“See ya in a bit.” Viper took off toward the rath. “He won’t be long,” he called over his shoulder.
He kept his eyes trained on the Fianna door as the bond pulled taut, a line drawn straight to Reaper’s soul. He bared his teeth, his fingers flexing around the hilts of his swords. He could almost taste him on the wind.
Failinis sat up and whined.
He’s coming.
Our mate is coming.
His and Failinis’s excitement dropped when a stench like spoiled milk hit them.
Wrong.Wrongwrongwrong.
What is that?
His vision sharpened, and the world snapped into brutal clarity as Failinis pushed forward.
It’s coming from the other side of the door.
Cian, Failinis, I need you.
A blast of panic-filled rage roared down the Grá Croí bond, and it took everything he was not to shift on the spot.
Reaper.
Danger.
Reaper.
Danger.
Cian raced toward the door, but the magic zapped him on his ass, refusing to allow him through.
“Let me go! He needs us!” He scrambled to his feet and pushed through the pain of the magic warning him off to peer through to the other side.
Reaper stood in the clearing before the Dolmen, his body rigid and his fists clenched at his sides, facing a man whose sour milk stench wafted through the door.
The man’s gaze was locked onto Reaper like a predator sighting prey.
Rage roared through Cian and the wolf.
Mine.
Mine.
Ours.
A primal claim that drowned out everything else. The man dared to lift a hand and trail a finger along the edge of the Dolmen’s stone like he had all the time in the world. “You always did look better with a few bruises,” his voice was a poisoned caress.
This must be Derek the asshole.
Derek the asshole dies today.
Reaper didn’t flinch or back down, but Cian felt how his muscles locked, the way his breath hitched, just for a second, the way his mind screamed for his Grá Croí.
Cian’s lips peeled back from his teeth, and the air around him crackled.Closer, Mate,he growled down the bond.I am at the door.Bring him to me.
Reaper’s pulse stuttered, and his fingers twitched as if he wanted to reach for a weapon that wasn’t there. Then he took a step to the side, then another, and another. Luring the predator into the trap as he worked his way to the Fianna door.
