Page 40 of Midnight Bond (Wolves of Midnight #5)
JAGGER
Agony. Desperation. Fear.
The powerful mix of emotions pulsating through the soulmate bond forced me awake once more. I jerked my eyes open, my instincts screaming that Brielle was in danger. Her own screams ricocheted through my mind and blasted my ears, growing in desperation with each passing second.
When I found her half-shifted in the chair beside me, her arms and legs covered in rich brown fur, panic flooded me. Onyx reared up, ripped awake by the ensuing chaos. He immediately came to my aid, infusing his strength into my muscles.
“Brielle!” I shouted over her screams, struggling to break free of my restraints. Another of her bones cracked, then another and another, painfully molding her body into that of a wolf’s. Her ribcage expanded, and the strap over her chest snapped. “Brielle, no! Fight it!”
Blinding agony streaked through our bond, and she screamed again, her body convulsing against the chair.
Onyx noticed the man electrocuting her a split second before I did.
He howled in fury, and I let the sound erupt from my mouth.
Unholy rage burned away the remaining sedative in my blood, filling me with a strength that surprised even me.
In one great heave, I exploded off the chair, my arms and legs partially shifting as I tore the restraints, tubes, and wires from my body.
Even as I did, I watched in horror as Brielle’s face transformed into her wolf’s, her screams morphing into agonized howls.
Unable to contain her shifting form, the muzzle snapped in two, along with her arm and leg restraints.
Fully wolf now, she released a pitiful whine before tumbling off the chair and hitting the floor.
“NO!” I roared, already feeling the life drain out of her. It happened so swiftly that I couldn’t move, couldn’t think.
Her yellow wolf eyes met mine for one brief moment, then slowly rolled shut. She was dying. Dying. I could feel our bond flickering, feel it fading as her heart and breathing started to slow.
Open your eyes for me, beautiful, I pleaded with her through our weakening bond. Brielle? Brielle!
Save mate, save mate, save mate, Onyx whimpered, his pain melding with mine.
Helplessness flooded me, but something else did too. A feeling. A knowing that tugged at my very soul, an instinct ancient as time itself.
Not questioning it, I gathered all the strength raging inside me and shoved it through our bond.
Shoved and shoved until it all went to her.
To my beautiful mate. Every last drop. Realizing what I was doing, Onyx joined in, helping me speed up the process even more.
The energy left me in a violent rush, so forcefully that I fell to my knees, unable to carry my weight.
Live. LIVE! I bellowed into Brielle’s mind, willing my strength to save her. Soulmate bonds were powerful, the most powerful bond that existed, and I was calling on it now. Begging it to transfer my life force into her.
She had to live. She had to. I couldn’t exist without her, and if that meant giving up my life so that she could live, then so be it.
I kept shoving, kept begging, giving all that I was to Brielle until darkness clouded my vision.
I landed hard on the floor, my limbs growing impossibly heavy.
Everything grew faint—my heartbeats, my connection with Onyx, the soulmate bond.
I reached for Brielle, needing to touch her one last time.
Needing to feel, to know she was still alive.
Before I could reach her, the last of my strength faded and the world went dark.