Electric Heat (20 page)

What little energy she had in reserve was now gone, leaving
her as helpless as any human.

The creature swelled under her skin, reminding her she
wasn’t alone. Turning her head, she was amazed to discover her hand was still
attached. She wiggled her fingers, then clutched her arm to her chest as agony ricocheted
around inside her. Her arm from the elbow down felt like it had gone through a
meat grinder. By the time she could lift her head, the first thing she saw was
a very naked Dominic. “It worked.”

She was too exhausted to be cheered.

Then she noticed he wasn’t moving. Swallowing hard, she
rolled over and crawled to him, wishing she could force her body to move
faster. “Please don’t be dead.”

She reached out with shaking fingers and searched his neck
for a pulse, but couldn’t feel anything over the thundering of her own heart.
She’d finally resorted to resting her head on his chest when she heard the
steady thump.

“We have to go.” Durant hauled her to her feet. It took her
a few wobbling steps before she was sure she could stay upright and move at the
same time.

Durant was already crouched, hauling Dominic over his
shoulder as he stood. The ease in which he did it astonished her. “I still—”

The jaguar launched himself at her, knocking her down and
plowing her into the earth. The impact stole the breath clear out of her. The
world spun as she struggled to remember how her lungs were supposed to work. Vicious
snarling rang in her ears. She pulled herself up in time to see the jaguar
facing off with three people, fighting with claws and fangs.

He had just saved her life.

And if she didn’t do something soon, they would kill him.
With each blow, they were shredding him to ribbons.

Durant still had Dominic over his shoulder, ready to put him
down, but he hesitated. If they dropped him, Dominic would be dead within
minutes. “Get him out of here.”

Raven staggered to her feet and charged the closest shifter.
She caught him low in the back. Taken by surprise, he stumbled forward, and
smashed into a tree. There was a sickening crunch of bones as his face took the
brunt of the impact.

She rebounded off him, then fell on her ass.

Unfortunately, the collision wasn’t enough to take him out.
He turned and staggered toward her, his crushed face already reshaping. She
kicked, using her feet to keep those claws and teeth from getting too close. When
he charged her, she used his momentum to flip him over her head, then rolled to
her feet, the creature enabling her to keep her butt moving.

The shifter snarled, displaying an impressive number of
teeth. Without an ounce of power left, Raven gave herself over to her creature.
It rose from beneath, until the pressure threatened to split her skin.

It scorched the underside of her skin, and she clenched her
teeth to keep from screaming. The inferno cooled, hardening her whole body like
armor. It took seconds, but it was enough time for the shifter to launch
himself at her. The foreignness of the change slowed her down, and she hadn’t
had time to adjust when he hit her square in the gut.

They tumbled to the ground.

When he swung his meaty fist, she lifted her arm and braced
for the pain.

Only it didn’t come.

Claws met her forearm, raked down to her elbow. Instead of
shredding her flesh, his nails snapped off. His howl of pain echoed in the
small clearing. Taking advantage of his distraction, she thrust her hand at his
throat, her aim to crush his larynx, and was horrified to see her entire hand disappear
into his body.

He gurgled as blood poured down his chest. The warm liquid
felt hot as it splashed over her. She yanked back, and stared in shock at the gaping
hole in his throat. He reached to staunch the flow, but there was nothing for
him to grab.

He would bleed out before he healed.

A yip of pain came from her left. She turned to see the
jaguar pinned by the other two shifters. One drew back his arm, his claws
glistening with blood, and swung down with the full weight of his shoulder
behind him.

“No!”

Raven shoved the dead man off her and charged the ten feet
between them, but she could already feel the jaguar slipping away. The fragile
strings that bound them together by blood were unraveling faster than she could
grab them, ripping strips of flesh from her soul as they did.

Pain riddled her until there was nothing left but the agony
of loss.

With no plan in mind but reaching the jaguar, she kicked the
first shifter in the face. The skull caved beneath her foot. The meaty impact
should’ve repulsed her, but all she felt was the need to reach her jaguar.

