I might be getting cranky in my ripe, old married life.
~Rafe? Can you hear me, king? ~
I blink as his voice echoes in my head.~What.~
~Now, don’t be a lemon-sucking assface.~
My scowl deepens as I take a sip of my drink.~Don’t tell me how to feel.~
~I need your help.~
Cocking a brow, I snort. ~Now you do. What fresh hell has descended upon us this time?~
~No time for that. I need you to go out into the garden and find my wife.~
My eyes narrow. ~She’s out there doing this? Not again. Can we just have one damn day of peace? Jesus Christ.~
~Again, this is bloody time sensitive, mate. Go find her and see what she looks like.~
Setting my glass on the table, I rise to my feet and brace myself for the nastiness outside of the bubble of our house. When I open the door, the wind is howling, and I see lightning arc across the sky. Just bloody great; my primary is doing her impression of an X-Man again. Trudging across the lawn to the waterfall, I take refuge under it for a few moments as I make my way to the far-side of the pool and then I see her.
Soaked, lying on a lounge chair and completely zoned out with her magic running the show… Yeah, that seems right for the bullshit going on lately. I wonder what set her off this badly again, but the possibilities are endless. Walking over, I kneel by her side and sigh as I look her over. That’s when I realize, thisstorm isn’t my kitty at all. Nope, this is way too uncontrolled for it to be her running the show.
The cat isn’t one to make a big scene and not be awake to fight her battles.~Simba? ~
~Told you we had a problem, lover. ~He sends me a mental stroke, reducing my stress level a tad.
~I noticed. I suppose that means wherever you are, there’s one there as well. ~I snort, squeezing my eyes together as I hope it doesn’t involve something that is going to wreck me.
He laughs. ~The goddess and I had—well, that’s for later. Magickal energy bleeds are toasting me inside at the moment. Talia’s out cold, so I have to keep my shields around her. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them, though. Do you have any bright ideas? ~
~I don’t know what’s going on with your wife. I can’t see a thing when I root through her. She’s in a trance—like she just clicked out of reality. I’m afraid to move her because we’re in the middle of the storm out here. It’s a fucking hurricane out here, the cat’s not in the driver’s seat. ~I look down at my primary, waving my hand in front of her face. Her glowing emerald eyes don’t even flicker, and I growl in frustration.
~Christ, Sampson, I don’t have much left. I’m going to get crisped if I try to do anything. ~
I take a deep breath, ideas running through my head at lightspeed. A risky plan occurs to me and I wince. I realize it’s a major gamble, but we have to do something soon. I open my mouth to voice it when my mate interrupts.
~What if we switch places? ~
Blinking, I ponder that. I need more information before I send him into this mess.
~Wait. How did Blade keel over? I felt your brawl—we’ll talk about that later because I have a bloody headache and my sodding wrist feels broken—but after the bite; I felt nothing. Maybe if you tell me what happened I can figure out if switching will accomplish anything? I can hold the shields for Blade and you can withstand the wife’s maelstrom. Plus, you’ve got Aradia down here if you need a touchstone. You’d have to blink me up while you blink down, though. I don’t know any other way to keep them safe while we swap. ~
Taurus grunts and I feel his desperation increase now that we’re connected.~I haven’t tried switching people simultaneously before. In theory, it’s possible. I’ve got a decent amount of your essence in me, which should help. I knocked Talia out because otherwise she would have kept going until we dropped. None of us can help her until she calms down; I know that because the usual way just failed.~He stops, groaning low.~Fuck, mate, we’re going to try this now. Get ready to put the strongest shit you have around the goddess. ~
It sounds like whatever my wife did to rile him into fighting her has done its own damage—both physical and mental. If Taurus thinks this is the only way to keep them both safe, he’s probably right. I’m used to dealing with one magical woman losing her grip at a time, and Blade digging into the cat’s powers has got to stop. I don’t care if the cat likes it or not, we need to discuss putting limitations on that. This is the second time Talia has lost control and almost fried our entire family with her rage.
~You need to make sure you’re ready to go diving into Hades to find your wife. Up I go, and down you go—hopefully, we meet on the other side once this is contained. ~
My words sound defeated, but I know how this shit works better than Taurus. It could go wrong in a million ways that take one or all of us out. I want to make sure that at least he hears my piece before we attempt something certifiably insane.
But then he responds and my heart swells.~If something happens and I’m not—you have to promise to take care of the goddess and my wife for me. Know I’m head over sodding heels for you. I don’t know how it happened, but I’d not change a thing. Be good to them and yourself if I’m not here to.~
I’m about to give him a scolding for his defeatist crap when everything inside of me unites with my mate—heart, soul, mind, and power in line for a solitary second—and then I’m inside with my wife.
No time to waste thinking about anything else. I gotta get Blade protected.
She’s crumpled on the floor of the gym, out like a light and limp. Dipping inside of her, I work on her shields as I grumble under my breath. “No one’s going anywhere. He didn’t need to get all ‘last goodbye’ on me. I just want his overdramatic, sappy ass to find out what’s going on with our women.”
