AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes popped open with no effort. Weightless, she floated. At first, what she was seeing made no sense. Devlin knelt on the floor with her cradled in his arms.
I’m dead.There was no other explanation.
Crushing agony squeezed her heart. She reached out, wanting to ease his pain. He’d blame himself for this. Frustrated she couldn’t get close enough to touch him, she began to fight. It was like trying to swim through molasses—or at least what she imagined that would be like. Not like she’d done it.
A blinding flash was followed by a sonic boom that shook the entire space. Maybe the entire city. How could there be an electrical storm inside? The symbols around the room were blood red, hot and pulsing. A fierce wind buffeted her, trying to push her into the waiting void and away from him.
Not happening. She wasn’t leaving him here alone.
Energy snapped and sparked, creating a barrier around him. It wasn’t from an external source. It was coming from inside him, spilling from every pore of his body.
He’s dying.The unfamiliar voice jolted her. Then the words sank in.
No! He couldn’t die. There had to be something she could do to save him. They were connected by more than blood. They were bound by love. Whatever Solange had done to them, her love for Devlin was pure and strong and genuine.
She had no idea if the voice was real or nothing but a figment of her imagination, the last sparks of life in her dying brain. Time stretched. Less than a minute had passed, but it seemed a lifetime.
She was tiring, her grip on this world loosening. Soon it would slip away.
You share his blood.
The voice was fading, swallowed up in the mouth of the storm, but she heard it. And with it came knowledge. On a silent scream, she reached for Devlin with both hands. Agony threatened to rip her apart. She became lighter, her form fading.
With the last of her reserves, she lunged through the storm, grabbing a bolt of lightning. Maybe it could energize her. It could also blast her to smithereens. It was a crapshoot but worth the risk. The shock jolted her, propelling her forward. Her entire being tingled. She reached for the next and the next until the barrier of light was all that separated them.
A motion caught the corner of her eye. Solange. The bitch was still alive, clawing her way toward the door. As if sensing her, the mage turned hate-filled eyes toward her.
She didn’t matter. Only Devlin did. Zoe placed her hand on the outer edge of the glowing orb, expecting to be repelled, but instead soothing warmth flowed through her.
Of course, the light came from him. It recognized her and the blood bond they shared.
Something jerked her foot, pulling her away. She glanced over her shoulder. A dark tendril rose from one of the mage’s symbols, twining around her ankle. It had to be Solange. Now that her spell hadn’t worked, she was trying to destroy them.
Without thought, Zoe grabbed the next bolt of lightning and flung it at the dark shadow. It exploded. Another replaced it.
On a roar of fury, she twisted her body around to face the darkness. Bolts of lightning slid across her palms. She heaved both of them. The blast sent her spiraling backward. A third of her body was through the barrier when the next tendril caught her and yanked. It couldn’t pull her out, but she couldn’t go any further. She was stuck.
Without the lightning to energize her, her reserves were rapidly fading.
Devlin!She screamed his name or tried to but made no sound. So close. She reached out her hand, stretching her entire body. Her fingertips grazed a tendril of his hair.
…
The storm intensified. His wolf howled continuously as it fought to survive. Every cell in his body was on fire. In his grief, he heard Zoe calling him. He hugged her limp form tighter, wanting to absorb her into his body.
Then he felt it, a whisper-soft touch.
He snapped his head up and stared, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing. White and ghostly, she hovered in midair, but there was no mistaking her. Zoe reached for him, her entire face a mask of anguish. She was fighting, struggling to get closer. Her outline was getting fainter.
He saw the shadows then, dark and thin, wrapped around her ankles and feet like ropes, trying to pull her toward a gaping void. If they succeeded, they might destroy her soul, obliterating her for eternity.
He lunged forward and grabbed her hand.
The entire world went silent, holding its breath. The lone wolf howled. A swirling column of pure white slammed down around them. Like a tornado, it cut off the shadows, protecting them in the calm center while obliterating everything outside it between one heartbeat and the next.
As fast as it began, it ended.
Devlin was sprawled on his ass on the ground. The room, hell, the entire building was gone. He’d witnessed some strange shit in his life. He was a walking, talking immortal wolf. But this was beyond anything he’d ever experienced.
