Kissed by Krista Street

Chapter 10

~ WYATT ~

One second my wolf was battling the elf lord, the next he saw my mate falling to the ground. My wolf forced the shift, and I sprang toward her just as she collapsed. “Avery!”

Night-kissed wind caressed my face and naked body when I slammed into the ground beside her. Pain seared my side. I’d been engulfed in flames, but the fire was gone. Pink skin now graced my body where I’d been aflame, but the newly healed flesh tore from how quickly I’d moved.

Fuck. That hurt.

But at least I’d moved fast enough. Avery’s head fell onto my palm, breaking her fall. My skin began knitting itself together again, the burns healing more as I called, “Avery!”

But my mate didn’t move. She was out cold. I assessed her for injuries but only found a small injury to the back of her head, the blood cold and the wound already healing. It wasn’t recent.

I whipped around, expecting to see another curse being thrown at me from the elf, but . . .

All was quiet.

The elf lord and warlocks were gone. And it was as if my wolf had known that.

“What the actual fuck?” someone said. The shuffle of feet sounded beside me. Then more cursing and additional notes of confusion.

“How did we get here?” someone else asked.

“Where are the warlocks?” a third called.

I vaguely became aware that my surroundings were unfamiliar. The mountain was no longer at my back. It lay to my west, miles in the distance.

And there was no elf lord. No warlocks. No skirmish. The trees were still. Nothing waited around us except for quiet wind, moonlit leaves, and shadows from the surrounding hills.

“Wyatt.” A hand touched my shoulder. Bavar stared down at me. “I think she stopped time again.”

I glanced down at Avery. She looked so pale and weak, and suddenly it all made sense. She had frozen time again. It was the only thing that explained why my body was no longer engulfed in fire and the split-second change of events. But Avery had sacrificed her wellbeing to do so.

Gods. She’d done it to save us.

“Yes.” I cradled my mate to me, then gently stood, holding her in my arms.

Someone began handing out clothes to the naked wolves. On autopilot, I slipped on a pair of loose shorts, vaguely recalling that I’d discarded my suit before shifting, but one of the witches was already on it, using location and transport spells to retrieve our fallen equipment and SF clothing. Nothing was ever left behind.

I gazed down at Avery again as my skin continued to knit and heal. I could hardly believe that she was with me and safe again. I squeezed her, just to ensure that she was real.

Warm skin pressed into me. Long lashes rested on her lackluster cheeks, and her head lolled onto my forearm, but she was alive.

I inhaled her scent, her rich lilac aroma tingling my senses and making my wolf whine in gratitude. The steady thrum of her heart beat quietly. It was like music to my ears.

I took in a deep, heaving breath. Emotions clogged my throat, making it feel thick. Avery was alive and with me, but that didn’t mean the threat was over. That elf bastard still lived.

A protective instinct surged through my veins, and I held her tighter to my chest. “We need to get back to the SF headquarters. She’s not safe here. If her health deteriorates from leaving the fae lands, we’ll deal with it.”

“Agreed. We have just enough portal keys if we move in groups of three or four.” Bavar began issuing orders, and I took in the scene around us.

Most of the SF members were standing. Dazed expressions covered their faces, but they were alive.

My breath sucked in. All alive except for three.

My chest tightened when I saw Corporal Hanson from Squad Seventeen. She was in her second year at the SF. Her unseeing eyes gazed skyward. A death curse had brought her down, her chest singed beyond repair.

Beside her lay two additional SF members. Each had been placed side by side, hands folded over their chests. One looked broken, as if his entire body had been pulverized. I vaguely remembered seeing someone sail through the sky, being hit by one of the giant trees before landing on the rocks. Corporal Eder hadn’t stood a chance from that kind of assault.

And beside him lay another member, in service at the SF for over ten years. Corporal Zucik of Squad Twenty-seven had also taken a spell directly to the chest, a singed crater left in its wake.

“Did Avery move us?” Major Reichman staggered toward me. She clutched her stomach, a wicked wound beneath her palm. It was already healing. She was lucky. If the tree branch had pierced her heart, she would be dead. Pain was evident on the vampire commander’s face. “Did Avery bring us here, and bring . . .” Her jaw locked. “Did she bring our fallen here too?”

A lump formed in my throat. Gods it had been a disastrous week for our organization, but I knew that the only explanation for the rest of us being alive was my mate.

“Yes. She must have stopped time again and carried all of us here.”

Major Reichman’s brow furrowed. She gazed down at my mate, her expression impossible to read, but then she nodded curtly. “She has my thanks and my respect.”

Something squeezed inside me, and I was reminded of something I’d known about Avery since we’d first met. The strength that I’d seen in her all of those years ago had only grown with each year she’d aged. Her inherent magic was weak, but her soul was strong. So god damned strong.

“And this one?” Major Reichman pointed to a body mostly covered in a sheet. Reichman’s breath sucked in. “So beautiful.”

The person was a woman of perhaps Indian descent. Coal-black hair spread onto the ground around her, and smooth brown skin graced her cheeks. Major Reichman was right. The woman had an ethereal beauty to her. She lay completely still even though she didn’t smell of death. She smelled of . . .

I couldn’t place it.

“Did Avery retrieve her too? This is the person we haven’t identified. Another victim, or as you suggested, perhaps one of them?”

A moment of shame washed through me at the vampire commander’s words. This woman wasn’t one of them. I’d known that immediately, but I’d been so intent on saving my mate that I hadn’t cared about her. “I don’t think she’s with the warlocks or elf lord. I think she’s another victim.”

Major Reichman’s eyes widened, then she abruptly crouched down, still holding her stomach. Her gaze glued to the victim’s chest. A moment passed, then she exclaimed, “There! Did you see that? She still breathes. She must be unconscious too. Does anyone know who she is?”

The SF members who heard Major Reichman’s question all shook their heads, but Bavar’s head cocked as he moved closer to the unconscious woman. His eyes narrowed as he gazed down at her.

“She has a . . . feel to her, something I’ve never sensed before.” A look of reverence clouded his face, but then he abruptly stepped back and shook his head. “We need to get moving.”

I eyed the fairy commander who seemed intent on putting more distance between himself and the woman, an unsettled look on his face.

“We’ll take her back to headquarters,” I ordered. “If she’s in our database, the processing bay technicians will be able to identify her.”

Major Reichman carefully scooped her up, mindful to keep the sheet covering her. “I’ll bring her back.”

“Link up!” Bavar shouted after he’d finished handing out the last of the portal keys. “We depart now.”

I looked in the distance, waiting for movement or activity from the elf lord and his warlocks. Surely, they would be upon us in seconds since they could conjure transport portals.

But they didn’t come.

“Ready?” Bavar asked, holding a portal key out to me.

Those who weren’t overly injured helped those who were. Everyone divided into groups of three or four as Bavar had directed, and one by one, they all disappeared into portals.

Two SF members next to me linked their arms through mine. I fisted the key while keeping Avery close to my chest.

Bavar and Major Reichman would be the last to leave. Commanders were always the last to evacuate.

I whispered the spell, activating the key, and the portal winds swallowed us whole.