Then, I see them.
Vivid green eyes flying open, staring right at me with fire blazing in their depths. They draw closer, and I see rows of razor sharp teeth opening as those impossibly green eyes shutter closed and the fire dies.
I cry out in alarm, the only movement my frozen body is capable of making, as the spectral creature crashes into me, but it breaks apart like wind against rock.
Killian holds me steady, and the others just look confused. They're saying something, but my ears are ringing too loud to make it out.
They didn't see it.
Before I can react further, exhaustion washes over me and my control over my body returns. The ritual has drained what little energy I had left after the breaking of the coven bond. Black spots oscillate at the edges of my vision, and my limbs feel impossibly heavy.
"I think I'm going to—" I manage to whisper before my knees finally give way completely.
Four sets of strong arms catch me as I fall, cradling me between them. The last thing I see before darkness claims me is their faces, watching me with concern.
My last coherent thought before I surrender to the darkness is that nothing will ever be the same again.
And for once, that doesn't terrify me.
Chapter 8
ROWAN
One momentwe're all suspended in the eye of a magical hurricane, energy surging through our bodies, and the next, Regina's eyes roll back in her head and she crumples.
"Regina!" The shout tears from my throat.
We catch her together, like we've rehearsed this a thousand times. My hands find her shoulders while Killian's arms wrap around her waist. Sean and Micah steady her from either side. Her skin burns against mine, but her face has gone deathly pale.
My wolf rushes forward, hackles raised, fangs bared. Something's wrong. Our mate is in danger. And the only other person in the room to blame is Villeneuve.
I pivot toward him, a growl building in my chest. Killian's already halfway to shifting, his eyes blazing blue, claws extending from human fingertips. Sean and Micah keep hold of Regina, but they're both poised to attack if needed.
"What did you do to her?" Killian snarls, his voice barely human.
Villeneuve doesn't flinch. Doesn't even step back. Instead, he raises one elegant hand in a gesture that somehow manages to be both calming and dismissive.
"Control yourselves," he orders, as if he's not five seconds away from getting ripped apart by furious, overprotective wolves. "She's fine. This is entirely expected."
"Expected?" I snap, my own voice rougher than usual. "You didn't think to mention she might collapse?"
"I did say the ritual would be intense." He straightens his already immaculate suit jacket, looking irritatingly composed while we're all still naked and wild-eyed with fear. "Ms. Cook has just severed a five-year-old coven bond while simultaneously forming a completely new connection with four alpha shifters. The energy realignment alone would exhaust even the strongest practitioner."
My wolf retreats slightly, logic tempering instinct. What he's saying makes sense, but I still don't trust him. None of us do.
"How long will she be unconscious?" Micah asks, his voice steadier than mine.
"A few hours, perhaps a day." Villeneuve moves to collect his coat from where he draped it over a chair. "Her energy needs time to stabilize. The bond is formed, but it will take time to settle properly and allow her to feed from you. The dragon's blood will sustain her in the meantime."
Regina's slight weight shifts in our collective hold as Killian gathers her more securely into his arms. Her head lolls against his chest, her breathing shallow but steady. The mating marks on her neck stand out starkly against her pale skin—four distinctyet interlocking bite marks forming a pattern that satisfies something deep within me.
She's ours now. Truly ours.
"What do we do?" Sean asks, his usual irreverence replaced by genuine concern.
"Put her to bed. Keep her warm. Have someone with her at all times." Villeneuve sounds almost bored, as if he's reciting instructions for watering a houseplant rather than caring for our unconscious mate. "If she develops a fever or her condition changes in any way, you know where to find me."
He turns to leave, and for a moment, I consider stopping him. There are too many unanswered questions. What really happened at the end of the ritual? What was that fifth presence I felt in the bond? Did the others feel it, too?
