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If this was the end, it wasn’t a bad way to go.
No! She had to fight. If she gave in, Solange would win. Kade would be left vulnerable. Gathering all her waning strength, she shoved herself forward, away from the illusion.
Strong arms caught her before she slammed into the ground. “I’ve got you. I’ll get you out of here.” The sincerity of the promise caught her off guard, and her eyes opened before she could stop them.
Her first thought was he looked tired. His familiar face was drawn into harsh lines of worry. His gray hair fell disheveled around his shoulders, but his eyes burned with a familiar determination.
Throat too dry to swallow, she managed to croak, “Kade?”
His smile was forced. “Hey. You wouldn’t come to me, so I came to you.”
Came to her? Oh crap. “You’re asleep. This is a dream.” She tried to shove away from him, but his strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her on his lap. “You need to wake up.”
One glance at the wall showed the bricks were back in place. He must have done that. “The repair won’t hold. I’m not sure how, but Solange has a pathway into my mind. She must have done something after she’d taken me while I was unconscious. It will never be safe for you to be around me.” The truth of that cut like a knife to the heart. “You need to wake up.”
“I’m not leaving you.” The words were so guttural they were almost unintelligible.
“There’s no other way.” And she’d considered the problem whenever she’d been coherent enough to think. “There’s no way to close the pathway.” Not without some kind of supernatural assistance.
“My contact is searching for Onyx.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think she can help. I’m afraid the only way to break the connection is for Solange to die.” It was extreme. Not once in her life had she ever figured she’d be talking about taking the life of another person, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And she was no longer living blind in the human realm. Now she was part of something far bigger and much more dangerous.
Placing her hand over the tattoo on his chest, she willed him to listen. “I’ll fight her on this plane for as long as I can.” Which wouldn’t be long. She was too weak to even stand. The marking began to heat and pulse beneath her palm, momentarily distracting her.
Kade cupped her face between his hands and leaned so close their noses almost touched. His lashes were thick and dark above his mesmerizing gray eyes. His nostrils flared. “I’m not leaving you. We either go together or I don’t go.”
“Stubborn wolf.” Worry for his safety warred with relief that she was no longer alone. “I hope you’re not an illusion.”
He rubbed his nose against hers before pressing his lips against her cheek. “I’m real. Our physical bodies are currently lying together on a bed in a safe house. This is our dream. Our realm. Our place.” He punctuated each sentence with a featherlight kiss. Yearning for more, she pushed upward.
Groaning, he slipped his tongue between the seams of her lips. The tattoo of the lone wolf became almost hot, the pulsing sensation increasing. Her skin tingled, the cells of her body popping and fizzing like a sparkling wine. The air around them stirred, a sweet-smelling breeze fluttering over them, driving away the stench of magic.
“What’s happening?” She eased away from the kiss.
He brushed his thumb against her bottom lip. “We’re stronger together. Now and always.”
As much as she wanted to remain in his lap, she didn’t kid herself. This reprieve was temporary. “Help me up.” Her legs were shaky, whether a holdover from the mental battle with the mage or from his kiss was debatable.
“Stubborn,” he muttered, even as he got both of them to their feet.
“You can’t talk.” Needing the support, she leaned against him.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her from behind as they faced the wall. “That was clever of you to block her conduit.”
“It’s temporary. She’s determined and relentless.” As much as it killed her, she needed to be honest. “And stronger.”
“You’re human, and you’ve managed to keep out possibly the most powerful mage in the world, all while your physical body is healing. I can guarantee Solange is likely having fits. She expected you to crumble, to go down easy, and you didn’t.”
He was right. She might not have kicked the other woman’s ass, but she had held her own, gone toe-to-toe, at least on the dream plane. Like a fighter in the final round of a boxing match, she was on the mat but not down for the count. “What do we do?” The bricks in the wall were quivering. “She’s close to breaking through again. We can’t keep repairing the barrier forever.” Either her physical or mental strength would eventually run out, leading to her death.
“We wake up and regroup.”
Luna shook her head. “I don’t think I can. Even if I could, there’s no telling how she can manipulate me, what she can make me do. I won’t gamble with your safety.” Kade was more at risk there than here. If it came down to his survival, she’d find a way to shove him out of the dream. He’d be angry with her, but he’d have to get over it. He was her gray wolf, the man she loved. It was up to her to protect him, even from her.
The wall began to vibrate. Bricks split. Dark light poured through the cracks. A roaring sound got louder, gaining momentum. Kade yanked her to the ground, throwing his body over hers as the barrier exploded. Shards of brick flew everywhere. It was the building explosion all over again, except this time, they weren’t buried beneath debris. He dragged her to her feet and shoved her behind him. Not willing to stay in the background, she moved up to stand alongside him.
Solange emerged from the shadows, a wispy, ghostly form devoid of color, as gray as everything else around her. Throwing back her head, she laughed. “Did you think your puny wall would keep me out?”
