The bond that Mack had never wanted in the first place. Not even Jude had that much faith in magic. But he bit his lip and nodded.
Mack stripped and shifted and took his place at Jude’s back, but he was careful to leave a gap so he didn’t get a shock when Jude arced up.
When the Coven had sent him to Mercy, he’d never thought he’d end up sitting back to back with a bear in the middle of a forest waiting for an aufhocker to sneak up on them.
With Mack in bear form, there was no one to talk to, but every so often the bear turned his way as if checking he was awake. Which, of course, he was.
The fire burned down to little more than embers, but neither of them stirred. Tension thrummed it the gap between them. For all of Mack’s casual attitude, he was far from calm. It was reassuring that Jude wasn’t the only one freaking out. It was probably better that he had no one to talk to. He might have said too much.
This afternoon had been perfect. He hadn’t wanted the sun to set and he didn’t want what he had with Mack to end, which it would once his job here was done. He sighed and let a small arc of electricity form between his finger and thumb. He liked Mack too much. He shouldn’t have let himself start liking him, but it was hard not to, because even when he was being gruff he was a good person.
Because of the bond, there was more between them than he’d ever had with anyone. He felt the heat before Mack shifted. Heat wasn’t quite right, there was more to it, a lust to break free, a howling in his blood for something he’d never experienced.
Cold swept across the back of his neck. The bear hardly moved, but there was an alertness that had been missing before. Jude played with the charge in the air and the ground so it was ready to be used. Then he saw the creature. The glint of eyes between the trees as something small came toward them.
“I see it,” he whispered.
Mack huffed out a breath in acknowledgement.
The aufhocker drew closer, still small. It circled around as though looking for a way to attack. Jude’s heart beat so fast he was sure he would pass out. He forced himself to breathe. At least if he died the Coven couldn’t take his familiar away or strip his magic. But he didn’t want Mack to die just because he’d failed. They both had to live.
And the creature needed prey before it would attack. It needed one of them to get up. Jude wanted to put up a circle and hide, but that would only delay the inevitable for another night. It had to be him who moved. He was the bait.
“I’ll give the aufhocker what it wants.” Jude got up before Mack could argue.
The bear’s head swung around, but Jude wasn’t totally suicidal. He walked in front of Mack and prayed that a bear could bring down an aufhocker.
Jude pretended to tend the fire, but he could feel the creature’s eyes boring into him. He was sure he could sense each step it took toward him. Or was he picking up on what Mack was seeing? He knew the moment the creature leaped, and swelled, doubling in size. Jude turned, and lightning tore upward and caught it in the belly. The air cracked at the sudden change. Jude’s heart hammered, and he prepared to strike again. Then Mack was on the aufhocker before it hit the ground, very much alive. Both animals were struggling to get good bites. Claws and teeth raked fur and flesh.
Jude winced, sure he could feel each scratch. He needed to do something, but he didn’t want to accidentally fry Mack. He kept a charge ready, the spark dancing on his fingers. The fight became more vicious. He couldn’t stand there and do nothing. So he did the only thing he could that wouldn’t be fatal. He covered his fingers with his shirtsleeve, picked up a hot rock from the fire, and hurled it at the beast. The rock was actually a rather overcooked foil-wrapped potato that hit the beast and scattered. But it distracted the aufhocker for long enough for Mack to bite it and bring it to the ground.
He hadn’t lost his throw, even though he hadn’t played baseball in years. The smile of satisfaction faded fast from his lips.
The aufhocker changed size, growing again. Bigger than the bear until Mack could no longer hold on and he was thrown off. Mack had enough sense to back away nimbly. His sides were heaving, but Jude couldn’t take his eyes off the aufhocker for long enough to see how badly Mack was hurt.
The aufhocker slunk forward, not ready to give up. There was enough of a gap between the two animals that Jude could act. The charge in the air was something he could taste. His hair, every hair on his body, was drawn up. The strike hit the creature in the chest and threw it backward. Mack followed in a few bounds, and so did Jude, ready to throw again if it got up.
Which it did. Mack kept just far enough away for Jude to try again. Try was all he could do.
‘Hard to kill’ was an aufhockers most common description. But it wasn’t as big this time, and he remembered Mack saying it took energy to shift. The aufhocker wasn’t naturally big. It was small. That was a huge discovery. He threw lightning again before Mack could close in.
“It’s tiring. Being big uses up its energy,” he called out, knowing Mack could understand him. How long until it gave up and retreated for the night?
Mack attacked, not giving the creature time to recover. If it fled, they’d never be able to go after it. It would
