Page 7

P anic was so thick in my throat I could hardly breathe.

I wasn’t ready.

I didn’t know how to fight this thing.

Everyone here was going to die because of me.

Kendrick grabbed my face with both hands, staring at me with steely blue eyes. “Don’t fucking panic and don’t fucking die.”

His mouth descended against mine, desire ripping through me and refilling every drop of magic I’d used in training. Desperation burned through him and into me. I didn’t know what the fuck to think, but I was glad I wasn’t about to die without a friendly touch to guide me over the edge.

I broke away and stared up at Kendrick, panting, my body primed for far more than a simple kiss.

He growled, dipping down for one more brush of his lips against mine. “Don’t. Die.”

I took off at a run toward the gates, where the monster was hurling itself against the warding. Without a clue what to do, I screamed out in my mind for Hecate to help me. I thrust every ounce of power I could, hoping it would bolster the wards instead of break them faster.

Kendrick’s warm form pressed up against me, one arm wrapping around my waist, his other hand over mine. I don’t know how to help, and I don’t know if you can take power from me, but you’d better fucking try.

With a sob, I tried to do just that, reaching for him while light and darkness roiled in front of me, a creature of fury that wanted me dead.

You can do this, Kendrick whispered in my head. Every inch of him shook like a leaf, and as I rooted around inside him for his power, his panic was even stronger than mine.

Tears poured down my cheeks as I pushed every bit of myself into the wards. Kendrick’s warmth was ripped away, replaced by others more familiar. Caden, Seth, Yelena, and Haru.

The nest was a hive of activity behind me, the energy frantic. Velda dropped jewels at my feet, the ones Yelena’d had me fill before. She disappeared almost as quickly as she had come, the others clinging to me, pressing the jewels to my skin so I could siphon magic from them.

I couldn’t see past my tears. Desperation to protect everyone was the only thing going for me. The wards couldn’t fail.

Breathe.

The word filled me down to the marrow of my bones, sparkling caresses like starlight reaching from the beyond.

I did my best to comply. Everywhere the gems touched felt like the nozzle of a vacuum pressed to my skin, but in reverse, my body drinking down the magic to keep me standing.

Peace. Look at it.

I tried to blink away my tears, not daring to remove one of my hands to wipe them.

The creature was made of moving light and shadow, warping and glinting so much that I wasn’t sure what I was even supposed to look for.

Fragments of a form flickered in the center, bits of it visible every so often as the creature writhed. What on earth?

Fangs sank into me, pain, pleasure, and desire crashing over me.

Skin pressed against my lips, and my teeth burned.

Moving purely on instinct, I bit down until copper bathed my tongue and the inferno that was Yelena went off inside my being like a firework.

Her magic poured into me, and with a vicious snap, the wards roared back to life, knocking us all off our feet and sending the monster spiraling.

I stared up at the pearlescent sky, breathing hard, my whole body throbbing.

“Motherfucker.” I whimpered.

The monster surged against the wards again, but blessedly, this time they stayed solid.

For a few moments, none of us moved. The nest was still a flurry of activity, but it slowly drew to a close, the frantic sounds quieting.

Velda appeared in the corner of my vision in her fluffy bear form. What the fuck happened? Is everyone okay?

I curled my fingers around her ankle, barely managing that, let alone getting my jaw to work. The wards broke but we fixed it.

She stared down at me. Since when do you know telepathy?

Since Kendrick forced me to learn.

Huh. All right, then. Should I call off the evacuation orders?

For now.

Velda nodded and ran off.

Caden was the first to recover, dragging me onto his lap and clutching me like I was a lover just returned from war. “Logan, holy fucking shit.”

I leaned into him, breathing in his vetiver scent to steady myself. Yelena burned hot in my chest. Another bond? I didn’t know what to do with this one. I’d wanted Seth to stay with me for years, but Yelena was so new and now we were inextricably bound forever.

I’m so sorry, precious. Yelena eased herself up, resting against Caden and me. I didn’t mean to bond you.

“It’s okay. It saved us.”

“Hopefully it’s not a temporary measure with permanent consequences.” Yelena sighed and planted a kiss on my shoulder.

My hand snaked out for Seth, pawing for him and Haru to get closer. We rested together until my head stopped spinning, despite the monster’s fury.

“Where did Kendrick go?”

Yelena scoffed. “He ran off the second he could.”

That didn’t make any sense. Kendrick had stood with me at the wards, offering his magic and his support. Had I hallucinated that in my moment of panic? “I need to talk to him.”

“About what?” Caden asked.

“I just do. I’ll meet everyone in the suite and we can figure out next steps.” I used my annoyance to push me to my feet. Had he actually bolted and left everyone else to deal with the fallout? He was nowhere to be seen as I marched through the chaos.

