Page 7 of Of Flame and Fate
The original was eaten by a crazed werewolf.
“Easy,” I whisper against the skin, trying to stay calm and keep her calm as well.
She responds for the moment, just a moment. But that’s not how she’ll stay.
My new arm was created from a combination ofweremagic as old as the earth and my matehood with Gemini. It, I mean,she’sdifferent, maybe even weirder than me and my sisters.
My head spins as another rush of pain builds, this one stronger than the last.
I’m in my bathroom, I think. Voices echo around me. Celia is here, so is Aric. They groan, coughing.
“Parasite demon?” Aric asks.
“Yes,” Gemini replies, his voice tight.
“Oh, God,” Celia says, sounding sick.
“Celia, I need you to leave,” Aric tells her. “The smell can’t be good for you or the baby.”
“Where’s Emme?” Gemini asks.
“She’s coming.”
It’s the last thing Celia says before she disappears. Gemini growls low and deep. “Whereisshe?”
“Easy,” Aric says, his voice barely below a snarl. “She’ll be here soon.”
With me hurt, both are on edge, their beasts close to pushing through their human counterparts and taking charge.
“I’m turning on the water,” Aric says. “I mean your mate no harm.”
In the world of humans, and under similar circumstances, one man wouldn’t have to reassure another this carefully. Butweresare more beasts than human when their mate is injured, and the need to protect them overshadows reason.
If Celia was present, Gemini’s wolves would recognize her as Aric’s lover and Gemini wouldn’t take offense to having another alpha male so close. But she’s not. She’s trying to find Emme. At least, that’s what I hope.
Another strong stab of pain pelts through my leg, sharpening as it intensifies and making me whimper.
I scrunch my face, my nails digging into Gemini’s arm when he goes ballistic and his twin wolf punctures through his back.
The wolf snaps his fangs, just barely missing Aric’s face. “Babe, don’t,” I stammer.
I lift my arm to stroke his face when an odd red light swarms my line of vision, blinding me.
Growls thunder, the pure viciousness within each beating against my ears. More wolves arrive. I think I see Koda but I can’t make out the others. My pain escalates, making me scream.
My right arm shoots out, detonating power like a cannon and ripping me from Gemini’s hold.
“No!”
What sounds like a mound of bodies, collide. I think I’m blowing things up and I’m terrified I’ve set the house on fire, but then the red light is replaced with a pale yellow one and the pain searing through me abruptly stops.
With each breath I take, a cooling sensation seeps through my lower back and spreads along my leg, easing the tension and extinguishing the pain.
“Her right leg,” Gemini says, his voice bordering on murderous.
My youngest sister’s voice is quiet and calm, bringing peace. “I know, I can feel it. Just a little more.”
She trembles, her small hands trailing down my cheek.