Reid was everywhere. Forever. Now, he’d be happy, safe, and loved.
And I was the lucky fucker who got to make that happen.
He gasped, but not in pain. “Evan. Oh, you really do love me.”
I laved over the bite until it was healed over. Only then did I shift back fully so I could speak. “Aye, you knew that.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “Well it’s different feeling it, okay?”
“It’s more than okay.” I pulled my mate into my arms. “Feeling your love for me might just be the best thing in the world.” I kissed him, but he pulled back all too soon.
“Um, do you think we should help?”
Oh. Bonding with Reid had made me forget that there was a literal battle happening around us. “Fuck.”
Despite being outnumbered, the inner circle were holding their own. It helped that the angels appeared to be fighting on their side, keeping the Clarksons at bay.
“I should help,” I said. “Wait here and don’t come closer. I’ll be right back.”
Without the bond, I wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving him. But with it, Reid was as immortal as I was. That didn’t mean I wanted him getting hurt, or even being put at risk, but he was right. This was my family fighting. I had to protect them.
Before I could shift, Micah’s voice boomed over the cacophony. “Enough!”
A blast of white light filled the clearing, knocking me from my feet.Shit.Panic blinded me even more thoroughly than Micah’s powers. If what he’d unleashed had been strong enough to take me down, what would it have done to Reid?
I scrambled up almost immediately, blinking to force my vision to clear. “Reid?”
“I’m here.” His voice was steady, making me sag in relief. “I’m okay.” Soft hands pressed against my chest. “You’re okay too, right? Or am I reading the bond wrong?”
The bond.I hadn’t even thought to check that. I did so now, relieved to feel how calm Reid was. “Why can’t I see?”
“Sorry about that.” A strong hand clamped down on my shoulder.Micah. “I was so focused on shielding Reid that I let a bit too much hit the rest of you wolves. Don’t worry though, you’ll be right as rain in a moment or two.”
I grabbed the angel’s hand before he could withdraw. “Thank ye. For protecting Reid.”
“Even mated, being hit by that blast would’ve hurt,” Micah said. “I can be a bit obtuse sometimes, but I’m not cruel.”
“Not just then,” I said, blinking as colours and shapes begun to take form. “Earlier too. Thank you for finding an alternative and just, you know, being decent beings.”
“Basic decency is a low bar, but if you’ve been dealing with the Clarksons’ behaviour recently, it makes sense that you’d feel that way.”
My vision finally cleared, and the first thing I saw was Reid’s azure blue eyes peering up at me.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” I whispered, cupping his face. “How is it possible that yer mine?”
I felt Reid’s quiet happiness explode into something almost overwhelming. “I could say the same.”
“On that note,” Micah said drily, “we can finish up with things here.”
Right. The battle. There were many bodies unconscious or dead on the ground, but not a single McCarthy. Benji wascasually strolling between the Clarksons. Every now and again, he’d pause, slit a throat, then move on.
I realised he was seeking out those Micah’s blast hadn’t killed and finishing the job. Not permanently, of course, but buying us all some time.
Finlay, Logan, and Calan were all in their human forms now, rubbing at their eyes and muttering.
“Thank ye,” I said again. “What happens now?”
Micah inclined his head. “Like I said, Benji and I will take care of things from here. The Clarksons will be escorted from your lands and given strict orders not to return. With Reid now an official McCarthy, they don’t have a leg to stand on—legal or otherwise.” Micah glared over at Neil’s limp form. “I’d love to say it’ll end there, but…”
