darting out of the trees. It hovered in front of Rowan. “We’re here.”
Before she could ask, animals of all kinds—elk, deer, mountain lions, even chipmunks and birds—stampeded into the clearing, going after all the wolves.
“What the—” Grey lowered his hands. But his back was still turned to the black wolf.
The bitch gathered herself, muscles bunching, to leap.
With an otherworldly sound that sent fear cascading down Rowan’s spine, even in the spirit realm, she lunged.
But Grey spun to face her and knocked her back with a blast of energy. Blue lightning in an orb that should’ve fried her ass.
Only she stayed on her feet, lips curled over her teeth, eyes glowing, and lunged again.
Again he knocked her back.
But she just kept coming.
And with each spell cast, Grey wasn’t just losing ground, he was using up his energy.
“Fuck,” he muttered, his expression a cast of concentration.
Another lunge, only this time, he tried something else. Making a spinning move with his finger and with a whisper of words, a miniature tornado of wind whipped the wolf up, casting her about wildly.
Manifesting nature was almost as exhausting as forming energy from nothing. He wasn’t going to be able to hold much longer.
But apparently Grey realized that. Because, suddenly, he stopped the twister, dirt and debris froze, and so did the wolf, about thirty feet up in the air. Then everything dropped to the ground. Only she managed to hop off one branch then another on her way down. Landing before Grey unharmed.
“Help him,” Rowan urged any animals in the area, hoping like all the hells they could hear her.
With a snarl, she hurtled through the air, deadly jaw wide open.
Grey’s hands shot up and froze her in place. Only immediately, he grimaced as though she’d struck him just the same. Holding an ancient werewolf had to be draining what little he had left inside him.
A terrifying roar erupted from the forest, and the massive grizzly bear who’d once warned Rowan of danger burst out into the clearing. He slammed into the black wolf mid-air. Coming down on top of her, he clamped his massive jaws around her head. With a twist and a sickening crunch, he snapped her neck.
Grey dropped to his knees, chest heaving from the effort.
Those wolves still alive, seeing their leader’s lifeless form and the forces gathered against them, took off through the woods, Rowan’s defenders in pursuit.
Rowan let out a whoop of relief. “Grey,” she turned toward him, then sucked in a breath.
Three streaks of red crossed the white of his shirt, growing larger with every passing moment as blood spilled out of him. Apparently, the she-wolf had struck her mark before the bear had intercepted her. With a cough that brought blood bubbling up out of his mouth, Grey dropped to his knees before falling over to lie on his back, legs jacked up awkwardly beneath him.
“No,” the word tore out of her.
In a blink Rowan was at his side. She closed her eyes, reaching for her body, willing herself back into the realm of the living, but nothing happened. She didn’t have enough energy left to get herself out of the ghostly realm.
Grey was dying before her eyes, and she could do nothing but watch as she herself let go of life. Another gurgle of blood spilled out of his mouth as he choked on the liquid filling his lungs, and a new determination surged through her. She was lost, but maybe she had enough left in her to save him. Acting on pure instinct, Rowan held her hands over his chest and pulled from the magic deep inside her the energy produced by her very soul.
A whispered word, and her hands, even in this muted realm between life and death, began to glow—softly at first, then brighter until the light was almost blinding. Then, just as slowly, the light faded away. Under her hands, Grey’s chest no longer bore the marks of death. Blood no longer pooled under his body.
“Rowan?” His deep voice brought her gaze to his face. Miraculously, he seemed to be looking directly at her. “How is this possible?” he asked. He shook his head, eyes dazed. “What are you?”
Rowan gave him a sad smile. “I’m—”
Cold in the form of biting pain slid through her bones and took over every inch of her. With a gasp, Rowan held up her hands only to find the shadowy image of her fingers disappearing. Gods, she was vanishing so fast.
“What’s going on?” Panic laced Grey’s voice.
She didn’t