Page 21 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)
CHAPTER 21
EMME
O nce the alphas left for work, the house felt empty. I should have been used to that feeling, having experienced it for most of my almost twenty-six years, but weirdly, it bothered me.
In Kellan’s room, it was clear that Florence had been in to freshen up the space. The bay windows were open, letting in the crisp air, and there was the faint scent of lemons from her cleaning products. Only the best, natural products without synthetic scent for these billionaires.
“Hey, Golden,” I called as I wandered over to sit beside his bed. “Still not waking up for me, I see. We really need to do something about that.”
There was the faintest twitch along the lid of his closed eyes, but no other sign he’d heard me. I took his hand, frowning at the unusual warmth under my touch. Ever since the spell had hit him, he’d actually been on the cooler side, and as I reached out to check his forehead, my phone chimed. I carried it around in case of a Kellan emergency, and expected it would be Hunter or Slade checking in.
I blinked at the name which popped up in the group chat.
Grouchy Bear: *Image attached*
I clicked the image. It took a second to load before the entire hockey team appeared on the screen, all kitted out on the ice, heads back as they appeared to be howling toward the roof of the stadium. There was another ding, and this time Finley sent a video.
This was slower to load, but when it finally popped up, it was the Celtic Wolves skating in a circle and chanting Kellan’s name. They all took a moment to throw their heads back, howling for their teammate, and just before the video finished, Finley’s face appeared in selfie mode.
With no one here to judge me, I drank in every detail of the bear shifter, from the golden brown of his hair to the richer brown of his beard. His eyes were somber, the whiskey depths filled with the swirls of pain I’d come to associate with him. “Show Kel for us,” he said into the camera. “Tell him we’re playing the Warriors, and that we’re going to kick their asses. This game is for him.” He tilted the phone and Christian appeared, dark circles under his eyes and his face haggard.
“We love you, brother,” he said hoarsely. “We need you back. Don’t give up. You promised me that we’d grow old, wrinkly balls together, and I’m forcing you to keep that promise.” His voice broke, and he handed the phone back to Finley, who shot one last look into the camera before the video cut off.
I choked in air, having barely breathed through the footage. I hit play again and held the phone near Kellan’s face. “Golden Boy, your team love and miss you,” I said through my tears. “That’s a mourning wolf cry. They need you back, just like the rest of us. Keep fighting.”
I played the video for him a few times, and maybe secretly for myself, because Finley was so lovely to look at. Especially when he wasn’t growling or snarling in my direction.
Part of me was disappointed not to be at the game, even though he wouldn’t have appreciated my presence. There was another chime as I exited the video, and I let out a sad chuckle at the name that popped up. The voice to text read it for me, because I was way too emotional to slowly decipher the message.
Daddy Alpha: Kellan will be perfectly fine. He’s strong. He’s more than capable of holding on. Jewels said she has news and will be by tonight. Nothing to worry about.
It was in Hunter’s usual blunt, confident style, and the most telling part to me was that he hadn’t changed his name. Even though Kellan wasn’t awake to change it back.
Finley hadn’t either.
Another ding and…
Scary Shifter: Correct. I’m formulating my own plan to give him a boost of energy, but it might require Emmeline’s help.
And Slade was using Scary Shifter . Kellan had these big, bad alphas acting like they had real feelings and weren’t dominant beasts. It was the most heart wrenching, perfect way for them to act.
Pretty Girl: I will do absolutely anything to help Kellan. You don’t even have to ask. Just point me in the direction I need to go.
Scary Shifter: Yes, I know you will.
Slade’s reply was almost instantaneous, as if he had already been following along as I slowly typed and corrected my words before I sent it.
Staring up at the ceiling, I made another half-hearted attempt to find these super-tech Reeves Industries cameras. Ding!
Daddy Alpha: You’ll never find them, little omega. But we are always watching.
Pretty Girl: That’s creepy as fuck. You know that right?
Daddy Alpha: *shrugging emoji*
That arrogant asshole would be the death of me.
Scary Shifter: You won’t love my plan, Snow. Prepare yourself.
That had me slightly worried, but I couldn’t really think of anything I wouldn’t do for Kellan.
Grouchy Bear: The omega might not be the strongest of our pack, but she shows genuine care toward Kellan. In this, I trust she’ll do the right thing.
That bear was getting on my last fucking nerve.
Pretty Girl: *middle finger emoji* Suck a dick, Finley Thornton.
I sent it before I even considered the ramifications.
Grouchy Bear: *bear raging emoji* From what I’ve heard, you’re the one with the dick sucking skills, Ice Queen.
No. The fuck. He didn’t.
Pretty Girl: Pretend all you want you’re not jealous that I wouldn’t touch your dick with a ten-foot pole.
My reply was fast and furious, and if I didn’t have all the tech help on the phone, not one of those words would have been spelled correctly. I didn’t have time for spelling or grammar when I was pissed off.
Finley’s reply was super quick as well.
Grouchy Bear: How’d you know I had a ten-foot pole in my pants? You been spying on me, Icy? Why are you obsessed with someone who is not interested?
