Page 70 of Bound to the Wolf
Aya’s text said to meet at the clearing, with no other details, but Delainey knew what that meant. There was only one clearing that didn’t need definition. It was a place of incredibly strong magic that sat on the edge of coven territory, right on the border with the Iron Runners, which made it a bit of a pain in the ass to use.
The Iron Runners would scent the magic and come running and harass them until they decided the spellwork wasn’t worth it. More than once it had ended in a physical fight.
But there was so much magic in the area, a confluence of ley lines and other magical artifacts, that putting up with the harassment was worth it for big magics. The clearing itself was roughly forty feet across, a near-perfect circle of bare earth and low grass hemmed in by old-growth trees whose canopy didn’t quite close overhead, leaving a column of open sky above the center where the ley lines crossed.
Aya was already there when Delainey pulled up, a circle set up, her black hair pulled back by a headband Delainey recognized. Aya was compact and straight-backed in a dark green jacket zipped to her sternum, her reading glasses pushed up on top of her head, and she’d drawn the circle in what looked like crushed white chalk, the line about two inches wide and unbroken around a patch of flattened grass.
“Are you stealing my stuff when I’m gone?” Delainey dropped her car keys into her jacket pocket and crossed the damp ground toward the circle, her sneakers leaving shallow impressions in the soft earth.
Aya touched the large headband covered in printed colorful flowers and shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The hospitality charm from Emerson hung heavy on her wrist. The thin braided cord with its small glass bead sat against the skin of Aya’s wrist, catching light as she moved her hand.
“He’s still here?” Delainey asked.
She’d been checking in with her sisters every other day or so, but no one had said much about Emerson, and she had hoped it meant he had decided to go back to Wallace Grove or gotten a hotel.
Aya pursed her lips. “I didn’t realize he would be staying so long when he asked, but Briana seems cool with it, and so does Elise. And Serena and…” She shrugged and trailed off. “Whatever. We can deal with him later.”
“He’s really stretching the bonds of hospitality,” Reece stood a few paces behind Delainey at the edge of the circle, his boots planted wide on the uneven ground, hands shoved deep in his pockets.
Delainey snapped her head over to him. That was not a wolfish thing to say. She hadn’t fully explained why Emerson was at their house and why they couldn’t really kick him out.
But maybe Elise had. Maybe he had heard about it somewhere.
Aya shrugged. “He’ll get bored eventually and go home, I hope. And if he decides he’s staying in town, at least we can kick him out. There are limits to this.”
Reece nodded as if he expected to hear that.
“Okay, sit, you two,” Aya dropped to her knees inside the circle. “I’ve done a bit of research and I want to see if I’m on to something.” She pointed to two spots and held out her hands. “Hold on to me, but don’t touch each other.”
Delainey reached out and took Aya’s hand. Reece hesitated. She wanted to snap at him to hold on and put up with this, but she forced herself to stay silent. Reece had come with her. He needed a minute to adjust.
She had to make allowances for his delicate, wolfish sensibilities.
Reece took Aya’s hand and flinched at the contact, but didn’t let go. His large, scarred knuckles engulfed Aya’s smaller hand, and Delainey could see the tendons along the back of his wrist standing out rigid beneath the freckled skin.
Aya closed her eyes, and Delainey felt the magic rise up out of the ground to meet them. Reece wrinkled his nose, so he must have smelled it, but he didn’t comment.
The magic was warm and welcome and shaped like Aya. Delainey accepted it into her body as Aya sent a pulse through her and straight for the tether that lived deep inside Delainey’schest. It hurt a little bit, almost like heartburn, but she gritted her teeth against complaining.
Aya wouldn’t hurt her on purpose. The tether needed to shut the fuck up and deal with this, as far as Delainey was concerned.
Aya started humming low in her throat and swayed back and forth. Delainey swayed on old instinct. She wanted to reach for Aya’s power and share it and help with this ritual, but there was nothing for her to do.
If Aya wanted her help, she would ask for it.
The heartburn feeling in her chest got worse, and Reece made a low, pained sound in his throat. She spared him a glance and wanted to reach for him, but Aya had told her not to touch him. Delainey followed that instruction even as it physically hurt not to reach out.
Power flared against her like a punch right between her boobs. The impact buckled through her sternum, and she felt the tether yank taut inside her ribcage, a fishhook pulling hard enough that her whole torso pitched forward.
She jerked back and had to tighten her fingers around Aya’s so hard she yanked her forward, barely stopping herself from breaking the contact.
A moment later, the magic dissipated, and Aya was scowling.
“Damn it,” Aya pulled her hands free and pressed both palms flat against the ground, her fingers splayed wide in the chalk-dusted grass. “I hoped that would work.”
“What did you try?” Reece was already pulling his hand back to his side, flexing his fingers open and closed as if trying to shake off the residual tingle of magic.
