CHAPTER 19
“I’m holding on for a hero.”
Everett
My head hurts. Why does my head hurt so bad?
Blinking my eyes open, I wince at how dry my eyelids are.
If I didn’t know better, I would think this was the hangover to end all hangovers.
I didn’t drink though, at least I don't think I did. Slowly blinking my eyes, I focus on my surroundings. I’m in my dorm room, Jack is there, pacing the floor between our beds.
Like he could sense I was awake, his head snaps around to look at me.
Except there is something different, something off about him. Then it hits me.
The memories come rushing back. Chris shows up and demands I get a pregnancy test, it came back positive. Chris insisted that we celebrate with take out food and soda laced with the tequila that has lived in my fridge for almost a year. That's when Jack came home and lost it.
“What the fuck did you do to us?” I ask except nothing comes out.
I try again, feeling panic rise as I attempt to move my arms and turn my head to find Chris.
I know he’s next to me. I can feel the weight of his body pressing against my side.
He’s not moving either. I check on Syril next, poking around in my mind, it’s quiet, too quiet.
I don’t think my animal is gone completely, I'm sure I would be aware if he’d been taken from me somehow. Maybe he’s just as frozen as I am.
The scariest part is that I can no longer feel my mate.
My Henline is still there, except it's dark. Like somebody pulled the plug on the energy that feeds it. Fuck, my baby. Whatever magic he did on me has essentially paralyzed my body. Does that mean my baby is paralyzed? I don’t need to see my face to know that all color has drained from it.
“Oh good, you’re awake. I was starting to worry I did the spell wrong.”
A spell? Why the fuck is he messing with magic? I knew Jack had secrets, but I had no idea he was a fucking lunatic.
“Has anyone told you before that your eyes speak volumes?” He takes a few steps in our direction.
“Relax Everett, I don’t want to hurt you, I just need you to explain how your magic works.
You see, I’ve been searching for a long time for a magic user that is also a shifter who can help me unlock my magic. ”
My eyes widen, and If I could move any muscles in my face, I would be looking at him like he’s crazy, because he clearly fucking is. I can’t even speak right now.
“Don’t worry, I’ve been planning this for a while, I just had to wait for confirmation that you have tapped into your magic.
As soon as you said you ‘manifested the perfect mate’ I knew it was time.
Now, let me get the salve that will unfreeze your mouth so you can tell me all the things.
” He smiles excitedly as he grabs his backpack and starts rooting around in there.
“The mage I paid to create these things for me was less than helpful, he was happy to take my money of course, but when I asked him about unlocking my innate shifter magic, he tried to tell me there was no such thing.”
I’m so fucking confused by all the words coming out of his mouth.
Surely he doesn’t actually think I have some kind of magic, that I magicked Henry into existence.
I doubt that if he refused to believe a practising mage that shifters don't have magic, except for our ability to shift, that he isn’t going to accept anything I say.
What happens when I can’t give him the answers he wants?
The trilling sound of the building's fire alarm has Jack jumping to his feet. Great, just fucking great. Paralyzed in a burning building. Who did I piss off in a previous life to deserve this?
“I’ll go check it out, it’s probably a drill. Don’t move.” Jack warns as he steps toward the door. Internally, I am screaming at him for being so fucking stupid. Don’t move, he says, like I have any fucking choice in the matter.
“Fire, everybody out.” Someone calls from down the hall, loud pounding thumps on each door.
Not a drill then, this must be serious. I try to listen to the guy forcing students out of their rooms; maybe he knows which floor the fire is on.
The closer the voice gets and the more clearly I can hear it has a renewed hope bursting inside me.
Austin, it’s fucking Austin. Which means my mate is here.
“Everett, sweetheart, are you here.” I hear Henry yelling. The panic in his voice is unmistakable.
Yes, yes. In here. I try to scream back through our bond, but it's useless.
At the sound of my mate calling out for me, Jack backs away from the door, legs hitting the side of the bed, forcing him to drop onto the mattress, fear written all over his face.
Well, he fucked around and now he’s going to find out. I hope Barney bursts through that door and fucking eats Jack’s face off. Although it would probably be wiser if Henry comes in first so he can figure out how to undo whatever fucking spell he used on us.
The door implodes and my sexy as fuck mate stands in the splinters of the doorframe, eyes frantically scanning the room until they land on me.
I can tell the absence of our connection has sent Barney crazy.
He’s right below the surface when Henry steps closer to me.
I wish I could soothe him, let him know that it’s magic, and he needs to find the mage who helped Jack to undo it.
I watch in abject horror as Henry seems to connect the dots, the way my eyes are moving, how my pulse is racing, how Chris was in the same state.
