A Mate For Christmas

Chapter 19

"She is not dying," Gideon said, his voice breaking. "Mother, you are not dying."

Victoria's breathing was shallow, her skin pale. Blood pooled beneath her on the cold stone floor. Evie pressed her hands against the worst wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but it kept coming.

"The healers are too far away," Jayden said grimly. He knelt beside them, his face tight with worry. "She will not last long enough."

"Then find someone closer!" Gideon roared. "There has to be someone who can help her."

"I can help," a quiet voice said.

Everyone turned. An old woman stood in the cathedral doorway. She wore a long dark cloak and leaned on a twisted wooden staff. Her eyes were cloudy white, but somehow Evie felt like she could see everything.

"Who are you?" Gideon demanded.

"Morgana," the woman said. "The witch your mate sought out weeks ago for the counter charm." She walked forward slowly, her staff tapping on the stone floor. "I felt the death magic in the air and came to investigate."

"You are a witch?" Evie whispered.

"I am many things," Morgana said. She knelt beside Victoria, examining her wounds with gentle hands. "She is dying, yes. The silver in Raphael's claws has poisoned her blood. Without help, she has maybe an hour left."

"Can you save her?" Gideon asked desperately.

Morgana was quiet for a long moment. "Perhaps. But magic always has a price. Are you willing to pay it?"

"Anything," Gideon said immediately. "Name your price."

"Not you," Morgana said. She turned her cloudy eyes to Evie. "Her. The human mate. She is the one who must pay."

Evie's breath caught. "What do you mean?"

"To save Victoria, I will need to perform a blood binding," Morgana explained. "I will tie Victoria's life force to yours. You will share your vitality with her, give her the strength to heal. But it will weaken you significantly. For weeks, maybe months, you will be fragile. Vulnerable. And if Victoria dies before the binding is complete, you will die with her."

"No," Gideon said. "Absolutely not. Find another way."

"There is no other way," Morgana said simply.

Evie looked at Victoria's pale face. The woman who had hated her at first, who had trained her brutally, who had just saved her life. She was Gideon's mother. The last family he had left.

"Do it," Evie said.

"Evie, you do not understand what you are agreeing to," Gideon said. "This could kill you."

"So could walking down the street," Evie said. "Victoria saved me. I am not letting her die because I am too scared to take a risk."

Gideon looked like he wanted to argue more, but Victoria's breathing hitched. She was running out of time.

"Please," Evie said softly. "Let me do this."

Gideon's jaw clenched. Finally, he nodded. "Do it. But if anything goes wrong, if Evie is in danger, you stop immediately."

"Agreed," Morgana said. She pulled out a small knife from her cloak. "Give me your hand, child."

Evie held out her hand. Morgana cut a shallow line across her palm, then did the same to Victoria's unconscious hand. She pressed their bleeding palms together.

"Vita pro vita," Morgana chanted. "Life for life. Blood for blood. Two souls bound until the debt is paid."

Heat rushed through Evie's body. It felt like her veins were on fire, like something was being pulled out of her very core. She gasped, trying not to pull away.

Through the bond, she felt Gideon's fear and helplessness. He took her free hand, squeezing tight.

The heat grew stronger. Evie's vision blurred. Her legs went weak. She felt herself falling, but Gideon caught her.

"That is enough," Gideon said. "Stop the spell."

"It is already done," Morgana said. She released their hands and sat back. "The binding is complete."

Evie could barely keep her eyes open. Exhaustion pulled at her like she had not slept in days. But when she looked at Victoria, she saw color returning to the older woman's face. Her breathing steadied. The wounds were still there, but they had stopped bleeding.

"She will live," Morgana said. "As long as the human lives, Victoria will heal."

"And Evie?" Gideon asked tightly.

"Will be weak for some time," Morgana said. "But she will recover. The binding will fade once Victoria is fully healed, probably in six to eight weeks."

Six to eight weeks of being vulnerable. Six to eight weeks when enemies could strike and Evie would be too weak to fight back.

But Victoria would live. That was what mattered.

"Thank you," Evie whispered to Morgana.

The old witch smiled. "You have a good heart, child. That will serve you well in the trials ahead." She stood, leaning on her staff. "Now I must go. The smell of death lingers here and I do not care for it."

She walked away, disappearing into the shadows like she had never been there at all.

Healers arrived minutes later. They examined Victoria and confirmed what Morgana had said. She would live, but she needed rest and care. They carefully moved her onto a stretcher and carried her out to the waiting cars.

Evie tried to stand but her legs would not hold her. Gideon lifted her gently.

"I can walk," Evie protested weakly.

"I know," Gideon said. "But you are not going to."

He carried her out of the cathedral. Around them, wolves were cleaning up the aftermath of battle. Bodies were being removed. The wounded were being tended to. The gray haired Alpha who had spoken up for Evie approached.

"I want to formally apologize," he said to Gideon. "I was deceived by Raphael's lies. I should have investigated more thoroughly before agreeing to alliance."

"Your apology is noted," Gideon said coolly. "But it changes nothing. You stood by while they planned to murder my mate. That is not something I will forget."

The Alpha nodded, looking ashamed. "I understand. For what it is worth, I will speak at the council hearing on your behalf. I will tell them what Raphael truly was."

"That would be appreciated," Gideon said.

They drove back to the estate in silence. Evie dozed against Gideon's shoulder, too tired to keep her eyes open. She woke briefly when they arrived, but Gideon carried her straight to his room and laid her in his bed.

"Rest," he said softly. "I will be right here."

Evie wanted to argue, wanted to check on Victoria, wanted to make sure everyone was okay. But her body would not cooperate. Sleep pulled her under like a tide.