Page 113 of Challenged Mate
His nostrils flared, and irritation flittered across his gaze. A second later, he schooled his features and said, “Then, I suppose you leave me no choice.”
He lifted a hand and shot a green streak of light into the air like a signal flare.
Before my next breath, a cloying, dark energy billowed from the depths of the forest. It rolled towards us, crashing upwards into a wall of smoke as it collided with the ward protecting us.
Asher stepped back. I lifted my hands and rested them on his back. We all watched a black cloud form overhead, gathering into an ominous beast above. In a blink, it zipped across the sky, not stopping until it hovered over town.
Thirty-Six
Dark magic hungheavy over the innocent Wilds shifters in town, and the violent look in Hugh’s eyes said he would not hesitate to unleash it if we didn’t do what he wanted.
I gaped at the manifestation of black magic, cringing from the sharp pricks of awareness it sent all over my body.
It felt nothing like magic I’d grown used to.
That magic was warm, if a bit shocking.
Black magic was cold and threatening. My wolf winced in its presence. I did the same.
“Impossible,” Axel breathed. Louder, he declared, “You cannot breach our wards.”
Hugh twirled his fingers dramatically, motioning towards the darkness. “And yet, I have.”
“You resort to threats the moment you don’t get your way?” Asher challenged Hugh. “What sort of compromise is this?”
“I tried to compromise,” Hugh countered, sounding much too calm for a man who threatened a community full of children. “You rejected my proposition. If threats are what it takes to get what I want, then so be it.” He rotated his wrist in front of his face. The dark cloud began to descend. Even from our distance, I heard fearful shouts from town.
“Wait!”
The cloud floated in place.
“Yes, Blair?” Hugh asked.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Ignoring Hugh, I grabbed Asher’s elbow and tugged him. He turned around. I stepped close, letting my hands rest on his chest.
I peered up into his anxious blue eyes, and my heart twisted. He feared for his pack, but he wouldn’t sacrifice me for them. And it would destroy him.
Without me needing to ask, he put up a silencing barrier. For the first time, he also erected a cylindrical wall of power. The solid-colored magic blocked us from view, preventing anyone from reading our lips.
“You know about blood vows?” I asked.
His nostrils flared. “Yes.”
“Can you come up with the phrasing for the vow? Make it where it would be impossible for Hugh to hurt me without breaking the vow and ending his own life?”
Asher’s eyes darkened. “Blair, no. There’s got to be another way.”
“I don’t see one,” I replied softly. “He has Hunter, and he’s threatening the town. If we are able to guarantee the safety of both, while also guaranteeing he won’t be able to hurt me, I say we do it.”
“Blair.” He squeezed his eyes closed. “I can’t.”
“It’s my choice, Asher.” My voice hardened, but I softened it when I added, “If I have a chance to end all of this, once and for all, I’m going to take it.”
His eyes opened. “This won’t be the end, Blair. You’re your mother’s heir. The Moonstone is yours.”
“I don’t want to be her heir.” I stared at the base of his throat and confessed, “Magic isn’t intuitive to me, Asher. I don’t wish it away, but I don’t want to become any more immersed with the covens than I already am. If Hugh can get the Moonstone from me, and doing so stops the rogue sorcerers and rabid shifters from attacking people I care about, then I have to take this chance. I will never forgive myself otherwise.”
“You don’t know what he wants to do with it,” Asher countered, trying one last time to convince me to abandon my plan. “For all we know, he could try to hurt the packs with it.”
