by Macy Blake
“Ezra,” Solomon growled. “Get ready with a distraction.”
“On it.”
Sol could hear them approaching through the woods. The ghoul part of them kept them quieter than even a wolf would have been. They were being stalked, but they were ready. Ezra whispered the words Sol had only heard a few times before. His was a rare water gift, one which most of their kind would never have seen. Sol could only hope Ezra’s ability would buy them a little extra time. Every second would count.
They’re spreading out, Calli said through their link.
“Watch your flank, everyone,” Sol said quietly. He didn’t need to be loud. They would all be able to hear him.
It’s working. Achim and Teague were on the far side of the lot, protecting them from the back. The aswangs hunted like their wolf part dictated. Surround and attack as a pack. But the wolf side was getting caught up by the scent of so much piss in the wind. Sol couldn’t help but grin. The whole area reeked, and Shaq would probably try to figure out a way to fumigate the whole place. Between the overwhelming scent of other shifters’ pee and the scent of blood from so much wounded prey, even Sol’s instincts were on overload.
But he’d had time to adjust to it, and so had the others.
The aswangs on the other hand, were already in a near frenzy.
“Steady,” Solomon said.
He didn’t want anyone heading into the woods. This was one of the few times when cover wouldn’t serve them well. They needed open ground to work best as a team. Dasan had estimated a couple dozen of the aswangs, and they had about half that on their side. They were outnumbered, but not out-skilled.
The first of the aswangs burst through the trees and into the clearing. Ezra was ready for them. He finished his chant and conjured three playful looking otters which danced around the two aswang, and as expected, they immediately turned their attention to the tiny animals. It left them vulnerable to Gideon’s blades. He spun in an action-hero worthy move, slicing them through the neck as he whirled. In one hand he held a long sword, and in the other a second, shorter blade. Both dripped with blood when he stopped moving.
“Stay clear of the bodies,” Sol reminded them. He forced himself to hold back, not to charge into the fray. “Ezra, two o’clock.”
The otters danced that direction, confounding the aswang who’d begun emerging from the trees. Calli took it down with a powerful thrust of her claws.
Then chaos.
A dozen emerged from the trees all at once, and the fight was on.
“Ezra, fall back.”
The otters disappeared, and Ezra resumed his position guarding the coven with Dasan. Solomon’s attention darted around the clearing, searching for trouble. So far, so good. They were doing well, pairing up and taking down aswangs as they emerged. But there were so fucking many of them and they’d come on fast. Sol had been hoping they’d get to take out a few more before the rest of the pack converged.
Sol charged forward, knocking an aswang off the big tiger shifter who’d held himself back from the rest of them, but had stayed behind to fight. Calli fought near him, taking on two at once. Solomon took one out and spun around, hearing the clash of metal, the screams of the aswangs as they died, and grunts of pain. The scent of so much blood filled the air. Walt went down under the attack of three aswangs, and Solomon sped toward him. Jed managed to fight off the one he’d been fighting, and between them, they were able to get Walt clear. Blood dripped down his side, but he appeared to be more pissed than injured.
“Fuckers move fast,” Walt griped. “I’ll get ‘em next time.”
Next time came fast. Cosmo charged an aswang who’d managed to take down one of the smaller dryads who’d remained behind. Somehow, Cosmo managed to stab the aswang with his horn, flip it over his back, and fling it to the side. He followed the momentum and rolled to his feet, roaring at the aswang as it tried to regain its footing. Sol hadn’t known Cosmo was such a badass. He liked it. Teague used his claws to take the head off the aswang while Cosmo had it distracted.
They’d taken down about half of them, but they were starting to get closed in. “Hold your line,” Sol shouted. They couldn’t let the coven be put at risk. If the aswang had access to their magic, they’d have an advantage Sol didn’t want to think about. The hellhounds would be okay, but the others wouldn’t. Sol couldn’t risk them all.
