by Maia Dylan
“That hurt? Little bitch?” Aeron’s smug tone had Ariana’s rage rising to nuclear levels. “Oh, and I see a new plaything has arrived for me. This must be the little Water Elemental I’ve heard about. Olwen was right. You will be the weak link. From what I can see every other slut in your group is mated or protected by one of the puppies, but you little water slut?” Aeron made a grotesque sound of pleasure. Neve suddenly cried out and shuddered violently, her arms pushing at her body as if trying to dislodge something that had her. Or someone.
“Neve!” Liam roared as he immediately pulled her into his arms, surrounding her as much as possible with his body.
“Well, who do we have here?” Aeron’s tone turned curious. “Is this perhaps the bear that helped these laughable creatures during the solar eclipse? You have no links to those humans. Come to me, bear, and I will take you into my army.”
Liam’s answer was immediate, and his voice was almost unrecognizable as human. “I’d rather just kill you. That sounds like much more fun. And Aeron”—Liam’s tone turned even colder—“when we meet face-to-face, because I fucking know we will, I am going to rip your hands off with my claws for daring to touch this woman.”
Aeron’s laugh echoed through the clearing. The blood-red mist began to materialize into the shape of a man, still transparent, but more recognizable by the second.
“Ahhh, there’s my little bitch for the day.”
Although he was still invisible behind the mist, Ariana could feel Aeron’s evil gaze fall upon her “You think you have the courage to do what you think will stop me today, quim?”
Ariana ignored the jibe and turned to Ryan, who stood like a rock of strength behind her. “He’s stalling. I need to do this now.
“Everyone, move back to the Pagan Stone. This is going to require all of us to make this work!” Ariana called, casting a quick look at the setting sun. It was about a quarter set, so they had only a few minutes left. Once they were gathered at the stone, Ariana spoke quickly. “Somehow, when he siphoned energy from Olwen, it gave him the ability to transport himself and his demons into the astral plane and through the rift. This plane is built completely on emotional energy, which he must have learnt to harness. It is the plane where our consciousness is focused between this life and the next.” Ariana felt Ryan tense beside her. “This is not going to be a physical fight. I need to close that plane to him and his demons, and once that is done, they will be sucked back through the rift and back into their own realm. If I don’t, then he will simply wait until the moment the sun sets completely, and use the power of the solstice to form fully in this realm.”
“Baby, no!” Maggie cried out. “I will not lose you!”
Ariana took a deep breath and cast a sad look around her family, old and new. “I know, Mum. And I don’t want to leave, but we knew that if somehow Aeron was able to force the issue and call for a blood sacrifice, then I was going to have to do this.”
“Fuck that! Why can’t I do it?” Ryan snarled. “I know we talked about this, Ariana, and I know I said I would hold back, but don’t fucking ask me to stand there and watch you die. I just can’t do it! I’ll fucking stand on that stone and bleed. Will that drive this prick and his demon army out of our realm? I’m a shifter. I can survive that!”
Ariana reached up her hand to place it gently against the side of her lover’s face. Ryan closed his eyes and nuzzled her palm. Her heart cracked in that moment and began to bleed within her. She loved him so damn much. He was everything to her, and in the short time she had been his, she knew she had been everything to him, too. She would hold that to her as she transitioned from this life and into the next. Hopefully that would be enough for him to be able to find her in the next life.
“No, baby.” Ariana shook her head sadly. “It needs to be me. It’s always been me. I’ve known that all my life, and I’m okay with that. Please. You knew that this might be what was required.” Tears began to gather in Ryan’s eyes, and Ariana launched herself into his arms, pressing her lips to his and kissing him with all the passion, all the desperation, and every ounce of love she had in her body. They were both breathing hard when she pulled back. “I love you, my wolf, my mate. I will hold you to my heart until we meet again in the next life. I promise you.”
“Ariana.” Ryan’s voice was little more than a plea, and each tear that slid down his handsome, strong face had her shattering a little more inside.
