I stared at him with wide eyes. “Wait. You went home with her… to go to your library?”
He held my hands and nodded. “Yes. I didn’t know which book it was in, so I had to search--uh, most of them. And it took a long time.”
My heart melted. Colton hadn’t left to get away from me--he’d left tohelpme. All this time I’d been stewing in misery, thinking Colton abandoned me, or that his fear of disappointing his mother was stronger than his love for me. But I’d been wrong. So, so wrong.
“Oh, Colt,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around him. I never wanted to be away from his warmth again.
Colton kissed my cheek. “I’m really sorry I left. But now we know. And maybe this can help you.”
“Wait, so what is this magic thing you discovered?” I asked.
Colton smiled. “It’s called clear magic.”
I frowned, thinking about windows and glass. “That doesn’t sound very exciting,” I admitted. “Or strong.”
“Think about white light,” Colton said. He pointed to a diagram in the book. “It’s made up of all the color wavelengths. If you pass it through a prism, it makes a rainbow.”
I only vaguely understood what he was talking about. “Okay…”
Noro flicked his tail irritably. “Matheson, if what this book says is true, then clear magic is the most powerful magic of all. It’s a pure, distilled form of the elements.”
None of this inspired confidence in me. “But if I can’t even do those, what makes you think I can do this fancy clear magic?”
Colton took my hands and held them firmly. His eyes bore into mine, beautiful and icy-blue. “Please try, Matheson. I know you can do it.”
I sighed. “Well, I can’t argue with you and your puppy eyes, can I?”
He beamed.
“But I’ll only try this if you come back with me,” I warned. “Don’t you dare run off on me again.”
Colton shook his head. “Nope. I’m staying with you. No matter what anyone says.”
We shared a kiss that overflowed with the emotion from our time apart. A wisp of arousal stirred inside me, though I willed it to go away until we were alone.
Noro smiled down at us. “Is it true, what I overheard, Matheson? That you told the others about your pregnancy?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “And I think they actually believed me this time.”
As we joined the rest of the group around the fire, there was a noticeably lightened mood, at least compared to the last disastrous Moon Meeting. Instead of dread, there was hope. Hope for the future in the birth of my child, and hope that I could use this new form of magic to protect the packs.
“Noro, how’s your wing doing?” Eric asked.
“It’s a bit better, but it still has a ways to heal,” Noro said.
Gabrielle crossed her arms. “On the bright side, at least we know he’s not relaying information to his pride.”
“Lady Gabrielle,” Mom warned her.
“No, it’s all right,” Noro said. “She has a right to be concerned, and I doubt she’s the only one harboring those thoughts. After all, so did Neil.” He spread his injured wing as he spoke, and I winced at the memory of Neil ripping Noro’s wing so maliciously. “But I can assure you there was no mobilization when I left. And trust me when I say that if my pride knew there was an omega amongst the packs, they would drop everything to come here.”
That sent a thrum of grave reality through us all, slightly dampening the hope we held.
“Look,” I said, not wanting to end things on a bad note. “Obviously the gryphons don’t know about me, because like Noro said, they’re not here. So for the time being, we don’t have to worry.” I built up my courage and added, “And we’re not defenseless. I promise I will learn how to use my magic. Iwillfulfil this prophecy properly. I swear it.”
Colton smiled at me, while Eric and Ramsay fiercely held my hands.
Everything was going to be all right. With my relationship with my mates burning stronger than ever, I had all the inner strength I needed to make things right--and with a baby on the way, I had something even more important than myself to protect.