Sol growled in frustration. And then, movement in the trees. Stalking, but hiding. Looking for an opening. Sol pretended to let his attention get drawn to another fight. Walt and Jed were doing fine, but it didn’t look like they were. He’d seen them doing the very same moves in training, though, working as a team to take down a threat in the form of Sol. They were good at it. He should know. They’d managed to take him down a couple times using the same method.
He waited until he could practically feel the breath of the aswang trying to sneak up on him before he spun and tried to take it out with his claws. He missed. It was big, twice the size of the others. And fast. He’d found the alpha. It moved again and somehow managed to take a slice out of his arm. Sol cracked his neck and grinned ferally at it. The three forms inside it were battling for dominance. The ghoul wanted free, but Keziah’s magic had it tamped down. The vampire wanted blood, Sol’s blood, which was steadily dripping down his arm. But the wolf? The wolf knew it was facing a serious predator. If it could take Sol down, it would have a feast of blood and power.
Calli, take command.
Sol shifted, finally letting his beast free. The alpha aswang had more experience than the others. It was a skilled fighter and circled Sol, getting in as many hits as Sol did. His back was a bleeding mess, but he’d landed a few good hits as well. Floating fucker had aerial moves worthy of Dasan. Sol shut out all noises and scents, seeing nothing but the aswang in front of him. He gave control to his beast, allowing the instincts gifted to him by the goddess to take over. Each blow sent searing pain through him, but as the fight dragged on, the alpha in front of him began to slow. Sol’s fangs and claws were finally taking their toll.
Then Sol’s pack joined him, and together, they took out the weakened alpha aswang without any further trouble. Scanning the clearing, Sol couldn’t help but roar. They’d done it. Survived. They were weak and wounded, some of them severely. But they’d made it.
Everyone joined and the sound of victory echoed, voices raised to let all who heard know that they’d defeated their enemy. When the sound faded, Sol shifted to his human form. He limped his way around the parking lot, checking on the injured. Of his pack, Achim and Jedrek had the worst injuries, but Teague wasn’t in great shape either. Calli had a pretty bad wound down her side, but she was already helping the others.
“Teague,” Sol said, “get the coven out of here.”
“On it.”
The other champions were bloody messes as well. There were four dead aswangs near where the coven had been sitting. Ezra and Dasan had kept them safe, though. That was the most important thing. “Ezra, go with him. Make sure nothing follows them home.”
Ezra nodded.
Solomon stood in front of Keziah, who looked exhausted, and bowed his head. “Thank you, Keziah. Your coven’s service will be rewarded.”
Keziah bowed his head in return. “You’re welcome, hellhound. Your pack treats us with honor and we are happy to serve.”
All four of them looked shaken, but they hovered around Keziah as they followed Teague through the portal he’d opened. The young man was so very powerful.
“What’s next?” Dasan asked.
Aleron limped over to them. “I need a shower. Those damned things ruined my clothes.”
Solomon gestured to the others. “We’ll take them to the Jerricks and get them medical care. And I’m sure we can find the diva a shower.”
Aleron snorted. “If you could see yourself, you’d wish you had a shower, too. That pretty little mate of yours is going to lose his shit when he sees you.”
But Cody wouldn’t. He’d fuss
and gripe and complain, but he wouldn’t lose it. “Watch and learn, my friend. Watch and learn.”
Aleron scowled but moved toward the portal Solomon opened. He helped a couple of the more wounded to stand and guided them through. Dasan pulled the wounded tiger to his feet and half-carried, half-dragged him through the opening. Enough of them cleared so Solomon could take stock of those that were left. He found Cosmo sitting against a tree, holding a bleeding gut wound.
“Dammit, Cosmo.”
“I’ll be fine. I need a beer.”
Sol laughed and reached out a hand to him. Cosmo held his stomach with one hand and reached for Solomon’s with the other. “Free drinks for life after this,” Sol said as he pulled Cosmo to his feet.
“Why do you think I stayed? It wasn’t for some brave or noble reason.”
Sol laughed again. He glanced at the parking lot, shivering as the aswangs bodies turned to mist and floated away. The stench lingered, and probably would for days.
