The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate (13 page)

soul of Winter’s offspring. They’ll never be able to tell the

difference.” His voice appeared in her mind.
“It will be your task to

anchor me while I am trapped as a fetus, and then as a baby. Our lives

are bound starting now, so it would behoove you to take this

responsibility seriously.”

Aria suppressed a frown. He hadn’t mentioned that before. So if

he died, she died?

Tyrell chuckled and nodded, having obviously heard her thought.

“Yes, my dear familiar. That’s exactly it. But I trust you are very

resourceful and you can handle it with no problems.”

Doubt plagued Aria, but she fought to push it back, knowing that

he would feel it. Had it been worth it? Had it been worth it to leash

her wolf and put her life on the line for this power? Either way, it was

too late for regrets. She’d chosen her path, and she would follow it,

wherever it might take her.

“I will,” she replied. Remembering the details of the plan, she

couldn’t help a smile. “And I will laugh when the heir of the Sidhe

people starts destroying his own family, and the rest of the world.”

* * * *

Jace held onto his mate, desperately seeking to grasp what the

other wolf saw, to find a way to comfort Paris. He caught a few

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

79

glimpses, images that didn’t really make sense on their own, but the

vision that had been induced by Noah’s spell seemed to have been

aimed strictly at Paris. While Jace sensed Paris’s anxiety, he could do

very little about it.

His mate trembled in his arms, murmuring incomprehensible

words under his breath. At one point, Paris’s body went rigid,

spasming, biting his lip so hard he bled. The circle of magic around

them had stopped glowing, but all the light appeared to have been

infused in Paris’s skin. He was hot, feverish, and Jace feared for him.

“Someone help me,” Jace called out. “I don’t know what to do.”

Anson, Reed, and Derek were by his side, helping him pin down

Paris and make sure the other wolf didn’t hurt himself. Jace sought

out Noah, and to his shock, he saw the warlock standing in the same

place he’d been, his posture rigid, staring into space as if he couldn’t

see what was happening to Paris at all.

“Noah!” Jace shouted. “Give me a hand. What the hell did you

do?”

The warlock didn’t answer, and neither did Rhys, who was

watching Noah closely. Before Jace could fall further into despair and

anger, Paris’s erratic motions stopped. Slowly, he cracked his eyes

open.

“Jace?” he croaked out. “Are you okay?”

Jace would have laughed had he not wanted to cry. “Am I okay?

You blacked out, sweetheart. You were seizing.”

Paris licked his lips, frowning and clutching Jace’s arm. “I had a

vision,” he said. His eyes widened and information processed through

Paris’s mind. “We have to go. We have to warn them.”

Just as Paris spoke, Jace managed to catch a few of his mate’s

thoughts. “Winter? What in the world? That can’t be.”

“I know what I saw, Jace,” Paris answered. He struggled to get up,

the urgency and fear he felt for his friends giving him a strength that

surprised Jace.

80

Scarlet Hyacinth

Anson reached for Paris, giving him an earnest look. “What did

you see, son? And more importantly, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Paris replied steadily. “I saw Aria becoming his

familiar.” He looked toward Rhys and Noah, and Jace followed his

gaze, only to see Noah coming to as well.

“Tyrell is insane,” Noah said. His voice was rough, like

sandpaper, as if he’d screamed a lot and gone hoarse. “He wants to

sneak in on Sidhe land and transfer his soul within the child of Prince

Winter.”

“He’s in a wheelchair,” Paris added. “He said that he needed a

new body.”

Jace didn’t know what to address first, Tyrell’s condition, the

awful plan Tyrell had, or the fact that Noah hadn’t kept his promise

and pushed Paris into something that had hurt him. In the end, the

wolf inside him won, and he glared at the warlock.

“What happened?” Jace asked furiously. “What the hell was that

all about? I thought you said you wouldn’t hurt him.”

“You’re being unfair,” Rhys snapped back. “It’s hard for Noah,

too. He’s doing his best, but this is very taxing on him.”

“It’s okay,” Noah intervened. “Jace is right. I lost control. The

energies here were stronger than I expected. You have my most

honest apologies.”

Jace wanted to say that an “I’m sorry” was hardly good enough,

but the words died in his throat as Paris squeezed his hand.
“Rhys is

right, Jace,”
Paris told him through their bond.
“It might have hurt

me, but it hurt him as well. This place just carries too many strong

memories. No one could have handled it.”

Intellectually, Jace knew they were both right, but he still resented

the fact that Paris had been forced to go through that. He took a deep

breath, forcing himself to calm down. It wasn’t Noah’s fault for this.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Tyrell’s. The panic he’d experienced

upon seeing his mate in pain still haunted Jace, but he turned it into

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

81

resolve. He had to protect Paris so that the other wolf wouldn’t have

to suffer like this again.

“I’m not the one in danger now,”
Paris whispered in Jace’s mind.

“I disagree,” Jace answered. “But now is not the time to discuss

this. You’re right. We have to warn Winter and Corbin. We can’t

allow Tyrell to succeed in his plan.”

Anson and Reed already had their phones out, obviously intending

to call home. They cursed at the same time. “Useless piece of shit,”

Anson said. “It doesn’t work.”

With Rhys’s help, Noah went to Anson’s side and stole a peek at

the older wolf’s phone. “The magic must have short-circuited it,” he

said in a tired tone. “Again, I apologize. I didn’t expect for it to be so

strong.”

