Ch. 371..380

Chapter 371

I fall into a little daze as I watch Hank work, as I hold my sleeping baby in my arms. It’s not that I’m not paying attention –

it’s just that…I don’t really understand what they’re doing or saying, so to me it’s all just quiet repetitive work.

I do pay attention, of course, when Hank deems Cora patched up enough to roll her over onto her side so that they can

perform an ultrasound. Cora gives a low moan when the nurses move her, a sound which at once pains me and gives me

a little thrill of hope. Because as much as I hate to hear my sister in pain –

Damn it, at least it means she’s alive. I watch carefully as the nurses hold her still, as Hank expertly spreads some clear

jelly on her stomach and then begins to search for a heartbeat. Then I bury my head in my hand a few moments later

when he finds it – a fast, faint fluttering of noise. My little niece or nephew, still fighting for life.

I drag my hand away from my face a moment later to see Hank nodding to his nurses and Cora lowered back on her belly.

Then, Hank turns to me, pulling off his gloves as he crosses the room and falls into a crouch so that we can be almost

face-to-face while I stay seated.

“You saw?” he asks, looking up at me a little from his lowered place on the floor. “Yes,” I reply, nodding sharply. “The baby

is alive, but – ”

“Right,” he says, glancing back towards Cora. “It’s – it’s not preferable, obviously, for a mother to be so gravely wounded

so early in a pregnancy. Frequently the body will decide…” he sighs and shakes his head, trying to come up with the right

words. He looks up at me as he finishes his thought, “the body will sometimes decide, Ella, to prioritize the mother.”

“So miscarriage…” I say, looking over at my sister.

“There’s a higher risk of it right now, yes. Ella,” he says again, his voice curious now, drawing my eyes back to him. “Did

Cora ever mention to you the possibility…”

“Yes,” I say, nodding, knowing where he’s going with this. “I can do it, Hank but, the people who hurt us in the woods – “I

shake my head, realizing that he’s not going to understand what I’m talking about if I start babbling on about priests in

dark robes and the God of Darkness. “As we were getting away they they bound my gift and my wolf,” I say, giving a little

shrug. “T tried to heal her in the car, but I couldn’t access the gift.”

“Really,” Hank says, his eyebrows going up in surprise. “So you can – you can actually like, use it to heal people – to heal

wounds like that -”

I narrow my eyes at Hank suddenly, a little disturbed by his curiosity about the gift when we should be concentrating on

helping my sister. What, really, is he asking me here?

“Sorry,” Hank says, putting his hands up in a little plea for forgiveness. “I’m I’m just a doctor, Ella. It’s all I really do, try to

fix bodies. The idea of being able to wield medicine like that – it’s a dream. But please forgive my professional distraction.”

I let out a little sigh and nod, my eyes moving back to Cora, wanting to move on from it.

“Well,” Hank says, standing up to his feet and looking at Cora himself. “It would help Cora, and the baby, a lot, if you were

able to…I don’t know, Ella, unbind the gift? I know a lot about wolf biology, but not a lot about the religion or the magic of it

all. Is there anyway to get around this? Perhaps one of the priestesses of the Goddess, your mother? Could they help you

get…in touch with her? Ask for her aid or something?”

My eyes flash to him suddenly as I realize that – that Hank may have stumbled on something here.

“That’s…a really good idea, Hank,” I say, getting quickly to my feet and looking around the room. “Can I use a phone,

please?”

He nods to the computer and the phone in the corner of the room. “Of course, Ella,” he says. “The entire facility is at your

disposal.” He glances back towards Cora now. “I’m going to run some tests,” he murmurs, taking a deep breath and

steeling himself.” Let’s update each other, if we have news?”

I nod eagerly to Hank and then carry Rafe over to the little computer in the corner, where I open a web browser and begin

to search for the contact information of the temple in the center of our city, hopping to hell the priestesses there can do

something to help.

Sinclair

The priest before us sweeps a fist out in front of him, his teeth bared in determination as he sends a sheet of flame racing

towards us. Roger, in mid- leap, takes the hit first, yelping and turning away as the fire burns him, singing the edges of his

fur but burning out before it gets deep enough to actually hurt his flesh.

I crouch defensively, my roar of attack turning into one of pain as I turn my back to the fire but feel it curling at my clothes,

my skin, the back of my neck – a deep and searing touch that’s gone after an instant as the wave passes me.

Then, cringing at the sound of my men behind me likewise taking the brunt of the flame, I turn back to the priest and stand

again, coming back to Roger’s side.

“I’ll do it again,” the priest says, his teeth gritted as he glares at us. “I will burn you until your charred skeletons are all that

are left -”

“You won’t,” I snap, taking another step towards him. “Or else you’d have done it by now.”

Something flashes in the Priest’s eye – frustration, I think, in being caught out. Roger, understanding my point, bares his

teeth and begins to prowl forward now.

“You’re weakening,” I say, considering the priest carefully as we advance and he takes slow steps backwards away from

us. “I don’t know why,” I continue, my shoulders hunching now as I prepare my attack. “Maybe you burned out your energy

on that illusion below – maybe your magic was amplified by your connection to the other priests. They’re all dead, by the

way.”

I watch carefully when I see the priest flinch at this information, wondering at the effect. “It doesn’t matter,” the priest

snarls.” I will take you out, and your men will fall without their leader -”

Slowly, I just shake my head. “No. They fight for more than me,” I say, my hands itching to turn into claws now, my teeth

aching to be fangs. But I hold back, wanting to keep him talking wanting to get whatever information I can. “Even if I died,

they’d take you to defend their Luna. To defend their future King.”

The priest begins to laugh now, a dirty, hysterical thing. “Wasted,” he says, the words ripping victoriously from his teeth.

“Your Luna is dead now, Alpha,” he says, “as is yours, and your pathetic little mutt with her,” he laughs, turning to Roger

now.

Roger loses it then, crouching to leap, but I grab him by the scruff before he can. Because, while the priest’s words make

me want to tear him to pieces as well, we still need more. We need to know about his master.

“And what will happen to you,” I say slowly as Roger winds himself back in. ” When you are dead. Who will mourn you?

This master to whom you’ve sold your life?”

“The Master is nothing anymore,” the Priest says, his back almost literally against a wall now, and realizing that he’s out of

space, he crouches and begins to prepare again, the fires that have never left his hands burning harder, hotter now. “The

Master is gone now = he has his boy, and so our service to him is done. If I die today, it is the will of the Dark God. And I,”

he says slowly now, his face lit from beneath by the light of his flames, “I will relish his gift of death.”

And then, with a scream that tears through the hall and makes all of us flinch, the priest unleashes his flames, burning

himself out and willing himself to take all of us with him.

Roger roars, leaping directly for the fire that threatens to consume us all – But I beat him to it, my wolf taking over my

body and surging in front of him in front of all my men brunt of the flame.

 

Chapter 372

Rafe and I are standing behind the counter, staring at the front door of the clinic, waiting for the Priestess to arrive. I shift anxiously from foot to foot and Rafe grumbles and cries anxiously in my arms, probably picking up on my emotions.

“It’s okay, little baby,” I murmur, tearing my eyes away for a second to glance down at him. I smile a little at his unhappy little face, unable to help the little surge of love that pulses through me. “We’re going to get you home real soon,” I promise in a whisper, “wrap you up in a nice warm blanket. Sing you to sleep. And everything will be…fine.”

Rafe calms a little as I do and I let out a deep breath, looking back at the door, hoping to hell that I didn’t just lie to him.

Because all I want, in the whole world, is for this all to be over- I hear the door click and then I stop breathing as it pushes open. Then, I can’t help my little happy cry as the priestess comes in the door, a little basket slung over the crook of her arm.

“Oh thank god!” I shout, running for her and throwing my arm around her, careful to hold Rafe to the side even as I pull her tight.

“Oh!” she says, clearly surprised by my tiny assault. Then, she laughs a little. ” Well, perhaps thank Goddess might be more accurate in this situation,” she says neatly, pulling away from me.

I smile at her so, so grateful that – she’s here. “Yes, sorry about that – I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just so happy you came!”

“Of course, Luna!” she says, lifting a gentle hand to my cheek and smiling warmly at me. “We are always happy to help.” Then she pauses, looking anxiously around the room at all of the people staring at us. “Is there… somewhere we could go? For greater privacy?”

And I realize that – especially to the humans in the room – that we might be making a bit of a spectacle. After all, it’s not every day that you see a woman with dried blood flaking off her clothes hugging a robed priestess.

