Page 41 of Untraced Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #1)

Tyler

A force shoved me forward, the room distorting as I slammed my hands in front of me to break my fall, but it never came. Plucked into the air as if weightless, my eyes opened to find myself spinning wildly, a vortex twisting me into its fury.

Excruciating pain sliced through my back, my vision blurring completely as the shards of pain roused like a beast spreading its newborn wrath. A roar ripped from me as it molded to my bones, wracking my soul as it contorted me. Taunted me at its peril.

Son of a bitch, it burned .

I clenched my jaw, trying to block it out as the ground rushed at me faster than the air heaving into my lungs.

The earth thumped beneath my feet as I landed, one hand barely steadying me.

Where the fuck was I?

Quickly I stepped back, shrinking into the shadows of the forest that surrounded me, thankful for the momentary cover. My gaze swept over my immediate surroundings, my sight insanely sharp. Magnified .

The haunting tale of a raven’s cry forced me back to reality. Turning my gaze to the canopy above, its curious eyes looked down at me, a single blink before flying away.

Whispers of rodents scratched the forest floor, inching me forward, as if speaking to my mind. A shadow bounced off a nearby tree and I spun on my heel, searching for movement. It appeared again to my side, and I pivoted, my muscles tense.

Holy fuck.

The shadow was mine.

Blood rushed through my veins, faster with each passing second as I stared at the shadow protruding from my back.

Wings.

What the fuck?

I whipped my hand behind me, and feathers laced through my fingers.

“Ah fuck.” I winced, pulling away at the pain.

I hadn’t noticed my top barely clinging to my chest, torn to shreds at the back from the wings that had slashed my skin, emerging fully spanned at my back. Coarse and black as a moonless night, rimmed with a golden glow around the edges.

They resembled what I would imagine a phoenix to look like, and something gnawed at me about my family history that I was sure Skye had mentioned before. A passing comment about a half mage, half shifter somewhere back in a previous generation.

A cry tore through the forest, my attention turning to it somewhere up ahead. It stripped me of pain, a chill scaling my bones .

Morgan.

I knew that voice as if it were my own. My mate’s cry hurtled me forward, charging onwards so fast, I lifted into the air with the grace of a fucking newborn giraffe through a gap in the canopy.

My arms circled for balance, eventually finding their natural place as I soared above the ground until a church emerged ahead of me. My back burned with each dip as my wings brought me closer to the ground, but I pushed through, my only concern being Morgan. I had to find her.

Flying didn’t come easy to me as I maneuvered through the air, easing myself to the ground gradually, at one stage almost flipping on my back.

As my feet found firm ground again, I stuck to the shadows of the forest, my ears alert, eyes scanning the tree line. With a full moon illuminating it from behind, the church stood within an overgrown graveyard about fifty feet away.

Limbs of deceased vines crawled its walls, almost camouflaged with the forest behind if it wasn’t for the turret extending from its pitched roof.

I stalked forward, my footsteps muffled by moss clinging to the ground, my gaze scanning the tree line once more before focusing on the church.

A solid timber door looked to be the main point of entry from my vantage point, the only windows high above. I inched closer, my fingers wrapping around the edge of the door that stood ajar. It slid open silently, and I ducked inside, keeping close to the wall .

Stone formed its interior shell, rows of pews blocking my way to the front. It smelled like it had be shut up for years. Like ass.

Movement to my right stole my attention. Wes.

Our eyes connected from opposite sides of the room, confirming my worst nightmare and I froze, betrayal gripping me tight.

He stared back at me, and I couldn’t gauge the look on his face. The face I had grown up with. My blood ran hot, searing through every part of me, my palms itching for release as if forcing me to accept the deceit.

My strides pushed forward in his direction.

Wes held his hands in front of him. “Ty, I had no choice.”

Rage twisted inside me. “You always have a choice!” I growled through clenched teeth. “ Always !”

“I swear, if it wasn’t for…”

“Wasn’t for what!” I roared, unable to fathom any explanation he had. “What reason could possibly convince you to capture my mate? Because I can’t think of a single fucking one!” I stabbed a finger at the air between us.

As I closed in on him, Wesley’s steps angled backwards toward a side door I hadn’t noticed before.

His head shook in defeat.

Coward.

Suddenly he bolted toward the exit and instinctively, my palms spread wide, my magic coming forward like a hit of euphoria as I let a fireball loose in his direction before his form disappeared.

