Phantom Wolf

by Bonnie Vanak

  He leaned close, loaning her strength from his rage and his grief. “Fight, dammit. You’re not a quitter. You never give up, never surrender. So don’t give up now.”

  Her breathing grew so shallow Shay could barely hear it. As he laid her back down, Shay felt the powerful vibrancy of her life fade. He glanced at Byrne, an ancient, powerful Mage, with secret depths of knowledge.

  “Help me, but dammit, don’t tell me to let her die.”

  Compassion flared in the admiral’s eyes. “She needs your strength, Shay. Your powers.”

  Fear snaked through him. His powers? He’d been drained and depleted. How the hell could he give anything?

  “I have nothing left. Both of us gave all to destroy the Dark Lord.”

  An inscrutable look crossed the Mage’s face. “You have more than you know. Your magick, your essence as a Mage, may heal her. If you surrender all your powers to her through a White Light ritual, she’s got a fighting chance.”

  Shay stared at Kelly. “Tell me what to do.”

  If he drained his powers, he’d become as helpless as a human. Lose everything.

  “Being a SEAL means everything to you, Shay.” Renegade looked stricken.

  “Not everything.” He laid a hand on her pale forehead. Kelly had given him his life back. He’d been dead for years without her.

  “Let’s do it,” he said roughly.

  Byrne gave an approving nod. “Take the triskele and put it around your neck. Then place your hands on her temples and focus all your magick.”

  It seemed to take too long, as blood oozed out of Kelly, her breathing growing more and more shallow. A faint white light glowed from the silver triskele.

  Shay closed his eyes, listening to the words Byrne instructed him to use. He began the ancient chant, raising his face to the sun’s warm caress.

  “Spirit of Air, transform me. Spirit of Fire, fill me with your energy. Spirit of Water, flow through me. Spirit of Earth, ground me with your knowledge. I call you forth to drain my essence of Mage. Pour your healing spirit into this woman I share my breath with, my body with, my life with. Take all from me, for I am yours and I willingly surrender myself so that she may live.”

  Strength leeched from his limbs. Shay felt his heart slow, felt something reach inside him and yank. A great whoosh fled his body, a burst of golden air spiraling out of the triskele, spinning into the air and then slamming into Kelly’s body.

  Exhausted, he sank back on his haunches. Pink returned to Kelly’s cheeks, flushing her body with a rosy glow.

  Shay flexed his hands. Nothing. Not even a weak flicker. Then he saw that Kelly’s chest rose and fell with life. He pressed his cold lips against her warm mouth, feeling her breath escape. She turned her head, those wide blue eyes opening.

  “Hey,” she said weakly.

  Emotion clogged his throat. Too overcome to speak, he kissed her.

  “Trying CPR again, Shaymore? Or just needing an excuse to kiss me?”

  “I never need an excuse to kiss you,” he whispered.

  Overwhelmed with gratitude, he sat back. As he struggled to his feet, his legs gave way. Shay collapsed. Hellfire, he was so weak. Deeply ashamed, he shook off Dakota’s offer of help.

  Byrne watched him. “Is it worth it, son?”

  Shay nodded roughly.

  The admiral’s expression shifted. He laid a hand on Kelly’s forearm as she closed her eyes with a sigh. “Kiss her again.”

  Shay stared. “Now?”

  “Need a reason? You’re a Mage, like me.”

  The old fox actually grinned. Something was fishy. But Shay bent down, touched his lips to Kelly’s...felt electricity stirring in the air...

  POW!

  Energy snapped, crackled and shot from Kelly into him. Hellfire, it felt like lightning zinging through his veins. Shay’s lips locked to Kelly’s as the energy flowed through them, in them, around them. Finally, the white light faded.

  Dizziness overcame him as Shay sat back, guts on fire as if someone poured a fifth of good Kentucky bourbon down his throat.

  “Easy son. Takes a minute,” the admiral told him.

  Slowly, Kelly sat up, her hair standing comically on end. “What, ah, was that?”

  “Standard bonding ritual. Sharing of powers. Shay gave you all his powers to heal, so I siphoned them back from you into him. You’re equal now. And if you don’t invite me to the wedding, I’ll be mighty pissed off. More than if you don’t name your firstborn son after me.”

  They exchanged glances, color tinting Kelly’s healthy cheeks.

  “Of course you do need a secondary channeling source, such as a pendant, or an old geezer Mage who’s been around longer than dirt.”

  Byrne winked at the stunned SEALs. “Haven’t done that in years. Gives the ticker a good thrill, and other parts, too. Remind me to get a bottle of champagne for the wife tonight. Hell, it’s not even a Saturday.”

  “Admiral,” Shay said, too choked with emotion to speak.

  “You’re a good operator, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore. Too good to lose. I’m not giving up one of my SEALs just because a nasty-ass bitch went on a power trip. Your CO agrees. I promised I’d look after his team while he’s healing.”

  “How is Curt?” Shay was almost afraid to ask.

  The admiral sobered. “Physically, Dale’s progressing. But this scarred more than his body. SOB is too tough to admit it. I’m mandating two months of medical leave.”

