“What…” Raiden had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “What do you mean by that, Lia?”
“I amm not exactly sure,” she admitted. “But it was what it was designed to do.”
“The book was designed to be absorbed.” The idea was so absurd that he simply couldn’t comprehend what she meant by it, but then, beyond the instinctual powers of werewolves, magic had always seemed complicated and contradictory to him.
“Yes. It is why it was bound in the skin of one of my ancestor’s – the skin of the last person who absorbed it.”
He closed his eyes. “F-k, Lia.” He did not want to ask what was involved with un-absorbing the book, because he suspected it involved her skin, somehow, and that was definitely not okay with him. “F-k, Lia,” he repeated, swallowing heavily. “Alright. Now what?”
“I don’t know exactly,” she pulled back from him slightly and held out a hand, a ball of light formed hovering above her curved fingertips, hissing and spitting like lit magnesium. Her lips curled in a smile. “But I don’t think Lucian will find me as easy to take back, now.”
Raiden’s lungs emptied. Before he could frame a thought, he heard car doors, and pulled Lia back into the turret staircase. “It should be my dad but stay here until I have made sure.”
“Raiden-” Her protest was cut off by the closing turret door.
He stalked the walls to the front room and peeked out the curtains. His father, Ethan, Will, Elior, Rebecca and Nate filed their way across the front lawn and up onto the porch. He unlocked the door and admitted them, securing it the moment they were in the house.
“Interesting property,” Elior’s lip curled. “Stuck in a time warp, and it looks like someone’s tried, unsuccessfully, to demolish it.”
“Not trying to sell you the house,” Raiden snarled.
“Rai,” Wade cautioned.
“Brought Will and Ethan as back up,” Raiden challenged his father angrily.
“Rai,” Wade repeated, his tone soothing. “They are here to protect Lia. She is pack.”
Raiden tried to restrain the Other, knowing that his aggression was getting unreasonable. Wade held his eyes, the Other golden, until Raiden regained control, blowing out a breath.
“Good,” Wade relaxed. He clasped Raiden’s shoulder. “It is alright, Rai. We are here for you.”
“And the blood,” Rebecca grinned, revealing her elongated canine and premolars.
“No,” Raiden snapped at her, his shackles rising. “Just Elior.”
“Rai,” Wade murmured.
“F-k dad,” Raiden grimaced. “No.”
“Not at once,” Wade said. “But we need Elior to win, which means he has to out power Lucian, not be equal to him. One way to do that is to have backup.”
“They will drain her.”
“Not if we stage it,” Elior was conciliatory, his eyes tracking between Wade and Raiden as he assessed the situation. “A little at a time, over a prolonged time. It was how Lucian would have done it in the first place, and we need to try to replicate whatever gave him his strength and speed.”
“Just great,” Raiden said from between his teeth. “So now we are not talking about subjecting my traumatized and pregnant mate to one vampire and one drink, but three and multiple times, over how long exactly?” He shook with his rage, his heart racing.
The werewolves and vampires all stilled, eyeing him warily, picking up on his increased heart rate and breathing, and the scent of adrenaline spiking in his system.
“Rai,” Ethan said, lifting his hands slowly, palms out. “You need to take a chill pill, bro.”
Raiden’s growl was all wolf, and the Other dominated his eyes, eclipsing iris and whites entirely.
“Alright,” Wade decided. “Let’s not argue this in the hallway. Show us somewhere we can sit in comfort, Raiden, and you can take a moment to get yourself under control.”
Raiden jerked his head towards the end of the hall. “Lounge there, near the solarium.”
“Come on,” Ethan said to the vampires. “This way.” As they made their way down the hall, Raiden heard him add. “And the blood?” To Rebecca reprovingly. “You are talking about his f-king mate. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
Wade and Will remained behind.
“Don’t say it,” Raiden said to his father. “If it were mum, you would be no different.”
“Possibly,” Wade agreed. “You do realize, Raiden, that Lia isn’t the only one traumatized by what has happened in the last couple of weeks? This has been anything but a normal mating. Your behavior is escalating as a response to your trauma.”
“Shit, dad,” Raiden’s chest hurt.
“Just take a deep breath and think it through. Will, Ethan and I are here for you, not against you.”
Raiden released his breath. “I know.”
“Alright. We would not ask this of you, but, as I am sure you have seen on your social media by now, things out there are…”
“Armageddon,” Will supplied.
Wade closed his eyes. “I hope not. But it certainly looks and feels like it when you are trying to drive through it at the moment.”
“F-k,” Raiden gripped his fingers into his hair, pushing in against his skull, trying to release the pressure that was building in him. “F-k. Lia did something, just before you came… Absorbed her damned spell book somehow.”
“Absorbed the book,” Wade repeated. “Like…?”
“I don’t f-king know,” Raiden’s despair was evident in his voice. “I don’t know, dad. I don’t know what the f-k is going on, or why the f-k it has got to involve us. I just want to take my mate to my den and let the whole goddamned world burn, if it keeps her safe.”
“Alright,” Wade caught him against him, and squeezed him tightly. “Alright, Raiden.”
Raiden gripped him back, his fingers digging into Wade’s shoulder blades. “F-k, dad.”
“Take your time, Rai,” Wade murmured. “Breathe in. We’re pack. You’re my cub. It’s alright.”
Raiden’s head sagged until his forehead rested on Wade’s shoulder. Wade did not release him, and Will stepped in, wrapping his arms around them both. Raiden breathed in deeply, taking comfort from the scent of pack that clung to the other werewolves.
“Perhaps it was a mistake,” Wade said softly. “For you both to come here. You need pack support, Rai, not to be out on your own, with all this shit going on.”
“Lia needed to be here. The book was here, and the turret is safe.”
“I know,” Wade replied. “But you can’t protect your mate if you are at breaking point.”
“I was getting control back,” Raiden replied weary as the adrenaline faded.
“And then we called,” Wade finished what he left unsaid.
“And Lia did whatever the f-k she did.”
“Alright. Where is Lia?”
“Turret.”
Wade squeezed him again and nodded to Will. The werewolf released them and stepped back.
Raiden sighed heavily and lifted his head. His father was right. Being near pack did help to calm him. He felt exhausted but more in control of his Other. “This way.”
He took them into the bedroom and stepped into the walk-in-robe, releasing the door.
Lia was sitting on the bottom step and stood, her hands reaching out for him. “Are you alright?” Her anxiety broke her voice. “I was going insane thinking…” He caught her against him and pressed his face into her hair, breathing her in. She hugged him back. “Raiden?”
“Hi Lia,” Wade said from the bedroom.
“Hi Wade,” she stroked her hand up and down Raiden’s back. “How are you?”
“Had better days,” he replied ruefully. “Crazy times.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, leaning back to peer into Raiden’s face. “What is wrong, Raiden?” She asked with worry, lifting her hand to his cheek. “Rai?”