Page 78 of Only You, No One Else

Caster wished he had an answer, but he too had wondered the same since the moment he encountered Pierce and all his power. Demons were meant to remain cloaked by the Underworld, separate from the living. Yet they had so far encountered two very powerful ones who seemed quite at home in this world.

“I don’t know, my love.” He tightened his embrace. “I’m just glad you came back to me.”

Mark settled back into the comfort of their closeness and sighed as if he too felt the bone-deep tiredness that Caster battled. “I feel stronger. Like my wolf is now somehow larger, more powerful.”

“Good. We’re going to need that.”

Mark hummed, sleep calling to him, and Caster gave in to the need for rest as well. He led them to their bed in silence. They undressed with the palpable change in Mark’s status a weight between them, and settled into each other without much fuss.

Mark closed his eyes and drifted away in a few minutes, his body the perfect fit against Caster’s. It took a while for Caster to ease the barrage of thoughts flying across his mind. He was certain Pierce couldn’t be a good thing for this world. Yet, he seemed to be the better of the demons the Underworld held in place. Perhaps Mark’s power was meant to ensure they couldn’t find a way to their world.

There was comfort in that. His strategic mind and gentle heart made him the perfect person for such a role. Caster only hoped it wouldn’t prove too much for him.

CHAPTER 52

The low whine of his wolf startled Mark awake. His wolf’s howl grew louder, every muscle in his body tightening with the warning. The witch. She was here. Her scent was imprinted on his wolf.

“What?” Caster jumped out of bed, reaching for him. He hadn’t even realized he’d moved. The animal side of him dragged him towards the door. Caster grabbed his arm, pulling him back, breaking his momentum. “Where?”

Mark nodded towards the door. “Outside.” His wolf growled low, no longer a warning, but a desire for blood, for the vengeance they’d been waiting a decade for.

Caster nodded at him to keep going, and the noise of their new predicament filtered through the pristine, quiet hallways. He saw the rest of the group, felt Caster’s presence at his back, but his wolf was leading the way, insistent on a transformation.

A chorus of chants reached his ears as he struggled to contain his animal. He should just give in, allow the more powerful animal to lead the way, but he wanted to do this in human form. The chants grew in volume and intensity, and a slow rumble began at his feet and ended in the house’s sturdy walls.

“She’s trying to break through the protection spells,” Riley said, and Mark turned to him.

“They…” Edie said. “More than one.” She closed her eyes as if searching for something in her mind. “All Water Witches.”

Confusion marred her features as silent communication broke out among the witches in the room. The house shook again, and Mark’s wolf growled its response. The Prime Alpha answered the roar, and although their more intimate mental connection had been severed, Mark knew a command from his Prime Alpha when he heard one. His wolf bowed to his more dominant brother, its intent retreating. He still itched to transform, but he understood Dean’s desire for more information before jumping into a fight that seemed to have come to them.

“Can she get through?” Caster asked. They were all in the main living room, even Mikey and Ben, who had stayed away from the other battles, looked eager and ready.

Riley shook his head, his considerable power unmistakable. “No. Not these protection spells. Not without her dark power.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Marcus pointed at Ben and Mikey. “Stay here!” Then he turned to Mark, giving him a curt nod. “Ready?”

Mark glanced at Dean, and the simple nod of permission from the Prime Alpha was all he needed. He let the wolf through, the surging power that he’d acquired in the Underworld easing the transformation. There was no pain, no struggle. He melded into a single entity for a fraction of a second, and then the wolf took over.

Dean remained in human form, but as the door opened, Mark’s focus narrowed to his primary goal. His eyes found Ethel first, the pristine white of the dress she wore glaring in the morning sun. She stood in front of her contingent of Water Witches, all dressed in white. The contrast of their choice of clothing and the black hair characteristic of her kind created the illusion of a mirror image. They looked and sounded like the same person.

Mark’s wolf growled its threat, but it was cautious as another surge of power tore from the witch and her coven to blast the house. The moment Ethel saw him would be etched in his mind for eternity. Her eyes flashed a scary red, and while that should have been concerning, Mark had only one goal.

A shout resounded from somewhere behind him, echoing in his mind space to reach past his wolf to his human self, but it was too late. The animal surging with power raced across the lawn, locked on its target. His jaws opened with a snarl, ready to receive their prize and close shut with resounding success.

He saw Ethel waver for a moment, but then she smiled, a black ball of that power she’d been trying to use against Pierce materializing in her hands. She pushed it at him, and it hit its mark, halting his momentum mid-stride. The impact sent his wolf crashing through the grass, the pain, negligible at first, spreading like a fire through him, burning him inside out.

He heard Caster’s voice, felt the desperate need to hold on to its promise of forever as he held his eyes shut against more pain than he’d ever felt. He cried out, the sound more human than wolf, but when he opened his eyes, searching for Caster, for any assistance, his vision was blanketed by a darkness that was too familiar.

***

He was in human form again, surrounded by total darkness. Mark felt his chest for the source of the pain he’d only experienced moments earlier, but everything was intact. The distinct feeling that he was being watched tickled his senses, and he looked around. At first, all he saw was darkness, but then two points of amber light appeared in the distance. They glowed, calling him to them. Eyes.

He hesitated a fraction, and then a gradual white flowed from above the eyes to cover them in the body of a wolf. His wolf. Confusion was the least of his concerns as he recognized himself. He was certain of two things: he couldn’t stay here, and his animal self knew the way out.

His wolf tilted its large head to the side, and a flood of healing hormones brought much-needed relief to his body. But when he tried to move, his feet would not cooperate. It was as if he was trapped by the ground itself, and the more he tried, the tighter its hold became.

His wolf growled, long and low, and the ground released him. He took a step towards the animal and panic set in as the wolf turned away from him. He relaxed when its constant communication in the form of its unique blend of healing hormones continued to flow through their connection.