Page 22 of Prey

He grabs Ethan’s feet, and I reach under his arms. We pull him out together, then I hit the button on the key fob and the hatch shuts behind us as we move to the porch. Winnie and Shasta step out right then, followed by her mother, Eloise. Winnie directs us inside and down into the basement. Well, this is creepy as hell. A torture chamber at the main Coven house? Though I suppose they need one for things exactly like this.

I was a little worried that Shasta wouldn’t be able to adapt to our way of living. We are criminals after all; even if the government does tend to look the other way because of what we do on the sidelines. But you have to be okay with a certain number of things to survive in this lifestyle. Things like torture or even the occasional murder or kidnapping.

Now I know that won’t be an issue. Not that I think fate would have messed up by matching her to us if that had been the case,though I am a little concerned with the way Ethan keeps treating her. It’s almost as if he doesn’t feel the bond at all. Or doesn’t want to because he has mixed feelings. His hate and anger have gotten so bad that he doesn’t even feel the need to protect her. Even from himself.

When I kissed her hand and realized that she was my mate, I instantly felt the need to kill anyone and everyone who has ever hurt her. Tear them apart with my teeth. This ‘thing’ that’s inside of Ethan must be blocking his emotions and link to the bond somehow.

We set Ethan down in a chair that has cuffs on the arms and legs. When I get close enough to the metal, I realize that it blocks magical powers. He won’t be able to shift or even feel his lion in that chair. A part of me wants to rip him out of it and leave because I know he’s gonna lose it when he wakes up and can’t feel his lion.

The other part of me, the part that wants to protect Shasta at all costs, won’t let me. So, I do the next best thing and fold my arms across my chest and lean on the nearest wall, scowling at everyone.

Winnie and Eloise strap him down as Shasta stands off to the side, chewing on her fingernail. Them strapping Ethan to the chair would also block what little of a mate bond they have right now and I’m sure Shasta is feeling the loss of that. I push a feeling of peace down the bond to her. She raises her eyes to me and I see gratitude shining out. I can’t help her and Ethan with their bond, but I can offer her comfort when she needs it.

Winnie and Eloise stand back and whisper amongst themselves for just a minute before looking at me and then at Shasta. I shake my head at them. No way am I leaving and I’m certainly not going to make Shasta do anything she doesn’t want to. I understand their need to keep her from this but he’s hermate. She won’t leave. I already know because I can feel nothing but determination coming from her right now.

This isn’t going to be pretty and at no point during this did I think it would be. This thing is buried deep inside of him. I still need to figure out how he even picked it up in the first place. Winnie raises her hands and runs them up and down Ethan’s body until she comes to his chest. Looking at Eloise with wide eyes, they begin to chant immediately, and quickly.

He must be in worse shape than we even thought. Joaquin looks at me nervously as the power in the room makes the air crackle. Ethan’s body begins to bow in the chair and after a few minutes of chanting we begin to see something black and shadowy emerging from his chest.

It’s slimy and oily looking and the smell just about drops me to my knees. I cough and cover my face with a bandana from my pocket. Joaquin does the same. Shasta has a grimace on her face as if she can also smell it, but it isn’t as strong for her because she isn’t a shifter.

Shasta begins to chant along with her mother and grandmother. As she does, the power in the room rises exponentially. Gods, she is so fucking powerful. All the hair on my body is standing and Joaquin looks at me, eyes wide, and mouths, “Holy shit!”

Right? My Little Lioness is a badass witch. Ethan may not like it but even he will have to admit she’s impressive. If he can ever pull his head out of his ass. If he makes it through this. Which is starting to concern me the way his body is bowed right now. Just before I think he may crack in half, the spider pulls free from his body.

It tries to scuttle away and as it does, Winnie makes a twisting motion with her hand, and it immediately blows up, splattering goo all over the place. Ugh, fucking gross.

I run over to Ethan. He looks half dead, and his breathing is very shallow. “Is he going to be okay?”

Winnie nods, “I can heal him the rest of the way in just a few minutes. I want to make sure this thing is gone first. It’s been inside of him for a very, very long time.” She goes up the stairs and returns with a crystal. She says a few words and the goo pulls itself off every surface and person in the room and is absorbed into the crystal. It immediately turns black. Shasta waves a finger and it disintegrates on the spot.

These three women could literally take over the world with their power. I am in awe of my beautiful mate and her family.

Ethan groans and Winnie rushes over to him, healing him, and he instantly looks like he always does. Grumpy but healthy. “Hey buddy,” I say lightly.

Looking around, his eyes land on mine and he growls out, “What the hell happened? How did I get here?”

“What's the last thing you remember?” Shasta asks him.

“What does it matter to you? Just let me out of this chair. Now,” he growls.

Shasta raises her hands in front of her peacefully, but says, “That’s about enough of your bullshit, Ethan. I’m done with it. We just saved your damn life, right after you tried to kidnap me and shot me. So, excuse me if I don’t feel like getting yelled at by you right now. Now, what is the last thing you fucking remember?” As she says the last part everything in the room goes silent.

They stare at each other, both frowning, until finally Ethan looks at me and says, “I remember fighting with you and then you walking out. The healer, Jessa, came in and checked me over and said they were getting the paperwork ready to release me. I got dressed and then I blacked out. I remember being very angry and confused. I don’t know what happened between then and waking up here just now.”

“Well, I can tell you. You walked to the garage where Shasta was waiting in the car for Joaquin. You then proceeded to try to kidnap our mate and when she blasted you with her power to knock you out, you shot her. The bullet busted the windshield and the car spun into a light pole. I happened to be pulling up to the garage just as Joaquin was running out and we followed the two of you. Once we realized what was going on we brought you here so Winnie and Eloise could get that thing out of you.”

Shasta folds her arms over her chest, staring at Ethan. “You could have a little gratitude. That spell isn't an easy one. I had to jump in so that Grams and my mom didn’t pass out. The spider is gone now though so you can get the hell out.” Waving her hand, the straps on the chair pop open and Shasta stomps up the stairs and disappears.

Ethan looks over at me, eyebrows raised. I just shrug and go over to help him up. He shakes me off and heads towards the stairs, Joaquin behind him. Turning to Winnie and Eloise, I say, “I’m going to get everything sorted, don’t worry. I’ll come back for Shasta in a little bit.”

Eloise nods, but Winnie looks at me, face serious as she says, “He isn’t feeling the mate bond. They are going to need a push, or you know what will happen if they don’t consummate. I don’t care if you have to kick his ass all over town. He will be the one to come and pick Shasta up because they need to sort this out themselves.”

She’s right. If they don’t get this sorted, we could all die. Ignoring the mate bond only ever has dire consequences. I don’t feel comfortable letting him pick her up by himself though. I’ll have to follow them to make sure things go okay and he doesn’t hurt her again, though I have no doubt Shasta can take care of herself.

I just nod and follow Ethan and Joaquin up the stairs. Shasta is standing in the kitchen glaring at Ethan as he and Joaquinwalk out the door. Walking over to her I pull her up and onto the counter and stand in front of her.

I can feel the anger and the hurt coursing through her at yet another rejection from her mate. Running my hands up and down her arms, I try to sooth her as best as I can. “Hey. You did really well back there.”

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