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Well, I don’t. Tanith bit the insides of her cheeks to keep from saying her thoughts aloud; it was clear nothing she could say would stop Blake from going through with whatever he and the others had planned, even after their amazing lovemaking session back in the depths of the cave.
Tanith had needed that time to distract herself, to forget all the craziness going on around her and cling to something solid, something constant. Blake was her constant, and he did not disappoint with his ability to distract.
Unfortunately, they’d only had an hour to sleepily cuddle before Espie Ruiz came calling for them. She had waited outside while they dressed, and when Blake answered the door, the younger sister of the bear clan alpha insisted that they were going through with Ursalina and Blake’s plan.
He had offered a hasty explanation on the way back to the mouth of the cave, telling her that this would protect him and the other medics, and that it would involve magic. When they arrived, all the others sat back against the walls, leaving an open circle around a roaring fire, around which stood Ursalina and several other equally eccentric-looking individuals. Mystics, they were called. Apparently, every clan had one—if they were lucky.
“I’ll be fine,” Blake assured her, giving her one last squeeze and a smile before joining the other medics in the circle. Tanith hadn’t wanted to let go. She couldn’t stand the thought of him putting himself into a dangerous situation, then instantly felt ridiculous for panicking so much.
“It’s normal to worry,” Espie whispered in her ear. The woman’s presence startled her out of her thoughts, and Tanith flinched, her heart skipping a beat.
“What?”
“He’s your mate,” Espie noted with a nod in Blake’s direction. “You two are bonded. I’d be losing my mind if it were Luther in there. It’s normal to feel possessive over them. Blake feels the same for you. It’s just the nature of the bond.”
Tanith crossed her arms, unable to tear her gaze from Blake. “Oh.”
“I’m sure knowing that doesn’t make anything better, huh?” Espie laughed when Tanith shook her head. “You’ll get used to it.”
Both women nearly jumped a foot in the air when all the mystics’ arms shot out in perfect unison, enclosing the clan medics in a circle of light emanating from their palms. Bright green, vibrant and dripping with energy, connecting the magic-wielders, and Tanith watched in disbelief as a circle enclosed around them on all sides. Like a little protective bubble, the green light slowly turned white as the mystics began to chant. The fire roared inside the bubble, and Blake lifted a hand to shield his eyes; Tanith’s panic spiked, and suddenly worsened when he dropped to his knees, face twisted in agony.
“Blake!”
“Let them work,” Espie hissed, grabbing Tanith’s arm when she tried to rush forward. “They know what they’re doing.”
The chanting grew louder, and suddenly those within the magic started to shift in and out of their animal forms. The agony disappeared, replaced with what she could only describe as a serene peacefulness—that is, whenever Tanith caught sight of their human faces. Fur to skin and back again. Paws to hands and back to paws. A black bear, a coyote, an armadillo, and a bighorn sheep. All the clans’ medics.
If Tanith didn’t know better, she could have sworn this was all some drug-induced dream. Maybe the paramedics had to sedate her, and she was sleeping off her mental breakdown over the gallery burning in a cozy hospital room somewhere outside of Angel Fire.
She pinched herself.
Nope. This was real.
And it was…incredible. The most beautiful light show Tanith had ever seen. When she finally let herself just be in the moment, she was transfixed. Little swirls danced across the protective magical barrier. Inside, the shifters had finally returned to their animal forms, naked and panting. Espie left her side for a moment, then returned and handed her a bundle of clothing.
“For Blake,” she said when Tanith raised a curious eyebrow. The shifting had shredded his actual clothes to nothing. Slowly, the mystics lowered their hands, breaking the magic bubble. The fire died to a crackling low, the embers burning bright.
“And so you are protected,” Ursalina declared. While her voice rang loud and true throughout the cave, Tanith heard it whispered at the back of her mind too. She looked to Espie, wide-eyed and a little startled, but the grizzly bear shifter merely nodded and grinned.
“Right? Mystics are wacky, but in the best way possible.”
Well, that was one way to describe it. Shaking her head, she rushed forth and collapsed next to a sweaty, shaking Blake.
“Are you all right?” she demanded, pressing a hand to his forehead and checking him over.
“Better than that,” he whispered, his voice hoarse, as though he’d been screaming. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before in all my life.”
“That makes two of us,” Tanith noted as she tugged a shirt on over his head. “So, you’re safe now?”
She watched him slide his arms through the holes, and when he was sorted—still half-naked, but no one seemed to care—he kissed her, cupping her face.
“Better than safe,” he told her. “After that, I’m pretty sure I’m untouchable…”
