Page 29 of Whisker me Away
"Rowan's fine," he said, his voice rougher than intended. "He's probably at home right now, realizing he's not equipped to handle what's coming."
"That's not fair."
"Isn't it?" Kieran turned to face her. "He couldn't hold a barrier against those vines for thirty seconds. What happens next time when I'm not there?"
"There won't be a next time."
"You really think so?" He moved closer, noting how her pulse fluttered when he stepped into her personal space. "I think that it looks like something ancient and powerful has decided you're worth hunting. And unless you've got a way to renew that binding spell in the next few days, it's only going to get stronger."
Freya's magic reacted around her like nervous energy, responding to the alpha authority in his voice. "I'm working on it."
"We're working on it." Kieran caught her chin gently, forcing her to meet his eyes. "This isn't something you handle alone anymore, Freya. Not when it's actively trying to kill you."
"I know." Her voice came out softer than usual, and he caught the exhaustion beneath her stubborn independence. "I just... this is my responsibility. My family's legacy."
"And you're my..." He stopped himself before he could say 'mate,' knowing she wasn't ready to hear it. "You're important to me. Which means your problems are my problems."
Something flickered across her expression, vulnerability mixed with hope. "Kieran..."
"Get some sleep." He stepped back before he could kiss her again. "I'll keep watch."
Freya hesitated like she wanted to argue, then nodded and headed toward her bedroom. "There are blankets in the hall closet if you get cold."
The sound of her door closing left Kieran alone with his thoughts and the torture of her scent surrounding him like a physical presence. He settled into the armchair facing the front door, every sense on high alert for signs of supernatural threat.
His tiger paced restlessly, demanding he go to her, claim her, mark her as his so thoroughly that nothing would dare threaten her again. The bond was vibrating even through the bedroom wall, incomplete but undeniable, making his skin burn with the need to complete what fate had started.
But Freya needed to choose him freely, not because supernatural instincts demanded it. And she was still tangled up with guilt over Rowan, still fighting feelings she didn't understand.
Every sound outside made his tiger surge toward the surface. Wind through the trees, a cat moving through the garden, Mrs. Patterson's dog barking three houses away. Normal sounds that shouldn't have triggered his protective instincts, but did anyway because his mate was vulnerable and the thing hunting her was clever enough to use stealth.
Dawn couldn't come fast enough.
When morning finally arrived, Kieran was exhausted but alert, his tiger's restlessness making real sleep impossible. The scent of coffee drifted from the kitchen where Freya was already moving around, and he followed the promise of caffeine like a lifeline.
"Sleep at all?" she asked, not looking up from the coffee maker. She'd braided her copper hair back and changed into jeans and a soft green sweater that brought out her eyes.
"Some." He accepted the mug she offered, noting how carefully she avoided touching his fingers. "You?"
"A little." The shadows under her eyes suggested otherwise. "I kept thinking about what you said. About the binding spell requiring a mated pair."
Freya’s phone buzzed with an urgent call from Maizy before she could continue. Freya answered on speaker, and her best friend's panicked voice filled the kitchen.
"Freya, thank the Mother you're awake. You need to get to Twyla's café right now. Something's happened."
"What kind of something?" Freya's magic flared with anxiety.
"Corruption. It hit overnight, but not the whole café. Just the herb storage area where Twyla keeps the blends you made for her signature teas. Everything you touched is completely destroyed."
Kieran felt ice settle in his stomach. The attack wasn't random anymore. It was specifically targeting anythingconnected to Freya's magic, anything she'd influenced or enhanced.
"We'll be right there," he said into the phone.
They found Twyla standing in the wreckage of her storage room, tears tracking down her cheeks as she surveyed the destruction. The fae-blooded woman's usual cheer was nowhere to be found, replaced by devastation that made Kieran's protective instincts extend beyond just his mate.
"It was so precise," Twyla said, her voice shaking. "Every jar of your blends, every herb bundle you prepared, even the containers you'd touched. But nothing else. Like it knew exactly what belonged to you."
Freya knelt beside the blackened remains of what had been carefully crafted healing teas, her magic probing the corruption with growing alarm. "It's learning. Getting stronger. More focused."
