Becca’s toes barely touched the ground as she struggled to free herself from the large piece of wood that impaled her. Blood poured from the wound, a dark red that surely meant something far worse than a normal wound.
Hunter gripped her hips and kept her body from sliding down and tearing at her flesh even more.
“No, you don’t get to die,” he growled. “You need to live. Do you understand me?”
Becca blinked, and Jamie pushed through her other friends who stood there, their bodies cut and bruised but alive… unlike what she feared Becca would be soon.
Jamie’s body shook as the sobs threatened to take over, but she pushed them back. She needed to be strong. She couldn’t show the fear that made her helpless.
“Becca, we’re going to take care of you,” Jamie said, her voice shaky.
Becca tried to smile, and a small trail of blood seeped from her lips. She coughed, sending a spray of red along Hunter’s chest, but he didn’t flinch. He just kept her steady so she wouldn’t hurt more.
Oh, God, no. It couldn’t end like this. She couldn’t let Becca die.
She turned to Ambrose, whose face was unreadable. “What can I do?”
He reached out and slowly cupped Becca’s face. Jamie’s heart cracked open.
No, no. This couldn’t be happening.
“For God’s sake, do something!” Faith yelled, her voice hoarse with tears. “Don’t just stand there and let her go. You’re magic for fuck’s sake.”
Balin pressed a hand against the small of Jamie’s back. “You’ve lost so much energy, but I don’t think you have a choice now.”
Jamie nodded and moved to stand beside Hunter. The feral wolf who’d saved her life didn’t spare her a glance now. No, his gaze locked with Becca’s, the untold story of what they would have been—no, what they could still be—blatant in their eyes.
Blood pooled around Becca, and her best friend’s body was so horribly pale Jamie was afraid she’d be too late. She had a feeling that her wishes might be able to save the living, but not the dead.
God, don’t let it be too late.
She closed her eyes and let her aura wrap around Becca like a warm blanket. Much like it had been with Balin, Becca’s aura was nearly non-existent, fading with each passing second.
“Hunter, I don’t know how to wish that she be okay with her body still impaled. You’re going to have to move her.” Her voice cracked at the end, and someone sobbed behind her.
Hunter growled, low, deadly. “Wish quickly,” he said, the sound of his voice more animal than man.
She kept her eyes closed, concentrating on keeping her aura around Becca. She felt Hunter move, and Becca screamed.
A scream so full of agony Jamie wanted to weep.
“I wish for Becca to be healed fully, and to live” she whispered, hoping her words would be enough.
She opened her eyes as Hunter slowly lowered them to the floor, Becca in his arms.
“Did it work?” she asked as her own body sagged. Balin caught her and lifted her to his chest.
Hunter didn’t say anything, his hand tracing along Becca’s side. The blood had stained her friend’s clothes so much that Jamie couldn’t see past the stain to a wound.
“Did it work?” Amara repeated.
Hunter nodded. “She’s healed,” he whispered, and Jamie let the tears fall.
“Oh thank God,” Eliana said.
Jamie pulled away from Balin to look at her friends, tears on their faces, blood on their clothes, but standing.
They were alive.
They could get through this.
“Thank you,” Hunter said as he looked toward Jamie. “I owe you more than my life.”
The others stood still at the words that made his intention clear.
Becca was his mate.
“You owe me nothing. She’s my best friend. Take care of her,” Jamie ordered as Ambrose knelt down to check on the wound.
“You’re down to one wish,” Ambrose said.
“I know, but it’s worth it.”
“It’s not over yet,” Balin said, indicating the storm still raging outside.
“Then let’s make it over. I think I know where Kobal is. I felt his magic.” She rubbed her arms, remembering the tainted taste of the djinn’s magic.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Balin said.
“Hunter, stay with Becca and those who can’t fight,” Dante ordered. “At least not yet,” he added as Nadie glared at him.
“We’re going to stop this,” Jamie said, her voice stronger than before. “He can’t take everything from us.”
“Then let’s do it,” Balin said as he ran a hand down her side.
She gave one last look to her human friends and followed Ambrose to the door, where beyond the storm raged like a dying king, ready to take all down in its path.
She was djinn, and she wouldn’t let others fall for her leader’s lack of grace.
She was stronger than Kobal thought. Jamie glanced at her mates.
They all were.
****
Hunter looked down at the woman in his arms and fought back another howl. The other women in the room had tried to take Becca from him, but he’d merely growled and they’d stepped back. He’d ordered them to the back as he carried Becca behind them, his touch as gentle as it could be.
Though the blood on his hands would never wash away.
Twice he’d almost lost her before he had her.
He knew the woman in his arms was his mate, and he’d do all in his power to keep her alive and by his side.
Not yet.
First, he had to make it safe for her to be with him, and considering his Pack had fallen while he’d been gone, he knew it wasn’t the time.
But soon.
Soon he’d have his redheaded mate by his side, under him, and everywhere in between.
Soon.
Chapter 17
Balin gripped Jamie’s hand and never wanted to let go. That had been too close. He never wanted to see the fear and pain in his mate’s eyes again. From the look of the storm around him, he had a feeling things were far from over.
