Without any warning, she slapped her other hand against his chest and pushed everything she was into him. The golden glow of healing warmth fused her hands to his chest. ‘Look at me, River. Look at me.’ His gaze snapped to hers and she held it, using the connection to enter his mind as her healing powers entered his body through her hands. She pushed her warmth, her empathy, her love, into him; filled her mind with how she saw him—his strength, his courage, the trust she had in him, their shared love, how that lifted her up beyond happiness and into bliss. She hooked into the mating bond—still so fragile, but strengthening with every moment she believed in it. She’d accepted it. Nothing on this earth could break it now that was done. Not even death.
The Darkness scrabbled against her efforts, fighting her. It had burrowed deep, but she could burrow deeper, force it out. But only if River was ready to let go of the fear and anger that had called it in the first place. ‘What happened was not your fault, River. You were a little boy torn from all he knew and loved. But that’s not true anymore. You are safe. Your sister is safe. You are part of the pack again. And we have shared the gift of mating. You are mine and I am not going to let some evil Darkness take you from me. Now. Let. Me. In.’
She pushed further, pressing her fingers into his skin, her gaze searing into his. He jolted, his teeth snapping together with a grinding click as every muscle in his body tightened. She felt the thing inside push back, try to take control again. ‘Oh, no you don’t.’
She had no idea where it came from, but she knew it. She knew it like the light knows the dark. Like goodness knows evil. Bridgette Colliere had seen and fought it all those years ago. It was the opposite of everything she was; her power, her friendships, her love. And that was its weakness. They were poison to it. That’s why it had always given River pain whenever she’d tried to heal him directly. Why it had tried to kill her.
She was poison to it. Just like Bridgette had been. But it had learned from that time and it was stronger now. Wilier. And she had been weakened by the earlier healing and the mirror injuries she’d sustained when River was hurt fighting Adam. Her muscles trembled. Sweat prickled her brow and stung the wounds in her sides. She clenched her teeth, tasted blood. Blackness bloomed in the edges of her vision. She heard someone cry out her name. Darkness swirled in the growing void in her mind. Something was laughing at her, nasty and triumphant.
Then a warm, perfumed breeze fluttered past her, winding around her, tantalising her senses. It was filled with her favourite, energising scents—lemongrass, rosemary, frankincense and lavender with a hint of chilli chocolate like the little lilies River had planted in the garden he’d created for her.
‘Don’t give up on me, Bronwyn, my love.’ She heard his voice clear in her mind, echoing alongside another that said, ‘Take what you need, my child. Take what is freely given.’
Her eyes widened and she understood.
Searching out that connection she had to Skye and Shelley, she pulled on it. Pulled on all the bonds she’d pulled on before, and filled herself up with the strength of their connections, a strength freely given to her now. So much goodness and light and love. Not that she couldn’t sense there had been hardships, old and new arguments, jealousy and dislike—there was not only harmony in this astonishing ever-growing tree-like bond. But that disharmony didn’t weaken the bond. It just created nuances. Made it stronger because of the imperfections.
It filled her. It took her breath away with the glory of it. So much to discover. So much to understand. And it was all within her grasp if she could only do this one thing. Save this man.
A man who was not only essential to her, but who was essential to the pack in so many ways, not just for the reason Shelley had discovered. They loved him. They cared for him. He was family. He was pack. Sliding her arms around him so she was chest to chest, heart to heart, her gaze on his, her lips a whisper from his, she said, ‘I love you, River. They all love you. Feel that love.’ And melding her lips to his, she pushed every bit of what she had just felt into him; through skin, through lips, through mind and bond.
He jerked against her as the thing inside him fought against what she was doing. She heard the scream of it in her mind, an agonising pierce that threatened to fracture her skull, but she didn’t let go.
Hands pushed against her—on her shoulders, her back; Skye, Jason, Adam—as they supported her and fed her through touch. She felt Shelley in her mind and with her the ghosts of Adeline, Skye’s grandpa, Harrison, and all the previous Pack Witches and Pack Warlocks with them. They were quickly followed by others; the pack opening themselves to her and giving up to her what she needed in her battle with this Darkness that wanted to take River.
