Chapter 1

One

Having the man you are dating livid with you is never a nice experience. It's ten times worse when there are four of them and one of them is the alpha and king of your pack.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," the petite, weasel shifter hybrid woman we had rescued repeated over and over again as she bowed before me.

"I'm just glad you're safe," I told her as my heart hammered in my chest and my lungs burned. I'd just woken to find myself in Leona's yard, successfully rescued by Kieran and carried to safety.

"Ember!" Leona shouted as she ran out of the house. She dropped to her knees in front of me and hugged me tightly. "Are you okay? They all fell through and we didn't see you and they all started freaking out and we were so worried!"

I patted her back. "I'm … good. Just … weak."

"She passed out as soon as I grabbed her," Kieran answered. "Remained unconscious until we landed."

"Thank you for getting me here safely."

He smiled. "You're welcome, Em."

"Caleb, what's wrong with you?" Leona snapped. "Your girlfriend saved your lives and you're treating her like she is your enemy right now."

"You teleported everyone, but you," Caleb said, snarling.

Caleb, Riddick, Branson, and Triston stood tensely, fists clenched, glaring at me.

"I couldn't make another portal and I wasn't going to abandon her." I didn't know her name, but thankfully everyone knew who I was talking about.

"What if Kieran hadn't been there?" Riddick hissed.

"I was escaping," I told them and stood. My legs wobbled and I almost fell, but righted myself before Leona could reach out to steady me. "I made it almost to the street." I understood that they were upset that I had almost sacrificed myself, but we were all safe.

They continued to glare at me, silent.

"You know what, fine, be mad at me. All that matters is that you are all safe and no one got fucking decapitated!" Turning, I stomped around the house and out to the front yard, waiting for Ezio or Martin, whoever was going to come pick us up.

Jolie and Nico popped into existence near me. Had I had any energy, I might have startled.

"Ember!" Jolie gasped and ran to me, sliding on her knees in the grass in her hurry. "Are you okay? What happened?"

As she held me, genuine concern in her voice, I broke. Tears spilled down my face and I sobbed.

"Where are the others?" Nico asked softly.

"In the back," I hiccup sobbed. "Alive and still assholes."

Nico left and Jolie stroked my hair. "What happened?"

"We were losing, Jolie. They were about to cut Caleb's head off. Everyone was about to die. I-I teleported them, but couldn't make one for myself. I started escaping and Kieran found me. Kieran saved me and brought me here. They're so mad. I admitted I love them and all they're doing right now is glaring at me. They haven't even touched me or anything. They are just mad."

"Oh, honey, they're just dealing with the emotions of thinking they might have lost you. Give them a bit to calm down. The adrenaline is pouring through them. It'll wear off."

My tears spent, I wiped my face and stood. "Right, sorry. The adrenaline and magic drain got to me for a moment, too."

Two SUVs pulled up and Jolie tugged me towards the first one with Martin driving. "Come on, let's get you home."

Jolie and I climbed into the SUV.

"Ember!" Triston called.

"Can we go?" I asked Martin, huddling in on myself, feeling cold and hollow.

He glanced at Jolie, who nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," he said and started driving.

"We're going to take you to the house where Kara is waiting," Jolie informed me as she continued to hug me and stroke a hand up and down my arm.

The fatigue of being so magically drained started to pull me under again. "Sleepy," I informed her.

"Go to sleep, child, we'll keep you safe," she promised.

Triston tugged at our connection and I ignored it, imagining thick walls surrounding them. I imagined isolating them from the rest of me.

The hollowness expanded.

Large arms pulled me out of the SUV and carried me inside. "What's wrong with her?" Rhys asked.

Ah, Rhys was carrying me.

"Take her to Kara," Jolie said. "And speak softly."

"Is Caleb?—"

"He's fine," she said quickly.

Pain flared in my chest, and I whined.

"Best not to talk, Puff," Jolie whispered, and it sounded like she had tears in her voice. Why was she sad?

Rhys set me on a cold table and soft hands ran along my body. "Ember, can you open your eyes?" Kara requested.

I tried, but they were so heavy. Trying again, I managed to get the heavy lids to crack open. "Heavy," I breathed.

"Were you hit with a magic spell?" she asked.

"Magic. Drained."

"Apparently, she created five portals while already pretty drained, shifted after that, and was fleeing before Kieran found her," Nico said. "She fainted and is dealing with added emotional stress on top of that."

Emotional stress? Yes, I supposed that was accurate.

"Alright, let's get you a little relief," Kara said.

Warmth spread from her hands slowly, starting to warm my freezing body.

"Where is she? What's wrong?" Caleb asked, growling and angry.

I whimpered and tried to curl into a ball, but my body wasn't moving like I wanted it to.

"With me, now!" Jolie shouted.

"No, I?—"

"That wasn't a request," she said and growled, sounding just like a dragon.

"Fox, help me," Kara snapped.

Another set of warm hands joined hers.

"I've never seen someone so magically depleted," Fox whispered.

So cold. I was still so cold.

Fur. Fur was warm.

Kara gasped. "She shifted? How can she shift with no magic?"

The blessed darkness took hold of me again and I fell asleep once more.

My stomach growled, but I didn't want to move. I was warm and comfortable. Though, my bladder did feel like it might explode.

Cracking one eye open, I found I was on my bed in Jolie's house. Opening both eyes and looking down, I realized I was still in rabbit form. Glancing around the room, my heart sank to find it empty.

My chest tightened again and my breaths became ragged.

Shaking my head, I clenched my eyes closed and slowed my breathing, taking big, deep breaths. Once able to breathe easier, I hopped to my bathroom and relieved myself. It was awkward in my rabbit form, but for a reason I couldn't explain, I didn't want to shift.

Hopping down the stairs proved harder, but I managed and made my way to the kitchen.

Deryn looked down when I headbutted the door open and his eyes widened. He caught the door before it swung back and hit me. "You're awake."

I bobbed my head and hopped towards the fridge. Looking up at it, I frowned as I realized I couldn't open the door. There were likely fruits and vegetables on the counter though. Hopping straight up, I cleared the countertop and managed to land on it.

"Please don't poop on the island," Deryn said.

I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes exaggeratedly.

He smirked, but it faded into a frown. "Why aren't you in human form?"

I shrugged and hopped over to the bowl of fruits and carefully pulled a few strawberries out.

Deryn pulled out a few more and set them next to the ones I had grabbed. "Everyone is out front."

Good, that meant I had time to eat and return to my room.

"They've been worried about you," he whispered.

I scoffed and kept eating my food.

"Mm, that explains the rabbit form." He finished the cup of whatever he was drinking and set it in the sink. "I'll let them know you're awake."

Finished eating the strawberries, I hopped off the counter and headed towards the door to go back to my room.

Just as I moved to headbutt it open, someone flung the door open, sending me flying backwards with a screech.