“I followed my alpha for fifteen years and his daddy for forty before that. And I’m supposed to what? Just move on and fall at your dainty little feet?”

  He snorted, and his friends laughed, clapping him on the back.

  Okay, fine, maybe anger had a place after all.

  “No falling required,” I said sharply. The crowd quieted, but I knew it wasn’t enough. Not for this guy. I could feel his need to assert his own dominance.

  I jumped off the stage and strode over to where the man stood. His eyes widened. Clearly, he hadn’t expected me to come closer. I stopped in front of him, well aware of all the friends he had at his back. “You’re supposed to decide,” I added in a voice made stronger with the new power lacing my veins.

  It was awake, and it was pissed.

  “Decide what?” someone else called out. A woman. Near the back of this guy’s supporters.

  Before I could answer, Kai stepped up beside me. His angry energy was only barely contained, and I could smell his wolf on him.

  “About us,” Kai practically snarled at her. “Your alphas.”

  I laid a hand on his arm, both to calm him and to anchor myself. Behind me, I could feel the eyes of the crowd boring into my back as they watched our confrontation unfold.

  “Regardless of your personal feelings,” I said, looking pointedly at the man, who scowled back at me, “We are your alphas now. You can stay and pledge your loyalty to us, or you can leave our territory, which now includes your former home. Stay or go, it’s your choice. But if you stay and do anything to undermine our authority, you will face the consequences.”

  The man scoffed, eyes glittering with the need for a fight. As I’d expected, he wasn’t backing down, which meant he needed to become the example. If we lost control now, we’d be challenged and removed as alphas before we’d even begun.

  “Consequences, huh?” The man puffed up his chest, inching forward in a clear challenge. “And just what would that be?”

  “Come on, Byrn, that’s enough.” The blond guy tried nudging the biker back, but he didn’t nudge.

  “If you defy my authority as your alpha,” Kai said through bared teeth, “your wolf will not walk out of here.”

  “Is that a threat?” the man asked, eyes glittering as he pushed closer to Kai.

  I could feel Kai’s alpha power rising. Just as easily as I could feel the man’s wolf pushing back against it.

  Neither one of them intended on backing down.

  “It’s a reminder about the way things work, old man,” Kai said, his tone a final warning.

  “Byrn,” the blond guy said, more sharply this time.

  But Byrn only leaned into Kai’s face and snarled.

  It was a power move. One that said he didn’t give a shit about our authority—or didn’t think we were capable of enforcing it.

  Anger rose up hot and swift inside me, and I snapped.

  My wolf growled, finally rising to the surface to meet this asshole beast for beast, but she wasn’t fast enough.

  Neither was I.

  The magic surged up and out of me, a crimson ribbon of power flowing from my palms like blood. It stained my jeans before seeping into the ground at my feet, and the impact of the energy that came with it shook the earth.

  People screamed.

  A few others lost their balance and fell, yelling for everyone to take cover.

  “Not again,” I heard someone groan.

  My heart seized as I realized what they meant.

  This is what it had been like in that field. It was happening again, and I couldn’t stop it.

  A thundering boom echoed around me as the ground was torn in two, and I did the only thing I could do to keep from repeating the devastating earthquake I’d caused two weeks earlier. I turned my palms back toward my own body and pressed them against myself.

  Chapter Seven

  My skin sang with a pain that seemed, at first, to live only on the surface before digging its claws in deeper and deeper toward my insides. I tried to pry my eyes open, gasping for air against the onslaught of pain, and found Isaac, Idrissa, and Oscar all staring down at me. Over their shoulders was a wide-open sky beginning to fill with stars.

  It took me way too long to realize the earth hadn’t tilted; I had. I was on my back. On the ground. Still in the field behind the Throttle.

  Hopefully, that meant I hadn’t slept for another two weeks.

  At least, the screaming had stopped.

  “Ash?” Oscar called gruffly. Worry lined his features as he watched me closely.

