The practitioner stripped off his shirt and tossed it to his mate. “I’m ready whenever the rest of you lot shift.”
“Ewan? Between me and Regulus.” Farren tugged her sweater over her head, and the rest of the werewolves—all except Peter—stripped naked right in front of her.
Sameen gaped until Peter cupped her cheek and turned her towards him. “Wolves don’t care about being naked, sweetheart. It’s too hard to shift wearing clothes.”
A hint of jealousy prickled along the back of her neck. “So you just...all the time?”
He kissed her. Only the briefest touch of his lips to hers, and whispered, “Yes. But we only have eyes for our mates.” Drawing back, he hesitated. “Do you need me to keep hold of you?”
Eli shook his head. “You can’t, Peter. This casting...it’s going to be a powerful lot of energy I’m sending into Sameen. If you’re touching her, I don’t know what it’ll do to you.”
“I’m not moving to the edge of the circle if that’s what you’re suggesting.” Peter’s eyes started to glow, and even with her poor vision and the darkness broken up only by the light of the moon and stars, Sameen could see the anger stiffen his entire body.
“That is exactly what I’m telling you to do.”
“Peter,” Cade barked. His voice was rougher than it had been inside, and the naked man strode up to them and clapped his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “You have to give Eli space to work.” At Peter’s growl, Cade puffed out his chest. “Don’t you think I know how hard this is for you? But you’re no good to her if you’re dead. So get the fuck back with the rest of us. Eli won’t let anything happen to Sameen.”
Peter shook off his alpha’s hold, surged forward, and grabbed Sameen in his arms. “Will you let me kiss you?” he asked, his voice ragged and his chest heaving. “Really kiss you.”
She nodded, and he tightened his fingers in her hair and claimed her lips. No other word properly described the possessiveness of his kiss. He gave her his promise, his tongue dancing with hers, his teeth nipping gently, and his hard length pressing to her belly.
Memories intact or not, she knew she’d never—ever—been kissed like that before. Her lips throbbed and stung when he finally pulled away. “You’ll be able to see me the whole time,” he managed. “I’ll be right in front of you.”
“Promise?” It didn’t matter how many times he gave her his word he wouldn’t disappear. Sameen still expected to wake up and find out freedom had only been an illusion. A way for the Thirteen to punish her for failing them yet again. Or just her own fractured mind giving up completely.
“I promise.” He stripped off his shirt as he stalked away, and she wished it were brighter out here. She needed to see him shift. Needed to know what happened to him—to all of them—when they changed into animal form.
Six humans dropped down to all fours, and then the clearing was full of pops and cracks and gasps of pain. Even with her limited sight, Sameen was in awe of the massive beasts. She could tell them apart. Mostly. Peter was the darkest of the lot. Not quite as bulky as the massive reddish wolf she knew had to be Liam. Cade’s pelt was gray with silver streaks, and Farren’s wolf was pure white.
Livie was the smallest, and like Peter, she walked with a bit of a limp as they all took their places around the circle.
“Are you ready, Sameen?” Eli asked.
“No. But that’s not likely to change. Ever. What...what are you going to do?”
“I’ll call on the four elements one at a time,” he said as he offered her his hand and led her to the exact center of the circle. “Then I’ll send their power into the mark on my arm. If I’m reading the book correctly, that should be enough to trigger your sigil. You might want to sit or kneel, because I can’t imagine this will be comfortable for either of us, and you still look knackered.”
Eli helped her down to her knees, and she stared straight ahead. Right at Peter’s wolf. God, she hoped this worked.
“I have to remove the casting that hides you first,” Eli said quietly. “If the Thirteen try to compel you, I need you to resist for as long as you can.”
Eli placed his hand over her heart, and her entire body started to tingle. At first, it was almost pleasant. Like a cool breeze on a warm day. But after a few seconds, his palm glowed hot. When he pulled back, a halo of light burst from her chest like he was tearing out her soul.
Sameen cried out, falling to all fours, and across from her, Peter joined in with a sorrowful howl. Panting through the pain, she focused on the wolf who wanted to be hers.
The air swirled around them, faster and faster, and the humidity spiked, making it hard to breathe as drops of water pelted her hair. The ground rumbled and quaked under her hands and knees, and the mark on her side flared to life. Not from Eli’s spell, but from the Thirteen’s call.
“No!” she whimpered and curled into a ball. If she couldn’t stand up, she couldn’t go to them. Couldn’t fight anyone who tried to stop her. Peter leapt forward several feet, but stopped at Liam’s loud bark. Fire came last, tongues of flames dancing in Eli’s hands, and he threw them towards the sky, letting them join with the swirling wind to create a fiery tornado that surrounded the entire group.
Holding out his hands, he shouted into the deafening roar, “Let all who wear this mark know they are not alone!”
She thought she’d been prepared, but when he pressed his hand to the mark on his arm, pure agony consumed her, driving the Thirteen’s magic back with a violent wave of power.
All she could do was scream until she ran out of air. In the second before she inhaled, she sensed another soul in pain. But there was more. Terror. An urgency Sameen knew could only come from one person. Mara. Because though it was faint, a second soul reached out as well. One that echoed Mara in every way, yet was also her complete opposite. Water and fire. Mother and daughter.
Caitlin’s voice rang out over the din, though the words didn’t make any sense, and a fresh gust of air hit Sameen in the chest. She drew it in, operating on pure instinct, and it flowed through her, a cooling, soothing presence until it found the sigil on her side. Then, Caitlin’s element took on a life of its own.
Another scream, this one louder, longer, and more painful escaped Sameen’s raw throat, and the air charm followed.
