Chapter 120

Chapter 120

In an instant, Kyle's power vanished as he looked for the one other woman he had come to defend. When he saw her, he staggered and fell to his knees, just as she finally hit him. Grasping her firmly, he buried his head in the bend of her neck.

I reached out to shake Derrick's hand, but he stayed put.

"A warning would have been nice." As he inhaled deeply, still recuperating from my brother's magical asphyxiation episode, I smiled. "However, your brother is correct. Given what I did to you, I really should have been paid more." When he eventually grabbed my hand and stood up from the floor, he made up his mind to say.

I put my hand on his face and used my thumb to clean the blood from his nose.

Perhaps as a punishment, I could tie you to our bed once this is resolved, should you desire it.

I said, using the mate link for the first time and for a very clever purpose.

With a snarl, Derrick grabbed my hand and pulled me towards my brother's tiny gathering, all the while driven by a burning desire to end this conflict as quickly as possible.

Now, when we were in front of him, with Vera curled into his side and a flush on her cheeks, someone had gone and found something for him to wear.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned Kyle frankly as she straightened her shoulders, realizing that once we got everything over and done with, there was no way they would continue to like each other.

"You hardly even realize how unprepared you are for the conflict that is about to break out. You just have a few hours left before she unleashes a pack of ferocious wolves to put an end to you all. I was dispatched ahead of time to survey your numbers, which are quite low, by the way." Pulling Vera off his side and putting her against his chest, Kyle spoke.

"Then, are you here to help us?" Smothered in his scent, Vera's voice sounded small, a whine emanating from her.

His gaze fell upon her, torn.

"I'm here to take you as far away from this as possible." Then his eyes shifted to mine. "Both of you."

Derrick pulled me to his chest as well, not liking the sound of it.

The two dominant guys became tense with each other.

"If you want to take Vera, and if she wants to leave with you, that is your right, and we will not take that away from both of you." Derrick responded, "But there is something you must know before you make your decision." My palm snaked around the back of his head, brushing over the mark I'd given him, my pulse thudding heavily in my chest as I rotated in his embrace.

"You have already seen the mark I gave to your sister, but she has given me one too." Even Vera gasped as she glanced between the two of us, knowing it was unusual for both partners to be marked.

"One of the men found a book about our ancestors; it told us that our magic gets stronger when you complete the bond with your mate." I closely observed my brother's response. The denial came right away, and the lurking curiosity became stronger by the moment.

"You're lying—how would that even be possible?"

I wrenched my hand away from Derrick's, and he placed it on the small of my back.

My brother and I instantly connected as our powers called out to one another, just as they always have, when I stretched for his hand. A brother and a sister, a guardian and a defender. When our magic met, it caught on to the cords separating us, making it nearly impossible for Kyle to hold on to.

He looked at me with wide eyes, and his knees almost buckled, so I released his hand.

It was difficult to ignore how my magic was growing.

"It's the truth," I declared. "And now the two of you have to make a decision: either you run away with each other or you complete your bond so that we can take my mother down together."

"I'm not forcing a mark on my mate." Kyle gave a smirk.

A pause occurred.

Vera remarked, "You wouldn't be putting a mark on me?" "I would be more than willing; you'd know that if you asked me." She sighed, and a familiar energy flared in Kyle's eyes.

Vera lifted her hands to his face.

This wasn't her struggle, so I wouldn't have been upset if she had taken the easy route, but I was incredibly proud of what she said after that.

What are the chances that your mother won't locate us again and kill me for betraying her if we flee? And if everything goes horribly wrong, do you really think I could live with myself knowing that we could have done something to stop it all?" I felt a wave of comfort flow through Derrick as I leaned against his chest.

"I would have let you mark me that day in the café if you had stayed longer, but you had to..."

With a scorching kiss, he ended her dispute, and I looked away.

"Moon, help me." He complained. "If you don't want me to have you on the grass, take us away from here." I moaned as Vera dragged him away without any delay.

Overindulgent expressions of love were one thing, but hearing my brother say those things made me vow never to listen to anything again.

"At least you don't have to worry about my abilities anymore." With my chin resting on his chest, I raised my head. "Kyle has always been much stronger than me, and if we—"

"I believe that you are powerful, Kylie." Definitely, he said. "But regardless of the power that you have, for as long as I live, I will always worry about you." I nodded in agreement as I withdrew from him, blinking to clear my eyes of the tears.

"Warn the warriors on patrol to return to the pack house. If Kyle is correct, leaving them outside will result in carnage. No members of our pack will be lost today." His breath hitched and came from behind me.

"As their Luna, you should make the command—the mind link is open to you now." He continued, "And they'll be honored to obey you." He spoke with sincerity, yet I stammered.

Instead, I murmured, "I need to raise a shield."

Too much was going our way, and could it be that we were about to run out of luck?

Now it was just a waiting game, and I prepared to take this to the next level, whatever it took.