The attacking shifter wasn’t dead. She could hear his heart
still beat. He might even be able to heal. She walked to where he lay, lifted
her foot and brought it down on his throat with a satisfying crunch.

He stopped moving.

When she turned, it was to see Rylan emerge from the
darkness like an avenging angel. He swooped down on the remaining shifter. When
he tried to run, Rylan grabbed him by the throat and ripped it clear out. His
perfect hair was ruffled, his clothes rumpled. There was something wild and
furious about him.

Then her eyes landed on the jaguar. He reached a hand out to
her, and she dropped to her knees at his side. He was covered in blood, most of
it his own. Bits of white showed through the mutilated flesh of his chest.

Bone.

Blood bubbled up through dozens of wounds, each beat of his
heart pumping out more. Claws had raked down the side of his face, leaving him
in ribbons. She didn’t know where to touch without hurting him more.

The armor melted away, and she clutched his hand. Tears
burned her eyes at the sight of his devastating injuries, but she refused to
let them fall. She could fix him. She desperately grabbed for his beast, but it
was like trying to hold smoke.

No matter how hard she tried to bind him to her, he only drifted
farther away. “No.”

He touched her face, a delicate brush of fingers. When she
looked up, she saw acceptance in his eyes. “Don’t leave.”

But it was already too late.

A last breath left his body.

She dropped her gaze, frantically seeking his aura, only to
be confronted by nothing but blackness.

A ghostly shape in the form of a beautiful black cat rose
from the body. He swished his tail, brushing it against her face in a caress. His
blue eyes bored into hers, showing his fierce pride at having protected her.

Then he faded into nothingness, well beyond her reach.

The last connection between them was severed, and a mournful
howl echoed into the treetops, the sound so lonely and so heartfelt it broke
her heart. Then she realized it had come from her.

“Raven, we have to go. There are more out there, and they’re
coming fast.” Rylan had to pry her away from the jaguar, using all his strength
to drag her to her feet, and she fought him every step of the way.

She couldn’t leave the jaguar there all alone.

Her creature agreed, rising to the surface, digging in her claws
to prevent the separation.

Rylan shoved his face into hers and growled. “You did what
you could for him. He didn’t die alone. That’s all we can ask. He gave his life
for yours. It’s an honorable death. If we don’t leave now, it will have been
for nothing, and you’ll lose more than just him.”

Raven pushed away from Rylan, hating him a little for
speaking the truth. “He died because of me.”

Rylan grabbed her shoulders and shook her until her teeth clicked
together. “He would have died days ago if not for you. You gave him a pack. You
gave him freedom. He died by his choice…saving his alpha. You didn’t order him
to do it. Honor his choice by living.”

He shoved her. After an initial stumble, she ran after the
others. Guilt pounded through her with every step, her throat aching with
unshed tears.

“Stop it.” Rylan glared at her, the shoved her again,
pushing her to run faster.

“It was my job to protect him, and I failed. I should have
ordered him to stay home.” The creature pressed needle-like claws into her
chest, the only thing holding back the avalanche of devastating emotions. The
pain was too deep, too raw for tears. She rubbed her chest as the ache
continued to grow. Panic built as she struggled to find enough air to breathe. It
felt like her lungs were already full. “I can’t catch my breath.”

She panted, growing more and more lightheaded, and the world
around her slowly turned fuzzy.

Rylan snagged her arm and pulled her to a stop. He grabbed
her face and lifted it up to his, then swore. He yanked her close, his arms
like unbreakable bands as he tucked her against his chest. “Breathe, damn you.”

A trickle of air squeezed through her throat. The scent of
him eased the tightness in her chest a fraction. The next breath was easier. She
wheezed, her chest rattled, and finally succeeded in taking a full breath.

“It hurts.”

“I know.” He loosened his hold slightly, and she burrowed
closer when the pain threatened to return. He ran a hand down her hair. “I
know, but being around the pack will help. We need to get to the others.”

