by R. E. Butler
Around the salt circle, the pack began to move in fear, pushing away from the circle and into the darkness. She felt Adam and the pack come, ready to fight. She felt the presence of pure goodness and power, and she saw Lorene step to the edge of the salt circle and lift her hands.
“I call upon the mirador sentinels of the North, keepers of the powers of our mother, the Earth. I call upon you this night to grant my prayers. Hear me! Banish the demon and set the earth free of this threat. Hear me!”
Cinder felt the earth tremble even more violently. A crack appeared in the ground near the bonfire, and the demon hissed like a snake as the flames turned green and blue. Cinder scrambled for the salt line, breaking it with her hands as she swiped the salt and broke the circle. Lorene grabbed her and pulled her away as the ground continued to split causing the earth inside the circle to cave in upon itself. The alpha screamed as he disappeared into the dark hole, with the demon and its flame following. Thick vines shot up from inside the hole and grabbed members of the alpha’s pack, pulling them into the darkness as they begged for mercy. She saw Roscoe just a heartbeat before he disappeared into the ground. The hole suddenly filled in with dirt, and the panicked screams of the pack members were cut off.
Cinder fell to the ground on weak knees, and Adam’s comforting arms surrounded her. She wrapped her arms around him and cried.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, holding her tightly.
“Don’t let me go.”
“I won’t, love, I swear on my life.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think of how close she came to almost losing Adam completely – and possibly her own life.
“Take me home.”
* * * * *
Adam looked around as he held his trembling mate. The carnage of battle left the woods scenting of blood and death. His pack had arrived just in time to watch Cinder turn the tables on her captors. He didn’t know if she would have been successful without Lorene’s help, but Cinder was most definitely powerful. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled her sweet scent. The connection bloomed between them, and he growled in relief.
Looking up, he found Lorene smiling at him. She held out her sweater, and he took it, covering Cinder’s naked body. His anger boiled up as he wondered what she’d been through in the hours since she’d been taken, but all he had to do was look around and see that hardly any of the evil pack members were alive. A handful of females and two older males knelt nearby, with the females crying and the males appearing submissive.
“What did you do?” he asked Lorene as he stood, tucking Cinder close. Her grip on him was like iron. He didn’t think she’d let go anytime soon, and that was just fine with him.
Lorene looked over the empty space where a raging bonfire and a pack of wolves had tried to move time forward. “I called for the earth to protect itself and it answered.”
“They’re dead?”
She nodded. “The ones left behind had no willing part in the alpha’s plans. Everyone who disappeared into the earth was culpable. They were tried and executed by the world they tried to harm.”
“I didn’t know the earth could do that.”
Lorene looked at Cinder in his arms. “She started it. I felt her deny the demon and call to the earth to protect itself. I just added my power to hers.”
Brick walked toward Adam, and Lorene excused herself, walking to the center of the place where the gaping hole had been. She knelt and pressed her hands to the earth. He turned his back to give her privacy and looked at his best friend.
Brick asked, “What do you want us to do with those seven?”
“For now, they’ll come home with us. They weren’t part of what was going on here, or they would have disappeared into the hole. If they want to stay together, see if you can find people with a few empty rooms in their homes. I want Cinder to be able to talk to them if she wants to, but I don’t want them in our home.”
“I’ll handle it.” Brick looked at the ground and then at Adam. “Is our alpha female okay?”
“For now. But have Doc Whalen meet us at the house. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Adam carried his mate to his SUV and set her on the passenger seat. He glanced up as he shut the door to see Solan helping Lorene into the back of his SUV. Climbing behind the wheel, he turned on the engine and reached for Cinder, drawing her close.
She hadn’t said anything after their short conversation. He didn’t know if she was just exhausted or if she was in shock.
“Sweetheart, are you okay? Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“You said you were going to take me home.”
He smiled and squeezed her shoulder lightly. “I will, but if you’re hurt, I want you to get help.”
“I don’t need the hospital.”
“Good, but just to be safe, Doc Whalen is going to meet us at the house.”
Cinder nodded. Then she said, “Adam, I have a confession to make.”
“Oh?”
“I dreamed about that alpha and the pack.”
“When?”
“A few days ago. It was a nightmare. I dreamed the alpha raped me and you were there and they killed you.”
“Friday night?” Previous events were starting to make sense. “You had a nightmare where I died and you were taken and you went to the Wiccans Saturday morning because you were scared.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“I wish you had come to me, sweetheart, but your lygisa power might not have swelled like that if you hadn’t been with the Wiccans. And it clearly wasn’t a vision because they didn’t get their hands on me.”
“And they didn’t touch me either. Except they completely freaked me out. I think that even the guy who shared my DNA would have – I don’t even want to finish that thought.”
She shivered and he kissed the top of her head. He was thankful that she hadn’t been touched.
“We can put the night behind us. You’re mine and I’m yours, and no one will take you from me again.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.
