by Gena D. Lutz
Oh God, please don’t let him be infected.
“Stay back,” He whispered through gritted teeth. “The wolf…he could have been…” Nathan’s words trailed off.
“He is not infected.” Ariel said, coming up behind me.
I took my eyes off of Nathan long enough to look up at her. I had also noticed that the full regiment of the Adelphi, plus Ember and her group, were spread out in a close circle around us. Some of the soldier’s backs were to us, keeping an eye out for anymore attackers. Ember, Collin, Paige, and Milo’s eyes were glued to Nathan.
“How do you know for sure?” I asked.
The nymph gave me one of her infamous shrugs. “Like I said before, all the altered wolves are inside protecting Tyson. The ones out here are just your normal, run of the mill, traitors.”
“The ones?” Ember interjected. “As in there are more of those fuck-wads running around here?”
As if in answer to Ember’s question, a huge roar erupted from the sky above our heads. Large, black wings that shadowed the late day sun temporarily blanketed us in darkness as they beat languidly through the air. The inhuman form attached to those wings was massive. I was staring at a real live Dragon. I had to squint when Harek turned his body just so, making sunlight glint off his dark blue and black scales. The color of his natural armor danced like a chest full of gems being tipped over to spill brilliant blue sapphires across a black marble floor. The picture of such a regal beast made my chest ache. Even such unbelievable beauty couldn’t take my mind away from my injured bond mate. His suffering called to me. Fortunately, he hadn’t been infected by the attacking wolf, but there was still a pretty bad injury to be dealt with.
“What is the dragon carrying? Are those wolves?” Nathan questioned, his words coming out strained.
I looked back up into the sky trying to focus on the Dragon. Sure enough, between Harek’s curved talons, there were at least six or seven captured wolves. They dangled between his sinewy black fingers like a monstrous pizza parlor claw game.
Then, with a dive bomb that had everyone covering their heads and ducking, Harek barreled straight toward us. With wings beating, and a steady stream of smoke rolling from wide set nostrils, Harek lifted his front legs and slammed the wolves he had been carrying into the hard earth below him. The sickening crunch from bones and cartilage being decimated by the brute force had me cringing. There was no way on God’s green earth those wolves had survived that impact. Harek took another lap around the wooded area of the back lot, making sure there weren’t any more of those traitorous wolves hiding behind its cover before turning to fly back over to us. He landed softly on two very large booted feet, flawlessly shifting back into his humanoid form.
“I think that was all of them. Do you have any more enemies for me to play with?” Harek asked, not even noticing our slack jawed and numb expressions.
The dragon’s wide, full lips spread into a cocky grin. He wiped a single bead of sweat from his hairline, the only evidence of his recent exertion, before he said, “It’s been awhile since I was able to really spread my wings and fly. That was fun.”
The sun was mere minutes away from setting. We had already decided to wait until then to make our move. Ariel was busy trying to heal Nathan’s injury enough for him to at least stand on his own two feet without problems. She would have healed his wounds completely, but she couldn’t risk draining all her powers before we faced off with Tyson and his motley band of fools.
“Does that feel better?” Ariel asked after pushing herself up off the ground. She dusted the dirt from her delicate palms and blew a wispy lock of stray hair from her face.
Nathan nodded and very carefully stood. He put most of his weight on his good leg first then eventually settled some of it onto the injured one. His face was puckered up in worry, but soon softened the more weight he put on it. After a few test steps, he was practically bouncing up and down on both of them.
“It’s almost good as new.” He chuckled. “Thanks, Nymph.”
Ariel smiled and gave him a quick pat on the back. “It was nothing. Besides, I need you fit for battle. I must retrieve Tyson’s blood before it’s too late,” She explained.
Nathan smiled back at her. “Well whatever the reason, I am grateful.”
“That goes for both of us,” I said, stepping up beside her.