Ezra and Teague returned and Solomon waited for the last of them to go through before he stepped into the portal himself.
Cody
Cody had never seen so much blood before in his life.
When the portal swooshed open and shifters began stumbling through, Cody stood. Waiting. Watching.
Ollie grabbed his hand. “He’ll be here,” Ollie said gently. “He’ll be last, okay?”
It didn’t help Cody’s nerves even if Ollie was right. “We’ve got to help. There’s too many.”
All of the Jerricks had immediately started to work. They were experienced in this type of event, often called to scenes where medical decisions needed to be made. The two senior Jerricks went inside, already prepping a couple of the more seriously injured for treatment. Ben, his siblings, and half the pack began a triage of the injuries. Cody wanted to help. But he needed to see Sol. None of the hellhounds had come through.
But of course they wouldn’t. Cody knew that. He wasn’t an idiot. His very own pack of super soldier hellhounds would be the last ones through. So he waited, squeezing Ollie’s hand. And finally, familiar faces emerged. Walt. Jedrek. Teague. Achim. Calli. And finally, the face he needed to see most.
Cody sucked in a breath. Sol looked like he’d been beaten to a pulp, but he had a grin on his face. Their eyes met from across the yard, and Cody couldn’t help it. He ran. He somehow managed to stop without plowing into Sol, but barely, and only because he didn’t know where to touch without hurting him. It didn’t matter. Sol grabbed him, pulled him close, and then proceeded to kiss him senseless.
Everyone cheered and Cody wasn’t sure if he was as hot as he was because of the kiss or because he was embarrassed. It was probably a combination of the two. Damn, his man could kiss. Even if he was absolutely covered in blood and— not that Cody wanted to complain— he smelled pretty horrible.
They broke apart and once Cody caught his breath, he glared up at Sol.
“Did you have to come back disgusting?” Cody asked. “Seriously?”
Sol grinned and looked over his shoulder. “See?”
“See what?” Cody asked. He looked around Sol at the other guy. “I can’t remember your name. In my defense, I haven’t slept.”
“Aleron.”
“Right. Aleron. Sorry. What’s the joke?”
“Oh no,” Aleron said. “I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
Cody turned to Sol with a glare. “You show up bloody and gross and grinning and… tell me. Don’t make me hurt you.”
Sol grinned and cupped Cody’s cheeks in his hands. “I told him you weren’t going to freak out because I got a little beat up and stink a little. And you didn’t. He’s an idiot.”
“Oh.” Cody pulled away and looked at Aleron again. “Why would I freak out? That’s dumb. I mean, I’m pretty sure the smell is burning away any nose hairs I may or may not have, but other than that, he’s fine. He’s standing. He’s smiling. He fucking came back to me like he promised.”
Aleron stared at him for a moment, stunned into speechlessness apparently. “Do you have a brother?”
“No.”
“Damn.”
Cody huffed and turned to Sol. “What do we have to do now? Because Sol, I’m honestly so tired I’m seeing two of you, and there’s a lot of blood and other stuff I’m determined not to think about. So can we do the tour the masses thing, and then go shower and go to bed? Please?”
“Yeah, love. That’s what we’ll do.”
Cody melted against Sol even though he glared a little, for good measure. “What did I tell you about the love thing? Too soon, Sol. Too soon.”
“Okay. Let me know when it’s not too soon anymore.”
“Shower. Sleep.”
“Come on.” Sol tucked Cody under his arm as they made their way around the yard.
“How hurt are you, really?” Cody asked quietly.
“I’ll heal. The aswang alpha got me a couple good times.”
“Do I need to be worried? I mean, more than I already am?”
“No. I’m…” Sol paused, looking thoughtful and a little confused. “I’m actually not as bad as I should be. Huh. I’m too tired to think about it, too. I’m just going to be thankful. How was everything while I was gone?”
“Good. The fauns started to get feisty, but I gently reminded them that you’d be upset so they settled down. I have some other stuff to tell you when we’re alone, though.”
Sol leaned down and nuzzled Cody’s hair. “Okay. I’ll ask Vaughn if we can take one of the guest cabins.”
