Electric Heat (31 page)

 Chapter
Twenty-seven

D
ominic
strode forward, shoving his face into hers. “Damn it, snap out of it. If you
don’t do something, Durant will die.”

The words rang in her ears for one uncomprehending moment,
then all the blood rushed from her head until she felt faint.

“He’s alive?” Her lips felt so numb, she wasn’t sure she
even spoke aloud.

Raven whirled and stumbled toward Durant’s prone figure. He
lay where he’d fallen, still pinned to the ground by the damned sword.

Blood surrounded him in an ever-increasing circle, so much
blood that her throat closed, trapping the scream clawing to get out. As she
approached, his eyes flickered open. The color was a pale yellow instead of his
usual vivid gold, his tiger doing everything it could to keep him alive.

And dying for it.

She grabbed for the hated sword.

“Don’t. It’s all that’s keeping him from bleeding to death.”

Raven ignored Rylan’s warning. Durant was dying anyway. She
grabbed the sword and excruciating pain rocketed through her hand, the metal
singeing her fingertips black, and she jerked away.

“Come here.”

Her eyes slid closed at the acceptance in Durant’s raspy
voice.

He was giving up.

A howl of denial burned in her chest, her insides shredding
at the thought of losing him.

She couldn’t go through it again.

She narrowed her eyes when a vague idea formed. Armor plated
together under her skin, and she flexed her fingers.

She reached for the sword again.

Braced for the pain, she wrapped her hands around the hilt
and shoved the weapon full of power. It automatically tried to absorb it, but
not fast enough.

The metal heated in seconds, steam rising from the sword.

Durant whitened and gave her a nod.

She yanked the blade free from the wound. He convulsed in
agony, his bellow of pain locked behind his clenched teeth.

The sword fell to the ground, the weight too much for her
ruined hands. Raven dropped to her knees at Durant’s side. She reached for the
hem of his shirt, forcing the curled, charred mess of her fingers to open. They
cracked, the skin splitting open and blood dripped onto his skin as she tried
to shove up his shirt.

A tiny wound high on his shoulder marred his chest, no more
than two inches. So innocent. He got paper cuts bigger than that.

The bleeding had stopped, cauterized by the sword when she
slid it free of his flesh.

“Can you heal?” She gave him a sharp glance.

Durant shook his head, and a lump formed in her throat. She
had to clear her throat twice to be able to speak. “You need to change into
your beast.”

He reached for her wrists and drew her closer. “The tiger is
nearly insane from the pain. If I set him free, he will kill.”

He wasn’t going to even try.

Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to blink.

If he wouldn’t do it, she would do it for him.

She shoved power into him, reached for his beast, but the
damned ward on his back blocked her every attempt. Panic tore into her chest
until every breath was agony.

“Fight, damn you!” She slammed her fists against him.

When he didn’t speak, she pressed her forehead against his chest,
as if she could hold him there by sheer will alone. “Don’t leave me.”

Arms reached for her, and she fought them, clawing and
scratching to get away.

“Watch!” Someone shook her until she stilled.

Durant was changing…or trying. The blood loss had weakened
his animal to the point that he didn’t have any strength remaining.

Raven closed her eyes and reached for the fragile strings
that tied him to the pack. The rope had worn to a thread, thin and faded, the
magic between them only a faint glow. Any more strain, and that precious cord
would snap.

Twirling a few small strands of raw electricity together,
she wound it around the tiny thread over and over until it thickened, then
steadily fed power to Durant, scraping together everything she had left.

The process gutted her.

When she would have reached for the last of her strength, a
band tightened around her chest.

Rylan’s arms.

When he lowered his head next to hers, his spicy scent
wrapped around her. “Open your eyes and look.”

She obeyed.

Durant all but glowed with power, his attention focused
solely on her. Bones snapped, flesh rippled as he changed. His face revealed
none of the agony he endured. Clothes shredded. Fur sprouted.

The torment was over in a moment.

In his place a large, beautiful tiger sat panting.

Wonder plowed through her at seeing such a majestic beast up
close. The sheer size of him could intimidate lesser prey with just a look from
those mesmerizing eyes.

Those golden eyes narrowed, his large fangs flashing as he
locked on something behind her.

“I believe that’s my cue.” Rylan reluctantly released his
hold on Raven after a final squeeze.

Raven dropped to her knees as the gorgeous cat prowled
toward her. A heavy limp disturbed the smooth gait, a silent snarl curled his
lips as he neared. His massive head lifted, his mouth opened and chest worked
like bellows to catch her scent.

She gave in to the temptation to touch and lifted her hand.
Her fingers had almost healed, although the waxy skin was now sensitive to even
the slightest brush of air.

Hot breath hit her fingertips, and the big cat bumped into
her hand, rubbing his jaw along her palm. He circled, brushing up against her
with each step, until he was curled around her. Only then did he drop to his stomach,
close his eyes…and sleep.

Even wrapped in warmth, Raven didn’t dare allow herself to
believe Durant had survived. Hope was a dangerous thing. She wasn’t sure she’d
be able to remain sane if she found it had all been a cruel lie. With trembling
fingers, she ran her hand along his spine, and he curled tighter around her.
She slipped her arms around him and buried her face in his hide. Much to her
surprise, a layer of soft fluffy fur was hidden underneath the top hair.

