Queen Alpha (NYC Mecca #2)(30)

He nodded and focused back on the crystal. “It’s even more powerful than last time.”

We both took a few extra minutes to let the strong energies settle into us, to allow the royal power we already owned mingle with the stone’s power.

“So we just touch it and see what happens?” It was more a statement, but came out like a question.

Kade grinned. “Let’s do it.” He grabbed my right hand, placing his other hand on the crystal.

Energy sizzled up my spine as the mecca power rolled into me. Kade swiveled his head to see me better. “Now you touch it. Don’t let go of my hand. I’ll filter it if it starts to overpower you.”

I nodded, trying to even my breathing before placing my left hand on the crystal and keeping my right firmly in Kade’s strong grasp.

I sucked in as the crystal pulsed, nearly throwing us both back. I was so focused on the purple hue of my arms and the power coming through the crystal I didn’t notice anything else. This was at least twice as strong as it had been during the Summit. The energy was everywhere, smashing against my wolf, against my alpha blood.

“What. The. Hell. Is that?” Kade’s confusion broke me out of my spell and I looked up, following his gaze. Before me, on the far wall a … mirage had appeared. The wall was gone and a field of green grass now stood a mere six feet from us. The edges of the mirage were fuzzy but the picture inside so clear, so real. In the distance seemed to be huge mountains, lots of vast wilderness, and colors beyond anything I’d seen before. Everything looked like I could reach through and touch it. I had seen images during my Summit task, but nothing like this. This was almost … real.

“Beware!” That familiar mecca voice echoed within the room and I froze, chills running up my arms. It sounded like my mother – I would swear it was her – but my instincts were telling me it wasn’t. Kade looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

“Did you hear that?” I asked him, unsure of what to do now. No one else had heard the voice before so I was astonished when he nodded.

“Yes,” he said. “And I’m not liking this.”

The image shifted slightly then, and a figure ran into view. My eyes were locked on, drinking in all the details. He was tall, wearing tan, fitted leather pants, a vest made of something similar, and tall soft looking boots. He held an intricate bow in his hands, ivory colored, looking like it was carved from bone. There was an arrow nocked in it. The male was looking away from us, his head turned to the side, which gave me a perfect view of his slightly pointy ears.

“Is this a memory, or something more?” Kade said, his voice low. He was doing that thing again where he tried to step in front of me.

At Kade’s whisper, the hunter went still. His body going rigid, he whipped his head around and looked right at us.

“Not a memory,” I said in a rush. Holy heck! This was an actual portal into the Otherworld.

The fae’s brow furrowed, and before I could even think, he released the arrow.

“No!” Kade ripped his hand off the mecca crystal, and in a move almost too fast for me to track, thrust his arm out to intercept the projectile. It shredded through his hand, coming out the other end to rest against my chest. That bastard fae had been aiming straight for me, without thought or remorse. He had wanted to kill.

I tore my hand from the crystal, stumbling backward, and the mirage winked out in an instant. Finding my feet again, I rushed to Kade’s side. He was just standing there, blood dripping from his hand, staring at me.

“Are you okay?” I tried to see his wound better. He was still staring at me.

“Kade! We need to get a healer to look at this.”

He finally snapped out of his stupor, wincing as he looked down at his hand. “This is no normal arrow. It is laced with something that hurts like hellfire.” Gritting his teeth, he reached with his uninjured hand and gripped the tip of the arrow. In a quick movement, he snapped the head off and then pulled the arrow out. As soon as it was gone, blood spurted out of the wound and flowed easily as I rushed to apply pressure.

“It’s not healing!” I said.

Kade shook his head. “It’s doused in something … magic or poison.” His eyes darkened then. “You would have died, Ari.”

Finn, get Violet and have her come to the mecca crystal room. Kade’s hurt. No matter how far in the world I was from my familiar, I could always call on him. I could have called on Violet too, as her queen alpha, but it would have taken too much time to sort through all the pack bonds within me. Time I didn’t have right now.

I leaned in closer, my voice shaking as I said, “You saved me. Again.”

My hands were pressing hard, sandwiching his injured hand, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. Kade was right. This arrow would have eviscerated my heart and kept it from regenerating.

He lifted his uninjured hand and cupped my face, those stunning eyes swimming with emotion. “Don’t take a mate. It would be a mistake.”

It got even harder to breathe than normal, but before I could do anything or reply, Violet was with us inside the room. She started toward us but couldn’t make it all the way.

“Let’s get out of here!” she shouted, her face crumpling as she fought the energy. In my panic over Kade I’d forgotten how strong the mecca energy was here. Either I’d gotten used to it, or Kade was shielding me from the worst of the effects.