Murray scowled at her, but his eyes shined with mirth. “You oughta learn some respect, woman,” he said gruffly, dumping the bacon onto the table.
Beth quirked an eyebrow and gave him a dangerous look.
“Quick! Hide the children!” Murray barked before sprinting away in mock fear, and scooping up a couple of the youngest members of the pack. George and Danny were only seven and hadn’t yet shifted, but they were Werewolves nonetheless, and they giggled as their Alpha stole them away.
Grinning, I glanced up at Vince. “Speaking of kids, where’s Jem?”
“With his Aunt, back at my place. You have me all to yourself,” he promised.
“Probably for the best, it’s too cold out here for anyone sane,” I commented, giving Wilson a pointed look.
He returned the look. “Wimp.”
A noise caught my attention and I glanced over to see Murray grappling playfully with another wolf. Everyone seemed relaxed, so I guessed this meeting was more to touch base than to discuss serious matters.
If there was going to be any brawls, they probably wouldn’t have invited us non wolves.
“Grub’s up,” Wilson said as he began to pile the burgers onto a plate. Beth took charge of dishing out the food.
“I’ve missed you,” Vince whispered against my ear.
A silly grin lit my face. “I saw you yesterday.”
“Come here.” He cupped my face and pulled my lips to his.
Images flickered briefly in my mind, gone too fast to fully comprehend them. Then I heard his voice, “Let me be with you, kiss me, touch me, please. We’ll get through this together.”
“Okay,” I murmured.
“Okay, what?” Vince asked, glancing curiously down at me.
I blinked. “Sorry, nothing.” I shook my head. “Are you hungry? Wilson cooks good meat.”
“Sure.” He laced his fingers with mine.
The meal was fun, we talked, laughed. Some of the wolves wrestled, which was pure insanity, given that the floor was still coated in a layer of frost. Vince had sat on one of the picnic benches and pulled me onto his lap.
As soon as the food was finished, Beth had headed home, wanting out of the cold but we’d decided to stick around. He kissed me. “Sun’s getting low. Want to stay long enough to watch it set?”
“You know, it’s weird how good you are at this romance stuff,” I told him.
“I’m just trying to impress you, usually I’m a nightmare.”
“Oh, this is you not being a nightmare?” I demanded.
He growled and bend to nibble at my neck, making me laugh. “Such an evil fiend,” he said, pinching my thigh.
“Everything's packed away and we’re about to head home,” Murray said as he strode over. Most of the pack had disbanded and only a few of them still lingered.
“Okay, I will just try to locate my Dragon, then we’ll be ready to go too.” I patted Vince’s thigh and climbed to my feet, glancing back at him briefly as I headed over towards the treeline.
Just before I could start calling out to the beast, a familiar Werewolf came over to greet me. He was one of those that had lingered.
“Hey.”
“Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for not mentioning what happened in the city,” Michael told me with a sheepish smile.
“Don’t worry about it. Did Courtney end up kicking your ass.”
“No, but, as it turns out, the cat is rather powerful, and he has powerful friends.” He still said the word ‘cat’ with distaste but there was a gleam in his eyes of what might have been respect. “Not the kind of people we want to start a beef with.”
“Well, I’m just glad you came to your senses,” I said with a teasing grin.
He shook his head slightly. “I still can’t believe she-” He cut himself off, cocking his head to the side. He sucked in a deep breath, then his eyes widened. “De-”
“Elsa, get over here!” Vince called across the clearing.
After seeing Micheal’s reaction to whatever he’d scented, I didn’t hesitate. “What is it?” I demanded, my own eyes widening as Murray and Wilson began to strip. If it was something bad enough that they both felt the need to shift then we were in serious trouble.
Shifting meant they weren’t even going to attempt to negotiate, they intended to attack or at least defend themselves, and us.
Vince took my hand and pulled me close, his eyes running over me as if he thought I might have been hurt somehow.
“What’s happening, Vince?”
“I need you to stay calm for me, love, can you manage that?”
I almost nodded, but then the cracking of bones as the wolves shifted set me on edge. I wasn’t calm, and I wouldn’t lie about it. I glanced over to see Michael sprinting toward us, having already shifted himself. He moved to my side, turning to face a threat I couldn’t see.
The other two wolves sensed it too as, after shaking off the lingering effect of the shift, they faced the same direction, bearing their teeth in a snarl.
“Don’t look at them, look at me.” When I obliged, Vince added, “I will keep you safe.” He kept his eyes on mine, as if his gaze alone could convince me of his words. But I wasn’t sure I sound believe him because I had no idea what was going on.
“Ah, young love,” the voice caused goosebumps to rise on my skin.
I gasped softly and pulled back. Vince pushed me behind him.
“Did you really think you could keep this up?” The man stepped out of the fog and I recognised him as the man who had claimed to be Vince’s father.
Suddenly I was afraid, more afraid than felt warranted. I felt convinced that this man I didn’t know was going to hurt me, because I did know him.
“You belong to me now, not him.”
I shivered and pressed my fingers to my temple. Now wasn’t a good time to start losing it. Normal people didn’t hear words that weren’t said.
