Chapter 219

Chapter 219: Chapter 219

Heather

Just hold on! I’m coming! He hit the beach at a sprint. Diving into the water. Cutting through the waves with all the power he could.

Magic. I needed to break the magic.

Stop. Stop. Stop. I pushed all my will into the words, picturing whatever spell had me shattering.

Suddenly I could move my arms. My legs still weren’t working, but I could use my arms.

Hope blossomed. Thank God.

I waved my arms through the water like I was digging to the surface. I wasn’t sure if I was heading the right way, but I had to keep moving. I had to keep fighting.

The more I moved, the more confused I got. My head was getting fuzzy, making it hard to think. Which way is up?

Had to keep swimming. Grasping for the surface.

I swam wildly as my panic grew.

I needed to breathe.

I needed air.

I slapped a hand over my mouth. I was going to breathe in.

My body was burning for me to breathe. I was fighting it, but I couldn’t. Not for long. No! I had to find the surface.

Brent! I can’t! I reached along our bond, grabbing for his strength to give me a boost. I felt it flow into me, but without direction, it wasn’t a help. He could feed me power, but not oxygen.

Brent was coming. He’d reach me soon, but not soon enough.

He was going to be too late. He was saying something, but I couldn’t hear him. My mind was getting fuzzy.

The last few months flashed through my mind. The cave of vampires.

When I killed Mr. Hoel.

Luciana stealing my powers.

When I killed her.

Closing the portal.

I hadn’t fought this hard to give up now, but I couldn’t hold my breath any longer.

I’m sorry. My body took in a lung-full of water and I choked. Unable to swim, I sank farther and farther into the darkness.

Brent yelled something I couldn’t understand.

My heartbeat seemed to slow.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump-thump.

Thump—

"Breathe!" Brent screamed, but his voice sounded a million miles away.

The world shook, but I didn’t know where I was or what was happening.

Something hit my chest over and over. Each slam rocked me.

I wanted the pain to stop. I needed to breathe. But I couldn’t.

Why couldn’t I breathe?

There was cursing in French. It sounded louder than his words before.

It felt like bricks were thrown into my chest. I tried to yell for it to stop, but then I was coughing.

The world tilted and spun.

Water gushed out of my mouth.

"That’s it. That’s it. Get it out." Brent’s voice shook as he rubbed a hand up and down my back.

My whole body heaved until nothing else could possibly be left in me.

When I was done, I collapsed back into the sand exhausted as if I’d run back to back marathons. Every muscle ached and throbbed. My throat was on fire, and I wasn’t sure how I was still alive.

"Hang on." Brent disappeared for a fraction of a second and then helped me sit up. "Just a sip," he said as he tipped a water bottle to my lips.

One sip was enough. I’d had enough water for the next year. My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t believe what had just happened. "Did I drown?"

"Yes, but you’re a werewolf. You’re hard to kill."

Thank God for that.

I grabbed the water bottle. My hands were shaking so much that more water splashed on me than got in my mouth. The pain had left my limbs, but the terror lingered. The waves still lapped at my toes, and I wanted to move back but couldn’t.

I wasn’t sure if I should be crying right now, but I felt disconnected. Like I was floating above my body.

"You’re in shock."

I licked my lips. "I don’t understand..." My hands still shook as I drank from the water bottle again, this time taking little sips. The fact that I’d almost died was so crazy and felt surreal. "What happened?" I asked Brent, who was kneeling beside me. And then I realized something scarier.

I grabbed his wrist, needing a connection to him. "Why can’t I hear you in my head? Why can’t I feel—" For a heartbeat, I could feel his paralyzing fear so strong it was as if I was drowning all over again.

I couldn’t breathe as his confusion swamped me. His anger raged through my veins. And guilt. Guilt so strong I—

He tightened the bond, and all his emotions dulled just enough to make it bearable. "I didn’t mean to scare you." He paused his forehead to mine, and I knew he needed the touch just as much as I did. "I don’t know what happened. All I could tell was that you were in pain and disoriented. If you never go swimming again—"

"It wasn’t the swimming—"

"Being a wolf and sw—"

"It was different." I drew up my knees, creating space between us.

Swimming might be harder as a Were, but I was fine out there. Whatever had happened to me, it was a magical attack. I knew that much. "We’ve been here for nearly two weeks. Have I had any problems in the water?"

He was quiet because we both knew the answer.

I laid back on the sand, throwing an arm over my eyes to block the sun. My senses were on overload and I felt raw and empty. What had happened?

"I was trying to get to the island. I was fine. But then there was so much pain... My arms felt like they were being sliced apart and they locked. I couldn’t make them move. Then the same thing happened with my legs, and my buoyancy is all shit now, so I started to sink. When I could move again, I was so deep...I couldn’t make my way up."

Where had those pains come from? Why did I lose control of my limbs? I had to focus on anything but the fact that I’d died. Not almost died. For a second there, I was gone.

Goosebumps ran up my body and I met Brent’s glowing amber gaze as he leaned over me. "What happened?" I asked him again.

"I don’t know." His wolf was close to the surface, itching to get free. "I took too long to get to you. I’m so sorry. I was distracted. Around the time you started freaking out, one of the Seven died and—"

"Wait. What? Who died?" I grabbed Brent’s arm. My heart raced, and I prayed that Mr. Langdon was okay.

"Other than knowing that it’s not Presley? I don’t know."

I quietly thanked God for that. When Brent’s parents died, Mr. Langdon had taken Brent in. Raised him like his own son. Losing Mr. Langdon would destroy my mate.

"I know. For a second, I thought it was Presley and I..." He rubbed his forehead as grief and fear warred inside him. "I should’ve been faster. I’m—"

"Stop. I’m fine." But the fact that I felt pain right as one of the Seven died was really, seriously, weird. "If it wasn’t Presley, who died?"

"My guess is Muraco. He was fading, but I know what you’re thinking and I don’t know why you felt what you did. He would’ve died peacefully. So, it must’ve been a poorly timed coincidence. But we both feel the same about those."

I pushed my long, wet hair out of my face. "Is it usually painful when one of the Seven dies?"

"I’ve only been alive for one other death in the Seven, so I can’t say for certain, but both times were painless for me. I didn’t feel any pain except yours." He paused. "Don’t you remember when Ferdinand died?"

"Honestly, no. I don’t." I tried to think back. The last thing I remembered about Ferdinand was Donovan saying that he was sending some guy named Mal to find him, but I hadn’t followed up with it. I’d been so focused on dealing with Luciana that I’d kind of forgotten all about Ferdinand. Which was probably a bad thing. "Ferdinand died?"

"Yeah. A few days after the chapel in Santa Fe there was a little ripple along the pack lines, and I knew that one of the Seven had died. That’s when Presley joined the Council." He sat back on his heels as he thought for a second. "Today, it was the same thing. I only felt a ripple along the pack bonds. And when Donovan left a couple weeks ago, it was barely noticeable."

"I didn’t notice that either." I knew he’d left, but I hadn’t felt the exact moment when he broke the bond. I guessed I needed to pay better attention.

"Honestly, I only noticed because I was waiting for Donovan to leave, and I would’ve blown it off as something else, but Presley texted me about it." He paused for a second, and I could feel him reading my confusion. "The Seven are linked to all the pack Alphas, which means they’re linked to every werewolf in every pack, but unless you’re the Alpha of a pack—which you’re not—the bond is pretty thin. I have no idea why you were in pain today, but I don’t think it means anything good."

I licked my lips. "You really didn’t feel any pain? Not even a little twinge?"

"No. I promise. The only thing I felt was through our bond."

This made no sense. "So, what the hell happened? Why did I almost die?"