I noticed her sway a little, but she quickly caught herself. Soft lines, almost hidden underneath her hairline, extended out like cracked spider webs from the base of her neck. The lines crawled up and continued to spread till the crackling effect reached and spread behind her ears. I remembered from the last time she lost a lot energy that her skin tended to do this. It was like it was drying out, becoming parched. Ariel had used more of her magic than she was letting on to heal Nathan’s wound.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Ariel huffed.
“Maybe you should go recharge your magical batteries. You’re not looking so great,” I whispered, leaning into her personal space.
Instead of lashing out at me like I expected, Ariel reached over and settled her hand on my wrist. “I think you might be right. That took a little more out of me than I expected.”
Her light grip on my wrist tightened a little as she captured me with her swirly stare. “If for some reason I fail to return in time, you must get me some of Tyson’s blood. Promise me this.”
Ariel’s lithe body swayed forward and this time she didn’t have enough energy left in her to try and hide her fatigue from me. That or she didn’t see the use in trying anymore. After all this tiny princess had done for me and mine, there was no way I would deny her this request. I would retrieve some of Tyson’s blood for her, even if I had to kill the bastard myself. I looked over at Ember; she was staring right at me. I could practically hear her tsk-ing at me. Of course she could hear our conversation and most likely had figured out where I was going with this. Tyson was her kill to make. And it probably wasn’t a smart idea to get in between an Alpha she-wolf and her prey, so I quickly amended my thoughts on killing Tyson. I would have to figure out another way to snag some of his blood. Besides, maybe Ariel would return in time to do it herself.
“I promise,” I reassured her.
Without another word, Ariel gave me a strained smile, the best one she could with her waning strength I assumed, and then she disappeared.
I turned back to Nathan. He wore a hard and demanding look. One that made the wolf in me stand and take notice. The way he watched me like I was the only person in the world was astounding. We were about to head into a battle against vampires, witches, and magically altered werewolves, and all he cared about was my safety. I knew this just as assuredly as I knew my own name. Nathan would move mountains for me. Die for me. And shockingly enough, he would even leave a wet towel on the bathroom for me. If that wasn’t love, I didn’t know what else could be.
The jarring sound of several wolves growling at once pulled me out of my love haze. Nathan frowned and nodded, while at the same time, he looked down at my waste. It was a subtle signal for me to arm myself. I drew my guns and stepped back to form a united front with my fellow soldiers. As the sun disappeared behind the darkening horizon, the red shine of wolf eyes became more prominent in the warehouse’s broken out windows. When the last little bit of light extinguished from sight, those same eyes slowly receded, creeping back and out of view. I wondered for a moment if those windows were in fact actually broken, or if it was just another part of the vampire’s elaborate illusion.
“Adelphi, ready yourselves!” Collin ordered.
All at once, the Adelphi soldiers took two steps forward, myself included, forming a front line.
“If anything happens to her, Collin…” Nathan growled low, the rest of the threat left unsaid.
“This is who she is cous’. Learn to deal with it,” Collin replied with a growl of his own.
I ignored them, and their beastly grumbles. I was too busy keeping my eyes glued to every possible entr
y and exit points of the building. It was go time.
“Why have we been sitting here waiting for them to come to us again?” I thought out loud. “Wouldn’t it have been wiser to attack while the vampires were sleeping?”
Harek, of all people, decided to answer me with lightly accented words that rolled from his tongue. I still couldn’t place his lilt. It sounded like it could be a cross between Scottish and English. I know, crazy combo, but there you go.
“The Vampire is only weak in direct sunlight. So if you’d have entered his lair, he could have fought back easily. Strong enough Vampires can protect themselves and their sired by erecting a protective glamour to keep out the sun. Which,” the dragon said, nodding in the direction of the warehouse, “it would seem he has done.”
So that would explain the old decrepit mirage that blanketed what actually was a very prestigious home. Harek acted as if he could see through the glamour as well. That was very interesting.