He turned toward Ambrose and ran a hand along his angel’s side. “Are you okay? I know we were focused on Becca back there, but are you still bleeding?”
Ambrose shook his head. “I’m fine. The bleeding has already stopped. Worry about protecting yourself and Jamie. Don’t waste it on me.”
Balin stopped where he was, forcing the others to do the same. “No, I get to worry about you and Jamie the same way. Do you understand me?”
“This isn’t the best time for this,” Dante said as the rain pelted them.
“Yes, as happy as I am my friend has found two loves, we can deal with the angst later,” Shade said, and Balin wanted to deck him.
Yes, it wasn’t the best time, but he needed to get his point across in case they didn’t make it.
Something was off. Not just Kobal and the storm, but he could feel the presence of something else…something even more evil.
He had a feeling Pyro wasn’t done with them.
The time had come, and Balin wasn’t about to let the people he loved and cared for stand in the line of fire for him.
“We can talk about this when we finish this,” Ambrose said as he leaned into Balin’s touch. “We will win. And I love you, just so you know.”
“Like there would ever be another outcome,” Balin said, relieved that Ambrose seemed to understand that Balin loved him and Jamie with equal intensity.
“Yes, I’m glad that my two alpha men understand they love each other, but it’s raining, and I want to get back to Becca. Meaning we need to go find Kobal now, okay?” Jamie said as she shivered in the rain.
Balin laughed despite the tension in the air. “True enough. Now, what’s our plan?” He palmed the daggers at his hips, keeping them hidden just in case an unsuspecting human were to see them. With the way the storm raged around them, he was pretty sure tha
t wouldn’t be a problem.
It seemed the humans knew enough to fear what was outside their doors.
It might have been the djinn magic leading them to feel that way, and Balin was grateful. That meant they could use their own powers without having to worry about peering eyes.
They made their way to the place where Jamie was sure Kobal was and froze.
Hades.
Holy Hades.
Djinn and demons littered the abandoned streets of the warehouse district. Each were in their supernatural form, as if they didn’t care about getting caught. Balin couldn’t sense any humans around, but there had to be at least thirty djinn and twice as many demons.
To their left, a fire erupted from a warehouse. To the right, djinn in their supernatural forms crossed their arms over their chests, their magic pouring from their pores as they fueled the storm. In the center of the street, the demons stood with broadswords and glares.
“What the fuck is this?” Dante asked, smoke billowing out of his nose.
Damn, Balin didn’t want to be there when Dante changed into his dragon form. That would mean death for too many to count if he became that enraged.
“If we don’t stop them from raiding the streets of this city, they’ve declared war,” Ambrose rumbled as he clenched his sword.
Jamie grabbed Balin’s hand, the fear wafting off her in short bursts. “There’s so many.”
“We’ll take them down,” Shade growled. “We won’t be able to take them all at once.”
Dante grinned. “I’ll take the peasants since I can take them more than one at a time.”
Shade nodded. “I will help.”
Ambrose looked off to the side. “Balin, do you feel that?”
He nodded, letting that familiar feeling of distrust and disappointment wash over him without leaving a mark like it had done so many times before.
Pyro.
“He’s in the warehouse to the right. You know I cannot kill him,” Balin spat, anger at Lucifer’s curse rolling through him.
“It is long past time that I make Pyro pay for his mistakes,” Ambrose said as he leaned down to kiss Balin then Jamie on their temples. “I will take that warehouse while Dante and Shade take the underlings. Jamie, I want you to stay up here and use your djinn powers against the storm. Stay out of the way of the fighting.”
“I can help.”
Ambrose nodded. “And you will, but not with the fighting. You’re stronger with the magic within because you and only you can fix this. You’re not trained in fighting, not yet.”
“Something we will fix soon,” Balin growled as he squeezed Jamie’s hand. “I’ll take the warehouse that’s on fire. I have a feeling we’ll find our djinn leader there.”
Jamie nodded, worry on her features. “He’s there. I can feel him. Be careful.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Ambrose hard before turning to Balin. “Please.” She pressed her lips to his, and he sank into the flavor of her kiss.
He wouldn’t lose today—couldn’t lose. He’d just found his mates, and he needed to stop the ones who wanted to kill them. It was past time.
Balin pulled back and nodded to the others. While Shade and Dante roared toward the masses, Balin ran off to the side toward the warehouse fire. He tried to put the fear for his mates and new friends out of his mind. They could take care of themselves.
He slid through the shadows, aware of the other demons and djinn around, but they weren’t his priority. No, it was the leader of the attack—at least one of them.
Kobal had threatened Jamie, and for that alone, Balin wanted to kill the bastard, but now he’d taken it to a new level—endangering thousands of innocents all for his twisted game.
The roar of a dragon echoed in his bones, and he risked a look over his shoulder. Dante, still in human form, was on the attack. He sliced his way through the demons as though they were nothing but lower-level demons, not the high range Balin felt. Shade followed in the air, using his sword on the ones Dante hadn’t reached.
Good, those two would be okay. He just had to pray Ambrose and Jamie would be the same.
