Emme’s chest heaved, her sobs trapped inside as she clung to me. I had no idea if she knew she held on so tightly, her tiny hands wrapped around my forearm, taking my support. I’d be here to support her for the rest of our existence. “Yes, we should do the spell now,” she murmured.
My gaze met Slade’s, and he nodded slowly. Finley looked like he was about to either throw up or shift into his bear, but he nodded as well. The decision was made, and I would give the command as the entitled alpha.
“Yes. Do the counterspell.Now.”
Jewels ran toward the door and picked up her brown leather satchel. Finley and Slade moved closer to us, forming a united pack. Emme, her expression still wreathed in pain and despair, turned to Slade: “You said you had an idea that might help him, but I wouldn’t like it. What was it?”
Slade hadn’t discussed it with me, but I had a strong inkling of what his idea was.
“It’s a moot point anyway, now that the spell is stronger,” my brother said with a shrug. “It would have required you to bond with him, which couldn’t happen until Kellan was conscious to complete his side of the connection. I was theorizing a way to infuse him with energy and return him to consciousness long enough for the bond. But it’s too late for that path. We don’t have the time.”
Emme’s expression was a myriad of shattered pieces, and I couldn’t stand to see that look on her face. “It’s not a possibility, so don’t even think about it,” I told her, guiding her closer to the bed. “Let’s pack huddle again until Jewels performs the spell.”
“I’ve called in a few more from my coven,” the witch said stiffly, pulling ingredients from her bag. “They’ll be here shortly.”
“We have time, then,” Slade said, joining us near the bed. “Hunter is right, we should give Kellan as much strength as possible.”
Emme was on the bed, draping herself across Kellan before he even finished his sentence. His shirt had been removed when we’d huddled earlier, and Emme openly sobbed into his skin. Witnessing her pain and not having a solution for it was an unbearable situation.
Speaking of bears, I caught the flinch of agony in Finley’s features as he watched her with his brother, before he schooled his expression back to indifference. He strode over and placed his hand on Kellan’s arm, careful not to touch Emme. Slade and I did the same, all of us touching his skin. “Your entitled alpha commands you to fight this,” I rumbled near Kellan’s ear, letting the dominance of my beast slide into those words. “You will be strong enough. You will not let this magic win. You will return to our pack because we need you, Golden Boy. We need you here.”
Emme sobbed harder, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around him. “Please be okay, Kellan,” she whispered. “Please. I beg the goddess. I can’t do this without you.”
Kellan had that way about him. Emme might be the heart and soul of our pack, but Kellan was a close second. He’d kept us from drowning in our fucked-up darkness, and for that we’d owe and love him forever.
CHAPTER 25
EMME
Ican’t fucking do this!
I couldn’t do this.
I could not sit here and watch Kellan die from magic meant for me.
How did I fix it?
I would have done anything. I would have formed a complete quintet in a heartbeat if it meant saving Kellan’s life. But as Slade said, it wasn’t an option with him unconscious, and we had no more time to fuck around. The spell was progressing faster, digging its lethal hooks in deeper, and we couldn’t wait any longer.
My tears ran along his skin and onto the sheets, and in normal circumstances I’d be annoyed at thoroughly breaking down in front of the other alphas,especially Finley, but today I didn’t care. My sweet Kellan did not deserve this fate, and it brought with it a pain that could not be contained.
The alphas believed that a completed bond wouldn’t have made a difference, but they didn’t know the true strength of an omega. If Kellan died here today, it would be my fault for fighting this bond.My fault. My fault.
Rough fingertips brushed against my cheeks, and my eyes opened to find it was Slade of all the fucking alphas. The tingles his touch left was enough to shock me out of my panicked sob-fest.
“We don’t have many in our lives who would cry for us,” he noted clinically, lifting his fingers away from my cheeks and examining the moisture lingering there. I blinked as I watched him closely, embracing the distraction.
Then, to my astonishment, he pressed his fingers to his lips and tasted my sorrow. His chest rumbled slightly, and I felt the dragon pushing against the man.
Goddess be damned, he was unearthly.
The moment was broken by Jewels dropping a bunch of magic paraphernalia on the end of the bed. The alphas backed up, releasing their hold on Kellan, and I pressed my lips to his cheek, lingering for one more second to breathe him in. “I love you,” I whispered, aware everyone in this room could hear me. “I will kick your ass if you don’t survive this, Golden Boy. Please don’t make me do that.”
I pushed myself up off his body in time for Hunter to scoop me into his arms. I expected him to drop me to my feet when he moved out of Jewels’ way, but instead I was lifted higher until our faces were close. He nuzzled against my cheek, and then in a similar move to Slade, tasted the lingering moisture on my cheeks. “You taste like sweet despair,” he murmured against my skin. “When I see you cry, I want to destroy the fabric of our existence.” His tongue swiped across my cheek again, and despite the situation, my body responded as if he’d touched me much more intimately. “Stop crying now, Emme. Kellan will not want to miss out on tasting you, little omega. He will fight for you.”
Between Slade and Hunter, I was shocked from those relentless tears, and found the strength to pull myself together,ready to fight beside Kellan. “Let me down,” I said with a decisive nod. “This is about Kellan.” Hunter set me on my feet without argument for once, but he remained at my side.
“All of you need to stay at least three feet back,” Jewels warned as she shifted her magical equipment closer to our mate. “I can’t have any interference.”
