Chapter 9
Gabriel couldn’t see a damn thing.
He could feel Ana ahead of him with her family and other dream walkers, but he couldn’t see her.
His wolf rumbled in worry.
The sky was dark, like a storm was rolling in, but the clouds were an odd purple, and the sickly-sweet scent in the air made his hackles rise.
A chill swept through the air and he went still.
He couldn’t see anything changing, but he sure as hell could feel it.
Was it possible? Was Jack Frost here?
He focused on the space ahead of him. It was just an empty street, the homes on either side belonging to members of Sandman’s guild. Was Ana okay?
He rubbed the back of his neck as another blast of cold air swept across the street.
The temperature plummeted, and snowflakes fell, dancing across the street like they had minds of their own.
The purple sky darkened again as silver clouds lined with black smoke moved toward them, covering the sunlight.
He heard screams, though he was pretty sure they came from homes on nearby streets.
Faintly he saw a golden glow in the street ahead, and he felt Ana’s power surge.
And then the glow faded to nothing.
Along with her power.
Through their connection as mates, he felt her fear rising and her power ebbing. A distant scream cut through the air, followed by Ana yelling his name.
He wanted to charge ahead, but he couldn’t see anything.
He needed the dread magic to disappear, and he needed to help his mate. Then he remembered what Santa had said about the medallions: “Hold the medallion and lend her your strength.”
But how the hell was he supposed to do that?
He could feel Ana’s fear sharply now, and her magic waning.
Wrapping his hand around the medallion, he closed his eyes and thought about his mate.
His beautiful, sweet mate, so powerful in her slumber magic, and so amazingly his. She was everything he’d ever wanted in a mate and more than he’d known he needed. His better half. His truemate.
He touched his wolf in his mind, stroking the powerful, cunning predator.
Something glowed faintly as he thought about his own power as a shifter: speed and strength, power that came from eons of predator mindset funneled down to him through his family line.
He wasn’t just an ordinary wolf shifter.
He was the truemate of a unique and powerful dream walker, and together, they were a force of nature for good.
Opening his eyes, he howled loudly and pushed all the love he had for his mate toward her, wherever she was in the cloaked space ahead of him.
As his howl echoed, the air cracked like a plate-glass window shattering.
Then the cloak fell entirely, revealing a battle he hadn’t realized was raging around him.
Nightmare and Jack Frost circled Ana with evil gleams in their eyes while the dream walkers fought Nightmare’s evil followers with magic and fists.
Sandman and the others battled the evil magic wielders as Ana stood apart from the fight, frozen in terror, tears streaking her cheeks while her golden slumber magic pulsed as if it were in its death throes.
His wolf was not having that one bit.
His shift exploded from him as all the love he had for her grew in his chest like a living thing. His clothes shredded, and the medallion split apart as if it were made of something fragile, sending a wave of deep blue power across the street.
Landing on his paws, he raced for his mate and did the one thing he’d done to get her out of her nightmare before: he bit her.
This time, his fangs sank into her wrist and pulled her off her feet. She tumbled toward the pavement with a shriek of surprise, catching herself against him before she fully hit the ground.
“Oh! You bit me again, you butthead! But thank you!” She kissed the top of his head and pushed to her feet.
She laid her hand on Gabriel’s head, and he felt her blend her magic with the strength of his wolf. Jack Frost looked at them, narrowed his gaze, and disappeared in a gust of snow as Ana focused her attention on Nightmare, eyes blazing.
“Goodbye,” she said quietly.
Her magic erupted outward, bright gold and pure.
Her power ripped through the dread magic like sunlight through fog. Nightmare staggered as the terror he’d been feeding on from bad dreams was abruptly cut off. She tore magic from him, shattering the purple waves of power and leeching them away under the force of her own.
Nightmare screamed like he’d been cut with a thousand knives, and his people faltered.
Around them, the evil dream walkers began to collapse under the sudden loss of power. Sandman surged forward with the other dream walkers, driving the evil followers back.
Nightmare snarled and stumbled toward the portal, and the followers who could move under their own power joined him. The portal shattered and disappeared, and the darkness vanished with it. No more purple and black smoky mist, and no more awful rotted smell. No more fighting, magical or otherwise.
The sun came out, no longer hidden by the strange storm clouds.
Then Ana swayed on her feet and her magic sputtered.
The golden glow of her unique slumber magic faded, and she dropped to her knees, leaning heavily against Gabriel.
He barked sharply and her parents hurried to them.
“Oh, her power. She used so much to save us,” her mom said. “Sandman!”
The male approached quickly, his expression grave. He laid a hand on Ana’s head. “Her magic is dangerously depleted. Whatever surge your wolf gave her in the battle is gone, and she needs to replenish it at the Well.”
“The Portal is closed, though,” her dad said.
Gabriel wished he could get to his phone, but he was trapped in his shift and couldn’t tell them to call Hunter so Pixie could open a portal to get them back to the Well.
Then suddenly, a portal opened in front of them.
Pixie and Hunter stood in the opening. “I had a feeling we needed to come here,” Pixie said. “Holy crap! Is she okay?”
“We need to get her to the Well,” Ana’s mom said.
“Let’s go,” Pixie said.
Ana’s father scooped her up, and they all hurried through the portal to the subbasement.
It was the longest run of Gabriel’s life as he stayed by Jared’s side while he carried Ana up to the ground level and out the nearest security door.
A snowstorm blanketed the area, but they fought through it together until Jared set her beside the Well and placed her hands in the magic’s golden glow.
Sandman and her family members all replenished their magic at the Well, but Ana’s took longer as she was more depleted.
“If it hadn’t been for Ana and you combining power, Gabriel, I don’t know what would have happened,” Sandman said. “I think Nightmare planned to terrorize her until she gave up and joined him.”
“And what about Jack Frost being there?” her mom said, shivering. “That was terrifying. The evil dream walkers were using some weird mix of ice and fear to fight us.”
Her parents embraced and then both looked at Gabriel.
“Thank you for saving her, and us,” her dad said.
Gabriel barked sharply. He was fucking glad he’d been there.
“I felt a shift in the magic,” Santa said as he joined them at the Well. “I sensed a surge of warlock magic, but it was tainted somehow. Are you all okay?”
They assured him they were fine now, but it had been close.
Ana sighed deeply as her magic replenished fully, then sank to the ground, hugging her arms around Gabriel’s furry neck. He murmured at her, happy she was okay.
Santa put his hand on Gabriel’s head. “You did well. You saved your mate and turned the tide of the battle.” He looked at the others.
“Let’s get inside and get you all some hot cocoa.
I want to know everything that happened.
My brother has done something he’s never truly done before: joined forces with another male who isn’t simply neutral, but has fully embraced the dark side of his magical power. ”
Ana seemed to be asleep, so her dad carried her inside. While Gabriel wanted to hear more about the battle, she needed rest, and he wasn’t going to leave her side. Her dad brought her to the medical center, where the two healer elves, Trouble and Melody, were waiting.
They settled Ana on a hospital bed, covered her in warm blankets, and pulled a chair over so Gabriel could sit near her in his shift.
Trouble brought over a raw steak. “I think you’re stuck for a while, but I’m sure you’re hungry. She’ll wake when she’s fully back to herself and not a moment before, so just hang out and rest.”
Gabriel barked softly in appreciation.
“Thank you for helping to save my daughter. And all of us. Welcome to the family, Gabriel,” Meadow said.
Gabriel grumbled happily and watched her parents leave after they promised to check on them again before returning home. Then he tucked into the steak, suddenly ravenous, and kept an eye on his sleeping sweetheart.
Well done, Ana. Rest. I’ll be here when you wake.