I squalled, but my cry faded with the onslaught of pain as the tendrils tightened.
“Aylin, you are safe. It cannot harm you in Thomas's protection container. Try again.”
It hurt. The pain made it difficult to focus, to clear my mind. But I needed to save myself. Save my wolf. I couldn't let her die. We were one.
I imagined my silhouette, the dark figure a perfect replica of my body. Struggling to concentrate, I breathed in deeply, held it for a count of four, and exhaled. My mind searched through the figure, looking for the healing crowns.
Each breath soothed my soul. My mind cleared. Slowly, several of floating purple orbs became visible. I moved one with my mind, forcing it into another one. The two expanded into one. I took another deep breath and moved another ball closer. For several minutes, I repeated the process, until one unified ball hovered near my heart. Slowly, I forced my mind to move the ball toward my stomach.
Just when it reached the perfect location, Luna spoke. “Stop! Good.”
Sweat poured from her face as if she'd just moved the several of healing balls. I gasped for air; the exertion burnt my lungs.
“Now, the hard part.”
Oh, I didn't like the sound of that. Combining the balls had been hard enough. I glanced at my wolf. She hadn't moved or acknowledged my struggle with the orbs. I needed to do more. I needed to shift and soon.
“Focus now on the black masses surrounding you. Pull them inside your body and coax them toward the purple halo. She will destroy them. No matter what happens, keep pulling them. Don't let any stray.” Luna's dampened shirt soaked her body, her face red with the effort.
I zeroed in on the smallest strand, pulled it inside my body, and guided it to the purple crown. The slippery bastard struggled like an eel, but once it connected, the sphere sucked it in. The hold the black magic had on me loosened only slightly before more tendrils wrapped around me in a repetitive sequence.
One tried to cut off my air supply. I gasped. The poison was trying to destroy the purple crown by killing me.
“Focus, Aylin!” Luna cried.
I grabbed another small tendril and, working past my inability to breathe, repeated the process. I felt darkness swimming behind my eyes, but I still forced the tendril into the crown. The coil around my neck squealed and loosened its hold. I gulped in breaths of air.
“Good, good. Keep going.” Luna's voice sang.
I continued the process until just one remained.
The biggest strand wrapped around my body from my head to my feet — its thickness like a copse of tree trunks. I visualized gripping it with both hands and yanking it into my body. The perilous bastard swished about like a live electrical wire, ripping itself from my grasp.
“Grab it!” Luna shouted.
It slithered upward, but I grabbed the tail just before it escaped and pulled it back down. I shoved with all my might until my hands, clasping the evil tendril, sank elbow deep into the crown, which she gobbled up the poison and vanished.
I fell to the ground with a thud.
My wolf crawled forward and, when our essences combined, my soul, my body, and my wolf reunited as one. I focused all my power on the transition and shifted. My body stretched. My bones cracked as they lengthened.
I stood, body straight, taking in my manicured nails, my cowgirl boots, jeans and a flannel shirt. Thank, God! I was me again.
Being trapped inside my wolf had been terrifying. I tossed a strand of hair over my shoulder. “Well, that was fun,” I lied.
Luna laughed. “I bet it was.”
“Wow, just wow!” Thomas moved forward and, grabbing his pen, closed the red box. “That was crazy.”
“And I guess you are Thomas?” I asked.
“Sure am.” He extended his hand.
I hesitated briefly, but then remembered that without his help, I would probably still be trapped inside my wolf. I shook his hand. “Aylin.”
“Pleasure,” he replied.
Luna ignored our introductions and looked at her watch. “Um, Aylin. You told those brutes back in the woods that we would meet with Liam in fifteen minutes.”
“Yea, so?” I asked. Liam was the least of my problems right now. I needed to rebalance my aura and recuperate from the effects of the poison. I was dead tired and trying to fight off my bitchy mood.
“That was two hours ago.”
“Well, shit!”
“I can give you a lift,” Thomas said. “I left my truck about a half mile up the road. I wasn't sure of your exact location when I located Luna's essence after our conversation last night.”
“Last night?” I asked dumbfounded.
“Well…” Luna shuffled her feet. “After sensing Connor's dilemma, I figured we might need some more help so I called Thomas and went over my suspicions about the poison.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” I half-heartedly punched her shoulder. “But seriously, thanks for the help.”
Thomas collected his bow and arrow, and sealed them in the bag he slung over his shoulder.
“Thomas, you didn't use that, did you?” Luna pointed to the arrow.
Thomas grinned. “Harm only comes to those who are impure.”
Chapter Eleven
Connor
“Because you will need him in this battle.” Nadia's words echoed through my head like a pinball bouncing against the walls of my skull. How could we rely on Mitch during a battle against Gabriel?
He'd been in Gabriel's pocket for years. Hell, maybe he still is.
And we needed him?
I spit the vile taste from my mouth at that thought.
“Hmm...” Mitch cleared his throat.
I glared. Moments ago, I begged to have his life restored. Now that he stood before me, I wasn't so sure it had been a good idea.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, I don't want to leave you hanging with a fire to put out.” He pointed to the fiery remnants of Aylin's
