Brother Bear Mated (11 page)

Thames couldn’t stop him. He wouldn’t get to him in time.

He let out a blistering roar, warning his brother bear. If he did this, they’d be enemies forever.

But Theron didn’t even slow.

Gash in his werecat form saw what was coming and bounded forward to intercept the bear. But before he could, Mirena’s voice shook the night.

“Theron,
NO!
”

And he skidded to a halt, shaking out his fur like his instincts were harder to stop than his big body. He swung his head around to face his mate, an angry chuff pulling up his lips to show his massive teeth.

“Don’t… hurt my… sister,” she said, and then fell to her knees in the dirt, as though it had taken all her strength to get the words out.

Thames wasted no time putting himself between his brother and Nastia even though it was unnecessary. The minute Mirena fell, Theo shifted and ran to her side.

“
Mirena!
” Nastia cried, and pushed past Thames. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Sister,
I didn’t mean to
.” She collapsed on the ground beside Mirena.

“Get back!” Theron barked, shaking with rage.

She looked at him, tears flooding her eyes anew. “I tried to stop when I saw it was you. I… I wasn’t seeing things right. I saw…”

Thames shifted, along with the others who remained. Adira who seemed paler and frailer than normal, stumbled over, kneeling on the ground to cradle Mirena’s head. Mason and Gash and Bailey gathered around the witches.

“I saw… an enemy. I saw you attack Thames, but it wasn’t you. It was…” Nastia shook her head, brow crinkled with regret. “I was trying to
save
him. Thames was in danger and I was trying to save him.”

His heart thundered in his chest. He’d failed her. Failed to see how dangerous she was. He’d failed them all. His brother, the coven, the clan.

“Your rock,” Mirena gasped. “It’s a dark object. It was making you see things, feel things wrong.”

“Newt bit you,” Thames murmured.

Adira nodded. “Blood magic. When your blood touched the rock, it disabled the dark spell and allowed you to see the truth. To
feel
the truth.”

Mirena pressed her lips together, but a painful moan escaped anyway, and Theron took her hand. No doubt the bear was trying to heal her with their mating bond.

Thames could see the raw, burnt looking wound on Mirena’s midsection. Her clothing had been scalded away, and an angry red circle of misshapen skin remained. He had a feeling the injury went much deeper.

“We can heal you,” Nastia choked out. “We can, right Adira? Like before, a circle of three. Here…” She pressed her palms out like she was going to swear on a Bible. “Take my hand. We can do this.”

Adira stared at Nastia, her face pulling down with sadness. And when she spoke, she could barely get the words out. “We can’t, sister. You have no light.”

Nastia’s tears came harder and faster. The despair Thames felt through their bond, doubled him over. Hers, his. For the loss of her light. For the pain of knowing she’d hurt one close to her. And for his brother who would hurt if Mirena hurt.

“I know, but…” A sob climbed up her throat. “I have power. Use it. Please. Let me make this right. Darkness can’t heal, can only harm, I know. But use your light power and draw from my dark power, like I did against the werecat. You can—”

“Nastia, no,” Adira said firmly, her own tears spilling over onto her cheeks.

Footsteps pounded toward them, and suddenly Doc was there. “Move,
move
,” she said. “Let me take a look.”

Thames had known Doc a long time. Had seen her work miracles when hope seemed laughable. She was a good strong female, and if magic couldn’t heal Mirena, maybe Doc could.

Pulling scissors from her bag, she cut away the burnt clothing to reveal more of the wound. Black streaks branched out from the center of the scorched flesh, but there was no opening. The blast had seemed to burn but not cut.

Doc shook her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It looks like a dermal burn, but I’m guessing there’s more than what meets the eye here.”

Adira’s face crumpled. “It’s supernatural poison.”

“Slow moving,” Nastia whispered. “Like they used on our ancestors. She’ll only worsen until…” She cut off with a sob. “Mirena, I’m so sorry. Please, sister, forgive me.”

“Shhh,” Mirena said, putting her finger to Nastia’s lips. “Stop. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. Don’t… don’t make me use my slapping hand on you.”

“I dare you,” Theron muttered, tossing Nastia an accusing glare.

“If it’s a poison there must be an antidote. What can we do for her?” Doc asked.

Adira sniffed, trying to compose herself. “I don’t know.”

“You,” Theron growled at Nastia. “You find the answer. The darkness came from you, you find a way to help her.”

She nodded, swiping fiercely at her tears. “Yes. Of course. There must be a way. My tomes maybe. The ancestors wrote about the dark magic poisoning, maybe they discovered a way to reverse it.”

Adira shook her head. “We’ve been scouring those books and haven’t seen anything like that.”

Nastia glanced at Thames, her eyes begging him to help her find a solution, but he didn’t know magic and didn’t know how to make things better for her.