He couldn’t let another minute pass without telling her one more thing. “Cinder, when you disappeared on me in the woods, I thought I’d lost you forever. Our connection was gone, and I couldn’t figure out where you were. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
She snuggled closer.
“I kept thinking that I hadn’t told you how I feel, because I wanted to wait until you told me first. I kept pushing you into things with me, and I didn’t want you to think I was just bulldozing over your feelings or trying to rush things again.”
“Adam?” Her voice was tinged with amusement.
He glanced down at her before turning his eyes back to the road. “Yeah, sweetheart?”
“I love you.”
His heart squeezed. “You do?”
“I knew I did because when that pack took me, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Whatever they did to me dampened the lygisa, which dampened my wolf. I felt lost, and I missed you. I missed our connection.”
“It’s back now,” he said.
“I know. I think when my Wiccan surfaced to help me, that whatever they did – dark magic I’m certain – it only pushed away the lygisa so I couldn’t shift and defend myself or draw on the lygisa powers. I can’t feel my Wiccan anymore, though. Just the lygisa and the wolf. She missed her mate.”
“I missed you, too, sweetheart.” He pulled her closer, and her hand grasped the front of his shirt and fisted it tightly. “I love you, Cinder.”
She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. “I know you do, Adam. I can feel it in my bones.”
She made a soft sound, halfway between a growl and a purr, and he growled lightly in response.
“My sweet mate, what would I do without you?” he whispered.
She sighed, and he felt her relax against him. “I hope we never have to find out.”
* * * * *
Cinder felt
weary to the very center of her being and her body ached, especially her burned hands. She’d been able to ignore the pain when she’d been running on pure adrenaline, but now that she was safe and going home, the pain had returned. She couldn’t see much in the dim light from the dashboard, but she could feel the blisters on her hands from where the Wiccan powers had burned because she hadn’t been able to control them as she had always done before.
She pulled Lorene’s oversized sweater from around her shoulders and slipped it over her head. The soft knit was long enough to reach her thighs and cover her and the fabric smelled of lavender.
She hoped that when she shifted on the full moon, her wounds would be healed. If she were still her fully Wiccan self, she could have created a poultice to help her hands heal, but she wasn’t a Wiccan anymore. The lygisa book had some healing spells, though, so she’d look for one when they got to the house.
She closed her eyes as she rested against Adam’s strong shoulder. Inwardly, she could feel the wolf even more than she’d been able to feel her prior to being taken. Perhaps having the lygisa and wolf taken away from her had made her more sensitive to the beast. She was anxious to see the pack and to thank the males who had come to help her.
She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until Adam was gently waking her.
“We’re home, sweetheart,” he said with a low murmur. His warm hand slipped over her cheek, and his fingers tickled her neck.
She blinked open her eyes and smiled. “It’s good to be home.”
He pressed his lips to hers and then pushed open his door. The headlights illuminated Adam as he strode around the front of the truck, and she realized there were people standing in the front yard. Adam opened the passenger door and helped her out. Her knees were weak, and she felt as though she’d boxed ten rounds with a grizzly, but she’d never been happier than at this moment.
Her wolf rejoiced to see the pack, and the connection that Cinder had felt to them through Adam bloomed. She stepped away from Adam and walked slowly toward the pack. They stood quietly in front of the house. The headlights turned off automatically, but lights from the house still illuminated the people. They parted as she walked into their midst, closing ranks around her until she was surrounded. Stretching out her hands, she reached for them, brushing her fingers against their bodies. As she touched the pack, she felt them reach for her wolf, comforting and strengthening her from the inside out. The connection between her and the pack morphed, until it wasn’t a connection through Adam, but one of her own. The wolves closest to her had grasped her arms firmly but gently, and the wolves around them held on to one another, until she felt that she was being touched by every pack member. Their wolves touched her, rubbed against her in her mind, and filled her with a sense of belonging she’d never experienced before.
Her hands began to tingle as warmth filled her and a sense of family settled over her. She might be Adam’s mate, but these were her people now too. She wasn’t a stranger standing on the outside, she was one of them. In that moment, she knew that they would die for her, and she would die for them.
A lygisa blessing came to mind, and she felt the warm power flare inside her as she spoke the ancient words, asking the spirits of the lygisa before her to bless and protect the people who had come to mean so much to her. She felt the pack’s thankfulness for the blessing, felt as though she’d touched each of them in some way. One by one they moved away, but two males stayed – Doc and Leo.
Leo looked over her head and then met her gaze. “I’m sorry for the part I played in the beginning of things. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know you didn’t Leo. I was never mad at you, anyway.” She smiled and he grinned.
“I’m glad you’re the alpha, Cin. I always knew you were special.”
Doc elbowed him. “That’s quite enough, lover boy.”
Leo gave her a little wave and walked away. Flexing her fingers, she looked down at her hands and saw that the flesh had healed completely.
