Page 8 of Guarded By the Bigfoot (Mystic Ridge Monster Mates #1)
brOCK
T he operations room hummed with ancient magic and modern technology.
Screens flickered with data streams and mystical signatures while crystals pulsed with monitoring spells.
I stood before the main display, muscles tense as I tracked the spreading corruption.
Each screen showed a different section of the Veil, and every one of them blazed with warning signs.
“The patterns are changing,” I muttered, manipulating the interface to zoom in on a particularly troubling disturbance. The corruption wasn’t just spreading. It was organizing itself into distinct signatures. Multiple signatures.
The communication screens chimed one after another as the pack and clan leaders joined the meeting. Multiple faces and forms materialized in showers of magical energy, each connection shimmering with the unique signature of their territory.
Draven’s face appeared in a shower of golden sparks. “Tell me you’re seeing this, old friend.” His usually smooth voice carried an edge of genuine concern. Glowing dragon eyes narrowed as he studied the data.
“Multiple entities.” I shared the data stream through our connection, watching expressions darken across all the screens. “At least three distinct signatures.”
“Four.” Thorne’s gruff voice cut through the murmurs of the other leaders, his wolf form prominent among the gathered faces. Frost clung to his fur, evidence of his northern patrol. “Just picked up another one at my boundary. They’re not just gathering. They’re coordinating.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up seconds before Parker’s footsteps approached. Her scent, touched now with something wild that matched my own, wrapped around me like a caress. Every instinct screamed to shield her from what was coming, but I knew better than to try.
“What’s happening?” she asked. The energy pulsed stronger between us, making it harder to focus on the displays. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
“Trouble.” I shifted the screens, showing her the pattern of dark signatures spreading like poison.
“Like moths to really evil flames,” Draven commented, his scales rippling with power. “The dragon clan is spread thin as it is, Brock. If they launch a coordinated attack...”
“They won’t get through.” The words tasted like ash, even as exhaustion pulled at my bones. Today’s confrontation had drained more power than I could afford to lose.
Parker moved closer, her shoulder brushing my arm. The contact sent sparks through my fur.
“There has to be another way,” she said. “You can barely stand. I can see how tired you are.”
“I’m fine.” The lie felt like betrayal, but I couldn’t show weakness. Not now, when everything balanced on the edge.
“Liar.” Her voice was gentle but unflinching. I felt her concern.
Thorne and Draven exchanged knowing looks.
“The human’s right,” Thorne rumbled. “You’re pushing too hard, brother.”
“We don’t have a choice.” My claws dug into the control panel as I pulled up the calculations I’d been avoiding. The ones that showed exactly what sealing the fracture would cost. “The Veil is failing faster than we predicted.”
“Show me.” Parker’s hand covered mine where it gripped the crystal interface. The touch sent electricity through my arm, making the displays flicker and dance. “All of it. No more protecting me.”
For a moment, I considered refusing. But the determination in her eyes, the strength in her stance, she deserved the truth.
“To seal the fracture,” I said slowly, each word weighted with inevitability, “I’ll have to channel more power than I have ever attempted. Push beyond the limits of what’s possible.” The words scraped my throat like broken glass. “There’s a good chance I won’t survive it.”
The room went silent except for the hum of technology. Parker’s hand tightened on mine, her pulse racing where our skin touched. I could feel each frantic beat echoing through the connection between us, a desperate rhythm that matched the flickering of the crystal displays surrounding us.
“No.” The word was barely a whisper, but it held steel. “There has to be another way.” Her fingers dug into my skin, as if she could physically hold me back from what was coming.
“There isn’t.” I turned to face her, trying to ignore how my soul screamed at the anguish in her eyes.
My chest ached with each wave of her pain washing through our connection.
“Thorne’s pack can hold the northern boundary.
Draven’s clan will guard the eastern approach.
But someone has to close that fracture before the Dreadnull breaks through completely.
” The truth of it settled like lead in my stomach.
I was the only one with the Guardian power to even attempt this.
“And it has to be you?” Her voice cracked.
“Yes.” I caught her shoulders gently, my thumbs tracing circles on her skin. “My power is tied to the Veil in ways no one else is. I’m the only one who can generate enough energy to seal it.”
“By killing yourself?” She shoved at my chest, fury and fear warring in her expression.
One by one, the pack and clan leaders tactfully ended their communications, Thorne and Draven being the last to disconnect, leaving us alone with the pulsing screens and the weight of what had to be done.
“Parker.” Her name felt like a prayer on my tongue. “I have to try. If Dreadnull breaks through completely...”
“Then we’ll fight it together!” She was magnificent in her anger, all fierce protection and stubborn determination. Her eyes flashed with intensity, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
“Yes, I do.” The words felt like thorns in my chest. “I won’t risk you. I can’t.”
“That’s not your choice to make!” She stepped closer, her hands fisting in my shirt. The tension between us burned with raw emotion. “You think I want to watch you sacrifice yourself? You think I can just stand by while you...”
The lights flickered around us, making the displays dim and sputter.
“I have to protect you,” I growled, my restraint slipping as my feelings for her overwhelmed me. “The thought of you anywhere near that kind of danger...”
“I’m going with you!” Her voice broke. “Who is going to protect you?”
The last threads of my restraint snapped. I pulled her against me, one hand tangling in her hair, as I claimed her mouth with mine. She made a soft sound of surprise that turned into a moan as she pressed closer, her fingers pulling at my fur.