“Oh, sure!” I say, grabbing her by the hand and tugging her with me to the exam rooms in the back. Luckily, we run almost immediately into Hank, who is coming out of Cora’s room.

“Hank!” I say, giving him an excited smile. “This is one of my mother’s priestesses – she performed Rafe’s baptism.” I wait impatiently while Hank nods to the priestess and mumbles a greeting. She says something polite back before I can continue. “Is there somewhere we can go?” I ask him. “Where she can help me unbind the gift?”

“Sure,” Hank says, his eyebrows going up in interest. Then he pushes the door to the room next to Cora’s open. “Do you…need anything?” he asks, looking the priestess up and down with wary eyes.

I think that’s a little strange, frankly, but I ignore it in my eagerness to get this done. The priestess sounded pretty eager on the phone – like she really thought she could help. If this works, I could actually help Cora – get her patched up soon, make sure the baby is safe-

“I think we’ll be all right,” the priestess says smoothly in response. Privacy,” she adds with a little shrug, might actually be best.

“Of course,” Hank murmurs, taking a step back and watching us carefully as we go into the room. The priestess gives him a kind smile before shutting the door behind her. Then, she locks it.

“So, do you really think you can help?” I ask eagerly, bouncing Rafe a little in my arms in my excitement.

“Well,” she says, turning to the little steel exam table and placing her basket on it. “It’s obviously not something we do every day,” she says, giving a little laugh. “But we’ve worked, before, with people whose wolves are tangled. The Goddess finds a way to…” she hesitates, searching for a way to describe it.

“Unbind? Or, maybe unwind?” She laughs a little again in a self- deprecating sort of way. “Apologies, Luna, I don’t have the right words for it. But, the Goddess’ powers are a mystery to us all.”

“I’ll say,” I murmur, looking closely at the supplies that she has brought, which mostly look like clear jugs of water. “What’s what’s all this?”

“It’s holy water,” she says, taking the last sealed jug out and placing it on the table before tucking the basket away below. “From the spring where we baptized your child. It provides a greater connection to the Goddess.”

“Oh,” I say, my eyes going wide. Then, I nod, not really getting it but willing to play along. “Okay. What…what do we do?”

“Well,” she says, turning to me. “It would be better if we had…a kind of tub? Or a pool, or a spring?”

I grimace a little and shake my head. “I don’t think we have anything like that here, or at least not easily.” On the phone the Priestess had asked if I could come to the temple, but I had been unwilling to leave Cora if at all possible. So the Priestess had said it was all right, we could probably make do here.

Luckily, she keeps the same sort of spirit even now, when I again tell her we can’t accommodate what she needs.

“That’s all right,” she says, taking up one of the jars and smiling at me. We’ll just have to get a little messy, yes?” She glances over her shoulder at the door. “You don’t think your doctor friend will mind, do you? Or… interrupt?”

“No,” I say, speaking honestly. “Hank will understand.”

“Okay,” she says, taking a deep breath. “We need to saturate you, Luna, as best we can in the water. And then, once that is done, we will evoke the Goddess and do our best to ask her to unbind you.”

“Okay,” I say. “Um…should I sit on the floor?”

“Probably,” she says with a shrug.” That way you can…well, be soaked, and perhaps sit in a little pool of the water

.” she laughs again then, shaking her head at me. “I’m sorry, Luna – it’s all much more dignified when we do this sort of work in the temple and we can ask our patients to submerge themselves in a sacred pool. But I promise, it has a very high rate of effectiveness.’

“It’s okay,” I say, feeling more cheerful and laughing at myself a little bit too. I begin to settle myself down on the floor, but the priestess hesitates a little.

“Actually,” she says, “it would probably be best if you did not have the child in your arms. He, I believe, is… unbound? As far as we know?”

“Oh!” I say, surprised and hesitant now. Yes, Rafe is unharmed but…well, I haven’t taken my hands or my eyes off of him since we got to the clinic. And frankly, I’d prefer not to now. But…I also see where the priestess’s point.

If this ceremony is about unbinding me, perhaps his energy will interfere. I bite my lip a little, looking down at my baby boy.

“Give him to me,” the priestess says quietly. “I’ll take good care of him, Luna. As I did at his baptism. As I have promised to do all of his life.”

“O-okay,” I say, sighing a little and shifting my little baby over to the priestess’ arms before sighing and settling myself unhappily on the floor. I wish, quite suddenly and quite desperately, that Sinclair were here. Not only because that would mean I had him safe by my side, but also so that…well, so that Rafe would have his father to hold him while I do this.

Rafe cries a little in the Priestess’ unfamiliar arms as she takes the lids off of each of the jars of water and then begins to move around me in a circle, chanting softly as she pours the water on each of my sides and then over my body and head until I am, indeed,

soaked in it. I gasp a little as the last drop flows down my face. By this time, Rafe is crying quite hard and I frown as I look towards him, wanting him back. Wanting to comfort him.

I shiver a little as I deny myself the desire to hold my baby again. Sacred pool or not, the result of being drenched is indeed that I am sitting in a rather large puddle of holy water. And even if it is holy…well, it’s cold. The Priestess comes to stand in front of me now, lifting her free hand and beginning to chant again.

But before she can really begin, both of us turn towards the door when we hear the handle shake, and then, a moment later, we hear the lock turn. We’re both quiet as the door slowly opens and Hank quietly enters the room, leaving the door open behind him.

“Everything okay in here?” he asks, frowning at me when he sees me soaked on the floor. “Ella, what are you doing?”

“It’s part of a ceremony, Hank,” I sigh, a little exasperated. “Yes,” the priestess snaps, frowning at him. “It would be better if we were left alone.”

“Oh,” he says, quietly looking her up and down, an odd look on his face.” Actually,” he says, cocking his head to the side as he takes in Rafe’s loud cries. “I wonder if I can help. Here,” he continues, taking a slow step towards here. “Clearly, your hands are full. Let me…hold the baby.”

And the priestess frowns and narrows her eyes at Hank as he holds out his hands, beckoning, reaching for Rafe.” Give the child to me.”

 

Chapter 373

Less time probably passes than it feels like. Because it feels like hours of being seared by fire, of the Priest hurling spells at us.

And it’s not fire alone – it’s flames first, and then slicing spells that cut at us, and then wind – and ice – and something that feels like acid in the air that creeps into our lungs and makes us hack –

But slowly, slowly he burns himself out. And our men fall, screaming. But in the end, it’s me who prowls towards him in my wolf’s body, ignoring the aches and pains that come with every step. It’s me.

I step over my brother’s limp form, doing my best to ignore the fact that what breaths pulse from Dominic’s lips are short and shallow. That his eyes are shut, that whole swathes of his skin are burned away.

I only have eyes for him, this cornered Priest, at the end of this. Because it is the end. And I have him trapped.

Then, because I want him to see me in a form he can understand, I shift back into my human body, wincing as I do so, as the pains of my flesh reform themselves on hands instead of paws, on my legs instead of my haunches.

“Tell me” I command, as I stand before him, cowered in his corner.

“I will tell you noth-”

But I roar, allowing my nails to arc into claws that I slash across his face, opening four deep wounds across his cheeks, his nose, his lips. He shrieks in pain and covers his face before looking up at me.

“You will tell me,” I continue, crouching down in front of him, unblinking in my determination and my fury. “Because while you may be prepared to die for your god,” I say, holding up my hands so he

can see my weapons there, “I don’t think that your little order prepared you for days, weeks, or months of torture. Little priest.”

And his eyes shift then to focus on my claws as the blood drips down his face. As he realizes what I’m saying. That he is going to die But when?

That’s up to me.

“Tell me,” I say again, gentler this time.

“I already did,” the priest grinds out, finding a little more courage and hate in himself as he snarls the words at me, as he winces at the feel of his face shifting when he speaks, at the new pain there. “I told you the master is gone-”

Quickly, before he can see me move, I rip my claws again over his face – raking some in the fresh wounds I just placed there, but also opening some new ones for good measure.

He screams, then, at the pain of it, his hands flying to cover his wounds. But I slash at those next, letting my claws cut deep, severing several fingers and slicing deep into the tendons of his hand so that they are useless to him now – for the rest of his short life.

The Priest screams again, falling flat to the floor next to the curled forms of his sliced fingers, staring up at his mangled hands.

“TELL ME!” I roar, leaning over him now, “Or by your God’s own name I will do it AGAIN! And I will keep doing it until you are nothing but SHREDS OF WHAT YOU ONCE WERE!”