  I looked down at myself and found my skin coated in a blood-colored residue from where the magic had leaked out of me.

  Oscar tried again. “Ash, say something.”

  When I didn’t answer, he reached for me, and I recoiled.

  “Don’t…touch,” I whimpered.

  He frowned but stayed back.

  I forced myself up to a sitting position, glancing toward the assembled crowd—only to realize the crowd was gone.

  The field was empty.

  The ground had split in several places, uprooting grass and churning the dirt unevenly.

  “Where…?” I couldn’t finish the word without doubling over. The needles pricking my skin had all converged on my abdomen, burrowing in deeper and deeper so that it felt like my stomach and organs were being mutilated from the inside.

  What was happening to me?

  “We sent everyone home,” Idrissa said.

  Her mouth was a grim line.

  I looked around, noting Kai’s absence.

  “He’s with the Sheriff,” Isaac explained knowingly.

  He pointed at something behind me.

  I turned and found Kai standing with Sheriff Copeland and the blond guy from earlier who’d tried diffusing things. On the ground nearby, the large, bearded man from earlier sat with cuffs around his wrists. A couple of his friends were also cuffed and wore matching expressions of indignation.

  Just looking at them made the rage—and magic—stir inside me.

  I looked away, willing the magic to settle.

  “What happened?” I whispered.

  “They started fighting, and then you just…exploded,” Idrissa said, clearly at a loss.

  Is that what it had looked like from the outside? It certainly felt like my insides were being torn apart. And while I was pretty certain the sticky substance staining my skin wasn’t my actual blood, I was pretty sure it looked like I’d just had some sort of Carrie moment.

  Isaac crouched beside me, concern lining his expression. “Ashes?” he asked gently. “You okay?”

  “I…it hurts,” I admitted, the words bitten off before they could become a moan.

  “We need to get you upstairs,” Oscar said. “Let the doc look at you.”

  I didn’t bother arguing or trying to explain that no wolf doctor would be able to help with something caused by an entire coven’s worth of magic stabbing around inside my kidneys.

  But in the end, my protests wouldn’t have mattered anyway because Oscar didn’t wait for my response before scooping me into his arms and heading for the back door of the Throttle. I gasped in pain then started to protest, worried the magic would try to zap him too, but it seemed content with the damage it was doing to me, so I let it go.

  Instead, I used my control to bite down against the pain of being shuffled and moved.

  “She okay?” Kai’s voice was clipped.

  Over Oscar’s shoulder, I saw him break away from the Sherriff to join us.

  “She needs rest.” Oscar kept walking.

  I spotted a few people still hanging out by the cars they’d parked behind Oscar’s shop. They watched me with various expressions. Mostly concern but also worry. And fear.

  I turned away, gritting my teeth as Oscar did his best not to knock my feet against the doorframe when he passed through it. We’d barely made it across the darkened garage before Kai was at his side.

  “Here,” Kai said, reaching for me, “Let me take her.”

  “I’ve got her, kid. You open that door,” Oscar told him.

  Kai didn’t seem happy about it, but he did as Oscar asked, opening doors and picking things out of our way as Oscar carried me up the steps and into our apartment.

  Kai shut the door behind us, muttering something about privacy to whoever had tried to follow us, and I wondered how long his request would last before one of the twins came barging in here anyway.

  “She’s in pain,” Oscar explained to Kai as he did his best to set me gently on the couch.

  The moment Oscar moved away, Kai crowded in and sat on the coffee table, leaning over me. He reached for my face, but I shrank back.

  He dropped his hand.

  “Ash,” he said in quiet anguish.

  I fisted my hands against the pain, wrapping my arms across my stomach and curling into a ball.

  “What can I do?” Kai asked.

  Part of me wanted to think up something, anything to wipe that look of helplessness off his handsome face. But the truth was, no one could do anything for me now. This magic had chosen me, and while I hated it, I wouldn’t wish it on someone else either.

