queen. I'm surprised you've nothing in your knowledge arsenal to battle this magic and its effect on you, Queen Ariana."
"Believe me, I've looked," she replied softly. "We tried everything I could come up with, and nothing worked. Melisande has been working tirelessly to track down Hookeye, but she's never been able to find him. To this day, we don't know who he is or what he looks like other than his eyes."
"We have contacts within the Mage," Lyon said. "We'll find him. In the meantime, since that mating bond was severed once, can it be severed again?"
"Kougar?" The Shaman's query had him turning away from the window.
With a low growl, he returned to the spot he'd stood moments before and allowed the Shaman to grip both his and Ariana's wrists at once. The Therian closed his eyes, tipping his head back as if sending a prayer directly heavenward.
He released them, shaking his head, and stepped away. "Whatever magic kept the bond from fully attaching the last time is gone. The attachment is complete this time. Permanent, though somewhat of a mess--twisted and collapsed in on itself. The flow of poison is very slow at the moment, little more than a trickle. Even so, it's quite deadly."
Dammit. To. Hell.
On one level, Kougar didn't entirely care. He'd lived a long, long time, the last thousand years in a numb, colorless wasteland of an existence. But the Ferals needed him. They couldn't afford to be down yet another warrior in the months it might take his cougar to mark another.
No, he wasn't about to give up this fight.
"How long does Kougar have?" Lyon asked.
The Shaman met Kougar's gaze. "The way it is, a few months at best. If the bond opens fully, and the poison flows freely, possibly as little as a week. I'm sorry, warrior."
A week.
Kougar's teeth ground together as he dipped his head in acknowledgment, a furious quaking setting up deep in his muscles. A week was all he needed. Because if he hadn't found a way to stop the poison and allow Ariana to turn to mist by then, Hawke and Tighe would be dead.
But he'd have more than that week. The bond wasn't going to open because he'd have to care for that to happen.
He was going to kill that Mage, disable his magic once and for all, and save his friends. Then, mating bond be damned, he wanted Ariana out of his life. For good.
Chapter Six
A week.
The words hung in the air of the now-silent war room, but Kougar acted as if he hadn't heard. The anger in his eyes, anger directed at her upon her admission that she'd severed the mating bond to save him, hadn't abated even a flicker.
Goddess, she'd hoped if she could keep the mating bond in its current mangled state, he might survive the poison. Now the Shaman was giving him only a few months, at best.
This shouldn't have happened!
She could wring Melisande's neck for going behind her back. And she would if not for the fact that she knew Mel had only done it to help her. To help them all.
But, dammit, she would not see Kougar die. They had to find Hookeye fast. Not that they hadn't been trying. Goddess, they'd been trying for centuries.
Maybe the Ferals could help. Maybe they really would succeed where Melisande had failed. Ariana's fingers clenched into fists. She had to keep that mating bond closed tight and give Kougar as much time as possible. Time enough to save his life, even if they weren't in time to save his friends.
A muscle leaped in Kougar's jaw as she watched him, his arms and shoulders rigid as steel. Fury enveloped him like a red haze.
"Under the circumstances, Kougar," Lyon began, "I think it might be better if one of the other Ferals guards Queen Ariana. The longer that mating bond remains closed, the better."
A low animal growl rolled from Kougar's throat as his hand circled her upper arm, biting into her flesh. "It'll stay closed." Beneath his tight grip, she felt a fine vibration, a volcanic anger ready to blow.
Anger at her or Hookeye? Or the fates for handing him down a death sentence?
"Believe me, I've looked," she replied softly. "We tried everything I could come up with, and nothing worked. Melisande has been working tirelessly to track down Hookeye, but she's never been able to find him. To this day, we don't know who he is or what he looks like other than his eyes."
"We have contacts within the Mage," Lyon said. "We'll find him. In the meantime, since that mating bond was severed once, can it be severed again?"
"Kougar?" The Shaman's query had him turning away from the window.
With a low growl, he returned to the spot he'd stood moments before and allowed the Shaman to grip both his and Ariana's wrists at once. The Therian closed his eyes, tipping his head back as if sending a prayer directly heavenward.
He released them, shaking his head, and stepped away. "Whatever magic kept the bond from fully attaching the last time is gone. The attachment is complete this time. Permanent, though somewhat of a mess--twisted and collapsed in on itself. The flow of poison is very slow at the moment, little more than a trickle. Even so, it's quite deadly."
Dammit. To. Hell.
On one level, Kougar didn't entirely care. He'd lived a long, long time, the last thousand years in a numb, colorless wasteland of an existence. But the Ferals needed him. They couldn't afford to be down yet another warrior in the months it might take his cougar to mark another.
No, he wasn't about to give up this fight.
"How long does Kougar have?" Lyon asked.
The Shaman met Kougar's gaze. "The way it is, a few months at best. If the bond opens fully, and the poison flows freely, possibly as little as a week. I'm sorry, warrior."
A week.
Kougar's teeth ground together as he dipped his head in acknowledgment, a furious quaking setting up deep in his muscles. A week was all he needed. Because if he hadn't found a way to stop the poison and allow Ariana to turn to mist by then, Hawke and Tighe would be dead.
But he'd have more than that week. The bond wasn't going to open because he'd have to care for that to happen.
He was going to kill that Mage, disable his magic once and for all, and save his friends. Then, mating bond be damned, he wanted Ariana out of his life. For good.
Chapter Six
A week.
The words hung in the air of the now-silent war room, but Kougar acted as if he hadn't heard. The anger in his eyes, anger directed at her upon her admission that she'd severed the mating bond to save him, hadn't abated even a flicker.
Goddess, she'd hoped if she could keep the mating bond in its current mangled state, he might survive the poison. Now the Shaman was giving him only a few months, at best.
This shouldn't have happened!
She could wring Melisande's neck for going behind her back. And she would if not for the fact that she knew Mel had only done it to help her. To help them all.
But, dammit, she would not see Kougar die. They had to find Hookeye fast. Not that they hadn't been trying. Goddess, they'd been trying for centuries.
Maybe the Ferals could help. Maybe they really would succeed where Melisande had failed. Ariana's fingers clenched into fists. She had to keep that mating bond closed tight and give Kougar as much time as possible. Time enough to save his life, even if they weren't in time to save his friends.
A muscle leaped in Kougar's jaw as she watched him, his arms and shoulders rigid as steel. Fury enveloped him like a red haze.
"Under the circumstances, Kougar," Lyon began, "I think it might be better if one of the other Ferals guards Queen Ariana. The longer that mating bond remains closed, the better."
A low animal growl rolled from Kougar's throat as his hand circled her upper arm, biting into her flesh. "It'll stay closed." Beneath his tight grip, she felt a fine vibration, a volcanic anger ready to blow.
Anger at her or Hookeye? Or the fates for handing him down a death sentence?
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