“You have no place here, we defeated you once, accept the loss and move on, if you value your life,” Vince said, his voice dropping dangerously.
“You’re a fool, boy, you stripped her of her protections. You think I won’t get to her? The dogs aren’t enough to deter me. I will take her, and then I will breed her until I have a new son, one worthy of being the son of Marax, Lord of the Underworld.”
I felt myself grow paler as he spoke, the words hit me with the force of a freight train.
You stripped her of her protections.
The dogs aren’t enough to deter me.
Did he mean the Werewolves... did he mean me? Vince had stripped me of... what, exactly?
Memories.
Pain sparked behind my temples, piercing my skull. I didn’t understand, it was too much. I couldn’t breath Was this what a panic attack felt like?
“She is mine,” Vince snarled, baring his teeth like a feral animal might.
“I’m sure you enjoyed having her as a plaything, but you’re nothing, you couldn’t even keep her under your thumb when she was at full power. She needs to be put in her place,” he said, striding towards us.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Vince’s expression hardened and he pulled me closer, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Stay close, little one.”
“Vince?” I asked. I didn’t understand.
His father smirked. “You really let her call you that?”
Vince snarled. “Stay away from her.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, balling my fist up in the back of Vince’s shirt.
Marax, Lord of the Underworld.
Even as the words echoed in my head, the older man seemed to warp, becoming something darker, more wicked. Yet, visible, he didn’t seem to change at all. I wondered if this was what Vince’s uncle meant when he said he felt auras. It was as if I were looking into his soul, and it was ugly, without any of the warmth and goodness that I saw every day in his son.
“You and I have some unfinished business,” declared the older man.
“Wh
at do you want?” growled Vince.
“First of all, I’d like to meet my grandkid.”
“That’s not going to happen, not in this lifetime. Go to the car, love,” murmured Vince.
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“Let the girl stay, she’s pretty, I like looking at her.” Marax licked his lips lecherously, making my skin crawl.
Murray and Wilson stepped forward, growling menacingly, but the Demon barely spared them a glance.
Vince’s growl was just as ferocious as those coming from the wolves. “Don’t you dare look at her.”
“Vince,” I murmured.
He nudged me further back and pulled out a large sword. Michael pressed closer to my side, clearly intent on protecting me. I rested a hand in his ruff in a silent show of gratitude.
“Don’t be a fool, son.” His father didn’t seem worried.
With my free hand, I grasped Vince’s sleeve, concern tightening my chest. “We should go, call the police if it’s an issue.”
“Stay back, little one,” he murmured. Then he stepped forward to face his father, walking toward until he stood between the alpha and beta wolves. “You’re outnumbered, this isn’t a battle you’re going to win.”
Before Marax could respond, the wolves lunged forward, running across the field with the clear intent to attack. Faster than I could blink, a shadow passed overhead and flames shot down, crashing into the ground between the Demon and the approaching wolves.
I began to smile but Marax’s next words froze the expression in its tracks.
“Did you think I would come unprepared?”
The wolves yelped, barely able to stop before their momentum took them into the flames. Snarling, then darted back, glancing out way. The shadow passed again, drawing our attention.
“No, it can’t be...” Vince murmured.
“That’s a Dragon,” I said. At first, I felt a brief sense of elation. Trip wasn’t the only one, he wouldn’t be the last of his kind. Then I sensed something else, something dark and wicked and corrupt.
“No, little one, that isn’t a Dragon. It’s a Therianthrope, beasts that are the result of demonic experimentation. They can turn into any creature, so long as they’ve recently had a taste of its blood.”
The implications of that hit me like a freight train.
Trip.
It took a moment, in which my heart dropped to my feet, but then he responded. I got a sense of pain but also anger, then determination. I released a breath, though I was soon distracted by the events taking place before me.
The demonic shifter made another pass, it’s fiery red eyes turning to the alpha and his brother. My heart in my throat, all I could do was watch as it opened its mouth to attack.
Another figure burst into the clearing, one who it took me a moment to recognise. He’d been the man talking to Adam at the party. But why was he here?
He stepped up to the wolves, raised his hands in the air and spat out some words. They weren’t in English but I understood them just the same. They resonated with something inside me.
Protect these people, who have protected something I love so dearly.
Magic burst from him, rising into the air too meet the flames spat out by the creature. When it’s attack failed, the creature screeched in fury as it flew higher.
“You’ve done well, wolves, I will hold off the creature, you go seek out the real dragon,” the new comer said, with surprising authority.
The two wolves didn’t hesitate before diving into the cover of the wolves. Michael stayed firmly where he was, determination evident in his posture.
The blond man glanced at the third wolf and nodded as if in approval before approaching Vince. “Jay, thank God your here,” Vince murmured.
Jay? As he got closer, his magic seemed to reach out to me. It was familiar. I knew it, I knew him. Jay. I tried to reach for the memory but the pain in my head reared up again.
“You ever defeat a Dragon?” Vince asked.
“No, but I’ll killed my fare share of Demons, no offense.”
“Offence taken,” he murmured, though a small smile curled his lips.
