When he pushed the door open, his wolf hearing picked up Kiara gasping for breath. He flew around her furniture, down the hall and into her grotto bedroom.
Glissane had his hands around her
throat and had bent her backwards over the grotto wall. He saw that green flames rose on his cheeks. The wizard had the added physical strength of emerald flame coursing through his body.
Warren could feel how hard Kiara was fighting him and how fully she’d brought both her wolf and her witch powers forward.
But she was no match for Glissane.
Warren’s thunder rumbled, and his lightning flashed as he launched at the wizard.
But Glissane merely released one hand-hold on Kiara and swept his arm in Warren’s direction. Glissane’s gaze never left Kiara’s face as his power struck Warren full-force. A wave of immense energy threw Warren against the wall to the right of the bed.
He fell to the floor stunned and disoriented. His storm crackled and hissed as his body recovered.
Kiara’s voice was suddenly in his head. Warren, we can’t beat him. He’s too powerful. This was what he wanted, to kill us both. We stood between him and his plans to rule Savage then take over Five Bridges. There’s nothing we can do. Know that I love you. I always have.
He stayed on the floor to think, to figure this out. If he rose to attack Glissane again, the wizard would knock him down again. But he had to do something to get the wizard’s hands from around Kiara’s throat.
She was right, though. Given the situation exactly as it was, he would be able to kill them both.
As she passed out, he knew there was one thing he could do. It would be a brief, temporary fix, but it would at least be something.
He focused all his energy on his storm and when it was at its peak, and with Glissane’s hands still squeezing the life from Kiara, Warren rose slowly. From where he stood, he focused all he had not on Glissane but on the grotto pool.
The water began to move around in a circle.
Just as Glissane started to lift his hand once again in Warren’s direction, Warren sent the water cascading over Glissane and Kiara. The two of them were struck hard by the force of the wave and separated. Warren moved in swiftly, gathered Kiara up out of the water, flew her from her apartment then out of the refuge house.
She coughed and grabbed for air as he rose into the night sky. As soon as he parted the security spell, he put his hand on her head and sent warlock healing into her body. Her breathing evened out quickly.
He flew her to the shrubs where he’d made love to her.
He felt her building a security spell. It wouldn’t hold against Glissane for long, but maybe long enough.
Sufficiently healed and her spell creating a wall against the outside world, he kissed her. They were both wet as she slung her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
But there was one thing they had to do right now. “Kiara, bond with me. I love you beyond words and I want you to be my wife and my alpha-mate. Bond with me.”
He felt the humor in her telepathic voice as she asked, “How? We have less than a minute before Glissane finds us and breaks through my spell.”
“You’ll need to open yourself to me, in the part of your spirit that has become wolf. Can you do that?”
She smiled. “Hell, yeah. But I thought we had to have sex and we don’t have time.”
“We’ll improvise.” Then he smiled. “Damn, I love you.”
“Yeah, me too. But on with it, wolf. He’s coming.”
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. His storm rose once more, and a vision arrived.
Yes! She cried out within his mind. She’d seen it as well.
In the vision, they joined physically and completed the bond.
He replayed the vision and brought it close to them both so that it felt as real as possible.
As two wolves, they raced through the woods. He brought her down by leaping on her back then biting the back of her neck. They transformed to their human shapes and he penetrated her from behind. He bit her nape again, holding her fast.