“Go back whence you came, I unsummon thee, demon!”

The demon slashed forward, and Willow stopped moving as the demon’s black claws caught at Lyonis’ shoulder and slashed down. He let out a painful cry as he dropped to his knees. He wobbled for a moment, then collapsed to the ground, his body once again returning to its human state.

“No, no, no,” she cried over and over again as she crawled faster.

Telal spoke louder, fiercer and then the entire room was blinded in piercing white light. The summoned demons exploded in loud cracking explosions like firecrackers. Their black bodies formed a big smoky cloud that smelled so strongly of sulfur that Willow’s eyes burned.

Lyonis pulled his shaking body up onto his knees, but then the demon cried out a garbled sound and slammed its massive leg into his back. Willow stopped moving.

As if in slow motion, she watched as Lyonis cried out then slammed against the ground with a nasty crunch of breaking bones. He laid there, body unmoving.

Telal cursed loudly and dove for the dagger. Turning back to her he yelled, “Don’t fear it! Its power is based off your fear; you summoned it!”

Willow heard his words but they didn’t break through the cold shell around her. Her eyes couldn’t move from Lyonis’ prone body. She moved towards him, the pain she’d been feeling nothing to what her heart was feeling in her chest. The sobs couldn’t be stopped by time she reached his side.

She heard both demons speaking in that dark demonic language, heard the chanting of spells going back and forth but she couldn’t watch. Didn’t even care anymore. She collapsed next to Lyonis and lifted his head onto her lap.

The tears were blocking her vision, making it blurry, so she wiped them away fiercely.

“My love,” she said. She couldn’t stop touching his face, his lifeless body.

Telal let out a pained shout and then he landed in a hard mass next to them. Willow lifted her gaze from Lyonis with a serene, calm look on her face.

Telal looked at her and sighed as he grimaced his way to a sitting position. “Glad you do not fear it anymore, but I need you to do one more thing.”

Willow heard his words but didn’t comprehend them. He handed the silver dagger to her and when her lax fingers dropped it, he picked it up and curled her fingers hard around the handle.

Grabbing her by the back of her neck, he leaned his face close to hers. “I can save him if you kill it.”

She blinked, his words finding their way into the thick, numb cloud in her mind.

“Huh,” she said slowly.

He spoke clearly, slowly. “I said I can save him if you kill the demon. No fear, you know what to do.”

Her heart pounded with a wild, frantic beat as she came to a wobbling stand. The demon teetered on its feet, so much black blood spilling out of its wounds and pooling around it. It must be hurt or else it would have come after her.

Willow cradled her ribs gently, dragged her hurt leg behind her, as she slowly made her way towards the demon. No fear. Save Lyonis. Save the baby.

“I love him so damned much demon. You can’t take that away from me,” she said fiercely. Tears slid down her face.

The demon held out its big hand and started chanting.

From behind her Telal shouted, “Now, Willow!”

Willow flung the dagger hard. It whipped around flying end over end. It seemed to take forever to watch it move. Willow waited, body still, breath held. With a dull thud it landed in the demon’s chest. The spell Lily’d given her came from her mouth, faster and faster, louder and louder.

“Go back whence you came, I unsummon thee, demon!”

The demon squealed; the horrendous sound carrying so much energy it knocked Willow down to the ground. Still, she kept saying the words, over and over again. A loud rumble came from the ground; the distant walls shook and crumbled to the floor in large chunks. The place was going to collapse in on itself, she thought rather calmly.

The demon dropped to its knees and pulled the dagger out. It glowed white as the holiest of lights in its black hand. The light became so blinding that Willow looked away as she whispered the spell from her chapped lips.

The demon became engulfed in the surrounding white light. With a final terrifying cry, the demon exploded. Thick, black, viscous fluid flew in every direction with a loud boom. Willow ducked away, covering her face as the black filth landed over her clothes, hair, and skin like tar.

Then all was quiet.

Willow looked around in a daze. Telal watched her with a peculiar look on his face. Then he glanced down at Lyonis and said, “Come, lilit, I’ll do this thing for you.”

How could he bring back the dead? The cold, harsh word brought forth a rush of hot tears as she crawled so damned slowly back to her mate. A sob left her followed by more as she fell onto his cooling body.

Telal grabbed her shoulder and nudged her back. “Move on now, the quicker I do this the better chance it’ll work.”

Willow moved back from him, feeling drugged and drunk, her body and mind loopy.

Telal leaned over Lyonis and pressed his palms over one shoulder and then the other. His eyes closed, breathing became deep, each breath being held longer than the next. Soft, strange words left him in a rush. He spoke with a passionate energy that even Willow could feel. Goose bumps spread over her body, the hair on her arms stood up—and she had the distinct, peculiar feeling that something great was happening.

White energy blasted out of Telal’s hands. He grunted, but kept speaking. Willow watched as the color came back into Lyonis’ face with a jolt. His chest moved as if he’d been zapped with a defibrillator. Telal’s arms started shaking, his eyes closed as if in pain, but still he kept chanting those strange words. Lyonis’ body jerked again and then his eyes were blinking frantically; he gasped one ragged breath of air.

Telal’s face was ashen, eyes red and bloodshot when he opened them. He shook like a leaf in a storm.

Lyonis came to like he was going into battle. He shoved Telal away from him and came to a stand, his eyes looking around the room for any threats, then he spotted the exploded pieces of Dura. His eyes landed on her next. He dropped on his knees before her.

Tears wouldn’t stop falling, then suddenly she burst into a fit of laughter. Lyonis’ gaze traveled over her body repeatedly as he tracked her many injuries. Shit, where wasn’t she hurt, she thought.

Then she threw her arms around him. He squeezed her close, arms shaking around her. He accidently put pressure on her ribs and the pain became unbearable. She let out a cry and passed out in his wonderful arms.

One month later

Willow swayed in his arms, her head resting on his chest as the soft, classical violins created a soothing rhythm around them. Other couples danced and swirled hand in hand, cheek to cheek at the packs first ever dance festival.

Willow’d insisted on having a dance festival after defeating the demon Dura and getting out of that hell with her man—alive. What had surprised her was that Lyonis hadn’t been surprised at her declaration for an impromptu dance. Maybe he’d even understood her need to have a moment like this with him, surrounded by the pack.

Rachel, Danny, and Stephanie returned to themselves after the demon’s death and aside from needing some therapy, their families stated they were doing well.

The pack was once again happy, the tension gone with the death of the demon. And most of all, her mate was alive and well. She still didn’t quite understand how Telal brought Lyonis back to life. She’d wanted to ask him after she woke up in the medical ward, but he’d already dissolved back home without a word to anyone apparently. He’d just ported all of them back one person at a time, then disappeared before anyone could say anything.