He nodded.

I began to move.

I rode him slow to start, captivated by the wonder in his eyes at the sensations shooting through him, but I couldn’t take it slow for long, my body wanted more. I threw back my head and picked up the tempo. His hands slid up my thighs to grab my hips, and then he was thrusting up into me, and the orgasm that had been hovering hit hard.

He cried out with me, our bodies meeting over and over as we reached climax. I fell forward onto his chest, and he rolled with me, taking the top spot, thrusting hard and deep even as the orgasm ripped through us. We rocked together, our mouths inches apart, breath mingling as we came down from the high, and then Uri smiled—a beatific sight that made my heart ache.

“I see now why so many celestials break the rules,” he said. He nuzzled the base of my neck and kissed his way up and across my jaw to my mouth. “How long before we can do it again?”

He was mine, and with that knowledge, an overwhelming foreboding washed over me, but I squashed it and held him tight. Not tonight.

Not now.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Cora

I finish sweeping the broken glass into a corner and head to the kitchen to look for a dustpan and brush. The place is a fucking mess. I glance at the mess in the lounge. The tree is on its side, and there are smashed baubles and decorations everywhere. Well, if this isn’t a fucking prompt to pack away the festive season, I don’t know what is.

“Cora?”

I tense at the sound of Dean’s voice and then sigh and turn to face him. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” he says.

I don’t want to revisit our Jasper incident, so I wave away his apology. “Forget it. You know where the dustpan and brush are?”

I’m about to turn away, but he takes my hand. “I was taken by surprise, that was all. I’m sorry.”

I hate it when people don’t say it how it is. “You were disgusted, Dean. I saw it on your face. Surprised disgust, and I get it. It’s cool. Let’s just move on.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it with a nod. “Yes. Okay. I was. But I was wrong to be. I know that now. The deal you made was to protect others. He’s abusing you, using you, and we have to stop him.”

My throat is tight because he doesn’t know the half of it. He doesn’t know how much I crave Jasper’s touch and how much that need disgusts me. He’ll never understand the fucked-up dynamic between me and the spirit attached to my soul. Which highlights just why I can’t do this with him. Yeah, he hasn’t said anything, but I can see it in his eyes. He wants to pick up where we left off. He wants dinner and romance and me. He wants me, but there can never be an us. Not while I’m linked to Jasper. The malevolent spirit won’t allow it.

“I’ve got it under control.” I tug my fingers from his grip and place both hands on my hips. “Let’s forget it, and let’s just move on as friends.”

“Friends?” He frowns. “Cora, I’m not going to be scared off by that thing.”

Irritation flares in my chest, and I’m not entirely sure why. “That thing is a part of me. Probably will be for the foreseeable future.”

His frown deepens. “Cora…do you…do you care about that thing?”

“Of course I don’t fucking care for him.”

He looks like he’s about to say more, but we’re interrupted by Bobby when he places a box on the island.

“Phew,” he says. “I think I found all the batons. Can’t let them get into the wrong hands. On a human, a blast from one of these could stop a heart.”

Wait… “What did you say?”

Bobby blinks at me warily. “I said I’m glad I found all of them.”

“No, after that.”

“That we don’t want them getting into the wrong hands?”

“No, the other thing about the heart.”

“Oh, the electric charge could stop a human heart.”

The curse will see its course. If it wants her dead, it won’t stop until her heart stops beating…

Elijah’s words fill my mind, and I know what I have to do. “Bobby, what would we need to stop an outlier’s heart and then restart it?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Fee

Grayson was on the phone outside the pack house when Uri and I returned. I spotted several unfamiliar faces stationed around the building, and one was even on the roof. Looked like the civilian Loup had arrived. There was also a guard outside the garage where our vamp guests were being kept.

Grayson ended his call, raking us both over. His nostrils flared as we approached, but he wouldn’t smell Uri on me or me on him. We’d made sure to shower, separately, because the first time had ended in him inside me and my back up against the tile.

Uri was a fast learner.

Grayson seemed satisfied with his sniff test, and he inclined his head in Uri’s direction as the celestial passed.

