One of the fucking Daemons who’d forced him through the Rite.
Destroy him.His beast a snarling monster, locked in his incorporeal state. He had no body, nothing but pure animalistic rage that shot through every muscle, nerve and bone. Urging him to react. To Fight. Kill.
And yet he couldn’t.
“Titus?”
His voice was called through water, faraway, muffled. Nothing compared to the cacophony of noise that was assaulting his ears, memories and thoughts all distorted together.
Pain shot through his centre, his heart ready to break from his ribs. And yet he still couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
“Titus?”
A blink, and it was Rae who stood there, her fingers pressing to his face and directing his notice. Everything surrounding her was a blur, but that didn’t matter, not when her lips opened, a sensual wave that moved silently. A strange warmth spread through his chest, quietening the noise until he finally could concentrate.
“Look at me.”
Destroy him.
“You need to get back!” Another snapped. “He’s unstable.”
Rae shot a baleful look to her right, but remained exactly where she was, and his beast released a feral grin at her strength.
She will destroy him.
Power thrummed beneath his skin, lightning at his fingertips as black magic wrapped itself around his throat, constricting, choking until it polluted every struggling breath.
And still, he couldn’t move.
“Riley, you need to force an anchor, or syphon his excess before it kills him.” A familiar voice, but again not from his Rae. Kyra, his brother’s mate.
Xander’s harsher tone broke through. “His power’s surging, he’s about to blow the fucking orbs.”
Peaches and cream, Rae’s scent calming. He concentrated on her eyes, on the gentle slope of her brow, and on her delicate freckles, peeking through the base of her makeup.
“Come near me again, and I’ll cut your pretty face,” she hissed over her shoulder, and Titus felt his lips curve. He wanted to sink his fingers into her hair, press his nose against the side of her face, but the arcane had crept up to his elbows, the magical flames dancing against his skin.
Rae didn’t care, reaching forward to brush the hair from his brow. “I thought you didn’t have access to your chi? Or are you just showing off?”
“What happened?” he asked, pulling his arms back, away from her.
“I think it was a panic attack,” Riley said, touching his shoulder. “If you don’t level down, or anchor to someone, I’m going to have to syphon you chi.”
His blood iced, not knowing how his beast would react after the sudden episode. “No.” He recognised Riley as their Alpha, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t just tear through his body in defence of them both.
“Titus –”
“You don’t touch him,” Rae said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She’d turned to face the others, her hand hovering over the slit in her dress. “I won’t say it again.”
She was defending him against his own brothers.
Mine.
“I’m fine.” Titus tried to recall the power, ignoring the swift queasiness that always accompanied it. It stuttered, a tap he struggled to turn off. But it finally did, the effluence coiling itself back into his chi.
“How long have you been having these attacks?” Riley asked, grey eyes hard. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us you needed support?”
“I’ve been dealing with it,” Titus said through clenched teeth, realising they’d somehow moved him to a quiet corner, the guests all watching and laughing at whatever was happening on stage, none the wiser of the possible explosion beneath his skin.
