Page 8

“Wait here,” he whispers, but I tug him back.

Deactivating the cloaking device, I whisper, “With me being invisible, it makes more sense for me to do recon, so you stay here and I’ll be back in a min-” I yelp as he palms my cheeks and crashes his lips against mine, nearly losing my footing and tumbling to my doom.

“Over my dead fucking body,” he growls against my lips. “Either you stay where I know you’re safe, or we aren't going at all.”

As a scream tears out above us and he doesn’t so much as flinch, I stare at him in disbelief. “You're seriously going to let your family get slaughtered rather than let me help?”

“ You’re my family, Ever.” Tattooed thumbs caress my jawline. “And I'm never going to put you in danger just to save someone else.”

The sounds of fighting and shouting above us rises to a fever pitch, only serving to harden the glint in his serious gaze. He's seriously not going to budge on this, the stubborn idiot.

“Fine. I’ll stay hidden and safe while you scope out the situation, but you’re not trapping me down here.

I’ll stay by the entrance, or dart out of the way if the fighting gets close, but you’re not locking me away for my own good when you’ve spent your entire life being pissed that people have tried to do that to you. We’re in this together, remember?”

Jaw tight, he eventually jerks his head in a reluctant nod. “You swear you’ll stay by the fountain unless you need to hide?”

“Are you kidding? I’d make a terrible heroine; not nearly enough empathy. All the NPCs? * would die if they were stuck waiting on me to save them. I’ll stay out of the way and not make shit worse, but like hell am I going to be trapped underground without any way out if something happens to you.”

Because with the way Bellamy strained to move the heavy grate? No way would I be able to budge it on my own without losing my footing and breaking my neck on the way down.

“If it’s not them, we’ll use the distraction to our advantage and make a break for it, consequences be damned,” he declares.

“And if something happens to me? You run . Understand?” Even though I nod, he presses the issue.

“Promise me, Ever. No matter what happens to me, you’ll run, and won’t look back. ”

“You want me to lie?”

His nostrils flare, but I use his momentary distraction to reactivate my necklace and slip past him, hauling my body out of the drain and rolling onto the center of a moss covered stone fountain. Pushing to my feet, shock has my feet rooted to the ground.

It looks like a bomb went off in here. The ancient stone temple was already crumbling; the vegetation overtaking the place is proof of that.

But there’s enough dust in the air and debris littering the floor to have me coughing and covering my mouth with my shirt.

A massive column has fallen, smashing a statue in the center of the room and blocking my view of the fighting.

Water pools across the floor, mixing to sludge as it reaches the dirt, tinting pink when it reaches a body nearly buried under the debris I almost overlooked.

Bell rushes over to check the man’s pulse.

As soon as he finds it, he lifts a hunk of stone off his legs with a grunt.

Dragging him a few feet away from the rubble, he whips off his shirt, leaving an abundance of tattooed skin on display.

He wraps his shirt around his head, attempting to tie it off, but there isn’t enough slack to put pressure on the wound to staunch the bleeding well.

Quickly deactivating the cloaking spell, I whisper, “I’ll keep an eye on this guy until you get back. Let me be useful where I can, okay?”

Bellamy scowls, but eventually nods. “If it comes down to it, you run and hide, understand? Leave him; his life isn’t worth yours.”

“Absolutely, I don’t have a death wish. Still think I should be the one to do recon since I’m, you know, invisible, but screw logic I guess.”

The look he shoots at me makes it clear he’s two seconds away from throwing me over his shoulder and making a break for it, guys be damned. “Don’t you fucking dare. Stay. Here .”

“Heard you the first time,” I grumble under my breath, adjusting his bloody shirt over the guy’s head. Even though I know I’m not main character material, it chafes to be constantly reminded that I’d just get in the way.

Bellamy studies my face for a moment, warring with himself, before he rushes off toward the sounds of fighting on the other side of the temple.

Reactivating my necklace, I check the unconscious man’s wound.

Honestly, it’s not that bad of a gash, head wounds just bleed a lot.

Ripping the shirt into a longer strip, I rebandage his head properly.

If things go poorly, I’m going to need my hands free, and I’d hate to leave the guy to bleed out while I hide somewhere.

