“Shit.” Though she didn’t feel the same way about Soroyan that she did her mates, she had grown to care about the surly wolf, even if he once tried to intimidate her. Tierney scooted close and slid her arms around him and just like with Taraven, he immediately stiffened. Unlike the child, he also began to move away.
“Shh, stop, I won’t hurt you,” she whispered. It was a very long moment and she could feel him struggling with his long self-imposed need to keep himself apart from all others. Still, he took a deep, reluctant breath and tried to relax. He didn’t completely relax—she figured he didn’t know how to let go even if he wanted, it was too ingrained in him, but at least he did let her hold him.
However, all warmth from Taraven’s magic had disappeared. “You’re freezing,” she murmured as very faint trembles continued to wrack him. The pounding of his heart, beating alongside the fury of the wolf, throbbed through her and she held him close.
Then the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs made her tense up in anticipation.
Serena’s Daywalker guard was growing steadily closer. “You can’t hide. You should just come out,” the man finally said from a little distance away, making Tierney’s heart race. How would they tell if Taraven’s spell worked—if the guard could see them? They wouldn’t, not until the man got close enough and spotted them. She groaned inwardly, detesting the idea of just sitting there and not doing anything.
Finally, the Daywalker appeared and Tierney held her breath. She could feel Soroyan’s rage, his need to fight. “Don’t do it,” she warned and he tensed up.
“I know you are tough and all, but you aren’t in any shape to fight,” she said, not sure if he’d listen to her or not.
He resisted a moment longer then finally give in. Then, with great effort, he held still, aware that if he began to convulse again, he’d give them away.
Drawing on even more of her own power, Tierney wrapped it around them and used it to soothe the wolf, all while watching as a bulky Daywalker stopped a mere six feet from them.
The man was tall with short dark hair and looked like a bodybuilder. His pale face matched his white dress shirt under his black suit, and as he turned toward them, she could see eyes dark as night. A red infinity rune that appeared like a tattoo, covered a small spot on his neck and Tierney remembered Sami telling her about the symbol. What it meant to the Walkers, she had no idea.
Soroyan held himself tense and ready as the Daywalker turned in a tight circle, his eyes searching.
Tierney held Soroyan tighter as she caught the dull black of a weapon in the Daywalker’s hand and recognized it as a semi-automatic Ruger. Shit! Feeling like a sitting duck, Tierney knew that while both she and Soroyan were immortal and fast healers, they could still be hurt, incapacitated, then killed. The man stopped moving and flat, lifeless eyes landed right on them.
Tierney prepared to spring to her feet and fight, and felt Soroyan doing the same, when the Daywalker frowned. His black eyes roved away as he continued to search all around the forest. Finally, not spotting them, he turned back the way he’d come. “The boss is gonna be pissed,” he muttered as he hurried away.
Still, Tierney didn’t let her breath out until he was no longer in sight. “Sorry,” she said and eased the death grip she had on Soroyan. “We need to get out of here.”
“I told you to leave me,” Soroyan said and Tierney could feel how pissed, disgusted, and confused both man and beast were.
“We’ll figure it out,” she said and squeezed his shoulder, trying to reassure him, though she knew her words were of little comfort.
Soroyan didn’t say anything and Tierney lowered her mental shields. Both her mates and Kyrian were beating at her mind, trying to find out what was going on. “Jax, Thaniel, Kyrian. I’m fine. I’ve got Soroyan,” she told them, feeling the relief of her two mates through their bond. Gods, she loved them so much!
Then, Jax’s relief quickly turned to anger laced with fear. “What the hell is going on? Why’d that weird kid take you like that?”
“Val Jean had a collar put on Soroyan that prohibits all magic, then left him for Serena and her guards to bring back to his stronghold. Soroyan killed one guard and managed to crawl away. He’s hurt and locked in human form.”
She heard Kyrian swear and if the situation wasn’t so dire, she’d have smiled. It was the first time she’d heard him use any colorful language.
“But he’s all right?” Kyrian asked.
