Before I could do more than blink, a heavy, furry body slammed into my back, sending me sprawling on the ground. Hot, wolf breath hissed along my back, and teeth grazed my skin, trying to find purchase at the back of my neck. I screamed out to my dragon, desperate for any help he might be able to give. There was the familiar ache as my fingers extended into sharp dragon talons that could do serious damage. My mouth became too full, and it took half a second before I realized my teeth had elongated and sharpened. I’d half-shifted before, but never anything like this.
I mentally thanked my dragon and spun around, slashing the wolf across its belly and chest. The creature rolled away and yelped in agony as it thrashed around.
A bullet ricocheted off the pavement a few inches from my face, sending dirt and a fine spray of vaporized asphalt into my cheek. The man who’d fired, swung the gun an inch over, zeroing in on me, but before he could fire again, Nicolas’s wolf slammed into his side, his teeth sinking deep into his neck. Before the guard had time to react, Nicolas tore his throat out.
Jumping to my feet, I batted aside another wolf who tried to bite into my arm, but as I did, another caught me from behind, sinking its teeth into my calf. A cry of pain and rage erupted from my throat. Turning, I reared back to swat at its eyes with my claws, but before I could, the beast’s head burst apart in a spray of blood and bone.
Shocked, I looked up and found Julian holding a smoking pistol in his left hand.
“Where did you get that?” I barked, the words muffled behind the huge fangs protruding from my gums.
Julian shrugged and ducked behind our car. “You shifters always rely on teeth and claws, but silver works pretty well,” he said as he opened fire on a group of wolves rushing us.
I looked around, trying to make sense of the chaos. I couldn’t see Freddy, but I could hear the cacophonous sound of wolves fighting in the darkness beyond the headlights. I had to hope he was okay. I assumed they wouldn’t kill him, but the guy Nicolas killed had been seconds away from blowing my brains out, and they needed me as a hostage to garner support, which probably meant anything was on the table.
Carlisle struggled to his feet, the sounds of gunfire and howls tearing him out of unconsciousness. The man stumbled toward his car. A sudden realization hit me. He was going for a radio or cell phone to call in reinforcements. I couldn’t let that happen. We were already outnumbered. Any chance we had at escape would vanish.
I rushed at him and nearly caught him from behind, but I had to flinch back when bullets hit the ground in front of my feet. The man who’d fired, tumbled to the side, clutching his stomach as Julian sent a round into his gut.
“I’m out of ammo.”
Freddy bounded toward us and leaped through the air, catching the wrist of another guard before he could fire his gun. The guard shifted without hesitation, and a new fight began. Two more wolves emerged, snapping at Freddy’s hind legs.
Too many, I thought, as I rushed to catch Carlisle.
Way too many.
Carlisle was at the van door, his fingers scrambling at the handle, blood still dripping from his chin. I leaped and slammed my foot into the back of one of the wolves attacking Freddy, using him as a springboard to launch myself through the air, tackling Carlisle right when he swung the van door open. My shoulder slammed into his chest, and we both fell backward onto the ground.
Carlisle kicked me away, knocking the wind from me for a second. He got to his feet and glared down at me.
“Jumped-up fucking lizard bitch,” he said, swiping the blood on his chin away with the back of his wrist. “We’ll see how good you are now.”
He half-shifted and leered at me with yellow eyes, saliva dripping from jagged teeth. He raised his clawed fingers and beckoned me forward.
“Come on,” he snarled.
My dragon roared in defiance, power surged forth from within, but I still couldn’t shift, not even halfway. I had my claws and teeth, but not much else. I might as well have been a human with a pocket knife trying to fight this monster.
Behind me, the sounds of fighting were dying down. Had the others been taken? Killed? Who knew. This was my last stand. I’d either fight my way through this gigantic werewolf and make a run for it, or I’d die right here.
“Let’s go, you son of a bitch,” I hissed, flexing my claws.
Carlisle’s wolfish face twisted into an approximation of a grin. He opened his mouth to reveal the wicked fangs that would probably soon tear my flesh from my bones.
He stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing in confusion. Turning, he looked up into the night sky behind him. He hadn’t even gotten his head fully turned when a red-hot jet of flame burst out of the sky, sending torrents of orange fingers of fire cascading around his body, engulfing him. His howls of agony echoed through the night sky.
I stared at him as he thrashed around, bellowing out his death throes, until he finally collapsed in a smoking, burned ruin. An instant later, my heart soared as the familiar screeching call of Vince’s dragon shattered the air.
He landed a few feet from me, the earth shuddering at the impact of his body. More gunfire opened up behind me, and when I turned, I saw Rasp flying by, pelting the security team with flames. Delphine was holding onto Rasp’s back for dear life. I whirled back around to Vincent, barely daring to hope.
Elle slid off my friend’s back and ran toward me. I shifted my hands and teeth back, sprinting to meet her. Was this a dream? Had I died, and this was heaven? If so, I could think of worse places to end up.
A venom-laced voice at the back of my mind whispered that this really might be a dream. Another fantasy my mind created while Bastien tortured me.
“Aurelius,” she cried as she slammed into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good now,” I murmured into her hair. “Now that you’re here.” She was here. She was real.
I was free.
I pressed my lips to hers, tasting her, making sure she was really real. She sank into me, clutching my back as her mouth moved against mine. All of this was worth it. I’d have done it all again as long as I ended up having her in my arms.
“Aurelius, let’s move,” Julian said, rushing to my side, blood oozing from a cut above his eyebrow.
“Back up,” Elle cried, yanking her lips from mine and pulling her fist back to slug the man.
I caught her wrist before she could strike him. “He’s a friend, Elle. A friend.”
Julian’s eyes were wide, staring at Elle’s cocked fist. He gave her a faint smile. “Yeah. Friends. Can we get your prince out of here? Get him the rest of the help he needs?”
Elle’s face softened, and her arm dropped to her side. “Okay. Yeah.”
Rasp and Delphine hobbled over, Rasp in his human form, Freddy between them. The younger Laurent looked much worse for wear. His face was a mask of blood, and the other two had to help him walk.
He looked up at me, his face crumpled in heartbroken sorrow.
“Nicolas didn’t make it,” he said as he spat blood on the ground. “Shot.”
“Oh my god,” Julian said.
Freddy winced and adjusted his grip on Rasp’s shoulder, holding himself upright. “We’ve got to go. Now. Your friends here took out most of the security, but I think one or two got away. They’ll be running for the nearest guard shack.”
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