Page 25 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)
CHAPTER 25
EMME
I can’t fucking do this !
I couldn’t do this.
I could not sit here and watch Kellan die from magic meant for me.
How did I fix it?
I would have done anything. I would have formed a complete quintet in a heartbeat if it meant saving Kellan’s life. But as Slade said, it wasn’t an option with him unconscious, and we had no more time to fuck around. The spell was progressing faster, digging its lethal hooks in deeper, and we couldn’t wait any longer.
My tears ran along his skin and onto the sheets, and in normal circumstances I’d be annoyed at thoroughly breaking down in front of the other alphas, especially Finley , but today I didn’t care. My sweet Kellan did not deserve this fate, and it brought with it a pain that could not be contained.
The alphas believed that a completed bond wouldn’t have made a difference, but they didn’t know the true strength of an omega. If Kellan died here today, it would be my fault for fighting this bond. My fault. My fault.
Rough fingertips brushed against my cheeks, and my eyes opened to find it was Slade of all the fucking alphas. The tingles his touch left was enough to shock me out of my panicked sob-fest.
“We don’t have many in our lives who would cry for us,” he noted clinically, lifting his fingers away from my cheeks and examining the moisture lingering there. I blinked as I watched him closely, embracing the distraction.
Then, to my astonishment, he pressed his fingers to his lips and tasted my sorrow. His chest rumbled slightly, and I felt the dragon pushing against the man.
Goddess be damned, he was unearthly.
The moment was broken by Jewels dropping a bunch of magic paraphernalia on the end of the bed. The alphas backed up, releasing their hold on Kellan, and I pressed my lips to his cheek, lingering for one more second to breathe him in. “I love you,” I whispered, aware everyone in this room could hear me. “I will kick your ass if you don’t survive this, Golden Boy. Please don’t make me do that.”
I pushed myself up off his body in time for Hunter to scoop me into his arms. I expected him to drop me to my feet when he moved out of Jewels’ way, but instead I was lifted higher until our faces were close. He nuzzled against my cheek, and then in a similar move to Slade, tasted the lingering moisture on my cheeks. “You taste like sweet despair,” he murmured against my skin. “When I see you cry, I want to destroy the fabric of our existence.” His tongue swiped across my cheek again, and despite the situation, my body responded as if he’d touched me much more intimately. “Stop crying now, Emme. Kellan will not want to miss out on tasting you, little omega. He will fight for you.”
Between Slade and Hunter, I was shocked from those relentless tears, and found the strength to pull myself together, ready to fight beside Kellan. “Let me down,” I said with a decisive nod. “This is about Kellan.” Hunter set me on my feet without argument for once, but he remained at my side.
“All of you need to stay at least three feet back,” Jewels warned as she shifted her magical equipment closer to our mate. “I can’t have any interference.”
She started to sketch a pentacle on Kellan’s chest in charcoal, and then arranged white and purple candles around the five-point star. Within the circle she placed a bundle of herbs and a few tiny bones, which would most likely be from a small bird or rodent. The candles were joined by a dark, shimmering string, and while I had no idea what the material was, it was threaded with gold. When this string was secured, and joined all five points of the pentacle, that gold brightened until it hurt to look directly upon.
The candles lit with a snap of her fingers; the scent of sulfur, lavender, and frankincense filled the room, almost overwhelming in its intensity. A cool breeze drifted through the open door, and I expected it to wash away the scent of the candles, but it only grew stronger. And hotter . Until we were bathed in a magical sauna.
With the next breeze, three witches drifted into the room. A male and two females. They varied in size and skin tone, but all of them exuded that same bitter, unearthly scent of magic. The scent of those who dabbled in energy that wasn’t freely available to all of us.
“Hurry,” Jewels snapped, the heat picking up as she swirled her hand over the top of the pentacle. “I need you to join in and reinforce the spell now.”
The witches’ hands joined with a snap, as if they’d practiced that move until it was perfect and in sync. They started to chant in another language, low and murmured. If my limited knowledge of the magical community was correct, most spells required an ancient dialect of Latin.
The heat picked up as their chanting grew louder, and if Hunter hadn’t been a solid weight at my back, I’d have been buffeted around by the winds. There was a heaviness to this magic, pressing against us, reminding us that we were mere mortals allowed to exist in this world. Magic was eternal, and we were blips in life.
The chanting reached its pinnacle, and as the final note died off, they wrenched their hands apart, and Jewels palmed a large, ornate dagger. Instinct had me lurching forward, disturbed by her holding a weapon so close to Kellan, but he wasn’t the one to come under the sharp blade.
The dagger bit into Jewels’ palm, which she held over the top of the pentacle and Kellan’s chest. Exactly eight drops fell, and when they sizzled against his skin, I held my breath.
This was it . The moment the spell took.
