Page 156 of Blue Moon Mistress

The thing is still too big for me to spell into a rock-bound cage.

But the other wolves…

Like a narrow tongue of thick fog, the ethereal forms of three more wolves flow over the hill and fling themselves at the terratoma.

In fully physical form, Chase’s wolf was only able to drag away pieces of the creature he can sink his teeth into. The spirits, able to shift between solid and ephemeral states take the terratoma apart, chunk by chunk.

It gives me time to weave the spell, a bright point of light in my hand and I watch the center of the monstrous thing, trying to find it.

Shielded by the muck and mire, I can’t just reach out, feel for the magic coil at the center of the creature and take its heart. I have to see it.

Two of the wolves tear at it from either side, and a crack in the hard shell of mud at its core reveals a sliver of dark light.

Exactly what I need.

Reaching out, I spell the stone and yank it free of the creature. But I don’t catch it.

It hits the ground in front of me as the body it had once propped up collapsed to the pavement.

The wolves growled at it, waiting, not letting their guard down. I wrapped the stone in the spell I’d already begun weaving, sewing up the ends, caging the rock inside it. I pull the threads of that magic tighter and tighter… until the thing bursts to dust. The last remnants of its power gone.

And with it, the adrenaline-fueled energy that had kept me fully upright.

A soft whimper from beside me reminded me I wasn’t the only one who’d been engaged in that battle.

All it takes is another snap of my fingers and the snap of his bones.

I’m exhausted, but it’s nothing compared to the way Chase looks.

AndIdid that to him.

The ugly coil in my stomach makes me want to throw up.

I pull my coat off, slinging the fabric over his shoulders even though it’s far too small to do any real good. “Come on. I need to get you home.”

The remains of the terratoma look like the aftermath of a landslide… And Chase is going to have to call his insurance tomorrow. His car is definitely gone.

He wobbles on his feet as I help him up, but his wolf keeps on the other side of him, helping us both.

Chase’s covered in mud, but I don’t care about the upholstery. I pop the trunk and dig through the bag in the back before I hurry to the driver’s seat and hand him a towel to cover up with, and then, the bottle.

Only then do I start the car.

“What is it?” He asks, exhaustion slurring his words.

“Just water. I don’t have anything that will shake that feeling. You’ll need to sleep it off.”

He nods, “And ibuprofen.”

Cracking the seal, he finishes the whole bottle as I drive through the dark streets.

Eyes closed, he leans against the seat of the car, shivering.

They’re muscle spasms. He’s not actually cold. His body’s readjusting to his human form and the loss of the wolf again.

“I am so sorry, Chase.”

He grunts and I have a feeling it’s just to let me know he’s heard me.

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