At first I thought it had been my own voice, but I was in too much pain to even whimper. I realized a moment later that it belonged to the snarling black blur that launched itself at Noro’s head.
Eric!
“Don’t fucking touch him!” Eric snarled. “Any of them!”
Eric’s sudden strike took Noro off guard. The two collided, black and gold, and the momentum of Eric’s attack sent Noro stumbling sideways with a shriek of surprise. Released from the chokehold, Colton gasped for breath. Ramsay ran to him as a man and hauled him out of the way.
“Colt!” Ramsay cried. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Colton said hoarsely. “Eric--”
Ramsay’s desperate gaze snapped to mine. “Matheson, come here, I need your help with Colton!”
But then he saw I wasn’t much better, either. I was still on the ground, my breath heavy and labored. The pain coursing through me was immense, and combined with the fear for my mates, I was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Matheson?” Ramsay cried when he recognized my pain. “Oh, fuck. Shit, fuck, okay. What’s going on?”
He half-carried Colton over to me. Colton coughed and caught his breath, shifting into human form to lean on Ramsay.
I winced against the agony. “Eric…”
Ramsay glanced up, his eyes wide. Eric and Noro were still locked in combat. But Eric’s movements were sluggish, and I noticed blood dripping from his black pelt.
“You have to help him,” I wheezed. “Please. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but please just help them--both of them!”
Ramsay nodded hurriedly at me before shifting back into his wolf form. He sprinted towards the brawl. Meanwhile Colton got slowly to his feet and took his wolf shape to help him. I hated making them go in there alone, but I could barely breathe, let alone stand and fight.
Why am I so useless?
But then an idea struck me.
I wasn’t useless at all. I was the most powerful mage here on this platform.
The three wolves had their jaws around Noro’s limbs, holding him in place, but just barely. Colton still fought for breath, Ramsay looked exhausted, and Eric’s eyes blazed with pain as blood dripped around him. Noro looked tired, too, but he couldn’t fight off Blaze’s mind control to stop all this.
As I struggled to my feet, someone came up beside me. Tholan grunted as he helped me to my feet.
Then I had two pairs of hands on my back. My mom and dad were here, too, supporting me.
With their help, I managed to stand despite the agonizing pain coursing through my body. I focused all my energy on Noro. It helped that the wolves were holding him still. He shrieked and thrashed in their grip. I knew I had to be fast.
Noro,I called out, trying to use a mental link the same way I did with Neil.Noro, it’s Matheson! You have to stop this! You’re hurting us all!
I sensed a mental wall, like Blaze had partitioned Noro’s mind to keep me away from his true self. I growled and tried to push past it.
As I did that, my baby kicked hard. Another shockwave of pain went through me.
Suddenly, a wave of clarity washed over me. As that happened, the pieces seemed to fit together.
The prophecy. My baby. My mates--not three, but allfourof them.
But a farewell-to-spring flower wasn’t simply four petals. There was a stem supporting the petals, holding them all together. There was always another element, a fifth one we’d overlooked. That’s what we had been missing this whole time.
Noro was the missing link. With his addition to my group of mates, that was the final piece of the puzzle.
My baby’s growth had accelerated after the night of intimacy Noro and I had spent together. His magic had somehow merged with mine and made my baby grow at an unusual rate.
And now I recognized what the pains were.