The priest trembles as he looks up at me, in so much pain now that I don’t know if his words are shaking in shock or fear or…something else. But I have every reason to believe they’re honest.He no longer has any reason to lie.

“He’s gone, he has the child – ”

“Where,” I command, but the priest cries out in fear now, working to cover his face again but only succeeding in leaking blood all over himself.

“I don’t know!” he cries. “He didn’t tell us!”

“What does he have!?” I command, shoving the priest’s hands away from his face so that I can look down on him again. “More priests? More defenses!?”

“Nothing,” he moans, shaking his head. “We were – we were the last we were supposed to hold you here – “he grits his teeth now, finding some level. of frustration in this, almost not believing that we found a way to defy his spells. “I don’t know how you got through it -”

But I don’t let him finish – because frankly, I don’t care. Instead, I raise a fist to shoulder height and then smash it, again and again, into the Priest’s clenched teeth, reducing his face to a bloody, gurling pulp.

And then, to make sure the job is done, I use my claws to cut his throat, watching as the blood flows quick. And then, as his hands fall limp at his side, I open the veins at his wrists to hasten his death.

I want to spend no more time with this wretch of a man, who dedicated his life to darkness. For what? For the chance to wield some spells? To feel, for a moment, that he was powerful in stealing a helpless child?

Disgusted, I turn back to the hall filled with our men. And I can tell the moment that the priest dies. Because there is an almost audible click as the magic leaves the house. I don’t know what it was – wards to tell him where we were? Further protections? It doesn’t matter. But I know, instantly, that everything is gone. That it is now, again…just a house.

At the end of the hall, a form staggers to his feet and I recognize Conor as he moves towards me.

“Sir,” he says, limping a little and holding his left arm close to his body. ” Orders?”

I nod to him, a surge of gratitude pulsing through me for such a dedicated soldier, who wants to complete the mission even while he’s hurt. “Sweep the rooms,” I command, my eyes already moving to Dominic, my true priority here. “The priest claimed his master was gone. We need to ensure that it’s true. Take…whoever you can,” I say, moving to Dominic as I finish giving the order.

“Yes, Sir,” Conor replies, doing his best to salute and then moving towards the handful of men who I can see getting to their feet. I notice, passively, that it’s… a much smaller number than I would have hoped.

But I don’t have time for that now. Instead, I kneel over Dominic, who is laying on his side. When I push at his shoulder and turn him onto his back, Dominic gives a heavy groan. I grimace to see that his face has been sliced and burned – so badly that…god, it hurts even to look at him.

“Dominic,” I murmur, leaning close, wanting – desperately – for him to respond. “Dominic – come on -”

And, to my immense relief, his eyes flutter open.

“Ella,” he mutters, working to sit up, and I roll my eyes a little because – I mean, honestly, all I’m thinking about right now is Cora too, but obviously I can’t get Dominic to Ella until we assess how badly he’s hurt. I make a soothing noise and press against his shoulder, obliging him to lay back against the floor.

“Easy,” I murmur. “Let me check you out, all right?”

Dominic, coming back to himself a little, nods, and then groans as it hurts him somehow. I begin my routine survey of his wounds, checking for the worst, the battlefield medic training we all go through kicking in.

But even with my limited training, I can tell that…it’s bad.

It’s really, really bad.

 

Chapter 374

“My phone,” Dominic murmurs as I look over his wounds. “Fuck your phone,” I murmur, shaking my head and leaning closer to a deep slice on his stomach that makes me hiss with anxiety.

“Roger,” Dominic snaps, and I look up at him with a frown. “The priest – he said the master had Rafe. Check my fucking phone – Ella will…” his head. 1 falls back, exhausted. But I interpret his meaning. So, I reach for his back pocket. Dominic moans loudly as I turn him a little so that I can get behind him, but eventually I get the phone and flick through it, my face going pale at what I see.

“Shit,” I murmur, flipping through the messages first from our father’s phone and then an unfamiliar number.

“What?” he asks.

“They don’t have Rafe,” I sigh, tucking the phone into my own back pocket. ” The priest was wrong about that. The baby’s still with Ella and Cora. But…” I sigh, and Dominic opens his eyes to look at me, bidding me silently to tell him everything I know. “They attacked the bunker when we left. The girls got out through the passage – they had to leave dad behind. And…Cora’s hurt,” I say, working hard to get the words out steadily. “They went to Hank, to try to patch them up.”

Dominic’s eyes go wide now. “Ella’s gift?”

“Bound,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t know how-”

“Doesn’t matter,” my brother murmurs, and then to my shock – he curls his body to sit up, almost screaming at the pain it causes him.

“Dominic!” I shout, putting my hands on his shoulders, but he works to swat me away, so I back off.

“We have to get to them,” Dominic says, panting and holding my eyes. We can’t – we can’t trust Hank…”

Slowly, I hold his eyes and shake my head. “Let me go, Dominic,” I say, shaking my head. “You’re in,” I hesitate, but when I look at the blood seeping from his wounds I know that I’m right. “You’re in bad shape.”

He just glares at me and I sigh, knowing it’s a lost cause.

“Fine,” I say, giving a little shrug and working to put my arm beneath my brother’s shoulder to help him up. “But if you fall to pieces on the way, don’t blame me.”

Dominic mutters something in response as we get him panting to his feet, but I ignore it, seeing Conor coming close.

“Nothing, Sir,” Conor reports, looking anxiously towards my brother. “No one else here. If the man – Xander if he was here, he’s not anymore. What can I

“Nothing,” I snap. But then I rethink the command. “Actually – get the cars close. We need transport, now. You take all the men – injured and healthy – back to the bunker. They were attacked when we were gone – they’ll need reinforcements. Dominic and I…”

“The Lunas,” Conor says, giving us a quick salute. “I understand.”

And then, his face serious, Conor turns and starts to give commands to the men. “That one needs a promotion,” I murmur to my brother.

“Later,” Dominic sighs, his eyes on the stairs. “Right now, let’s just figure out how the hell we’re getting me out of this house.”

Ella

My eyes dart to Hank, going immediately wide. And suddenly, Henry’s ideas echo in my mind. That we can’t trust Hank. That he’s gotten too close to our family too quickly. That he’s an ambitious, eager man who has worked suspiciously hard to work to a place of trust with our inner circle.

And then, today – why was he asking so much about my gift and how I could use it? Did he really really want to help Cora and her baby? Or was there something else…

“Don’t!” I gasp, throwing a hand out towards the Priestess, Rafe still crying loudly in one of her arms while she holds one of the empty jugs of holy water with her other hand. “Don’t give him the baby!”

Hank turns to me then, shocked and confused. “What?” he asks.

“Don’t do it!” I say, ignoring him, my eyes completely focused on the Priestess before me. “Don’t trust him – please! Just – ”

But then, I go pale as Rafe begins to scream in her arms – a noise beyond the normal cries of a disgruntled baby who wants his mother. A very true, very desperate scream –

As if –

As if Rafe himself intuits something about her –

That’s something is wrong –

My face goes slack with horror as I shift my eyes away from my baby and back to the Priestess who holds him, as I see now the vicious sneer on her face as she whips up the hand which is not holding Rafe and cracks the jug still held in her fingers hard across Hank’s skull.

Hank gives a horrible cry of pain and then falls to the ground, his hands immediately going to his head –

I begin to leap to my feet, heading immediately for the priestess, but she whirls on me next, throwing out a hand towards me and growling some words that have no meaning to me –

But even if I don’t understand them, their effects are immediately clear as the water that surrounds me instantly freezes.

I scream, the cold of the ice burning my skin where it touches, pinning me in place, binding me to the floor. I shove my arms against it but – somehow – it’s not natural ice. Instead, every time I break it, it re-freezes, holding me ever steady in my place in the center of the room as the Priestess lets out a dark laugh.

“No!” I scream, trying to reach for my baby, but my arms can’t move at all. Hank moans on the ground beside me, but I see his feet move- working to get up – see him

The Priestess turns to him, her face turning wicked now, and she delivers a sharp kick first to his rips – taking his breath and then to my horror to his head making his moan deepen and 1 his body go slack –

“Thank you,” the Priestess says, turning back to me with a nasty smile. ”

For making this so easy for me. For bidding me come help you once you were separated from that idiot Alpha you call your mate. For telling me precisely where you are, instead of having to hunt you down. The Master will be…quite pleased with me, that I was able to complete the job even when you weaseled out of his first and second traps.”