  He glanced at Dakota. “As his executive officer, you’re in charge, Lieutenant, until your CO returns to active duty. Or I can replace Dale, if all of you wish.”

  A rousing chorus of “hell no” from Shay and his teammates. Byrne grinned.

  “Thought so.”

  Shay flexed his hand, feeling new strength and energy. Kelly laced her fingers through his. “This is the third time you gave my life back to me, Sam.”

  “Guess that means I’m committed and I’d better marry you, like the old geezer says.”

  Shay winked at the admiral as the other SEALs laughed.

  Byrne nodded. “You’ll both be fine. Don’t forget, Shaymore.” His green gaze grew distant, as if peering into an ancient past. “Giving of power willingly to save another means an emotional bond that cannot be broken. Only death can sever it.”

  Cupping her face, Shay kissed Kelly, a long, lingering kiss, feeling her breath return with each delicious exhale.

  It was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

  Epilogue

  Sam snapped out the thick blanket, placing it beneath the weeping willow tree. An impish smile touched his mouth as he stretched out and patted the space beside him.

  “Come here. I’m hungry for a taste of you,” he teased.

  Kelly leaned against the tree. “Trying to compromise me, sailor?”

  “In every way I can,” he whispered in a husky voice. “I have three weeks’ leave, and I intend to spend every moment making love with you.”

  She considered. “My husband might object.”

  Sam grinned. “Not at all.”

  Lifting his left hand, he flashed the wide gold band around his finger, proclaiming him as exclusively hers. Six weeks after the fight at the farmhouse, they married. Their wedding had been a riot of flowers and festivity, attended by dignitaries and working-class Mages, both Arcane and Elemental. Curt, still healing but dignified, walked Kelly down the aisle.

  Shay’s CO had volunteered to give away the bride, an offer Kelly immediately accepted. Curt had smiled gently.

  “An honor, for two people who mean a great deal to me. You both give me hope for the future,” he’d said.

  Shortly after the meltdown at the Sweet Valley farm, Admiral Byrne had worked behind the scenes to ensure the veil guar
ding the paranormal world remained firmly in place. Senator and Mrs. Robert Rogers had a big funeral, with many attendees mourning their deaths in a plane crash. And the Council of Mages had worked to unite Arcanes and Elementals. Now that the truth was out about the Mage book of spells, old fears and tensions had eased. Carl and the rest of the staff at Sight Finders had come out of hiding after the Council of Mages had lauded Kelly and her organization for their dedicated service in saving children.

  Billy went to live with his biological mother’s parents. His presence was helping to ease the grandparent’s pain of the terrible loss of their daughter, Catherine, and their other grandchildren.

  Now Kelly knelt on the plaid blanket, tickling Sam’s chin with a stalk of meadow grass. They’d moved into the mansion with his uncle, who was overseeing a blizzard of contractors renovating the west wing into offices for Sight Finders and Kelly’s new charity. The widowed Hilda, Kelly’s dear friend, was now president of the foundation that gave interest-free business loans to the poor of Honduras. Sam suggested the first grant go to Rosa, the Honduran woman who’d helped them. Rosa had already hired two local women for her new sewing business.

  “What’s for supper?” Kelly asked.

  He gestured to the picnic basket. “Fried chicken, potato salad, fresh corn and green bean salad. All at the house, prepared especially by Uncle Al. We have one hour before supper starts.”

  “And what’s in the picnic basket?”

  “A month’s supply of condoms.”

  “Not courtesy of Uncle Al,” she murmured. “I’m surprised you don’t have a cache in the tree. Did you ever hide anything in there?”

  He shook his head as he fished in the picnic basket. “Mom loved this tree. She used to sit here while Pete played with his trucks. Sometimes she read.”

  A strange expression crossed his face as he pulled out a red leather book. “What the hell? I didn’t put this in here.”

  She took the book and opened it. A note fell out. “Sam, your uncle did pack the picnic basket after all. This letter is from him.”

  He scanned the paper. “He says this is my mother’s secret diary. She gave it to him for safekeeping because my father was getting suspicious about her activities and if he found the journal, he’d burn it. She knew you and I were in love and wanted me to know the truth about who you are, Kelly.”

  Now that you two are finally married, the time is right, Al had written.

  Sam flipped through the book until reaching the last few entries.

  “Does she say why she teamed with my father to bring justice to my people?”

  Shock darkened his gaze as Sam glanced up. “Not your people. Our people. You’re Elemental, Kelly. And Arcane.”

  He handed her the red leather book.

  Kelly scanned the entry. Her father wasn’t Arcane, but an Elemental who disguised himself to marry an Arcane he dearly loved. Cedric raised their only child as an Arcane to teach about the injustices suffered by her mother’s people, a deathbed promise made to his wife. When Annabelle had learned of his true identity, and how he sacrificed a life of riches to empower Arcanes, she’d agreed to help.

  Sam was right. The triskele only amplified her true powers. She was Elemental, and Arcane.

