The Contrary Mate

Aura

“Let me go!” I yelled at Rex as he grabbed me tightly from behind and held me against him. I bit his arm but he ignored it.

“It’s not safe for you here.” He grunted as I tried to slam my heel into his nuts but missed and hit his thigh. He was dragging me back towards the building.

“It’s not going to be safe for me my anywhere! When did you lose your mind? Let me go!”

“Aura,” he snapped reproachfully.

Across the roof I saw Jack get hit by electric magic, and I struggled even harder in Rex’s grasp. I wanted to help my mate, not be dragged away to so-called safety by my insane ex. I was pulled into the stairwell and was making no headway against him.

Since my physical struggles weren’t helping me escape, I concentrated my magic that so readily flowed into the botanical in a very different, much more reluctant direction. My magic didn’t want to destroy, it wanted to grow, but in this case I forced it. The zap of electricity that hit Rex was enough to shock him into releasing me. I whirled around and slapped him hard across the face.

“How dare you! I’ve already told you to leave me alone. And this other stuff you’ve done. You’ve killed people! You could have killed me! Having opinions is one thing, but when you let them take you to extremes like this it’s another!”

He flinched like my words hurt him. I hoped they did this time because nothing else was getting through to him.

“You’re not the person I used to know.” I flew back out the door, to find my mate, and my pack.

More than one of the wolves were lying prone on the roof, but Jack was still fighting. His light fur was stained with blood, and I was terrified that it was his. There were only a couple of fae left holding the remaining wolves off the ones performing their spell. With every pulse the magic grew more heavy in my head, and I feared what it would do when it reached its peak. The magic needed to be interrupted before that could happen.

Senator Salix was still hanging back from the fight on wing, and I wondered if I should fight him. He was older so I might have a chance physically, but his general magic was far superior to my own. My fire abilities could barely singe, my water was useless. I didn’t know where that surge of lighting had come from. Maybe my best contribution would have been keeping Rex busy while he abducted me, but he at least hadn’t rejoined the fight and I didn’t care why that was.

My heart was in my throat as the senator turned his full attention towards my mate. I flew closer, hoping that I could assist him in some small way. Maybe a shield would be helpful, but I wasn’t good at that either. I’d never felt so powerless as I rushed forward.

Senator Salix hit Jack with attack after attack, everything from pure magic to lightning and fire, but he just kept dodging and lunging in spite of the hits. I hadn’t fully realized just how powerful werewolves were until that moment, and I began to have hope that Jack would overcome the assault.

I didn’t even noticed how close they had gotten to the edge until the last moment. Jack lunged and got the senator in the stomach, ripping into him with savage teeth. Blood poured out of him in a gushing wave, and things that were not supposed to be hanging out were falling out, and that constant nagging sense of death all around grew more intense.

And then the senator threw all his energy into a blast, and with horror I saw Jack fly right over the edge.

No, not flew, he fell, because Jack was at the mercy of gravity, and the ground was very far away. For the first time in my life, height frightened me. Without time to think, I dove after him, pushing my wings as fast as I could go, until I managed to grab him. I reversed direction, and strained my wings with all my magic to try to slow his descent.

But even then I knew it was too late, because he was still falling, hard, and I didn’t know if he would survive the impact. My wings were built for speed, not weight, and they did so little to assist me with my heavy werewolf.

He was still going to hit the ground, hard, and so would I if I didn’t let go.

And I wasn’t going to let go.

Then the burden lightened, just slightly, and I opened startled eyes to see Rex’s at my level. He had Jack by the leg and was beating his wings as hard as I was. “It’s like he’s made of rocks,” he grunted. I redoubled my efforts as the pavement rushed towards us.

The impact was loud when Jack hit the ground, shoulder first, and again when Rex and I both hit a moment later. My leg screamed at me, but my thoughts were all on Jack. His eyes were closed, but I could feel the bond between us still vibrant and strong. His eyes opened and the additional relief made me tear up.

“Jack? Aura?” Lenora’s voice rang in my head.

“We’re alive,” I told her.

“Thank goodness,” she said. “The security threat has been resolved up here.”

“I don’t think I can get Jack back into the building.” I wound my hand into his fur and revelled in the warmth.

“I’ll send someone out.”

Hopefully she meant for me, too. I didn’t have time to worry about it, though. Jack shifted into his human form—his very naked human form—and tried to pushed himself up just as the streetlight flickered on above us. “Should you be doing that? Aren’t you hurt?” I protested.

“Yes, but I’ll be fine. Can’t have an unnaturally large wolf wandering around the city. People might ask questions.”

I wasn’t sure a very attractive naked man wouldn’t catch just as much attention, but I didn’t argue. “Just stay still,” I scolded. “Being a werewolf doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt.”

“You’re hurt, too,” he pointed out with a deliberate look at my leg. “It looks broken.” He wasn’t wrong. The angle looked strange and I could barely think through the pain.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. Even the screaming pain couldn’t change the relief I felt.

Behind him, Rex had shifted further away from us. I didn’t know what to say to him. Jack didn’t seem to, either and shot me a questioning look. “He helped me save you,” I explained.

He nodded in understanding. “Thank you, Rex,” he said. His hand stayed firmly around mine.

Rex opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then several people came outside. Two pack members wrestled Rex’s arms behind his back and he flinched, I wondered without caring if he was injured. Another pair of wolves helped Jack to his feet and supported him, and the vampire who was working as a guard picked me up and carried me inside.

I probably wasn’t going to tell my mom that part.