Tierney sighed. “No. He’s wounded, bleeding. And his wolf is extremely unhappy, fighting to be free.” She didn’t tell Soroyan’s brother that the man in her arms was barely hanging on. There was nothing he could do from where he was and Tierney didn’t want to worry him. She concentrated on speaking with Jax as she also knew it wouldn’t be long before Val Jean sent more men to search for the missing wolf.
She needed someone who could get to them right away, and the only one she knew was Jax’s sister. “Listen, I need you to send Genna to me right away, and––” She started to ask Jax and Sami to come fly them home when she stopped. She didn’t want to chance Soroyan going into convulsions while in the air. Besides, knowing how much he detested driving, she couldn’t imagine his wolf would enjoy flying at all. “I’m going to need you to bring the car and have Sami fly here. I have a feeling Val Jean’s men will be back and while I’m sure Genna and I can hold them off, we may need more help.” At least the tiny, deranged devil-girl’s serious ass-frying skills would come in handy.
She heard Jax’s pause and could feel his desire to fly straight to her. He shoved it back. “Yeah, all right,” he finally agreed. “I’ll see if Brimstone’s older sibs will help.”
“That would be great, but not Hellfire.” She didn’t want Sami’s mate getting hurt and she knew Brimstone couldn’t disguise himself while flying during the day.
“Yeah, don’t think she’ll even try, she’s puking up a gut in the bathroom right now.” Jax said.
Tierney grimaced. “Yeah, thanks for that visual. Oh, have Genna bring some of Sami’s clothes, please,” she added, figuring Soroyan would wear the same size, or close.
“What—” Jax began when she cut him off.
“No more questions. I’ll tell you everything later. Soroyan’s in pain and his wolf is barely contained. Just hurry, k?”
“Yeah, fine.” Then he was gone and she spoke to Thaniel for a moment, reassuring him she was all right. “I’ll see you soon, okay, love?”
“All right, be careful,” Thaniel warned and she sent her love to him through their bond.
“Help is on its way,” she said to Soroyan a moment later, and by the faint grumble in his chest, she knew how needing help chafed his ass.
Chapter Sixteen
Genna Fun
Tierney and Soroyan both startled when Genna appeared from thin air mere feet from them. The petite black-haired Dracones turned in a circle, a scowl on her face.
“Genna,” Tierney called softly and devil-girl narrowed her eyes at them. A moment later, she grinned as she saw through the spell.
“Coolio tricky, see, you got some wicked-magic too!”
Tierney snorted. “Taraven cloaked us.” Although, now that she thought of it, she’d never tried to do something like this and she knew that both Sami and Jax could make themselves invisible since Genna told them how to do it. Still, she wasn’t sure if she needed to go through her awakening, or not. Either way, it was worth trying out at another time, when their lives weren’t at stake.
“Yup, he be a strange birdy, that one,” Genna said and Tierney blinked. Before she could say anything, Genna smirked. “I see why you need my brother’s brother’s clothes.” Her brilliant-blue eyes widened when she spotted Tierney’s black sweater that was very inadequate at covering Soroyan.
“Genna!” Tierney warned as a furious rumble vibrated deep in Soroyan’s chest. Genna’s grin grew wider as she handed Tierney the clothes she’d requested.
“Thank you,” Tierney said.
Genna turned in a circle and wiggled her fingers in the air. “So, where are the enemies I get to fry?” she asked.
“Hopefully not coming,” Tierney said as she helped get Sami’s clothes on Soroyan. She winced at his wounds, but the big bad wolf didn’t seem to notice, even though she knew some of them had to be quite painful. The bruising around his ribs indicated some were broken as well.
Once they were done, sweat dripped down his forehead. Soroyan wouldn’t look at her and tried to move away, but Tierney was having none of it.
“Look, stop, okay? Just because you need help, doesn’t mean any of us will think any less of you,” she told him and waited while he settled back against the log. Although the fact that he relented without a fight concerned her, he had to be hurting pretty badly to acquiesce.
Twenty minutes later they heard the sounds of people coming through the forest and Tierney knew they were out of time. With her hand on Soroyan’s arm to keep him from shifting, she looked at Genna. “Looks like you’ll get your chance after all.”