“I know,” she whispered as she pressed a quick, gentle kiss to his lips, turned, and pushed herself toward the Pagan Stone. As she stepped close to it, she felt a familiar wrenching within her. A force field had been erected around the Pagan Stone, and from the intense smell of lilies in the air inside the field, Ariana knew it had been done by Olwen.
“Goddess,” she sobbed, “please give me strength.”
“I am here with you, daughter. I cannot face Aeron physically like I did before, but I could not let you face this alone.”
Ariana sobbed as she climbed up onto the Pagan Stone. Within a matter of seconds, Olwen had shown her what to do, and she felt an inner strength flood through her as she stood up. It was a strength that came with both a female and a male touch to it. Ariana knew immediately that it was Olwen’s mate, Rohan. She didn’t know how or where, but she was thankful for his added strength.
Shutting out the cries and sobs of her family, who stood behind the barrier, desperately trying to find a way to get in to her, Ariana felt a strange peace roll over her. Taking a deep breath, she moved to the right-hand corner of the table, knelt down, and reached for the rounded stone that Olwen had told her housed exactly what she needed. Pushing hard against the stone, a blade slid from between the top slab of the altar and the legs.
Standing up, she gripped the stone, and it crumbled beneath her fingers to reveal its black handle. It was an Athame, a ceremonial blade. Her mother began to sob louder at the sight, and Ariana fought hard to block out the sound of her tears.
Ariana removed her thick woolen jersey and stood with her back to the fast-setting sun and faced Aeron and the rift. All but one of her friends and family were scrambling around, desperate to get through the barrier. Ryan stood still, his hands pressed against the barrier. He had placed himself right in her line of vision, making sure he could watch her and she could see him.
“Please, don’t do this alone. I love you, mate,” Ryan mouthed. Or maybe he whispered it. Ariana smiled gently at him, noticing that the urgent scrambling of the others had stopped. She watched as his brothers moved to stand on either side of him. Perhaps they were there to offer him support, or more likely to hold him when she passed from this life.
“I love you, too,” she whispered softly.
Now or never.
Ariana made the first deep cut, running the blade from her right wrist and halfway to her elbow, making sure to cut deep and bleed fast. She sent a prayer of thanks to the heavens that, due to the amount of adrenaline and fear she had pulsing through her body, she felt no pain. Ariana used her rapidly weakening left hand to use the knife on her right wrist. Blood began to pour freely from both wounds as she gripped the handle of the knife.
Lifting her head, she stared at the darkening form of the demon, who now growled and snarled in her direction, the confident cockiness from before gone. Knowing that it would drive Aeron crazy, she smiled broadly at him as she threw her arms out from her, letting her blood rain down over the Pagan Stone. Then, she started the incantation that would send him and his followers back where they had come from.
“My lord and my lady, please grant unto me
The power and will, to honor thee
With blood of my blood and no room for doubt
I curse you, Lord Aeron, and I cast you out!”
She felt the altar beneath her start to tremble, and she dropped to her knees. She could hear people calling her name, but she focused on the roar of outrage that came from the rift. It was working.
“For those that I love, all would I give
Much would I dare, that they would all live
Blood of my blood, with all that’s in me
I hurl your dark evil, straight back at thee!”
Closing her eyes briefly, she drew in a deep breath. She was tired and so damn cold she felt chilled to the bone. The air around her was pungent with the smell of her own blood. The blood loss was beginning to turn her stomach and make her light-headed.
“I close off this plane, your way here is lost
The bridge that you’ve opened, can no longer be crossed
For I am air, and air is me
As is my will, so mote it be!”
On the final word, Ariana hefted the knife in two hands, so weak she feared she lacked the strength to do this final deed. As the last thin sliver of the sun slowly slid behind the mountain range that encircled Freedom Springs, she brought the knife down hard toward her own chest. She was aiming for her heart and praying she had the strength to drive it deep enough to make this quick. She yelled her anger at the world. She heard her wolf roaring with her from behind the barrier, and the final piece of her heart shattered within her.
