As soon as she thought that, a coldness spread through her limbs, and her lungs seized. She tried to remove her hand from Justin’s, to break the connection, but she couldn't. Justin looked down at her, his lips turning blue.
Jack.
He was doing this, mutating their connection, their magic.
She tried to breathe, but couldn't, and her body shook. She leaned against Justin, and he leaned against her. She could feel him trying to cut off his magic, but neither could. Instead of the warmth and happiness that had been flowing through them, there was ice and loneliness. A child cried, and a parent ran to help but failed to reach them, sliding on the ice that formed beneath their feet. People started to scream, frantically trying to reach their children, not knowing why the sudden need had entered their minds.
Rina looked through the crowd, trying to find Jack. She finally spotted him on the other side, his hands outstretched, a snarl on his face. Why was he doing this? He was going to hurt these children. She tried to break down the magic again, but it was no use. Jack was controlling them. The screams intensified as she looked up and noticed icicles forming on the railings. The sharp ice fell, fracturing on the ground in thousands of pieces. People started to run away, but the ice was too slippery. Her body was cold, her labored breath coming in short pants.
She felt Justin’s muscles tense beside her, and then he fell to his knees. Their entwined hands pulled her to the ground beside him as her body shook.
“Justin, we need to stop this,” she said, her voice shaking.
“I’m trying,” he grunted.
Instead of trying to break the connection with Justin, she focused on breaking the connection with Jack. She closed her eyes and imagined the ice that was attacking his system then warmed it with the thoughts of Justin and the Coopers. If she couldn't fight with the strength to break it, she could fight with the strength of love and warmth.
She thought harder and harder even as the screams intensified and the wind howled. She focused all of her energy on that icy connection and groaned. It had to work. It had to. Subtly, the connection snapped, and she could hear Jack scream across the crowd.
As quick as it had come, the ugly energy was gone. She collapsed against Justin, as they both were now able to clamp down on their magic. The ice melted away beneath people's feet, and she watched as parents gathered their children up and took them away, not knowing who to blame for this chaotic, freak storm.
“He could have killed them,” Justin whispered as he pulled her onto her feet.
“I know; he's dangerous.”
“We have to tell Santa.”
“I know, but I don't know if he’ll believe me. It's too busy right now. It's not as if I have a direct line to Santa.”
“Try. We have to. We can't let this happen again.”
She leaned into his hold and kissed his cold jaw. “I love you.”
He looked into her eyes, and he captured her lips and kissed them, warming her to the bone. “I love you, too.”
Chapter 9
Justin slammed the cabinet closed and cursed. Jack could have killed all of those kids and their parents yesterday. Fucking Jack and his fucking problem with Rina. He didn't know what the exact issue was, but Justin needed to figure out. It couldn't all be because of a rejection. He didn't think Jack was that shallow, but he could be wrong. There had to be another reason that Jack wanted to cause so much destruction and death.
Justin’s hands shook at the thought. He couldn't control his magic. It'd floated through him and through Rina at such an alarming rate, it had scared him. It scared him more than the fact that his body had grown so cold so quickly, that his lips had turned blue and his lungs had seized. What scared him more than that was the fact that Rina had been in distress right by his side, and he had no power over it. What was the use of having all this magic if he was unable to help the one person who he loved the most?
Jesus, he was a failure, again. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the fact that he was nothing. A useless, bad boy who just fucked up everything in his path. He cursed again, having finally found the creamer he had been looking for. He poured some into his coffee cup and took a sip. He narrowed his eyes as the coffee burned his tongue.
Perfect. Just fucking, peachy perfect.
He poured some creamer into Rina’s cup and added three times the amount of sugar he used. Even though he had a sweet tooth, even more so lately, his little elf loved sugar to a frightening degree. She told him she was an elf and it was just the way she was built. The amount of sugar used at the North Pole must be jaw-dropping.