She noted the maniacal light in devil-girl’s eyes as she drew on her power. Fire danced along Genna’s fingertips as she flexed them open and closed. “Oh, goodies! But I never remember to brings marshmallows,” she said with a sigh.
Tierney didn’t respond. She couldn’t tell if Genna was joking or not; she was that weird.
Mere moments later, four armed men rushed forward and ducked for cover. With a gleeful chortle, Genna got to work. Soroyan tensed up and tried to move, but Tierney pushed him back. “Stop,” she hissed, and once again he let a little growl slip out under his breath. Then together, they watched as lightning and fire shot from Genna’s hands like god bolts. Tierney grimaced as terrified screams filled her ears.
Before he turned to a pile of clothing-filled ash, one man managed to get off a shot. Luckily it went wild. Then Tierney spied even more Daywalkers approaching. They quickly ducked behind trees as they shot back at devil-girl. Shit!
“Genna, get behind a tree!” she said. Genna ignored her.
“Sami, where are you?” she asked. She should have told him to bring her a gun.
“We are almost there. Are those gunshots I hear?” he asked.
“Yes, Genna took care of four of them, but I think there is another ten or so. They’ve taken cover behind the trees,” she told her best friend.
Tierney could feel Soroyan’s impulse to rise and fight, and tightened her grip on him. “Be still. You can’t do anything in the shape you’re in,” she whispered.
“I can still fight,” he bit out, making her roll her eyes.
“Yeah, and your seizures won’t slow you down at all,” she added sarcastically.
“Tierney—” he growled and she growled right back at him.
“Stop it, before I knock you out, then you won’t get to even watch,” she snapped. Men and their testosterone.
“She’s going to get killed,” he bit out and tried to rise.
Exasperated, Tierney pulled him back down and as he slumped back with a little whoosh, she noticed how weak he’d grown, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
To Tierney’s horror, Genna began to chuckle gleefully and black wings sprouted from her back. Then she was darting here and there through the air as she continued to shoot her god bolts at the Daywalkers, burning them. For some reason when the fiery bolts hit anything else, they just fizzled out. More shots were fired their way, quickly followed by screams as Genna continued her attack.
“I think she will be fine,” she said and then moved around so that she could continue to keep a hand on Soroyan, as well as protect him if needed.
“Tierney,” Soroyan tried to pull her back, but she shoved his arm off.
“You are used to being the protector, so just think of this as a little vacation,” she said and turned away.
Then she sighed with relief when a dark shadow swept overhead. She was getting tired of fighting Soroyan. She smiled at the sight of the large green-scaled dragon above her. Sami began to descend and she winced. “No, Sami, the trees are too close together—”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve learned a few tricks,” he told her.
Tierney’s heart was in her throat as Sami folded his wings and dove straight toward the ground. At the last second, he drew on his power and with a whirlwind of magic, he landed right behind one of the Daywalkers. Before she could blink, the man lay headless on the ground.
Then everything happened in a blur as ten black-garbed Phoenix shifters appeared. The fight was over before it had barely started as the Daywalkers turned to piles of ash.
“Sami! Sami!” Genna screeched, a deep scowl on her face as she marched up to Sami’s dragon. Then, as soon as he shifted back to human form, she punched him in the chest.
“What the hell was that for?” Sami asked, rubbing the spot as he glared at devil-girl.
“Cause, you took all my fun away. I’m s’posed to be the one to kill ’em all!” Genna said, glaring at him.
Sami raised an eyebrow. “So sorry, next time I’ll leave you to it.”
Tierney snorted at Sami’s sarcasm.
“Oh-kay, my brother’s brother, I forgive you,” Genna said, suddenly happy again, and totally not getting it.
Tierney caught Sami’s eye and grinned. “Thank you for coming so quickly,” she said.
“Of course,” Sami said and moved closer only to stop when Soroyan pushed away from the log. His eyes began to glow bright red even with Tierney’s hand on him, and a low snarl warned Sami to stay away.