“You can see the building as it actually stands then?” I questioned him.
“Oh, yes indeed. Vampires and even their makers, the Darkin, cannot spin enough magic to fool a Dragon, and most assuredly not this one.” He chuckled. “It was wise for your leaders to wait. You wouldn’t want to fight those odd wolves in closed corners.”
Harek curled up his nose as if he could actually smell the vileness wafting off of them. However, he didn’t know that those wolves were experimented on against their will and had no choice but to follow their new master’s orders. I felt sorry for those werewolves. Regrettably, and my feelings be damned, I had no choice but to fight and in the process of eliminating them, I took some solace in knowing that I would be putting them out of their misery. I was probably rationalizing what I had to do so the killing of otherwise innocent beings didn’t weigh so heavily against my conscience. After all, everyone had their own coping methods. I guess that was mine. As the last little bit of sunlight glinted and then vanished from sight, I held my breath in silent hope that I was given the chance to live through those methods of my over rationalized madness.
“They are retreating deeper into the building,” Scar informed Collin and Milo.
“Everyone hold your place. We will not enter unless we have to. Let the assholes come to us,” Collin boomed to his soldiers.
Restless growls sounded off from all sides. These werewolves were getting tired of waiting. They craved blood to coat their high energy. My wolf made a sound of her own; she agreed with her brethren.
Black, soulless eyes were the first thing I saw staring down at me from the second story floor of the warehouse. When those eyes blinked, there was a momentary flash of red that illuminated from their depths. Vampire, was the first thought that skittered across my mind. When the owner of those eyes flashed his pearly white fangs at me, my instincts were proven right. I swept my gaze over the rest of the floor’s windows. Each one was filled with the silhouette of some kind of otherworldly creature. There were at least six vampires that I could count and just as many wolves, ambling about above us. That was not counting how many there could be hiding in the bowels of the building itself.
I heard boots shifting beside me, digging in to the earth in preparation. Then, like a gas igniting, hell’s gates were sprung open letting out all its growling, clawed, and frothing-at-the-mouth inhabitants. The night sky rained devils that were anxious to maim and kill. I couldn’t hear my own thoughts over the thundering of gunfire and vicious snarls. The howling pierced my ear drums with the promise of death, and I watched as one of those menacing beasts came straight for me. Somehow, my muscles moved instinctively, like a remembered song from youth you could still sing every word of. The only difference was that I didn’t think of myself as a fighter. Other than the small sparring session between me and Nathan in the gym, I had never had any formal training. None of that mattered though. I knew, or more accurately, my wolf knew, exactly how to handle this piece of shit. My arms swung up, coming together. With precision akin to a sharpshooter, I pulled the triggers. Two silver bullets lodged deep inside the skull of a werewolf. Within seconds of the battle beginning, I had my first kill under my belt.
“Roxy, behind you!” I heard Ember yell.
I twisted around without hesitation. There was a dark haired vampire closing in on me, fangs bared. I shoved my pistols in their holster and unsheathed the wooden stake I had tucked behind my back in the waistband of my leather pants. The cool feel of wood caressed my palm and my fingers began to tingle in anticipation of putting the weapon to good use. Ember fired off a shot, hitting the charging vamp in the shoulder. His body fell back a couple steps, but the impact did nothing more than slow him down. Soon, he was once again coming at me full force. Once the bloodsucker was close enough, I dropped low, and with a quick twirl of my body, I swept his legs out from underneath him. I wasted no time in taking advantage of the seconds the maneuver had allotted me. With a howl that would rival the banshees themselves, I leapt on top of the vampire. With both hands gripping the wooden stake tightly, I brought the weapon downward, delivering a solid thrust to the chest. I ended up staking the vampire with such force that the wood had embedded itself, several inches deep within the hardened earth beneath him. After two hard tugs, I was able to unpin the bloodsucker from the ground. What happened next was something I only thought could happen in horror movies or fictional books. Right before my very eyes, the impaled vampire began to crackle and crumble apart, like a clump of dried dirt unable to hold its form under the pressure of touch.