He blew on his cup and took another sip of his coffee, this time avoiding burning his tongue. He'd known from the incident in the cafeteria that his powers could go haywire and he would be a dangerous threat, but seeing the way that his powers had morphed into something he couldn't even comprehend had scared him. Nobody knew exactly what had caused the freak ice storm in the town square, but he always would. Even if the town never pointed a finger his way and never judged him the way that they had judged his sister-in-law, Jordan, for being a witch, he would always know that he had been responsible.
He didn't know how he was going to fix this though. Rina had told him Jack was stronger, having more powers than anything she or he could do. So, no matter what he did, he would not be able to win against Jack. They had tried to call the North Pole, but no one had wanted to talk to Rina. Apparently, they had called her a traitor, or at least someone who didn't follow the rules enough to be cared about. Rina had withdrawn into herself and hadn't spoken to him much since that call. So now, other than feeling like a failure about his own powers, he felt like one for not being able to protect her from the people who wanted to hurt her most. All Rina wanted to do was fit in and be worth something, and people were trying to take that away from her. He would do what he could to make sure she felt needed with him and within this town, but he didn't know if that would be enough. He didn't know much of anything anymore.
“Justin? What’s wrong?” Rina asked as she walked into the kitchen, freshly showered and put together.
He leaned forward and kissed her softly then handed her the coffee. “Just thinking.”
“Yeah, but it's what you're thinking about that worries me.” She stood on her tiptoes and traced her finger down his nose. “Your face is all scrunched up, and you’re frowning. That means whatever you're thinking about isn’t good. Do you want to share?”
He lifted the corner of his mouth and shrugged. “Just the usual, stressful things, but I think I like the way that you can read my face.”
She smiled then kissed his jaw. “I can't help it; your emotions are right on your face.”
“Most people wouldn't think that. If anything, your face is more expressive.”
“Well, that's true. I can't lie to save my life, but I can read your face, and I know something's troubling you. Tell me.”
He let out a breath and set their coffee cups down on the counter. With his hands free, he pulled her into a hug and let her rest against his chest. She felt so right there, so perfect. “It’s my fault that those people were in danger yesterday.”
“No, no. It was Jack's.”
“Yeah? Well, he used us to do it, so it's just as much my fault.”
“That's my fault, too.”
He frowned and kissed her forehead. “No, it wasn't your magic.”
She huffed a breath and punched him softly in the side. “Okay, if you're going to blame yourself for Jack's mistakes, you can't just automatically think it's not my fault too. You make no sense.”
“I'm angry. I don't have to be rational.”
“Spoken like a true man.” She grinned when she said it, and he leaned down to nibble on her lip.
“Stop trying to make me feel better. I'm in the mood to wallow.”
She fluttered her eyelashes at him and grinned. “Sorry, no can do. Abby called earlier and wants to go ice-skating. Allison is taking her kids, and we're going to join them.”
Fear slid through him, and he shook his head. “I don't think I want to be around people today, Rina. What if I hurt them?”
Rina ran her hands up and down his chest then wrapped them around his waist, squeezing hard. “You can't lock yourself away because of one person. Yes, he's dangerous. But, I figured out how to stop him before. We can do it again.”
Yes, she'd told him how she thought of warmth and tried to sever the connection. If it worked that time, he hoped it would work again. Now that he knew that, he would do his best to help next time, if there was a next time. He hoped there wasn't.
“You sure you want to risk it?” Jesus, he sounded like some beta male. “You know what? No, don't answer that. Of course you want to risk it. Because you have a spine, and, apparently, I've lost mine somewhere.” Frustrated with himself, he kissed her again then walked to the front door to put on his boots. “I take it you don't have skates, right? We’ll have to stop by the store and pick some up for you.”
He glanced up as Rina’s body was shaking, holding back laughter. “What?”
“You’re so cute when you're frustrated.”
“I'm not cute; I’m manly.”
“Oh, yes, you are that, but still cute.”
“You know you’ll have to pay for that,” he growled, feeling better already.
She raised a brow and smirked. “There's no time for that. We have to stop by the store, get my skates, and then meet the girls and the kids.”