  At least, I’d only hurt myself instead of the rest of the pack.

  I shook my head to let him know my answer. “Nothing,” I whispered in a hiss of pain.

  His expression tightened. He didn’t speak again. But he never left.

  We sat in silence for so long that, despite the nagging pain in my stomach, I felt my eyes begin to droop. Utter exhaustion gripped me, dragging me toward a sleep that felt more dangerous than restful.

  Kai’s presence was its own dark cloud of danger and rage.

  When I finally drifted off, in a haze of exhaustion and pain, he was there. Guarding me, at least from enemies outside. For all the good it did my insides.

  I didn’t sleep so much as slip in and out of consciousness.

  When I finally woke, the pain had dialed back enough that I could function. More importantly, I could think.

  Darkness had fallen, and the space where Kai had sat earlier was empty. For a moment, I assumed he’d left, but then the sounds of soft snoring reached my ears. I looked down and softened at the sight of his prone body on the rug at my feet. The rug had worn thin long ago, and I couldn’t imagine the hard floor underneath offered any sort of comfort.

  Maybe I’d already begun to understand how it worked, but somehow, I knew touching him was safe again. My still-stained hand slid over his shoulder. He roused with an abrupt intake of breath. He lifted his head, looking up at me sharply, and I smiled tightly at him in the darkness, trying to reassure him.

  “Come to bed,” I whispered.

  “Hmm?” he mumbled, still half-asleep.

  I sat up then stepped over him and stood, tugging on his hand. He let me pull him to his feet, and then I led the way into my bedroom and over to my bed.

  Climbing underneath my covers in stained clothes should have been a dealbreaker, but the idea of showering felt like too much effort. Later.

  For now, I’d take sleep—the normal kind. With Kai’s arms wrapped around my sore body.

  The twin mattress was absolutely not made for two people. But Kai and I weren’t two. We’d become one the moment we’d mated. Hell, even before that. I’d belonged to Kai Stone the moment I met him. Now, we belonged to each other.

  I slid over to the far edge of the bed and pulled him down next to me. We each lay on our sides, facing one another in silence. Even in the darkness, I could see his eyes, open and intent on mine. I didn’t need light to know they were churning with emotion. Worry, concern, fear, love. I felt it all like layers of fabric against my skin.

  My mind drifted back to all the cold, lonely nights I’d spent in a small bed like this in that trailer I’d shared with my dad. And before that trailer, all of the other houses we’d lived in. Apartments, townhouses, condos, motels. We’d even lived in a minivan once. And every night had been one long stretch of isolation. I’d dreamt of what it would be like to have someone else to cling to. A lifeline. A support. A comfort.

  I’d never actually expected to find this.

  Kai made me feel safe in a way I never could have dreamed.

  Even in the middle of a danger so powerful it could split my body in two, I knew we’d find a way. We had to. That was the commitment we’d made to each other. There simply wasn’t another option, not for us. Maybe that’s what made me strong enough to do all the things I’d done. Not doing it for myself; doing it for him. For all of them.

  I thought about Kai’s idea from earlier. If we couldn’t save them up close, we’d do it by running.

  Together.

  Kai sighed softly into the darkness; a sound of sleepy contentment.

  Snuggling in closer, I pressed my lips to his jaw. His arms curled around me, drawing me close. His skin was warm against mine, and I burrowed closer, needing that warmth more than anything right now.

  It wasn’t about sex or lust or need.

  Being with Kai like this was about connection. His touch reminded me I was more than the raw power occupying my insides. I was more than magic. I was Ash Lawson, Kai Stone’s forever mate. And I wasn’t going to let anything take that away.

  *.*.*

  I woke alone and instantly tensed at Kai’s absence until I heard sounds coming from the kitchen. Forcing myself to relax, I climbed out of bed slowly, mostly pain-free but still distrustful of my own body. By the time I made it into the kitchen, I felt hopeful today would prove less dangerous at being Ash Lawson than yesterday. From the looks of the empty second bedroom, Oscar had already left for the shop.

