Leisl Leighton - [Pack Bound 01]

by Pack Bound (epub)

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jason’s wolf approach her. She shook her head, barely able to see now through the flickering blue of the flame and lightning surrounding her body, snapping out in uncontrolled licks.

  ‘Don’t come near me, Jason. I’ll hurt you.’

  ‘You’ll never hurt me.’

  ‘Please, check on River. He’s more important.’

  There was a shimmering of golden rainbows, so beautiful it made her chest hurt with longing as wolf became man. Hunkering down at River’s side, the black Adam-wolf at his shoulder, Jason ran his hand over her twin.

  ‘He’s breathing. He’s been cut up a bit by the falling rocks, but nothing serious. I think he was just knocked out.’

  Skye breathed in properly. But the power didn’t wane as she expected. Instead, it increased as she watched Jason turn to Adam.

  ‘Adam. Take him to Bron. She’s a healer. She might be able to help him.’

  Skye could barely see now through the blue of fire and wind and rain that surrounded her. The scent of earth was thick in her nose and mouth. She tried to speak, to plead with them not to take River away. She needed him. He was the only one who could ground her now.

  But nothing came. No sound except for the howl of her wind power in her ears.

  Fearful now of what she might do to those she loved, she remained as still as she could, unwilling to even gesture slightly in case she unleashed something that might destroy any one of them.

  The thought of River being hurt or dying was bad enough, but Jason? He must live. A world without him just wouldn’t be complete. He was too important. To her. To others. He, more than any other, must leave. He had so many to protect. And now that Shelley and Bron had been pulled into the pack bond, he had the chance to do just that. ‘Jason,’ she managed to say past the wind and earth that filled her mouth, ‘go. Get out of here. My power is building and I won’t be able to control it. Anyone who stays will be burnt to cinders. You have to go.’

  Jason shook his head. ‘I’m not leaving you.’

  Adam growled.

  Jason turned to his brother, fire in his eyes. ‘Don’t argue. Take River and go. I’ll look after Skye.’

  The black wolf hesitated, as Skye screamed, ‘You have to go too! You think there’s no reason to live, but there is. I’m bonded to Shelley and Bron. They helped me release my power and when they did that, part of my power surged back into them and tied them to you. They’re part of the pack. They’re your new Pack Witches. They’ll make certain the Curse doesn’t affect you anymore’

  ‘I know. I felt it when it happened.’

  ‘You have them now. You have to let me go.’

  ‘No! I won’t do that.’

  ‘Jason. Please! You don’t have a choice. My power … it’s too much.’ The words were almost swallowed in the snap of fire and blow of wind, but Jason heard them.

  ‘I’ll never leave you. Ever. You are my life. The bond is almost complete. If you are to die tonight, then so will I.’

  Skye’s scream of grief was echoed by the black wolf as he howled.

  Jason made a sharp gesture with his hand. ‘No arguments, Adam. Go. Trust me. I know what I must do.’ The black wolf sidled up to Jason, whimpered a question and butted his head against his leg. ‘I know,’ Jason said, ruffling the wolf’s fur. ‘I know. Now go. River needs saving, too.’

  Adam changed in a blaze of sparking golden light and before the change was even complete, bent to pick up River.

  As he straightened, a shot of lightning ripped towards him. ‘Fuck me! What the hell was that?’ he said as the lightning missed him by bare inches. Jason had gone on alert, looking towards Morrigan. She was still passed out against the wall where Skye had flung her. They slowly turned to look at Skye.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Skye gasped, horrified her power had lashed out at Adam. ‘I can’t … I can’t stop it. Go. You have to go. All of you.’

  Adam slung River over his shoulder, ducking and darting as Skye’s lightning lashed towards him. Then he was gone up the tunnel, disappearing into the dark.

  Skye’s power crackled around her, hitting the walls and ceiling, large and small chunks raining down around Jason. ‘Please. Go.’

  ‘No. I am your mate. I am your channel. All you have to do is accept. Open yourself to it. Use me.’ Jason stepped towards her.

  She tried to take control of the lashing power, to push him back, make him leave.

  Wind hit him, but he kept moving towards her.

  She tried again, but her power slipped. Lightning lashed at him, flame licked at his skin, but still he came, not giving an inch even though he must be in agony.

  ‘Jason,’ she cried. ‘I don’t want to kill you.’

  ‘You won’t kill me,’ he said, sounding so assured. ‘I am your life as you are mine. Let me help you.’

  ‘Nothing can help me now.’ Wind whipped around her, ripping at her hair, tearing her eyes. ‘You’re wrong. I’m not yours. I can never have children.’

  ‘Do you think I care about that?’

  ‘You must.’

  The power burned through her, shredding her thoughts, her emotions, until she was terrified that very soon, no particle of Skye would remain. But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t gain control.

  And still he moved towards her.