“Soroyan,” Tierney called softly as she ran her hand up his arm. Both of his hands morphed into claws then back. She could feel how hard he was struggling not to attack, not to shift, and to keep his wolf at bay.
“Whoa, sorry man, didn’t mean to upset you,” Sami said and backed off another step.
After she had calmed Soroyan once again, Tierney looked at Sami before indicating Brimstone, his siblings and the others who had kept their distance. “You brought company,” she said, talking about the ten other Phoenixes. She knew they were the ninja squad, a group of deadly killers. Why they’d come to help was beyond her.
“I called them,” Brimstone said, walking up beside Sami who stood a good ten feet away.
“Well, thank you,” Tierney said as Nera, a tall, thin, goth-looking woman came up behind him.
Nera nodded, her amber eyes shining. “Tierney.”
“Nera.” Tierney said. Today, Nera’s black hair was streaked with light blue and stuck up in tall spikes, whereas the last time Tierney had seen her, it had been combed flat with silver streaks.
Nera’s black painted lips curved upward, though it wasn’t a nice smile. “It’s been a little slow lately since our leader was killed. We had nothing better to do.” She glanced at Brimstone. “Brimstone told us what was going on and we decided we could use some excitement.”
“Well, I appreciate it,” Tierney said, wondering if the favor would end up costing them. Still, she was grateful.
“The big guy doesn’t look so good,” she said, gesturing at Soroyan and Tierney felt him tense up at her words.
“We need to get him over to the road where Jax is going to meet us, but I think between Sami and I we can manage,” she said.
“Fine, we’ll go scout around,” Nera said, then she and Brimstone walked over to converse with the other Phoenixes. A moment later, the ninja squad took to the air along with Brim’s siblings, leaving him behind.
Tierney met Sami’s eyes. Getting Soroyan to the road wouldn’t be easy.
Tierney steadied Soroyan when he attempted to stand and with a snarl of anger that she knew was directed at himself, he pushed her away. “Just leave me!”
“Stop being an ass,” she snapped, drawing a glare from him.
“You want to stay until Val Jean sends more men?” she asked. The red eyes that glittered at her broke her heart, and she leaned close and spoke in a whisper. “Look, I understand. Right now, you would rather
die than be this vulnerable. I get it, but you have a lot of people who care about you.”
At his snort, she sighed. “Don’t do this, please. If you stay here, you won’t die. You’ll just end up as a slave to Val Jean.”
“Fine, then I can free Toren,” he said.
Tierney shook her head. “No, with this collar on, you’ll be helpless to free your nephew, and instead, you will be subjected to who knows what. Maybe have to watch things you’d wish you could un-see. I don’t think your wolf could handle that.” She held his gaze, surprised when he didn’t argue.
“We need to get moving,” she said and he finally acquiesced. Sami slid a supporting arm around Soroyan on the other side and together they eased the surly wolf to his feet.
Tierney eyed the Phoenix up ahead of them. “Hey, how did Brimstone get here? I thought he didn’t fly in the day because he couldn’t disguise himself from human eyes,” Tierney asked Sami as they slowly made their way back down the trail.
“He doesn’t. I carried him until we were just above you, then let him go,” Sami said.
“Makes sense.” Tierney turned to Soroyan. “You doing all right?”
He didn’t answer, and didn’t need to. Tierney understood. Occasionally his eyes would flicker from the red of his wolf, to the turquoise of his human side.
By the time they finally made it out to the road, Jax and Thaniel were just pulling up in the car.
“Thaniel,” Tierney said, surprised to see her other mate.
“We were both worried,” Jax said when he got out and came around to the passenger side of the car and opened the back door. “Shit, he looks bad,” Jax said, studying Soroyan, who gave him a low snarl as Sami helped him into the back seat.
“Yeah, he’s pissed,” she said, wrapping her arms around Jax, she pressed close, then sighed as his lips landed on hers.
“You scared me when you disappeared,” he said a moment later.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea what Taraven was going to do.” Tierney cupped her mate’s face and gazed into his eyes, letting her love flow through their bond. In return, his love wrapped her in warmth, security, and a sense of home.
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