Page 81 of Ruin

Reed? Brother? I’m here for you. Come on out of this fucking darkness and fight this piece of shit! You are better than him, stronger than him. It’s time to kick his arse out! Take back your body, my friend. Come back to your mate, and stand by my side once again.

A small answering pulse of hope pushed against my mind.That’s it, brother…I’m not going to leave you. If you don’t want to do it, I will. Either way, you are coming back to us. You feel me?

The demon slithered forward. I could feel it trying to rebuild the wall and trap my brother again. I growled, and instead of throwing its touch off me, I grasped it with my mind, burning it just enough to weaken it, fully prepared to tear it out of my friend. But first, I wanted to give Reed the chance to expel this demon himself. My goal wasn’t to kill Reed and set his souls free. It was to save him. And to do that, Reed had to be strong. I felt the air heat outside my physical body as my power surrounded us all. Holding the demon still, I fed Reed more and more of my energy. I wanted to throw that slimy demon fucker back to Hell, but Reed deserved that honour. I sought out Reed’s wolf and human souls and held on to them with everything I had. I strained to keep them anchored in his body as the demon fought me.

A blast of hatred and determination hit me and, despite my shaking limbs, I grinned and released my grip on Reed’s wolf.You strong enough, brother?

There was an answering growl and a pulse of alpha power.

Then, by all means, have at it.

Reed’s wolf spirit tore past me and swiped the demon from my hold. I let it go. His wolf ripped and tore at the screeching demon until it gave a final squeal and released its hold on Reed’s body, hightailing it back to Hell. I felt it. A wave of belonging as Reed’s wolf and human souls settled back in place within his body.

As soon as I felt that connection, I sighed and pulled out of Reed’s head, panting and shaking.

“Oh, Mother Wolf…” breathed Myles as Reed’s Were body shrank into an emaciated man.

I fell to my knees by my brother’s side, my bulk dwarfing his starved form. Carefully, I pulled my claws from his flesh, but pushed more and more of my energy into him, not stopping until he moaned. His eyes fluttered open, his gaze going straight to his sobbing mate. Reed’s smile was one of such utter love and relief, that even in beast form it left a tight feeling in my chest.

I urged Prime to recede. He did and I sank back, panting, beads of sweat running down my face.

“Fuck me, Connor, you did it. You pushed that demon out and kept hold of Reed’s souls. That’s amazing. You didn’t even need the Halo,” Owen breathed, his voice shaking.

I blew out a relieved breath and stood. “Reed got rid of the demon himself. I just helped free our brother and gave him enough energy to fight.” My knees wobbled from the effort it took to hold my weight up. The others all looked on in awe. Yeah, I hadn’t actually allowed myself to believe I could do this without the Halo—but damn, it had worked, and I couldn’t be happier. I patted Myles on the back as he whispered encouraging and calming words to his mate while healing his wounds. My throat ached at the sight of them together. I swallowed, hoping Ember could feel my relief. I should go now and tell her… I pushed against our bond searching for her…still nothing.

I sighed. She was probably still asleep. And that was exactly where I wanted to be, asleep, with her warm soft body in my arms. Protected and safe.

“Stone, Alex, stay with Myles while he heals Reed. Drake would you help move Reed to somewhere better than this pallet? He deserves better. And get them what they need, and I mean anything; medicine, food, drink...whatever.” Drake was already talking into his phone. Alex and Stone moved up to stand beside Myles and Reed. Man, even Stone’s eyes looked a little misty. I turned away, knowing they would all take care of their own; our own. “Owen? You and Shane have some organising to do, the rest of you help Owen get us ready to move. I’m going back to Ember. She deserves to know about Reed.”

“Yeah, she’ll be made up,” Owen agreed. Then his shrewd gaze rested on me. “I’ll get some food sent over to you in a couple of hours, boss. You look beat to shit. Go back to your woman and get some sleep. We’ll look after everything.”

I slapped his shoulder and gave my best friend a smile of thanks. He knew how much pushing that demon out of Reed had taxed me. There was no way I could free every Were who became possessed by a demon, not like that. It would be too exhausting and time consuming. I still needed to track down an angel. And I still had to find Rawson, and somehow set Zander free from Hell. I sighed as I made my way back to Ember. All I wanted was to slip into Ember’s warmth and hold her to me.

As I hurried across the compound, my heart beat faster, a sense of foreboding settling into my soul when I still couldn’t feel her. The cabin was pitch black. No lights.She could just be asleep...Bursting into a run, I crossed the compound and leapt up the steps into the dark corridor. I inhaled and frowned. Shannon’s scent hit me, but it was faint. Ember’s was even harder to smell.

“Ember!” I strode down the short corridor and pushed open the door, slamming my hand against the light switch.

The bed was empty.

I ran back out, trying to find her sweet scent. Nothing. I tipped back my head and released a howl. It rocked the night air and males began running out from the cave.

I inhaled, my chest heaving as fear and fury flooded me in equal measure.

Stone and Owen skidded to a halt. “What’s wrong?” Owen barked.

“Ember is gone.”

“What do you mean? Shannon was with her. Perhaps they’ve gone for a walk, or shifted…” Stone tried to reason.

“No! Ember was exhausted, she had no energy to shift. Using her phoenix depleted her, and then with the past five days…Fuck! She’d never leave without telling me. We have a bond and I can’t feel her.” I swallowed my fear. “At all. I thought it was because she was asleep.”

Stone inhaled...and growled. “Shannon is over here.” He began jogging around the back of the cabin towards the fence. Then he began sprinting, right when the coppery smell of blood hit us. Shannon’s blood…and Ember’s.

Stone headed to a cluster of storage boxes. He ripped the lid off the top one. Shannon was a jumble of arms, legs and blonde hair. Blood seeped from a hole in her chest. Stone roared, his fury a living thing that matched my own. A purple haze drifted from his body into the air, charging it with energy before he pulled it back inside himself. As carefully as he could, he lifted Shannon’s body from the basket. Her face was bruised, her fists and arms cut as if she’d fought hard against multiple blades, and there was a huge swelling and blood on the back of her head.

Prime burst from me. I released a roar, a battle cry that promised pain and death to whoever had taken my mate. I stomped up to Shannon, my monstrous form casting a shadow across her and Stone. He snarled at me, a male protecting his mate. I didn’t care, I roared in his face. He’d back off or I’d end him. He roared right back, his eyes a mix of wolf and violet magic. I lifted my arm to swipe away his challenge when ice wrapped over my fist, holding back my strike.

I panted, inhaling the scent of my mate’s kidnappers.

---