Then I saw her, splayed on the ground at the front near the pulpit.

“Morgan!” my voice boomed off the walls.

I charged toward her, swallowing the lump lodged in my throat and sinking to my knees when I noticed her eyes closed and skin depleted of color.

Her dress was crumpled, and grit stuck to it like she’d been sitting on the ground, her arms splayed out at her sides in awkward angles, the same as her bare legs.

“Morgan, wake up,” I urged, my thumb skimming a dampness on her forehead, the other palming the pearl of her ghostly white cheek.

When she didn’t respond, I pressed two fingers under her jaw, my cheek resting against hers.

I stilled, silently pleading for the faint beat to hit my fingers.

“Baby, it’s me. You need to wake up,” I pleaded, caressing her hair.

When the lull of her heartbeat never came, I heaved my hands against her chest. Pushed a breath into her mouth.

She would come back. She had to come back to me.

Heaving. Breathing. Heaving. I became a rollercoaster of life support, riding my adrenaline to the edge of its limit.

“This can’t be it. We don’t end like this… Breathe, Morgan!” I choked, filling her lungs with air again.

Her body remained limp, skin pale, clammy.

I don’t remember how long I tried to breathe life into her, to jumpstart her heart. But it felt like a lifetime, her body refusing my efforts.

Pain sliced through me, so fierce I arched against the white-hot heat tearing at my insides. I pulled her body flush against mine as the pain engulfed me, nearing blackout myself.

I wouldn’t accept it. This life was meant for us. Fate had decided it. They knew we were meant to be together .

I cradled into her neck, the mist of my breath circling around us as if protecting our moment from the outside world. I would rather have never met her than for it to end like this. To know such a love existed, then have it be taken so unfairly.

“Morgan, come back to me. Please ,” I whispered in anguish, trailing my fingers over her lips. “It’s not supposed to end this way. I only just found you.”

I pushed onto my hands, the terror in my heart exploding into every part of me. Droplets glistened on her cheeks, fresh from my eyes, and I swiped them away with my thumb.

Then it dawned on me.

Why had I not thought of it before?

I needed to get her out of here and back to Reid. His healing gift could help in some way. I didn't even know if it was possible, and I would never force such a thing on him, but I had to at least try.

Scooping her into my arms, I started for the door, only to find both exits blocked by an inferno of flames. Fire I’d created after hurling my magic at Wes.

I cursed at myself for not noticing earlier, when it was small enough for my magic to extinguish it. Now it was too far gone, even for me to stop.

An agonizing sound left me. I didn’t recognize it. Smoke chocked my lungs, bringing me to my knees once more.

The pain became unbearable, bright stars blurring my vision, and I slammed them shut at the incredible force shredding my heart to pieces. In that moment, I believed the tales from my elders, that a mate bond being severed could kill both partners .

I engulfed her body desperately with mine, my legs intertwined with hers, heart to heart. One beating. One still.

My voice cracked. “If this is it, I need to tell you something,” I whispered against her ear, taking in every scent of her, committing it to memory.

“I should have said it when I got the chance, because I knew you were meant for me the minute we danced in the doorway. Your heart stole a part of mine, and I will be forever grateful to have found you, even for only the smallest fraction of my life.”

Tears fell freely as I took in every fine detail of her. Her lashes, thick like her hair, framing her head angelically. The small freckle under her eye that crinkled when she smiled. Her lips, oh god she was everything I was not.

She was delicate, a treasure of sorts that glistened brightly. I placed my lips on her forehead, then nose, caressed her cheeks, her hair.

I cupped her face. “I love you, Morgan. I will always love you.”

I breathed one final breath into her lungs, not ready to say goodbye, my lips lingering on hers.

I’d never felt a love so pure. So right. A love that could steal your breath, make your heart skip a beat.

My heart stammered in my chest as warm air found my lips. Faint, but it was there, dusting them ever so slightly.

“Morgan?” I said incredulously.

The faint rise and fall of her chest left air rushing from me. I cradled my arms underneath her, holding her tenderly to my chest, not believing it to be real.

Color returned to her cheeks ever so faintly, and my pain seemed to dull.

I grasped her hand as if I was her tether to this life.

“Breathe for me, that’s it.”

Her breath against my neck was the single most incredible sensation I’d ever felt. A gift.

“Tyler,” she whispered.