It was crystal clear that they hadn’t come to capture or question us. They’d come to wipe us off the map. But good luck to them, because Kane’s power… I hadn’t noticed it when he was in human form, but now that he’d shifted, it had multiplied. Since Brielle’s omega powers had been unlocked and her curse removed, he’d clearly leveled up.
Focus on the magic users first. The rest will do less harm individually.
Kane’s order came through the pack bond, and we arrowed toward the two out front who were hurling mass destruction as if it was any other Tuesday.
As soon as the enforcers saw us, they surged forward, half surrounding their magic users, while the other half ran at top speed toward us.
We were outnumbered and out-magicked, but we fanned out into an arrowhead shape with Kane at the tip. I lunged and tore my way into the enforcers, my wolf relishing the gore as we found targets not protected by their armor.
Many shifted, mostly big cats, but there were at least two bears in the mix, swiping with their giant, razor-sharp claws.
I can’t say if I killed or only disabled my opponents as we cut our way through the horde. But Kane was relentless, pushing toward the magic users with single-minded focus. We’d reached their outer ring of protectors when we finally ground to a halt.
Samuel and I fought back to back, each of us fending off blows both magical and physical from either side.
That was when Kane released his high alpha power.
I felt the sucking sensation in my chest a second before he unleashed it, and the impact was devastating. Our pack was unharmed, but our opponents?
All but the strongest within a hundred yards were blown back or pinned down as we bounded over and through them.
It was the break we needed to get to the fae, and he knew it. His eyes grew wide, terror filling them before he flashed out of existence, abandoning his comrades in a blatant act of self-preservation.
The warlock realized a second too late what had happened, hurling a fireball our way as he attempted to run, his long black and silver robes flapping behind him.
I was far enough to the side of our formation that I only felt the heat, but pain seared the pack bond, and I knew at least one of my brothers had been hit. Despite the injury, the rest of us couldn’t stop, couldn’t falter, or else the warlock would send another fireball hurtling our way.
We circled the warlock like sharks, nipping and harassing his personal shields, attacking from too many directions for him to block us all at once. Sweat began to roll down his face, his pointed velvet hat knocked askew by his efforts to keep us at bay.
One of Kane’s lunges broke through, and he sank his fangs into the warlock’s thigh.
I saw the opening before I even realized I had lunged. I leapt for his throat, fangs and claws extended.
His blood was hot and sour on my tongue. The unfamiliar tang of magic zipped through me as I rode his body to the ground, shaking the life out of him with all my might.
By the time we hit the ground, his head was gone, his magic fizzled out like a candle in a hurricane. His hat rolled away, disappearing in a poof a few seconds later.
But the rest of the enforcers had recovered from Kane’s blow, and the fight wasn’t over. With the most immediate, deadly threat eliminated, we ran back to where Gael had fallen, forming a protective circle around our wounded pack mate as we fought off the endless horde of attackers.
More and more of them poured from the forest, and bodies began to pile around us as blood soaked the earth.
My humanity waned as the wolf’s rage grew as high as the pile of enemies we’d slain, my control on him thready at best. Time grew warped by the battle. All that remained was blood and death and the next attacker who dared defy us.
Olivia
Ilost count of how many trips we’d made to and from the caves, carrying children through the dark and helping the elderly, until Leigh screamed, clutching her chest and falling into the leaf litter like she’d been shot.
Brielle shouted her name in panic, both of us racing to our fallen pack mate’s side.
“What’s wrong? What hurts?”
“It’s Gael,” Leigh sobbed, clutching her right shoulder. “He’s been hit. I don’t- I don’t know if he’s going to survive.” Her words were broken between the fountain of tears she cried as she clutched her own shoulder as if she’d been the one who was hit. “His thoughts are scattered. I can’t tell what’s happening.”
Brielle looked up at me with a determined expression that told me she was about to do something the high alpha wouldn’t approve of if I didn’t stop her.
“I’ll go,” I blurted, cutting her off at the pass. “I’m not as skilled as you, but I can triage, and maybe Elodie can help me carry him back here for you to heal?” I looked up to where she stood at my shoulder for confirmation.
“It would be faster if I went myself. I could heal him and then get back here.”
“No,” Galyna said. “The high alpha gave me a direct order not to let you near the fight. If they catch sight of you, you’re dead, and so is he through your bond. The packs can’t survive losing another high alpha. They’ll be fractured. Don’t put that on me.”
Brielle grimaced, holding Leigh in her lap as she cried. “I refuse to let my best friend, her mate, and their baby die for want of medical care that I can provide. Bring him to me as fast as you can. If he takes a turn, I am coming.” Brielle was all high alpha mate as she issued the order to me and Elodie.
Lightning cracked nearby, striking a tree and sending shards flying through the air in every direction.
I snapped my gaze around to Fiona, who was fully shifted into her djinn form, amber eyes molten with simmering power. “I’m coming with you.”
“We don’t have time to waste. Let’s go.” Elodie was off at a full run, sheathing her sword only for speed. I barely kept up with her in human form, but I ran as fast as I could, calling on my wolf for strength when my lungs began to burn and my thighs felt like lead.
But as fast as we ran, Wrenchet was already burning, the flames licking hungrily at the velvet night air. Smoke clogged my lungs as unnatural fire hopped from building to building, consuming them with scalding heat that buffeted us even as we ran past at a distance.
“Can you do anything about that?” I gasped out the question to Fiona, who looked askance at the rampant inferno.
“Yes, but not until after we get Gael. He has to come first.”
I nodded, and we ran faster, roars and screeches of violent battle hitting us now that we were closer.
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