CHAPTER 19: THE NERVE!

FENRIC'S POV

Suddenly the chamber door opens without a knock, and Miriwen Seraya, the High Priestess walks in bare feet------- as usual--- with her white hair braided to the waist and a crescent moon birth mark on her brow.

She takes in the tangle we are in, I, Nyall, Orien and our mate Iryn, then looks over at Merrin and Casmir and sighs.

“Who gave you leave to perform a trio- binding heat ceremony without me?” she asks, and Merrin replies.

“The bond was volatile High Priestess, so we acted to stabilize the pack as agreed during the last elder meeting with the Alphas.”

“You acted rashly,” Seraya replies, keeping her voice mild.

"... And you brewed a seal that's meant for only single- bond Omegas.”

Then she turns her eyes on us. “She’s overfed.”

Iryn sways as if reacting to her words, and. I tighten my grip on her.

“Do something,” I tell the priestess, and it comes out as a sincere request, even if it’s rude.

... Through the bond I feel Nyall and Orien's growl of approval, Iryn's temperature has been raising steadily since we just touched her, and I... we know that's not normal.

Fuck knows I'm not letting them perform any stabilizing 'ceremony' on our mate again.

... But first...

Seraya nods at me and then tips her face up to the hole in the ceiling where the moon is, and mutters a word.

“Luna.”

Then she closes her eyes for a minute which feels like an hour to me, and I'm just about to snarl at her to hurry up when suddenly the air in the chamber thins, and then cools.

... And the fast raising fever in Iryn’s skin begins stepping down.

Iryn gasp, not exactly in relief, but her fingers relax a fraction where they’ve fisted my shirt and I let out a small at that.

“What did you------- ” Orien starts.

“I dampened the after effects of the ceremony on her,” Seraya says. “But I didn't remove it entirely, you know that's not possible.”

Nyall’s brows pull together at this, “How do we help her?"

“Get her to your quarters and rotate physical contact with her amongst the three of you to avoid pain through the bond. If her fever spikes again..." Seraya says then opens her mouth to add something to the instructions, while now looking at the thin sheen of sweat on our mates forehead.

However her gaze on our mate irritates the three of us and we growl at her, causing her to snap her head to the side away from our mate.

Good.

"... bathe her, especially at her knees and skull. You will not claim her under dampening, or it will rip through your bonds violently and at the same time.”

“High Priestess,” Merrin protests, probably feeling scandalized already and still certain her say matters.

"You cannot simply hand an unstable Omega to three Alphas and-------”

“Watch me,” Seraya says, not looking at her.

“Elder Casmir and Elder Merrin. You two will stay here, and you will answer for arrogance in ignorance."

"They cannot remove her without priestly------" Casmir starts to say but I don't stay to wait for his permission and do the only thing that makes sense to me right now.

I scoop Iryn up and into my arms, and she folds against me, placing her face in the notch of my throat where my pulse is beating strongest.

... And Orien and Nyall get up to follow me; Orien walking by my right and Nyall on my left.

We make it to the door before a hand clamps down on my forearm.

... It's Casmir’s.

The nerve of it.

“You cannot------" he starts, but Orien moves faster than my temper and in a blur he tears Casmir’s grip off from my arm, and throws him across the chamber.

The force he uses sends the old elder to hit the far wall so hard that it ends up shaking dust down from the carved wooden wolf statues overhead.

... And Casmir slides down in a stunned heap with his breath clearly knocked clean out of him.

Serves him right.

"High Priestess!" Merrin screams.

"He assaulted--------”

However Seraya doesn’t blink as she says.

“Elder, if you put your hands on a fever- hot Omega or the Alphas carrying her again, I will let them show you what assault truly feels like. Stand down.”

So Merrin clamps her mouth shut and looks at us like she wants to curse us into insects.

However I don't give fuck about her thoughts, wishes or curses.

All my mind is on, is to get Iryn out of here.