I’m still screaming at her to let me go, to give me back my child, telling her that I’ll kill her – and then, desperate, that I’ll give her whatever she wants.

She ignores me though. And, as I watch, the Priestess raises one hand over her head and snaps her fingers. A darkness descends over her then as her robes shift in color from dove to a dark and turbulent grey. And I know, instantly, that she’s one of them.

One of his.

“So good to be back in my true form,” she murmurs, shaking herself a little in relief. Then she smirks at me. “And so good to finally be able to get away from those goody-goods who worship your idiot mother.”

Then, taunting me, she comes close to grin down into my face, my baby screaming in her arms. “So good to again serve a real God. He will reward me much when he sees that it is me who has

brought the Master his boy. The Master,” she says, her voice hardly more than a whisper now – hardly audible over Rafe’s screams, “always gets what he wants,”

And then she laughs, turning away from me, as I scream after her completely desperate, but totally unable to move. And she takes my baby away.

 

Chapter 375

I scream at the top of my lungs – no words, just senseless agony – the moment the woman turns the corner and I lose sight of my child. The sound is horrible even to my own ears, but I can’t stop myself as I hurl myself against the ice that holds me, against which I ceaselessly fight.

A nurse stumbles into view, blood running down the length of her face, and she glances into the room where Hank is crumpled on the floor – where I’m frozen to the ground and gives a little sob before continuing to run away

Away from the priestess, who must be hurting people in her hurry to get out I stop screaming quiet suddenly when I see Hank twitch once again on the floor, see him begin to push to his feet-

“Hank!” I shout, desperate. “Please, Hank!”

He moans a little and turns to me, blinking hard, but then he gasps as he seems to put it all back together. Ella!” he shouts, frantic, turning to me, looking all around –

“No!” I gasp, looking hard towards the door, hoping to hell he takes my meaning. “Go! She she took him! She took Rafe! Go and get the baby!”

Hank nods once and forces himself to unsteady feet and then rushes to the door, pushing himself out of it. And then I lose sight of him and let out a little desperate wail of horror. Because there’s – there’s nothing I can do-

And the ice that surrounds me, it’s burning me in its cold – and I’m shivering so hard here beneath it but held so completely still that I can’t even feel myself shake-

Desperate, wailing, in complete panic, I press my eyes shut and try to think of something of anything that I can do

But there’s nothing. I’m held still – my son has been stolen 1 my sister is wounded in the next room – mate is out on some mission that I know, in my heart, can’t be going well if Xander was this many

steps ahead of us

There’s nothing nothing I can do – And so, sobbing, I do the only thing I can think of.

I close my eyes, and force myself into that state, and scream inwardly for my mother.

Sinclair

I clench my jaw against the moans and groans that want to crawl out of my throat as we drive. I refuse to allow them the dignity of utterance. After all they won’t serve any good. Roger knows precisely how bad off I am now, and he’s the only one here to hear me.

But still, the idea of Ella in danger somewhere, with Rafe –

I can’t stand it. I have – I have to be by their side. Even if I don’t have any idea how I’ll be of any use to them when I get here. And I know that Roger feels precisely the same.

We’re drawing close now – back to the city, back to the clinic – and I force myself to watch the scenery pass as Roger makes turn after turn, driving as quickly as he can.

It was a terrible decision to make, when we got in the car. Roger hesitated only for a moment, noting that Ella told us in her text to go to our dad – that there was some kind of attack there.

But in our hearts, we both knew we had to get to them – to Cora, to Ella. To our children. It’s what our father would want us to do. But still, even beyond my bodily pain, the fear gnaws at me. Was our father even alive?

I press my eyes shut only for a moment as we draw close to the clinic, sending a little prayer out for our dad. I’m grateful, of course, that he got Ella, and Cora, and Rafe out through the trap door – but damn it, why had I been so short sighted in my design? Why hadn’t I made some sort of accessible second entrance so that he could get out as well?

“Steady,” Roger says, and I feel the car slow down now. My eyes open as I see that we’re approaching the clinic. ” Dominic, what’s the plan here? Are we just going to burst in here? Or -”

But as Roger pulls the car towards the front of the building, our plan presents itself for us. Because out of the front of the building dashes a robed figure, her long hair streaming out behind her. I go

tense as I recognize her instantly as one of the Goddess’s priestesses – the one who performed Rafe’s baptism.

My eyes sharpen as I realize that she has a baby in her arms, that she’s running with him. And as Roger pulls the car to a short stop and throws it in park, I push my door instantly open.

As soon as the baby’s cries reach my ears, I know that it’s Rafe.

And as I watch – before I can do anything at all – a second figure dashes out after the Priestess, chasing after her, demanding that she give him the child-

And my eyes go red when I see who it is.

Hank.

I roar, pushing myself out of the door, but falling instantly to my knees as my body gives out on me – as my wounds protest and the pain takes over, shattering through me –

I put my hands down on the asphalt, willing myself to concentrate, to pull myself together –

But as I do, I hear Roger already on the move. With pain and effort, I raise my head. It’s all I can do to watch as a snarl rips from Roger, as he dashes towards the Priestess and Hank, who has caught up with her now. I feel my wolf go wild when I see Hank punch the Priestess squarely across the face, as he reaches for the baby, who she drops in her pain and her fear –

But Hank grabs him from the air, pulling Rafe soundly to his chest –

But just as he does, just as Hank gets Rafe secure in his arms – Hank looks up, his eyes going wide as Roger’s fist slams into his jaw.

Hank shouts, moans, and stumbles back two steps as I force myself to my feet, watching carefully. Because something – something is not right here –

Hank puts out his hand towards Roger, holding Rafe protectively against his chest, as Roger advances on him again, pulling his fist back and again punching Hank, hard. Hank goes to his

knees, but even as Roger reaches down for the baby, tries to pull my son from his arms, Hank begs him not to –

I take a few shambling steps closer, the best I can manage and I can hear him, then, hear Hank begging Roger not to do it –

“Please!” Hank shouts. “You don’t understand, Roger – she’s trapped El-”

But Roger isn’t listening, blinded by his range and his fear for my son, blinded by what is frankly probably his desire to kill Hank, for more reasons than one –

And finally, Roger rips Rafe still screeching from Hank’s arms.

And that’s when I put it all together.

That Hank he’s not trying to take the baby –

He’s trying to save –

I gasp in a deep breath, but before I can shout, I watch in horror as my brother hands the child back to the waiting Priestess. “Here,” he growls. “Please, hold the baby while I finish this – ”

“Roger!” I scream as the Priestess with a too-soft smile takes the baby from my brother’s arms. “Roger, no!”

Roger spins to me, confused, as Hank lets out a frustrated shout and points to the priestess.

But Roger is the last to put it all together when he spins again to see her already running, already halfway gone. My baby in her arms.

 

Chapter 376

My internal screaming continues, echoing through me as I grab whatever bond I

have to my Goddess mother and pull on it as hard as I can –

And I’m still screaming, there, in my mind and honestly maybe from my throat as

well, I’m too far beyond myself now to know – when suddenly…

…She’s here.

My mother’s presence materializes first in my mind as she reaches for me,

worried.

“Ella!” I hear her say, her voice chiming against my own frantic screams, “Ella, I

am here!”

Shocked shocked to feel her, shocked that it worked – I find myself thrown out

of my meditative state and into my own body, which is still freezing cold. But

when my eyes fly open I gasp to see that she’s She’s actually here. Not just present in my mind – but standing before me. And

as I blink frantically, letting my eyes adjust, I realize that she’s not… physically

here. Not in the way she was when we met her in the desert. But she’s here in

her spirit – she presents herself before me in an echo of her true form, a

glowing, beautiful specter that reaches her hands out towards me.

“Mother!” I gasp. “Mom please – I need my baby – please release me -”

“Ella,” she says, coming forward and reaching for me, though her hands can’t

quite touch my face. I feel her, though something about her touch tingles against

my cheeks as she tries and fails to take my face in her hands. ” I don’t

understand, child – I don’t know what’s happening -”

And then I’m sobbing, looking up at her, desperate for her to know but so cold

now so incredibly cold – and unable to find the words to express it all-

“Close your eyes, darling,” she murmurs, looking down at me with her beautiful,

glowing face. “Show me.”

And I do. I press my eyes shut and, sobbing, I press my thoughts – my

memories – my fears – my ideas everything forward towards her. And I hear her

gasp at first in shock, and then coo with understanding. –

“All right, Ella,” she says softly, and I open my eyes again to see her shaking her

head at me. “Your gift is bound, my love and I cannot – ”

“Please, mother!” I sob, looking up at her in desperation. “Do something melt

this ice, unbind my gift – go out go out and kill her just something my baby!”

