Wulfe Untamed (Feral Warriors #8)(37)

“No, I honestly don’t think he does. But the mating bond between immortals is a real, physical bond that, when broken, often damages, if not destroys, the one left behind.”

“He seems . . . okay.”

Delaney nodded. “I’m not sure in what way it hurt him. Only that Tighe says it did.”

“Is there no healing from such an injury?”

“I don’t know.”

Natalie watched Wulfe as he thrust his hand into the air alongside his companions, aching for all he’d been through. “How could Beatrice not see past his scars? I barely see them anymore, and I’ve known him less than a day. He is so beautiful,” she breathed. “Inside and out.”

Delaney’s hand landed on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here, Natalie. Very, very glad.”

Natalie met the other woman’s gaze with a smile. “Me, too.” Though her being there might be a very short-lived thing.

As the last of the Feral Warriors thrust his fist in the air, the bearded Feral began to chant. “Spirits rise and join. Empower the beasts beneath this sky.”

The other Ferals joined in the chant, their voices low at first, then louder and louder. Goose bumps raced along Natalie’s arms. Lightning flashed. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble.

Eyes widening, Natalie glanced at Delaney and Julianne.

“Watch, Natalie,” Delaney whispered.

She did, turning back to the Ferals as excitement and energy pressed all around her.

“Empower the spirit of . . .” they called in unison.

“The wolf!” Wulfe yelled.

His brothers . . . and sister . . . all named their own animals. “The hawk! The falcon! The tiger! The cougar!”

Suddenly, most of them disappeared in that familiar explosion of sparkling lights to be replaced, seconds later, by incredible, magnificent animals—a glorious African lion, a magnificent Bengal tiger, a sleek black panther, and a huge red fox. Two birds of prey sat among the larger animals as their animal kin would never dare. And the wolf she was coming to adore stood with them.

But the bald Feral—a male she hadn’t met—shouted with a mix of fury and agony and remained human. Kougar, too, threw back his head, his body going rigid as he failed to shift. And Jag stood, fully clothed, eyeing the other two with frustration and misery.

“It’s getting worse,” Delaney said beside her, her voice laced with real fear. “Kougar and Vhyper now, too.”

Remain in your animals. Lyon’s voice rang in Natalie’s head as Wulfe’s did when he was in his animal. Concentrate on your Radiant. Share your energy with her.

The animals milled about the circle, several nudging Kara or laying their heads in her lap. Finally, Lyon shifted back to human and the others followed, one by one. Natalie watched Wulfe shift back, then walk over to clasp the bald Feral’s shoulder. A pall had fallen, dark and heavy, on the gathering. Lyon lifted Kara into his arms, then approached the two warriors who’d failed to shift, his eyes filled with a throbbing regret.

“I never thought the ritual would do harm.”

Kougar’s face was pale. “It wouldn’t have if our connections to our animals weren’t already close to shattering. This wasn’t your fault, Roar.”

Lyon nodded, but his mouth remained tight.

“It’s more than just losing their animals, isn’t it?” Natalie asked quietly.

“Ferals who can’t shift, ultimately die.” Though Delaney’s words were matter-of-fact, Natalie heard the underlying thread of fear.

Natalie reached for Delaney’s hand and gave it a squeeze, her gaze finding Wulfe where he stood with his friends. How could so much power and beauty, so much goodness and gentleness, be snuffed out just like that? It was wrong on so many levels. The Feral Warriors, these powerful immortals, might soon be no more. And while she understood that the ramifications of that were far greater than the loss of a handful of fine, strong males, that was the only part of it that she could truly wrap her mind around.

As she watched Wulfe pull on his jeans, then grab his T-shirt and turn to her with eyes as deep as the ocean, she knew her loss would be far, far more personal.

Chapter Ten

Wulfe pulled his T-shirt on over his head, the summer sun caressing the back of his neck through the trees even as his heart pounded with misery. And dread. Kougar and Vhyper, like Jag, were now cut off from their animals. Three Ferals unable to shift.

Deep inside, Wulfe’s own animal howled with anger and fear that he’d soon be next, and Wulfe had no words of comfort to offer. Because, for all he knew, the animal was right.

All around him, his brothers’ mates flocked to their sides. As Ariana took form at Kougar’s, the stoic, often silent male pulled her hard against him, burying his face in her hair. Olivia slid into Jag’s arms. Of the three now-nonshifting Ferals, only Vhyper stood alone without a mate to offer comfort. Without a mate to leave behind in pain and misery, if the worst happened. If they all died.

Beside him, Fox wrapped Melisande in his arms.

Two more Feral lights have gone out, my lord. Soon all will be doused, and the Daemons will rise.

Wulfe froze at the now-familiar sound of Inir’s voice in his head.

Hail the Daemons, my lord.

Hail the Daemons.

A chill rippled over Wulfe’s flesh, his gaze seeking Natalie, where she now stood beside Julianne and Zeeland. Behind them, the Therian Guards returned to the house, heads down, their mood respectfully somber.