  Dressed in nothing but his boxers and the tattoos coating his skin, Kai leaned against the counter, watching me stumble toward the coffee pot with a look of amusement. He’d showered, judging from his wet hair. When I got close, his smell hit me, and my knees went weak for reasons that had nothing to do with my magic-induced hangover. I wasn’t prepared for the scent of Kai Stone freshly showered in my personal body wash. It did weird things to my body, and I worried my ovaries had melted, not from the magic but from the lust.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  I blinked at him, shaking off the daze brought on by his sexiness. “Okay.”

  “You look better,” he said.

  “You’re being generous.” I tried combing my fingers through my tangled hair, but it was useless. I gave up, noting my hand was still stained from whatever sort of blood-magic I’d coated myself in yesterday.

  Ugh.

  I really needed to shower but…coffee. Priorities.

  “How’s the pain?” he asked, the amusement dissolving into concern as he watched me pour a cup of coffee with shaking hands.

  “It’s nearly gone,” I said, glancing up.

  But Kai’s frown told me he hadn’t missed the tremble, and he wasn’t quite as accepting of it.

  “What if we …”

  “What if we what?”

  “I was just thinking. Remember how we healed Baron? Together, I mean? I still don’t know how that’s possible. I damn sure don’t have magic of my own. But if we worked together like that—maybe we could take your pain away.”

  I sighed. “I’ve thought about that. Whatever we did, I think it was a mate thing. Or that’s my theory. But…my healing ability doesn’t seem to work on myself.”

  If it had, I wouldn’t have slept for two whole weeks.

  Even without saying the words out loud, Kai seemed to get it.

  “I think you should see the doctor today,” he said.

  I could have argued, which probably would have been futile. But arguing against a half-naked Kai wasn’t something I had strength for. Instead, I mumbled, “Okay,” before bringing my mug to my lips and taking a deliciously scalding sip.

  Kai watched me expectantly.

  I lowered the mug again.

  “You mean now?” I asked.

  “I made you an appointment,” he admitted. “Thirty minutes from now.”

  Gulping more coffee, I shook my head and went to take that shower.

  All the while, the magic inside me hummed along, never quite settling as it wrapped itself into a never-ending ball in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t dare hope the doctor would have some cure for my situation. What was the cure for magic anyway? Another curse? I wasn’t going down that road. And I wasn’t giving it back to Cohen either. Not while he insisted on using it to destroy us. Maybe my wolf could have done something, but she was ghosting me nearly as badly as Cohen himself.

  But, hell, if a doctor visit would make Kai happy, I had no problem going along. My only regret was that it required my mate to cover himself with clothes. When I came out of the bedroom and saw he’d put on jeans and a t-shirt, I scowled.

  “What?” he demanded.

  “Those clothes looked better on my floor,” I said.

  He laughed. “Back at ya, beautiful. Come on. Trust me, we don’t want to keep Doc waiting.”

  The doctor’s office was an end unit townhouse in a row of six, all of which had been converted to offices. They stood on a side street, off downtown, that marked the entrance into a residential area. Its tiny parking lot was filled to the brim when we arrived while more cars searched for parking on the street.

  “Popular place,” I said as we veered around a sedan trying to back up enough to exit the already full lot.

  Kai frowned. “Not usually.”

  We parked and headed for the entrance.

  A tiny bell rang overhead as Kai pushed the door open and ushered me inside. The air smelled like lemon cleaning agents with a hint of rubbing alcohol. Underneath that, the scent of sweat and blood made my nose wrinkle. But what stopped me in my tracks was the crowd. The waiting room teemed with people. Their ailments were obvious and ranged from minor cuts and bruises to bloodied gashes. Nearly all of the patients waiting to be seen had sustained some kind of physical injury. Recently.

  Confusion turned to dread.

  “Shit,” Kai muttered as he came up behind me.