I see her grief on the goddess’s face, her desire to help as well as her

hesitation. We are from different realms – I know she is bound by rules different

than me – but I can’t believe that there’s not something she can do.

Suddenly, her face goes grim. “Once, Ella,” she says, her face hard. “There is a

way that I can interfere physically in your world once in your life. And I will never,

ever be able to do it again. Are you sure that you want it to be now?”

“Yes!” I gasp, desperate. There is nothing else – – no other situation that I could

imagine that could be worse – ” Please, mother, please.”

“There is a price,” she says, looking clearly into my eyes. “You will…not be able

to call upon me again. Ever, Ella. It is the last time we will speak outside of one

of my temples.”

And I gasp as I look up at her, as I realize that the price for this magic is…. our

bond. She looks steadily down into my eyes as she nods, realizing that I

understand.

“It is worth it, child,” she says softly to me. “I just wanted you to know what the

cost was, so you could save your son.”

I stare at her, knowing I should think about it more – that I should hesitate a

little But no part of me does. Sharply, I nod. I let her know that I know the price, and

though it breaks my heart – I accept it.

“All right, darling,” she murmurs and then she leans forward and presses her lips

against my forehead. “It will be all right.” And for a moment the press of her kiss

against my forehead feels the same as her hands against my face –

just a slight tingle until, slowly, her lips grow warm and corporeal against my

skin.

I gasp as I feel my wolf come howling back to me, her teeth ripping and

gnashing inside me at the injustice done to her, in her eagerness to get out of

here, to help our baby –

I look up at my mother, then – knowing it is done – knowing that she has used

the magic of our bond to unbind my wolf and her gift. And in its unbinding, our

connection has been… used up.

“I love you, Ella,” she says as she begins to fade from my sight. “You will always

have a piece of me,” she says, reaching out hand to point towards my chest,

where her gift grows warm. “Use it well.”

And then, quite suddenly, she is gone.

And I blink back to myself realizing that That even though that felt like a few long minutes with my mother, only seconds

have passed –

And that I have to get to my son. Now. So I reach within myself, accessing the

gift burning now, hot within me. And I hold onto it, and access its strength, and

let it burn through me – through my mind, my heart, my skin And all around me

the ice begins to melt.

Sinclair

My brother lets out a roar of rage, dashing away from Hank who sits limp on the

ground outside the clinic, holding his head in agony.

But I’m already on the move, shifting into my wolf and bellowing in pain as I do

so, as the wounds on my skin stretch horribly, as I feel my inner organs shift into

my wolf form and the injuries in them scream in protest against it. But I’m in full

panic now, running on fear and adrenaline, pushing myself to go after my son

even though my body screams in my mind to stop –

That it can’t But I ignore it, forcing myself forward beyond the pain, sprinting towards the

priestess who carries my son. She’s locked in my sight now, her form growing

continually larger as I stream towards her, as I ignore my pain and hurl my body

into the chase.

I see the moment that she hears me – she her hesitate in her steps, turn Her eyes go wide with horror as I pull together my last bit of will and leap for her.

I can see the knowledge of her death on her face as she turns towards me,

clutching the baby to her in fear as I slam my paws into her shoulders, hurling

her backwards Her scream rips through the air as she falls, but the instant she looses her

balance I reach with my teeth for the little bundle held in her arms, desperate to

reach him –

And as she careens for the ground under the weight of my paws my incisors

clench in the fabric of Rafe’s pajama set – the clothes I dressed him in this

morning with my own hands pulling him from her arms as she slams into the

ground. My body crashes, hard, on top of the priestess, but I hold Rafe up by

arching my neck as far as it will go –

And he doesn’t touch her, or the ground he just dangles, screaming, held up by

the safety of my teeth. I transform in an instant, reaching for him as I roll away

from the priestess, groaning with pain but clutching my little boy safe against my

chest –

I can’t see, for the pain – I’m gasping, wincing with every passing breath –

Some part of me is aware that Roger is here now – that he chased after me in

his wolf’s body, that he was only a step behind –

And I hear him in action now as he tears at the priestess, as he rips at her throat

and her face, ensuring that she’s dead – beyond dead, if he can – sent straight

to hell –

But I don’t watch can’t. All of my energy goes to staying conscious, to holding

my little boy tight against me so that he’s safe while I struggle for breath.

“Dominic!” I hear Roger panting beside me and then I feel his hands on my

shoulders, on my skin – but I can barely register it, feeling myself slip away from

the world. “Dominic!” he shouts now, shaking me, cursing frantically.

“Baby,” I murmur, trying to hold Rafe out to his uncle. “Take…the baby.” But

even I know that my words don’t make any sense, that I can’t get them out.

Still, he understands. I feel Rafe lifted from me and I open my eyes just a little to

see Roger standing up with him, tucking him safe against his arm. “I’ll be right

back, Dominic,” he snarls, fierce in his determination to save me. But can I even

be saved?

Everything feels…so far.

“I’ll be right back!”

Then he’s gone, and my son with him, and I’m alone here, staring up at the dark

sky. And as I watch, the stars slowly start to blink out.

And everything fades to black

 

Chapter 377

The gift burns through me and the ice strips away from my body faster than I

thought possible, water sliding to the floor as I push myself out, as I free my legs

and start to run.

I have to grab the door frame as I fly into the hall, using it to pivot around the

corner and keep running towards the lobby where scared humans and wolves

are pressed against the walls, staring around in hushed voices as nurses begin

to treat those who were worst wounded by the rogue priestess who came

through apparently willing to hurt anyone in her path –

I ignore them though I can’t give them any of my attention right now. I’m

focused, instead, on finding my son. I tear through the lobby, hurling the door

open at the front of the clinic and bolting through it. I’m already running, my

head swiveling, looking for any sign of the Priestess when I hear my name.

“Ella!” I spin, looking everywhere, and finally see Hank on the ground, his hand

pressed against his head, his jaw looking painfully swollen. Before I can say

anything though, he shoots a hand to his right, pointing off into the distance.

“That way!” Hank shouts. “Roger – Sinclair – ”

I gasp in relief – but then fear chases it as I realize that I have no real idea what

Hank means when he indicates that they’re here –

I start off at a sprint, using all of my senses, needing to find them –

It’s not long, though, before I see Roger stumbling towards me, covered in blood

a little blue bundle in his arms A cry rips from my throat as I put on an extra spurt of speed to get to his side,

reaching for my baby boy, tears bursting from my eyes and streaming from my

face as Roger comes stumbling to a halt, holding him out to me.

“Is he “I gasp, grabbing my baby, simultaneously trying to hold him close and

look him over –

“He’s fine, Ella -” Roger says, taking me by the shoulders. But I don’t look up at

him, instead sobbing down at my little boy, who wails like a banshee in

unhappiness and fright. I scan him through my tears but it looks like – I can’t see

anything wrong I close my eyes, seeking my bond with my child – hoping it can tell me more But

I can’t reach it, because Roger shakes me again.

“Ella!” Roger shouts, his hands still hard on my shoulders. “I’m serious, Ella!

Rafe, I think, is okay but… Dominic” He looks back over his shoulder and back

towards the clearing behind the clinic.

I snap my head up to look at Roger’s face when he says my mate’s name. And

when I see how grave his expression is…how worried…

The blood feels like it drains from me. Like I’m frozen, again, in the ice.

And I turn to look, to follow his gaze, and I see two dark forms laying there, so

close to each other in the darkness. One covered in the folds of a priestess’

robes, the other…

I set off again in an instant, as fast as I can go – but I can’t run now – I can’t,

with the baby in my arms

I feel someone tug at Rafe and my instincts kick in, making me snap towards

whoever it is with a terrible snarl, my teeth fully bared, already elongating in my

mouth

Roger opens his eyes wide in shock and puts up his hands, showing me that he

means no harm. But he speaks fast. “Ella, the gift – you have to get to him now

– please, give me the baby -”

And it breaks every part of my poor motherly heart to hand Rafe over to his

uncle, every molecule within me screaming to hold him close, to never let him

go again…

But one more glance towards those forms in the darkness has me decided, and

I hastily hand my crying child to his godfather. Roger will take care of him, I

know. And without a word I take off, sprinting towards my fallen mate.

Sinclair

I blink my eyes open in the forest and wince as the bright white light stings my

eyes. Fuck, I think, covering the top half of my face with my hands. Is it already

morning?