  Jason leaped onto the altar, his skin covered in her blue fire. But rather than burning him, turning him to ash as she feared, it was a warm caress across his skin.

  Smiling, he reached out, touched her face. Lightning lashed at the ceiling, bringing down a large chunk right behind him. But he didn’t notice, only looked at his Skye, the most beautiful, precious thing he’d ever seen.

  A tear trembled down her cheek. ‘Jason,’ she pleaded once more.

  He shook his head. ‘Do you love me, Skye?’

  ‘You know I do, but—’

  ‘There are no buts. Trust me. I’m your channel, but only if you open yourself to the mating bond.’

  ‘I can’t. I can’t tie you to me and a life without family.’

  ‘I should have said it before, but you are all the family I need.’

  She was still shaking her head, but his hands firmed on her. ‘Don’t fight what’s inevitable. Accept me. Accept us. Become one with me.’

  Then, despite the flames and the wind, the torrent of rain, the earth that crumbled from the ceiling, he folded her into his arms and held tight.

  ‘Together. We will face eternity together. That’s how it will always be,’ he whispered in her ear.

  He could feel his words resonate through her with the impact of his touch and then without warning, the barriers she’d built up to protect herself from him fell away and there was only the bond—a bright, golden-rainbow light with a centre of lightning-struck blue and emerald as green as her eyes twined around them until there was no telling the separate essences apart. They were one.

  ‘My mate!’ Jason’s exultant cry melded with hers as power rippled out of her, surging into him. But instead of shrivelling him to ash, it filled him with energy and a joy so true it brought tears to his eyes. Turning his head, he kissed her with a longing that would never end, holding her tight as the power rocked them both.

  The power flared, a brilliant flash of blue fire, but instead of consuming them as she’d feared, it was sucked down, into her, through Jason and into the pack bond.

  Light streamed through him and into a thousand threads of a pack that had been too long without its Pack Witch—too long without the release and relief of the change. Across the globe, a thousand minds howled in joy as the bright light of Skye’s power slid through them, warming them with a love he knew was an incredible gift, and a power that was astounding. As one, a thousand minds gave over to the change and joy filled him—a joy he never knew was possible.

  The warmth of tears slid down his face.

  They would be strong again. No. They were strong again. And all because of the woman in his arms, who had been
willing to give her life to save all of them.

  The light died. Everything went deathly quiet.

  Jason held her even tighter and whispered, ‘You are a gift.’

  Skye looked up as Jason’s lips left hers. ‘No, you are mine. You saved me,’ she said, wonderingly.

  He smiled—that crooked smile she so loved. ‘As you saved me.’

  ‘Yes,’ she murmured. ‘I love you.’

  ‘I love you too.’

  He smiled down at her, filling her with warmth and love. And yet, there was still the sadness that would never go away.

  A tear fell from her eye. ‘I can’t believe you made me do that to you. We’re mated now, which means you can never have children.’

  Jason brushed the tear away with his thumb and touched his nose to hers. ‘Children are never a certainty. It’s true they are precious, but a mating bond is more so. What kind of Alpha would I have been if I couldn’t show our pack the most important of lessons?’

  ‘What? To love, warts and all?’

  He laughed and brushed a kiss over her mouth. ‘You may be a witch, but there are no warts. That I would know. You are perfect. Besides, we might not be able to have children of our own but we have Tom to raise. And we can always adopt. There are many children out there who need a family. We can give them that.’

  She gasped. ‘You would do that? Bring a human child into the pack?’

  ‘Why not? Now we’ve got Wiccans as Pack Witches, the sky’s the limit.’ His smile died, his gaze piercing hers with serious intent. ‘If I’ve learned anything from recent events, it’s that we can’t only hold tight to the past. We have to look to the future.’

  His words echoed exactly how she felt. She reached up to kiss him again, but her legs gave way.

  Jason caught her.

  She laughed. ‘I seem to have a habit of doing that with you.’

  ‘I don’t mind,’ he said, his lips lingering against hers.

  But before she gave herself up to his kiss, she gasped and pulled back. ‘Morrigan?’

  They turned. Morrigan was gone.

  ‘Did I destroy her?’

  Jason scanned the cavern, his eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t know.’

  He shifted his body a little, but not before she saw the blackened body lying in the corner—Alfrere. There was no sign of another body.

  ‘She got away.’ The bitterness at that thought was thick in the back of Skye’s throat.

  Jason nodded. ‘There’s no sign of her scent. She must have managed to get out before your power flowed through the caves. Alfrere wasn’t so lucky.’

  ‘I’m glad. He deserved to be killed and I’m glad I was the one who did it.’

  Jason tipped her chin, looking deep into her eyes. ‘You don’t have to pretend with me. I know how it feels to kill for the first time. Even when justified, it still places a darkness on your soul.’

