Chapter 22 - Sam
A swarm of guards wandered around the edge of town, grouping into small clusters.
I moved between the groups, issuing orders and coordinating between them as Elias spoke with Drake and Oz.
Rage radiated off him even as his face remained stoic.
No one in their right mind would trust that neutral face.
Night was beginning to fall, darkness falling over the sky as we prepared to go after the wraith.
The normal jovial, relaxed demeanor that often fell over the group was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone was hellbent on going after the wraith after it had taken their luna; their anger and outrage at a level I had never sensed from them before permeated the air, rippling through the pack.
Even if this mission was designed to retrieve Emma, none of the group would miss an opportunity to destroy the wraith if it showed itself.
As I moved to speak with Elias to go over final strategies, movement on the edge of the group caught my eye. A slender, small figure weaving through the crowd, head swiveling as she searched for someone.
My jaw clenched as I stared at Rachel, panic gripping me.
She couldn’t be here. She needed to be as far away from here as possible.
Without wasting a minute, I marched over to her.
Her eyes found me, and she stilled, her lips thinning as she stared at me in defiance, but she didn’t run, nor did she fight me as I took her by the elbow and tugged her away from the crowd, searching around to see if Elias had noticed.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded once we were out of earshot.
“You know exactly what I’m doing here,” she responded, not bothering to keep her voice down as she stared up at me. “I’m here to help.”
If it had been any other woman, I would have found it admirable. I probably would have praised her strength and determination. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Rachel. This was my mate. I didn’t care how strong she was. I cared about knowing she was safe.
“How did you get out?” I asked.
“I broke the door with a lamp,” she said straightforwardly.
I would have laughed if I weren’t so frustrated. I had to appreciate the determination despite the anxiety racing through me.
“You can’t be here,” I said.
“That’s my decision, Sam,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle. “I appreciate that you care about me. Really, I do. But you can’t lock me up every time something bad happens.”
I growled in frustration, holding onto her as my wolf panicked inside. All I wanted was for her to be safe. Why the hell couldn’t she see that?
“I’m trying to protect you,” I said.
“I know,” she said. “Which is the only reason I’m not as furious with you as I should be.
But I’m also not going to let you go on what’s effectively a suicide mission without someone who can do magic.
I’m not going to stand by at home waiting to hear if you died or not when there’s a chance I can make a difference. ”
That damned stubbornness again. If it were anyone else, I would have found it admirable. I still found it admirable, but that was overshadowed by the concern and worry permeating every inch of my body at her insistence on being here.
Before I could argue further with her, Elias appeared at our side, frowning as he took in the scene.
“What the hell is going on?” Elias asked, searching between the two of us, his eyes narrowed.
“Nothing,” I said.
“I’m here to help,” Rachel said, stepping in front of me.
Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. Elias tilted his head, confusion and bewilderment momentarily blocking out his panic over Emma. “Don’t take this the wrong way, sis, but you can’t shift. I appreciate you wanting to help, but I don’t see what you can do here.”
“Exactly,” I said, reaching out to take her by the elbow. “So why don’t you—”
More gently than I would have expected, she worked her elbow from out of my grasp, keeping her eyes locked on her brother. She took a deep breath, her hands trembling ever so slightly. Then, steeling herself, she held out her hand palm up.
Fire erupted from her palm, bright and hot, twisting into an orb of flame with orange and red and white swirling around. Elias stared, mouth slightly open, as the flames flickered and cast his face in orange-yellow light.
While he watched, she flexed her palm. The fire stretched, lengthening into strands of rope as it grew hotter.
It twisted and coiled into a mini-vortex in her hand.
Heat radiated off it, so hot that I could feel my own forehead prickling and perspiring, but there wasn’t so much as a drop of sweat on Rachel.
The vortex shot out of her hand, swirling first around Elias, then around me. It twisted, its shape altering and turning back into tendrils, so it looked almost spider-like as it grew and swelled.