But then I realize, quite suddenly….

That I don’t remember going to bed.

I sit up, wary, trying to understand…

But I’m not even in my bed. Or…

Inside at all…

Confused, I look all around the bright forest and down at the soft bed on which I

sit, running my hands over the crisp white linens. Where the hell am I?

“Hey, handsome,” a soft voice says, and I whip my head up to look at her the

beautiful woman standing in front of me. I blink, trying to clear my wide eyes

Because she’s so beautiful. She’s got to be she can’t be anything but…

“Are you an angel?” I ask, my voice low with awe. But she doesn’t answer my

question with the soft smile I expect, instead bursting into laughter.

“No, Dominic,” she says, shaking her head and coming close to me, taking my

face in her hands and smiling down into my face. “You’ve been asleep for a

while. You’re confused. Think about it – you know me.”

“Am I…am I dead?”

She smiles down at me, slowly shaking her head. “No, baby,” she murmurs.

“And I’d be worried about these questions, except Dr. Hank says your brain

scan is fine. You’re just really, really exhausted.”

“What?” I ask, frowning up at her. But she just smiles at me again and steps

closer before sitting herself in my lap. My arms wrap around her instinctually, as

if that’s where they belong. As if I’ve done it a thousand times before.

“I’ve been trying for a long time,” she says, ignoring my question, “to get you to

meet me here.”

I laugh a little myself. “I can’t come up with a reason why I would protest,” I

murmur, looking down at her as she rests her head against my chest and starts

to idly drag her fingers up and down the fabric of my shirt. She’s just… so

beautiful…

“You weren’t ready,” she sighs. “We were really worried about you, Dominic. The

baby especially.”

“The baby?” I ask, confused, and she lifts her head to frown up at me.

“Rafe,” she replies.

I just stare at her, confused, and she starts to shake her head at me, raising her

hand to my cheek again. “You need to come back to me, Dominic,” she

murmurs. “To both of us.”

“I – I’m not…trying not to…” I protest, horrified to disappoint her – but I don’t

know what to do –

“It’s okay,” she sighs, cocking her head a little as she considers me. Maybe you

just need more…time.”

“More time?” I ask, starting to get frustrated. I look around the space where

we’re sitting, starting to get worried. Where the hell am I? Am I…am I dead?

Imprisoned? What on earth is happening –

“Calm down, Dominic,” she murmurs, sitting up and adjusting herself in my lap

so that her legs are straddled wide across my own, so that her hands are linked

behind my neck. When I turn to look her way – to protest that I can’t calm down

– I don’t have any idea what’s going on – I find her face close to mine, her eyes

warm and kind.

“It’s okay, baby,” she murmurs, nudging me a little with her nose. “You just need

to…remember who you are. So that you can come back to me.”

And then she leans closer, and presses her mouth to mine, and I feel everything

I am collapse at the touch of her mouth against my own. And then, as her lips

part, and my arms tighten around her, holding her tight…

I feel myself begin to reform.

And my identity snaps into place.

 

Chapter 378

“Hey, handsome,” I say again, in the real world this time. A little smirk pulls on

my lips as Sinclair’s eyes flutter open. We’re laying pressed quite close together

in the little hospital bed, so I can see every twitch of his eyelash as he begins to

focus on me.

He doesn’t say anything at first, just stares at me while he takes a couple of

deep breaths. And then, quite slowly, he lifts a hand close to my face, sliding the

knuckle of his index finger slowly down the length of my cheek. “Hey, trouble,”

he murmurs, his voice scratchy after so many days of disuse.

I burst into a happy grin, so thrilled to see him awake and aware that I can

barely contain myself. But I force myself to stay still, to not grab him, to…. let

him get used to consciousness again in his battered body..

“Rafe?” he asks, his eyes worried as his memories of his last conscious

moments come back to him.

“He’s fine,” I say softly, gesturing with my chin behind my mate, hoping that he

understands that the baby is here in the room with us, asleep. “He missed you,”

I whisper. “He doesn’t like it when he doesn’t have his dad around to hold him.” I

wrinkle my nose and playfully glare at my mate. “He likes you better.”

A little laugh shudders from Sinclair’s mouth. “Does not,” he murmurs, staring at

me steadily, as if he can’t get enough of the sight of my face. “You feed him, and

sing to him. When you leave the room, he looks for you.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised and pleased. I hadn’t known this before.

“Well, he’s not alone,” Sinclair smirks, shifting forward to press his forehead

against mine, a gesture that makes me grin with pleasure, joy pulsing through

me at a ridiculous rate to have him back. “You’re the center of the world, Ella.

We all turn to you.”

“Good,” I sigh, content. “I like all my boys obsessed with me. Makes it easier to

boss you around.”

Sinclair chuckles a little and then pulls back a bit, frowning. I sigh again, but in

resignation this time because I know our little stolen moment of peace is over

that he needs to know about the world and what’s happened since he’s been

gone from it.

“The priestess?” he asks.

“Dead,” I say solemnly. “Roger killed her the moment after you knocked her

down.”

“And Rafe is…”

“He’s totally fine,” I say, unable to keep the little smile from my mouth. ” Though I

want to hear more about how you caught him in the air with your teeth and didn’t

leave a mark on him, Dominic – ”

“Dad skills,” he says with a smug shrug that makes me laugh again. little

But then he continues. “Cora? Dad?”

“They’re both okay,” I say, raising my eyebrows with the pleased memory of

using the gift on Cora, patching her up, and then the slightly worse memory of

Henry arriving at the clinic, terribly battered needing quite a bite of care.

“It’s a long story,” I say with a sigh, but they’re both fine now. And so are you, by

the way,” I add, giving him a little push on the shoulder, wondering why his own

health is the last that he asked about. “Seriously? Not curious at all about what’s

going on with you?”

“Well, I think I knew that,” he murmurs, rolling his shoulders a little

experimentally and glancing down at himself, or at least as much as he can see

tucked into the tiny bed with me. I’m not in pain anymore…”

“But you were asleep for three whole days, Dominic.”

“Really?” he asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “But you…healed me? With

the gift?”

“Yeah,” I say quietly, watching him carefully. “I patched you up almost

immediately when we got to you, and then Hank and Roger helped me get you

inside – you’re very heavy -“I inform him, giving him a little glare that makes him

laugh.

“So why was I asleep?” my mate asks me, smiling a little now.

“Apparently I can fix you up,” I say, ” but I can’t make new blood, or restore lost

energy.” I pause here, letting the worry of the past three days creep my face a

little. “It was really bad, Dominic. If I hadn’t been there, if I had …if my gift had

still been bound…” into

He shakes his head then and pulls me close so that my body is as flush against

his as it can be, my head tucked neatly under his chin. “You saved me, Ella,” he

sighs into my hair. “I can…never thank you. I’m so grateful. You’re a miracle.”

“I can’t lose you, Dominic,” I say quietly, my voice shaking a little as I hold him

tight. “It was so…so scary. We can’t keep doing this – living like this. We have

Rafe now – and the rest of our lives – I don’t want to do this anymore

“I know,” he replies, and I can feel him nodding, agreeing with me. “I’m so sorry,

Ella. Never again. You’re right it’s not worth it. I can’t keep putting my body on

the line like this. Peace, now. Peace.”

“Do you promise?” I sigh, hoping to hell that he means it – because that’s. all I

want in the world. My mate, my baby, and peace.

“I promise,” he says. “I swear it, Ella.’

“Okay.” I say, clenching my jaw shut against the hope that blooms in me.

Because I want to believe him so bad…

But I also know that this isn’t finished. That there are still loose ends that need

to be tied up.

Sinclair is still holding me tight when we hear the soft creak of the door opening

behind us. I lift my head a little, peering over Sinclair’s arm. I smile when I see

Hank peering through. the dim light of the room at us. It’s late in the evening, but

I’ve drawn the blinds closed anyway.

“Hey, Hank,” I say, working to sit up.

He smiles at me and then blinks in surprise at Sinclair. “Is he up?” Hank asks.

“Did calling for him in the dream finally work?”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding happily as I lean forward and smile at my while Sinclair

too works to sit up behind me. friend

“Hey, Hank,” my mate murmurs, looking a little ruefully at him, which makes me

laugh. “How’s your jaw?”

“It’s fine,” Hank says, shooting my mate a smirking little glare as he comes to

take the chart off of the end of the bed, flipping through it. “Roger has

apologized, though I…don’t think he liked it very much. How are you feeling?”

