41. Anna

41

Anna

"Help him."

With every breath, Jax seemed to grow weaker under my touch. The bullet was lodged in his chest. If he remained human for much longer, it would be fatal.

There was only reason I could think of that the maiden would be here was if she was here to betray us all. Everyone else around us had.

But she was my friend, and if there was even the slightest chance that I was wrong, I had to cling to it. "Please help him. The spell is already latched on to him. I can't absorb it."

"You can," she said as she crouched down and examined him. "You are bonded with him.

You can absorb the spell and turn it to dust."

"I don't know how to do that. He's going to die!"

"Anna, the power you have is not something that you do. It's simply who you are. Release the panic, focus on the bond, and let your instincts take over. You can do this."

She moved away from us, perched on a boulder, and stared down at me like I had all the time in the world.

I was seriously considering scratching her off my friends list, but I had so few. Bridget had started to become one and look how that turned out.

Snarling, I stared down at Jax again. I didn't know how he'd known I was in trouble or even found me, but he had. Now he was dying because of it.

The bond was barely visible in my mind's eye. Desperately, I reached for it and tugged it.

Anything to make it flare to life so I could follow it to him. Connect to him.

Nothing happened. Rage welled up inside me. It couldn't end like this. I wouldn't let it.

Dropping the bond, I stopped trying to physically make it light. Instead, I ordered it to lead me to Jax. Ordered it to lead me to the spell.

Instantly, a brilliant gold fire burst to life. It swirled and clung to Jax, spreading faster and faster. Dimly, I heard his wolf panicking and howling in pain.

Reaching out, I touched one of the gold tendrils. It darkened and died, snuffed out. The darkness spread to all the light, killing the spell and freeing Jax's wolf.

It howled and immediately starting taking over. Opening my eyes, I sprang back and watched as he slowly and painfully shifted.

"Excellent job. The other wolf will take longer to heal. I couldn't kill the spell like you could.

Only weaken it enough for the wolf to take over. You'll need to see to him once he's healed, kill the spell so he can shift back."

I snapped my head up. "The other one? Finn? You healed Finn?"

"I was following your trail and found him first."

Exhausted, I touched Jax's wolf fur and was pleased to see his chest rising with more ease. The bullet had worked its way out and was on the ground next to us. "Thank you."

"Hold on to that feeling of gratitude," she said dryly. "I've defied my sisters to be here, and they may be right. I may do more harm than good by leaving the protection of my den."

She was a powerful witch. If whoever was draining magic got their hands on her, it might very well be the end for all of us. Her sisters had good reason to want to wall themselves off from the danger.

"So why are you here?"

"I wasn't always the maiden," she said softly. "Before I became one of the Darkwyn witches, I was the daughter of a pack witch. I grew up with wolves. To watch you all turn to dust and do nothing to help is not something I can do. I haven't had a vision since I left the den. Until then, I won't know if I'm helping or hurting."

"If you weren't born the maiden, then you have a name. What is it?"

She smiled softly. "We all have names, Anna. We don't call each other Maiden, Mother, and Crone when we're amongst ourselves. Well, Crone does, but she's a little different. I'm Lunessa."

"Why didn't you tell me that when I was staying with you?"

"Crone saw immediately that you were the key to our future. She did not want us to get attached. She's old enough to forget that friendships will form no matter what."

Jax groaned and shifted. When he sat up, I scrambled away from him and stared. I wasn't sure what to expect. The spell had kept him from shifting, but what else had it done?

His eyes landed on me, and a ghost of a smile started on his lips. My heart couldn't help but jump at the sight, but when he saw Lunessa, he frowned. "You shouldn't be here," he said in a gravelly voice.

The witch didn't say anything, so I cleared my throat. "Her name is Lunessa," I said helpfully. "She saved Finn's life. Possibly yours."

With a grunt, he pulled himself to his feet. I didn't help him, preferring to keep some space between us. His nostrils flared, and he turned to look at the two dead bodies behind him. "They'll need to be buried or burned and quickly before anyone catches their scent."

"I can ask the earth to take them," Lunessa offered.

After a moment, Jax nodded. "I'll need to get back. I don't want any of the alphas to realize that anything is wrong. If you want to stay and help, Lunessa, I won't turn you away. I know of a place that you can stay, but you'll have to stay out of sight until tonight so I can make some preparations."

"I can hide in the woods. That won't be a problem. Do you know which witches are here?"

"Cam Lee is Maeve's witch. London traveled with a witch named Ava."

Lunessa's head snapped up. "Ava? That is London's witch? Are you certain?"

"I am. Is that a problem?" Jax asked.

"No. I just…she's a perfectly fine witch. I just imagined that London might be able to do better, that's all. I'm not familiar with Cam, so I'll have to be careful with how I communicate with Irene. When you're ready for me, find a reason to pull Irene aside. She will find me."

Lunessa looked up at the sky and frowned. "You should hurry. I sense that trouble has crossed your borders."

"Trouble?"

Lunessa looked at me. "A dark thread directly tied to you."

My gut twisted. "Emerson."