feel was an all-consuming fury. It took several seconds for me to catch my breath, my lungs screaming with each exhale, but slowly my wounds mended themselves.
I stalked forward and growled low in my throat to signal Aria.
I’m here. I’m okay.
She didn’t look in my direction.
I paced back and forth, my tail flicking behind me, looking for an opening that wasn’t coming.
A man to my left screamed a battle cry and charged into the fray. I bent low and launched off the pavement, the full weight of my tiger landing on the unsuspecting man. I sank my claws into his chest and bent, opening my fangs over his throat only to close them and pull, rending the flesh free.
I spit out the flesh and turned back to Aria. The air crackled with energy, the tension so thick it rubbed along my fur like a wet, suffocating fog.
“She’s losing control!” Inarus shouted as he jogged up beside me. He stared down at the corpse next to me and the corner of his mouth lifted in disgust, but he made no comment.
I licked the blood from my lips and growled at him to continue whatever it was he had to say. He looked down at me in my tiger form, contempt etched across his face.
The feeling is mutual. Jackass.
My beast wanted to bite him. My human half did too.
“She’s expending too much energy. We need to reel her in.”
I turned to Aria. She hovered two inches off the ground, her arms wide as power arced around her. The other woman was also suspended in the air, her brows narrowed and her lips curled into a snarl.
I wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but my beast couldn’t form human words.
“Shit. It’s Dia.” He scowled and had a torn expression before a mask fell over him, and he stiffened his spine.
“They’re locked in a telekinetic battle. I know what Dia is capable of. She’s strong and she’s better trained, but Aria has more raw power. She can handle this, but … ”
I didn’t give two shits who this Dia woman was, and I knew my mate could handle herself. She was strong, fierce, and more than capable, but ...
We'd both heard the prophecy.
I turned my head from side to side. The witch had said she would level the city if she couldn’t control her powers, and fuck it all to hell, but we were in the city. Right in the heart of downtown.
I sat back on my haunches.
“What the hell are you doing?” Inarus shouted.
Wind lashed hard against us, but I ignored it and closed my eyes.
I envisioned Aria in my arms, her scent wrapped around me, and her body pressed tightly against mine.
My beast calmed, and I pushed the serenity I felt through the bond and waited.
And waited.
I opened one eye. Inarus looked like he wanted to throw something, but instead he stood to the side, three metal spheres hovering in his hand. An anxious gesture.
Opening both eyes, I surveyed Aria.
I could feel her determination to decimate her attacker. She was filled with a fiery rage, but beneath it all was an all-consuming fear. What was she afraid of?
Both women rose higher into the air.
The street below them cracked, and veins of broken asphalt spider-webbed in all directions.
“Fuck. It’s happening.”
Devin, Brock, and Robert all ran to stand beside me. All three men were covered in blood and sweat, but no one looked to have any life-threatening injuries.
The crack in the street widened.
“Holy shit,” Devin swore. “Who’s doing that?”
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I directed my gaze to my mate. Come on, Aria, finish her already, and get out of there.
I pressed myself low to the ground, preparing to launch myself at her attacker.
Inarus stepped in front of me.
I snarled at him, displaying my fangs.
“No. You can’t break her concentration. This isn’t a fist fight. It’s a telekinetic battle happening on the mental level. That woman”—he pointed at the enemy—“she’s a high-level telekinetic, and Aria has failed to master even beginner-level skills. The only thing saving her right now is focus and sheer strength of will. If you get in her way, she’ll either kill you, or you’ll kill her. You have to wait.”
I opened my mouth to roar my disagreement when Robert interjected.
“Wait? For what? She’s going to level every damn building on the block.” The fissures were beginning to climb the walls of the closest brick buildings. Sanborn Place had already collapsed, the exterior wall a pile of crumbled brick and mortar.
“Wait for her to win. If she starts to drop or cries out in pain, then jump in and save her. Right now, it’s too close. You have to wait or you could end up killing them both.”
I didn’t care about the other woman, only my mate.
Inarus clenched his free hand into a tight fist, his knuckles bone white.
Who was this woman to him?
I flicked my gaze to Robert and tilted my head toward Inarus. He nodded and took a step closer to the man.
I didn’t know what was going inside of his head, but something was warring inside of him. I wasn’t going to take any chances.
With Robert watching Inarus closely out of the corner of his eyes, I began walking circles around the fight but had to widen my circle with each revolution. Their energy was a physical force, pressing me back farther and farther.
It wasn’t letting up, and as each second ticked by, my nerves ratcheted up a notch, until finally the other woman’s energy began to fade. Her face was etched with strain, her eyes wide and bloodshot.
The force of Aria’s power pressed her down as Aria continued to rise above her.
A blood-curdling scream rent the air, and the woman suddenly fell from the air and landed on the ground with a deafening thunk. Inarus ran toward her.
What the hell?
He cradled her in his arms, rocking her still form.
My nostrils flared.
“Should I … ?”
I shook my head at Robert. Leave him. We had bigger problems.
I looked up at Aria, a blaze of glory in her expression and her arms wide. I waited for her to come back to herself, to me, but she continued to rise.
Brock swore behind me.
Inarus still cradled the woman’s head in his lap, but his eyes were now on Aria, his face stricken. I considered shifting back to my human form. I needed to know what was going on with her. Why wasn’t she coming back down?
Expending the necessary energy to shift would leave me weaker than I already was. The thought of being weak when Aria might need me didn’t sit well, but I didn’t see an alternative.
I let the shift roll through me, gritting my teeth to keep from snarling as the accompanying pain washed through me with the shift. Bones cracked and popped into place, and my fur receded beneath my human skin.