The familiar
, his bear rumbled.
The familiar will know
.

Thames looked around for Newt, but didn’t see him anywhere.

“Find the lizard,” he said. It was a long shot, but maybe…

Nobody questioned him. They just started searching. Maybe there were too many odd things happening for them to think his idea was weird.

“There,” Gash called, pointing at a shaggy cedar tree.

But as soon as the skink saw all eyes on him, he ducked into the branches to hide.

Theron stalked over, a deadly look in his eye. “Get over here, ya damn lizard.”

“Wait,” Clara called, jogging forward, “let me. We have history.”

Carefully, she dug around in the needles, coming out with a squirming Newt.

“Shhh. Now, now. Calm down, Skink. Or, I guess it’s Newt now. I know you’ve been through some changes lately, but I never knew you to be such a fraidy cat. Where’re those giant brass lizard balls when you need ‘em, huh?”

Newt settled in her palm, looking just as at home there as he did in Nastia’s.

“Those nasty bugs got you running scared? That’s alright. Uncle Gash will call an exterminator in the morning.”

Gash arched one dark eyebrow. “Uncle Gash?” But Clara ignored him.

“Now…” She walked Newt over to Mirena. “We need your help, Newt. Our friend is hurt. We need to find a way to make her better.”

“Shit,” Theron muttered throwing his hands up. “You think talking to a damn lizard is going to fix my ma—” He clamped his mouth shut.

“Hey,” Mason chimed in. “Nothing’s too weird around these parts, okay. It can’t hurt to try. The damn thing knew to chew the necklace loose and bite her to draw blood.”

“Can you all quit calling him ‘damn thing’,” Adira snapped. “He has a name. Nastia named him Newt. And he’s our best hope right now.”

Mason stared at her oddly, but there was no hint of sarcasm when he answered, “Sure thing, Sunshine.”

The skink swung his head back and forth curiously, seeming to study Mirena, his nose tipped high in the air as her breathing came in short pained puffs. He crawled to the tips of Clara’s fingers and she lowered him to the ground. Tentatively, with one beady eye on Theron, he inched closer, sniffing where Nastia’s tears fell onto her sister’s skin. Then he darted between Clara’s legs to escape.

“Aw, Skink. Come on. Don’t chicken out on me now.”

Sounds of disappointment filled the air, and Thames had to admit, the idea wasn’t his bear’s finest moment.

Magic, Owyn, Renner, and Layna ran out of the woods and shifted in the next breath.

“Got ‘em on the run,” Magic huffed, trudging over in all his naked glory. “No doubt they’ll be back though.”

“No worries,” Gash said dryly. “I’m calling the exterminator in the morning.”

“Wait,” Adira cried. “Look!”

Newt wasn’t running away. He was bringing something back. With his teeth latched onto the broken twine, he dragged the dark heart stone over to where Mirena lay.

“Aw, hell no,” Theron boomed. “That thing has done enough damage.”

“I agree,” Nastia choked, her head shaking back and forth. “Get it away. I don’t want it near.”

Thames narrowed his eyes at the skink as he tugged the heavy stone along. He’d fought the other familiars in the cave. He’d known they were evil, known they were trying to hurt Nastia. The lizard had hidden the stone from her. Tried to hide it again after Thames had killed the beetles.

“Familiars take on the characteristics of their witches,” Thames murmured to himself.

Nastia wanted more than anything to resist the darkness. She’d failed, but that didn’t mean she’d done it willingly. His mate’s heart was good. Deep down at her core, she was light. That meant her familiar was too.

Thames grabbed his brother’s arm as he went to swat Newt away. “He’s trying to help. He knows something we don’t.”

Theo glared, but stayed his hand. “If he hurts her, so help me god, brother…”

“Look,” Mason urged.

Newt hauled the stone over Mirena’s hip until it sat right in the center of her wound. When he did, it started glowing once again. Violet fire through a dappled exterior.

Nastia frowned, studying the stone as Newt’s head swung back and forth between the two.

“I can…” she began, cocking her head unsure. “I can draw it back out? Is that what you’re saying, Newt?”

Newt blinked.

“I’ll try. Yes, I’ll do anything to help my sister. That will be my last stand.”

Again he blinked, and then skittered down and climbed Nastia’s arm.

“What is it?” Adira asked. “What must be done?”

Nastia was silent for a long moment. “I believe I can pull the poison from her using the talisman, but it will take a lot of power.”

“Dark power,” Adira whispered. “Where much power is used, much power is required to diffuse.”

“Yes.”

“You’ll be lost,” Mirena cried, her expression contorting with a sob.

Thames dropped to his knees, his bear realizing what needed to happen and hoping like hell he could come through for his mate this time. Nastia would have to use every ounce of darkness she could muster to draw the poison back into the stone. He wasn’t her Anchor but he was going to do his damndest to keep her here, keep her with them.