Sinclair lets the awkwardness pass and takes a deep breath, stretching his arms

high over his head. “Rested,” he answers, quite simply.

“Good,” Hank says, tucking the chart away and looking Sinclair up and down.

“Well, there’s not much for me to do,” he says a little ruefully as he crosses his

arms. “Your mate has made my job obsolete, after all.”

“Has she?” Sinclair asks, grinning proudly at me.

“Yes,” Hank replies as I swing my legs off of the bed and begin to move towards

Rafe, who is still napping in his little basinet in the corner. “She healed you with

a goddess’ gift, and then you slept, and then she went to fetch you from your

unconscious state in a dream state. None of which is… standard medical

procedure,” he continues with a casual shrug, “but… I’m starting to get used to

this family’s bizarre healing methods.”

Sinclair laughs a little at this and leans back against the pillows, looking

seriously at Hank as I pick up my sleeping baby, holding him close in my arms

and letting him continue his little nap.

“I owe you an apology, Hank,” Sinclair says quietly. “We all do. Well, not Cora,”

he says, tilting his head. “To be fair – she never suspected you had joined the

cult of a dark god.”

“And me!” I interrupt. “I only suspected for like, thirty seconds! And then again

was team Hank!”

Hank laughs quietly, shaking his head and holding up a hand. “No, I get it. I

mean, I was offended at first but once Ella and Cora explained it to me, and I

got to see Roger grovel a little bit,” he smirks here, “which was…quite satisfying

in its own way. Well, after all of it, I understand.”

Hank tilts his head a little and looks seriously into my mate’s eyes before

continuing. “I do hope, though,” he says quietly, significantly, “that any doubts

that you had are now gone.”

“I saw the way you chased the woman who kidnapped my son, Hank, how you

tried to get him back,” Sinclair says seriously, holding Hank’s gaze. “I saw what

you did for us, and I know what you’ve done. You have this family’s faith forever,

along with its gratitude.”

Hank nods his head a little, accepting. “Friendship,” he says quietly. “Would be

enough.”

“Well that you have,” I assure him, giving him a big smile. “Also forever.”

“Good,” Hank says, smiling at both of us. “Because there’s still a lot of work to

do, healing this nation. And together, I think we could do a lot of good.”

And as I step to Sinclair’s side, smiling at our friend, I’m newly excited about

getting started on that work.

 

Chapter 379

We’re an almost ridiculously cheerful group about an hour later when Roger and

Cora come to join me and Sinclair in his little clinic room.

Roger is first through the door, his face stark with worry as he storms into the

room after getting word – probably from Hank – that Sinclair is awake.

“Dominic -” he says, all anxiety as Cora follows him in, closing the door quietly

behind them. But Roger stops in his tracks when he sees Dominic sitting up

happily in bed, smiling down at Rafe who has just woken up from his nap and

finished eating. I’m sitting happily on Sinclair’s side, so I have a front-row seat.

“Hey, Rog,” Sinclair says, looking up and giving his brother a warm smile.

“Seriously?” Roger asks, staring a little dumbfounded at his brother. “You – you

sleep for three days after being miraculously healed and all I get is ‘Hey Rog’?”

“What else do you want?” Sinclair asks, frowning confusedly at his brother.

“I don’t know,” Roger says, throwing out an exasperated hand. “Something more

significant I guess – maybe some kind of address to the fact that you had us

worried sick when you wouldn’t wake up

“Ignore him,” Cora says happily, crossing the room to Sinclair’s side and

dropping a happy little kiss on his cheek. “He’s just had a hard couple of days

groveling to Hank after punching him in the face and handing Rafe back to his

kidnapper.”

Roger scowls, sinking his hands into his pockets and glaring around at the three

of us. “Seriously? Three days later, and I can’t get a break about that?”

“We’ve forgiven you,” I say, raising my eyebrows and gesturing between me and

Cora – and, I admit, enjoying his awkwardness a little bit. “But Dominic,” I say,

pointing at my mate now, “hasn’t even had a chance to be mad. Not to mention

Rafe, when we tell him in ten years. He’s gonna be pissed.”

Roger clenches his hands into fists and glares around at all of us, starting to get

pissed again, and Sinclair – to my glee – feeds into it.

“You’re demoted,” he says with a deep Alpha’s command, glaring back at his

brother. “No longer my Beta, Roger. I’ll see what I can do about getting you

some menial command, see if you can earn my trust back-

“Dom-“Roger gasps, his face falling, but the slow smile that spreads across

Sinclair’s face has me and Cora cackling. Roger quickly figures out the joke.

“Jackass,” Roger growls, taking a few steps forward to smack his brother on the

calf.

“Ow!” Sinclair gasps, pretending to be hurt and flinching his leg away.” Roger,

I’m healing -”

Roger’s face goes slack, but when we all burst again into laughter he just

crosses his arms and glares at us. “I reject all of you,” he murmurs, staring at

each of us in turn. “I break the bonds of mate, of family, of…sister-in-law,” he

continues, though I can see him fighting his smile. “Because I refuse to spend

my life bonded to jerks who take joy in my guilt and pain – ”

“Oh, get over it, Roger,” Sinclair interrupts, laughing and looking down at Rafe

now, who coos and smiles, apparently picking up on the good mood in the room.

“It’s fine. No one blames you for anything. Except maybe Hank.”

Roger groans a little, sitting down on the edge of the bed as Cora comes to his

side, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “I almost wish it was Hank who

betrayed us and tried to kidnap Rafe,” he murmurs, looking up at his mate.

“Then I wouldn’t have to be nice to him.”

“Poor baby,” Cora murmurs, frowning insincerely down at him. “You’ll just have

to get over it. And, of course, admit I was right.”

“Never,” Roger growls, pulling her close and making her laugh.

“How’s the baby, Cora?” Sinclair asks, shifting Rafe who he hasn’t put down for

a moment since he got the baby in his hands so that he can look all around at

us. I bite my lip a little as I watch my mate with his baby boy, pleased to see the

obvious love that runs between the two of them.

“Baby is okay,” Cora says, smiling down at herself and putting a hand over her

stomach. “We were worried for a little bit – I also lost a lot of blood 1 but after

Ella healed me,” she gives a little shrug and meets Sinclair’s eyes again. “We

were anxious for a day or two but Roger says that the connection is still strong. I

don’t think there’s any reason to be worried anymore.”

“Good,” Sinclair says, raising his eyebrows. “Rafe needs his buddy.”

“Oh yes,” Cora says, raising her eyebrows a little sarcastically, “As long as Rafe

gets his buddy, I’m glad my pregnancy can continue.”

“Precisely the right attitude, sis,” I sigh, leaning against my mate.

“Where is dad?” Sinclair asks, leaning back into me.

Roger tilts his head back towards the door. “In another room. He’s okay too but

he’s…tired. And I think he feels a lot of guilt.” He grimaces a little and I do as

well. Henry and the rest of the men took a hard beating at the bunker. They

ultimately came out victorious, but…. not everyone made it. I know that Henry

feels a lot of guilt for what everyone went through – and especially for putting his

grandkids at risk.

All of us – Sinclair aside, of course – have spent a lot of time trying to convince

Henry that we all agreed to the plan, we all thought it was best. But he hasn’t let

it go.

“You should talk to him,” Roger says

quietly, shaking his head at his brother. “He…he might listen to you.”

“I will,” Sinclair says seriously, his eyes on his own son. And I intuit, perhaps

through our own bond, that he’s hoping to hell he never puts Rafe in a similar

situation, or that he never, ever feels like he’s failed Rafe in the same way his

father feels he’s failed his children now. “Of course I will.”

I press myself tighter against my mate’s side, sending a little pulse of love and

reassurance down our bond. I want him to know that it’s never going to be like

that. Sinclair turns to me, grateful, and presses a little kiss to my forehead.

I nudge him with my nose as he turns back his brother and I look that way too,

but instead of Roger, I find my eyes falling on Cora who looks at me with

something a little strange in her eyes. And as I tilt my head at her, curious, I

see her blush and look away.

And I realize, quite suddenly, that it’s jealousy. Because while she and Roger

are incredibly close, and growing closer every day…she doesn’t have the wolf’s

bond with Roger that I have with Sinclair. And I know, in my heart, that she

wants it. Maybe even feels a little bit guilty that she can’t give that to him.

