“Steve, take her,” Devon said, just barely preventing himself from staggering. He should’ve asked Dillon, his beta, or maybe one of the girls, but were-lions excelled at protection and defense turned offense. Steve was Charity’s best bet, even still recovering from his previous injuries. “I’ll need to change. The energy is sapping out of me too quickly.”
“You got it, boss,” Steve said, leaving the lookout point next to Macy.
Emery took Steve’s place at the edge of their grouping of trees, looking down the long, wide path toward the portal. He swore. “Yup, it’s onto us. It must be higher up in the chain of command than I’d thought. What the hell has gotten the elves so riled up that they’d send someone important way out here to no man’s land? It doesn’t make sense.”
Devon bowed, his arms suddenly so tired that he wasn’t sure he could hold Charity up while Steve covered the short distance to take her. But before they could make the exchange, she jolted and sucked in a breath. Her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze found his immediately and filled with tears.
“Devon!” She struggled to wrap her arms around his neck. “Thank God, Devon! I was… You brought me back.”
“Penny did,” he said, falling to a knee, barely keeping her off the ground. He kissed her, relief filling his whole being. “Penny and Emery did,” he said against her lips. “You’re going to be okay. You’ll be okay now.”
His limbs gave out. He half lowered, half dumped Charity onto the ground.Chapter Fifteen“I got it, boss.” Steve bent quickly and scooped her up, flaring Devon’s possessiveness. He pushed the primal reaction away and wasted no time changing into his wolf. He’d be stronger in his animal form, both physically and in magic.
Sights and sounds filled in around him, so much sharper than they’d been. The smell of pine mixed with the sweetness of flowers. The crunch of grass rode the scuff of Emery’s shoe on a rock. An animal in the distance screeched out a warning, alerting others of a stranger in its midst.
If that stranger was the elf, it wasn’t far away. Emery was right: they needed to get a move on.
He checked in with his pack, all in human form. They smelled of blood and sweat, most of them still healing and hiding their pain. If they could hide it, they could endure it. They were good to move.
Through body posturing and a few minimal movements, he got them up on their feet, picking up packs and preparing to go.
“What’s happening? What’s this…this feeling? It’s…” Charity said, and a surge of her magic slammed into Devon.
“Devon let me set up a sort of energy share between you two,” Penny explained, but Devon lost the string of words immediately.
He wobbled where he stood and lowered his head, digesting the changes wrought by the energy share. Her magic didn’t flirt with his like it had in the past—the two were intertwined, his power boosting hers, and hers boosting his. His senses had taken on a keener edge. He could pick out more layers to the smells, hear nuances in that animal’s warning, and feel the fatigue and battle wariness of his pack.
He could also feel danger winding toward them, finding its way and picking up its pace. And Charity’s magic was pushing against him, too. Impossibly strong and spicy and not right.
Urgency prompted him to push past his tiredness. He could rest when he was dead.
He regained his footing, instinctively shoving his magic at Charity, infusing it with the thrill of the hunt, the serenity of silently cutting through the forest, and the victory of a fresh kill.
“Oh! That’s…” Charity closed her eyes and sighed. “Hmmm, Devon. I feel you. I feel… It’s like you and the good side of my magic pumping through me together. Hmm, God, it feels so good.”
Steve’s eyes widened and his face turned red. He faced Devon. “I’m good with being a mule for a beautiful woman, but if she’s going to make sounds like that, things might get hairy.”
“Didn’t need to say it, brother.” Rod’s gaze flicked below Steve’s bared belt line. “You’re showing it.”
“A few of us are showing it.” Andy covered himself. “This is why I said we needed clothes.”
Devon emitted a low growl, desperately pushing away his possessive urge to rip into Steve’s jugular. Instead, he passed through the brush while sending his magic back to Charity, feeling his own energy build from the exchange. Good news.
“Amazing,” Penny said as Devon dodged back out, cataloging the various smells in the area. “Their magic is similar to a dual-mage bond. Emery, that was your addition. How’d you know it would work like that? I was just thinking they’d share energy, not actual magic. You had your finger on the pulse of the situation.”