Page 67 of Ignited

Karisma spoke up. “If I’m so damn important, why did you come barging in here, trying to take my stuff? Why didn’t you just ask me?”

Thanatos turned the hood on her. “You would have continued to lie, and my patience is wearing thin. I am the only one who understands the workings of the Orb of Thekate. I am the only one who knows what must be done, and has the strength to do it.”

“I hope you mean kill Maximilian. I’d rather do it myself, but if I can’t, knock yourself out. After I have the sphere that he’s keeping that piece of me in.”

Thanatos said, “You already show your lack of understanding. I need all the pieces of the Orb—together—to defeat him. Only then will you get your soul back.”

Boomer knew he couldn’t have heard that right. “Her soul?”

The hood turned to him. “Indeed.”

Boomer leaned against the dresser. “Shit.” He shook his head quickly like a dog coming out of water, trying to clear it. “Still. Why now? Maximilian’s been out there for years, with her… whatever. Why can’t this wait until she’s well again? What’s the sudden rush?”

Karisma snapped, “Will you both stop talking about me like I’m not here? I decide when I’m doing a mission.” She turned to Thanatos. “And I decide how I’m doing it.”

But not now. Not yet. Boomer said desperately, “You’re not strong enough.” Couldn’t she see that? Couldn’t all of them see it? She’d be killed. He couldn’t let that happen. We must stop it, his wolf said.

Damn right.

Now Karisma was pissed at him, too. She said, “That’s not for you to decide.”

DB, who’d been lurking in the doorway, finally spoke up. “He’s right, though. You’re not anywhere near full strength. The problem is, you may not get any stronger.”

What the fuck were all these people doing here, pressuring Karisma and talking trash? Boomer focused his anger on DB. “How the hell did you get in on this?”

“I called him,” Bro said. He pulled DB’s communicator out of his pocket and tossed it to Boomer. He caught it automatically, but he couldn’t process what was going on. Bro going behind his back, giving away his secrets, and Karisma’s. Why would he do something like this?

And what the hell was DB talking about? Karisma wasn’t strong yet, but she would be. She’d find her tiger; she’d be her wild reckless self again. She had to be.

Before he could say anything, Karisma turned on DB. “What the hell do you mean?”

DB didn’t speak straight to Karisma, which was a bad sign. Not to mention it pissed her off even more. He said to Boomer, “She’s improving, but she’s not going to get all the way better as long as Maximilian is out there, sucking on her power.”

“I thought you put a stop to that.”

“I did what I could, but it’s not enough. By my calculations, she’s about at her peak strength. She may be able to retain that for a short time. But eventually, she’s going to go downhill again. Most likely, even faster than I first thought.”

Boomer felt like an icy vise was squeezing his chest. His brother had betrayed him; Karisma would lose her strength and possibly die.

He was going to lose them both.

“I don’t understand,” he said. “How is it suddenly worse?”

His brother answered. “Because you bonded with her.”

Boomer swung around. “What? I didn’t. We didn’t.”

DB broke in. “When true mates find each other—especially if they have sex—the bond starts to form even before they formally commit to it and bring it to its full power. Sometimes you can see it—blue sparkly light all around them.”

Karisma was staring at him. Boomer said, “I haven’t seen that.”

His bro said, “I did. Last night, when you two were sleeping.”

“Fuck. Now you’re a Peeping Tom?”

His brother ignored that. DB said, “And he also saw the energy thread leading straight to the closet where the box is. Which is a problem.”

“It’s always been a problem. We knew that.”