race like a greyhound. My mate’s voice boiled through me, triggering more responses. Mine. My anger blasted a new stream of power into my golden shields and Selene’s lingering red disintegrated around me like ash. My hands healed in an instant. My wolf snarled and spat, urging me to rise and rip the witch apart.
Instead of moving at her urging, I stayed motionless.
“You are mine!” Selene shook the chains holding Rourke. “Your mate is dying. Do you hear me? Once she is gone there will be no other standing in our way.”
“Not… yours,” Rourke ground out. “Never yours.”
I tried to send Rourke a mental missive. I had no idea if mates were connected internally. Rourke, please, you have to listen to me and play along. I’m not dead. I’m right here. Selene’s spells don’t work on me. Tell her you love her, for chrissake! Anything to make her cut you down. My wolf sprang in my mind at that idea. I ignored her.
“You’ve always been delusional,” he whispered to Selene. “Just kill me now. I won’t live without her.”
Stubborn man. We move now, I told my wolf. Selene is focused on Rourke; it’s time to act.
But before I could spring, there was a breeze as Selene’s black thigh-high boots landed on the ground beside me. “Can you see this, Cat?” She pulled the foot of her pointy boot back and kicked me high in the side. I bit my tongue, but acted like I was still in the throes of her spell. “See that? She’s almost dead.” Pain raced through my side. The bitch had broken my ribs. “There’s nothing that can stop my death spell, not even your whore. She’s never coming back—”
I lunged upward. “Wrong, Selene,” I said as I grabbed hold of her legs and pulled. She went down. I rolled on top. “I’m not dead yet,” I snarled. She struggled to wriggle out from under me, muttering a spell under her breath. My physical size was much bigger than hers. No wonder she always chose to vanish. “No more spells.” I whipped my fist back and smashed it into her face. She screamed. I had effectively stopped her spell midsentence.
“You biiiiitch!” She squirmed under me. Her head was damaged from the blow, but her body was healing it at an alarming rate. Damn, goddesses.
“No, Selene, you’re the bitch,” I snarled. “And this is for harming my mate.” I smashed my fist into the other side of her head, extremely satisfied when her eyes rolled back into their sockets and she did a little convulsion of her own. “And this is for hurting my new friend.” I slashed my claws down the front of her chest, raking it open, leaving deep furrows in her cream skin. “Do you hear me? Now you’re the one who’s going to die, Selene!”
“Jessica,” Rourke moaned. His chains rattled as he rocked in agitation. “Please… get away from here.”
At the sound of his voice I jumped off of Selene and ran without thought. I leapt, catching the wall, pivoting my foot off the rocks and landed on his chains again. I slid down to him in half a second, the feel of him electrifying me. “I’m not leaving you,” I growled. The pain he had to be enduring must be unfathomable. “I’m never leaving you, so get that through your thick skull. We leave this place together, or not at all.” My wolf howled her agreement, clacking her jaws happily.
I forced myself to glance down the length of his abused body as I pushed my power into the spelled chains once again. It was hard to process how he was even functioning in this state. His lungs filled with air, quivering as they fought to keep working. “Hold on,” I murmured as I scanned the domed roof for coupling hooks where the chains should be attached. There were none.
The chains hung in the air attached to nothing.
If we pour enough power into the spell, I think we can break it. Then we jump before he falls and catch him. It was risky because of the shape he was in, but I had nothing better.
I shot power into the connection as Selene gasped in a big breath and moaned on the ground. No more time.
“Jessica, please… go,” Rourke said on a small breath. He was getting weaker, struggling to stay awake. He was fighting whatever Selene had done to him, but I could feel his power leaking out. So strong. He must have