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T he wrongness crashed against me like a ton of bricks and sucked the breath right out of me. At least I’d gotten Logan away from it. Now it was up to Caden.

I couldn’t feel my body.

There was only cold.

My vision blacked out in increments and the world disappeared from each sense one by one.

I barely registered Logan screaming. She sounded a million miles away.

This wasn’t fucking fair . I was going to die after just getting to be with her, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let this thing take her.

She had to get away.

Neither of them needed me.

No one had ever needed me.

Maybe the gods had brought me to Logan for this purpose. Maybe they’d let me love her so I’d be willing to trade my life for hers, to give her and Caden the future they deserved. I didn’t want to die, but if I had to, I guess it was nice to have it happen for a noble cause.

This fucking creature had its goddamn tendrils wrapped around every bit of me, shoved straight down my throat, filling up my lungs, crushing my heart as it pulled out my life by the roots.

I had no idea how much time had passed. Caden had better have gotten her far enough away. I couldn’t hold on much longer.

A shock wave of power burst with all the brightness of the sun and I collapsed to the ground.

My bones felt like they would shatter into dust.

I lay there, unable to move, barely breathing. The landing should have hurt but I still couldn’t feel much of anything. No real pain. Just an encroaching nothingness.

The world tilted as I was lifted. I tried to move. My limbs were like jelly and my vision saw little more than blobs of shadow.

We’ve got you. Caden’s voice filled my mind and a small glimmer of hope kindled. Maybe I wouldn’t die after all. I couldn’t summon up the energy to be upset they’d risked themselves to come back for me.

I was pretty sure they’d managed to drape me over Caden’s back. A soft palm rested on my shoulder. Enough feeling returned to make every jolting leap like a punch to the chest. I struggled to catch my breath as Caden ran.

I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I was being shoved into the car, the scent of leather and panic stinging my nose. How they made me fit in panther form was anyone’s guess. My head rested on something warm.

“What do we do?” I could hear Logan speak, but she sounded like I was underwater.

“We have to go to a nest. We can’t recover and run at the same time.”

“Seth.” Logan patted my cheek. “Please wake up. Caden, what would help?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea what that thing did to him.”

She curled around me, cradling me against her skin. “Gods, please don’t die.”

“I’ve heard rumors that an omega’s blood has healing powers but I don’t know if we want to go fucking around with that.”

“I’ll do anything. He almost died trying to save me.”

Caden huffed. “We don’t have tools or a way to sterilize. You could get an infection.”

“We’ll stop somewhere later, but he needs help now .”

Well, fuck, maybe I looked even worse than I felt.

The next thing I registered was her pressing something against my lips.

“Please, please open your eyes.”

I wanted to, but my eyelids weighed far too much to accomplish her request. The pressure on my lips burned with a growing ferocity. I didn’t have the energy to move away from it.

Logan pried open my mouth and shoved the curve of her throat beneath my fangs. She clung to me with a desperation that singed my fur, the heat of her magic burrowing into me.

“Seth, if you die I swear to all the gods…bite me.”

I lapped at her skin, but apparently that wasn’t good enough because she shoved down on my muzzle hard, my fangs slipping into her skin like a hot knife through butter.

My tongue moved weakly, taking in the coppery flavor and warmth of the blood.

The sizzle of it sank into my bones and warmed me from the inside out, crashing through the cold left by the monster until I was on the verge of overheating.

I tried to move away, but Logan was stronger than me right now. I let the drool slide out of the corners of my mouth and gave another exhausted lick. She pressed her face against my fur. I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

The world blinked out again.

Her tears sank down to my skin, a chant of don’t die, don’t die, don’t die accompanying them. More coppery blood slid down my throat, the searing heat forcing me into fuzzy awareness.

The shadows around me warped until everything was green.

Canopies of leaves stretched above me, ferns curled around my legs, and soft moss cushioned my body.

Logan lay next to me, our limbs entwined, my fangs still buried in her throat.

I wasn’t in panther form in this strange vision-world, and the skin to skin was a comfort I needed.

She tasted so fucking good.

A figure made of starlight watched over us, her hand on my shoulder, and her eyes a bottomless void I fell into.

Bite if you wish, Logan. No harm will come from claiming your mate.

A sharpness pierced my throat, two bolts of electricity that charged my cells.

Logan’s heartbeat was too loud. It pounded like a drum next to mine, tendrils of fire reaching from her to me, steadying my own heart to match the pace of hers.

