Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Nathan

I had a lot of questions for Runa, especially about her freak-out earlier. One of the reasons I kept my fur was because I could tell she was still too weak for me to grill her, and I couldn’t trust myself not to say something. The tiger kept us calm, watching as the women helped sit her up in the middle of the bed to do whatever a ritual was.

While they prepared, I studied the woman carrying my cub. She’d been awake and alert that morning, and she looked well rested. Now, even though she’d spent most of the day sleeping, she looked exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her already pale skin was almost milk-white. Her hands shook when she lifted them to brush stray hairs out of her face. She looked a lot like she had when we first met. When her energy was so low, she couldn’t make it back to her own home without collapsing.

None of the women who showed up could tell me why she was like that. And Runa had been intentionally vague about it. Something happened to her that drained her of all her magic, and if she used any more, it threatened our cub.

“White tiger.”

The older of the two women looked at me expectantly. I still wasn’t ready to shift back, but I nodded to show we were listening.

“We need candles. Do you have any?”

I tipped my head, thinking about it, before hopping down from the bed. I shot a wary look over my shoulder, but the younger witch gave me an encouraging nod.

“I’ll stay with her. It’s alright.”

I looked to Runa for confirmation that she was alright, but she was still pissed at me, apparently, because she scowled and looked away without a word. It wasn’t what I was used to. She’d been patient with me since we met. But she wasn’t willing to talk to Aiden or anyone else right now, so I let it go, leading the older witch out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom. I purposely bumped into the cabinet next to the sink and then backed out again. We couldn’t both fit in there at the same time. She stepped past me to rummage through the cabinet, coming up with a handful of tea lights. They’d been in there for years, since Harper lived here, but I assumed they’d work since the witch nodded. We were headed back to the room when my dad called out to me.

“Nate? Everything alright?”

He, Aiden, and Andrew were sitting in the living room, talking quietly. I couldn’t answer them as a tiger, and I couldn’t keep avoiding conversations, so I took back my skin, pushing to my feet once the pain subsided.

“She’s awake.” I put up my hand when it looked like Aiden was going to stand. “She’s not willing to see anyone yet. She said something about needing a ritual. And the other women don’t want her getting upset. It’s dangerous for the cub. Stay–”

“The cub?” Aiden asked sharply.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I still couldn’t figure out why my being related to Aiden upset Runa so much. She obviously hadn’t told him before she left. She hadn’t even told him she was leaving. Their relationship was strained and until I knew why, I wasn’t going to share any more with him. My loyalty was to the woman carrying my cub. Not a distant blood relation who wanted nothing to do with my family until recently.

“Stay out here.”

“Nathan–” Aiden protested.

“That’s not a request,” I barked. “She was so upset with you, she nearly died. Stay the hell away until she’s ready to speak to you.”

Spinning on my heel, I marched away and back into my room. That’s where I put Runa when she collapsed. It felt safer to have her in my space. Then the women showed up, and my paranoia reached an all-time high. I didn’t know who they were or what they were going to do to her, and I’d shifted to protect her. It was only when the older one explained that Runa was too weak and needed help that I let them pass.

They were lighting tea lights on every available surface surrounding the bed. Runa looked disgruntled, but not any worse than before.

“We’re supposed to do this outside.”

“Your energy levels are too low for that. We’ll open the windows. It will suffice. Shush now,” the older woman scolded.

The younger one shook her head with a smirk. “You might as well give up. Martha doesn’t know how to compromise.”

Martha made a tick sound behind her teeth, glaring at the younger one. “And you don’t know how to remain firm when necessary. Don’t pester me about compromise, Laurie.” She looked at me, raising an eyebrow. “I never understood shifters and their fascination with nudity. Are you going to stay that way the rest of the day?”

I glanced down with a frown. I’d forgotten I’d just shifted back and was watching them without a stitch of clothing on. Nudity never bothered shifters. You had to strip for every shift or lose the clothes you were wearing from the force of it. Still, it bothered other people, and since we were in my room, my clothes were close by. I went to the dresser, pulling out some clothes and tugging them on while I watched them continue to set up.

“What are you doing?”

“Giving your mate the chance to reconnect to the spirits,” Laurie answered with a smile.

“We are not mates,” Runa protested sharply.

My tiger let out a low growl in disagreement, but I swallowed it down. Runa was right. We weren’t mates. He was just broken and possessive.

The ritual itself didn’t look like it did in the movies. There weren’t symbols written in blood or skulls or anything creepy like that. On a tv tray they had rested in the center of the bed there were bowls representing each of the main four elements, and around the bed was something like a circle with the tea lights. After opening the windows, the women sat on the edges of the bed on either side of Runa, facing her.

“Okay. We’re ready. Now remember, no magic. You are too weak to connect that way. Open your mind and listen for them. They haven’t abandoned you.”

I felt a little out of place in here, but I couldn’t make myself walk away. Not after seeing Runa collapse. I leaned against the wall by the door, watching warily as they mumbled beneath their breath. Runa stayed silent, her chin against her chest and her eyes closed.

Without knowing what we were waiting for, I didn’t know what to expect. It felt like we were there a while, and nothing really changed. I closed my eyes for a bit, resting my head against the wall. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, and worry for Runa meant I couldn’t rest while she was asleep. I was considering taking a nap when the wind in the room picked up. When I opened my eyes, my mouth fell open.

The changes were small, but it was still a shock. The bowl that had plain dirt in it now had a green sprout in the middle. The water looked like it was swirling all on its own. The fire that had been just a small flame now blazed happily. The one for air had been empty, but you could now tell there was something there, because it looked like the dust motes were spinning like a tiny tornado was in that bowl.

Runa smiled, a gentle hum in her throat. “There you are.”

Pushing off the wall, I came closer, staring at the bowls. “That’s…”

“If you say it’s not possible, you’re going to piss them off,” Runa warned. She sighed, touching the leaves of the little plant that grew in the bowl. “I missed them. I thought they were punishing me for what I’d done.”

Laurie put her hand on Runa’s leg, squeezing gently. “They never truly leave us. Even if it had been permanent, they were still there watching over you.”

“What did you do to lose your magic?” I asked. Runa glared at me when I brought it up, but I wasn’t the only one in the room who wanted to know. The other witches looked at her expectantly, and from the looks on their faces, they weren’t going to back down quickly.

Before she could answer, the door flew open and Aiden strode in, barely banked fury on his face. “You lost your magic?”

“Aiden!” Andrew protested from the hallway.

A snarl ripped from my throat and I put myself between him and Runa. “Get. Out.”

The air started to vibrate, the dominance thick enough to make the women gasp. I grabbed Aiden’s shirt, shoving him hard towards the door.

“Get out!”

Aiden’s pupils turned to slits and his eyes glowed, his dragon close to the surface. He didn’t give me much thought, barely glancing in my direction before he pushed forward again. “When were you planning to tell me? You’ve been struggling for months! You were just going to let yourself suffer?”

“I don’t answer to you,” Runa said, her voice deadly. “You and your family have made it your mission to ruin my life. Congratulations. You succeeded.”

“Enough.”