~ CASIMIR ~
Before I felt any pain, my mate swelled and those dark tendrils exploded from her like midnight fireworks as her screams turned from fear to rage.
I hit the dirt and rolled, coming up in a crouch, eyes wide and my entire body trembling in awe.
Jesse was on her feet, arms out, her face twisted in rage, hair lashing around her face as the power whipped into a storm around her- a twisting, accumulating storm to rival my own.
"Jesse…"
But even as her brother and his allies dropped- clearly felled by whatever she'd thrown at them in my defense- her shoulders shook. Her body convulsed, and she choked. The power roared, clouds roiling and sucking into a tornado of pain and protection she was preparing to unleash.
I should have been terrified. I should have been angry. She'd hidden this from me? But all I could do was stare in awe as she shook the very trees with the power she was gathering.