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“Dark magic,” I growled, my muscles tensing for a fight. “The pyromancers are here.”
Leif, Axel, and I exchanged glances, our expressions hardening with resolve.
Then, they emerged from the shadows—pyromancers, six of them, their eyes ablaze with dark determination.
An aura of heat shimmered around them, distorting the air. Power radiated off of them in palpable waves, raising the hairs on my neck. For the first time in my life a cold tendril of fear wrapped around my heart.
Had they been waiting for us? Why expose themselves now?
“You think you can stop us?” one of the pyromancers sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance. “Kill us, and more will take our place. You cannot stand against the power of the flames. The portal will be ours.”
Ignoring the pyro asshole who was about to become bear-chow, I barked, “Axel, guard Amber. Leif, you’re with me.”
A look passed between us as we summoned the power of our bears. Primal energy surged through my veins, and my senses sharpened as my grizzly sprang free.
Beneath the familiar rage, a new vulnerability pulsed. Amber. For the first time, I had so much more to lose than my life. Amber's face flashed before my eyes, her scent filling my nose. My love for her fueled my strength.
Leif surged forward to engage three of the pyromancers, leaving three for me. I couldn’t fucking wait. They’d threatened my people, my family, me.
I pounded toward them, my huge paws digging into the earth in mighty strides.
I dodged their bolts of dark magic, my focus unwavering as I launched myself at them, knocking them down like skittles. I took out two with little effort, tearing them limb from limb and scattering their body parts.
Leif roared with pain. The scent of burnt fur and flesh turned my stomach. I turned, braced to assist him. His rear leg was smoldering. Like me, he’d taken down two of the pyros, but he’d been hit by the third man’s dark magic.
I watched, satisfied, as Leif reared to his full height and swept a mighty paw at the man’s head, detaching it from his shoulders.
I turned back to my adversary, ready to finish him off, only to find him gone.
Shit.
A scream.
Amber.
Wheeling my gigantic frame around, my gaze fell on Amber, and the blood roaring through my veins turned to ice.
Axel was on the ground unconscious, a wound on his side, his fur smoking. The pyro had restrained Amber, his hand wrapped around her throat from behind, his eyes gleaming with triumph. Amber clenched her hand at her side, the other wrapped protectively around her stomach.
Fuck!
Had my worry for Leif cost Amber her life? God, no. No, please. I wouldn’t–couldn’t–survive losing my mate.
Her emerald gaze locked with mine. She was eerily calm apart from the hand clenching and unclenching at her side.
It was this weird tingling in my hands and stomach, like a ball of energy that needed to be expelled.
I recalled her words at my cabin after I’d rescued her from the falling tree. Shit. She was instinctively tapping into her magic. But she had no idea how to control it. She could do herself more harm than the pyro holding her captive.
I could sense the energy growing in her, swelling and spreading. Her calm expression disappeared, and her face scrunched as she struggled to contain her ability. An unearthly glow was building beneath her skin, shining through her pores. Power swirled around her like a gathering storm, making the air hum and crackle.
How was she even doing this? Aunt Thea hadn’t mentioned Amber’s powers manifesting this quickly. Perhaps the mating bond was having a more powerful effect than we’d thought.
Her gaze locked on me again. “Emmett!”
Her voice was tortured. My mate needed me. I prowled a step toward her, my heart in my throat.
The pyro holding her tightened his hold, glaring down at her. “What are you–”
