Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lorcan

E nergy buzzes, building under my skin. The warm, fuzzy feeling makes it difficult to think, but I know the experience well enough to recognize it’s my rebirth following the ritual.

My muscles tense.

The full moon isn’t until tomorrow night.

“One more try,” Calyx says dryly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not infallible. Simply doing the best I can here. Find a healer or take your shifter mate to a human hospital. Let me know how that works out for you.”

Ember wails. There’s no other word to describe her agonized screams. Her misery filters through the bond, and alarm builds in my chest, but no matter how strongly I fight my appendages, they don’t respond.

“God, I’m so sorry.” It’s a feminine voice that I believe belongs to Rogue.

“You really shouldn’t be.” Calyx sounds like a cocky know-it-all. I’m genuinely surprised he’s not punched in the face more often. “It’s painful, but such is the healing process in general. You need to toughen up, princess.”

Ember is healing from…something . Taking a few moments to center myself, I focus my intent. A gasping breath fills the air as oxygen floods my deprived system.

“Get them out,” I choke.

Cohen and Calyx will understand that I mean the spelled daggers. A millennium ago, when I made the choice to extend my lifespan by completing the ritual, I did so with only one blade—the one through my heart. Over the many years, I expanded to include the ones for my feet, which is surprisingly the most painful of all the locations. Three points of connection with the earth increased my power thrice over, but until I had Calyx to do my final hand, I could never get higher than four points.

“Ahh, it lives.” Calyx chuckles darkly and removes the dagger from my heart.

My eyes fly open, and for several seconds, his true appearance stares back at me as he stretches to grasp the blade in my right hand. The wound seals itself as he tugs the dagger free.

“No,” Veryn growls. “Stop fighting me, or I will spank your ass. You’ve got to give your injuries a chance to heal.”

“I’m going to let my wolf bite you,” Ember snaps.

Calyx pats my now-healed chest and moves to remove the blade from my other hand. “She’s quite violent. I’m not sure how the universe decided that would be your perfect match .” He moves to my feet. “I thought mates were meant to temper one another.”

I chuckle.

He’s every bit the dick he’s been for the last thousand years, but he’s still my best mate. He offers me a hand, pulling me up, so I don’t have to struggle with doing it on my own.

Calyx releases me and steps around me as I twist toward the area Ember’s voice came from.

Her nose and eyes are red. Both seem to be leaking, and her lip wobbles when she spots me. She leans with her back against Anders’s chest, and Veryn sits at her side with his hand on her middle, like he’s been holding her in place.

“Are you okay?” I ask with my heart thundering.

She nods, then sobs as her head shakes. “I thought you were dead.”

“Like I could leave you right after bonding.” I move closer, trying to determine how to get her into my arms. “You’ll be stuck with me for quite some time, lovely.”

“Careful, her leg was pulled out of the socket when two wolves played tug of war with her wolf,” Anders growls, giving me a look I can’t decipher.

“Fine, I’ll portal the two of you back to Anders’s house, but then I’m leaving. I want to go home and sit on my couch.” Calyx frowns, looking at Rogue. “You’re coming too. You promised to?—”

“Just get Ember back safely, so she can rest.” Rogue quirks an eyebrow, popping a hip out.

Hmm.

I feel like I may have missed something there.

Holding Ember like a bride, I take a careful seat on the couch in Anders’s living room.

Calyx gives a simple nod before grabbing the pretty fae with a hand on her ass. They disappear back through the portal.

I’m guessing I only have several minutes before Anders and Veryn arrive, and I’d like to make the most of them. “I need to apologize. I meant to warn you of what to expect during my replenishing ritual, but I also didn’t want to taint the memory of our bonding.”

Ember huffs, turning in my hold until her pretty blue eyes peer up at mine. “I’m not human, Lorcan. I would have dealt just fine if it was a normal thing, but seeing that spear sticking out of your chest… God. I don’t think I’ll be able to forget that for a long time.”

“Yes, well, it’s preferable to you experiencing the pain,” I murmur, bringing my hand to cup her cheek. “And you still did, so I failed in that.”

Ember scoffs. “That was no worse than when my dad put my wolf in her place the first time I growled at my mom as a teenager.” My brow wrinkles, but Ember laughs. “He showed her that no disrespect would be tolerated, which honestly, she needed that lesson. She’s kinda temperamental at times.”

My fingers dig into her jaw, pulling her mouth to mine. Her lips are soft and warm. It niggles at my mind, and I wonder if her injuries will halt her approaching heat.

Ember’s hand lands on my shirt, and her fingers dig into my collarbone. My tongue clashes with hers as I breathe in her pheromones.

The scent of blood sends me into a tailspin as we kiss. There’s no excuse for me not being able to protect her, and while I’m grateful she’s capable of looking after herself, it also drives my instincts crazy.

“If I carry you up to the shower, do you think you’ll be able to stand while we get clean?” I ask, pulling back from her parted lips. “I didn’t even think to give the bathroom an upgrade, but it wouldn’t take more than thirty minutes. There might be a bench in the shower. I didn’t check the one in the nest.”

“I’m fine, Lorcan.” She gives me a soft smile, looking up at me under her lashes. “Your friend really did fix me right up.”

Calyx may have fixed her dire injuries, but he sure didn’t do a fucking thing to remove the bruises. Ember sports a purple ring under her eye that will only darken with time. There’s another reddish-purple oval on her cheek, and I have no way of knowing what’s hiding under the T-shirt.

“A quick shower, then we’ll sleep in the nest.” I lift her carefully as I stand.

Veryn and Anders can seek us out when they arrive, but for now, I’m here. So, I’ll be providing the care my mate desperately needs.