Page 23 of Frost and Felines (Saltwater Grove #5)

23

MALLORY

M allory's expression hardened as she watched the staff's faces contort with horror. The Hearthstone wasn't just Kieran's home - it had become hers too over these past weeks. Her protection spell should have prevented this. Gregory must have found a way to disable it, or he was more powerful than she had anticipated. The thought made her stomach clench.

Taking a deep breath, Mallory reached for her magic. The familiar electric tingle coursed through her veins as she focused on summoning just enough rain to douse the flames licking at the eastern corner of the roof. Not too much - she couldn't risk losing control. A small, concentrated cloud formed above the burning section.

"Look!" Charlotte pointed toward the side of the building. "There's Gregory!"

Before Mallory could blink, Kieran shifted. His massive tiger form bounded across the snow, his powerful muscles rippling as he tackled Gregory to the ground. Gregory yelped as Kieran's massive paw pinned him down.

Relief soon flooded through Mallory as her targeted rain cloud extinguished the last of the flames. For once, her powers had cooperated perfectly. The small victory filled her chest with warmth.

"Get your filthy paws off my husband!" Vivian's shrill voice cut through the night air as she stormed toward them, her designer boots crunching in the snow.

"Your husband just committed arson," Mallory said, moving to stand between Vivian and Kieran. "He's not going anywhere."

"You have no proof," Vivian sneered, her perfectly manicured hand clutching her designer purse.

"Besides the fact that multiple witnesses just saw him running from the scene?" Mallory crossed her arms. "I'm sure the security cameras caught everything too."

Gregory squirmed under Kieran's paw, his usually impeccable suit now covered in snow and mud. "This is assault! I'll sue!"

Kieran growled, a deep rumbling sound that made even Mallory's spine tingle. He pressed his paw down a little harder, making Gregory wheeze.

"Careful, darling," Mallory said to Kieran, though she couldn't help smirking. "We wouldn't want to wrinkle his suit any further."

Vivian's perfectly painted lips twisted into a snarl. She yanked a crystal pendant from her neck, ancient runes carved into its surface glowing an eerie blue. "You think you're so clever, don't you?"

The air crackled with magical energy as Vivian traced patterns in the air. Suddenly, the ground beneath Mallory's feet shifted and buckled. She leaped back just as spikes of ice erupted where she had been standing.

Thunder rumbled overhead as Mallory's anger built. She tried to keep her emotions in check, but seeing Vivian attack the place she had grown to love made that difficult. Wind whipped around them, catching Vivian's designer scarf, and sending it flying.

"My Hermès!" Vivian shrieked. She slashed her hand through the air, sending a wave of force that shattered the inn's front windows.

Glass tinkled to the ground as Mallory's control slipped further. Lightning crackled across the sky, illuminating Kieran's massive tiger form still pinning Gregory down. His blue eyes met hers, full of concern and trust.

"Stay back!" Mallory called to Charlotte and the staff. "And someone call the police now!"

Vivian's runes pulsed brighter as reality warped around them. Tree branches twisted into grasping claws, trying to snag Mallory's clothes. The snow beneath her feet turned to quicksand.

Drawing on her power, Mallory summoned a gust of wind that lifted her clear of the trap. Lightning struck the transformed trees, reducing them to ash. Her hair whipped around her face as the storm grew stronger.

"You're nothing but a temporary distraction," Vivian spat, conjuring more magical traps. "Once you're gone, The Hearthstone will crumble."

"Lux Grove will never be as special as The Hearthstone and you know it." Mallory's voice floated on the wind as rain began to fall. She could feel her control fraying at the edges, the storm wanting to grow wild and destructive.

Kieran growled encouragement as Mallory faced off with Vivian. His tail lashed back and forth, clearly wanting to help but unwilling to let Gregory escape and join forces with Vivian.

Lightning crackled through Mallory's fingertips as she deflected another of Vivian's attacks. The rune witch's spells glowed with an eerie blue light, but Mallory matched each blast with her own power. Her storm magic surged through her veins, stronger than she had ever felt it before.

"Is that the best you can do?" Mallory taunted, summoning a gust that sent Vivian stumbling backward. For once, she didn't fear her own power. The Hearthstone needed protecting, and she would do whatever it took.

Vivian snarled, her perfect makeup running in the rain. "You think you're so special? Watch this."

Before Mallory could react, Vivian's runes flashed brilliant white. A beam of energy struck Kieran, sending him flying backward into the inn's stone wall. His tiger form crumpled to the ground with a pained roar.