She gave a shaky nod. When he released her, the pain wasn’t
as crippling. The creature tightened its hold, flooding her with warmth, but it
barely filled the chasm of cold that had invaded. Then she got her first real look
at Rylan. “You didn’t eat.”

His eyes were solid black. Holding her had to have been pure
torture. He narrowed his eyes and bent closer. “Someone didn’t give me time,
running off while I was down.”

“Idiot.”

He straightened and tugged at his jacket, the action
smoothing his ruffled feathers. “I could say the same about you.”

Without another word, they took off again, quickly gaining
ground on the others. “We can’t go home. We need to call them and have them
clear out of the house.”

Rylan gave her an odd look. “They know.”

A frown crinkled her brows. “What do you mean?”

“They all felt the loss. They know trouble will be heading
their way soon.”

Raven swallowed hard, burying the pain before it sucked her
under and drown her. “We’re on our own. We can’t go to the Council for help and
risk having more shifters fall under the Prime’s spell.”

“Agreed.”

“We need to give them a call to explain and prepare them for
the fallout. They need to be aware of the danger in case we don’t succeed in
stopping him.”

A slight sound caught her attention, and Raven picked up her
pace. Someone was fighting nearby. Rage flooded her system, and the need for
vengeance took over.

Rylan gave her a shove that sent her careening through the
trees. She dodge, barely managing to avoid going splat against a large trunk. Her
shoulder scraped the edges of the bark, shaving off a few layers of skin, and she
snarled at Rylan. “What the hell?”

“They’re our people.”

Raven recoiled in horror, but Rylan grabbed her arm before
she could escape. “You would never hurt your pack.”

A bitter laugh escaped. “You don’t know what I did to
Dominic.”

Rylan didn’t back down. “What choice did you have?”

“I stripped his wolf from him.” Her voice cracked at the
awfulness of it.

Rylan flinched, but stepped closer and hovered over her. “He
wouldn’t have allowed you to do it unless there was no other choice. He trusted
you. So I will ask again. What would have happened if you’d left him whole?”

She glanced away, unable to say anything.

“Those shifters we took out were completely consumed by
magic. It was kill or be killed. Dominic wouldn’t have been able to live like
that.”

Raven stared up at him in defeat. “No shifter wants to
survive the loss of their beast.”

Rylan stepped closer, no fear in his face, the fool. “You’ll
keep him alive long enough to fix it.”

“What if I can’t?” Raven voiced the fear that threatened to cripple
her.

Rylan smiled. He lifted a hand as if to touch her, but ended
up tugging at a strand of her hair instead. “You’ll do anything for your
friends. If there’s any possible way to return his wolf, you’ll be the one to
find it.”

He jerked his head in the direction of the others. “We need
to keep moving.”

There were about forty people waiting for them, a mixture of
witches and shifters. Durant and the shifters were faced off with a few of the
witches, each side looking furious enough to come to blows. Dominic lay slumped
on the ground, vulnerable without his wolf there to protect him.

Human.

Nicholas had removed his shirt, what was left of it, and
covered Dominic. She could have kissed him for his thoughtfulness.

Raven flexed her fingers and tore her attention away from Dominic’s
still form, vowing to do whatever it took to fix what she’d done. Pushing aside
her doubts, she marched between the two opposing groups. “What’s going on
here?”

Durant eased back a fraction, glaring at the small huddle of
kids. “They wanted to leave you behind.”

“The longer we’re out in the open, the more dangerous it is
for us. We can’t risk it for the life of one person.” The oldest girl turned to
her, a certain pleading in her eyes for understanding.

“She saved your life!”

Raven raised her hand to halt Durant’s outburst. “They’re
just responding according to the training they received in class. While that’s
commendable, we had an agreement. We were covering your escape. There was no
present danger to you. Had we been witches, would you have given up so easily?”
The girl flushed, whether in anger or shame, Raven didn’t care. “Had we been
any other paranormal group, your desertion would likely have started a very
unpleasant feud. There comes a point where you have to make sure your decisions
are choices you can live with in the end.”