Page 79 of Curses and Casualties
“Did we just?—”
“Change everything?” Ryan finishes, pressing his forehead to mine. “Yeah. I think we did.”
Above us, the sky shimmers with rainbow light as the heartstone dust spreads on the wind, carrying magic and possibility to every corner of the earth.
“So,” I say, still catching my breath. “Good ritual?”
He laughs, pulling me closer. “The best.”
In the distance, the sounds of battle have stopped. Everyone—friend and foe—has paused to witness the light show we’ve created. And somewhere in that silence, I hear the first new howl. Then another. Then dozens.
The world is waking up.
Chapter 29
Ryan
“We just fucked so hard we broke a mountain,” Georgia says, grinning like the world’s most satisfied wolf. “I’m pretty sure that’s going to be tough to top for our anniversary.”
I can’t help but laugh, pulling her closer against me. The crater that used to be the Soulcave still glows with residual magic, rainbow light dancing across broken stone. Her skin carries a faint luminescence, and I can feel the completed bond between us crackling like a live wire.
“I don’t think that’s going in the official pack history,” I say, kissing the top of her head.
“Oh, I don’t know. ‘And then the prophesied pair banged so hard the mountain exploded’ has a certain ring to it.”
“World-changing sex,” I agree. “The Elders are going to lose their minds.”
Now let me run with my mate,Kane rumbles in my mind, and I can’t argue. The need is bone-deep, a craving in my blood and marrow to let the wolf loose, to test this new, wild world until we find the edges of each other. But Georgia’s human side tugs me back for a moment, her voice stitching me to the now.
“Do we need to, you know, check in with everyone up there?” she asks, gesturing vaguely toward where the battle was happening. “I mean, we did just detonate a magical bomb. People are probably wondering if we’re alive or if we accidentally vaporized ourselves in the pursuit of world-changing orgasms.”
“We just broke reality,” I say, still holding her hand. “I think we’re owed at least a few minutes to catch our breath. Besides, it doesn’t sound like anyone is fighting anymore.”
Her smile curves quick and wicked, and she leans into me, hip pressed to mine. “In that case, I think we should take our time. Savor being the most powerful couple on the continent before the Council gets wise to it.”
“And then?” I ask, more wolf than man in my need to know her next move.
“Then,” she says, voice lowering to a hush even though we’re surrounded by no one but stone and starlight, “we see what this bond can really do.”
But before we can shift past claws and canines, the air around us shimmers, and suddenly we’re not alone. Amara materializes first, her usual composed expression cracking to show genuine joy. Behind her, the silver-haired witch and two others step through portals of their own making. Their eyes go wide as they take in the crater, the floating heartstone dust, and us standing in the middle of it all.
“By the moon goddess,” the silver-haired witch breathes. “You actually did it. You completed the Soul Bond and...” She gestures helplessly at the glowing dust swirling through the air. “This is beyond anything we imagined.”
“Congratulations,” Amara says, warmth flooding her voice. “You’ve not only saved yourselves but freed the magic that’s been hoarded here for centuries. The heartstones were never meant to be locked away. You’ve returned them to the world.”
“That’s great,” Georgia says, clutching her torn robe more tightly as a breeze threatens to steal what little coverage she has. “Really, I’m thrilled about the world-changing magic and all. But if we’re going to stand around chatting, could we maybe get some clothes first? I’m starting to feel like the world’s most underdressed revolutionary.”
One of the witches—a younger one with kind eyes—laughs and drops a pack in front of us. “Here. Basic, but they’ll do until we can get you proper clothing.”
“You know, I’ve always thought wolves should wear magical underwear or something,” the other witch says. “Kind of like superhero suits, but super stretchy with a weave that lets all that fur through so the wolf doesn’t look like it’s running around wearing panties.”
Georgia wiggles her eyebrows at me as she steps into the stretchy leggings. “Only if they come in acid green. Or with little moons on the butt.”
“Priorities,” I mutter, tugging on gray sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Dressed, I finally let myself breathe. Not because I’m worried about modesty—after what we just did, it seems like the least interesting thing about us. But because the mountain is silent in a way I’ve never heard. The sounds of battle are gone, replaced by the hush of wind and the weird, crystalline ringing of heartstone residue settling into the world.
Georgia’s at my side in a heartbeat, slipping her hand into mine. Her skin is warmer than human now, moonlit, softly luminous, and absolutely impossible to mistake for anything but what it is. My mate. Changed, radiant, wholly herself and wholly mine.