His reassuring heartbeat finally made her believe, and her
throat burned with tears.

“Raven.”

Her arms tightened for a second, and she reluctant lifted
her head. “What?”

Heloise approached. “We need the sword back.”

Raven’s gaze dropped toward the broadsword and revulsion
curdled through her. “It’s yours.”

Heloise didn’t move. “We need them both.”

Unable to help herself, Raven stiffened. Power rose until
her skin felt ready to crack. Claws pressed against her fingertips. Raven
didn’t feel the creature any more. It was no longer separate, now melded so
seamlessly with her she couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended.

Durant’s eyes cracked open, murder darkening them to a
brilliant gold. Much to her surprise, Nicholas stepped between the sword and
the witches.

The witch’s face hardened. “It’s not your place to keep it.”

“I beg to disagree. It chose me.” There was no way she could
give the sword back, not when it was filled with wild magic.

It was too dangerous.

Heloise didn’t budge an inch. “It needs to be locked away.”

Raven agreed completely. “The temptation to use wild magic would
be too much for your coven. You still have a number who are infected.”

“They will be bound.”

It was a huge concession, since the witches would be giving
up their magic. “And it will all be for nothing if they get their hands on that
sword. It needs to be placed somewhere inaccessible to them. Where better than
a whole house full of shifters?”

But only after she set up some wards of her own. Any witch
who crossed her property line would be stripped of their ability to cast while
on her land. Raven didn’t question how she knew the spell, didn’t care as long
as her people remained safe.

Heloise pursed her lips, wanting to argue with the truth,
but couldn’t, which only pissed her off more. “You aren’t a witch, nor are you
a shifter, not completely. What are you?”

Raven was beginning to suspect the truth. Her past was
shrouded with mystery, so she had no idea if she’d been born that way or if
they’d done something to her in the labs when she was a child, but there was no
way she would share any of that with the witches. “I don’t have a clue.”

“You can’t be allowed to go around unchecked.”

Rylan was deathly still, his eyes black. “We won’t be test
subjects.”

They wouldn’t submit without a fight.

 “She’s pack, not a threat to your people.” Dominic stepped
forward, his brilliant mind working. “You asked for her help, and she willingly
gave it. She’s done nothing to warrant your constant badgering.”

Heloise wasn’t appeased, and her eyes landed on Raven.
“Yet.”

“Until it happens, leave us the hell alone.”

The threat hung suspended between them.

Magic clashed in the air, and the world slowed. A leaf
stopped mid-flight, while the howling of the wind ceased as abruptly as being
plunged underwater.

Heloise nodded toward her. “I believe you mean what you say,
but too many people saw what you did today. They heard the Prime speak of your
unique makeup. There are legends of ancient creatures that roamed the night,
long before the pack and clan came into existence. Even knowing they existed
was so dangerous they’ve been stripped from history.

“They were protectors, even rulers of the ancient lands.
People became jealous, craved power and worked to destroy the very thing that
protected them.”

Raven listened intently, the story achingly familiar even
though she’d never heard it before.

Her story.

She needed to know the truth. “What happened?”

“Evil.” Heloise closed her eyes as if shamed by the truth. “People
became greedy and wanted the protectors gone. They infected the guardians with a
form of tainted magic to get rid of them.”

Raven’s stomach twisted at the truth. “They created ancient
magic.”

Heloise nodded. “The plan backfired, turning the protectors
into monsters. They fought vicious wars for dominance until they were all but
wiped out. Only a few escaped the annihilation. They managed to bind the wild
magic, but it was much too late. Fearing retaliation for what they’d done, the
humans created the creatures of clan and pack to rid the world of the rest of
the ancient protectors. It was a massacre. The few who remained went into
hiding.”

Raven instinctively knew she was a descendant of those
ancient creatures, although her bloodline must have been diluted over the
centuries. Every time danger became too great, it brought out her more
primitive side—triggering her dormant genes to rise to the surface and rousing her
beast.

It woke to protect what was theirs.

First Rylan, and now her pack.

“After years of war and devastation, the humans took over
the kingdoms and magic faded from the world.” Heloise eyes turned dark and
ghostly. “You were infected with the wild magic. It’s too volatile to control, too
capricious and fickle.”

Raven could only nod.

All of it was true.

“You’re not like the rest of us. You’re more pure of heart.
You don’t care about war or land or politics. Maybe that will save you, but I
doubt it. You seem to have a natural resistance, but it will find a way to
corrupt you. When you turn into the monster you carry, you will destroy the
world. It almost happened today. The only thing that saved you was your pack.”

Heloise straightened, and her voice resonated in the air
like a goddess pronouncing her fate. “It would be better to kill you before you
turn into a threat.”

Power stretched under Raven’s skin to get out. It was a
physical effort to speak past the compulsion to simply kill and rid herself of
the problem. “I was the only one who could have stopped the Prime. The humans
are unsettled now that they’ve learned paranormals are real. They’re playing
nice in public, but they’ve been trying to make their own soldiers for years.
It will happen. When they think they can win, there will be another war.”