Page 35 of Binding His Fated Mates

“Raise your head,” he said softly.

With herculean effort, I managed to do exactly that. Lee slid his folded jacket under me, like a pillow. The last thing I saw before the room faded to black was Hunter and Lee peering down at me with identical expressions of concern.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I felt disoriented. For an instant, I couldn’t remember where I was or what had happened. Then, in stages, it came back to me. I was lying on the seat of a booth at the Crescent Moon bar. I’d just done a major spell on Robert. And Lee was crouching beside me. His hand was on my arm and his green eyes, dark with worry, were intent on my face.

“You should stay still,” Lee suggested. “You passed out.”

“For how long?” I asked, ignoring him and pushing myself into a sitting position. My cheeks went hot with embarrassment.

I wasn’t as powerful as I thought I was. Maybe my family was right about me. The thought hit me out of nowhere, making me feel even more miserable.

“It was only for a few minutes,” Lee murmured.

My wolfishly enhanced hearing tuned in suddenly and I realized that, somewhere behind him, I could hear Hunter. He was muffled, as though he was in another room. The manager’s office, most likely. His voice rose and he was almost shouting.

“—don’t you get it? He’ll do anything—even hurt himself—to help this pack! You saw what just happened! He almost killed himself casting that spell!”

Dismayed, I realized that Hunter was dangerously close to challenging his alpha.

On my behalf. Which was objectively insane.

I didn’t know what Reed would do, but I knew what most alphas would do in that situation. It wasn’t good.

“And I have to make decisions for the good of the pack.” Reed’s voice rose as well, louder than usual, matching Hunter’s. He sounded strained—still controlled, but I could hear the thread of anger underneath. “Hunter, we’re still under quarantine because we don’t know who’s safe and who’s a magical time bomb! Daniel is the only one who can do this!”

“So, what?” Hunter yelled. “You’re going to keep using him until he burns out?”

“That’s not—”

“You’re going to get him killed! And he’s going to let you!”

I needed to stop them. I tried to stand.

Lee’s hand on my arm tightened. “Daniel, don’t—”

“Let go,” I said. “I have to show them I’m okay.”

The lights flickered overhead.

“Daniel is casting the locator spell,” Reed yelled, his voice becoming louder, as though he’d moved closer. “That’s final! We’re not discussing it any further.”

Hunter burst out of the back office, his expression becoming apoplectic when he saw me trying to stand up. “Dammit, Daniel! Give yourself a goddamn break!”

“He’s right,” Lee said softly, his hand on my shoulder, guiding me back to sitting.

Reed followed Hunter out of the back office, his expression tight with barely controlled fury.

The lights flickered again.

This time, it was different—a deep, ominous surge, the neon signs buzzing and all of the overhead bulbs dimming at once before brightening to a harsh, white glare.

I felt the buildup of magical energy in the room—a pressure against my skin, the charge of electricity before a lightning strike.

Couldn’t they see what was about to happen?

“Get down!” I yelled.