I fell back onto my ass. The shock of killing my first vampire took me over, but my inner wolf wouldn’t allow such weakness from me. My claws lengthened and my mouth became full as my fangs slid through my gums. Both beasts were riding me and I had no choice but to either take the reins or just sit back and let them have complete control over me. Considering the fact that I was never really good at relinquishing control of myself, I decided to suck it up and began the hunt for my next victim. I searched the back lot-turned-battlefield with a turn of my head. All around me, werewolves in their human form were slicing through the heads of altered wolves. Adelphi soldiers were engaged in hand-to-hand combat against aggressing vampires. The sight of Harek taking in a huge breath and then letting out a stream of red, orange and blue fire halted my search. He was burning down Tyson’s lair, systematically flushing the remainder of our enemies out of hiding. I watched as he looked at the pile of rubble and ash that he had just created out of the towering warehouse with a proud smile. He stood a little taller, turned to me, and winked. I waved at him and with a look of confusion, sent him a hesitant wink back. It was silly, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do. If someone waves at you, you wave back, right? Especially if the person in question was a scary fire-breathing dragon.
Harek’s playful smile vanished about the same time I felt a punch of excruciating pain slam against the side of my head. If I were a cartoon character, you could have easily counted the flying birdies swarming in a circle around my head. My knees slammed to the ground, jarring my body. I fell forward, my palms slapping the ground, fingers splayed out before me. My arms were having a hard time holding my weight. They trembled against the strain. Then came another hard slam, this one landing in between my shoulder blades. My arms completely buckled and I found my face planted in the dirt. My body was weak, but my brain wasn’t. I knew I only had a few short moments to act or I wasn’t going to survive this attack. I was standing before death’s door with an invite signed by the Devil himself, but that was one party I wasn’t about to show up to…not just yet. My arms were all but useless and with my face shoved so far into the dirt and gravel, I couldn’t see for shit. So I used the only weapons left to me. As if my life depended on it - and it did - I kicked up and back as hard as I could. Chances were slim that I would actually hit my attacker. All I knew was that he came from behind me. When my boot met resistance I was rewarded with the sound of bone snapping in two. I kicked out once more for good measure, and again, my str
ike was true. A feminine howl of pain filled my ears and I heard something fall hard to the ground.
“You fucking bitch! You broke my leg!” My attacker cried out.
Her angered words soon turned to whimpers, but the agonized sound didn’t draw sympathy from my usual kind countenance. The sound instead filled me to bursting with hunger. I rolled over and dug my fingers into and across my eyes; clearing out all the dirt and debris caked in them. I blinked a few times and after my eyes began to water, the tears helping wash the remaining dirt away, I slowly regained my vision. Everything around me was shadowed with violence. Headless bodies littered the ground. Puddles of dark crimson winked at me as the sun caressed its depths with a lingering kiss of golden light. I shook of the fatigue from my injuries and stood, wincing when I stretched out my back so I could push myself up. A sharp ache traveled down my spine and I felt the trickle of blood follow the path of the pain.
“Are you kidding me?” I scoffed at the injured she-wolf, currently in human form.
She was lying on the ground in front of me, clutching her right leg. The bitch had the gall to yell at me for hurting her? Another flash of pain slithered down my back, reminding me how ridiculous her complaints really were.
“You’re lucky I’m not ripping your heart out,” I hissed.
“Screw you, sapling. You’re probably still suckling off the tit of Ember’s command. You don’t scare me,” she spat back through clenched teeth.
“Don’t make the mistake of underestimating me. I will kill you,” I said, moving in closer.
The she-wolf lifted one of her perfectly arched brows at me. The meticulously plucked ridges defined a pair of chocolate eyes that moved down into a calculated squint as she smiled.
