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And, as soon as I laid eyes on my princess, it did.
She was standing, pressed up against the tree, her legs bent, panting furiously. Pink slashed her cheeks, her red eyes wild as she looked at me, fury beating from her, quickly changing to an empty sadness as her eyes met mine.
“Did you feel it too?” I wheezed, all my pain and confusion vanishing.
“A witch,” she gasped. “There was a witch.”
“What?” I stumbled as I tried to move closer. The buzzing might have cleared, my sight starting to return, but I was still ready to attack. “How? They -”
But I couldn’t finish the sentence as the scent of blood hit me so hard I choked.
It ran from her left wrist, staining my cream shirt, red streaks running down her fingers and dripping from the tips. I fixed my eyes on it as a growl ripped from me.
“The witch,” Ruby lifted her arm, trembling. “The witch, she…”
I knew it was coming before I could stop it. All I heard was my snarl as the thick taste of iron clogged my mouth. Uncontrollable rage erupted from me, and my wolf roared, struggling to escape, ready to take revenge on whoever had touched her.
I gasped as the swirl of fear that took me was replaced with pure fury. The only sound was the tearing of my muscles and the crack of my bones, the shift taking me over.
My claws extended, digging into the tree, blowing the bark, splinters of wood firing around us and piercing themselves into my skin, already morphing into a thick hide.
No one had any right to touch her. Only our pack. And I would destroy anyone or anything who thought they could.
She was mine. She was ours. She was my princess, and I would protect her until death.
I howled, my wolf spiralling free, taking over as I watched the blood stain her skin, and I lost control.
EIGHTEEN
Ruby
Ileft Fillian in the clearing, knowing I only had a minute to act. Any longer and he would become suspicious.
It had taken so much energy just to convince him to bring me outside. It was easier to manipulate Fillian, yet it came at a cost.
I still had two days left until the moon and I was growing desperate.
My back tight to the tree, I supported myself as I closed my eyes and focused.
I pulled my energy away from them, trying to hide myself from the bond again. Calling on everything Valko had inadvertently taught me, I mustered myself, but the bleak emptiness that followed shook my entire being. Out here, away from the den, away from them, my cause reignited.
But I had to hurry.
I had no idea how calling Jasper would affect the bond.
I took a deep breath, burying myself down into my blood, searching for my connection to Jasper. It was faint, but still there. If he was with the Grandmothers, where blood magic flowed strong, it should be easier to reach him. He would be closer to me there than if he returned to the Carnelian Palace. We planned that he would stay with them, but it hurt so much for him to part with me because of the spell my mother placed on him before she disappeared.
The power of the forest lay heavy, masking me. I could only pray that Jasper would sense the call I sent out.
I gathered my energy, waking my true power, one born of blood and death, searching deep inside for all the threads connected to me. My wolves were there, but I had to block them as I connected to Jasper’s essence inside me. But I was weak - too weak to reach him.
I grit my teeth as I drew in a deep breath. I knew Fillian would smell it, yet I had to try.
Lifting my left wrist to my mouth, I reinforced the wall between myself and my wolves, accepting the violent pain of our separation. A quick sip of air was all I needed before I dropped my jaw, extended my fangs, and pierced the soft flesh of my inner wrist, exactly the same location I had bit Fillian days before.
The moment the blood touched my tongue, I sent out the strongest pulse I could muster, filled with every dark feeling I had experienced since they had taken me.
Please, Jasper. I need you.
