Taran gathered her magic and blasted him with a jolt of lightning. I screamed when he collapsed to the ground. He rose almost immediately, growling, his glare just as piercing, still targeted on Danny.

I gave Danny one last shove and lurched forward. My anger at Aric’s actions and my fear for Danny’s safety propelled me onward with my claws out. I meant to hurt him. I meant to make him bleed. Yet my love for him beat my wrath into submission.

I flung my arms around his neck. In breaking the bond, I thought the glorious warmth between us would cease to exist. I was wrong. Heat immediately encased us, soothing my tattered soul with unbelievable reverence. My breaths released in sobs. Everything inside me had missed Aric and failed to live without him.

“Baby, don’t,” I begged when he took another step toward Danny.

Aric stopped, as if the current charging his monstrous demeanor had been cut. Slowly, his body relaxed and his head fell against my shoulder. The rough and sharp textures of his damaged skin scratched at my face, but I didn’t care. I just needed him.

His arms encircled my waist. “Why?” he choked. “I love you so much. Just tell me why.”

My cries turned to hysterics. We dropped to our knees, tightening our holds.

Taran released a blue and white mist to hypnotize and calm the panic-stricken crowd. I barely felt her magic as it passed over my skin. The world around me ceased to exist except for Aric. I knew only him and his beautiful scent. He kissed my head and ran his fingers through my hair. My hands swept over the hard muscles of his back. He felt so right. I couldn’t fathom how I’d abandoned him. I was going to confess everything. But before my lips could part, I was silenced by the deafening sound of howling wolves.

Anara’s translucent form charged toward me. “You bitch!”

I jerked away from Aric, falling backward on my hands. Anara shoved his face in mine. “I will kill him if you don’t force him from your life!” I sat there, held in place by the Pack magic swirling around him. “Need I remind you of my strength?”

He motioned to where Shayna knelt over Koda and flicked his hand. Her head was wrenched to the side as if yanked and her limp form slumped against the pavement. Koda awoke abruptly and pulled her into his arms. Emme shrieked and raced to her side.

Taran started toward them only to suddenly still. Slowly she turned and stared at me with irises that had bleached to white. “Something’s here,” she said in a hollow voice.

She’d felt Anara’s presence.

My gaze darted around. Anara was gone. Aric rose, his blue shirt saturated with my tears. He didn’t glance at Shayna, Taran, or anyone else. His light brown eyes fixed on me. He sensed my fear, but he failed to understand it. “Celia, tell me what’s happening.”

Anara’s voice whispered savagely in my head. “Make him hate you.” Shayna screamed again. He was hurting her just to be sure I was listening. My head whipped from her to Aric. “Make him hate you or they both die!”

I clenched my teeth. “Misha is planning our wedding.”

Aric froze.

“He wants to be with me.”

Aric fell silent, but his anger tore forth like a raging bull.

My voice quivered. “I can never see you again.”

Aric’s large form trembled with uncomprehending fury. “This is why you broke our bond—so you can be with Misha?”

“I…”

“Answer him, Celia!” Anara growled.

“Forget about me, Aric. Forget you ever knew me. You deserve better.”

Aric loomed over me, his deep timbre thick with anger. “You’re right. You’re no good for me. You’re no good for anyone—except maybe that fucking leech!”

My heart stopped as I watched Aric disappear. Danny’s cold hand on my shoulder kept me from falling over. When I faced him, his skin was ashen.

“God, Celia,” he said. “How long has Anara been hurting you?”

Chapter Twelve

“Shut up, Danny,” I hissed.

The desperation in my face instantly silenced him. I stumbled forward to Shayna’s side. Koda sat her up. She rubbed her neck. “I’m fine, puppy,” she told him.

Koda didn’t appear convinced. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. It felt like someone tried to break my neck.” Her slender fingers swept over her sternum. “And my heart kept trying to stop.”

Koda glared at me.

Danny’s hand returned to my shoulder. “Celia was over by me.”

Blue and white fire crackled around Taran. “Damnit, Koda, don’t look at her that way. Something was here. I felt it.”

“What was it?” he asked. Taran didn’t say anything. “If something was here, tell me what it was!”

She jerked a flaming finger in his face. “I don’t know what it was. All I know is that it was dark and sinister and strong. Like ungodly strong.”

Koda rose, lifting Shayna to her feet. “That’s because evil deeds attract evil beings.”

Emme’s eyes widened. She knew he meant me. “Celia isn’t evil.”

She reached for my hand, but Liam pulled her away. “What Celia intentionally did to Aric follows the path of evil. The dark ones enjoy that level of torture. If any were present when she broke the bond, they might have followed her, waiting to strike.”

Out of Aric’s best friends, I was closest to Liam. His scrutiny crippled my already tattered emotions.

Koda stalked over to me. “Your selfish acts could have cost me my mate.”

Gemini clasped Koda’s shoulder and pulled him back. Good for him, because the way I felt I would have nailed him in the face. “Enough, Koda. You’re jumping to conclusions. We need to take care of this mess.”

Taran had charmed the crowd into dispersing and ignoring the destruction around us. Danny took in the demolished furniture. “I have some money I can contribute toward the cost.”

Gemini’s dark almond-shaped eyes shimmered with barely controlled rage. “You’re not doing anything. You’re no longer one of us.” His hands tightened to fists. “Daniel Matagrano, as Beta to Aric Connor, pureblood and Leader of the Squaw Valley Den Pack, I hereby strip you of your title as Warrior. Step foot on our land, and I will personally end your life.”

My sisters and I gasped. Danny bowed his head. The title of Warrior had been his crowning achievement—more than his doctorate degree, more than his academic accomplishments. This had been the honor that made him feel like he finally belonged.