The flames from the fire licked at his skin, the heat reminding him of home. To a human, it would be too much, but for him, it was a welcome sight. He’d gain energy from the flame, much like a dragon.
He knew that wasn’t the case for the djinn.
“I see your abomination found me,” Kobal said from his place right outside the warehouse, his hands stretched out, palms up.
The djinn had to be using a lot of energy to keep the storm up, even with his other djinn, who at the moment were most likely dying at Dante’s and Shade’s hands.
“I’d quit talking about her like that if I were you,” Balin warned as he palmed his daggers, ready to strike at any moment. “If you piss me off any more, I’ll make you hurt before I kill you.”
Kobal threw his head back and laughed. “You’re just like your father said. Nothing.”
Balin didn’t let the taunt hurt him. He didn’t care what his father said about him, not anymore.
“You do realize you’re just the distraction in this game, don’t you?” Balin asked as he moved closer, watching the sweat slowly drip down the djinn’s temples. “Pyro’s the main act while you’re just here to distract us.”
“You’re lying, and I’m going to kill you for that. Pyro came to me because he couldn’t get the job done. Who’s the better man now?”
Neither of them in Balin’s opinion, but he wasn’t about to make an issue out of it.
“Pyro will be dealt with momentarily.” He said a quick prayer for Ambrose. “You’re here because you’re behind the times. The gods deemed these girls worthy, and all you’ve done is anger them.”
“And you speak for the gods now, boy?” Kobal shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
Balin saw the djinn’s arms straining as the power leached from him, the storm sucking him dry.
Maybe he wouldn’t have to use his dagger after all.
He’d rather kill the bastard now, just to be sure.
Balin struck like a flash, embedding one dagger in Kobal’s neck, the other sliding with ease under his ribcage, piercing his heart.
Kobal’s eyes widened as he staggered. Blood gushed from both wounds, coating them both. Kobal lowered his hands, but the magic still poured from him, draining him of his life’s energy.
“No…” the dying man gurgled.
“Sort of anti-climactic, isn’t it?” Balin said as he pushed the man to the ground, watching him die. “You didn’t have to take Pyro’s taunts. You didn’t have to die.”
Kobal tried to murmur something but couldn’t speak with the dagger in his neck.
Just as his eyes turned to glass, the djinn looked at the sky and smiled, taking his last labored breath.
Balin knelt to remove his daggers then followed the dead man’s gaze.
Fuck.
The storm, without the djinn’s power to control it, was only getting worse. Dark black and gray clouds boiled. The wind howled through the streets, sweeping anything not nailed down in its path.
The storm wouldn’t end on its own.
Another djinn would have to stop it…if they could.
He looked up the hill to where Jamie was hidden behind the trees and cursed.
She’d have to save them all.
Another demon roared, coming at him like a battering ram, and Balin focused on the battle at hand. He’d make it to Jamie’s side one way or another, but first, he needed to make sure nothing could hurt her.
Then it would be up to her new powers to save them all.
****
Ambrose looked up at the sky and cursed. He couldn’t feel the magic from the other side of the street anymore, meaning Balin most likely had killed Kobal. From the look of things, it was far from over.
He couldn’t deal with that right now. No, there was a demon waiting for him.
It had been a long time coming, and now he was going to do what he
should have done ages ago on that battlefield.
He crept through the darkened alley, following the stench of the demon he should have killed. Ambrose cursed himself for not doing it before, for showing that mercy that had cost so many lives.
Without Pyro, would he have found Balin?
A slight pang echoed through him, but he pushed it down. There was no going back, no tempting fate. His happiness wasn’t worth the dead that lay at his feet.
He knew that, even if he was grateful beyond measure for both Jamie and Balin.
Ambrose gripped the hilt of his sword and walked into the empty building—well, almost empty.
Pyro slouched in a chair a grin on his face. When Ambrose cleared his throat, Pyro faced him and chuckled.
“I knew it would be you. My bastard of a son can’t try to kill me because of Lucifer’s curse, but that’s not the same with you, is it?”
“You shouldn’t have come to the human realm. You’ve started a war.”
Pyro shook his head and planted his feet firmly on the ground. “No, I don’t believe I have. That fucking Kobal is a weakling, all that incestuous blood running through his veins. I’m sure my son has taken care of him if you’re here.”
“You’ve still brought human attention to yourself, Pyro. That cannot be tolerated. Our secrets cannot be revealed. None of us want a war with the humans, not even you.”
He’d already stopped one calamity with Shade and Lily the previous year. He’d be dammed if Pyro threatened all supernatural kind just for revenge against the three of them.
“I couldn’t care less about the humans. They’re food for me anyway. All I want is for you and your precious loved ones to die. If I happen to start a war, and they blame it on you, all the better.”
Pyro stood and stalked toward him, but Ambrose stood where he was, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
“You’re not going to leave here alive,” he said as he gripped his sword tighter.
“You’re very sure of yourself. You couldn’t kill me last time, and you won’t this time. I was going to wait to kill you so you could watch me rape your bitch, but I don’t care anymore. You’re going to die, and then I’ll get any one of my other demons to kill Balin.”
Her Warriors' Three Wishes (Dante's Circle) Page 21
