My claws raked across flesh and my legs kicked hard. I killed two more vamps and a werecheetah in beast form before Misha’s power abruptly faded, and I collapsed.

All the injuries I’d endured and the pain that accompanied them struck me in one massive blow. I screamed, certain the agony alone would kill me.

My screams worked against me, attracting a mammoth wolverine. He thundered down the hall, landing on my limp form and robbing me of air. He would have killed me had Gemini not arrived and torn out his throat. As I lay on the floor, Gemini’s twin wolves rejoined and changed, revealing his human form.

He lifted me from the rubble, his voice urgent. “Stay strong, Celia,” he said. “Aric is on his way….”

Chapter 17

If Gem meant “stay awake,” I didn’t manage. The next time I pried my eyelids open, I was in a patient room covered in a sheet. Emme’s face was the first I saw. Her soft healing light faded as I felt the last of my pain recede.

“Celia’s okay,” she said softly.

Aric clutched my hand within both of his. I knew it was him even before I turned to look. His sweet warmth and addictive aroma alerted me to his presence. “Hi, wolf,” I whispered.

He kissed my hand and leaned his forehead against it, worry and exhaustion darkening the circles ringing his eyes. He seemed tired, unusually tired. I scanned the room until I fixed on the wall clock. 3:00 A.M. It was late, but Aric’s beast should have given him more energy than this.

“Son of a bitch,” Taran muttered. She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. “How the hell does this shit keep happening to you?”

Aric helped me to sit. I rubbed my face. My body was weak from blood loss and from how quick Emme’s touch forced it to heal. My throat was also unbearably itchy, likely due to dehydration. I scratched it, for all the good it did me. “Just goes to show that hunting demons is safer than working in the Emergency Department,” I mumbled.

No one found my comment funny, especially Aric. He frowned, although I could see the fear behind his apparent frustration. “I should have sensed you were in danger.”

My hand fell away from my throat when I realized what he’d said. “You didn’t?”

He shook his head, his anger and disappointment building around him.

“But I called to you,” I said slowly.

Surprise smoothed away his frown. Okay, this wasn’t good. Nope, not all.

Emme and Taran shuffled nervously around us. “It’s okay,” I told Aric, unable to tear my gaze from his. “You’ve had a lot on your mind.” My excuse was pathetic at best. Throughout my fight, I kept expecting him to magically appear. He’d claimed me as his, and with my emotions running so high, he should have known that something was wrong.

Yet my mate hadn’t felt anything. And it scared me.

Edith strutted in, beaming. “The master knew you were in danger,” she taunted. “We would have arrived sooner had weres not been guarding the entrances.” She looked at Aric. “He returned to Europe last night and yet even from so far away he realized Celia needed him. Where were you, mutt?”

“Shut up, Edith,” I hissed. I expected Aric to lash out. Instead, he tightened his jaw and said nothing.

Edith shook her head with mock sympathy. “Poor little mongrel. Perhaps your love isn’t as strong as you thought.”

Aric stood. “Enough,” he snarled. “Time for you to leave.”

Edith kept her smile, though her eyes had narrowed. She wouldn’t leave just because Aric commanded, especially if Misha had ordered her to stay with me. I looked at her, my disappointment in Aric’s absence weakening the assertiveness in my tone. “Edith, go home. I’m fine now.”

She scowled. Clearly I was spoiling her idea of a fun night. She tossed back her hair and strolled out, but not before shooting me a glance with an evil gleam over her shoulder. “By the way, the master was right. You taste delicious.”

Aric straightened. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

I glared at Edith, willing her to burst into flames. She didn’t. Instead she ran her tongue over her top lip and winked before stepping into the hall.

Sometimes Edith simply sucked.

“What did she mean by that?” Aric asked more forcibly. I wrestled with whether to tell him. “Celia?” he demanded.

I sighed. “Edith kissed me when I was hurt. Somehow, she temporarily transferred Misha’s power into me.” Aric regarded me like I’d been unfaithful. “I didn’t exactly let her, you know,” I added defensively. “She caught me in a moment of weakness. I was hurt, bleeding, and almost unconscious.”

I stopped speaking then. In his light brown irises, I caught a flicker of anger, but his most prominent emotion was shame. As my mate, Aric should have been at my side, giving me strength. Instead, Misha had come in his place. While I could forgive Aric’s absence, the guilt shadowing his features told me he’d never forgive himself.

“The master has been concerned for Celia’s safety since Shah bound himself to her,” Tim said. He’d walked into the room without knocking, of course. “Before he left, he transferred some of his power into Edith. He wanted her to have his strength in case Celia needed it in his absence.”

“It would’ve been more if you’d just let me fondle you,” Edith yelled from somewhere down the hall.

Tim smirked at Aric. “Good thing Celia has someone looking out for her.”

Aric’s jaw clenched, but when he took a step toward Tim, I clasped his arm and held him back. “Do you need something, Tim? Or did you just stop by to be a prick?”

He laughed, seemingly pleased with himself for getting a rise out of Aric. “I just wanted to know if you needed anything else before we left. All human witnesses have been hypnotized into forgetting the experience. But if you prefer we stay to guard you, that’s completely understandable given your own mate won’t even protect you—”

If I hadn’t been holding Aric, and Emme hadn’t shoved him back with her force, Aric would be flossing Tim’s remains from his fangs. “Just go, Tim,” I ordered.

He turned to leave, but not before offering one last dig. “I’ll be sure to tell the master you’ll be coming back to work for him.”

From the room next door, Koda howled in agony, making me jump. Through his torment, Shayna’s reassuring voice remained soft. “It’s okay, puppy, I’m here,” she said. “I promise it’ll be over soon.”