Something snapped inside Mallory. The careful control she had tried to maintain her entire life shattered like glass. Thunder boomed overhead as dark clouds swirled into existence, transforming the night sky into a tempest of her rage.

"You shouldn't have done that," Mallory growled. The strong wind whipped her hair around her face as lightning forked across the sky.

The storm responded to her fury, pelting Vivian with hail and buffeting her with gale-force winds. The rune witch tried to shield herself, but Mallory's power overwhelmed her defenses. Windows rattled in their frames and shutters banged against the inn's walls.

"No one hurts him!" Mallory yelled over the howling wind. She thrust both hands forward, channeling all her fury into one massive blast of lightning.

The bolt struck Vivian square in the chest. The rune witch's eyes rolled back as she collapsed into the snow, unconscious.

Only then did Mallory notice Kieran struggling to his feet. She had to stop this storm before it hurt anyone else. Closing her eyes, Mallory reached deep inside herself, gathering every scrap of willpower she possessed. Slowly and painfully, she reined in the tempest, forcing the winds to die down and the clouds to dissipate. Her whole body trembled with the effort, but she didn't stop until the last rumble of thunder faded away.

Mallory's legs were still trembling as she watched the paramedics load Vivian into the ambulance. Her hair hung in wet strands past her shoulders, and her clothes were soaked through from the storm she had created. The decorations she and Kieran had spent hours arranging earlier lay scattered and broken across the snow-covered ground.

But it wasn't the property damage that made her stomach churn. It was the way people stared at her - mothers pulling their children closer and onlookers whispering behind their hands, their faces twisted with fear and suspicion. The same looks she had received after the tornado incident.

"Did you see what she did?"

"Such destructive magic..."

"Someone could have been killed..."

Each whispered comment felt like a knife to her chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, trying to make herself smaller as the familiar weight of isolation pressed down on her shoulders.

Some neighbors from the town backed up as Mallory passed, and the action sent a fresh wave of pain through her. This was exactly why she had chosen to live alone. Why she had built walls around her heart. Getting close to people only led to destruction.

The deputy sheriff finished taking her statement, his pen scratching against his notepad as he cast wary glances her way. Even he kept his distance, as if afraid she might suddenly unleash another storm.

"Mallory." Kieran's deep voice cut through her spiral of dark thoughts. He limped toward her, still favoring his right side from where Vivian's spell had thrown him. Despite his injuries, his blue eyes blazed with intensity as he reached for her.

She stepped back, shaking her head. "Don't. I'm dangerous. Look what I did to your inn, to everything we worked for."

"You protected us," he growled, closing the distance between them despite her retreat. "You stopped them from burning down The Hearthstone."

"But at what cost?" Her voice cracked as she gestured to the frightened onlookers. "Everyone's terrified of me. Just like before. I shouldn't have stayed, shouldn't have let myself care-"

She turned and fled into the inn, her boots clicking against the polished floor as she raced through the lobby. Her chest felt tight, each breath burning as she fought back tears. The frightened whispers of the townspeople followed her like ghosts, reminding her of every reason she had chosen isolation in the first place.

"Mallory?" Amy called out from behind her, but Mallory couldn't stop. Couldn't face another person looking at her with that mixture of fear and pity.

She rushed down the hallway to her suite. Behind her, she heard Kieran's distinctive stride, hurried yet slightly uneven from his injury. The sound made her heart clench.

"Mallory, wait!" His deep voice called out, commanding and urgent.

She glanced quickly over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Kieran's face - his blue eyes blazing with determination, and his jaw set in that stubborn way she had grown to love.

Love. The word sent another wave of pain through her. She had been so foolish to let herself fall in love with him, to imagine she could have any kind of normal life. The destruction outside proved what she had known all along - she was too dangerous to be around others.

Reaching her suite, her hands shook as she fumbled with the key. She could hear Kieran's footsteps growing closer. Of course he wouldn't give up easily - the tiger shifter was nothing if not persistent.

Once inside her room, she grabbed her duffel bag and started throwing clothes into it haphazardly. Tears blurred her vision as she worked, but she couldn't stop. She had to get out before she caused any more damage, before she hurt anyone else.

"I knew better," she whispered to herself, wiping roughly at her eyes. "I knew better than to think I could have this."

A knock rattled her door. "Mallory," Kieran's voice was rough with emotion. "Open the door. Please."

She pressed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sound of his voice. The weather outside responded to her turmoil - wind howling incessantly against the windows as dark clouds gathered once again.

"I have to leave," she called back, her voice breaking. "I can't stay here."