“I’m healed,” she said, noticing that all her aches and pains had disappeared.
Lorene smiled. “The lygisa powers work both ways. You can heal the pack with them, and the pack can fortify your natural healing powers through your connection. It’s why a lygisa can’t survive the loss of the pack. You’re entwined with them.”
“Thank you for coming with Adam to help me. I don’t know what would have happened without your power and support.”
“The coven will always be here for you, Cinder. Even though you’re not technically Wiccan any longer, I consider you a friend and I always fight for my friends.”
Cinder hugged Lorene. Adam thanked her and then they watched as Lorene got into her car and left. A part of her was sad to see Lorene go, because she felt as though she wouldn’t see her much in the future, but regardless of whether she was part of the coven or not, she knew that she’d never forget how Lorene had helped to save her life.
“I guess you don’t need a doctor,” Doc Whalen said, smiling broadly.
“Thank you for coming.”
“You’re my alpha, Cinder. I would move heaven and earth to help you if I could.” He nodded his head at Adam and walked away.
Adam slipped his arms around her. “How do you feel?”
“Glad to be home.”
He pressed his mouth to hers briefly. “All I want to do right now is get you in the shower.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Do I smell that bad?”
“You smell like another pack, and my wolf is snapping at me to cover you with my scent.”
Wiggling her brows, she said, “Sounds fun.”
He pulled her against him with a soft growl. “It will be.”
Chapter 15
Adam leaned against the kitchen counter and took a drink of coffee, watching Cinder talk to the wolves sitting around the table. The large oak table – carved by a pack member – held twelve comfortably. On full moon mornings, the alphas’ house was a hive of activity. Every pack member was required to check in and find out what their full moon duties were.
There was a lot to be done today. It wasn’t just a standard full moon. Cinder was joining the pack as his mate, the alpha female, and also fully gaining her lygisa powers. It was also her first time shifting. He had no idea what it would be like for her. Sixteen years was a typical shifting age for most. Cinder was nineteen plus one and had only recently begun to experience the more wolfy side of her heritage.
She stood and joined him, leaning against him with a soft sigh.
He could feel tension in her body. Motioning with his head, he wordlessly told the wolves to leave them alone, and they complied immediately. Wrapping his arms around her, he inhaled her sweet scent and kissed the top of her head.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
“I feel kind of weird.”
“Weird how?”
She rubbed her cheek on his chest and hugged herself closer. “My joints hurt a little, and I feel antsy.”
“All wolves feel a bit different on the full moon. It’s your first one, and your wolf is finally getting a chance to stretch her legs.”
“What was your first full moon like?”
He chuckled. “I spent the morning working for the alpha, and then I went carousing until the pack gathered. I shifted and was inducted into the pack, and then I went hunting with my dad and grandfather.”
“Carousing? You mean you went to find a willing female?” She lifted her head with a smirk.
He gazed down at her. Her eyes were a pretty mix of green and the gold of her wolf. “Where were you when I was growing up?”
Her hands flexed on his back, and a soft growl seeped from her throat. “Good way to change the subject, Alpha.”
He grinned.
“So if I was a normal wolf and this was my first full moon, what would I be doing?”
“You’re not a normal wolf. You’re alpha and lygisa,” he pointed out.
She stared at him. “Oh, just tell me.”
Adam said, “If you were a male, you’d be working to clean up where we meet to celebrate, or doing whatever your superiors said. As a female, you’d be either with the female members of your family or with the unmated females. During the first few full moons, new wolves aren’t asked to do anything but to be safe. Their families watch out for them. But once they’re comfortable and willing, then they check in with their superiors and do what’s asked of them.”
“I’ll be a superior, right?”
“The most superior.”
“Superior-ist?”
He chuckled. “Whatever you want to call it. You’re the highest-ranked female. When you’re ready to assume the responsibility, the females will meet with you, and you’ll hand out the jobs. Cleaning and cooking in our house and helping pack members who need it.”
“I want to be a new wolf this full moon.”
“What do you mean? You are a new wolf.”
“No, I mean I want to help out. I want to know what needs to be done so that I have a better understanding of the pack. Let’s go work today.”
He wasn’t surprised that Cinder wanted to be with the pack today. She felt connected to a group like she never had before, and she wanted to explore what that meant.
“All right, my mate. There’s work to be done. It’s an important full moon, you know.”
She picked up the lygisa book from the counter and took his hand. He pushed open the back door, and they stepped out onto the deck. A young male was mowing the lawn; the scent of cut grass permeated the air. He could see a few males and females inside the barn, cleaning. Stepping down onto the grass, they walked through the yard and into the woods.
She stopped a few feet into the woods and looked back at the house. “I can feel them.”
“The pack?”
“Mm-hmm. They’re busy and happy.” She smiled and touched her free hand to her chest. “I feel happier knowing they’re happy.”
“They’re happy you’re here, sweetheart, but not as much as me.”