Wolf Mate (14 page)

Lightning flashed, and Dax
shifted into his wolf form. A beautiful silver wolf crouched on the
ground, snarling at the witch. Savannah's face twisted when she
realized that while she had managed to enslave the young man, her
dark magick had failed to work on the wolf. The wolf saw her for
what she was. A dark witch. A cruel, wicked woman.

The silver wolf growled, but
didn't attack. The man was struggling against the wolf, and the man
didn't want to hurt the woman he thought he loved. She had skilfully
manipulated the young man's emotions, making him believe that she was
his mate. The wolf knew that she wasn't his true mate, and had no
qualms killing her in a heartbeat. But the man wouldn't allow his
beast to kill his mate. The silver wolf made a half-hearted leap
towards Savannah, and she easily blocked him with a spell.

She tried to conjure a
stronger spell to force the wolf to submit to her. She began to age
rapidly as her magick drained her of her energy and youth to power
the spell. Her black hair turned white, and her smooth face started
to crease with wrinkles. But still she wouldn't give up. If the
Silver Wolf surrendered its power to her, it would become her
familiar forever. Having a Silver Wolf as a familiar would greatly
increase her prowess. She would be able to use the Silver Wolf to
absorb the raw, potent power of the full moon.

Her power would be boundless,
limitless. She just had to subdue the wolf, bind it like she had
bound the man, and make it hers.

The wolf resisted. Blood
leaked from the corner of its silver eyes as it struggled against the
onslaught of the witch's dark magick. Melynda's heart broke as she
watched Dax fight against himself and against his supposed mate.

She understood now. She
understood his pain and anger completely.

Swallowing, she continued her
healing spell, letting his memories spiral free from his mind. She
watched Savannah hurl devastating spells and hexes at the wolf,
trying to sever the tenuous connection between the wolf and the man.
She succeeded to a degree. Dax was severely wounded, wolf and man
never fully recovering. The man was damaged, and the wolf retreated
from the man, emerging only upon the full moon.

Melynda watched with grim
satisfaction as Savannah exhausted her life force battling Dax's
Silver Wolf. She was a brittle, withered old woman, having drained
all her beauty and her life in her fight against a powerful,
steadfast Silver Wolf. The wolf had refused to accept her. She was
not its mate.

With a screech, Savannah
collapsed, her white hair shedding from her scalp and the light in
her eyes going out. She continued shrinking away, her hair, teeth
and nails falling out before she dwindled to a pile of bones at the
feet of the bleeding, exhausted Silver Wolf.

Melynda inhaled deeply as she
felt a weight being lifted off her chest. She could feel Dax's anger
slowly dissipating along with his painful memories. She smiled a
little.

This was right. He was
healing. She could feel it.

Melynda relaxed, releasing her
own fears and worries. She had absorbed Rebecca's terrors in the
hospital, and she had to release them. If she held on to them, she
would just end up endangering everyone.

Melynda knew that was exactly
how she had pulled Phin Lester to her. Her fears, her terrors,
Rebecca's nightmarish memories had all swirled together and powered
her Emotional magick. She had been too shocked, too scared to
control her emotions, her magick. Instead, she had brought herself
to the dark heart of her fears, to Phin Lester, the monster she saw
pursuing Rebecca. She had absorbed Rebecca's fears and made them her
own. The haunting terror, the nightmares, her own fears and
insecurity, all dragged her to the man whose horrifying visage she
had glimpsed through Rebecca's eyes.

She had been trying to get
home with her magick. Instead, she got to face her nightmare.
Melynda surfaced from the vortex of her fears, and found herself in
the basement of this old building. Instantly, she knew she wasn't
alone. Someone was watching her, like a rat in the shadows. Only it
wasn't a rat.

She had whirled round at the
sound of footsteps, but by the time she saw him, it was too late. She
felt the sharp blow at the back of her head and saw his face just as
she fell. A creature with the face of a man, the heart of a monster,
and the blood of a demon.

The man was gone, but the
monster remained. She had to fight this monster, her own demon.

Melynda took a deep breath.
She had released Dax's most painful memories, and now she had to
release Rebecca's. She had absorbed Rebecca's memories and
internalized them. By holding on to them, she would put Rebecca's
life in danger as well.

Stoically, she watched the
snapshots of Rebecca's life float out into the open before slowly
fading away. She saw the violence she suffered at the hands of her
ex-husband. She saw Rebecca's immense pain and shame at her own
situation. But she didn't reach out to Rebecca. She had to remain
detached and let this all go.

Finally, she'd released all of
Rebecca's pain. Now she faced her own shame, her confusion and anger
at not being an Elemental witch like the rest of the witches in her
coven. She let go of her resentment, and embraced her uniqueness,
her special abilities. She was an Emotional witch, and she could
heal the emotional hurt and wounds of others. It was a very rare
power, one she should hone, not hide.

Melynda could feel herself
growing stronger, and she focused her strength and healing power on
Dax. She saw him, lying on the ground, no longer bleeding or
breathing. She gasped but refused to give up.
It's not over.

She held her hands out, facing
her palms towards him. The moonlight powered her magick, and her
love strengthened her.

I love you, Dax
.

She closed her eyes and
focused all her energy on him. She could heal him. She could do
this. There was no doubt, and there would be no regrets.

Finally, she let out a cry and
fell back. Everything went black for a while. She had done
everything she could, given her all. She felt so, so tired. She had
no strength left to even open her eyes.

But she could feel him.

She breathed his name as she
felt his strong arms wrap tightly around her and lift her up.

“
Melynda.”

Her eyes opened a crack, and
she saw his face. Dax was looking down at her as he carried her in
his arms. She was cradled against his naked chest, and
instinctively, she ran her hand down his torso to check his abdomen.

