Page 34 of Doubly Bound

Still, both men stood their ground. Gladly feeding power into their mate as she took from the two of them. Neither had previously considered the possibility of this sort of change within her, but it was feasible. Rumors, myth, had all given way to legend, but human mates did sometimes experience something very much like a Shift.

Pride rang through them as silver Dragon wings sprouted from Sage’s back, Liger-like claws tipped her fingers, and silver-white fur with dark black stripes covered her legs and forearms, while oval scales guarded her chest, like a silver breastplate. Fangs protruded from her mouth and her features sharpened as an amber glow circled her nearly black eyes.

“You tried to hurt what’s mine, tried to hurt the Alpha Omega pairs,” Sage roared in a voice laced with the power of her mates.

“You, you can’t do that! You’re just a normal!” raged Ashley.

“No,” Sage said in that same booming voice. “I am a Triad Mate. There’s nothing normal or ordinary about that.”

The Dragon roared, but he held on to his temper to not break the link his mate was using to siphon his powers. He could see the magic, could visualize the smoky black tendrils of the dark spell Ashley was attempting to use against his mate. It enraged his beast, and Landry, with his White Liger peeking through his pale blue eyes, saw the same thing.

“We have to help her!” he yelled over the din of magic.

“Hold on, a moment longer,” Callan instructed.

One wrong move and the Witch’s spell would have her. Callan could not risk it. He refused. Trusting in Sage, he nodded at her encouraging her to trust her instincts.

And she did.

Amazingly enough, she did.

Sage pushed out with her hands against the spell the Witch was attempting to use against her, and the thing ricocheted back into the Dark Witch. Mouth opened in a gut-wrenching scream, Ashley was tossed back into the glass. Shards of the sharp, broken window hurled about the room as the Witch fell to her demise.

Landry and Callan both leapt forward, each intent on protecting Sage from the onslaught of glass. One shard pierced Landry’s calf, and another zipped toward Sage’s face, but Callan’s Dragon rushed forward. Wings protruded from his back, and he covered both his partner and his mate until everything, magic included, stopped. The hard membrane of his outer wing was virtually impenetrable, and he thanked fuck for that.

“Sage!” Landry groaned in pain as he moved to face her prone form.

Callan lowered his wing, the Dragon receding as he turned to capture their mate’s face in his hand. Her eyes were closed, and that gorgeous olive-toned skin was a deathly shade of pale. Fear raced up his spine as he feared the worst, but Landry shook his head.

“She’s unconscious, but alive.”

“Let’s get her to the bedroom.”

At that moment, the Guard came rushing in. It wasn’t until then that Callan realized they’d been pounding on the door.

“Alpha? Omega? Is your mate all right?” Keeton asked, chest heaving with exertion.

His Mountain Lion bristled behind his eyes, but Callan mastered the beast with a deep growl.

There was no time now for out-of-control Shifters. He had his mate to care for.

“Send for the healer and someone to clean this mess. Thanks Keeton,” Callan growled.

“And someone search for the Witch.” Landry pulled the glass from his calf and ripped off his shirt, using it as a makeshift bandage.

He would be fully healed in an hour or so. Callan didn’t worry about him. It was Sage who needed their attention.

“The Witch?” Keeton asked.

“She should be at the bottom of the mountain,” grunted the Liger.

Pride filled the man in a rush. The emotion raced through their bond to Callan, replacing the worry as she squirmed in his arms before he could even set her down.

“Callan? Landry?” She blinked and tried to sit up.

“Easy, love,” he said and supported her back with his arm.

“You’re hurt!” Her eyes flashed with pain as she took in the blood-soaked shirt Landry had used to wrap his leg.

---