The Dragon dove closer, this time aiming his fire in our direction. Jay used his magic again, though this time I was unable to make out his words through the roar of the flames. “I won’t be able to hold him off forever, that spell is very draining, we have to end this quickly.” He turned to me and I remembered that I’d thought his eyes were like ice chips but, as he looked as me, they filled with warmth.
I knew those eyes, I’d known them all my life. A few things clicked into place inside my head and my throat suddenly felt thick with tears.
“Step aside, both of you,” I said softly.
“Love, just stay back,” Vince told me, though Jay obeyed as if he understood.
“Avon, just do it.”
He tensed freezing in place.
“Little one-” he started, turning to me with an expression that was something akin to horror.
“Step away!” I growled.
He cautiously stepped aside and even Michael gave me some space.
Marax smirked, clearly filled with confidence, knowing his creature would protect him. “What are you going to do, little girl?”
I pulled on my magic, magic I knew deep in my bone, magic I shouldn’t have been able to forget. Because I’d been right, and wrong. I was a Witch but I was also something more. I’d been made more by a man I hated, one who was responsible for my existence.
My lover wasn’t the only one with daddy issues.
The Glamour washed over me and, this time, I understood it, felt it for what it was. It wasn’t just a new skin, it was armour. The thing that had once brought me so much pain now empowered me.
It was the armour of a rider, and a rider was nothing without her mount.
A roar shook the clearing and a new shadow took shape in the sky. Marax tensed. “Kill her now!” he roared and I walked towards him, leaving behind the three men who were intent on protecting me.
They should have known I wouldn’t need it.
“No!” Avon cried, but something must have held him back because he didn’t come to me.
The Therianthrope came straight at me this time, shooting fire. But, while I felt it’s warmth, it didn’t burn me. Lifting a hand, I saw the scales that had coated my skin and watched as they disappeared again once the danger had passed.
My clothes didn’t fare so well, but they weren’t combustible, so they were mostly intact. There was a new roar and the Demon Dragon was knocked from the sky by a beast twice it’s size.
Looks like Trip had experienced another growth spurt.
The force of Trip’s strike knocked them both away from the clearing and they came down somewhere in the forest with a crash that shook the earth. Trip’s roar of triumph shook the branches of the trees.
I glanced at Marax and saw concern in his eyes for the first time, maybe even a hint of fear.
“Mine’s bigger than yours,” I declared.
Snarling in fury, the Demon draw a nasty looking sword that looked as if it could cut a man clean in half. Magic tingled at my fingertips, as if eager for me to use it, but then a hand came down on my shoulder.
“Please, sister, let us do this for you,” Jay said calmly.
Unable to meet his gaze, I just nodded.
“Elsa-” Avon began.
“Stop!” I snarled. “I know, you fool.”
I knew he wanted to say more but instead, he decided to find a useful outlet for his frustration.
Drawing a sword from thin air, Avon leapt forward and lashed out at his father. Swords flashed but I couldn’t focus. My head was still pounding and, though it seemed he had the advantage, I was still worried for Trip.
“After this, we will talk,” Jay said softly. He was my oldest brother, he'd practically raised me and I loved him more than life itself.
But could I trust him?
Not anymore.
He sprinted towards where the Demon and my lover fought. Why was he here now? Had he been stalking me this whole time? No, he apparently had wolves for that. He must have suspected this attack was coming.
Watching two beings with demonic powers fight was dizzying. Sparks flew as their blades clashed. There was no doubt that they were trying to kill each other but I would doubt that Avon could get the upper hand. Luckily, he wasn’t alone.
Like Avon’s sword, Jay’s seemed to come out of nowhere, he had once told me that it was formed out of light that he somehow solidified. The memory made me think of Adam’s power but I knew it wasn’t the same. Jay didn’t use his Wiccan powers to form the sword, he used his other powers.
The fight didn’t last much longer. Both Avon and my brother were formidable opponents. Jay had the advantage of supernatural reflexes and he’d been trained to defend himself since the moment he could hold a sword. Avon had been raised in the Underworld, where he’d had to fight for survival almost every day of his life.
Even a Demon couldn’t face the two of them for very long.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I feet like the battle should have gone on longer, it should have been... more. But it wasn’t. This was the man who had kidnapped and tormented me, who had tried to rape me. Maybe those memories were better off forgotten.
By the end, I felt as if the fight should have meant something more. I should have been relieved. But I wasn’t, I felt nothing. Jay sank his sword into Marax’s gut, twisting it in order to inflict a wound that even a Demon may be unable to recover from.
Avon sliced into the man’s neck, ensuring the kill was final.
The two men turned to me. Avon expression was void of emotion, he glanced at me warily. Specks of blood marked his white shirt. “How much do you-”
“Enough,” I said coldly.
He glanced at Jay. “How?”
Jay shrugged. “She’s twice the Wiccan I am, she could beat most of my spells in her sleep. I just thought that diminishing her powers would help prevent it.”
I pursed my lips. “I guess you were wrong.”
Hurt crossed his expression briefly.
Brushing some ash from my burnt coat, I swiped my arm across my face. Pain and anguish were at war in my chest, only mildly soothed when I sensed that Trip’s fight was over and he was coming back.
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