The roar that leaves him as Barney rips out of my Henry and attacks Jack makes my eyes squeeze shut on instinct.
Wanting to shield me from seeing the bloodshed I'd been hoping for.
Instead of hearing guttural screams of pain, I feel Barney's muzzle nudging against my cheek.
His rough tongue licking my skin makes my eyes pop back open. Oh, my sweet bear.
I ache to reach up and sink my fingers into his fur.
To wrap my arms around his massive body, absorbing his heat and returning pulses of love and adoration.
There is so much we still have to do. So many things we pushed back because I was being stubborn and wanted to save up and buy my own car. It’s all so stupid now.
Sitting here looking into my bear's eyes, I have so many regrets. He never got to meet my squirrel. Syril never got to ride on his back through the woods around the cabin. So much wasted time. I barely feel when a tear trickles down my cheek, not that I can do anything about it, anyway.
In the blink of an eye, Henry shifts back to his human skin, then I realise Austin has stepped into the room, hovering menacingly over Jack's body, who is now cowering in the corner of the room.
Austin is on the phone, calling the police, I think.
Thank fuck, there is a multitude of species working for the police department in Valleywood.
Surely they have a mage who can come here and fucking thaw us out.
Gods, I’m going to have to tell Henry about the pregnancy test, sooner rather than later. I’ll need to be checked out to make sure that the paralyzing powder I inhaled hasn’t hurt my baby. Our baby.
It feels like hours and also no time at all before three police officers and two paramedics step into the room, filling the small space with so much alpha energy it's palpable.
With Jack being in my periphery, I can't make out what is happening to him as the police officers convene around him. The paramedics stop in front of Chris and me. Henry explains as best he can what is happening.
“Let’s see what we’re working with,” the older paramedic with the mustache says, stepping forward to squat down in front of the bed. I have no idea what the man is, certainly not a normie, but not a shifter either, so maybe he is a warlock or mage himself.
I can’t be sure what the paramedic did. One minute, I was trapped in my frozen body, and the next I lurched forward, a sob falling from me the second I’m able to open my mouth. Chris’s angry snarl has my head turning to him next to me on the bed.
“Oh, thank gods you're okay!” I cry, throwing myself at my best friend to give him a brief hug before my body is lifted right off the bed and into Henry's arms. I’m struck by his scent, his touch, and our connection slamming into me all at once, making my head light.
“Everett, sweetheart. Are you okay?” Henry asks, concern lacing his voice once again.
I try to nod, but the pain that shoots across my skull halts my motion and makes me whimper.
“What's wrong with him?” He demands, turning me to lay me back on the bed.
The paramedic still at his side scans my body.
“His mind is overwhelmed with your shared bond returning and the magic draining at the same time. Don’t worry, sir.
Dad and baby will be just fine after some rest and some time in shifted form to reconnect with their animal.
” He reassures Henry, but I see the moment the word baby registers with my mate.
His eyes widen as he slowly turns to look down at me. I watch a slow smile creep across his face, his eyes brightening. “Everett?” He doesn't need to even ask the question. He wants me to confirm what the paramedic said.
“I did a test this afternoon, I wanted to go to the clinic and confirm it before I told you, but then Jack came home and well, I was kinda stuck…are you happy?” I ask hesitantly, wishing we were alone right now and not having this conversation in a room full of strangers and a crazed fox shifter who tried to …
I don't even know what he was trying to do.
The look on Henry's face, how his features soften and his eyes twinkle, is enough to tell me how happy he is, which is a good thing as a police officer moves to join us.
“I won't take up too much of your time Mr. Barkley, I just want to let you know that we have your friend's statement which is enough to arrest Jack Trot for false imprisonment, assault, and misuse of magic. We will need you to drop by the station, perhaps tomorrow, to give us your official statement. Hopefully by then we will have a better understanding of the motive here. Currently Mr Trot isn’t making a lot of sense.” I nod, releasing a long sigh of relief.
Everything else can wait until tomorrow. Right now the only thing I need is to go home with my alpha. As the police and paramedics clear out, having checked both Chris and I don’t require any further medical assistance. The room falls silent momentarily until it's broken by a filthy moan.
My head snaps up to the door where Christopher is standing on his tiptoes, body pressed chest to thigh against Austin, who appears to be trying to eat my best friend alive.
Gasping loudly, I turn to Henry. “Christopher manifested his mate. Fuck, maybe I do have magic.” My mate’s laugh is loud and contagious.
“Gods, I love you sweetheart, I was so scared,” he whispers against my hair before leaving kisses all over my face.
“I love you too, alpha,”