Chapter 19
What in the fucking fuck was that? My heart is still racing, and every part of me trembles with mixed emotions—mostly fear with heavy doses of fury weaved through.
Watching Drake be consumed with agony hurt me more than I expected. All I wanted to do was jump through that barrier Natalia set up and relieve him of whatever he was going through. Then, when his body began shaking to the point he started to disappear right before my eyes, I lost my damned mind.
I thought, for too many seconds, that I’d lost him. He was gone. I couldn’t feel our bond or sense any part of my mate within me.
Try as I might, that fucking shield wouldn’t break and I couldn’t get to him. All I could do was stand there screaming for Drake and threatening Natalia’s life over and over.
By the time my voice goes hoarse, the shadow that had consumed my mate finally materializes into a large wolf. A dark, shadowy beast with glowing orange eyes, sharp teeth, and a growl that makes goosebumps travel over my skin.
The barrier is still up, but I press my palm against the shimmering surface, holding the gaze of Drake’s animal. My own wolf is right there with me, begging to be set free, but I keep her back. This is my moment. She can have hers later.
The steady beat of my bond with Drake is back, thrumming strong within my chest and spreading through the rest of my body. The wall he’d been keeping up isn’t there, and his rage comes flooding back to me, but this time I swallow the smokiness of his grief and keep control of myself.
The curse is gone, but my mate is still hurting.
Finally, the shield falls, and I practically fall forward in my haste to get to him. The wolf is still snarling, but he doesn’t frighten me—not the odd color of his eyes or the salivating around his jowls.
I stand before him, his wolf’s head at my chest, and hold out a hand. “You’re okay,” I promise. Though, I’m not entirely sure that’s true.
He nudges forward and my fingers slide through the nearly black fur, gripping tighter than I mean to, but I can’t help myself. For too many moments, I thought I’d lost him.
I thought I killed him by bringing him to Natalia.
Now, his rumbles soothe the jagged edges of my nearly shattered heart, and I want to curl up next to him, never to move again.
Our connection expands throughout my body, calming the rest of me as I continue to stroke his head and stare into his eyes. The longer we stand there like this, the less of a glow there is.
He pushes closer to me, and I wrap my arms around his thick neck, bending over to hold him closer. “I thought I lost you,” I whisper into his coarse coat.
The wolf’s growls deepen. I’m not entirely sure how to interpret the response, but I can assume he probably thought the same thing.
“I’ve contained the curse, and he should be free of the worst of it, but?—”
My head swivels around, and my snarl cuts off Natalia’s poorly timed words. “Be free of the worst of it… What the hell does that mean? I thought you were breaking the curse.”
She doesn’t even blink at my rage. “I said I could break his wolf free. There was nothing else promised, Spencer. He’s more powerful now than he ever would have been without what I did here today. At a great risk to myself. You should be thanking me that I was even able to do this.”
Her tone is flat and straightforward, but I still want to rip her face off. Though, I know that’s not because I’m furious with the witch. At least, not this one.
“Thank you,” I finally say, standing up straighter to face her but still keeping a hold on Drake’s wolf. “Not that I don’t appreciate what you’ve done here, but do you have anything else for us?”
She holds up a bottle of black liquid and shakes it lightly. “Tomorrow morning is still when I hope to be done. I just realized that the amount of Kel’s magic in Drake’s blood wasn’t enough for me to create anything defensive for you to use. I needed something more potent, and I had a theory.”
My eyes bulge and jaw tightens. “All this was on a theory? Not something you knew for sure?”
Natalia just shrugs. “Isn’t all magic just a theory?”
No, I’m pretty sure it’s not, but the witch walks away before I can say anything else. That’s probably a good thing. Although we likely couldn’t take down Kel without Natalia’s help, there’s a chance, with how frayed my emotions are, that I would say something I couldn’t take back if she hadn’t walked away.
Drake’s wolf shivers next to me and scratches at the ground. When I look back at him, he’s staring at the trees further into the park.
“Do you need to run?” I ask, then shake my head. “That’s a stupid question. You’ve been locked up for centuries. Of course, you need to run.”
I grab both sides of his head and press my face closer to his. “Stay close. We can’t get too far away yet.”
There’s no telling what’s going through his wolf’s mind. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t run yet, but then I feel a tugging on our bond, and it occurs to me that I’m keeping him here.
I couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him if the curse had been broken and he hadn’t found me.
Alright, Wolf, I say to my own inner animal. You get your time with him, but not long. We need to get back to the house. We have no idea what breaking the curse did in the way of alerting Kel of what we’re up to.
She grumbles in reply, pushing forward until my skin begins to itch.
I step away from Drake, and the small amount of space between us makes him whimper, but I don’t take long to shift. Or more accurately, my wolf doesn’t let me slow her down.
The transformation is mildly painful thanks to the urgency of the change, but once we’re on all fours with the bond beating wildly within our heart, nothing else matters.
