She needed me, and I was finally going to be there for her. Fear twisted into a sharper rage.
I nodded once. “Together.”
We approached the front door, and I narrowed my eyes on how blurry it was. It was covered in glamor—layers of it—but the bond had already seen through it once, so it was easier this time. The moment I lifted my hand, the spells writhed like snakes, hissing as they recoiled.
Good.
Itshouldbe afraid.Theyshould be, too.
I planted my palm flat against the wood. Old enchantments crackled violently, burning hot enough to blister skin.
But the chanting behind me got louder, and the bond with my mate didn’t break. Itdevoured.
My palm flared white-hot as the witches followed the path of my mating bond and drank down the glamor like dry earth taking rain.Wood splintered and the wards that were holding it together screamed. The entire estate shuddered under the touch of their magick and my determination.
Krusk drew in a low whistle. “Subtle.”
“Not trying to be,” I gritted out.
Enka smirked. “Yeah, we noticed.”
The door buckled inward with a deafening crack. The stenchinside hit us immediately.
Chemicals. Rot.Fear.
Hanna’s magic flickered like a dying candle and that was it. The last restraint in me snapped.I stepped over the threshold—and felt something old and ancient inside me settle into place, like a sword sliding into the hand it had always been meant for.
A warrior’s ferocity. A mate’s devotion. A male’s terror of losing what he loved.
Not madness—love.
It was pure, absolute and unyielding. I’d been such an idiot to deny it for so long, but now that I knew what it was—allowed myself tofeel it, there was no stopping me.
I turned back to my brothers just long enough to say one thing. “Stay with me.”
Then I charged into the estate—silent, swift, and ready to tear the world apart until I reached her.
Chapter 30
Savla
Isensed the others converging behind me. They’d been close, and they’d made it to us right before we entered, forcing us to pause long enough to get the others up to speed. I couldn’t scent any of the human females or younglings, and I was grateful for that.
This wasn’t a place for soft hearts or small hands. This was a place forwar.
“Hanna’s been taken,” Dristan said aloud behind us to the rest of the clan and the coven as they gathered, voice booming. It wasn’t a question; it was a declaration.
I nodded once. “Corwin,” I hissed, the word venomous on my lips.
A low snarl rippled across the clan ranks. Tabitha’s eyes sharpened with murderous focus. “I told that female—hermother—that if she hurt that girl again, I would salt this earthwith her lineage.”
Zara cracked her knuckles. “Permission to assist with the salting?”
“Granted,” Tabitha growled.
This should have been relieving, but it wasn’t. Because Ribbon suddenly sprang out of the back of the truck—huge and desperate—and slammed into my leg with all his weight. He croaked, frantic and trembling, trying to leap into my arms, onto Krusk—anything that meantcoming.
“Ribbon,” I murmured, kneeling.
