Page 23 of Shifting Hearts

Akasha LaVey

The Betrayal

Nervous energy thrums through my veins as I join Krishka and her coven inside the sacred casting circle. Excitement shines in her eyes as she grins at me widely. I have been introduced to her coven before but none of us have bonded the way Krishka and I have.

Something in the air shifts and I look around to see what the hell is going on.

It takes me a moment to understand what I am seeing as Korvin goes down to his knees before falling onto his side. I never knew pain like this was possible, but I swear to everything that is holy, my soul feels like it is being ripped to shreds. I scream into the heavens, calling his name over and over as I try to run to him.

A man wraps his arm around my neck from behind, covering my mouth with his other hand.

“Don’t say a fucking word, Witch.”

Tears stream down my face. Korvin stares at me with regret in his eyes and I want to tell him everything will be all right. But I can’t. His eyes fall closed and I know my life will never be the same again.

I feel my magic surge up inside me and I want to decimate anyone and everyone around me that brought this tragedy to my door.

“I’m sorry, Krishka,” a man named James says to her, catching my attention.

“You’re sorry? You’re fucking insane!” she yells being held back by a strange man of her own. “Look at her!” She points at me. “If any of us make it out of here alive, we’ll be fuckinglucky.”

The man takes me in, and I see the fear in his gaze.

“At least have enough balls to tell me why you did it. What did Lucius offer you that made you think it was a good idea to murder the fucking mate of the most powerful natural witches on the fucking continent?”

“Um…”

“You complete waste of space!” she yells glaring at him as she fights the man that holds her. “You did it for money, didn’t you.”

I don’t wait for his answer, the look on his face is all the confirmation I need. My anger and my magic surge and swell in unison. I feel full to the point where it explodes out of me. Howls of pain and terror ring out through the forest and the scent of burning flesh permeates the air.

One minute, a man is holding me captive and the next I am free. Krishka stares at me in wonder and fear as I glare at anyone left standing. My gaze travels back to my mate and his ashen form and I run to his side.

“Help me!”

Krishka and three of her coven mates are beside me in a heartbeat. Each of us have our hands buried in the dark soil of the earth and placed on his body as we push our magic into him, taking from Gaia herself to replenish what we lose so we have more and more to give.

It feels like an eternity before he moves, opens his eyes, and looks around. Aldron moves in behind him to remove the blade from his back as we continue to heal as fast as we can.

“He’s alive,” Krisha says. “But if you don’t stop now, you won’t be.”

I stare at her wanting to deny her words but already I can feel myself waning. She takes my hands in hers and helps me up from the ground.

“Breathe. Watch your mate.”

Turning to him, I see his prone form shift from man to bear. His animal seems disorientated and shakes his head as he stumbles to his feet, almost falling but regaining his balance in an instant.

The big black bear growls lowly, taking in everyone around us before walking toward me. He shoves Krishka out of the way and nuzzles into my side, scenting me and rubbing his smell all over my body. Through the tears that are streaming down my face, I can’t help but laugh at his pure alpha bullshit.

****

It takes three hours for Korvin to shift back but when he does, weakness overwhelms him once more. Aldron helps me get him back to the truck while the coven clears the forest of all evidence that anything happened here tonight.

I drive us through Brooklyn and once we arrive back at the building that houses The Gin Room, the twin Minotaurs are there to help me get my mate back to our apartment. They lay him on the bed, and I thank them both for their help.

“Will he be okay?” Knox asks.

“He’ll be out for a week or so, just like you were. But he’ll be fine.”

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