Page 150

I hold out my hand to her, and she hesitates for just a moment before she takes it.

Blinding pain ricochets through my head. Astra screams, dropping my hand and covering her ears. I do the same, only vaguely aware that the pain is coming from a noise. My wolf shrinks away from it, howling his agony.

The door opens, and Beau strides inside—followed closely by the witch who let us into the club. One of her stones is glowing, and her lips move soundlessly.

A spell.

I drop to my knees beside Astra, that sound destroying me from the inside out. I can’t even fucking twitch with this noise in my ears, in my brain. It holds my muscles hostage, seems to be liquidating my brain.

It cuts off abruptly, leaving both of us panting and shivering on our knees.

Astra reaches for me again.

Beau’s form blurs, and his boot lands solidly on my chest. He sends me flying backward.

I crash into the wall and slide down. The vampire is on me in a second, and it’s only instinct that I manage to get my hand up in time. I catch him around the throat and shove his snapping teeth away from me, regaining my footing.

Across the room, Astra faces off against the witch. She flexes her hands over and over, and I curse myself for forcing her to practically drain herself to stop my earlier rampage. If not for me, she could’ve gotten us out of this.

Beau snarls at me. My wolf is sharp, lending me his power. We’re on the edge of shifting—and if we weren’t still in a hotel room, I would do it.

The noise blasts into Astra and me again. I manage to keep my eyes open, wondering if I can tear out the witch’s throat before she kills us.

But Astra’s hair is floating around her face. Blood drips from her ears, but she’s completely still. Her hands remain at her sides.

Not for long.

The witch’s expression is pinched with fear. There’s a pulsing in the air. Something great and heavy pressing down on us. Even Beau has gone still, focused on Astra. With nothing more than a twitch of Astra’s finger, the air shifts. The witch’s head snaps to the side, the crack of bone unmistakable.

The noise vanishes. I gasp for air, my hackles rising. My wolf wants to take over, to shake the witch until we’re sure she’s dead. But there’s still a vampire to deal with.

His form blurs, and he goes to the fallen witch. Scoops her up and tosses her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Leave,” he orders, his voice hard. “And never return.”

“Fine by me,” Astra murmurs.

The broken door doesn’t close behind Beau, but he leaves all the same. I stagger to her side, dimly aware of my pack’s inquiries. They’re all questioning my safety, so they must’ve sensed the pain. I ignore it for now and sit on the bed. My muscles ache, and when I touch my ear, my finger comes away wet with blood.

I focus in on Astra. “Have you always had air magic?”

She looks from her bloody hands to me, then back again. Slowly, she shakes her head. Tears fill her eyes. “N-no.” Then lower, more to herself, “Why can’t I escape death? What’s wrong with me?”

I go to her, pulling her into my chest like it’s the most natural thing in the world. My wolf is proud of her. Proud to have chosen a strong mate. It’s the only warmth left in me, because the human side of me is afraid.

For the first time, fear takes the lead.

I have a witch in my arms, and I need to bend her to my will. I’ve been bending her—and she’s gone along with it. She’s been my little captive, letting me kiss her, shuffle her from place to place. I’ve saved her from witches and wolves and vampires. And now she’s saved both of us.

But when it comes down to her saving my entire species?

I don’t know if she’ll do it.

She could be as powerful as her mother—or more. Once we figure out why her powers are being suppressed, and how to break it, then she could break the curse herself.

It would eliminate the need for a blood witch. Maybe Astra can navigate a way through the curse or crush it entirely.

I take a deep breath, my nose in her hair, and try not to get swallowed up by the thoughts bolting through my mind. Hope carts away the fear, quieting the alarm bells ringing through my body.