Page 68

EMME

H unter held me back as I screamed and clawed at him. Kellan and Finley remained near us, the former’s expression torn, while the bear growled.

But neither interfered.

I sliced my nails through Hunter’s arm, my wolf fired up at hurting our mate, but it was a fucking scratch. A scratch was nothing to Cora dying at the hands of that magic wielding lunatic.

When Slade’s tail hit the witch, Cora flew off to crumple hard on the ground, and I froze to stare at her, begging for her to open her eyes. She remained sprawled against the curb, unmoving. My fault . My fucking fault.

Another shifter I loved had been hurt.

Fletcher wouldn’t stop until he got his hands on me and my power.

“Emmeline,” Hunter growled. “I don’t want to hurt you. Please. Stop fighting me.”

“Let me go to her,” I shouted, and he flinched at my rage—I was pissed and he knew it.

“Let Slade take Jewels out first,” he countered, his voice unnaturally calm. As if he hoped that the calmer he was, the more it would filter to me through our bond. Not fucking likely . “If you race over there, you’ll be close enough for the witch to grab you.”

I snarled, and the force of it tore at my throat. “I don’t fucking care! I swore after Kellan that no one would ever get hurt because of me again.”

Hunter’s grip remained unyielding as he shook his head. “That wasn’t your fault, and neither is this. You’re not hurting them, Fletcher is. When we get our hands on him, he’ll die for his role in all of this.”

I scoffed, because I got mean when I was terrified and devastated.

“You haven’t found him in weeks. He’s had a witch inside playing you for fucking years .

He’s ten steps ahead, and eventually he’ll get what he wants, since evidently we aren’t evil enough to play this game.

Especially without knowing all the rules.

Our lack of knowledge is what he’s using to take us down. ”

Hunter’s face could have been carved from stone, but I saw a flicker deep in his stormy eyes to suggest I’d hit a nerve. But he did not relent and let me go.

Talon! I mentally screamed for him again, not sure it had gotten through the first time. There were flickers along the incomplete bond, and I decided then and there that if we survived this, I would fully seal the bond with all my mates. The disconnect in our quintet kept us weak.

We could sort out the logistics later, but to survive we needed to be a whole circumference of power. No more excuses. No more fear.

When my strength was spent, I went limp in Hunter’s hold, conserving my energy for when I might have a chance to break free. We watched as Jewels battled Slade, her shield preventing his claws and body from crushing her. Which was the least she deserved.

Even before finding out she’d been trying to kill Kellan rather than help him, I’d never liked the witch. For two reasons: one, magic was the worst, and two, her cold, calculating stare made me uneasy.

Fletcher probably had sleeper agents everywhere, and I wouldn’t be trusting any witches or other shifters ever again.

A spark shot through Talon’s bite when his beast burst from the wall of the garage, momentarily tangling up in the metal before he got free.

My initial reaction was relief, which was insane when Jewels was here to drag him and me back to Fletcher.

I’d called him anyway, to keep Cora safe, but I wasn’t sure what choices he’d make here today.

When he landed next to Slade, Talon’s darker beast nudged his head into his brother, and it was as if time froze for seconds as the two stared into each other’s eyes. There was a soft humming of energy in my bond, and then the street was flooded with a light so bright it rendered me blind.

Energy exploded a moment later, knocking us all to the ground. Hunter cushioned my fall, and I pushed at him, needing to see what happened. As the light faded, I found Slade and Talon’s beasts on the ground, while Jewels had used magic to shoot herself into the air, hovering above them.

“What just happened?” I asked, voice shaking as Hunter dragged us back to our feet.

“I have no damn idea,” he said, moving us a step closer to his brother, “but their energy is shattering the air and smashing into our pack bond.”

I could feel it too, like dominance pressed our beasts into the ground.

Most of our friends and family were still down. Even Finley and Kellan struggled to get to their feet. My eyes watered as I examined the dragons, while Hunter kept his focus on Jewels hovering above the street. She moved in our direction, but didn’t descend close enough to touch any of us.

I stifled a cry when pain shot through Talon’s bite. It almost felt like I was being marked again, the tendrils of our bond knitting together. What was happening?

When the last of the light faded completely, and our eyes recovered from the flare, I could finally see what had happened to the dragon twins. The sight drew a harsh gasp from me.