Drake’s wolf tilts his head back and lets out the loudest of howls. The sound is like a siren song to mine, calling us forward.
The wolves touch their foreheads together, then begin to lick and sniff each other around their necks. The actions are sweet and like a balm to the last of my shattered nerves.
Everything is going to be just fine. One way or another, we’re going to come out of this okay.
Drake’s wolf nips at mine and causes her to growl. The sound is playful, but also a warning that she isn’t to be fucked with. Like human, like animal.
He doesn’t seem to be deterred and goes for her again, but this time we dart out of the way, and his teeth close on air.
He wants to play, I tell my wolf. Show him where to run.
By the time I’ve even finished speaking, her claws are digging into the earth and she’s sprinting forward.
The midnight-colored wolf is right on our heels, his rumble sending shivers through my own wolf. His stride is longer, but we have more practice, so it’s easy to keep the lead as we race through the park. Wind rips around us, stirring up all kinds of scents, but the only one that matters is the musky amber smell coming from right next to us.
My wolf lets out her own howl filled with joy and anticipation as we start to circle the park. It’s not a huge space to stretch our legs, but enough to work for the moment. Later tonight, we can venture out again for a longer run.
Together, our wolves continue to chase one another through the park, moving in and out of the trees, jumping over long-forgotten play structures, and overall, enjoying the hell out of themselves.
Finally, though, it’s time to stop. Half because I still haven’t heard Drake’s voice since he freed his wolf and half because my family isn’t far from my mind.
I know Kasha said she would protect them, and I have no doubts she’s powerful, but that doesn’t mean my worry for their safety is any less.
My wolf relinquishes control, and I shift back to my human form first. When I look back at Drake, his wolf is still staring at me. “What’s wrong?” I ask even though I know he can’t reply.
The wolf steps forward, his head lowered and stalking toward me. Well, this is different.
His tongue swipes over his sharp canines and there’s a deep rumble from within his chest as he gets closer.
I’m tempted to move or bring my wolf forward, but I’m too curious about what Drake’s animal is up to.
I hold my hand out when he’s close enough and he rubs his snout across my palm. “You’re safe here,” I tell him. “Nobody will trap you again.”
His growl nearly has me jumping back, but I stay steady, knowing he needs my support right now.
Leaning forward, I run my fingers through his dark coat again and breathe him in. Just as I open my mouth to say something else encouraging, the fucking wolf bites me right on the shoulder.
“What the hell?” I screech as I jump back.
Without meaning to, I punch the beast in the face. “Bad wolf!”
Except he doesn’t seem at all ashamed of what he’s done. I swear he’s grinning at me as he lowers on his haunches to sit.
My hand covers the bite and comes back with blood when I pull away. Not a lot—he didn’t bite deep—but still. There’s going to be a…
“You marked me,” I say, unable to hold back my chuckle. “You sneaky wolf. I’d say sorry for punching you, but you know damn well you deserved that.”
His head lolls to the side, and I realize that his eyes have changed from the glowing orange to a bright amber. Much better than before.
Finally, he trots back and shifts. Only I forgot one important thing: Drake doesn’t have a magically imbued ring or amulet to prevent his clothes from disappearing during the transformation.
A very naked, but also grinning Drake stands before me. “That was intense.”
“And your cock is hanging out for everyone to see.” I point toward his crotch. “Maybe you stay in wolf form until we can get you some clothes, yeah?”
He glances down and shrugs. “Not like most people haven’t seen one before.”
“Except I don’t need anyone else seeing yours.” I can’t stop from growling as I speak, which only serves to make his smile grow wider.
“It’s okay, Mate. You’re mine and I’m yours,” he promises. “No matter what anyone else sees, I only see you.”
The distance between us is quickly swallowed up when we both lunge for one another. It doesn’t matter that we’re in public and anyone could be watching. The need to touch and kiss him is too strong to ignore any longer.
His hands grasp my face as he pulls me impossibly close, his lips on mine, tasting me with a vigor I happily match.
“I thought I lost you,” I murmur between kisses.
“Nobody can take me from you that easily.”
Gods, I hope not.
I’ve only known the man mere days, but I can’t picture a life without him in it any longer.
My hands cover his chest, and the feel of his heart beating beneath my palm calms the last of my nerves. My eyes suddenly do a double take. “Your wolf tattoo. It’s gone. Like all the way gone.”
He glances down but doesn’t seem the least bit worried. “It wasn’t there before Kel, so it makes sense that it’s not there now. I’m taking that as a good thing.”
I sense a hesitation from him through our bond, but when he doesn’t add anything further, I let the oddity go. It’s been an eventful morning, and we need to take this as a win.
I kiss him once more, then step farther away. “Shift and we’ll head back to talk.”
This time, he doesn’t make a joke, and any worry-filled rage I’d momentarily pushed down is right back at the surface.
Something tells me we’re not even close to being free of Kel even if Drake has his wolf back, but that’s going to change and soon. I’ll make damn sure of that.