“Shhh.” Nastia shook her head, tears dripping onto the earth as she tried to look strong. “I won’t be. Because you all won’t let me.” She looked around, a plan forming in that beautiful brain of hers. “Doc is going to draw up a sedative, something strong that will knock me out in one punch. Mason and Gash and Theo, they’re going to muscle me down if need be. You and Adira… you’re going to cast the undead spell. You’re going to turn me, and bring me back so that I can have a life that I’m not afraid of.”

“We won’t have enough power,” Adira argued.

“You will,” Nastia insisted. “You will because…” She twisted to look at Thames, the saddest, bravest smile curving her lips. “Because you’ll have the sun.”

Adira looked to the sky. “We need more time. The sun won’t rise for another hour at least.”

But Thames stared at his female, throat aching with unshed tears. He was going to lose her. She was going to sacrifice herself to right her wrongs and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. And when it was all said and done, he’d have no one but himself to blame.

Because he’d failed. Just like the Mother Bear said he would.

Chapter Thirteen

“Thames,” Nastia said softly, her eyes never leaving him. “He’s my sun. The brightest light I’ve ever known. His magic isn’t like ours, but it’s powerful. So strong it makes darkness cower. It will be enough to get you through.”

Thames swallowed hard, trying to be strong for her, trying to not break down like he did as a little boy when he was scared and hurting.

“What magic, sister? Tell me how to channel it.” Adira’s voice wobbled with sadness.

Nastia lifted her trembling hand to Thames’s chest and pressed her palm just over his heart. His bear writhed in pain, growling and snarling for him to stop her plan, but they both knew he couldn’t.

Whatever makes mate happy
.

Though she wasn’t happy in the conventional sense, she was determined to heal her sister. Knowing Mirena was okay was the only thing that would satisfy her, and it was Thames’s responsibility to see her satisfied. No matter the cost, that instinct couldn’t be overridden.

A mate’s wish was law.

God. Help me. Please, help me
.

“Love,” Nastia whispered. “His magic is love. And you don’t channel it, you feel it. Right here.” Her other hand, she pressed against her own chest so they were connected heart to heart.

“Mate,” he struggled out. “Don’t go.”

Shit. He was losing it.

His bear scratched at his chest savagely.
Keep her safe, make her happy
. Instinct warring with instinct. He couldn’t do both. And the little boy, wishing to be worthy, wanting to do the noble thing, for her
and
his brother. They were all tangled up in one dominant, life changing emotion.

Love.

“Trust me,” she murmured, leaning forward to press a tender kiss to his lips.

But it wasn’t enough.

Thames gripped the sides of her face holding her there so he could kiss his turmoil away. He kissed her hard and vicious, not caring about the wetness he felt on his cheeks. He needed her to feel it, breathe it, live it.

He needed her to live, damn it. And he knew he was grasping at straws now, but he’d do anything to convince her to stay, to find another way.

Doc’s soft voice broke the kiss. “I’m ready.”

Nastia pulled away and Thames could see Doc had prepped a syringe.

“Trust me,” she whispered once more. “Like you did before. Remember what you said? We go through it together. It’s our way.”

He tried to answer but his bear wouldn’t let him. He was choking him out with rage and fear.

A solid hand landed on his back, and he knew it was Theo. “Together, brother,” he murmured.

Mason cleared his throat, settling one hand on Adira’s back and the other on Theron’s. “Together. It’s how we’ve always gotten through shit.”

“Yeah,” Gash nodded. “Together.”

One by one, the clan touched, pledging their support no matter the outcome.

Nastia nodded at Thames, the determination in her gaze so sure, he wanted to believe her. Needed to if he was going to get through this without his bear ripping him apart from the inside.

She turned to Adira. “Bring me back. I know you can.”

Then she placed her hands on the dark stone and began chanting. Soft at first, and growing in strength. Words he didn’t understand and didn’t want to.

Her countenance changed as quickly as a shifter taking animal form. A pop of air, or maybe not even that, but suddenly she wasn’t his Nastia. She was a sinister being attempting to do something noble, and it showed.

She shook and jerked, her words venomously punching past her lips. Her head tipped back to the sky and the shadowy figure swirled above her once more, creating a whirlwind of power. The stone where it lay on Mirena’s stomach glowed brighter, lighting the area with a sick purple hue and casting more shadows over Nastia and the clan.

Theron’s hand tightened on Thames’s shoulder. The entire group was on alert, watching for Nastia to reach the point of no return.

But… it was working. She was doing it, drawing the poison out of Mirena and back into the stone. Reversing the harm she’d done. And he could feel her struggle through their bond, but he could also feel her hidden joy at making things right. The tiny part of her she kept from the darkness. The part that would be lost soon.

Thames stared, wanting to remember every last second with her in case it was their last.

