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I whimpered and pulled my arm away. Fenris’s face fell, but before he could apologize, I reached out, taking his hand in mine as I closed my eyes, willing my memory to join his before any of the details faded. I’d never experienced a vision while awake—at least, nothing this powerful—but given what I’d seen in the hospital right before Fenris had rescued Cody, I didn’t want to take any chances.
Fenris swore under his breath. “Despite what I just said,” he growled, withdrawing his hand from mine, “it looks like I’m going to have to leave you alone for a moment.” He paused as he stood up, our gazes locked. “Stay right here, Celeste.”
I frowned. “But Kal—”
The shifter who’d helped us was out there, either about to be attacked or already dying. I stood as Fenris strode toward the door. He whirled around, his expression slightly feral. “Celeste,” he ground out, “if you endanger yourself right now, after everything that just happened and so close to the full moon, I will absolutely lose what little control I have scraped together since finding you. Am I clear?”
I paused, taken aback. “You are,” I said quietly, stopping in my tracks. I wanted to follow him, but Fenris losing control right now would only add to our problems.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised, reaching for the door.
An unfamiliar feeling rang through me, and I frowned. It almost felt like the emotion itself was far away, just out of reach. Was it frustration?
I guess Fenris is being pretty aggravating right now,I reasoned with myself, trying to take a breath and steady my feelings.
“Be careful,” I said after giving myself a moment. “You aren’t the only one affected when we’re kept apart, you know. If you’re in danger from some other witch or warlock, I’m not just going to sit around like some girl scout at a sleepover.” I growled, barely recognizing the sound coming from me. “I’ll rain down magic like hellfire on them.”
Fenris glanced back over his shoulder, his teeth gleaming as he offered me a wolfish smile. “I do love this possessive side of you,” he rumbled, winking before finally slipping off into the wintry night.
Not much time passed before I moved over to the cabin window and stared off into the night. As the moon drifted through the sky, my magic thrummed as if rejoiced to be a part of me again. My skin itched, and the longer Fenris was gone, the more awake my wolf seemed to be, irritated at being separated from her mate after they’d only just reunited. All that power made me feel like my head was going to explode.
I didn’t want to shift right now, and if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to return to my human form. Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure Icouldconsciously change into my wolf. After all, the first time hadn’t been on purpose but a reaction to whatever they’d done to me when throwing me in that holding cell.
I paced, not sure what else to do. Suddenly, pain flickered within the space I was beginning to recognize as the bond between Fenris and me.
Before I knew it, I was out the front door, heading into the snowy darkness. I almost felt numb to the chill, but I wasn’t worried this time. Not like I’d been in Antarctica.
Instead, I thought of what Val had taught me: the warmth of a fire. It was even easier to summon with the memory of Kal’s hearth so fresh in my mind’s eye and the moon high overhead.
I allowed the flickers and twinges in the bond to guide me as I hurried out into the wilderness. The sound of a snarl caught my ear. My pulse jumped, and I picked up the pace, struggling through the thick snow as quickly as I could.
A bright bolt almost blinded me, just like in my premonition. I tried to quash my rising fear as I crested a hill, but my heart dropped to my feet when I spotted Kal at the bottom of the other side. He was motionless and bloody, just like I’d seen in my vision.
Fenris was a few yards away, surrounded by what looked like a bunch of coyotes and a pair of vampires. A moment later, I realized there was a warlock, too. The man continued to hurl bolts of bright light at Fenris like he could do this all day.
That’s what hurt him!
A bright, burning fury replaced the anxiety I’d felt moments ago. Before I could stop myself, I summoned a strong gust of wind, one headed straight for the warlock. Under the moon, my spells were more powerful than they’d been when I’d last practiced, and the man went flying several feet back, clearly not expecting the arrival of another player.
Unfortunately, it didn’t just gethisattention; everyone else knew I was there as well. The nearest vampire peeled off from the group, practically floating over the ground with his superior speed. Something glinted in his hand. I barely had time to inhale, mind drawing a blank on what type of spell I should use before Fenris lunged, using his weight to slam the other paranormal creature back into the snow.
In one simple motion, he ripped the vampire’s throat out, his muzzle glistening as he turned on the others. Even as the coyotes tried to jump him in tandem, he seemed immune to their biting and clawing as he tore each of them apart.
Heart now lodged in my throat, I forced myself to look away and hurried down the hill, tripping over my own feet as I tried to get to Kal. As I kneeled beside the shifter, I realized he was still breathing. My eyes prickled as relief spread through me, and I glanced up at the sound of footsteps crunching through the snow. I was about to share the good news with Fenris when I saw the look on his face.
“What are you doing out here?!” he roared, giving me a menacing look. “I just about had a heart attack seeing you.”
I scowled. “I wasn’t going to just sit here while I felt you getting zapped. You want me to use magic, don’t you? You’ll have to deal with me actuallyusing it,then.”
Fenris glared at me a moment longer before his eyes fell on the shifter between us. He gritted his teeth. “What is your experience with healing spells?”
“Minimal,” I said. Some of the relief I felt moments ago was already evaporating. “But I can’t just leave him like this. If you can get him back to the cabin, I’ll see what I can do.”
Fenris said nothing, simply nodding before he crouched down to gather up Kal’s body. I struggled to keep up with him in the snow as we hurried back toward the cabin, even though Fenris had the added weight of a whole person.
Something suddenly twinged in my gut, and I whirled, recognizing the sensation from my first premonition. I swept my hand out in front of me, using a burst of wind to ward anything off.
The silver knife hurtling through the air was flung sideways. I hadn’t even seen it so much as I’d simplyknownsomething was coming.
