Page 219 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Save the pack.

It was as simple as that.

She closed her eyes and gave him her life.

‘Ivy, no!"Paul pushed against the power flowing into him, but it didn’t help. She’d already gone limp at his side. His gaze met his aunt’s. ‘Please. Don’t let her do this.’

‘I don’t know how we can stop her.’

‘You have to. I can’t live without her.’

‘We can’t live without you.’

‘Then fix this.’

Iris glanced at Abby who shook her head, tears in her eyes. ‘There’s nothing I can do,’ the wolf-healer said.

‘Aunt. Please.’

‘I don’t know if I can.’

‘Please. Try.’

Iris’s jaw clenched as she pressed her lips together and touched Ivy. She gasped and grabbed her hand back a moment later. ‘Abby, they’re soul-bound.’

Abby’s mouth dropped open as her gaze ran over Ivy. ‘I had no idea. I never felt in her the return of an old soul.’

‘That’s because I don’t think she is an old soul. Neither is he. They’re brand new.’

‘Then how can they be soul-bound?’

‘I don’t know. But look. You’ll see it’s true.’

Abby touched them both on their chests, her eyes closing for long seconds—too long. Ivy’s lifeforce was flowing into him too fast.

Then the healer’s eyes snapped open on her gasp. ‘It’s true. Do you think—?’

Iris nodded. ‘Yes. It’s the only way.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Paul demanded. He’d learned nothing of this in his studies.

‘No time to explain now,’ Iris said. ‘But if it is true, we might be able to undo what you’ve done.’

Paul grabbed her wrist before she could lay a hand on him. ‘No. If you undo it, she will die.’

‘How can you be certain?’

‘I saw it.’

‘You better than anyone knows the future can be changed.’

‘Not this one. It is a static point. If she mates with me, she will die.’

‘And if we don’t undo what you’ve done, you will both die. Ivy in the next hour and you soon after because she is the only thing keeping you here.’

‘There has to be a way around it.’

‘There isn’t.’ Iris’s eyes bored into his, hard as flint, but with a touch of empathy at their depth. ‘Either way, she will die. It is up to you when and how.’

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