“I’ll see you inside.” I grazed Uri’s hand as he passed and looked up at Grayson to find him staring at my hand. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” he replied.

“Yes.”

“Then so am I.”

I wanted to hug him, to hold him, but Uri was like a barrier between us. Had I made the wrong decision? It hadn’t felt that way when I’d been with Uri. I’d wanted him, and it had felt right, but now, seeing the clouds in Grayson’s eyes made my heart ache. He’d told me he was okay with me and Uri, but he didn’t look okay.

“Grayson, did I make a mistake?”

He blinked as if coming out of a daze. “What?”

“You said you were okay with Uri, but you look upset.”

“Uri?” He looked at the entrance to the house, then back to me. “I’m not upset. I’m worried.”

Something had happened. “What is it?”

He pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tight. “Cora may have found a solution to your curse problem.” He stroked my hair and then pulled back so he could cup my face. “And it scares the fuck out of me.”

I stared at Cora as I absorbed her words. “You want to stop my heart?”

Cora nodded eagerly. “We stop it for a minute, and then we restart it.”

“So…I’ll be dead.”

“Yes. The curse will be done.”

“We’ll use a combination of magic and science to do it,” Cora said.

Like magnets we’d gathered around the island: Uri, Grayson, Cora, Bobby, and me. The rest of the pack were all over the house. Kristoff was still chained to the post, but he hadn’t spoken or moved according to Bastian, who was keeping watch on him.

“I’ve called Vi,” Grayson said. “She has a spell to stop your heart, and they have a physician the coven uses on a regular basis who will be able to start it again.”

“There’s no spell to restart her heart, is there?” Uri asked.

“No,” Cora said.

Uri looked to Grayson, but my mate had his attention on me.

“You don’t have to do this,” Grayson said.

They were all forgetting one huge fucking problem with this plan. Eve’s curse. “If I die, it’ll affect Lilith. I can’t die.”

“You won’t be dying properly,” Bobby said. “Your heart would need to be stopped for at least five minutes, maybe ten, for it to be considered proper death. Scientifically speaking,” he said. “I spoke to Petra, too, and she agrees that as long as we can bring you back within a couple of minutes, your soul will remain connected to your body, so you won’t technically be dead.”

But my heart would stop beating, which would stop the curse… “It’s still too risky. What if you can’t bring me back. Lilith will—”

“Fuck Lilith!” Grayson snapped. “All I care about is you. It’s risky because I could lose you.”

“He’s right,” Uri agreed. “We can find another way.”

There might be another way that wouldn’t risk both my life and Lilith’s welfare. “Maybe we should wait. I mean, I can manage this if someone watches me while I sleep. You guys can tie me down. We might find another solution in the Underealm.”

Cora closed her eyes and sucked in her bottom lip as if struggling with some inner dilemma, and then she looked right at me. “You might not have the time to wait, okay.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want to scare you, which is why I didn’t tell you before, but Elijah says a curse like this will eventually slip into your conscious mind, and when that happens, it’ll be too late to do anything.”

My conscious mind? “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it will drive you crazy, and at that point, even if we did remove it by stopping your heart and bringing you back, your mind…Your mind would be broken.”

“How much time?” Grayson asked.

“He didn’t say,” Cora replied. “But this is the only way. Right now, the curse is confined to your subconscious. Right now, we can stop it.” She looked at me. “Babe, I’m just as scared as the guys, but I know you. I know how fucking strong you are, and I know you can do this, we can do this. I won’t lose you to a fucking curse.”

It looked like this was the only way. The alternative was to go insane. “I’ll do it.” Cora’s shoulders relaxed. “But Azazel and Mal will need to know.”

“Azazel will be obligated to stop you,” Cora reminded me. “He’s cursed to keep you alive. He won’t be able to let you take the risk.”

“And if he doesn’t let me do this, then he risks losing me anyway. It’s a damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t situation. I’m not doing this without saying goodbye to Azazel and Mal.” I gave her a what-the-fuck look. “If it goes wrong…”

“We don’t have time to go chasing after them,” Cora said. “There’s too much at stake right here.”