Her cry of outrage became one of pain and shock as she slammed the knife into her chest until the blade was buried halfway in. She fell to her side, the roaring of noise around her almost deafening, and she was able to raise her head enough to see Aeron’s demons being sucked back through the rift. All to the soundtrack of Aeron’s agonized screams. Yeah, you bastard, burn in hell.
As the last demon finally disappeared, the shield that had separated her from her family outside collapsed, and they all surged forward. Ryan reached her first and pulled her into his arms. She could feel the heat of his body against her despite the shudders that racked her body. Her breathing had turned labored, and she knew her time was short.
“Don’t,” Ryan pleaded, tears falling unchecked. “Don’t leave me, Ariana. Please.” He pressed his face into her neck, and Ariana longed to be able to lift her hand up and pull him closer, but she had no strength left.
She struggled to draw in her final breath, her vision fading to black, and no longer able to maintain her labored breathing, she whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then everything turned to black.
Chapter 11
Ryan heard her tell him she was sorry, and he pulled back to tell her that it wasn’t her fault. That the responsibility for everything they’d had to endure lay at Aeron’s feet. But as soon as he looked into her face, he knew. She’d gone.
Throwing his head back, he roared her name. His heart broke as he started to rock his mate in his arms. “Ariana, please, baby, please come back to me,” Ryan sobbed. “Fuck! Ariana, don’t you get it! If you leave me, don’t you know that I will follow! I will not leave you there alone! Oh God, Ariana, please!”
Over the sound of his own harsh sobs, he heard the cries of her sisters, her parents, and his own brothers. He looked up at them, staring from one to another, looking for a miracle. This is not how this was supposed to play out! We were supposed to grow old together, goddamn it!
“Fuck! I’ve got it! I remember!” Liam suddenly yelled. Ryan looked at him, and his heart stopped at the sight of hope and excitement shining in his eyes. “Ryan, I can turn her!”
Ryan frowned as he looked quickly from the woman in his arms to his friend. “What?”
“Bear shifters have venom, and when we attack, if we force it into the heart of a human, it can turn them. My mother told me that story because my grandfather used the venom to save my grandmother when she was moments from death! I can fucking turn her!” Liam spoke quickly. His voice rang with truth.
“Do it,” Ryan roared, helping Liam to maneuver her closer to the edge of the table. The rest of them gathered closer, all of them clinging to the hope that maybe all was not lost. Then Liam shifted, his clothes exploding from him as he changed. Ryan had to hold himself completely still for fear of reaching out and ripping the bear’s head off when it lumbered closer to his mate.
Liam threw his head back and let loose a mighty roar that shook the earth around them, and Ryan saw a viscous liquid forming around his large teeth. Then Liam struck, biting into her already bleeding and abused body, forcing venom into her system, straight into her heart. Ryan threw his own head back and howled! It went against everything in him to let his mate be hurt, and sitting still was the second hardest thing Ryan had ever done in his life.
Moments later, Liam pulled his head back and roared a second time before lumbering backward from the table. Ryan didn’t watch to see what happened next. He couldn’t take his eyes off his mate. She still lay inert on the table, unmoving, and so damn pale.
“Please, baby, please.” He prayed harder than he ever had before. And just as he was about to go crazy, sure that he had lost her for good, her entire body jolted, her back arching completely off the table.
“Ryan, move!” Liam snapped as he appeared beside the table again in his human form. “She’s going to come out of this and change straightaway. If you’re too close, she’ll bleed you!”
Ryan didn’t give a shit, and sure as hell didn’t move.
Ariana jolted a second time, then a third. Ryan’s heart seemed to finally start beating again when he saw her open her beautiful green eyes, which glowed eerily, before her entire body tensed, and she opened her mouth on a scream—a scream that shifted almost instantly to a roar as a bear suddenly burst from her.
