Page 56 of Pack Ruin
I ignored him, because Luke’s eyes were opening slightly. His lips formed my name before he fell back into unconsciousness.
“He woke up!” My voice was far too loud for the situation we were in, and Joaquin glared at me. With a wince, I whispered, “He spoke, or tried to.”
“You are young, but very powerful. Your new bond with our little mate is a seductive source of energy for my wolf, and for Luke’s. It is best you do not touch me again.”
I thought for a moment. “You’re saying if I touch you, you could accidentally suck me dry?”
He lifted one dark eyebrow. “Crudely put, but yes. It is possible.”
“What about Luke? What if I touch him? Could he pull—” Joaquin was already shaking his head. “I meant, couldyoupull energy from me through him, enough to wake him up, so he can walk out of here? I don’t think I can carry him to the fence without being caught.” I didn’t mention that Joaquin looked almost half-dead himself. There really wasn’t a safe way to tell an immortal, evil, uber-powerful creature that he looked like shit.
“It might work,” he admitted at last. “I had to create a significant bond… I could facilitate the transfer, though it might mean another bond…” He let out a long exhale that might have been a laugh. “I have done many things over the course of my long life. I find this… not knowing… exhilarating.”
I was almost certain “exhilarating” was another way of saying “terrifying.” I focused on a different part of his rambling. “Another bond?”
He nodded slowly. “You may become connected to Luke in the same way that I am. And…”
“Connected to you as well.”
“Yes.”
Fuck.My breath was shaky as I let it out. I couldn’t do this without knowing. “Will it hurt Flor?”
“No. I would never allow it. I would use the last of my power to keep that from happening, even if it meant my own death.”
“And Luke’s.”
He nodded.
I understood. But did he? “I’m a rogue now, but I still follow the moon’s laws. I can’t be bonded to a wolf who has no honor. Who’d kill indiscriminately. Who’d make flowers out of intestines, for fuck’s sake.”
He regarded me for a long moment, then asked, “Did she like them?” I didn’t want to answer, but finally, I nodded once. “What did she say?”
“She said… Damnit, she said it was sweet.”
That eyebrow arched again. “You are already bound to abehrserk, little brother. What will you do when she kills again? Will you cast her aside? Will you make her feel that she is not worthy of your bond, because she was forged in a hotter fire, made for greater feats than you can imagine?”
I was already shaking my head. “She’s not like that. She’s not a cold-blooded killer.”
“We are alllike that, as you say,” he murmured. “Given the right spark, we are all one breath away from embracing the worst of our natures. I’ll understand if you would not risk a bond with me. If Luke dies, if I die as well, she will survive. I will ensure it. The magical bond I made with her is tenuous, and Icould make its cleaving painless.” His gaze bored into me, and I shivered under its weight. “But I believe she would not thank you for taking that choice from her. I also believe you have too much courage not to try.”
Outside, the wind picked up, whistling around the corners of the Pack House, a sense of urgency in the sound. “One condition,” I managed to say, though my tongue was dry in my mouth, and my throat clogged with fear. Joaquin nodded. “You can’t call me little brother. I’m at least six inches taller than you.”
His quiet laughter spilled through the room, somehow painting the walls with shadows. “We have a bargain.”
“A bargain with the devil. What could go wrong?” I muttered before I closed my eyes, and laid my hand on Luke’s chest, right over his heart.It was time to wake him.
26
Rescue
GRIGOR
It had been many years since I’d admired another shifter’s courage, other than my own little queen’s. But this young pup was dealing admirably with his fear. A justifiable one, given my past and my reputation. A fear of magic, as he had been taught, and the more universal fear of the unknown.
But as I felt his spirit connect with Luke’s, through the bond I had with that one, I found even more to admire in the way he opened himself up fully—in spite of his fears—to whatever the bond required.
For her. Like me, he would risk all for her safety. Her happiness.
