Mated By Fate by Christa Wick
Chapter Fifteen
Five minutes wasthree hundred seconds.
Each second was an eternity.
Seth slammed the door to the van open as Camille ran from the house and up to the vehicle. He lifted the older witch, setting her down directly in front of Esme. Her hands shaking, she ran them over her daughter's body in search of the most life-threatening injury.
"Her head." Lana cradled the edges of Esme's skull. "It's still swelling at the back. I couldn't get it to go down."
Camille nodded, her hand slipping under Esme's neck. She chanted, the words coalescing around the younger witch's limp form like a caterpillar's cocoon, the strands of magic a phosphorescent blue.
Lana looked at Denver, oblivious to the naked body covered with Esme's blood.
"We need to move her inside, gently. Do you understand?"
He nodded at Lana. Then, demonstrating inhuman strength, he lifted Esme from the bent position the van's height forced on him and eased her to the door. Camille moved in sync with Denver, her hands hovering near Esme's head to keep the protective cushion of magic firmly in place.
Seth and Lana followed them into the house, watching from the doorway as Denver delicately placed Esme on the mattress. Camille pointed at Lana.
"You stay." Her finger drifted to Denver. "Out. Bring me other shifters to draw on. Your and Seth's energy is too erratic for me to heal with."
Sliding into a kneeling position next to the bed, Denver ignored the woman. Lana moved toward Esme. Curling a hand around Lana's arm, Seth held her back.
Camille's head whipped in their direction.
"Tell your mate I need you." Her voice broke as only a mother's could. "She needs you."
Lana looked at Seth. She could feel the tension coiling inside him. He had only held her for a few seconds after her rescue. As her mate, he wanted to make sure she wasn't ignoring any of her own injuries. From her lessons with Esme and the journal discussing latents, Lana knew Seth also needed his scent back on her after she'd been held hostage by other males. His instinct to protect her was so strong it overrode his responsibilities as pack alpha. That she'd kept him at arm's length before the kidnapping only heightened his need.
Throwing her arms around his shoulders, Lana tightly hugged Seth and quickly rubbed against him, the blanket knotted around her body soaking up his scent. "I'm okay, I promise. We'll have time once she's stable."
Knowing the danger of touching him any longer, Lana pressed her cheek against his and rubbed her hands over his arms to capture more of his scent before hurrying to the bed.
Gently, she steered Denver down the mattress where he could still touch Esme without interfering with her care. He gripped the witch's foot, his thumb rubbing at its sole, his gaze laser focused on Esme's face.
Lana caught Camille's attention as two more shifters entered the room to serve as conduits.
"What do you need me to do?"
Reaching out, Camille took Lana's hand and placed it over Esme's chest.
"Breathe for her."
