Page 27 of Savage Sacrifice
“I could use this spell, tether you to one of the wolves, and it should allow your memories to remain intact,” she explains, filling me with hope, but there’s a slight lilt to her voice, one that makes me pause.
“But?” It’s a question, and the guilt that flashes in her eyes confirms that she knows I can sense something’s not right. She tries to squash it down.
“But?” she repeats, trying to deny my assessment, and I cock a brow at her.
“I can see it in your eyes,” I state, and she sighs, defeat reflected in her facial features as she peers at my sister.
“But I can’t guarantee that you’ll keep your wolf,” she admits, and I frown.
“I never asked you to.”
“No, I did,” Minnie breathes, leaning into my side, and I can feel her tremble with worry. Fuck. Before I can offer a single word of comfort, she breathes into my neck as she wraps her arms around me. “I’m scared, Linc.”
Me too.
“I know, but we have to believe in this just as much as she did,” I murmur back. “Even more than that, I can't leave her out there alone and I can’t ask this of anyone else. It has to be me.” I’m certain of it, but as I envelop my sister in my arms, her sobs worm their way forward and she sniffles in my embrace. Pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, I breathe my sister in. “I love you, Minnie. No matter what. You know that. You might drive me insane proving me wrong all the time, but if there is anyone in the world I want to keep me fucking humble, it will always be you.”
“I love you too, dumbass,” she whispers into my neck as Bryony lays the grimoire out on the desk before reaching for her bag of sand.
Blaze, Wylder, Asher, Tatum, Minnie, and I all watch in silence as she makes the star symbol on the floor, a circle etched around it. It reminds me of the same symbol that was beneath us as we created our coven.
The Savage Six.
Now the Savage Five, about to be the Savage Four, but are we even any of those now that we don’t have our center?
Fuck if I know.
Bryony turns to me with a tight smile, confirming the fact that she’s ready for me, but I turn to Minnie first. “Do you need to leave?” I ask, and she scoffs.
“Never, I’m going to hold your hand forever,” she insists, reaching for me and lacing our fingers together.
I feel like my entire body is glowing from our connection, but it’s quickly cut short as Blaze clears his throat.
Fucker.
“If this works like it did for Polaris, his physical body won’t be around for long,” he states, reminding us all, and a tightness immediately builds in my chest.
“So we won’t know,” Minnie realizes, and my heart aches even more.
But I’m standing by my decision, so I need to own it. Planting my hands on her shoulders, I face her head on with a fresh sense of determination, but Bryony speaks before I get a chance.
“Not for a while, but whoever you tether to will feel the connection,” she states, and I quickly let my irritation at her interruption dissolve.
“Tether to me,” Tatum orders, eyes wide as he nods at me.
Minnie takes a step back, letting my arm drop back to my side as I turn my attention to my friend, my brother, my extended family.
Our arms wrap around one another immediately, the embrace calming me and painful all at once. I bring my forehead to his, squeezing his neck, and he pats me on the back.
Wylder clears his throat, a solemn look on his face as he rakes his fingers through his cropped hair. “Since you’re over here planning your funeral, how about we consider the fact that you need to die first.” His words only add weight to the heaviness in the room, but I turn my attention to Blaze.
“You.”
“The vampire?” Asher blurts, eyes wide, and I offer him a tight smile.
“You guys care too much,” I explain, and nobody comes back with a refusal, leaving Blaze to take a step into the center of the space.
“How?” he asks, more than ready for the challenge, and I sigh, releasing my hold on Tatum so Bryony can maneuver him into position while I stand toe to toe with Blaze.
