Now that I had permission, I was almost reluctant to start. I had never imagined having a human for a mate. I had no idea of the mechanics of intimacies between human forms. Saint snarled in my mind. "By Gaia, Ten, you hurt her, I'll destroy you.""Then come to my aid, brother. She is mine, just as she is yours. Help us both. Help us help her."Saint came forward, just enough to share his thoughts, his knowledge. I saw in his mind how things were supposed to work. How much pleasure this puny human body could give and receive. "Thank you, brother." He stepped back. I turned to our mate; she was still writhing on the table. Like people of old who had been possessed by spirits, she moaned and squirmed, running her hands over her body. But they gave her no ease, brought forth no cessation of the anguish. "Help her, Ten. Now. Or I'll take back over."I squared my shoulders. I could do this. I am the great Tennotith. Destroyer of Worlds and Savior of Beautiful Women. Non

"I swear to Gaia, if I'm fucking stuck like this, shit is going to rain down on everyone's head," I yelled to the ceiling. Silence was my answer. Taryk had run up here, blaring the Code Sexy Times from Hell alarm. I slammed the door and barricaded myself into my home. Made sure to triple-check the line of locks running down the side of my door. With no extra vajayjay in this place, I was keeping to myself. My hand would do well enough in a pinch. And I definitely wasn't a switch hitter like Atlas, the lucky bastard. By the time the magic swelled and hit me like a fucking tractor trailer, I had my pants around my ankles and one lubed up hand ready to fucking go. I hadn't expected that hand, or any of my limbs, to get stuck in between human and bear. I'd almost sliced off my dick. Only the tingling in my palms let me know something was up. One minute I'm primed and ready, the next I'm screaming like a little girl as I see five sharp claws near my favorite appendage. I n

"Elm and Oak are clear, bro. Try Birch. I've got a weak heat signature," Xander called over the ear piece of our tactical comms. "Copy that. Heading to Birch." I took the next turn in the big black vehicle. The ten block radius surrounding our warehouse and labs was empty. No one person, not one piece of trash, not a single animal was out here. "Hey, did you experience any...difficulties...with your animal during that last magic surge?" I asked, trying to keep my voice even, easy.Xander snorted in my ear. "Sure. If you experiencing difficulties means my tiger trying to hump me and jump my bones, then yeah."I cough-laughed. The sound getting stuck in my throat. "Junior tried to molest you?"He groaned. "Seriously, man? He needs a better name than Junior. And yes. He tried to get all up in my biz-nas.""That's fucked up, bro.""No shit, Ash. Not to mention it raises a number of philosophical questions for me.""Like what?"I could imagine him rolling his dark brown-

I jumped forward just as Cherry collapsed. Her knees dropping her into my human arms. "The fuck is going on, Ash? Why were you in bear form? Who's the lady? What's wrong with her legs? What the fuck smells so damned good?" Xander asked the last question as he came to a halt just out of reach. I bared my teeth at him. "Don't come any closer."He rocked back on his heels, hands up in surrender. "Asher? You okay, brother?"Kiema and Saint came up behind him. "Asher, is she okay?" Kiema asked. I tightened my hold on Cherry as Kiema came near us. I growled at her low in my throat. She stopped, slapped a hand against my head. "Don't you growl at me, big brother. What happened to her?"Saint stepped forward as well. His growl was equal to my own. "Stay back, Saint. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't have you near her," I said softly. Kiema gasped. She squatted down so she was eye to eye with me. She rested her hand on my naked shoulder. "Asher. You okay?

I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting when I touched Scarlet, but I could definitely identify with what I saw inside her. Her colors were a kaleidoscope of pinks, purples, reds, ands violets. As I looked a little deeper, I noticed what looked like a mirror. I could see a wispy, smokey version of myself inside her. I hadn't tried to heal anyone since my ascension, but something inside me just knew what I was seeing. What I was feeling. It came as simple understanding. The explanation of that mirror-like finish rushed over me like a gentle breeze on a spring afternoon. She was broken. Almost as broken as the rest of us, if not a little more. She'd had no one, just like me. But there were parts and pieces of her that remembered better times. A close-knit group of people who helped her, like my men. When I saw what needed healing, I felt the tears rush to my eyes. I had done this to her. This magic that was too big for my body. Too big for my experience. Too big for me to handl