More and more of her burst into my awareness: the slow expansion of her lungs, the panic laced in her veins, the affection so strong I could drown in it.

I’m so sorry . Her voice whispered in my head. This is all my fault .

No . It’s mine .

I detached my fangs from her skin and licked over the puncture wounds, being sure to catch every drop of blood.

I held onto the force of Logan’s heartbeat, her breath, letting it command those activities in my own body.

I wasn’t strong enough to do it myself. The cold nothingness pawed at my back, coaxing me to let go, to give in and sink into the peace I knew it would bring.

Don’t leave me . Logan’s order ricocheted through me.

My eyes popped open and I winced, closing them immediately again. The world was way too fucking bright, the softness of the strange other-world gone in favor of sharp reality. Logan lifted me with her knees and pressed a soft kiss to my nose.

I growled. Being alive felt like way too much work, but I would try for her. She stroked my fur and I made a valiant attempt to open my eyes again, blinking rapidly to stem the watering that erupted. It wasn’t even that bright, but it hurt to see.

She sobbed and kissed my cheek again. “Thank fucking gods.”

I didn’t have the strength to move, but at least I could see now. Logan was pale and covered in dirt, twigs in her hair, but a fair amount of that was probably from the fucking and not the monster. She was totally naked and had my face nestled against her bare chest.

“Hey.” She patted my cheek again, drawing my attention to her face. “How do you feel?”

Something was wrong. I didn’t have the energy to shift right now, but when I reached for the spark of power that always sat comfortably inside me, it was like moving my hand through smoke.

Gone.

My muscles ached. My tongue was thick in my mouth and I felt sucked dry.

“Seth?”

Answering questions was too much to ask of me right now. I pressed my face into her skin and closed my eyes again.

Logan’s jasmine and moss scent infused every breath. I burrowed my nose against her stomach and tried to stay afloat. Everything was so much effort. Why was breathing so hard? Her hand never stopped moving over my fur and I focused on her, on the steadying touch, the warmth of her body.

The car stopped at some point and several hands dragged me out. I let my head hang, unable to lift it or open my eyes to see what was happening. They dropped me down again onto something soft and Logan wrapped herself around me.

A hand touched my face. Seth.

Hmm? Using my telepathy made me dizzy, but I couldn’t talk in this form without it.

You have to stay. For Logan. For me. You can’t leave us.

I opened heavy eyelids and saw a vaguely Caden-shaped blur. I’m trying .

Logan’s hold on me tightened and the heat of her skin felt like the blast of an oven. I was too weak to move or protest as the intensity grew. It felt like my bones were charring, my blood boiling, and I fought, squirming out of her grip, staggering and falling down with a whump.

Stay with me . Stay. Stay. Stay.

My vision cleared enough to see her face.

“That’s the most you’ve moved in hours.”

My muscles twitched as the heat dissipated. They vibrated with her power, and while I wasn’t eager to test their strength again, it was nice to not feel entirely like a pile of overcooked noodles.

I glanced around the room, not recognizing anything. Where?

“A nest,” said Logan. “They’re giving us time to get cleaned up before we’re presented to the Protectors. Apparently they usually take people in immediately, but we were naked and you were unconscious.”

How the fuck was I going to be presented? I could barely stand, let alone walk. Someone knocked on the door, but I didn’t have the energy to see who it might be.

Caden got up and returned with a rolling cart. “We have food, toiletries, and some clothes.”

The smell of raw meat made my mouth water.

Caden passed over a bowl and Logan hand fed me hunks of beef.

Chewing tired me out, but I ate as much as I could without my stomach threatening to bring it all back up.

They let me sleep again and when I was woken by another knock, both Logan and Caden were showered and dressed.

The last thing I wanted was to be hauled before the Protectors.

My last experience with a nest had been at one in Orlando where the power-hungry Protectors had run a fighting ring, broadcasting “exotic” animal fights.

I’d gotten really fucking good at hiding to avoid it whenever I could, but I couldn’t hide forever.

Staying meant that they owned me, and they hadn’t taken kindly to my lack of contribution .

I’d spent two months in the infirmary after that fight and left as soon as I was strong enough to do so.

I couldn’t go back to that again.

I didn’t even want to think about what they might want out of Logan.

The Protectors would be able to tell she was an omega now that her magic had been unlocked.

She’d be a novelty and I’d never encountered a Protector who didn’t want to play with something new and shiny.

I wasn’t strong enough to protect her. Caden would probably get himself put in chains if he tried to fight them.

“They’re ready for you,” said a voice at the door. “Come with me.”