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Why wasn’t he keeping his cool?

‘What’s wrong? What happened?’ More voices, more splashes, more water lapping over her. She coughed as some got in her mouth, the mineral taste buzzing under her tongue.

Paul’s arms tightened around her.

‘No, don’t move her!" That was Mariella’s cry, coming now from behind them.

‘But she’s sick. We have to get her back to Abby. She’s probably having a relapse.’

Stellan’s hands were on her, pulling, and then they were yanked away.

‘Hey!"

There was growling all around—Luke and Jackson and maybe the other wolves who’d come today—so much violence in the air. And power. It sparked around her, shooting slivers of lightning across her skin, sinking into her pores. She moaned as the power sank into her, firing through her veins and down to her hand.

‘Stop!" Paul’s voice just above her head, his anguish screaming through her as his arms tightened around her. ‘You’re making her worse.’

‘Ivy. Ivy.’ Stellan sounded like he was fighting somebody—something—his voice strained. ‘Let me take her to Abby. She’s going to die if you don’t let us go now.’

‘Paul’s going to die if you make her let go of him.’

‘What?’

The word was shouted from multiple lips, violence a threat away.

‘Why would you want him dead?’ That was Luke. ‘Is that why you came here? To kill our only Pack Warlock? Do the McClunes want war?’

‘No. You misunderstand. She is the only thing keeping him here.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Look. Look at his skin. Look at where she’s touching him. He’s done something to damage his soul. He was turning into a shade—but she’s keeping him here. Healing him.’

The water stilled around them as Stellan and the others stopped thrashing against whomever—or whatever—was holding them. ‘What the holy fuck.’

She would have giggled if not for the fact she had no control over her body now, everything inside her pushing towards Paul. She could feel it so clearly now. She had no idea how or why, but there was an echo of a bond and she had linked to it, was channelling her wolf-energy into it.

Her wolf was giving itself up to save Paul. She was giving herself up to save Paul. To save the pack. He’d damaged his soul—was that what she’d been feeling?—and she, for whatever reason, was the only one who could fix it.

‘What is she doing?’

‘She’s giving her lifeforce to save him.’

‘How? She doesn’t have the ability to do that. No wolf has the ability to do that.’

‘They do if they’re mates.’

Paul jerked as if punched.‘No. It’s got nothing to do with that.’

‘There is no true bond, you’re right,’ Tony said, eyes unfocused as he used his powers.

‘But the tear in your soul is where a bond might be,’ Mariella continued. ‘There’s one in her too. You said she was sick recently?’

‘What did you do, Paul?’ Stellan asked. ‘What the hell did you do?’

He stared at his friend. What could he say? How could he explain? ‘You don’t understand. I did it to save her.’

‘Does it look like you’re saving her?’ A menacing growl rumbled in his friend’s chest. ‘Are you the reason she was so sick? That she was in a coma? You were with her the night she fell ill. But I never thought … How could you do this to her?’