Page 81 of Ignited

“Oh, my dear, but you will.”

Chapter 34

Pain knifed through Karisma as Maximilian pulled on the cord in her belly. She fell and was dragged across the stone floor, towards the sorcerer in his chair.

She caught a glimpse of Boomer’s brother, clenching his fists, wanting to do something for her but making himself stay still.

Maximilian was about to play right into their hands.

The agony stopped, and Karisma lay at Maximilian’s feet, panting. Then she felt a force piercing deep inside her, coming from Maximilian through the Orb and into her, reaching out to everyone connected to her.

Boomer. Her mate, her love, with a bond as deep and true and wild as a rushing river. His brother, who loved him so deeply, and who Boomer loved in return.

To Mikey, to Breanna and Switch, Sanchez and Madison, Cisco and Matéo and Dealer.

All the wolves here in Maximilian’s compound, all the ones left on the Ridge, with Gunn as their center point and anchor, alpha, guardian and brother.

She could feel them all, the power of their bond, and herself a part of it.

But there was more. Underneath that, like the heart of the mountain itself, something dark and old and powerful. Rooted in the deep earth, with tiny sparks of light like buried crystals, dangerous as slow-moving lava, heavy as granite.

Thanatos.

The bond reached for him, pulled at him, calling him into being at this place and time.

A sparkling green slit appeared in the air, and then exploded into a ragged hole, the shock reverberating through the entire room.

Thanatos stepped in, a glowing crystal sphere held between his hands.

Bro, obviously waiting for the moment everyone would be caught off guard, grabbed a weapon from the nearest guard, shot Riker, then took two steps and dove towards Karisma, knife already out of its sheath. As he slid to a stop next to her, he cut the bonds around her hands.

Then he rolled over and shot Maximilian. Just as he squeezed the trigger, the entire cavern shook, followed by the rumble of an explosion as the sound waves caught up.

Boomer.

Bro’s shot missed Maximilian’s heart by an inch.

The sorcerer jerked in his chair, and lost his hold on Karisma. She fell to her knees, trying to fight Maximilian, to let go of the bond with the pack, to keep him from pulling on their power.

Two of the soldiers opened fire on Bro. He threw himself on top of her, and she felt the bullets hit him.

Someone barked an order, and half the soldiers in the room took off at a run, heading towards the explosion. The others were taken by surprise as Mikey and Gunn leaped out of the portal, fully armed and spraying bullets.

But all Karisma could think about was Bro. She’d felt his wounds through the pack bond, and every wolf felt them too. She heard Boomer’s howl of outrage, not with her ears but with her heart, as he felt the bullets go deep and ran to save them both.

Maximilian rose to his feet, he and Thanatos facing each other across Karisma and Bro, on the floor. She pulled him to the side, putting pressure on the worst wound in his chest, feeling the warm blood under her hands.

Maximilian lifted his helmet off his head, and he and Thanatos faced each other—one controller pitted and cracked and discolored, having never been meant for the power he’d tried to wield through it.

And the other bright and powerful, yet all alone, disconnected from the circle it was meant to be a part of.

Power crackled between them.

Karisma could still feel Maximilian gathering power from the pack, siphoning it away from them and from Thanatos. A dull red glow crawled toward her, but she couldn’t get away. She couldn’t leave Bro.

She whispered to him, “You are not going to die on us. You hear me? Cole Hunter, you are not allowed to fucking die!”

At the sound of his true name, his eyelids flickered. Hold on, she told him through the bond. You can do it.