He looks at Mona then. “What you did, coming here on your own—”
“I don’t want a lecture, Kenny,” Mona gripes.
He’s so taken aback, so used to respect and praise that he takes a moment to recover. When he does, his chin dips, lips twitching. “What you did, coming here on your own,” he begins more sternly, “was incredibly brave. Reckless, and damn near gave me a heart attack. But brave. I’m so proud of you. Your mother would have been so proud of you.”
Mona’s lip wobbles, and she looks away. It’s too much, too soon. Kendrick recognizes that she’s close to her breaking point.
“You all take the SUV, it’ll be a more comfortable ride. I’ll see you soon. Mona, when I return, I hope we can spend a little more time together.”
“I’d like that,” she says quietly, not meeting his eyes.
Ghost takes a step, as if to leave with Kendrick. But the older alpha slaps his hand on Ghost’s shoulder. “No. You’ve done enough. Stay with your mate. Take care of my daughter.”
They have an unspoken conversation, Ghost’s golden eyes glowing as they lock with Kendrick’s. Something passes between them—a flicker of understanding, hesitation, maybe. But Ghost finally nods, then climbs into the SUV. Grayson slides behind the wheel while Silas folds his fall frame into the back with us. I gently arrange Mona’s limp form across my lap, fiery red hair spilling across my legs, her skin still too pale.
We’re on the road within twenty minutes, tires crunching over dirt, before finding smooth pavement. Mona’s breathing deepens as she falls back asleep in my arms. I haven’t loosened my hold for a moment, aside from when Silas brushed his knuckles across her cheek or when Grayson reached back to squeeze her ankle—her other mates silently assuring themselves she’s whole, alive, and well.
Maybe not well.
We’ve been driving for an hour, approaching the highway that leads north out of the valley, when Mona’s head twitchesin my lap. A small whimper escapes her lips, then another. Suddenly she gasps—a sharp intake of breath—and her body jerks upright, her legs still stretched across Silas’s thighs.
The SUV lurches then swerves onto the shoulder, coming to a full stop, every one of us instantly alert at Mona’s distress.
I cradle her face between my palms. “Mona? What’s wrong?” Her eyes flutter open—unfocused at first, then widening with sudden terror. A tremor starts in her shoulders, spreading through her body, as if all of her trauma is finally breaking free.
“Ghost, did she take it? Did she take it?! Tell me she didn’t take it!” she screams.
Before I can process what she’s asking, the doors fly open. Ghost and Grayson scramble into the back, each reaching for Mona, touching her shoulders, her hands, her face—anything to anchor her. I don’t know what she’s talking about, but Ghost seems to.
Ghost’s hand moves in slow circles over her leg. The bond between them doesn’t shock me—I’m surprised he resisted for so long. I’m relieved knowing he was there when she needed someone, that he’s still here. But I wish someone would explain what the fuck is wrong with my mate.
“Mona—”
“Tell me. I need to know,” she demands, voice shaking.
Ghost looks her over clinically. Then shakes his head. “No. It’s—you’re healing. You’re already almost completely healed. She didn’t take it from you.”
We barely overheard Deidre’s tirade before we broke into the silo, down that lumbering elevator. But I feel so stupid, I almost forgot… it’s just, when we arrived, there was so much chaos, and we interrupted their chanting, so I had assumed the witch didn’t succeed. I feel like such an idiot now.
“But she could have? She almost did?”
Ghost presses his lips together, then nods.
“Take it out,” she says. His brow furrows in confusion, but she shakes her head. “The birth control. Get it out of me.”
“Mona—”
“After what just happened? I can’t—” Her voice catches. “What if there’s residual magic or—”
“Mi vidita, everything is intact. The witch failed. You’re safe.”
She grips his wrist, fingernails digging half-moons into his skin. “Just take it out, Ghost. Please. I need to know everything’s... mine again.”
“I thought you wanted to wait. That you didn’t want to get pregnant yet?” Grayson asks cautiously. We are all much older than she is. We would be overjoyed with a pup. But Mona is young. And she’s made it clear she wants to enjoy life as it is for a while.
“I don’t,” she responds with frenetic energy. “Not yet. I’m not trying to get pregnant. But when I thought Deidre was stealing my womb, I just… I panicked. I’m scared she damaged it or… I don’t know. I just want to heal naturally. Completely. Besides, you said it can take ages for a shifter to get pregnant, right? So, I don’t need to worry about that for a while. I just…”
Ghost holds up his hands. “I hear you. But this is something Doc should handle. It will hurt, for one thing—”