“It’s all right,” Jace heard himself say. “I’m not happy with what

happened, but you can’t be expected to know everything.”

“I should,” Noah answered, sounding angry. “How can I possibly

defeat Tyrell if I can’t tell a simple thing like that?”

Rhys pulled Noah into an embrace, and Jace looked away from

the duo, giving them a private moment. They might not be shifters,

but he could see a true bond when it was in front of him.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have too much time at their disposal. One

of the vampires with them cleared his throat. “Could you tell when

these events came to pass, when this conversation took place?”

“I would say a couple of weeks back,” Paris answered. “How

come he hasn’t attacked yet?”

“It’s not so easy,” Anson replied. “Winter and Corbin are safely

hidden within Sidhe lands. Even if Tyrell knows where to go, which

seems to be the case, I believe there are wards there that would detect

the presence of any intruder.”

“He’s probably attempting to work around them,” Noah mused.

“We must return to the house and contact Yamamoto-sama,”

another vampire suggested. “I am certain he will know what to do.”

82

Scarlet Hyacinth

“Agreed,” Noah replied. With the corner of his eye, Jace caught

sight of him leaving Rhys’s embrace. “While the spell could have

gone better, we found out valuable information tonight. The Sidhe

must be warned.”

There were murmurs of approval all around, as well as a lot of

concern. Jace also realized Paris was a little confused. The

information had finally settled, and he couldn’t understand some of

the implications of what the vision had revealed.

Paris didn’t know Winter and Corbin, as by the time of his arrival

in the pack, they had already left. Since Paris had also been kept in

the dark regarding many issues of shape-shifter politics, he didn’t

know all of Jace’s friends.

As the group quickly headed out, Jace took the brief moment of

silence to explain.
“You’ve met Preston Mckenna, I believe.”
When

his mate nodded, Jace added,
“Corbin is his older brother. He met

Winter when the prince temporarily came to help us. It was actually

the first time after Tyrell appeared. A spell was cast on several

shifters, rendering them catatonic. Winter helped heal all the victims.

Long story short, he and Corbin fell in love, got married, and

conceived Lamont.”

There was more to it than that, but the details were too

complicated to be explained in a normal way. Jace opened his mind,

remembering everything that had happened then and willing the

memories to flow through their bond. Paris released a small gasp.

“They love each other so much,”
he said.

“Just like we do, sweetheart,”
Jace replied.
“And we won’t let

that warlock destroy their happiness.”

Renewed decision solidified inside Paris.
“No, we won’t. He

needs to pay for everything he’s done. It’s time to end this.”

Jace couldn’t have said it better himself. It occurred to him then

that Tyrell had already starting paying for his deeds.
“I think I know

why he’s in a wheelchair,”
he told Paris.
“Isaac once mentioned to

me that Tyrell got in his head after kidnapping him, controlling him,

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

83

twisting his consciousness. Isaac’s bond with his mate expelled the

warlock, and since Tyrell disappeared without a trace, Isaac

suspected that the blow must have affected Tyrell physically. It seems

he was right.”

“This is a good thing,”
Paris replied enthusiastically.
“He’s

vulnerable. He’s desperate for power and for a new life. We can use

that.”

Jace grinned. Even aware of how dangerous Tyrell could be, he

suddenly suspected that Tyrell had bit off more than he could chew.

“I think, sweetheart, that this time around, Tyrell’s plans won’t go the

way he expects them to.”

84

Scarlet Hyacinth

“Tyrell Hall plans to attack us?” Sterling repeated, pretending to

be shocked. “You are certain of this?”

“Quite certain,” Kaname Yamamoto replied. “As you are

probably aware, we have been trailing him all over Japan. Noah Hall

finally uncovered his plan a little while ago, with the help of Aria

Marrow’s son, Paris.”

“This is all very upsetting,” Sterling answered. “I assure you I will

have security strengthened to keep Winter safe at all times.”

“We are ready to send reinforcements, should you desire it,” the

vampire elder said. “Some of the young men here are very eager to

see Tyrell punished.”

Sterling could understand that. He himself burned with an anger

that might have pushed him into something very unwise had he not

been all too aware of the possible consequences of his actions. He

considered Kaname’s offer and decided it wouldn’t hurt for Winter to

have a few of his new shifter acquaintances around. This entire thing

had shaken his nephew greatly, and Sterling was very concerned that

Winter’s anxious state of mind could affect Lamont. A distraction was

exactly what Winter needed.

“A discreet force will more than suffice. I would appreciate it if

Winter’s friends visited. However, I think it would be best to allow

Tyrell to proceed with his plan. Once he is inside the island, we will

catch him.”

“Very well, Your Majesty,” the elder vampire said. “I will convey

your message. You might receive a call from Elder Wade soon.”

The Wolf Who Fought for His Soul Mate

85

“I will discuss it with him as well. Until then, you have my

thanks, Yamamoto-sama.” Sterling considered telling Kaname to

withhold sending his own people before deciding against it. The

vampire understood the delicate nature of the situation too well to

draw Tyrell’s attention by dumping an entire coven in Sterling’s lap.

After a formal good-bye that lasted far too long, Sterling finally

ended the conversation. He had been somewhat shocked when he’d

received the call from Kaname, but not because of the information the