His female was spectacular, warring with the dark and beating it, even if only for a moment. Whatever happened, she’d be at peace now, knowing her family was safe. In some way, that settled his bear.

Mirena’s strength was returning, her face no longer contorted in pain. The black streaks from her burn were being sucked into the stone as Nastia continued channeling the darkness. She blinked and her eyes went black, the whites and color disappearing as they reflected the shadow hovering over her.

Mirena struggled to sit. “We’re losing her.”

“Stay down,” Adira barked. “If she doesn’t get you back to one hundred percent, we’ll never be able to pull off the spell.”

Nastia’s chanting continued and her power grew more tumultuous until they were all hair-trigger ready to move.

“Steady,” Doc murmured. “Steady.”

When the black streaks from Mirena’s burn were gone and only a scar remained, Nastia snatched the rock away, holding it tight to her chest.

Mirena jumped up, preparing to connect with Adira for the undead spell. But as soon as she did, Nastia began seizing, her black eyes rolling back into her head

“The rock,” Adira cried.

“But it doesn’t control her anymore.” Thames barely recognized his own voice.

Adira’s eyes went wide. “She’s gone. The darkness is trying to root out the only thing left.”

“Her heart,” Mirena gasped. “She was trying to tell us. One thing would remain through any transfer of magic. Her light is gone, Nastia as we knew her, her will to do right, is gone. But her love… the magic she shares with Thames, remains.”

And now the dark parts of her were trying to ruin that too.

Thames reached to steal the stone away but he couldn’t tear it from her grip. He clawed at her fingers but it was held there by magic, unmovable as long as she was still channeling the power.

“Mate,” he growled, his bear so near his words were barely decipherable. “Nastia,
stop
.”

Still, she twitched and jerked, her eyes steely and colorless. Like her body was just a vessel. A virus, systematically shutting down a computer, and this was the last file.

But he wouldn’t let it take this. Not this. Not her feelings for him, and their bond. If he was going to lose her, it would be with all those things still intact. He wouldn’t let the Mother Bear’s
reading
become a reality.

“Doc,” he thundered. “The syringe.”

Doc held her arm for the sedative, but suddenly Nastia’s arm flew up, knocking the syringe away.

“Hold her down,” Doc shouted, scrambling for the needle.

As soon as Gash and Theron touched her, she began thrashing. Mason pinned her shoulders and Thames… Thames did the only thing he could.

Holding her face, he kissed her, knowing she couldn’t kiss him back, not knowing if she could even feel him, but hoping like hell she did. Hoping it would somehow, someway anchor her until the drugs kicked in.

If love was a magic, then maybe she was right. Maybe he could fight the darkness of the stone, the darkness inside her until she was done.

Seconds ticked by and the seizing subsided. The twitching and jerking subsided. Her grip on the stone loosened and Thames tossed it away, never breaking his kiss.

Seconds more, and she was limp. He knew what was happening. His panicked bear could feel it, but there was nothing to be done. She was leaving him, and there wasn’t a spell on earth that could make it okay.

He couldn’t pull away, couldn’t disconnect their bodies when her fading pulse was severing them in a more permanent way. He needed to stay right here, his lips pressed to hers, his tears falling into her eyes.

“She’s ready,” Doc said. “Heart is slowing.”

“Like we rehearsed, Doc,” Adira said.

“Got it.”

Thames pulled Nastia into his arms as the chanting began.

“
Mortui resurgunt. Mortui resurgunt
.”

He listened for her pulse. One…. two… nothing, nothing, nothing.

“Thames, put her down,” Doc said carefully. “I need to work on her heart.”

Never. He’d never let her go.

He snarled a warning at Doc.

“I have to keep her heart going. One beat every thirty seconds, or the spell could hurt her.”

But she was already hurt. His bear howled inside, feeling the loss of his mate so final there was no convincing him she could live.

“Vivere. Solus vivunt, et sanguine. Live by blood and sun.”

“No.” His gravel voice barely made it past his throat.

“Brother, Christ, let Doc help.” Theron’s voice was stern, but it still couldn’t unlock Thames’s grasp.

He was half out of his mind with grief and needing to shift so bad he could feel his claws protruding, but he was unwilling to leave his mate.

“Can’t. Bear won’t. Mine.” He still felt their bond, a tiny thread remaining. If he let go, it would be over.

“Damn it, Thames, let her go or I’ll knock you out myself,” Theron boomed. “She needs Doc’s help.”

God help him, that’s what it was going to take if they wanted him to release her.

“Do. It,” he ground out.

“Yeah? Okay, brother. Okay. I got you, Thames.”

I got you
. What they used to tell each other on the worst of nights, when they were huddled under the branches of a tree and had nothing but each other to keep warm.

“I got you.”

The last thing Thames remembered was an exploding pain to his temple. Once, twice…

And then black.