It all sounded so domestic, and Justin loved it. He was learning more and more about her as the days passed and loved every bit of her. He wanted her in his life for as long as possible, forever if they could. That thought didn't scare him as much as it should have. It seemed the Cooper men were falling one by one, and he was okay with that.
They quickly got bundled up and headed to the store to pick up her skates. The general store in town had everything they could possibly want or need. Luckily, Rina’s feet were small enough that they fit in the average-sized woman skate with thick socks. They purchased her skates and headed down to the outdoor ice rink on the outskirts of town. It was an old lake that, in the summer, was a popular fishing hole and a place where people went to swim. In the winter, the lake iced perfectly to skate on. Justin had come here with his brothers for makeshift games of hockey, skating, or just roughhousing. He loved it. He hadn't told Rina about it, but he figured Abby or Allison had mentioned the fact that all the Cooper men, except maybe Jackson who never really liked anything, loved skating.
As soon as the kids got out of the car, Allison's three children ran up to them. Ally was a widow who worked hard to provide for her kids, but he knew times were tough. If only she and his brother, Brayden, would talk to each other about their feelings, maybe some things would change in her life.
“Justin! You’re here!” Lacy, Allison’s youngest at six, called to him as she threw herself into his arms. He caught her and nuzzled his nose into her neck. She giggled and squirmed and told him to let her down.
He'd always loved children, but seeing these three always made him want to have children of his own. He risked a glance over at Rina, and her rosy cheeks and bright eyes made him want to just lean over and kiss her. Jesus, his brain was moving too fast for him sometimes. He could already picture her round with his child. He quickly shook his head then knelt down in the snow to Lacy's level, her brown pigtails sticking out beneath her hat. Her big green eyes stared up at him with adoration.
“Well, hello there, Miss Malone. I hear we’re going skating today.”
She bounced up and down and bit her lip. “I'm getting much better at it, but will you help me?” She lowered her head but kept her gaze on him, giving him the cutest little expression ever. Oh, this girl was gonna be trouble when she got older. He glanced up at Allison and saw her roll her eyes. Yeah, Ally knew it, too.
“Of course, Lacy, hon.”
“Yay!” She ran back to her mother, and Ally started to laugh.
“She has you wrapped around her finger, you know,” Allison said as she sat down on a nearby bench and started to put on Lacy’s skates.
“It's okay; I don't mind.”
Cameron, Allison's middle child, came up to him next and grinned. “I can skate by myself, but I can help you with Lacy if you want.”
Justin ran a hand through Cameron's shaggy brown hair. “Sounds like a deal, but I would put your hat on before your mom notices.”
The little boy blushed and quickly did so. Justin looked over at Allison, who just smiled her thanks.
Aiden, Allison’s oldest, came up to him next but didn't smile. The kid didn't smile often, and Justin thought it was because he felt like he had to be the man of the house. Hopefully, the Coopers would help him with that.
“Thanks for helping out my brother and sister,” Aiden said, and then he grinned, surprising Justin. “You know, if you're going to be busy with them, I can help your lady over there.”
Justin threw his head back and laughed, Abby, Allison, and Rina joining him. “You’re a lady killer, are ya, son?”
Aiden held up his hands but was laughing with them. “Hey, I was just offering my assistance."
“You’re twelve, remember that,” Allison called from the bench as she was tying up her own skates.
“Just trying to be helpful,” Aiden said then walked over to another bench to start putting on his and Cameron's skates.
When they were all ready, Lacy gripped his hand and gripped Rina’s on the other side. Justin met her gaze and smiled. Yeah, this felt right.
Cameron ended up holding Allison's hand while Aiden skated next to Abby. They laughed, skated, and tried to race each other as the morning waned and the temperature started to rise slightly. Rina took Lacy across the ice in slight circles, causing the little girl to giggle with glee. Allison and Abby sat on the side of the ice rink and watched, with Allison taking pictures. The boys skated circles around Justin, trying to one up each other. No one else was at the ice rink at that time, so they enjoyed having the ring all to themselves. They were just starting to get a bit tired and head in when Justin heard a sound like a gunshot.