MERIBELLA

"I swear to the gods Thorne, if you do not get out of my way, I will drown you," Meribella screeched. Her damaged vocal cords protested, but she ignored the pain. She'd lose the ability to speak if it meant she could have Raff in front of her- unharmed and whole.

"B-B-Meribella! Stop," her friend shoved her back. "We've got people looking, but you are not going in there. You'll just do more harm than good. You can barely stand. Using your powers to protect us took a toll on you."

"Why couldn't I save him too?" She clawed at her hair, the ends uneven, some swinging just below her chin. How had this happened? One minute they were safe, talking about her mother, and the next the world had exploded. Raff's beautiful blue eyes had filled with terror as she was pulled away. Not for himself, she was certain, but for her. She'd reached for him, but in the space of a breath, he was gone.

Wiping away tears, she looked at her hand. The shimmer was stained with soot and blood. Being Star Blessed had saved her life and her friends but not the man she loved. No. No, he is alive. I know it. I would feel it if he had died.

"B, Lincoln is coming."

"Did you find him?" she begged, her fingers grasping at the t-shirt he'd put on after escaping the inferno. Shadows clung to his face and swam in his eyes. Her legs wouldn't support her, and he caught her as she fell forward, sobbing.

"Meribella, listen. We haven't found him."

"But," she gasped between tears, "you think he's dead. I can see it."

"I will not stop looking until I have a body to bury," Raff's Beta snarled, his emotions making his eyes flare. "But we have to be realistic. There are places we can't search because the fire is too intense, and those are the places he was most likely thrown."

She pushed Lincoln away and ran down the hill. The center of her body hummed as she tugged on every bit of her power, drawing moisture out of the air and ground. But it still wasn't enough. The water floating above her hand would not extinguish the flames. Throwing her head back, she cried out, praying they were listening to their Blessed child.

A hand slid into hers, and she turned to find Thorne beside her. Pressing a kiss to her cheek in thanks, she closed her eyes and delved deep within for whatever was left of her gift. The witch began to chant, the language pouring from her tongue foreign to Meribella's ears but it didn't diminish the beauty of it. The pearl ring on her finger was a beacon in the darkness. Together, they raised their clasped hands and thunder rumbled across the sky, heeding their call.

"B," Thorne murmured, "look."

Thousands of orbs of water floated around them, rising up to meet the water falling from the sky in earnest. Streams ran around their feet, rushing down the hill and splashing into the building. Already, the fires hissed and died as droplets pounded into the flames. With a nod, the women pushed out with their hands, the spheres rushing forward on their command, joining the rain and flooding the building in a tidal wave. Shouts and howls of joy vibrated in the night, and the as the last light disappeared, the downpour tapered off to a drizzle.

A red shape whizzed by and Lincoln rejoined the search. He pushed through the ruins with his snout. Wolves in every shade joined him. Others searched as men, shining flashlights into crevices as they hunted for their Alpha.

"Come on Thorne. Let's join them," Meribella insisted.

"B, I just don't want you to see him if he's," she tripped over her words, "if he's gone."

"I could save him," she replied.

"You tried to save Aurora's mom, and you couldn't. What if you can't do it again?"

She shook her head, dark strands of hair slapping wetly against her cheeks. "The gods wouldn't be so cruel. We didn't go through all of this for him to die."

"I really hope you're right."

Unwilling to waste anymore time, she left Thorne behind as she hurried to what remained of the Starless pack's headquarters. Lincoln barked at her in approval before returning to his task, and she began the arduous process of carting off hunks of concrete and metal. At one point someone hollered they'd found something, and everyone rushed to his aide.

In short time, a body was revealed. Burns covered nearly every inch of his skin, and one leg had been severed. The sight forced Meribella to turn away, retching into the ashes.

"It's not Raff," Lincoln announced, relief evident in his tired voice. "He's Starless."

"It's not Raff," she repeated, pushing her trembling limbs into motion once more. But she noticed the renewed efforts lacked the same optimism as before. The discovery had been costly, the image branded into their minds as they searched. No one believed they'd find their Alpha alive- not after witnessing the carnage that had befallen their foe.

Hours passed, and her body flagged. Blood crusted beneath her nails from the constant digging. Unable to lift another stone, she'd resorted to pushing through the smaller piles in hopes that it would ease the way for the men.

"Stop, Meribella," Lincoln ordered, lifting her by her armpits when she refused to quit.

"We have to keep going."

"He's gone, Meribella. He's gone."

She beat him on the chest, not even caring the man was nude once again. "Don't say that. We don't know that."

"No. We do know that," Lincoln urged. He scratched his chin, leaving streaks of grit across his face. He opened and closed his mouth as though he were searching for a way to make what he was saying more clear. "He's literally not here."

Scrunching her nose, she pressed dirty fingers between her eyes. "I'm not comprehending."

The blonde Beta threw his arms in the air. "That makes two of us then."

"Where could he have gone? Someone would have had to carry him out of there while the building was on fire. That's the only way we could've missed it."

"I've sent some of the men who can still stand out to search the area. They'll pick up his scent. We'll find him, but it gives me hope. He either walked away of his own accord, or someone took him."

"And why would they take a dead man?" She finished his thought.

"Exactly. Please go with Thorne. Get a hotel room. Get some rest."

Meribella shook her head. "No, I need to be here when you find him."

Lincoln took her by the shoulders and pressed his forehead against her. She stiffened, the contact out of character for them, but as he pulled her closer, she melted into the embrace. This man loved Raff as much as she did. He wouldn't give up.

"Please," he pleaded. "He's going to want to know you're okay when we find him, and it'll be my head on the chopping block if you're unconscious from exhaustion. Let me do this for you. For him."

She told herself it was because he asked so nicely, but as they separated, she swayed. Her powers were drained, her body was weak, and her mind felt broken. "Ok."

He squeezed her hand. "Good, I'll call you as soon as we know something."

Meribella trudged through the building and up the hill. Thorne was sleeping in the backseat of Raff's car. She'd collapsed an hour ago, the magic she'd called upon taking its toll.

Opening the door, cinnamon and pine billowed out, the fragrance destroying the last bit of her control. She climbed into the front seat and dropped her head on the steering wheel, letting the tears fall from her eyes like the rain had fallen earlier. She didn't try to stop, not even when Thorne clambered into the passenger seat so she could cradle her. If anything, the tenderness ripped Meribella open further, drawing a keening wail from her lips.

"Shhhh, Meribella. It's okay."

"Am I being punished?"

Thorne stopped rocking her and brushed the hair from her eyes. Gripping her face with both hands, the witch hissed, "Don't you ever say that."

"But, think about it. I let him think I was dead on purpose. This is my punishment."

"What you did doesn't make you a bad person- maybe a little dumb, but not bad." Meribella snorted around a hiccup, making her friend smile before continuing. "You came back to Raff, not to kill him like you were told, not to gather evidence like you said, but to find out if what you felt in that short space of time was real. You ran because that terrified you- not his wolf. This bond between you two is special, a gift. Whatever happens after tonight is not because you're being punished, but because of the actions of evil bastards."

"But-"

"No buts. The gods gave you the gift of life. That doesn't sound like something they would do to someone they wanted to punish."

Inhaling a shuddering breath, Meribella cranked the car's engine and pulled into the road. Forcing hers eyes to stay on the road and not linger on the rear view mirror, she asked, "What's with the sudden change in attitude?"

Thorne drew in a shuddering breath before answering. "What purpose was my negativity serving but to bring down the people I care about? I realized I had a choice."

"And what was that choice?"

"To hope."