Page 54 of Her Forbidden Shifters
Once I had tapped into the last of my reserved energy, I opened my eyes and threw out my hands in front of me. The last of the group had blown past Jacob and were heading straight toward me. They weren’t going to stop, and if I didn’t find some way to make them, this whole fight would be over in the matter of a few breaths.
“Stop, now!” my voice echoed through the alley. “Or face my wrath!”
They halted in their approach if only to stop the fight long enough to figure out what I was going to do next. Jacob rushed past them and joined my side, standing a little behind me. I glared at people who had become the bane of my existence. Each one of them took turns looking at the other, probably to get some sort of clue as to whether they wanted to push their luck with me and continue their attack.
But I wasn’t going to wait for them to charge me again. Jacob backed up another step behind me.
I sucked in a breath and released the magic within me, launching a hurricane-level blast of wind into the four of them. They flew back, leaving the ground for several seconds before smashing against the brick wall of the opposite building.
I sucked in another breath as my winds died down and my head became light. The world around me spun. A black rim filled my vision. The world tilted. I started to fall and passed out before I hit the ground.
22
JACOB
I watched as everything I was terrified of happened in slow motion right in front of me.
Savannah’s body collapsed to the ground. I sucked in a breath as the world around me faded away. All I could focus on was her, lying on the ground, eyes closed. She wasn’t moving, and I had feared the worst.
“Savannah!” I screamed as I ran to her side.
Once I reached her, I fell to my knees, sliding along loose bits of gravel and scraping them on the rough ground. I ignored the burning sensation that pulsed through my legs as I scooped my partner into my arms, holding her close.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t escape what stared me in the face. And worst of all, I didn’t know what to do.
“Stupid, stupid, woman,” I moaned out, holding her close to my chest. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I rocked back and forth with her in my arms, trying to ease myself out of the horrible situation I had found myself in. Everything happened so fast and so slowly, all at once. I knew she was going to throw a spell, but I had no idea that she was throwing one like that. She never had done anything like that before.
Tears blurred my vision as I took in her beautiful face and brushed the hair from her cheeks. She couldn’t be dead. I refused to believe that. So, I lowered my ear to her mouth to check for breathing, holding my own.
I felt her breath brush along my skin. Much softer than it should have been, but she was alive. Relief flooded my system. She was still hanging on, which was an excellent sign, but she had overexerted herself with her spell.
Footsteps slapped the concrete, echoing into the alley. I snapped my attention in the direction of the sound, ready to fight another round if needed. But my eyes surprisingly fell onto Noah and Liam. I searched our surroundings for signs of our attackers, but they had vanished. They likely had picked themselves up and retreated back to wherever it was that they came from.
Noah stormed forward. His eyes were focused on Savannah’s limp form in my arms. “What happened?”
His tone was sharp and full of accusation. I didn’t respond. I only glared at him.
“You didn’t protect her, did you? All that talk about going with her for her safety and you couldn’t even do the one thing you claimed you were going for!” He continued to shout at me, which did little to improve things between the two of us. If anything, his attitude was only making things worse.
“Enough!” Liam said, joining us. He settled his attention on me. “Update, now.”
I shook my head as I tried to collect the words I needed. Breathing was still difficult, and my heart was still pounding.
“Abadi,” Liam said. His little way of delivering an order. I must not have answered quick enough for him.
I sucked in a breath. “Savannah felt something off when we arrived. She said the air tasted like magic and to keep our eyes open because she felt like we were heading into a trap after all.”
I wished I could have changed the course of everything as I paused to take another breath.
“Once we made it inside, I had a strange sensation cover me. I was tingling all over and it was uncomfortable. Savannah sensed something and told me to run. A couple of seconds later, everything around us erupted into fire. We barely escaped through the window on her floor.”
I pulled Savannah a little closer as guilt started to force its way through. Noah was right, though I would never admit it to him. She was hurt because I failed to protect her.
“We didn’t have time to catch our breath before six members of our favorite group ever headed us off in the alley, blocking our only means of escape. I wasn’t able to shift. Savannah couldn’t use her magic.”
It should have been me lying on the ground. Not her.