  Skye swallowed. She could feel that touch of darkness. But it wasn’t overwhelming. It was now part of who she was. Even so, she couldn’t help but tremble when she thought about what she’d done. ‘You’re right. But I want to avenge myself on Morrigan. For what she did to all of us. She deserves to be wiped from this world with no trace she ever existed.’

  Jason took in a deep breath. ‘I know how you feel. I vowed to the Dark Moon I would get revenge on the one who had brought insanity and death to my pack. But I don’t want you going after her. She is your grandmother.’

  ‘That bitch is not my grandmother. She murdered my grandmother and Ferris.’ Grief gripped her throat, but she pushed it back. Her grieving could wait. ‘She deserves to die.’

  He brushed her hair back from her face, staring into her eyes. ‘You are so strong.’

  ‘I’m not. Not in the way you mean. But when the power swept through me, I thought nothing could stop me. I was everything.’ She frowned, cupped his face. ‘It was so foolish what you did. How on earth did you stop me? How did you stop my power from going nova and killing us all?’ she asked him, her voice filled with wonder. If she’d incinerated Alfrere then Jason should be dead too.

  He brushed hair from her face. ‘As Alpha, I can channel a witch’s power.’

  ‘But my power is more than a normal witch’s power. It should have killed you.’

  ‘I am your mate as you are mine. I’m stronger because we are joined. When you accepted the mating bond and focused your power at me, I was able to channel it through the pack bond to every member of the pack, turning the power into harmless energy that did what it was always meant to do—give hope and life.’ He chuckled. ‘There’s probably a bunch of surprised wolves dancing in the moonlight right now.’

  Skye laughed with him, but then her laughter died. ‘Do you think the power helped River change fully too?’

  Jason closed his eyes and she knew he was contacting Adam through the pack bond. After a moment, he shook his head. ‘No. He’s still in the half form.’

  ‘Is he going to be all right?’

  ‘Bron is tending to him as we speak.’ He touched her face. ‘Were are strong. He’s going to be okay. We’ll make sure of it.’

  Skye breathed out a sigh of relief. She knew what Jason said was true. She could feel River through the twin bond, the pulse of his presence strong like it had been when they were young. ‘You have given me back my brother.’

  Jason bent, kissed her tenderly. ‘You got him back yourself.’

  ‘I did, didn’t I?’ A warm strength filled her as she thought of all she’d become tonight. ‘Let’s get out of here, my love.’

  He swung her into his arms. Jumping down from the altar, he walked out of the cave complex Morrigan and Alfrere had used as their base and into the cold clarity of night.

  ‘Where are we?’ Skye shivered as he walked towards the shimmering portal that hung between two rowan trees in the near distance, suddenly aware they were both naked.

  ‘I’m not sure. But there’s an ancient Dance —

  ‘A Dance?’

  ‘A stone formation, used by druids and ancient witches and warlocks. It was just beyond where the portal spilled us out, so it’s not Australia.’

  ‘I hope nobody is around. We need clothes.’

  ‘I think you’re perfect the way you are.’

  She blushed, but reached up to kiss him. ‘So are you. But I’d prefer nobody else see your perfection.’

  He chuckled. ‘I don’t think anyone’s around and we can get clothes once we get through the portal.’

  ‘Who’s keeping the portal open?’

  ‘Your grandpa melded with Shelley and helped her to open it. She’s stronger than she thought—I didn’t expect it still to be open.’

  ‘She’s full of my power now, too.’

  He looked down at Skye. ‘You are more than I ever dreamed of. More than I ever wished.’

  He came to a stop before the portal, hugging her tight. ‘I love you with everything in me until the end of eternity. You are my heart, my soul, my life. You are mine.’

  Despite her need to stand by herself, Skye liked the sound of that. It brought strength, that belonging. She reached up, caressing his face, getting lost once again in the brilliant lightning-shot blue of his eyes. ‘And you are mine, my love.’

  Jason swallowed. ‘I’ve been tied to you since I first laid eyes on you. Nothing you could have said or done would have changed that. Even if you had denied the mating, there would never have been anyone else for me. It was you. Always.’

  ‘As it has always been you, for me.’

  Their lips met, tongues tangling, hands running over sensitised skin, making promises, holding to vows, creating a sacred, private rite as the moonlight bathed them in a silver glow. Becoming one. Together. Forever.

  Behind them, the portal glowed brightly as it turned from the sickly bilious green to a glowing golden rainbow shot with emerald green and lightning-struck blue, powered now by a love that reached out to touch a whole pack with its joy.

  Thanks for reading The Pack
Bound series—Pack Bound, Moon Bound, Shifter Bound and Wolf Bound. I hope you enjoyed them.

  If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage leislleighton.com and sign up to my newsletter, follow me on Twitter @LeislLeighton, or like my Facebook page.

  You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here www.escapepublishing.com.au

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  This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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