Where are you? I shouted the words in my head, even though I knew the odds of them actually reaching him were basically nonexistent. KENDRICK! Where the fuck are you? I screamed the words on repeat until finally he replied.

In my suite.

I growled, throwing myself into the elevator to go up to the top floor. Why the hell was he already in his suite? We had so much work to be do to reset the nest and he was just skipping out on all of it? Fuck that. I had just nearly died and I was going to give him shit for this.

When I arrived in front of his door, I pounded my fist against it until it swung open, a little jackrabbit staring up at me, standing on its hind feet with its paw on the handle. I stopped short, seeing Kendrick sitting in the corner on the floor with nearly two dozen small animals all over him.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Lower your voice.

The jackrabbit hopped over to him, burrowing under his arm with a pile of others. I traced my gaze over all of them: rabbits, squirrels, ducks, a guinea pig, a chinchilla. All of them were so little and all… “Prey. You came back for them?”

I’m the only one who does.

I stood frozen for a few moments, soaking in the scene and trying to process it while exhaustion limited my capacity.

Who bit you?

I pressed my lips into a thin line, not wanting to say it out loud in front of the nest residents when I was still figuring out what it meant myself.

I see your telepathy still only works when you’re screaming at me. Nod if I’m right. Your other panther? Yelena’s wolf? Yelena?

I nodded stiffly.

Sit down, witch.

The chinchilla climbed from his lap to mine, the space on his immediately taken as the others cuddled closer. I stroked over the cloud-soft fur and reached my other hand so my fingertips could brush Kendrick’s skin. Do the others know the reason you always disappear is for this?

No.

Wouldn’t that make things easier?

He shrugged. They expect everyone to follow orders and they have no fucking clue how difficult that can be when you’re fighting a prey drive.

Their instinct is to hide or to panic and bolt.

They could run straight through the wards and into the mouth of that beast because they can’t think straight.

The predators will never understand that.

I stared down at every tiny shaking animal tucked against him. Are they all ones you claimed?

Some, but not all. There’s a tunnel from my closet down to the common room below. Every evacuation they can come here. If I have to, I can shove them in a backpack and run, but it’s far too triggering for them to be down in the chaos among all of the predators.

Kendrick… I swallowed hard. Why did you want to claim me when I first arrived?

His blue eyes swept over me. You’re a prey animal too. I know humans are technically predators, but when you arrived you had nothing to protect you from them. I thought you would’ve been safer here.

You wanted me to be part of your fluffle?

He raised an eyebrow. Is there a reason you know what a group of rabbits is called?

I like knowing random stuff. Makes life more interesting. But why didn’t you just tell me about this? Why did you have to be such a dick?

He snorted, the bunnies looking at him curiously. You think it’s easy for me to keep my head around all of them? Yelena and Velda have threatened to eat me more times than I can count. Doesn’t matter if they’re joking; my instincts take them seriously.

“I’m sorry for everything,” I said to everyone gathered.

“I can only imagine how stressful it is for all of you. I’m going to keep the wards as strong as I can while I figure out my magic, but I can’t guarantee this won’t happen again.

You can come to me too. If you’re not somewhere with access to Kendrick, and you see me, please don’t hesitate. I’ll protect you however I can.”

One of the bunnies nuzzled under my hand.

Precious? Yelena’s voice rang through my head.

Yes?

Come to the suite please. We have plenty to discuss. Velda and Shakti are handling the rest of the settlement. Did you find Kendrick?

Yes.

Tell him to get his ass down here to work. He’s ignoring me.

He’s working already, I told her. He’s helping those who need him right now. I’ll head to the suite now.

I carefully set down the chinchilla and patted a few other animals who lifted their head to my touch. “I have to go, but I’m sure I’ll see you all later.”

Kendrick’s gaze met mine. Good luck being bonded to the lioness.

I wasn’t sure if he meant it sincerely or if he was being snippy, but I didn’t have time to sort it out right now.

The walk down the hall to Yelena’s suite felt like an eternity. My brief reprieve with the bunnies wasn’t nearly enough to renew me. Yelena opened the door before I could punch in the code and I fell straight into her arms.

“Everyone almost died because of me.”

“They lived because of you too.” Yelena drew me into a soft kiss. “You need to rest.”

I really did. “We don’t have to charge the wards?”

“We will,” she promised, “but let’s put a little space between you and the trauma first. I’m not going to take you apart when your cheeks are still red from your tears. Settle in with your panthers.”

“You’re not staying?”

“I’ll come back.” She winced. “Kendrick just made a rather valid point to me and I need to see about correcting my error before I relax.”

I tilted my head looking at her curiously. “Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“You’ll see. Go rest.”

Before I could protest, Caden scooped me up and set me on the bed between him and Seth, Haru stretched out behind my first bond. I stared after Yelena as she left, but Seth and Caden’s purring quickly lulled me into complacency. I could close my eyes, just for a minute.