Page 120 of Shifters Unifying

We should have made the time.Pain poured through our link, and tears welled in my eyes.God… what I wouldn’t give to go back to Vixen’s and Boss Buy Fridays.

Instead, despairing, I could only watch as my mate tried to beat Acheron alone… and destroyed herself, piece by piece, in the process.

Acheron threw balefire through her side, and she faltered, but she didn’t fall. She exploded the ground beneath the evil mage…

And achieved nothing.

He shrieked, his eyes wide with his madness. Then he launched himself at her, wrapped himself around her neck, and squeezed. Soon, emptiness was the only thing left of the bond, and my eyes slid closed, and I wished for death.

The image winked out.

“Isn’t that a lovely future?” Acheron rasped, his face next to mine. His acrid breath burned over my skin and scruff. “I’ve seen the inevitable end to Emma Carter, and with her death, my triumph is assured. The glorious Age of Acheron will soon dawn.”

With a growl, I reached for his deceitful throat, already gleefully anticipating the crunch of his bones under my fingers. But he disappeared in puff of smoke.

Wrath filled me. I would give almost anything to erase Acheron from existence.

Miles away, Emma focused on a complicated task, her consternation tripped across our bond. Then a massive amount of energy flooded her, almost spilling over into me.

The sensation of a barrier snapping vibrated through me. A rush of power followed, and white-hot light slammed into my back and exploded from my chest.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

emma

The Gathering Place

Between Bear Trees & Red Tail Territories

Seated on the square relic, at the front of the conclave, I sent energy into the magical artifact, shocked once more by the way it amplified the power. No longer a nondescript stone, it became a crystal and glowed beneath me. Every shifter in the conclave seemed to hold their breath.

Salali had been tied to the council table, and she wept. Torbin stood at her head, his expression a hard mask of contained fury. He placed one hand on either side of her head as sobs wracked her body. He gave me a grim nod.

Beams of magic stretched into the bear shifter, curled around him, seeped into his mind, and then linked twelve more. As each connected to the others, their eyes luminesced.

Most of them were strangers to me, but they’d been selected by their peers. Raccoons, big cats, and many more were represented, including Flynn, Beauregard, and Levi. Justice knew no clan.

Torbin bent over Salali and sent his own magic into her head, and I startled as her memories played backward in my mind. As Torbin sifted, the images changed and time rolled back.

“To the beginning,” Torbin muttered. “Show me the beginning.”

Images of me filtered through my mind, times when she must have been watching from the trees. Raven shifters fluttered in and out. They had been her handlers. Even while I trained her warriors, she’d reported on my abilities.

The confrontation at the creek burst through my head. I shuddered as Acheron’s laughter echoed through her mind. The evil mage had promised her everything that belonged to the Six-Mile pack.Our homes. Our land. Our lives.

“Where is he hiding?” Torbin demanded. His probing increased in strength, and her anguish bled through the link. “Where is your master?”

Salali cried out and convulsed on the table, her arms and legs banging against the surface. Her eyes widened. “No, no, no,” she whimpered. “There’s nothing else.”

Finally, Torbin straightened. “She knows nothing else. You may release the link.”

I tried, but primal energy poured through me, unrelenting.

My heart squeezed, and my chest warmed. Every muscle in my body pulled taut, and my jaw clenched. I should have been able to release them. A tug at the back of my mind pulled me from the task in front of me. Wrath filled me, consumed me. My chest heaved, threatening to break in two.

Shit! Logan! No!

A new burst of super-heated light shot out, through the warding, and out into the forest in the direction of No Man’s Land. The earth rumbled beneath the soles of my bare feet. Lightning flashed, and the sky overhead boiled.