Page 221 of Warlords, Witches & Wolves

Chapter 11

Relief rushed through Paul as he transported himself away—he’d saved her! It lasted all of one second before he realised Ivy had come with him. Her hand was still clamped to his arm, her heartbeat a driving force next to his, her lifeforce feeding into him as she stared up at him with her big beautiful eyes.

The drain of lifeforce was slower now, the need for it not as great as it had been because of what Iris and Abby had managed to do before he transported himself away.

But she was still giving her life for his.

He had to stop her, but he couldn’t remove her hand from his arm in the void. If he did, she would truly be lost.

Why? Why?

Why didn’t Fate want her to live?

The void shifted and changed, the intent of his transportation spell moving them back into the real world with a thrust he was unaccustomed to.

They were thrown through the fold he’d created and landed with a hard thud, rolling through the long grass on top of the hill. He wrapped his arms around Ivy, protecting her as much as he could from their violent landing.

They came to an abrupt halt against a tree.

A tree? There shouldn’t be a tree here. Had he miscalculated?

Not that it mattered. All that mattered was Ivy and what it meant that she’d come with him.

He lifted off her, trying to pull away, but her hand was still attached to his arm with that strange golden force that had sprung to life at the hot springs. ‘Ivy, why did you do it? Why did you come with me?’

She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes achingly certain. ‘I thought you were meant for Mariella. I was ready to sacrifice myself for that belief. But when Iris and Abby started to do what they did, I realised I was wrong. I couldn’t let you go. You’re mine to protect.’

‘But I was trying to protect you. To save your life.’

She scrambled up to kneel beside him, the way she was attached making her brush up against him, sending shivers of longing through him. ‘By forfeiting your own? You should know that cannot be allowed.’

‘I cannot have you die because of me!"

She jerked back a little, eyes widened as his shout echoed around them. Then frowning, she said, ‘You mentioned visions? Of me dying?’

‘Yes,’ he hissed. ‘As we were mating I saw it. So many times through so many different threads. I tried and tried to see if I could change it, but nothing worked. Every future showed the same thing—if we mated, you would die.’

‘Show me.’

He reared back, scrambling to his feet, but of course, she came with him, her fingers tightening on his arm. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘Why not? Why are you the only one allowed to see what happens in our future?’

‘My gift is given to me. The burden mine alone to carry.’

She stepped closer to him, touched his face. ‘What law says that is so?’

‘What?’

‘There is no law that states you must shoulder the burden of your visions alone. No law that states you alone must change them and watch if you fail thinking it is entirely your fault.’

‘But that is the way it has always been. I see the future and it is my job to find a way to stop the disasters from coming.’

‘But don’t you share your visions with the pack’s leaders?’

‘When it’s something they can help me change.’

She smiled at him. ‘Then you can share your visions.’

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