Damn, even as a bear she was beautiful. She was a lot smaller than Liam, but bigger than he could hold, and she couldn’t fit on the altar. Ryan’s adrenaline spiked as he watched her slide off the table and land on her bear butt on the ground.
“Holy fuck, Ariana!” Casey shouted, her voice hoarse from her tears. “You’re a fucking bear! Like a full-on, big-as-a-house, furry-as-a-goddamn-rug, claws-like-talons, Smokey-the-Bear-look-alike bloody bear!”
Ryan sat back on his haunches as he took deep breaths, bringing his fear and panic back under control. He watched as his mate, his bear shifter mate, lifted a paw in front of her face and looked at it. Then a noise that sounded suspiciously like a feminine bear laugh burst from her. She stumbled up onto all fours and swung her huge head around the group. Seeing her parents smiling through their tears, she moved forward and gently butted them both with her head.
Maggie and Kingi both threw their arms around their daughter and laughed with relief. Then, Ariana swung her head in his direction. He could see his mate clearly in the eyes of the bear, and he read her trepidation. He grinned.
“Damn, baby! Your bear is beautiful. And I can’t wait until we can let our animals run through the forest together. But, baby, I have had a really shitty day, and you sure as fuck have, too. I need to hold my mate in my arms. I need my woman. Change back, love.”
The bear tilted her head, closed her eyes, and he watched as the bear frowned. Damn, she made a cute bear. Then in a shimmer of light, his mate emerged. She stood naked, wavering on her two feet, and Ryan moved quickly off the table to catch her up against him.
“I got you, baby,” Ryan whispered as he gently pulled her into his arms. Seeing that the wounds she had inflicted on herself had gone, he calmed a little. “Jesus, I thought I had lost you.”
“For a moment there, you had,” Ariana whispered back, and he felt her arms wrap tightly around his waist. He lifted his hand to gently tip her face up to his. For a moment he let his eyes wander over her beautiful face, soaking in her beauty and allowing himself to finally believe that she was alive.
Then he dropped his mouth to hers and devoured her. His tongue swept into her mouth, pulling her unique flavor into his. He would be claiming his mate tonight. And now that he had her back in his arms, he was never letting her go again.
* * * *
“Do you remember the day we finally stopped fighting—what was between us?” Ryan still sat on the Pagan stone and held his mate in his arms, wrapped in his jacket. The rest of their group was making their way back to their cars, but they had stayed behind.
Both of them needed some time alone, to let the pain of the past thirty minutes ebb a little, and allow their love to heal the wounds it left behind.
Ariana smiled up at him. “I do. You had been an asshole, and I was gracious enough to forgive you. That was the day we discovered Liam was the bear and very much a part of this journey.”
“I’d like to argue that point about me being an asshole, but I can’t,” Ryan said with a slight grimace. “But the part of our conversation I really want to concentrate on right now, is the last part.”
Ariana frowned as she thought back to that day, and Ryan knew the exact moment she remembered the part of the conversation he was thinking of. Her face lit up with a smile that had his heart turning over in his chest, and all the blood in his body flooding into his dick.
“The way I remember it, you promised me that we would be making love outdoors,” Ariana said as her grin widened. “A lot.”
Ryan lifted her into his arms, and walked away from the Pagan Stone. The image of her lying on that damn thing, cold and lifeless, was still too fresh for him, so he carried her back down from the path, and into the forest. “Well, I think it’s about time I make good on that promise, my love.”
Ariana snuggled further into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “That sounds like a great plan—but do you know what would make it a fucking awesome one?”
Ryan grinned, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “I reckon claiming you under the moon on the winter solstice would make it pretty fucking awesome.”
Ariana leaned back so she could smile at him, and when her gaze dropped to his lips, his control snapped. He swooped in and claimed her mouth with his. Swallowing her groan of pleasure, he let her legs drop down and pressed her against the trunk of a large tree. He kissed her with all the passion and emotions he had bottled within him since watching her take her own life. As the kiss escalated, and he felt her trembling against him, he finally felt his fear abating.