She felt River in her mind, the pain in him, the love he had for her, the trust. He was fighting; for her, for himself, for Skye, for pack. ‘That’s right, River,’ she whispered against his lips. ‘Fight it. It’s weakening. Can you feel it? Fight it, River. Fight.’
She felt him fight. It was leaving him. The Darkness was being torn from between his auras, from around his heart, and pushed out. His arms tightened around her and words she’d longed to hear whispered from his lips. ‘I belong.’
She gloried in the sound of those words, the joy filling her, spilling out of her skin, her eyes, her hair, in her breath. It caressed her skin like a warm breeze, wrapping them both in a golden glow. ‘Yes. You belong.’
He opened his mouth to say something else, but then he stiffened. He held still for a long moment, not breathing, not moving; she couldn’t even hear his heartbeat.
‘River?’
At the sound of his name, his body began to vibrate madly against hers. She held tighter, holding him up. The Darkness was fighting them. Oh Goddess. It was so strong. Stronger than she’d thought. But she was stronger than she’d thought too. And she was backed up by the strength of everyone who had ever cared for her. With the born strength she’d been given from the Goddess and never knew she had. With that strength, she fought back. ‘You’re not going to take him from me. You’re not.’
Froth bubbled at his lips, black and glistening. His skin was deathly pale, his breathing jerky and shallow. She didn’t stop, just pressed a kiss to his chin, his throat, his cheek, his chest, whispering with every caress, ‘I love you. You’re mine. You belong. We belong.’
His eyes turned pitch black and his head snapped back.
He opened his mouth and roared.
She’d never heard anything like that sound and hoped to never hear anything like it again. It was agony incarnate; pain and hatred and fear and loneliness the like of which she had never imagined. The sound pierced her ears, her skin, chilling her so that, despite the warm summer air, she was colder than she’d ever been. She wanted to clap her hands to her ears, deny the sound, but she couldn’t let go of River.
She wouldn’t let go.
She held on tight, the touch of her friends and pack on her body, in her mind, never wavering. They wouldn’t let go either. Pressing her cheek against River’s cold chest, she kept up her words of love, her mantra, repeating them over and over, unable to hear them, but knowing they were there because of the warmth they left on her lips.
The warmth transferred to his skin, a small patch at first, but then the warmth grew. An ever-increasing circle, it turned his grey skin into the sun-kissed gold she knew so well. He jerked and spasmed, so violently that if it hadn’t been for the others holding her and him, she wouldn’t have been able to ride such a storm. The ear-piercing sound increased, a final high-pitched scream tearing through the night. River jerked up, as if something was being torn from him.
Then it was gone.
River sagged in her arms. She would have dropped him, except Jason and Adam were there.
Skye gasped. Bron looked up to see what her friend was staring at. Above them something hovered, a dark sludge against the deep purple of the night’s sky. It seethed, pulsing, ready to attack.
‘What the hell is that?’ she heard
Adam mutter.
‘That’s what was inside River,’ Skye said, her voice shaking with exhaustion and worry. ‘It wants back in.’
‘No. It wants us dead,’ Jason said.
Bron shook her head as it quivered above them, gathering into a vicious, pulsing ball. ‘No, it wants me dead.’ Her words seemed to energise it. It whipped down, lashing towards her with a glistening dark tentacle.
In the circle of her arms, River straightened, lifted his head and roared at it, ‘You will not touch her again!’ He raised one arm, the rainbow glow of healthy Were change encasing his hand. It screeched, pulling back as the glow touched the edges of the ribbon of black. Something that look like ash fell through the air from where the glow touched it. It retreated, moving higher. River tried to push Bron behind him. The Darkness shrieked again and swooped sideways, two tentacles shooting out from it, heading straight for Bron.
