Page 35 of Curses and Casualties (Hunters Hollow #3)

“What?” Scarlett demands, one shaking hand on Fenris’s massive head. He whimpers at the touch, pressing weakly into her palm even while unconscious.

“The binding,” Amara says, wonder and concern warring in her voice. “It’s completely shattered. Destroyed from the inside out. This shouldn’t be possible. Evanora’s bindings are absolute.”

“But?” I prompt, sensing there’s more.

Amara’s hands hover over the wolf as she probes deeper with her magic. “He won’t shift back,” she says after a long moment. “He’s refusing. The wolf fears being bound again. He’d rather die free than live caged.”

“Can you help him?” I ask, watching Scarlett cradle the massive wolf’s head in her lap.

“I can heal the physical wounds,” Amara says grimly.

“But the damage from the binding... the forced separation and violent reunification—the wolf and human sides are tearing each other apart. Without integration, without accepting both sides of himself...” She shakes her head.

“He can’t continue living while torn in two. ”

Scarlett’s face crumples. “What if we force Magnus to accept the bond? Make him stop fighting what he is?”

“That’s not how bonds work,” Ryan says gently. “They have to be chosen freely.”

“Then what about...” Scarlett’s voice breaks. “What if Fenris could find someone—a new vessel—who actually wants him? Someone who?—”

“No,” Amara says sharply, making everyone look at her. She’s staring at Scarlett with sudden intensity, her magical senses clearly picking up something new. “That’s... oh.” Her eyes widen. “Oh, my dear. You don’t understand, do you?”

“Understand what?” Scarlett snaps. “Fenris needs a vessel, or he’ll die! If Magnus doesn’t want him then?—”

“Wait.” Lucien, who’s been uncharacteristically quiet, suddenly sits bolt upright. “Did you call that wolf Fenris ?” His voice has lost all its casual drawl, replaced by something sharp and almost... afraid.

“That’s his name,” Scarlett confirms, still stroking the wolf’s fur. “Why?”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lucien breathes. “His name is Fenris? And he just took out a whole group of enforcers by himself after breaking free from Evanora’s binding?”

“You know the name?” I ask, though the tension radiating from him makes it clear this is significant.

“In Norse mythology,” Erik puts in. “Fenris is the wolf destined to devour Odin during Ragnarok.”

Lucien nods, his usual sardonic expression replaced by genuine unease. “So if Magnus named his wolf that, he either has a sense of humor or...”

“Or his wolf really is that powerful,” Jules finishes. “Which would explain how he shattered a binding that should have been absolute.”

Amara extends her hand toward Scarlett, magical energy crackling between her fingers. “May I? I need to see the full picture of what we’re dealing with.”

Scarlett nods reluctantly, and the moment Amara’s magic touches her, the witch gasps.

“The pull isn’t just to Fenris,” she says, wonder and concern warring in her voice. “It’s to both of them. Human and wolf, together.”

“No.” Scarlett shakes her head violently. “No, that’s not—Fenris is my mate. Magnus is just the asshole container he’s stuck in.”

“The Soul Bond doesn’t work that way,” Amara says gently. “It bonds souls, not just wolves. Whether Magnus wants to admit it or not, you’re connected to all of him.”

Scarlett stares at her for a long moment, then lets out a laugh that’s more hysterical than humorous. “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you telling me that the cosmos decided my perfect match is an emotionally constipated control freak who literally caged half his soul?”

“Well,” Lucien drawls from his perch on a picnic table, “when you put it that way, it does seem like the universe has a sense of humor.”

“This isn’t funny!” Scarlett snaps. “They are the Soul Bond.” She points to Ryan and me. “Not me!”

“It’s a little funny,” Lucien offers, chuckling when she glares at him.

“The Soul Bond sees what we need, not always what we want,” Amara says. “Magnus needs someone who won’t let him hide. You need someone who matches your strength.”

“I need someone who wants me,” Scarlett says, her voice breaking. “Fenris wants me. That should be enough.”

“Is it?” I ask quietly. “Is half a mate really enough?”

She doesn’t answer, just continues stroking Fenris’s fur with shaking hands.

“We’ll help him,” Ryan says firmly. “Both of them. But first, we need to finish what we started. Complete our bond tonight, and then we’ll have the power to help everyone else.”

Lucien raises his ‘coffee’ mug in a toast. “To heroic orgies of self-sacrifice, and to saving assholes, too.”

Amara begins working on Fenris’s wounds while Scarlett refuses to move from his side. The rest of the camp slowly returns to preparation mode, but there’s a new weight in the air now. Two Soul Bonds hanging in the balance, and only hours until the supermoon rises.

I clutch the pouch filled with our ritual ingredients to my chest. We have everything we need. The question is whether we’ll live long enough to use it.