“Everything is okay now? No more scary monsters after us?”
“For the moment. I’ll explain more to you later. After you’ve slept some.”
Cody grunted as they continued making the rounds. He could tell that Sol was doing the thing he did where he walked around and everyone calmed down, but Cody’s nerves were shot and he had no more to give. He had exactly zero plans of letting Sol out of his sight, though. He leaned against Sol and listened as he went over everyone’s condition with Vaughn, he did his own quick check on Leandra and the cubs, and he looked over the rest of their pack, making sure they were all being cared for. They were. All of the people who’d left had jumped to it when the heroes of the hour returned. Cody could smell food cooking and everyone was being doted on. It was sweet. Of course, Cosmo had somehow managed to get on top of a picnic table and was recounting the battle to all who would listen. Even though he appeared to be holding his guts in. Cody tried not to gag as he turned to Sol.
“Take your mate to bed, Sol,” Vaughn said with a smile. “Doctor’s orders.”
“Kinky,” Cody said. But he yawned so widely that he wasn’t sure they were even able to understand the word.
“Come on,” Sol said. “Everyone is fine and Vaughn is going to come get me if there’s a problem.”
“Don’t come get him, Vaughn. For at least twelve hours. No, fourteen. No—” Cody yawned again.
Sol led him to a little building beside the clinic. There were three or four of them in a row that looked exactly the same. Inside was a little one room efficiency, with a big bed, a kitchen area, and a bathroom off to the side. “What is this?”
“Guest cabin. If someone’s family needs a place to stay while they’re here.”
“Oh. That’s good thinking.”
“This one is ours.”
“Ours? We don’t need a cabin, Sol.”
Sol grinned and tugged Cody behind him into the bathroom. “I meant the pack’s. We’ve had someone staying with the Jerricks since the kids were found. This one sort of became our place to crash while we were here. We rotate in and out, depending on where Shaq needs us.”
“Oh. That makes sense. I thought you guys went on a lot of missions for the mob boss.”
Cody started the shower and turned to Sol, realizing now that the light was on how bad he looked.
“Damn. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t know. I’m healing fast.”<
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“I’m not going to complain about that, but I also feel like I should be concerned that something out of the ordinary is happening.”
“Shower first, worry later. I stink.”
“You really do,” Cody said. “Like for serious real, what do those things roll around in?”
“Well, they’re a third ghoul, so what do you expect?”
“I expect less rankness, that’s what I expect.” Cody helped Sol out of his shredded shirt, before kneeling down and unlacing his boots. He tugged them off then got to work on Sol’s jeans. It was only when he was nose to cock that he realized the position he was in. Sol didn’t seem to mind at all.
“Really?” Cody asked as Sol’s cock began to thicken right in front of his eyes.
“You’re on your knees in front of me. What do you expect to happen?”
“Nothing when you smell like this, that’s for sure.”
“Damn. Then I’d better get cleaned up.”
Cody stripped while Sol stepped into the shower and began rinsing away the worst of the gunk on him. He refused to think of it in any other terms. He gulped, looked down to make sure the water was running clear, then stepped in beside Sol.
“Goddess, that feels good,” Cody sighed.
“It does.”
“Let’s get you clean, big guy.”
Sol grunted and closed his eyes, leaning his head back into the water. His black hair glistened under the stream and he looked like some sort of god. All muscles and rippling abs and his hands were things of beauty with long fingers and the veins were just…
“What are you doing?”
“Drooling over your hands.”
Sol held them up in front of his face before giving Cody a doubting look. “My hands?”
“Uh-huh. It’s a good thing you never showed me HellBent’s hands or I’d have known right away it was you.”
“My hands?”
“Sol, shut up and turn around. Your hands are sexy, okay?”
Sol shut up and turned around. Cody grabbed the body wash and squirted a dollop into his hand. He ran it over Sol’s back, careful to avoid the claw marks. Claw marks. Cody leaned his forehead against Sol’s unmarked skin and breathed.
