My body burns from the inside.
I lie in the snow and writhe in agony as whatever burns through my blood bites into my flesh. Flames dance across my skin as my body shifts, the fire following the path of my transformation. Snow and ice melt from my fur as the fire spreads, tendrils of steam rising to obscure my view. Any pain lingering inside my body burns so hot that it disappears like ash in the wind. Power hums beneath my skin as I stand at my full height... and stare a shocked Alistair Dire in the face.
Directlyin the face, with no height difference between us.
He recovers quickly, snapping his head at the side to bark orders at Callum. “Shield,now!”
Pursing his lips, Callum flicks his wrist, creating a translucent dome around the five of us: Callum himself, a fuming Alistair, Revyn’s unconscious ass, another male shifter standing stone still behind Alistair, and myself. “They already saw her,” Callum comments, his brows pulled together. “If they don’t teleport her out, they’ll be waiting once the sun rises.”
Ignoring him, Alistair taps his hand against his thigh as he stares at me. “You didn’t think to tell me that not only are you a hybrid, but you’re a—” His face pinches. “I don’t even know what to call it.”
A growl rumbles inside my chest. Did he just call me anit?
His anger falters as worry pinches his brow. “You’re on fire, Sienna.Actualfire.”
“Magical fire,” Callum corrects. His gaze travels my new form before he meets my eyes with the gentlest smile I’ve ever seen. “You’re beautiful, darling. In all my sunsets, I’ve never seen anything so magnificent.”
The compliment fuels my magic; the farthest edges of my flames curl in Callum’s direction as though wishing to bestow him with a warm caress. His smile grows as a flame wraps tenderly around his outstretched finger before burning out altogether.
Alistair’s face reddens while he holds his breath. I can nearly hear his voice in my head, the rumble of disbelief and lightning-quick flash of jealousy making me flinch in their wake. He forces air into his lungs and runs a bloodied hand through his hair. Our eyes meet, and he quickly guards his emotions from my probing mind. “You need to shift back, Sienna.”
He insults me, attacks me, and now he wants to order me around?
I bare my teeth and take a step forward, the snow sizzling beneath my paws. I’m not doing anything he says. In fact, I’m done listening to him at all.
To his credit, he stands his ground as I approach, not the least bit concerned for his safety, and that’s what pisses me off.
How much hestillunderestimates me.
Leaping at him, I snap my jaw around thin air as he backsteps, his eyes flashing liquid gold as he shifts before my eyes, transforming into a wolf twice my size. He lunges, and we collide in a tangle of limbs and teeth, wrestling for dominance on the frozen earth. The ice melts at my touch, but the flames roll right off Alistair’s back, not even singing his fur.
What’s the point in wielding magical fire if I can’t even use it against my enemies?
He doesn’t pull his punches and sinks both his claws and his teeth into my flesh, just as determined to force me into a shift asI am to hurt him. Our injuries compound, however, as our bond holds true. Every rake of my claws through his flesh is quickly mended, but at the cost of our shared pain. Mates aren’t meant to fight each other, and the proof is in how futile our efforts are. Blow after blow, bite after bite, we feel each other’s pain as though it is our own, and when Alistair’s wounds heal, for the first time in my life, so do mine.
But my body can’t keep up with the rapid changes; I’m running on fumes within minutes. Alistair’s blood on my tongue is sweet as honey, and I hate him for it. For everything. Regardless of if he’s at fault. I need someone to blame, and right now, my fuckingtrue matesounds as good of a target as any.
It’s Alistair’s family’s fault that I’m a shifter without a pack.
Whether or not I take a mate in the future doesn’t change the fact that I’m in this position because of their constant overbearance in my life.
His eyes narrow as though he can hear my thoughts—which would be the fucking icing on the cake if it were true—and he pounces, slamming his entire body weight onto my chest and pinning me to the ground. With his jaw encircling my throat, he huffs, sinking his teeth a fraction into my skin.
Panic races up my spine.
It’s a full moon. We may not bein the throesof intimacy, but he can’t bite my neck without consequences. Not when we’re supposed to be mates. Not when we don’t know the depth of thisthingbetween us.
Power surges through my body and erupts in an inferno, flaring out so brightly that it burns through Callum’s shield and lights up the night sky. Alistair yelps in surprise and leaps back. Before he can heal, I see it—the burns scorching his fur and searing his skin, starting at his jaw and licking up one side of his face. He drops to the snow with a whine and buries his burning flesh in the frost.
My heart pounds harder than it can withstand, the blood in my veins little more than liquid fire as it courses through me. I whimper as my muscles twist, unable to keep up with whatever the hells is happening to me. I cry out in pain as my body shifts back to human form, my energy spent and my miraculous healing no longer working. Heat consumes my flesh before narrowing its focus to the side of my neck, flaring up and over my jaw until it curls along the highest point of my cheek.
I open my eyes to find Alistair as naked as I am, his body trembling as he glares at me. “What have you done?” His voice is a rasp of pain, and when he turns his head to avoid my eyes, I witness the lingering effects of our fight.
A deep burn across his neck mirrors my own, the injury trailing up the side and over his jaw, flaring out across his cheek in a swirling pattern that would be beautiful if it weren’t inflamed, the naturally tanned skin now marbling with a deep pink that refuses to heal.
“My father was right.” Alistair’s eyes water as he shakes his head, stretching the charred skin until its pain slices through my own neck, our bond ensuring that we both feel each other’s wounds.
Something must be broken between us, because fated mates are supposed to empower and heal each other. All we seem to do is break each other down into our sharpest pieces.