My face falls when I realize this and I call her name softly as Roger and Sinclair

chat about more details of the raid on the bunker, but she looks sharply at me

and shakes her head. I slowly close my mouth, glancing at Roger and realizing

that she doesn’t want him to know that she feels like she …I don’t know. Has

failed him in some small way? That his choice in her as his mate means he

gives up some of the things he always thought he’d have in his relationship?

My heart breaks to think that she thinks that because I know that’s not how

Roger feels.

But I nod to my sister, letting her know that I won’t say anything. And she gives

me my own little nod in response, letting me know she’s grateful for my secrecy.

I smile at Cora but then Sinclair’s words draw my attention.

“We have to decide,” he says, looking between us as Rafe wraps a hand around

his dad’s gigantic finger, “what our next step is. What we want to…do next. As a

family.”

“Really?” I ask, surprised. “No more reconnaissance meetings? No more board

room councils? Just…us deciding?”

“Well, those didn’t work, did they?” Sinclair asks quietly, glancing down at Rafe

who gives a happy little noise that makes us all smile. “Dad will be involved, of

course, but I think that moving forward…”

My mate glances around at the rest of us, trying to gauge how we feel. “I

promised Ella peace,” he says quietly, and I meant it. But I think that the best

way forward with that is to…stick together. Us four. No more splitting up, no

more dividing our forces. Because we have work to do.”

“Well, I, for one, like it,” Cora says, raising her eyebrows and looking around at

all of us. “We’ve got a doctor, two gigantic wolves, a goddess-gifted healer… I

think we’re quite a force to be reckoned with.”

“Hey,” I say, frowning at my sister. ” I’m a wolf too.”

“Fine,” she says loftily, “two and a half gigantic wolves.”

“And one and a half tiny babies!” I point out, leaning in to tickle Rafe’s stomach

and making him laugh. “Who are very cute, if helpless!”

“They’re here for morale,” Sinclair rumbles beside me, making me grin. “All

right,” Roger says. “So, we stick together from here on out. But what do we want

to do next?”

And as the four of us look around at each other, I realize that…none of us has a

plan.

What on earth are we going to do next?

 

 

Chapter 380

The four of us spent the next few hours talking, eventually ordering quite a bit of

takeout and making some complicated plans while Sinclair ate his weight in

Chinese food. The sight of him eating pleased me to no end, but eventually I

could see him running out of steam.

“All right,” I say quietly, looking significantly at Cora and Roger. “I think ….we

have enough to go on for now. We can pick up again tomorrow.”

“What?” Sinclair asks, frowning around at us though I can see him stifling a

yawn. “We have so much to do-”

“Enough,” I say significantly, placing my little hand over his larger one.” You’re

still exhausted, Dominic.”

He frowns at me and opens his mouth, ready to fight, but I shake my head once.

“Tomorrow,” I say, my voice a command. He narrows his eyes at me but I stand

strong. “I understand, Dominic. I know it’s in your nature to tear the world apart

in the effort to make it all better as fast as you can. But please, for me, can you

start tomorrow?”

He hesitates but sees the sorrow and worry in my face and, slowly, nods. This is

the last day you get to boss me around, trouble,” he growls, not happy about it.

“Tomorrow, I’m in charge again.”

“I’ll take it,” I say, leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek, Rafe curled

happily in my arms.

“I think it’s a good plan,” Roger says, yawning himself and stretching his arms.

He and Cora stand up and he wraps an arm around her waist, smiling down at

her. “Ready for bed, little mate?”

“Sure, little mate,” Cora replies, grinning up at him, knowing precisely what she’s

doing. “What?” Roger says with a start, frowning down at her. “That doesn’t

work, Cora – you’re the little one – ”

“But it’s sweet!” she says, pretending to be innocent and making me grin. I’m

little mate, you’re little mate – ”

“I’m not little,” he growls.

“Awww,” she says, patting his cheek fondly. “Sure you’re not, baby.” And as she

turns to head out of the room Roger growls, storming after her, and I laugh a

little to see how well she knows him.

“They really do work,” Sinclair says to me after they close the door. “She knows

just how to push his buttons. And Roger needs a good teasing to keep him in

line.”

“And you?” I ask, perching on the side of the bed. “Do you need to be kept in

line?”

“No,” he says, letting his voice drop into that deep, dominant register I like so

much. “I am always in charge, Ella. And you wouldn’t want me any other way.”

“Damn right,” I murmur, leaning forward to kiss my mate, letting him feel just

how much I like it down the bond. The hum in Sinclair’s chest deepens as he

pulls me a little closer, letting one of his hands drift suggestively down my back.

But I sigh and pull away. “Baby’s still up,” I say, nodding down at him. “And you

need your rest. I’m going to take him for a little walk around the clinic, okay?

While you try to get some sleep?”

“I’ll come with you,” Sinclair says, starting to stand up, but I put a hand out to his

shoulder, asking him to stop.

“Please, Dominic,” I beg, letting him see my sincerity in my eyes. “I promise,

tomorrow you can go full steam and I won’t say anything. Just…please just get

one more good night’s sleep, okay? For me? So I can…I can know you’re all

right?”

And he sighs as he sits back against the pillows, but I can see the tired lines

settle onto his face as he does. “All right, Ella,” he says.

I kiss him on the cheek, moving the TV remote closer to him so that he can put

something mindless on to distract himself so that his mind doesn’t spin while he

rests.

“You’ll come back soon?” he asks quietly.

“As soon as the baby’s asleep,” I promise, nodding. Although I cross my fingers

just a little bit, because I intend to stay out until I know Sinclair is able to fall into

a true, restful sleep whether Rafe is asleep or not.

And then I kiss my mate again and, with a final squeeze of his hand, slip out the

door. When I pull the door shut behind me, I turn to find Hank leaning against

the wall outside of the door, as I knew he would be.

“Ready to get to work?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow at me.

“You betcha,” I say with a sigh, squaring my shoulders. Then Hank passes me a

cloth baby carrier and I let him hold Rafe while I strap it to my chest. Once we

get the baby strapped in and settled, I look up at him again.

“Okay,” I say, nodding to my friend. ” Let’s get started.”

Hank and I work side-by-side long into the night tending to the men who were

hurt either in the bunker or on the expedition to Xander’s house. I’ve been at

Hank’s side every moment that I haven’t been pinned to my mate’s side for the

past three days.

It was terrible to continually have to choose between my responsibilities. Every

part of my body wanted to be constantly next to Sinclair, holding his hand, being

there for him while his body and mind healed from his horrible experience.

But I also have responsibilities as the Luna of this pack, as the bearer of the

Goddess’s gift, to use it to heal the men who made such terrible sacrifices for

us.

The first night was the worst. Shortly after we got Sinclair inside the clinic was

flooded with the men coming in from the bunker 1 some with horrible wounds

that needed immediate care. I had to make a horrible decision, then, to prioritize

my mate and my sister – to heal them first – while I could hear the men’s

screams from the other room.

Tears had poured from my eyes as I did it, as Hank guided me towards the

worst of Sinclair’s and Cora’s wounds, making sure they would each survive

before I fled to the other rooms and went to work on the men there.

We couldn’t…we didn’t save everyone. I couldn’t get to them fast enough.

And it was horrible – achingly horrible – to hear their cries fade to nothing as

worked on one of their comrades across the room. Hank forced me to turn away

from the men in the early hours of the morning, when I could barely keep my

eyes open.

I had wanted to keep going, but he had been firm. “Enough, Ella,” he had

snapped when I had insisted I wanted to do more. “They’ll survive – everyone

who is alive tonight will be alive tomorrow. You need to sleep.”

And so I did. I tended to my child, and I slept, and I called to my mate in the

dream state for as long as I could, and then I woke up and started again.

But we’ve made good progress in three days. Even if…well, there’s still an

incredible amount to do. And every moment that I’m away from them, it tortures

me to think of them sitting in here, in pain, waiting.

I follow Hank from bed to bed, where he informs me about the next wound he

thinks I should concentrate on with the gift. The list is growing less and less

severe as we go. At first it was terrible wounds leaking blood around torn

muscles and shattered bones. But now I spend a great deal of my time

reknitting sliced muscles, regrowing skin, setting fractures. I admit, I’m glad that

it’s getting less gory.

“Ready?” Hank asks as we move on to the next case.

“Yup,” I say, nodding once and steeling myself, running a hand over Rafe’s

sweet head as a way to calm my troubled spirit. “Let’s go.”

“Thank you, Luna,” the man I just worked on calls after me, and I send a smile

to him over my shoulder.

“Any time, soldier,” I say, meaning every word of it. “It’s the Luna’s job to take

care of her pack.”