Chapter 172: Love In Battle

Calix Pov

The heavy iron poker came down fast and the wind whistled right past my left ear. I did not move my arms up to block the strike and I did not shift my shape to protect my skin. The black metal hit the shoulder of my leather coat hard and a sharp heat went straight down my arm but I kept my feet planted right in front of her.

"Calix, move away from her," Rex shouted and his boots rumbled loud on the floorboards as he came across the room. He had his spear raised up to his chest but he kept the iron tip pointed down toward the logs. "She is going to break your collarbone if you just stand there and take the iron."

"Keep your hands off her, Rex," I said and I wiped a fresh drop of blood from my chin with the back of my hand. "That is not Maddie swinging the metal. It is Kai using her muscles because the anchor line is wide open."

"You cannot save a female who wants to kill you, young Alpha," Maddie said. The deep voice came straight out of her chest again and it sounded like the old king speaking from the high stone hall. She raised the fire poker back over her shoulder and her knuckles were completely white around the black rod. "Her hand belongs to the North Peaks tonight and the law does not care about your pack bond."

"The valley earth gave her to me, Kai," I said and I took one slow step forward until my chest was almost touching the iron piece. "You can use her arms to hit me all night but I am not going to draw blood on my own mate to stop you."

"Then you will die right here on the cabin floor," Maddie said and she swung the poker sideways with everything her body had left.

The iron hit my ribs on the right side and a dull thud echoed through the room. I felt the air leave my lungs completely and my knees shook hard under my weight but I did not fall down. I just reached out and grabbed her forearms with my palms to hold her still. Her skin was still burning hot like a charcoal piece from the fire pit.

"Maddie, look at me," I said and I breathed out hard to clear the grey spots from my eyes. "Fight the thread. You are the white fur line and your spirit is stronger than an old piece of paper hidden under the floorboards."

"She cannot hear your voice, boy," Maddie said and she shoved her elbows forward to break my grip. Her strength was twice as big as a normal female and my fingers slipped right off her wet skin. "The twelve seals are locked and the winter frost is already on the window pane. She is walking up the path with me."

"She is staying in the valley," Rex said and he stepped up right beside my shoulder. He did not use the spear but he grabbed the middle of the black iron poker with his bare hand and pulled it back toward the door. "Thomas, find the leather straps from the horse shed. We have to tie her to the heavy post before she tears the walls down."

"Do not touch the straps, Thomas," I said and I kept my eyes right on her grey eyes. "If we tie her body up while the magic is active, the purple lines will just turn inward and burn her heart out from the inside."

"The Alpha is right about the heat, Rex," Thomas said and he dropped the grease cloth back onto the floorboards. He stayed near the wood box and his hands were shaking so much he had to hold his knees to stay steady. "The dark color has already reached her ears. The blood is boiling in the veins because the two spirits are fighting for the same anchor."

"Let it burn then," Maddie said and she let go of the poker completely, leaving it in Rex's hand. She lunged forward and her fingernails caught the side of my neck, tearing three thin lines into my skin. "The high court does not mind a broken shell as long as the bloodline stays inside our territory."

I did not strike back. I just wrapped my arms right around her waist and pulled her body tight against my chest. She kicked my shins hard with her boots and her teeth snapped twice right next to my ear, but I held on with everything I had left in my shoulders.

"Maddie, I am right here," I said and I pressed my forehead against her silver hair. "The pack is standing behind you. We have seventeen wolves in the yard and nobody is going to let the peaks take you away."

The body in my arms went completely stiff for three seconds. The gold light under her neck gave one huge flash that lit up the whole dark corner of the cabin, and then a low gasp came out of her throat. The heavy mountain pitch disappeared from her voice and the sound went high and shaky again.

"Calix," Maddie said and her fingers caught the lapels of my coat, twisting the leather up tight in her fists. Her eyes went wide and I could see her own soul looking out through the grey color. "He is pulling the rope from the bottom. I can see the stone table and it feels like my brain is on fire."

"Hold onto me," I said.

"I cannot hold it," Maddie said and a big tear ran down her cheek, leaving a clean line through the ash on her skin. "My hand moved by itself. I do not want to hit you, Calix. I can feel the iron rod hitting your ribs inside my own chest."

"I am fine, Maddie," I said. "The ribs will heal before the snow stops."

"He is coming back," Maddie said and her teeth started to clap together so fast she could barely get the words out. Her body started to tilt back toward the floor and her grip on my coat went totally loose. "The twelve Alphas are standing around the circle in my head and they are holding the spears down."

"We can fight them together," I said.

"You cannot fight the stone book," Maddie said and she grabbed the front of my shirt with both hands, pulling my head down close to her mouth. Her eyes were totally terrified now and the purple lines on her throat started to turn black under the skin. "Kill me, Calix. Drop me with the knife right now before he takes the arms again and makes me take your life.