Page 29 of Claws for Celebration (Hollow Oak Mates #3)

LUCIEN

T he golden flames that surrounded Moira shifted direction with terrifying precision, flowing toward the ancient grimoire like liquid light seeking its target. Lucien watched, hope warring with dread, as her magic engulfed the Shadowheart Codex in fire hot enough to melt steel.

For a moment, the ancient tome seemed to writhe within the magical flames, its leather binding blackening at the edges.

Then came a sound that made every supernatural being in the destroyed bookstore flinch with instinctive terror: the grimoire's shriek of fury, high and piercing like nails on glass amplified beyond mortal endurance.

But when the flames died away, the book remained perfectly intact.

"No," Moira breathed, staring at the unmarked grimoire with disbelief. "That should have worked. I put everything I had into that attack."

The grimoire's pages fluttered open, revealing text that appeared in elegant script even as they watched.

Did you truly believe three centuries of preparation could be undone by a child's tantrum? I am bound to your bloodline by magic older than your ancestors' memories. I cannot be destroyed by the very power I helped create.

"Incredible," Viktor murmured from his position near the shattered window, his pale eyes fixed on the undamaged tome with obvious fascination. "A self-preserving magical artifact with that level of consciousness. The applications are limitless."

But even as he spoke, the vampire leader's attention was drawn to the continuing magical chaos around Moira. Her power hadn't diminished with the failed attack on the grimoire. If anything, it seemed to be building toward another explosive release.

"We need to leave," one of Viktor's remaining coven members said urgently. "The witch's magic is destabilizing everything. If she loses control again..."

"Indeed," Viktor agreed, though his pale eyes remained fixed on Moira with predatory hunger. "But this is far from over, Miss Marsh. What we witnessed tonight proves you're more valuable than we initially calculated."

"The only thing you're going to witness is how fast you can run," Lucien snarled, his panther pacing restlessly as golden energy continued to crackle around Moira in unstable surges.

Viktor's smile revealed fangs that caught the flickering magical light. "Next time we meet, we'll come prepared for your full power. And we'll bring incentives that might make our offer more... compelling." His gaze flicked meaningfully toward Lucien. "After all, everyone has pressure points."

"Get out before I decide to test out how easily vampires burn," Moira said, her exhaustion evident but also a dangerous edge that made even Viktor take a step backward.

As if to emphasize her threat, another wave of golden fire erupted around her, this one directed toward the vampires with deliberate menace. Viktor's coven scattered like shadows, moving with inhuman speed toward the broken windows and doors.

"Until next time," Viktor called out as he retreated, his cultured voice full of promises of future conflict. "And there will be a next time, Miss Marsh. Count on it."

The vampires melted into the darkness beyond Hollow Oak's borders, but Lucien's enhanced hearing tracked their movement until they were well beyond the town's protective wards.

Only then did he allow his attention to return fully to Moira, who was staring at the undamaged grimoire with an expression of growing despair.

"It can't be destroyed," she said quietly. "Everything I tried, all that power, and it didn't even singe the pages."

"We'll find another way," Lucien said, moving toward her with careful steps that wouldn't startle her further. "There's always another way."

"Is there?" Moira looked up at him with brown eyes that held too much weight for someone so young. "Lucien, what if there isn't? What if the only choice is between letting this thing manipulate me into freeing ancient evil or destroying myself trying to prevent it?"

Before he could answer, Elder Varric's voice cut through the destroyed bookstore like a blade. "That's exactly the choice you're facing, Miss Marsh. Though the situation is even more dire than you realize."

They turned to see the Council leader standing in the doorway, his long silver braids catching moonlight as he surveyed the magical devastation with grim assessment.

Behind him stood Maeve, Emmett, and Miriam, all bearing expressions that suggested the emergency Council meeting Lucien had been dreading was about to begin.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to confirm our worst fears about the grimoire's true purpose," Varric replied, stepping carefully through the debris that littered the floor. "And enough to understand that our previous approach to this crisis has been fundamentally flawed."

"Meaning?" Moira asked, exhaustion making her voice rough.

"Meaning that the Shadowheart Codex isn't just a manipulative artifact seeking to corrupt you," Varric said, his pale eyes reflecting knowledge that carried the weight of centuries.

"It's a prison key that requires your specific magical signature to function.

The binding spell your ancestor cast three hundred years ago was never meant to be permanent. "

"I figured that much out already," Moira said with bitter humor. "The grimoire's been pretty clear about using me to unlock whatever Seraphina trapped."

