Page 15 of Before the Bond Breaks
“You look like hell,” Maze said without preamble.
Winter snorted softly. “Went to bed an hour ago. I was decoding Jessica’s notes.” She adjusted her screen as if she were sitting up or just getting more comfortable. “Jessica coded her locations differently this time. I broke a few, but it’ll take me longer to get the rest. Quil’s coming by later to help.”
Maze’s spine straightened. “What did you get so far?”
Winter rubbed at her temple, then glanced down at her notes. “Mentions a traitor within the coven. Name’s Dustin Cultz.”
My wolf snarled at the wordtraitor. Maze’s eyes narrowed and said, “We’ll head to the coven after we pack up Jessica’s things.”
“No need to pack,” Winter countered. “Nicky and I will portal in later, pick everything up, and deal with the landlord. I just need two more hours of sleep. You two go.”
The call ended a moment later. Maze shut her laptop, her movements precise and controlled. She was already pulling her walls back up. I let her go for now. The short-lived display of emotions she showed before the call gave me hope we could find our balance as mates.
An hour later, we were on the road. The city thinned behind us, replaced by stretches of trees and old highways that cut north toward the coven.
Maze stared out the window, watching the blur of green. After a long stretch of silence, she said, “Tell me about The Steele Claw.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. “The nightclub keeps the clan busy. Keeps us fed. Keeps trouble off our doorstep. We also use it as a neutral zone for magicals.”
Her gaze slid back to me. “How long have you been on Midgard?”
“A few decades,” I admitted. “Freya sent us ahead to wait for your return. She followed a few years later. Been helping us hold the line. Some of the younger shifters are showing signs of going feral. My power helps stabilize them, and the Valkyries too, but…” I tightened my grip on the wheel. “Without the soulbond, it’s a constant fight.”
Concern flickered in her expression, the kind she tried to bury. “We should complete the bond.”
Her words were steady, but my wolf bristled. Not at the bond, but at the reason behind it.
“We’ll be fine until we’re ready,” I said.
Her lips parted in protest, but I cut her off gently. “If we do this out of duty, without love, it’ll break us faster. The bond will be ten times stronger if we are both all in, emotionally.”
She didn’t answer, but the storm in her eyes told me she was turning it over. I squeezed her hand, then lifted it to my lips. “We need to get back to us. Rediscover what we’ve missed over the last two centuries. The stronger our bond is, the stronger our clans will be.”
Her features softened. “Why do you have to make so much sense?”
Thirty minutes later, we stopped for gas in a small town a few miles from the coven. I was halfway back to the rental car from paying for the gas when I sensed the prickles of corrupted magic. I inhaled deeply, taking in the scents around me. My wolf snarled when we caught the sour stench ofeitr.
My wolf surged to the surface with a feral growl.Eitrborn.
Two of the bastards came out from behind the store, heading straight for the car. I locked gazes with Maze as she stepped out of the car. She smirked as she looked at theeitrborn. Power sparked around her like lightning. She whispered something low, and the air shimmered, cloaking the fight from human eyes.
Thrusting out a hand, I released a stream of magic toward the beasts, hitting one of them in the center of its chest. The hitmade theeitrbornstumble back a few steps. Then it growled and threw its own beam of lethal magic. I conjured a shield instantly to block the dark power.
That pissed the idiot off enough to make him charge at me.Bring it. When he reached me, I shifted half a step, grabbed his wrist, and slammed my knee into his ribs hard enough to crack bone. The evil creature shrieked in pain. Placing both hands on his chest, I poured magic into him and shoved him backwards.
I glanced over at Maze in battle with the secondeitrborn. She moved in a blur, conjuring her blade and slashing it across theeitrborn’schest, making the fucker jump back.
We fell into rhythm without speaking. I shoved one creature back, and she cut low. Her magic lit the shadows, and mine flared in counter, and together it felt seamless, natural, inevitable. Like no time had passed since the last time we fought side-by-side.
Then the firsteitrbornraised a sigil-bomb in its hand. My wolf roared through me. I threw myself in front of Maze as it detonated. Magic cracked across my back like fire. My protective pulse flared, grounding the blast into the earth before it could rip us apart.
Maze gasped my name, voice breaking in a way I hadn’t heard in centuries. The sound hit too deep. I took her hand, linking our fingers together. Then, together, we finished them. She slashed her blade through the second’s throat, my claws through the first’s chest. They collapsed in heaps of poisoned blood, hissing against the cracked pavement.
Maze stood over the wreckage, chest heaving, eyes wide. She flicked her wrist, and the bodies burst into flames. The fire spelllasted only seconds, turning the bodies into ash. Then Maze met my gaze. “We should leave before more show up.”
I nodded and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her cheek to my chest. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, then lifted her head to look up at me. “You were the one who took that blast of power.” Then she stepped back and rubbed her hands down my chest, making me groan.
