"The bear disappeared right after you got into that... weird state," he sighs, turning his head to where Luna stands. "We didn't defeat it, so we figured... something had happened. Once we got here, though, you were blocked inside this weird tornado thing, and... havoc ensued."
"Wait, what?"
“You heard him,” says Selena, a few steps away. “She used your powers to attack us... It was a nice relief not worrying about where to stand at first, but I have to admit, running from flames and water is harder than it seems..."
"Was anyone injured?"
They both exchange a look. Wait, what does that mean? Someone got hurt for real?
"Don't worry, babe, it wasn't your doing..."
"Liam, it was still my power! And I stayed stuck inside that... illusion for about an hour!"
“Trust me, it felt longer than that for us…”
"Selena!"
Well, it felt a lot longer than that for me too, but at least I was out of danger, aside from her sucking out my powers! I can't believe I attacked my friends, and I have no fucking memory of it! I look around, but I'm so panicked, I can't even focus to find out who is missing. With the downpour around us, the mud flying and covering everybody’s fur, I can barely recognize the wolves I actually do know.
"Liam, who did I harm?"
"Mara–"
"Tell me," I retort before he can protest.
He sighs, grimacing.
"Ben was... forced to leave the fight. We lost contact with some other wolves, and my brother got burned a bit..."
I look around, quickly spotting the big, black wolf, the one with the silver eyes. Moon Goddess, it's true. He's seriously limping on one side, and there's a long, bloody, pink patch of exposed flesh on his flank...
"Moon Goddess, I... burned him?"
"Mara, Mara, no!" protests Liam, forcing me to look at him. "Babe, we know it wasn't you. Look at me. Babe, look at me."
He grabs my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him. His eyes are dark gray like the storm above us, only hiding a faint hint of blue in them... Oh, Moon Goddess, I feel like I really hadn't seen him in years. Now that I can properly look at my mate, my Liam, I feel like bawling. I sniff it back down, probably making a horrible expression, because he chuckles.
"Mara, this isn't your fault, tiger. You probably saved us a ton more than that, I'm sure of it. I don't know what happened to you during all that time, but don't worry about anything. We're your family, your pack, and we trust you a hundred percent."
“Ninety-nine. You tend to be reckless at times.”
I chuckle, but Liam probably didn't hear that... He still smiles back at me.
"You're Silver City's witch, Mara, nobody here will change that, alright? We know she's trying to use you, and we don't care, we know you. You're our Mara, our crazy Fire Witch, alright?"
He smiles a bit more and steps forward, igniting the fire inside me again. I feel my wolf wake up too, reacting to the closeness of our mate, as if she had been put into a deep sleep until now. Despite the cold rain pouring on us, I feel his warmth, his skin close to mine, and his gentle hands on my body. It feels like the whole fight around us slowed down to give us a little break, this break I really needed with him. Liam takes a deep breath and kisses my lips, a slight taste of iron between us. It's a bitter, ugly kiss, but it is real, and imperfect, and raw, and Moon Goddess, I need it. We don't have time for more, but that precious second between us is all I needed. I nod silently.
"...I love you, Mara," he whispers.
"I love you too..."
He nods.
"It's good that you know. Now, you're in charge. You tell us what to do, we will follow you no matter what, okay?"
“If you have a plan, I'd love to hear it,” growls Selena. “Since you were in that no-coverage zone, it's been hell here. We tried to get to her, but we had no way to get into that hurricane thing. How did you stop her?”
“Because I'm a werewolf-witch. The culprit behind the curse isn't the witch, but Luna, the werewolf-witch…”
