Page 75 of Rising Reign

Ender hit another rock and cursed again. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing this time.

“Okay,” Hera said. “What do you sense from the ward?”

I lowered to the ground and sat cross-legged, holding my palms to the ward. The moment they connected, the air in front of me sort of rippled. But I frowned. We’d reinforced them not that long ago, but this one felt…weaker somehow.

My brows pulled together. “It’s not as strong as it should be.”

“I feared as much,” Hera said, pulling her grimoire out of her bag and flipping through the pages.

“Why?” I pressed.

“Magic is all about balance. Give and take. Too many beings wish you and your pack harm. Even though they aren’t actively trying to break through the wards each day, they’ll still drain them.”

I tugged the corner of my lip into my mouth and worried it between my teeth. “How do we stop it?”

“We can’t,” Hera told me honestly. “For now, we simply reinforce.” She fished in her bag for something.

“Do you have a whole magical grocery store in there?”

Hera chuckled. “You never know what you might need.” She offered me a stone that was rock on the outside and a beautiful crystal inside. “This will help feed the ward.”

As she handed it to me, our fingers brushed, and Hera stilled. Then her hand moved to my forehead, and she pressed her palm there.

“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

Hera glanced around furtively, her voice dropping so low I could barely hear it. “I can feel a shift in your energy. Your heat is coming.”

Panic swept through me like an icy inferno. “It’s not due for months.”

She sent me a sympathetic smile but kept her voice quiet. “You’ve bonded with your final mate. It can send a signal to your body that it’s time.”

“I’m not ready for pups,” I squeaked.

“Just breathe,” Hera encouraged, then dug through her bag again. “I’ve got some herbs that will protect against that.”

I took the small capsules and swallowed them quickly. “Is there something to keep it from coming on altogether?” I asked hopefully.

She squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry. Nothing can keep a heat from coming if you’re healthy.”

Fear struck in the deepest recesses of my mind, memories of all the threats Bastian had hurled at me rising. If he got me while my heat was in place, my life would be over. Or worse, I’d wish it was.

44

LOCKE

My fingers flew across the keyboard, but the steady clickety-clack of the keys didn’t bring the comfort it usually did. My hand moved to the mouse as I selected the next grouping of sensors and then moved back to the keyboard. But it didn’t matter how many I put in place or how many cameras searched the woods for signs of movement; none of it felt like enough.

I tipped back the last sip of my energy drink and threw it into my recycling with more force than necessary. As this one flew in, other cans flew out, and I muttered a curse.

“Should I be concerned about your caffeine intake over the past week?” Kingston asked from the doorway.

I swiveled my chair around to face him. “Sleep hasn’t exactly been my friend lately.”

That had him moving deeper into the lair and sitting on the couch. “Want to talk about it?”

Gods, he was a good friend. And an amazing leader. King was as different as night and day from my alpha growing up. He had prized physical strength and dominance—just one of the reasons my parents had kicked me out when they realized I was submissive.

I twisted my neck to the side, making the bones crack. “I’m okay. Really.”