"What you haven't figured out is that the unlocking will happen whether you cooperate or not," Varric continued. "The magical threshold needed to trigger the binding's dissolution isn't something you can avoid reaching. It's something you've already passed."

The words hit the destroyed bookstore like another bomb, making even the experienced Council members exchange looks of profound concern.

"Passed?" Lucien repeated, dread settling in his stomach like a cold stone. "What do you mean passed?"

"I mean that Miss Marsh's magical development has already exceeded the power level needed to dissolve Seraphina's binding," Varric explained with brutal honesty.

"The only reason the ancient evil hasn't broken free yet is because the ritual requires conscious channeling of blood magic during a specific celestial alignment. "

"The Convergence," Moira whispered. "Eight days from now."

"Seven days," Varric corrected grimly. "The timeline has accelerated due to the magical instability caused by tonight's events. Whether Miss Marsh participates willingly or not, her power will be drawn into the unlocking ritual when the dimensional barriers reach their weakest point."

"Then we're screwed," Emmett said. "If the binding breaks regardless of her choices, there's nothing we can do to prevent disaster."

"Not necessarily," Varric said, pulling an ancient scroll from his coat and spreading it across the least damaged section of the reading table.

"There is one possibility we haven't explored.

One method that might allow us to redirect the ritual's focus from unlocking the prison to reinforcing it permanently. "

Lucien leaned closer to study the scroll, noting symbols and diagrams that spoke of complex magical workings far beyond anything he'd encountered in his Council training. "What kind of method?"

"Mate bonding," Varric said simply. "Not the informal emotional connection you've been developing, but a full supernatural claiming that would permanently link your magical signatures."

"How would that help?" Moira asked, though Lucien could hear the hope struggling to surface beneath her exhaustion.

"Shifter magic is inherently stabilizing," Miriam explained, settling beside them. "It's tied to natural cycles, pack bonds, territorial instincts that have remained constant for millennia. Blood magic, by contrast, is volatile and changeable, responding to emotion and external influences."

"So a mate bond would ground Moira's abilities," Lucien said, understanding beginning to dawn despite his reluctance to embrace what might be false hope.

"More than ground them," Varric continued.

"A fully claimed mate bond creates a magical feedback loop that allows partners to share not just power but control.

Miss Marsh's blood magic channeled through a shifter mate bond could theoretically be directed toward strengthening Seraphina's binding rather than dissolving it. "

"Theoretically," Moira repeated. "Meaning you're not sure it would work."

"Meaning it's never been attempted under these circumstances," Varric admitted. "But the alternative is watching your power unlock an ancient evil that nearly destroyed the supernatural world once before. Given those options, theoretical solutions begin to look much more attractive."

Lucien studied Moira's face, noting the way she was processing this information with the same analytical approach she used for her job.

But underneath her scholarly consideration, he could see fear and uncertainty that had to do with the weight of choosing to bind herself permanently to someone she'd known for less than three weeks.

"What exactly does a full mate claiming involve?" she asked finally.

"Physical, emotional, and magical bonding that creates permanent connections between partners," Varric explained. "In shifter culture, it's considered the most profound commitment two people can make to each other. More binding than marriage, more intimate than any human relationship dynamic."

"And if we do this, if we complete the mate bond, there's a chance it could redirect the ritual toward reinforcing the prison instead of opening it?" Moira's voice carried cautious hope mixed with realistic skepticism.

"A chance," Varric confirmed. "Though I should warn you that the claiming process itself carries significant risks. Magical bonding between different supernatural species can be... intense. And if it doesn't go according to plan, both partners could be lost to magical feedback."

"But if we don't try it, the ancient evil breaks free in seven days regardless," Lucien said, his tactical mind already weighing risks against potential outcomes.

"Exactly."

As silence settled over the destroyed bookstore while they all contemplated the impossible choice facing them, Lucien found himself studying Moira's profile in the moonlight that streamed through the broken windows.

The mate bond had felt inevitable from the moment they'd met, but choosing to formalize it under these circumstances felt like asking her to commit her entire future to saving a world that had given her nothing but supernatural threats and impossible responsibilities.

"I need some air," Moira said finally.

As the Council members dispersed to begin crisis preparations and Moira stood to retreat to process information that would reshape their entire future, Lucien found himself facing a fear he hadn’t been ready for.

The fear that claiming Moira as his mate might be the most selfish thing he'd ever done, even if it was also the only way to save her life.