Page 59 of Siren’s Secret

“No!” Irishen roared. And finally, his brain started firing again. All those little inconsistencies started to click together and build a picture. She wasn’t just a stormbringer. She was half siren. His mate was a half siren and halfway out the door. He defied Jarred’s growl and pushed the jaguar out of the way when he rushed after her.

“Mate. Wayla. Stop.” He did the only thing he could think of and bodily slammed into her and rolled them to the floor, making sure she ended on top of him, but was secure in his arms. She thrashed in his hold, pupils blown wide.

“Wayla. Breathe.”

She didn’t stop thrashing, and the bond kept tearing. How she was doing it that fast, he didn’t know, but it hurt so fucking much to feel the threads snapping. Feel her sliding farther and farther away. He needed to get her to calm down. Now.

“Breathe.” He tried to soothe her, to no avail. “I’ve got you. Always, mate, remember?” Desperately, he pushed all of that into the bond. He needed to break through her panic and pain before it was too late.

The jaguar chuffed, nudging her with his giant head, and that movement pressed her tighter against his chest. Irishen braced against another bite, but it didn’t come. Jarred just kept nudging Wayla, like he was trying to shake her awake.

“Breathe with me,” he growled out a demand before sealing his lips over hers. He pushed his power into her like he had done before and then pulled it back. Wayla went lax in his hold, so he did it again. And again. And again.

Slowly, oh so agonizingly slowly, her breathing eased and slowed down. Irishen didn’t let up, feeling how her body soaked in his coolness. Then the bond calmed, stopped writhing, precariously close to snapping. They kept breathing together.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m sorry.” He repeated those little sentences and reached out in the bond. Wayla tensed but didn’t recoil when he stroked the bond.

So fragile, it was a thread ready to snap. It had latched in place with such a force and now it was torn with equal force. Irishen shivered.

He had almost lost his mate bond.

He sensed Jarred shifting back, but he didn’t pull Wayla away from Irishen, only wrapped himself around her back and murmured soothingly. Wayla still stayed silent, immobile, eyes closed. She didn’t respond to Jarred. She didn’t touch the bond.

What the fuck could he do? Anything could tip her over the edge and she would shred what was left of their bond. So what if the general wisdom said that breaking a mate bond once formed took a lot of time and effort? Clearly, his mate wasn’t playing by the rules in many things.

Irishen wanted to smack himself. He had sworn not to hurt her and the next moment had shielded against her. He didn’t need to imagine how much it would hurt him if she ever flinched back like that and pulled her shields up against him. It would shred his heart.

He hadn’t been thinking. Not a good enough reason, but that was the truth. “I’m sorry, morsel,” he whispered. She hadn’t moved at all, so their lips were still almost brushing. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine,” Wayla’s reply came with a shuddering breath.

No one in the room believed that sentence.

“Let’s get you up and on the couch, love,” Jarred finally murmured.

Reluctantly, Irishen released his hold on her so that Jarred could gather her up and carry her over there. Wayla’s nails bit into his arms when he didn’t move with her. Pain from Jarred’s bite shot through him, but Irishen pushed that aside and scrambled to move up with them.

They piled on the couch, Wayla between them. Unsure of what else to do, Irishen kept pouring his power into the bond that soaked it in like a starved creature. He kept his breathing slow and even, soothing Wayla, every time her breathing threatened to pick up. At some point, Irishen realized she had fallen asleep, utterly exhausted. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

“What the fuck was that?” he murmured quietly, still shaken beyond belief. She had almost torn the mate bond to shreds in moments. The raw power… the panic… the absolute fear… It made Irishen want to throw up. He jerked when Jarred suddenly answered his question.

“She was captured before. Never hold her back or I will bite your arms off, no matter how much it’ll hurt her momentarily.”

“Wh-what?”

“Sirens are the most hunted creatures in all the realms,” Jarred rumbled. Wayla flinched at his harsh tone, but didn’t fully wake. Jarred’s voice dropped into a steady, low purr that seemed to lull her back to sleep. “She’s a half siren. Keep up, Sleethill. I’m not going to tear you a new one on the shields because I wasn’t much better when she told me, but never, and I mean never, grab her like that again.”

“What do you mean, she was captured?” Rage built in his veins and he had to fight hard not to let it flare up and disturb Wayla.

Jarred purred even lower. “I don’t know much. Just that whoever did it is dead. But she shuts down when you grab her like that. She keeps rubbing her wrists and throat when she’s agitated… Mentioning chains sets it off, too.”

Fuck.

Irishen tried to stay calm, but the bond between them still pulsed with pain. There was a tightness in Wayla’s lips, despite the sleep. She clung to Jarred and whimpered softly when he stroked over her wrist.

“Always shielding. All that power. What the hell have you been through, little mate?” Irishen murmured.

Chapter 31 – Wave