“What in the ever-loving fuck,” I breathed. I opened and closed my mouth, having no idea how to explain what I saw, and Hunter followed my gaze to find Slade and Talon in their new form .

“This is impossible,” Hunter murmured, his grip weakening on me. “ This is what twin souls means? They’re definitely two sides of the same soul.”

Slade and Talon’s beasts had merged together. Into one giant beast .

Standing twice the height of their individual dragons, the beast was a kaleidoscope of black and green scales, forming patterns that were so complex it was hard to describe them.

A massive pair of black wings spread out on either side of it, like a damn plane had landed in our city, but that wasn’t the craziest part of all.

There were two freaking necks and heads.

Two. Giant. Dragon. Heads. Like it was the dragon version of a two-headed Cerberus.

“Slalon,” I whispered. “This has to be the reason we remain a quintet. Two shifters, one essence.”

Hunter grunted, having recovered from this insanity much faster than me. “You might just be right, little omega. There’s only a single energy inside them in that form, which means we can form the perfect power of five.”

I felt lightheaded as I nodded. “Yeah, they feel the same to me, too. I can sense Slade’s calculating personality mixed through my bond with Talon.”

As the dragon straightened to its full height, both heads shot in different directions, which sent Jewels off in a flurry of magic, until she disappeared completely from the street—not ready to take on the super-dragon. “Slalon scared her away,” I said with a snort.

Hunter grimaced at me. “We need to work on that name, but it’ll do for now.”

With a shrug I said, “It’s better than Talade.”

“Debatable,” he replied.

“We’ll circle back to the name,” I said, keeping my focus on the sky. “Do you think Jewels is properly gone? Can I help Cora now?” My best friend was still in a crumpled heap, and while she was clearly alive, she was also hurt.

As soon as the dragon’s dominance died off, everyone in the street got back to their feet, and Kellan and Finley scrambled to me. The pair wrapped me up in a messy group hug, which included a lot of bear fur.

“We couldn’t move,” Kellan growled. “What in the actual magical bullshit is happening here? Did the witch make the dragons morph into one super dragon? Or was that them?”

I snorted, and they turned to me. “I called them super dragon in my head too. And I think that was all to do with them. I could feel my connection to Talon solidifying as they merged, like parts of his essence were being repaired too.”

All along, I’d thought the tattered nature of our bond was a result of the way we’d bonded, and that we hadn’t connected on a sexual level. But now… I was sure it was due to the disconnect between him and his dragon. The same disconnect Slade felt.

Which might have just been repaired as they connected as twin souls.

Finley hugged me to his side, and I ran my hand gently over his fur until he shifted back into a giant, naked male. “We have to kill her,” he growled, finally able to speak. “That fucking traitorous witch. I don’t care what it takes.”

“We will,” Hunter assured him, and he leaned closer to me. “Let’s check on Cora.”

Thank the goddess . As I headed for her, there was a thud from behind us, and I jumped as Slalon tried to take a step and crashed down to the ground.

“Shit,” Kellan burst out. “We’re going to need to help our brothers figure out their new giant body.”

The dragon tried to walk again, falling once more, and the ground moved under my feet as I headed for Cora. The three alphas remained right on my ass, discussing the best way to get Slalon back into their separate forms.

When I reached my friend, I dropped to my knees and brushed my hands over her arm, which was thankfully warm to the touch. As I turned her toward me, I caught the scent of magic coating her skin, and it felt like the same spell that had knocked Kellan unconscious.

Which meant we’d need Jewels to reverse it…

“It’s not the same,” Hunter said, reaching down to touch her lightly. “I believe this is just a knockout spell, but… I feel her pain.”

“What pain?” I asked, frantically scanning her. “Where is she hurt?”

The steady thump of her heart was strong, and I could see no injuries.

“It’s her wolf,” Hunter rasped, his eyes flickering with gold. “Her wolf screams in agony.”

I gasped as my eyes locked on his. “Warrick?” I whispered. “Do you think War is…?”

I couldn’t even finish that sentence, overwhelmed by the very thought, as tears burned my eyes. Kellan and Finley knelt with me, wrapping their arms around my shaking shoulders.

That was why Cora lay here alone… Warrick would have come for her if he was able. Jewels must have hurt the alpha to get to Cora, and now her wolf screamed.

For her mate.