River spun out of her grasp, swiping at the tentacles. His nails, elongated and claw-like, glistening at the edges like they were filled with some gold-tipped poison, slashed through the Darkness.
An ear-piercing shriek lit the night. The Darkness sucked up into itself. The air vibrated around it and then it was gone.
Chapter 26
‘What the hell just happened?’
Bron couldn’t help but laugh as Adam’s strident question broke the shocked silence. But as the laugh left her, so did all the strength she’d pulled on. Her knees turned into jelly and she began to tumble to the ground.
‘No you don’t,’ a deep voice mumbled as strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a broadly muscled, sun-kissed chest.
Unlike when Adam had picked her up, she didn’t feel annoyed by it at all. She felt like she was home. ‘Oops,’ she said, giggling a little, suddenly feeling dizzy and carefree. ‘I think I used up a little too much juice again.’
River smiled down at her, a warm, possessive smile. ‘Then let me give you a little bit back.’ He kissed her. But alongside the sexual buzz she had from being kissed by River, she felt a familiar glow emanating from him and back into her.
She pulled away, shocked. ‘How are you doing that?’
‘The mating bond. What you give me, I can give back to you.’
‘So I filled you with healing light …’
‘And I’m giving a little of it back.’
She slapped her hand over his chest, holding him back. ‘But you need it.’ She touched his face where the scars he’d worn since he was ten still twisted, livid white tentacles across his cheek and into his hairline. ‘It hasn’t fully healed you yet.’
He turned his head, kissed her palm. ‘That’s because my scars aren’t something I need healed. They’re a part of me. I want them because they are a reminder.’
She swallowed hard. ‘You want to be reminded of the Darkness?’
He nodded. ‘Not just the Darkness. Someone far smarter than me said if we don’t remember history we are certain to repeat it. I can’t forget my history because it has led me to my future.’ A bright smile flashed on his face, filled with wonder and his love for her. ‘I never thought I’d get a future, and here I’ve been handed one better than any I could ever dream of.’ He nuzzled his scarred cheek against her hand.
‘So you won’t let me heal your scars?’
‘Do you mind them?’
She pulled his head down, kissed them. ‘Only because I thought you did. I think they show your strength. They’re one of the reasons I fell in love with you.’
‘Then we’re agreed, I get to keep my scars—for now.’
She nodded, understanding completely. He’d come so far tonight, but he had been locked in with the Darkness for so long, it had left deeper scars. Scars that would heal with love and time and belonging. And when he was ready, he would ask her to take away the last vestiges of that scarring and fully step into the skin of the man he would have been if not for Morrigan and her machinations.
‘So, about that power you need.’ His lips curled into a wider smile as she opened her mouth to protest. ‘Nobody needs as much as you just channelled into me. I don’t think I’m going to ever be sick again.’
She chuckled, but his lips covered the sound and this time she gave herself up to it. ‘Mm, that’s good,’ she murmured moments later as he pulled back a little. ‘Better than chocolate for what ails you.’
His lips curved against hers.
There was a cough behind them. ‘Sorry to interrupt this reunion moment, but is anyone going to answer my question?’
‘I’m not sure myself,’ Jason said. ‘Bron?’
As River turned with her still in his arms so she could face those waiting patiently behind them, she laughed, bliss and wellbeing filling her. She could somehow feel through the pack that Iain and Gareth had been rescued. They were injured, but safe and being cared for until she had the strength to return and heal them properly. Part of her wanted to take care of them now, but the greater part wanted to stay right where she was, in River’s arms, and that’s where she would stay for tonight. Through the pack bond, there was a sensation of encouragement; for her to take her time and fulfil a much more important task. The encouragement filled her with giddy bliss and she smiled at Adam, who was standing, peering around Jason, trying to hide his nudity. Not that she minded his nudity. But as a newly mated male, River would. ‘We won,’ she said in answer to his question.
‘But against what?’
She shrugged and looked up at the sky where the Darkness had been only moments ago. ‘I’m not sure what to call it, other than the Darkness. But something old inside me recognised it and knew what to do.’