“
No gaping wound.”
Dax grinned at her. “You healed me.” His smile
disappeared and his expression became serious. “You healed me,
Melynda. You healed my heart, my soul and my body.”

Melynda smiled back at him.
“I know. I healed myself too. And...I healed Rebecca.”

She jerked suddenly in his
arms, her eyes becoming wide and round.

“
What is it? Are you in
pain? I...”

Melynda gripped his shoulder
and gasped. “Rebecca is awake! I can feel it. She's awake,
Dax!”

Dax stared at Melynda. Even
with her matted hair and dirt caked face, she looked so beautiful
under the moonlight. She was so beautiful and so amazing. She had
saved his life, and by healing Rebecca, she'd saved Rebecca and Levi
as well.

He trusted her. He knew she
was telling the truth.

“
Melynda, I'm going to
get you home, and then I'll rush to the hospital. I know you're
exhausted, and...”

“
No! I'm coming with
you. I'm not tired. I need to be there. I want to be there!”

Dax heard his wolf growl. By
healing him, she had reconnected man and wolf. Dax trusted his wolf
entirely.

At this moment, his wolf
wanted his mate with him.

Dax put Melynda down and
shifted smoothly into wolf form. The large wolf looked up at Melynda
and turned his head. She smiled shyly before climbing onto his broad
back. Dax howled with pride. It felt good to carry his mate on his
back, feeling her body lean into his, and have her arms around his
neck.

Once Melynda was comfortably
settled, Dax started his run back to the city.

The Silver Wolf raced across
the deserted landscape, and crossed silent, dark streets. Dax kept
running, feeling Melynda's warm breath on his neck. He ran until he
reached his office building. The security guard on duty recognized
Melynda, and respectfully greeted her as she clambered off the back
of a majestic Silver Wolf and walked with the wolf to the lift lobby.

Melynda entered her staff code
into the electronic pad beside the glass door to unlock it. Dax
padded in after her, and headed straight for his office. It was
barely five o'clock in the morning and the entire office was empty.
Dax shifted back to human form and strode into his office, not hiding
his nudity from Melynda's appreciative gaze. She was his mate. She
had a right to see him as he was.

He knew she was staring at the
scars on his back, the scars inflicted by Savannah. These were the
scars of his past, and Melynda deserved to know every aspect of him.

He went to the cupboard and
pulled out a pair of jeans that he'd stashed there, and a plain white
t-shirt. He dressed slowly, giving Melynda time to observe him and
ask him any questions that were weighing on her mind.

When he'd pulled the t-shirt
over his head and down his body, he turned to face her. She was
sitting on the couch, smiling up at him.

“
I've seen those,”
she said, indicating his scars. “And I've seen how you got
them. When I saw what she did to you, I was very hurt and angry, but
I'm not going to stay mad at a dead witch. She's not worth it. I
will not let her ruin my present and my future.”

Dax went to her and took both
her hands in his. “I was a fool. Even after she destroyed
herself, I continued letting her destroy me. I am sorry, Melynda.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.
“I want you to make it up to me then.”

“
I'll do anything.”

“
Anything?”

“
Anything,” he
said firmly.

She blushed suddenly and
giggled. “But we don't have time now.”

Dax gave her a quick kiss, and
pulled her to her feet. “We'll go to the hospital and see
Rebecca first. Then I need to make sure Levi is free and cleared of
all charges. Come on.”

Dax made a few calls before
speeding to the hospital. They met the police officers in the lobby,
and together, they went up to Rebecca's room.

Doctors were in the room,
checking and re-checking the monitors as they spoke to Rebecca and
asked her questions to assess her mental condition. Dax heard her
clear, succinct answers. She knew how many fingers the doctor was
holding up, and she knew her name and her address. And she knew why
she was lying in a hospital.

Dax strode up to her bedside.
“Miss Rose, I...”

“
Mr Ferro,” she
beamed. “Miss Morgan! I'm so happy to see you!”

Dax shot Melynda a quizzical
look over his shoulder.
How did she recognize us? We came into
her room while she was in a coma!

But Melynda gave him a subtle
shake of her head and put one hand over her heart.

Dax frowned.
Emotional
magick?

He blew out a breath. He was
no warlock, so what did he know about magick? All he knew was that
Melynda had successfully healed Rebecca and connected with her
through her Emotional magick.

“
We're happy to see you
too, Miss Rose,” Dax answered without missing a beat. “Miss
Rose, can you tell these police officers here who attacked you and
what happened to your attacker?”

“
Yes, I can. My
ex-husband, Phin Lester, came to my house and attacked me. He was
going to kill me. I ran out, and I kept running, but he caught me
near the shore. I tried to fight him, but he bashed my head in with
a rock. And then he fled. I saw him running away, just before I
passed out.”

“
So Phin Lester is
alive.”

“
Of course! He wanted
to kill me, but I wasn't going to kill him! I just wanted to get
away from him.”

A police officer stepped
forward. “What about Levi Madden?”

“
What?” Rebecca
stared at him blankly, and yawned. “I'm sorry. I'm just feel
so tired.” She yawned again and slid slowly down her pillow.
“I told you, Phin ran away. He ran off, but he might come back
to attack me again,” she murmured, her eyelids drooping.
“I...I think...” Her voice trailed off as she fell back
asleep.

The doctors rushed forward to
examine Rebecca. After a while, one of them turned around and said,
“She's fine. She's just sleeping.”

Dax went to the police
officers and said firmly, “Levi Madden is innocent. He didn't
kill anybody. You have to release him immediately and drop all those
charges against him.”