Page 28 of Whisker me Away
But even as he spoke, cracks appeared in the magical construct. The corruption pressed against his defenses with relentless hunger, and Freya could feel his strength beginning to fail.
"No, you don't." She started to step around him, to add her power to his, but the vines suddenly surged forward with vicious intent.
Rowan's barrier shattered like glass.
Corrupted tendrils lashed toward them with lightning speed, reaching for Freya with single-minded determination. She threw up her own hasty defense, but the attack was too fast, too focused. The vines wrapped around her wrists like iron shackles, their touch burning through her skin with cold fire.
Then Kieran was there.
He moved faster than humanly possible, his tiger strength allowing him to tear through the corrupted vines like they were paper. His eyes blazed with gold as partial shift brought enhanced reflexes and deadly claws, turning him into something beautiful and terrifying.
"Get away from her," he snarled. The remaining vines actually recoiled from the sound, their advance halting as if they recognized a greater threat.
Kieran reached Freya in two strides, his arms coming around her as he positioned himself between her and the corruption. His scent surrounded her, grounding her enough to focus.
"You okay?" he asked, his hands gentle as they checked her for injuries despite the deadly tension in his frame.
"Fine," she breathed, though the burns on her wrists suggested otherwise. "How did you know?"
He cleared his throat and she knew his answer would instantly be a lie. "Was walking back from the tavern."
Around them, the restaurant erupted in chaos as other diners fled and staff called for help. But the corruption seemed to have lost interest now that its primary target was protected, the vines retreating through the broken windows as quickly as they'd arrived.
Rowan stood frozen beside their overturned table, his face pale with shock.
"It was hunting her," he said quietly. "The corruption. It came straight for Freya."
"Yeah. And it'll try again."
"Then she needs protection." Rowan's voice carried defeat and acceptance in equal measure. "She needs someone who can keep her safe."
His meaning was unmistakable. Someone stronger, faster, more dangerous than an earth warlock could ever be.
Someone like Kieran.
16
KIERAN
The attack had changed everything. Kieran stood in Freya's cottage living room, his tiger prowling restlessly beneath his skin as he catalogued every possible entry point, every vulnerability in her defenses. The Thornweaver wasn't playing games anymore. It was hunting his mate directly and openly, and that made it a threat he couldn't afford to underestimate.
"You don't have to stay," Freya said from the kitchen doorway, though her voice lacked conviction. She'd changed into comfortable pajama pants and an oversized sweater, her copper hair loose around her shoulders. The burns on her wrists were already healing thanks to her natural magic, but the memory of those black vines wrapped around her skin made his tiger more than furious.
"Yeah, I do." Kieran tested the locks on her front door, noting how the old cottage relied more on magical wards than physical security. "That thing came straight for you tonight. It's done with subtlety."
"The wards around the property are strong. My grandmother reinforced them every year."
"Your grandmother's wards didn't stop it from corrupting her roses." Kieran moved to check the windows, his movements efficient and controlled despite the chaos raging inside him. "And they won't stop it from trying again."
Freya was quiet while he finished his security sweep, but he could feel her watching him with that thoughtful intensity that made his skin burn with awareness. The cottage smelled like her everywhere he turned and it drove his tiger wild with possessive need.
"What about Rowan?" she asked finally.
"What about him?"
"He left the restaurant pretty shaken. I should probably call him, make sure he's okay."
Kieran's hands stilled on the window latch as jealousy surged through him like acid. The image of Rowan's earth magic failing under the corruption's assault, of him being unable to protect what should have been his, filled Kieran with savage satisfaction he didn't want to examine.
