28. Malachi
MALACHI
Ifelt it before I saw anything. Before I heard anything. Before I reached the bottom of the stairs. The bond?—
It snapped. It didn’t break. It didn’t disappear. It snapped like a wire pulled too tight and suddenly jerked in the wrong direction. Pain slammed through my chest so hard it knocked the breath out of me, but I still kept running.
“Juniper—”
The word tore out of me before I could stop it. This wasn’t distance. Or strain. This was?—
Wrong. Every instinct I have detonates at once. My lion surges up, furious, immediate, violent in a way it hasn’t been since this started.
Mine.
Not a thought. Not a decision. A fact. Something has her. Something is using her. And I am not letting that stand. I don’t slow. I don’t think. I move.
The last stretch of corridor blurs as I pushed forward, the pressure in the air thickening with every step. Magic pulsed around me, heavy, structured, alive.
I look around the chamber again now that I’m here.
The chamber is massive, carved into the earth like a wound that never healed.
The air hums with power, thick enough to choke on.
Symbols blaze along the walls, the floor, the ceiling—layered, interlocking, feeding into a ritual circle that dominates the entire space.
And at the center?—
Her. Juniper. Bound.
Magic wrapped tight around her body, holding her upright, arms pinned, head slightly bowed like the circle itself is forcing her into place.
Something inside me goes cold. Then it burns.
“Let her go.”
The words come out low. Not shouted. Not demanded. Promised.
Cassandra Vale stands a few steps away from her, calm as ever, like we’re not standing in something that could tear this entire town apart.
“Malachi,” she says, like she’s greeting me at a council meeting instead of holding my mate in a ritual designed to use her as a power source. “You’re early.”
I don’t respond. Because if I do?—
I won’t stop. Instead, I move. Straight for Juniper. The circle reacts instantly. Of course it does.
Magic surges upward from the carved lines, flaring into a barrier that snaps into place between us—bright, solid, humming with power. I hit it anyway. The impact rattles through my bones, but I don’t stop. I push. Hard. The barrier holds. For now.
“You shouldn’t do that,” Cassandra says mildly. “It’s keyed to her.”
My vision narrows.
“Then turn it off.”
“That would defeat the purpose.”
My lion roars. Not physically. Not yet. But it’s there—pressing against my skin, demanding release, demanding violence, demanding blood. Control. I force it back. Barely.
Because I need to see. To understand. To find the break. Juniper lifts her head slightly. Her eyes meet mine. There’s pain there. Anger. And something else. Warning.
“Don’t—” she starts.
The bindings tighten. She cuts off sharply, breath hitching. Rage spikes so hard it almost whites out everything else.
“Touch her again,” I say, voice dropping even lower, “and I will tear this entire place apart.”
Cassandra doesn’t flinch.
“I’m counting on it,” she says.
That—
That’s not what I expected. And it’s just enough to throw me off balance. She gestures lightly. The chamber shifts. Movement at the edge of my vision. Figures step out of the shadows. Shifters. Council guards. Others I recognize. Their eyes?—
Wrong. Flat. My jaw tightens.
“Move,” I say.
They don’t. Of course they don’t. Cassandra’s voice cuts through the space, calm and precise.
“Stop him.”
They obey. All at once. They come at me from every direction. No hesitation. No fear.
No instinct holding them back. Just?—
Command.
“Damn it,” I growl.
I meet the first one head-on. He swings hard. I block, counter, drive him back?—
Another hits me from the side. Then another. Too many. Too coordinated. This isn’t a fight. It’s a wall. And they’re the bricks.
“Malachi—” Juniper’s voice is strained but sharp. “They’re not in control?—”
“I know!”
That’s the problem. I can’t just tear through them. Not without killing them. And that’s exactly what Cassandra wants. Hesitation. Conflict. Delay. Not happening. I shift my stance.
Adjust. Control instead of crush. Disable instead of destroy. Faster. Harder. Precise.
I drop one, twist another aside, slam a third into the ground hard enough to keep him there?—
More replace them immediately.
“They’ll keep coming,” Cassandra says, watching like this is all a demonstration.
“It won’t matter,” I fire back.
Because it won’t. Not for long. Juniper. Stronger this time. Not snapping. Straining. And something else?—
Something wrong. I glance at her again. Really look this time. At the way the circle pulses in time with her breathing. At the way the energy flows?—
From her. Outward. Into the system. Cold realization slams into place.
“No,” I say.
Cassandra smiles.
“Yes.”
Rage detonates. No more control. No more restraint. My lion takes over. The shift rips through me, fast and violent, bones snapping, muscle tearing and reforming as I drop to all fours mid-motion.
The world sharpens instantly. Sound. Scent. Movement. Everything locks into place.
And the attackers?—
They hesitate. Instinct. Even as puppets, they feel it. Predator. Alpha.
That’s all I need. I move. Faster than before. Stronger. No more holding back. I don’t kill. But I don’t go easy either. I hit hard, slam bodies aside, tear through the line with raw force and precision, clearing space step by step. Closer. Closer to her.
The barrier flares again as I approach. I hit it at full strength. It cracks. Just a little. Good.
Again. Harder. It splinters, light fracturing outward like glass under pressure. Behind it, Juniper gasps.
“Malachi—stop?—”
“No.”
Not happening. I hit it again. The barrier shatters. Energy explodes outward in a burst of light and sound that rattles the entire chamber. I push through. Finally?—
Finally—
I’m inside the circle. Close enough to reach her.
But the magic?—
The magic spikes. Violent. Unstable. Because this?—
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Cassandra steps back. Still calm. Still in control.
“Interesting,” she murmurs.
I don’t care. All my focus is on Juniper. On the bindings.
“You’re not touching her,” I say.
Cassandra tilts her head.
“I don’t need to.”
The circle pulses. Hard. Juniper’s body tenses as the energy surges again. I feel it through the bond. The drain. The pull. They’re not just holding her. They’re using her. As the core. The anchor. The power source.
“You built this around her,” I say, voice low, dangerous.
“Of course I did.”
My vision goes red. I move to break the bindings?—
The magic lashes out. Violent. Reactive. It hits me like a wall, driving me back a step. Not enough. I push forward again. But this?—
This is different. The system is alive now. Fully engaged. And it’s protecting its core.
“Malachi,” Juniper says, breath uneven. “You can’t just break it?—”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
“You won’t have a choice if you destabilize it too fast!”
The words cut through the rage just enough to register. She’s right. Damn it. She’s right.
If I rip this apart blindly?—
I could take her with it. I freeze. And that’s all Cassandra needs.
“Phase two,” she says.
The magic surges. Harder. Deeper. The circle flares brighter, energy pouring through it in violent waves. Juniper gasps. The bond strains again.
“Stop her!” I snap, turning toward Cassandra?—
She’s already moving. Not away. Deeper. Into the chamber. Toward something I can’t fully see yet. Toward the heart of the system.
“You’re too late,” she calls back, voice carrying easily over the chaos.
“I’ve already won.”
No. No, she hasn’t. Not yet. But the magic?—
It’s intensifying. Escalating. Building toward something final. And Juniper?—
She’s the center.
“Hold on,” I say, voice rough as I turn back to her. “I’m getting you out of this.”
The bond pulses. Not just strain now. Connection. Strong. Fighting.
She’s still in there. Still resisting. Good. Because I’m not done. Not even close. And neither is she.