  Kelly shut the book, her mind whirling with this revelation.

  “It makes sense. Arcanes have red auras. Yours is crimson, shot with the gold of an Elemental. You heal in sunlight, a rare Elemental ability.”

  Sam cupped her face, soothing her with his calming touch. “You’re a true hybrid, the first in many generations, I suspect. That explains how you can call the elements.”

  Wonder filled her as she leaned into his caressing touch. For a few moments, they said nothing, just held each other.

  Kelly pulled away. “It’s really over, isn’t it?”

  He nodded and set the diary down carefully.

  Tightness filled her chest. “Except for one thing. Back when this first began, you said my memories would be erased. No one’s supposed to know ST 21 is a SEAL team with paranormal powers.”

  “Yes.” Sam stroked a thumb over her leaping pulse. “No one except immediate family, such as a wife.”

  Her heart skipped a beat as he gave that seductive smile she knew so well. “Love me, wife.”

  He kissed her, long and deep, gently brushing away her tears with the edges of his thumbs. Then he sat back and gazed deep into her eyes.

  “I told you earlier, life with the team filled all the empty places inside me.” His voice went husky. “Except one.”

  Sam placed his hand over his heart. “I didn’t realize how empty it was until you came back into my life.”

  “You never left my heart, Sam,” she whispered. “I just tucked you away into a safe corner, where I could try to forget you. But I never did.”

  Those dreamy hazel eyes softened with love.

  “I don’t have enough days to spend all the time I want to spend with you. I could live to be a thousand years old, and it would still be a passing moment. Because that’s how I really feel about you, Kelly. I love you. I want to keep you in my arms forever.”

  He placed a possessive hand over her flat abdomen, causing her to flush. “Make babies with you and then sit on a rocking chair when we’re old and gray, and watch our grandkids play at our feet.”

  Kelly slid her arms around his neck. “What about your job? What if I lose you, Sam?”

  Resolve shimmered in his hot gaze. “I love you, Kelly. And being a SEAL means everything to me. I can’t promise that I’ll be there as often as you’d like, but when I’m home I’ll never leave your side. And I promise I’ll try my damnedest to always come home to you.”

  “It’s good enough.” She pressed a finger against his lips. “I think we both need to stop talking.”

  He captured her mouth in a swift, demanding kiss that claimed and conquered. Then he rested her palm against his rapidly beating heart. “I was dead inside, Kel. Until you walked back into my life. I’m never letting you go, no matter who frowns at us because we’re different classes of Mage. I’m not giving up another chance to be happy and to make you happy for the rest of your life.”

  They fell back to the blanket, kissing and entwining together like snakes. Sam caressed her bare breasts with a tenderness that equaled his ardent passion. He nuzzled and kissed his way over her body, igniting her arousal to a fever pitch. Then he sheathed himself with a condom and lay back, his penis rising thick and full from his groin.

  Hand securely on her hips, Sam guided her atop his shaft. Inch after delicious inch she sank onto him. Fierce need blazed in his eyes.

  Slowly she rode him, rising and falling as he fondled her breasts, the gentle wind caressing their naked bodies. Trembling violently, her core clutching him tight, Kelly placed her hands on his chest and let the wild sensuality take over. For a moment she fully understood what drove him to become a feral wolf. She felt abandoned and joyful, wildly free as they joined together.

  They shattered together, their cries piercing the valley.

  Afterward, Kelly lay naked in his arms. With quiet bliss she watched the clouds lazily chase each other.

  Sometime later, they dressed. As Sam packed away the blanket and carefully placed his mother’s diary inside the picnic basket, Kelly went to the weeping willow. A breeze ruffled leaves as swallows chased each other in the dusky gray shadows.

  Time had faded the initials carved on the tree’s shaggy bark but could not erase them.

  P.S. Was Here.

  She felt the breeze lift and caress her hair, like a mother’s loving hand. Tears burned the back of her throat as she remembered Annabelle watching her youngest son gleefully dig into the bark, a memorial to childhood. So much deception and loss.

  She and Sam had much to overcome. The past mustn’t be forg
otten, but it could be forgiven.

  Feeling someone tenderly touch her head, Kelly turned. No one there. But a soft breeze touched the bells on the nearby Chinese pagoda.

  Smiling through her tears, Kelly touched the willow tree.

  Time to leave her own mark. Rust had dulled the knife left in the small hollow. Kelly struggled to dent the bark and succeeded only in chiseling out small chips of wood.

  “Let me try.”

  Sam stood beside her. With his help, Kelly began to carve below Pete’s lopsided scratches.

  K.D. + S.S.

  No longer would her feelings remain in silence and secrecy. The declaration stood against the tree in stark relief.

  Sam smiled. “Pete would like us sharing his tree.”

  Then he set the knife in the hollow and took her hand.

  “C’mon. Uncle Al has supper waiting.”

  As they walked away from the tree, Kelly could swear she heard the distant sound of boyish laughter floating across the meadow grass.

  * * * * *

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  ISBN: 9781460313756

  Copyright © 2013 by Bonnie Vanak

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