‘Did Morrigan send it?’
She sighed, her lips pressing together. ‘No. At least, I don’t think so.’ She told them what she’d seen in her dream quest. ‘It’s far older than Morrigan. But it was most likely attracted by her driven need for revenge, as a small piece of it was attracted to River in a moment when he felt the same way—lost, frightened, alone and so grief-stricken he had no control over the rage that invited it in.’
‘Will it be back?’ River asked.
She cupped his face as she gazed up into his warm, hazel eyes. ‘That kind of darkness is always out there somewhere, but if you’re asking me if it will come back to claim you, no. I’m pretty sure that’s impossible now. Not now you’ve fought it and won. And especially now you’re filled with so much light and life.’
‘And love.’
Her lips trembled. ‘And love.’
‘You saved me,’ he whispered.
‘You saved me first.’ Her lips widened into a smile that mirrored his. ‘We saved each other.’
‘Yes, we did.’
‘Always and forever.’
They were Were words of bonding, but said in front of others, they were words that sealed a mating in a pack. His eyes glowed as she said them, his arms trembled as they held her. ‘You can’t know how much I love to hear those words coming from you.’ His lips pressed against hers in a soft, yielding kiss, offering, not taking. It was a giving, a promise. She took up that promise and gave back one of her own.
After long moments, he leaned back, looked over Bron’s shoulder. ‘You will bear witness?’
Bron turned to see Jason, Skye at his side, eyes filled with tears of joy. Adam stood just behind them. The three of them nodded as one and intoned, ‘We bear witness. With our hearts and souls and the love and bonds of pack, we bear witness.’
River stared down into Bron’s eyes. ‘I love you, Bronwyn Kincaid. Always and forever will I be your mate.’
‘I love you, River Collins. Always and forever will I be your mate.’
He bent his head as the words slipped from her mouth and sealed their bond with a kiss that stole her breath and her heart all over again.
Jason and Skye slipped from the clearing as Adam changed once again into his wolf and trotted off in the other direction. Skye risked a glance back to see her brother and her best friend entwined in each ot
her, oblivious to everything else.
‘Is it safe to leave them there?’ She sniffed, wiping tears from her eyes.
‘I have called to the lieutenants. A sentry has been set to make certain they won’t be disturbed, just as we weren’t disturbed when we mated.’
Skye blushed, knowing that Adam and Bron and Shelley had been witness to the start of that.
Jason pulled her to his side and pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘We could repeat it again tonight if you weren’t so exhausted.’
Skye’s lips bloomed into a smile, a seductive glint in her eyes. ‘I’m never too exhausted for that.’ He gave her a searing kiss of promise that made her sigh and tremble with longing when he finally let her go. ‘No fair that you can do that to me.’
His brow shot up. ‘You have no idea what you do to me.’
She slipped her hand down to cover the bulge in his jeans. ‘I think I have a fair idea.’
‘Witch,’ he said, his grin a crooked slash on his face, lightning blue eyes glinting with the promise of so much more.
She laughed, the sound a crisp bell in the still night. A night filled with so much tension and grief and now filled with such happiness. She looked up at the moon and noticed that it held a gold tinge. ‘Look at the moon. It’s golden, not yellow, like Bron’s healer light.’
Jason lifted his head, his eyes glowing with wonder. ‘Yes. There’s no other colour quite like it. The Were call a moon such as that a Healer Moon. It’s a good omen.’ He looked down at her again. ‘Let’s go.’ He headed them towards the cars they’d left behind.
‘Shouldn’t we go to the rogue coven’s base? Help the others?’
‘No. They have rounded up those who were left behind and Adam’s gone to give final orders and make sure everyone gets home safe. My priority now is to look after you.’
He tugged her forward, but she didn’t move. ‘What do you mean, left behind?’ He twisted his mouth and then firming it into a stubborn line, tried to pull her forward again. She dug her heels in. ‘Jason. Tell me what happened.’
Moon Bound Page 31