This was when we’d know if he was strong enough to embrace the counterspell and destroy the magic holding him hostage. The witches remained silent, eyes closed for many tense seconds, and I was forced to suck in the hot, scented air... Passing out wouldn’t help Kellan.
Jewels waved her hand over the candles and the flames died out. “The next hour is crucial,” she said, meeting Hunter’s gaze. There was a fine sheen of sweat on her brow, and she panted slightly. “I’ll see the others out and then return to help you keep watch.”
The witches turned to leave, as silently as they’d arrived, and I hurriedly added, “Thank you for offering your energy and magic to save our pack mate. We appreciate it.”
Hunter’s chest moved against my back, and I heard his wolf growl in response. Whoops . Had I just unintentionally overstepped and undermined the entitled alpha?
“Yes, you have our gratitude,” he finally said, and I relaxed once more. “I will have our accountants send the usual fees for this type of work today.”
I’d never heard any mention of money, but Hunter knew how this shit worked. All three nodded their heads respectfully and exited the room.
The oppressive magic and rotten eggs scent left with the witches, and I was glad they were gone. I didn’t love strangers or magic, and they were the worst of both.
“Can you feel any changes with Kel?” I asked, unsure if we were allowed to approach him now.
Slade moved to the side of the bed and dropped his hand right on his brother’s chest, smudging through the pentacle. “There’s a battle within him. The two magics war, and I can’t tell which side is stronger.”
“Kellan will be stronger,” Hunter said without an ounce of doubt in his tone.
I stumbled into Kellan’s side and reached out to grasp his hand. It was hot to touch again, but not in the same way as before. This heat was moderate, warming my hand without burning. “Come on, Golden,” I breathed, squeezing his fingers. “You’ve got this.”
“I’m going to grab us some food,” Hunter said, heading for the door. “Don’t go anywhere until I return.”
Finley sat on the other side of Kellan, and grabbed the hand I wasn’t holding. “I don’t think food is that important,” he said, glancing up at Hunter. “The witch said this first hour was critical.”
“A few minutes to ensure all of us are fed won’t hurt,” Hunter shot back quickly, and while I couldn’t see Hunter’s expression—he was behind me—I noticed Finley look at him and then at me.
Should have known that it wasn’t all of us he was intent on feeding. “I’m absolutely fine,” I huffed, tilting my head back to meet his dark gaze. “I can wait an hour or longer. We all need to be here with him.”
Hunter pressed his hand against my shoulder, the firm touch grounding. “I can hear your stomach rumbling. With Florence’s help, I’ll only be a few minutes.”
I honestly didn’t have the energy to argue with him, so I just shrugged, and when he left the room, I tried to ignore how much I missed both his presence and his touch.
Slade took the chair while Finley and I remained on the bed, clutching Kellan’s hands, the three of us silently staring at our pack mate. It was astonishing that despite the internal battle he fought, Kellan looked perfect. His skin was healthy and tanned, hair thick and shiny, muscles and frame still broad and defined. Except for the growth of dark blond hair on his cheeks, and the off scent in his caramel and cinnamon tones, you’d never know anything was wrong with him.
He couldn’t be dying. How could anyone this strong and healthy fade from existence?
Silently, I urged him to fight, sending my own energy into him. If we’d bonded, I would have figured out how to literally transfer my essence and strength into him. I’d seen my mom do it more than once, sometimes by choice, often by force. There’d be no need for force today.
“The magic grows stronger,” Slade said, jerking forward in his chair. “He’s weakening as he fights.”
My heart plummeted and the panic was a real, tangible explosion within me. Helplessly, I looked around the room, desperately trying to find a solution, but there was nothing.
“Read one of his books,” I said suddenly. “Read to him. He needs calm, and to know he’s not alone.”
Slade was on his feet in a second, Finley right behind him. They hurried to Kellan’s shelves and perused them for about ten seconds before the bear shifter yanked a book free. “This is his favorite,” he said, hurrying back to the bed. “I will read it to him.”
My frustration at not being able to read reared up once more, but the fact that it was Finley with the book felt perfect somehow.
He settled in at Kellan’s side and opened the first page. “ It was a coldly bitter night when I found the love of my life. Found and lost her. I was part of the Night Realm pack, and we’d been out in the Forest of Hellsward fighting against the dark elves, who were warring us to the edge of extinction …”
His low rumbly voice was soothing, and I found myself wanting to curl up at Kellan’s side to drift off to the sound of Finley’s disturbingly sexy voice. This bear confused me more than any other shifter or human I’d ever met. He was built of shadows and sharp edges, but then he had these moments of softness and emotional depth that completely altered my perception of him.
But whatever the case, his perfect voice did exactly as I hoped, and calmed the shifter on the bed. Me too, if I was being honest.