The sounds of fighting are drowned out by a vicious snarl. “Where. Is. My. Mate ?”

Ledger.

I breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s short lived.

I haven’t seen a single one of Arson’s shadows, so whatever mimics braved fighting on the front lines must have already stolen their abilities.

The only problem? I’m pretty sure Ledger could snap their necks like toothpicks with his bare hands.

Not to mention, Arson’s a walking armory.

Even with a broken leg, the two of them alone could do a hell of a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

With fresh eyes, I look around at the destruction. When I borrowed Myles’s abilities and screwed up, I blew up a fan. But this… Is this seriously just from breaking through the wards?

And Myles did this?

Straining my senses to try and hear what’s going on, I suddenly stiffen.

A rush of warmth spreads through my body, twisting and foreign.

By the time I realize I must have accidentally latched onto someone’s power, a wave of agony has me doubling over, hands braced on the floor and stomach heaving.

The pain is over as quickly as it came, but when I attempt to push myself upright, the only thing I manage is my arm slipping out from under me.

Pushing back to shaky legs, I realize damn quickly what’s wrong.

My limbs aren’t responding right because they aren’t human.

Running a quick body check, it becomes abundantly clear that it’s likely Ledger’s ability I borrowed. Wolf-like claws scrape against the stone floor, eerily silent thanks to the necklace still cloaking me.

I’d be thrilled if it was intentional, but as the first splash of drool hits my paw, I’m willing to give over my firstborn in thanks that I’m invisible.

I’ve always wondered if shifters dealt with two warring halves, but it doesn’t feel like there’s someone else controlling my body and me just along for the ride.

I’m still wholly in the driver’s seat, my instincts are simply heightened, driving my decisions to where my body responds before I consciously decide to.

Strange noise? Head whips that way automatically, ears perked.

And when I catch a familiar scent? I’m moving towards it before I can weigh the pros and cons of staying put or investigating.

Bellamy’s never going to trust me alone again.

Can’t even blame him, really.

Following the scent, I reach the fountain, cocking my head when no one is there.

But when I see the metal grate Bellamy and I came through slowly sliding, I move on instinct, tackling the air above it.

We crash together in the empty fountain, and though I’m internally dying inside from embarrassment, I can’t stop licking what I’m praying is his face.

Nudging his hand with my nose, I don’t stop until he’s running his fingers through my fur, understanding Ledger on a whole ‘nother level now. No wonder he’s so touchy-feely if this is what he feels like all the time.

Deactivating his own necklace, Myles shoves blindly at my invisible body. “What the fuck?”

He sputters as I lick his face again. Sucks to be him for opening his mouth, and I swear to all that is holy, both of us better take this moment with us to our graves, never to be spoken of again.

“...Ever?” Myles eventually whispers.

Fighting my instincts tooth and nail, I climb off of him, curling against his side and laying down so that hopefully he’ll realize I’m not a threat.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he tentatively threads his fingers through my fur, slowly stroking from my head down my spine, and I shudder.

Note to self; more pets for Ledger. This shit is like free Xanax with a side of foreplay.

“Well, that was easier than I expected,” he murmurs. “Do me a favor? If the guys ask, pretend I took a guy down to get you back, okay?” I snort a laugh through my nose. He might not hear it, but he smiles as the puff of air hits his arm.

A faint curse has my ears perking up, and I’m on my feet in an instant, sprinting off.

“Shit, Ever, wait!” Myles curses, scrambling to catch up.

I’m able to fight my instincts enough to run through a puddle of blood, leaving tracks behind for Myles to follow.

All the while, I wrestle with the worst impulses, knowing damn well it’s a stupid idea to run straight into the heart of the fighting.

But wolf-Ever can smell her mate’s blood and isn’t having it, focused only on getting to Ledger.

If I thought the destruction was bad before, the other side of the pillar is a dystopian nightmare.

Dozens of bloody bodies lie unconscious, there are scorch marks on damn near every surface, and the stench of blood and sweat hangs heavily in the air.

I stumble to a halt, searching for Ledger, when suddenly Myles’ shout has my head whipping around in time to see a stream of fire headed right for me.