Page 99 of Oracles Always Win

Davinawhined a little in the back of her throat, sounding more like a hurt animal than a medium.

“YouthoughtI’dsnapped,”Isaid, finally understanding.

Theyeach nodded.

HadI?Ithought back to what had happened since we arrived.Wasthat what it felt like to lose control?I’dthoughtIwas in control.ButmaybeIalways would, even whenIwasn’t.

“Iam sorryIscared you,”Iwhispered. “Ifit means anything,Irecognized you as mine.Ionly sought to protect you.”

“Yeah,”Adriansaid, huggingJeremyclose to his chest.TheEmeraldMackobantforced its way between them and made little chittering noises as it patted their cheeks, as if confirming for itself that they were safe. “Wefigured that out.”

“Sodid he lose it or not?”Jeremywhispered toAdrian.

Althoughhe hadn’t asked me,Iknew everyone was wondering the same thing. “No.Iwas in control, but…I’venever allowed my demonic side to dominate like that.Mymagic ruled my actions, butIunderstood whatIwas doing.”

“Isthat whyJakewas having problems too?Becausehe’s your mate and your magic was amped up as high as it can go?”Jeremyasked, more emboldened now.

Achill rolled over my spine.Fuck.Thatwould make sense, wouldn’t it?Ihad initiated a connection between us whenIused my blood to heal his injuries from the explosion the day before.Andthen our magics had merged briefly when we made love this morning.Fuck.He’dsaid he could sense me, hadn’t he?Rightthen,Ishould have known it’d cause problems for him.I’dassumed that because we hadn’t completed the bond or made me his tether, that he would be safe.I’dbeen wrong.Sovery terribly wrong.Thelink we shared was powerful enough that when my magic surged,Jake’sdid too.

Thiswas all my fault.

Ihad to make this right.Iwouldmake this right.Therewas no other option.

Igathered my mate in my arms and carried him to the small bedroom at the back of the motorhome without another word.

Chapter Thirty-Five

GAGE

IcradledJakein my arms, dropping kisses on his tangled hair and rubbing circles on his sweat-soaked back.Inmy head, the same words circled around and around.

You’regoing to be okay.Absolutelyfucking fine.You’regoing to be okay.Absolutelyfucking fine.

Iwas back to reciting mantras, but this time my focus wasn’t on me and my control.Itwas all aboutJake.Hewas the only thing that mattered.

WasIwrong to have severed his magic and stopped him from drawing his visions?Ihadn’t even thought about that whenI’ddone it.Ijust needed him to stop before he was so lost to the future he couldn’t get back to the present.Ihad fixed people’s magic in the past, but that was whenIcould access their greatest desires.ButwhenJakewas under the influence of his magic, he didn’t have desires or fears or anything.Allhe had were visions.

Hisbreathing was steady.Iclung to that as a sign he was okay, even though it worried me he still hadn’t moved.IfI’dharmed him by commanding him to sleep…

Icouldn’t bear to think about it.

Ihugged him tighter.

Ofall the things my magic could do, why couldn’t it fix this?

Assoon as we crossed into the boundary ofWillowLake, my magic sang.PerhapsIhad already started to bond with the magic in this place too.Wasthat whyI’dbeen so out of control in the pack lands?Becausemy magic knewIno longer belonged anywhere but here?

Notfor the first time,Iwished there were more of my kind around to ask, but the last oneI’dseen had been an obnoxious self-entitled prick.Hesmugly gloated about finding his place and refused to answer any of my questions.That’dbeen about two hundred years ago.Ihadn’t been to see him since.

ButwouldIbe any different?

Sure,Imight not gloat—Iknew what the endless cycles of hope and disappointment felt like, andIwould never mock someone while they were suffering—butIcouldn’t imagine inviting another of my kind into my territory either.

Justscenting the other demon so close toWillowLakehad aggravated everything today.IwishedIunderstood what happened when one of my kind lost control, butI’dbeen so young whenI’dbeen forced to defend myself against my father.IthoughtIknew.Thememory was etched into my soul.ButhadImisremembered that fateful day?Weremy assumptions wrong?

Iwould always remember his piercing red eyes and the way he’d glowered at me.Itplagued me for years… because it almost seemed like he knew me.Overand over again through the centuries,Itried to dismiss the thought as a trick of my memory.Butwhat if hehadrecognized me?Whatif he’d known exactly what he was doing?

Fromwhat my team had said, by all appearances, they’d thoughtI’dsuccumbed to my demonic powers.Myhead and heart ached just thinking about it becauseI’dstill been in control.