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The wolf magic didn’t leave me until I found a way to the bottom of the cliff, the scent of the stream and burning leather and heated metal guiding me toward the wreck.

As soon as it did, leaving me a naked human woman in a dark forest, I struggled to find my way with dulled senses.

The tears leaking from my eyes would have made it hard to see even if there had been more light.

At least the night was still and quiet, and I could hear the gurgle of water.

I patted my way through the trees, hoping that Duncan had somehow survived that fall. As a bipedfuris, he had great stamina and strength, not to mention the regenerative ability of werewolves. But he’d been dying before all this started, weakened by that damn curse.

The tears blinded me, and I dashed them angrily away. If Duncan was alive, he would need me to keep my shit together, to call for an ambulance.

“That would be easier if I hadn’t lost my clothes.” And my phone? That might have disappeared too. I hadn’t thought to throw it clear before I’d changed. Even if I had, it would have been buried under rubble by now.

I stubbed my toe on a rock. Frustrated, I howled.

In this form, it sounded more like a maniacal scream.

I didn’t care. I was so tired of having these enemies and of everyone I cared about being threatened.

Duncan might be dead, and this hadn’t even been his battle.

Radomir hadn’t ever cared about him, other than wanting to use him.

He and Abrams had been after my family’s artifacts.

Duncan had risked his life—no, he might have given his life—for me.

Ahead, a magical glow made me pause. Was that… the medallion?

I remembered how it had started glowing in the building, its magic helping Duncan, helping both of us escape from the rubble.

Not caring about stubbed toes, I hurried forward, hope propelling me.

When I came out of the trees by the stream, I almost stepped on Radomir.

He and the mangled SUV were on the same side of the waterway as I was.

No, he was still half in it. He must have died upon impact.

His eyes were frozen open, his spine twisted at an impossible angle.

I couldn’t summon any sympathy for the bastard.

I jumped across the stream, wincing at a rock under my bare sole, and scrambled through grass and leaves toward Duncan. His wolf magic had also left him, and he lay on his back as a naked human, but the medallion remained active. Its glow wrapped around him, the air buzzing with its energy.

Surely, it wouldn’t do that if he were dead?

As I crept into the influence of the light, I hoped it wouldn’t object to my presence. My mom’s medallion had never zapped me or pushed me away, but who knew what this one would do?

Its glow was warm, however, and inviting. It spread over my skin like spring sun, pleasant and welcoming. The magic drew me closer to Duncan, and, in the light, the rise and fall of his chest was visible.

“Thank the moon.” I dropped to my knees beside him and rested my hand on his chest.

Magic beamed up from the medallion, enveloping us both. As I had a couple of times before with these artifacts, I sensed a touch of emotion from it. Satisfaction? Over us defeating one of our enemies? No, I decided. This was about… Oh, that was it. Duncan had proven himself.

By defending me? One of the Snohomish Savagers? Or just by being willing to risk his life and give everything to fight an enemy?

I didn’t know, and the medallion didn’t say, but its energy continued to bathe us both for long moments. It soothed, or maybe it healed the wounds I’d received during the night’s battles.

Finally, Duncan stirred under my hand. His head turned toward me as his eyes opened.

Relieved, I smiled, though more tears also came to my eyes. Tears of relief, this time. I wiped them away and tried to keep the smile on my face for him.

“My lady,” he whispered. “Are your lips twitching?”

“Yeah, probably so.”

“Ah, lovely.” He puckered his.

I laughed and kissed him. We were both too weary for it to turn into anything heated, and Duncan paused to point toward the wrecked SUV. “You’ll be delighted to know that he stabbed me with something familiar.”

“Oh?” I asked.

Duncan lifted his naked leg, showing a puncture wound, though it already appeared to be healing. Because of his regenerative abilities or because the medallion was taking care of him? Maybe some of both.

“Radomir had your sword.”

“Oh, is that what he stabbed you with?”

“I would have been alarmed if it had been anything else.”

“I would think a sword would also be alarming.”

“I suppose that’s true. But if we search a bit, we should be able to find it in the wreckage. Then coming up here won’t have been a waste of time.”

We’d defeated one of the enemies who’d been vexing us all winter. I didn’t think this had been a waste and meant to say so, but the light of the medallion brightened again. I pulled back, eyeing it warily. It beamed upward, flowing around Duncan’s head.

“What…” I started to ask, but the light faded again.

“I feel like someone dropped me into one of those tanning beds.” Duncan lifted a hand to his face, as if checking for a sunburn, but his fingers drifted to his forehead.

My lips parted in surprise.

“The scar is gone,” I blurted.

“Gone?” Duncan probed the area in wonder. “I’ve had it my whole life.”

“Your forehead is smooth now. The medallion…”

“I think… Yes, I’m quite sure, since I’m feeling rather good for a man who pitched off a cliff, that it lifted the curse.” He nodded with certainty.

“It found you worthy.”

“That’s a relief.” This time, his lips twitched.

“I should think so.”

Duncan pushed himself into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around me. At the bottom of a ravine, with the wreck smoldering behind us, we finally kissed each other without interruption.