I was left naked and panting for breath, a fine sheen of sweat coating my body. I rose to my full height, my human mind now assessing the situation.
The wind tore at my skin, leaving small red marks.
“How do we bring her down?” I shouted.
I stared up at my mate, her hair swirling around her shoulders, arms wide, and a triumphant look on her face.
Brock and Devin were unsteady beside me, their faces ashen as they looked toward my mate with expressions mixed with both wonder and fear.
“The fire wrapped around her body is going to be a problem,” Robert said.
I had to agree. I couldn’t see a way to get to her physically and avoid the flames. Shifters could heal fast, but we still burned.
“Can you get close to her?” I shouted to Inarus.
He frowned and studied her for a beat before shaking his head. He still hadn’t released the woman. Who was she to him?
I eyed her motionless body, barely making out the slow rise and fall of her chest. She was still alive.
I ground my teeth. That was something that might need to be rectified.
Inarus must have seen my gaze, because he shifted his body slightly to the left, blocking her face from view.
“I can lift objects and other people, but not myself. That isn’t a skill of mine.”
I nodded my head, my decision already made. “Get me close to her.”
Inarus turned wide eyes on me. “Are you out of your mind? She’ll kill you. She isn’t herself, and you’re …” he waved a hand at my naked state before carefully extracting himself from the woman and gently placing her head against the ground. He rose to stand in front of her.
“I’m her mate. If anyone can bring her down, I can.”
He didn’t look like he agreed but took a deep breath anyway and signaled me forward.
My eyes flicked to the woman again. “Who is she to you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Brace yourself,” was his only response before my body lifted in the air, and my beast shook in anger beneath my skin.
I didn’t like it either, but I would not lose my mate to her powers. I would not let her become the monster the witch said she’d become. She’d regain her control. She had to.
Inarus inched me closer little by little. I needed him to hurry the hell up.
Aria was ten feet off the ground now, her entire body glowing like a hot iron beneath a blanket of fire.
If I didn't find a way to get through to her, all of downtown Spokane would collapse. I looked down at the street below me. It was sinking in on itself, the pavement cracking and collapsing inward. The buildings on either side of the street already looked like they’d been ravaged by an earthquake, and Sanborn Place was barely recognizable.
Aria was going to be pissed.
Suddenly flames shot out of her chest. Nearby trees caught fire.
“Put out the flames!” Robert barked out the order, and everyone scattered.
Shit.
I was five feet away from her now. Come on.
“I need to be closer,” I yelled down to Inarus.
“I’m trying.” His voice was strained.
“Try harder,” I ground out.
If Aria burned down the city, she would never forgive herself. Countless people would die. They would be burned or buried beneath the rubble. She wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt. I knew her well enough to know that it would eat her alive.
“Aria!”
She didn’t answer.
“Aria!” I shouted again. I was closer now. The heat rolled off of her in waves that left me breathless, the air so dry and hot I didn’t know how she was breathing.
I reached out and touched her arm, but jerked my hand back when I was met with scalding flesh.
Still nothing. No reaction, not even a flicker of recognition crossed her face. She had no idea I was even hovering next to her.
I had to get through to her.
“Put me directly in front of her,” I shouted.
“You’ll die,”
I shook my head. I wouldn’t. I’d get through to her. There was no other option.
I gathered Pack magic around me. I’d need every ounce of strength I could muster to get through what I was about to do next. I pulled on every Clan member, gathering their strength. My chest swelled.
Inarus shifted my body in the air, and I hovered in front of her. Taking a breath, I reached out and wrapped my body around her.
I fought the scream that worked its way up my throat and placed my mouth by her ear as my skin burned.
“Open yourself to me,” I ground out. “Dammit, Aria, I need you.” I prayed she’d hear me.
Ene
rgy pulsed around me. I didn't know how long I could hold onto her. The smell of charred flesh permeated the air.
I squeezed her tighter. Come on, baby. You can do this.
Smoke filled my nose, and sweat dripped down my brow.
I closed my eyes and searched for the bond inside myself. It was like silver thread connecting us together. For the first time, I opened the gates between our bond and poured my love for her through it. I poured out my admiration for her strength, my passion for her kiss. I didn’t shield any part of myself from her scrutiny. I gave her all of me. All my strength, my weaknesses, my fears, and all of my hope for our future.
Aria’s eyelids fluttered briefly.
Come on.
Pain coursed through my body like liquid lava in my veins.
I close my eyes and kissed her. My lips met scalding flesh, but I pushed past the pain and let myself flow into her. All of my love, desire, and strength was in that kiss.
Slowly, her lips softened beneath mine, the heat receding at a snail’s pace.
I couldn’t hold on much longer.
I thought about our life together. The family we would build. I would not lose my mate. I refused to even consider it as a possibility.
I felt her come back to me, little by little.
Her head pulled back and her eyes returned to golden brown.
That’s my girl. Pride surged through my chest.
“Declan?” she whispered. Her voice was quiet, almost as though she were waking from a deep slumber, but she was back.
My hands slipped away from her waist as my strength left me. I fell back through the air, and Aria screamed.
I closed my eyes, feeling my body free fall toward the ground one moment, air rushing beside me, and then stop the next.
Aria was beside me, our bodies slowly drifting down to earth. Tears streamed down her dirty and blood-splattered face as I felt the rough ground brush along my back.
I tried to lift a hand up to cup her cheek, but the limb wouldn’t obey me.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry,” she cried on her knees beside me. Her hand cupped over her mouth to smother her sobs.
Her anguish radiated through the bond.
I didn’t want her upset. I pushed my love for her through the bond and saw her eyes widen when she felt it.
Branded by Fire: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Series (Blood & Magic Book 4) Page 12