I kept my face neutral even as I gaped inwardly. The last time I had seen it, that massive wall that saved me from the wraith, it had seemed wild, almost out of control, as if she barely knew how to wield it. She had practiced since then. A lot. More importantly, she was good.
The flame vanished, leaving only faint whispers of smoke and heat behind as she lowered her hand. She stared at her brother, her jaw jutted out in defiance, though I could sense the anxiety rippling off her, that desperation for her brother to accept her regardless.
Elias didn’t say anything as he stared at his sister as if seeing her for the first time.
“Someone in our family was a witch,” she said when he didn’t make a sound. “My guess is one of our great-grandparents. Apparently, the magic skipped a few generations before settling on me.”
Elias remained silent, and Rachel squirmed beneath his gaze, swallowing slightly as she shifted from foot to foot, waiting for him to say something.
“Look, I’m sorry I kept this from you, but I only figured it out recently, and I was afraid of what you and the rest of the pack would think, so I kept it secret,” she babbled when the silence continued to stretch on.
Eventually, Elias seemed to drag himself from his stupor as he regarded his sister. “You seriously think you can help?” Elias asked, and relief broke across Rachel’s face.
“I’m the only one here who can actually do something against the wraith,” she pointed out. “If something goes wrong, you’ll need me.”
Elias considered this for a long moment. I could see how badly he wanted to say yes. He wanted Emma safe, and Rachel was his best bet. He wanted the wraith dead, but his mate back more so.
I didn’t care what he wanted if it put Rachel or our unborn cub in danger. I didn’t care how strong she was, or if she could save us from the wraith. Letting her get in harm’s way went against every instinct in my body. My wolf growled in agreement, ready to fight the instant Elias gave in.
“You need to stay in the back,” Elias said. “And you’ll need some iron. I’m also not going to let you go in there alone. You’ll have one or two of my men as backup. We’ll come up with the specifics as we—”
“No!” I cut in, stepping into the conversation again. “That’s not going to happen. Rachel, go back to the house.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Rachel snapped. “You just heard your alpha. If you aren’t going to listen to me, then you should at least listen to him.”
“I don’t care what he says,” I growled. “You’re not going, and that’s—”
“Enough,” Elias snapped. He turned toward me. “Sam, over here.”
I snarled, rounding on him. He growled in response, meeting my eyes in challenge. I glowered, but after a moment, I broke eye contact and stalked after him until we were well out of earshot of Rachel or anyone else. He rounded on me.
“What the hell is going on?” Elias growled.
“I’m not letting my mate waltz into danger like that,” I said.
In truth, it was so much more than that.
Just the thought of her getting hurt because I let her do something this reckless sent my wolf and me into an anxious frenzy.
I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to her.
More than that, should the worst happen—if she died—I didn’t think I would be able to live without her.
But if I said any of this, Elias would know the truth, and I wasn’t going to do that. Not without Rachel’s permission.
But Elias was my best friend, and he knew when I was holding back. He frowned, scrutinizing me as if he could sense something.
“While I appreciate you looking after my sister, the way you’re acting is absurd.
I’ve never seen you this protective of her, and I know that doesn’t just come from the mating bond.
” He stalked toward me, lowering his voice as his expression darkened, daring me to lie to him. “What’s really going on here?”
I couldn’t keep it from him forever, and if Elias was hellbent on having Rachel help, then he deserved to know all of it.
Still, I wouldn’t do it unless Rachel said it was okay.
I glanced over at her, then back at Elias, hesitation written all over my face as I debated what to tell him.
Her eyes met mine, and I could see her features grow taut and uncertain as if she could tell what I was thinking.
I felt that anxiety and fear through the mating bond.
Then, it changed, twisting into determination.
She gave me a curt nod as her hands went unconsciously to her stomach.
Elias continued staring at me as I took a deep breath.
Even as I knew what I needed to do, the words refused to come, as if saying them would make everything real in a way that I had refused to admit, even to myself.
But it needed to be said. Every bit of it, including the parts I had shoved to the side.