I was about to shoot back a long-winded message where I called him for every fucked-up thing he’d ever said and done, before I paused. I took a few deep breaths and thought about what the best response would be. Finley wanted a rise out of me. He wanted to make me look pathetic and childish. I would not give him the satisfaction.
Pretty Girl: You’re entitled to your opinion, Finley. I have nothing further to say.
When the reply came, I almost didn’t open it until I saw Hunter’s name.
Daddy Alpha: That’s my good girl.
Whoa, now that was an ending to the text wars I hadn’t expected to receive.
But… it felt hotter in here suddenly.
Wait… Heat. Kellan. I’d been about to check his temperature when the first message from Finley showed up. I dropped my hand on his cheek and flinched at the slap of heat against my palm.
Whipping out my phone, I quickly voice-chatted the message because I was too shaken to type and google to figure out spelling.
Pretty Girl: Guys, Kellan is burning up. I just noticed when I put my hand on his cheek. I don’t know if this is a normal part of the spell’s process, or if we should be worried, but I’ll try and cool him down until you get back to me.
Hunter rang and I answered straight away. “Emme, tell me exactly how he looks.”
Running my gaze over Kellan, I said, “He’s paler than usual, and there’s no sign he’s flushed, but I can feel the heat coming off him. His heart’s beating a little faster than it has been as well, and—” I paused to listen again. “And there’s a slight skip every three or four beats. He’s not doing well, Hunter.” Panic sent my voice into higher octaves, and I couldn’t sit still, jumping up to pace back and forth.
“Jewels is on her way. We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Hunter replied, his voice low and reassuring. “The magic is reacting strongly to Kellan’s alpha essence, but that doesn’t mean he can’t fight it. He can and he will. Put me on speaker.”
Removing the phone from my ear I hit the speaker button and held the device closer to Kellan. “Listen to your alpha,” Hunter commanded, and even I wanted to obey that deep rasp. “You will not get worse. You will keep fighting the magic. You will come back to this pack. We are not complete without you, Kel, and I refuse to let you fade into the magic. Fight, brother. Fight for us all.”
The line went dead, and I clutched the phone tighter than ever, trying to calm myself enough to do what was needed. I had to cool this fire burning beneath his skin.
Pocketing my phone, I rushed into Kellan’s bathroom and grabbed a hand towel, running it under the cold water. Back in his room, I placed the cloth on his forehead, before repeating the process with all the hand towels I could find. The next twenty minutes were spent switching out the cloths for newly cooled ones, while I dabbed down his cheek and neck.
He wore a soft cotton shirt that I got quite damp, and as I debated stripping it off, he released a soft groan. I stilled, unsure if I’d heard that or just wished it into existence. “Kel,” I whispered. “Can you hear me, love?”
The endearment slipped out, and I prayed that one day soon he’d be awake to hear it. I’d never said I love you or any other variation of it to anyone before, and I couldn’t only be brave when he was unconscious.
“Come on, Golden,” I continued, dabbing him with the cool edges of the cloth. “Make another sound. Wake up for me.”
The heat of his skin leached the coolness from the cloths fast, so I kept racing back and forth to the bathroom. Florence would have provided ice water, but I was scared to leave him and ask for help. For some stupid reason, I felt like it was my presence and hard work with the towels that kept Kellan from falling victim to the flames beneath his skin.
On my twentieth trip from the bathroom, hurrying faster than ever, I clipped my toe on the edge of Kellan’s rug, landing on the bed and half on top of the alpha himself. A rush of heat washed over my skin as I tried to scramble off, unable to find traction. My hands rested on his bare forearms, and I was surprised to find that after a few seconds there, his skin felt cooler, as if my palms had absorbed the heat and dragged the potency of the spell from him. The irritating scent of magic grew stronger in my nostrils, but I ignored it in the hopes of helping Kellan make it through this new attack.
Hunter burst into the room a beat later, Slade right behind him, neither of them blinking an eye at the sight of me sprawled awkwardly across an unconscious shifter. “What happened?” Hunter bit out quickly, looking around the room.
Maybe he thought there was a threat, and I threw myself on Kellan to save him. If only the story was that heroic.
“Uh, I tripped over the rug as I rushed back and fell on him. But…” I cleared my throat. “My bare skin touching his appears to be dispelling some of the heat. Certainly more than the cool cloths did.”
Hunter and Slade exchanged a quick glance, and I swallowed my gasp when Hunter shucked his suit jacket and started to unbutton his shirt. “We need to pack huddle,” he said quickly, looking down at Kellan and me. “He needs our energy to fight the witch magic, and the best way is for skin-on-skin touch. As you’ve just discovered.”
Spluttering, I blinked at him. “Are you serious?”
“As serious as Kellan’s death,” he shot back. “Now get your clothes off or I’ll get them off for you.”
Well, okay, then. When he put it like that…
As I lifted my shirt too, I almost choked on air because Hunter and I weren’t the only ones undressing. Slade was also.