Page 21 of Touched By Moonlight

Running past Sienna, I zigged and zagged until arriving at the back door, still closed and bolted. Palm flat against the metal, I tested it. Cold. Kallan had gathered against the door, pressed against the barrier betweenus.

Mist drifted up the door, aiming for me. As it touched my hand, I felt the power of dark magick seeping into mybody.

Don’t let her see you do this.I had to save Sienna, but did not dare risk her knowing what I was. Notyet.

Dozens of needles pricked my flesh as if I’d immersed my hand into freezing water. Ignoring the pain, I focused all my strength and energy and pulled at the power pulsing through the door like you’d yank on a rope. And then before Kallan realized what I was doing, I hurled pure, good energy right back at that son of a bitch’s tentacles of mist on thefloor.

A sudden squeal beyond the door. Got him. Good. I lacked the strength to kill him, but I could hurt him and grab areprieve.

Only one Fae I knew could kill Kallan – and she was gasping now, the tentacle retreating from her neck, and vanishing beneath thedoor.

Hand wrapped around her throat, Sienna stared at me. “Guess I didn’t taste as good as itthought.”

My brave Sienna. Relief battled with worry. Kallan knew Sienna’s location now. I gently pried loose her fingers. Blood had already vanished from the tiny pinpricks. Like me, Sienna had amazing abilities toheal.

Emotions warred inside me. I wanted to kiss her senseless, hold her tight and promise nothing would ever hurt heragain.

I wanted to throw back my head and howl withfrustration.

I did neither. Instead, I put my hand on the small of her back, herding her out of thestoreroom.

Nicolas and Stephan stepped aside, their expressions blank. Not giving away one single thought orintention.

“What the fuck is going on?” Danteroared.

Peyton was guarded by Alexander and Gabriel, Dante’s betas. I didn’t blame the alpha for beingpissed.

“It’s gone, whatever it was.” I toldhim.

“What the hell was that?” Gabrieldemanded.

I sank back into the typical excuse accepted by shifters when this kind of incident happened. “A manifestation created by dark energy. Fae shed that energy to hide themselves from shifters during the rising moon. It takes a form of its own and goes after shifters. Since you run a shifter bar, it was drawnhere.”

Yeah, Fae and shifters never got along, and the shy fairies feared shifters more than the tall, elegant Fae who held more power. But shifter power tripled during the full moon, so it seemedplausible.

The answer seemed to satisfy Dante, but I saw the questions in his eyes. No matter. I wasn’t coming hereagain.

Neither wouldSienna.

To protect my Sienna, I’d manifested my hidden powers. No one could see. No oneknew.

But Kallan knew and now knew exactly what I was capable of. That display of pure magick was exactly what the dark Fae tested, to see how powerful I was. Kallan knew myweakness.

Sienna.

He’d know at last how much power I held, power he wanted to siphon from me. Kallan would kill every last shifter in my pack to get to me, and to get to Sienna, his realtarget.

And now he’d found Sienna. Sienna, who tried to hideherself.

We were running out of time. If I didn’t coax Sienna to my pack to share the magick she desperately tried to hide and trigger the power of three - myself, and my betas to defeatKallan…

We weretoast.

And Sienna would surelydie.