“Take me, examine me. You’ll find nothing but love, for those who are different.”
Her father turned green.
“You’ve slept with him.”
“Many times.”
The air was heavy with the emotion of the situation. She heard the gun behind her cocked, and then, all of a sudden, Zain was tumbling through the air and knocking her out of the way. He growled out in pain as the gun fired. The shot must have hit him.
“Zain.” She jumped to her feet and headed straight to his side. The men who had stood down were bearing down on them with weapons on display.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No.”
“Isobel!” her father shouted in desperation. Zain stood and pushed her behind him.
“You want a shifter? You got one. Leave the innocent alone.” She watched in horror as Zain growled and started to shift. She hadn’t been this close to him during the changing phase before. She heard his bones breaking and re-healing themselves into the form of a bear. Black fur grew all over him, and he went down onto four paws. He snarled a warning as the men ground to a halt. The air crackled, and she felt Jessica’s presence around her. Her body started to feel as though it were floating. The screams for everyone to stand down became echoes. Zain felt farther away from her every second she drew breath. No, Jessica was taking her but not Zain. No, her father would capture him. She tried to fight the spell binding her, but she couldn’t. Everything felt surreal as though she was floating above the situation, watching as Zain leaped toward the guards and collapsed to the ground when the deafening cacophony of guns went off.
“No!” she yelled before slamming back down in the Glacial Blood mansion. She let out a loud scream at Kas and Jessica who stood in front of her. “Send me back,” Isobel demanded. “Now.”
Jessica’s eyes turned white, and she collapsed onto the floor screaming in agony.
“No, no, what’s happening?” Isobel questioned, desperate to return to where she’d been, moments earlier.
“She’s linked to all of us. She can’t perform magic, at the moment, because one of us is hurt.” Kas was on his knees next to her and checking the witch over. “What did they do to Zain?”
He shot to his feet and, grabbing her by the collar, pinned her to the wall. She gasped for air.
“Kas, please. I have to go back.”
“What did they do?” Kas spoke through clenched teeth.
“They shot him.”
Kas dropped her to the floor and held his hand over his heart.
“No,” he growled. “No.” He turned and looked at her. “The war has arrived, and humans and shifters are going to die. Your actions, today, have forever changed the world we know and may have killed one of my best men.”