Bonds of the Forsaken: A Reverse Harem Romantasy (Her Forsaken Mates Book 1)

53. Jaiel

THWACK!

Kaiya slammed her staff into another wolf”s head, knocking it out mid-leap.

Saints. She was magnificent.

Wolf-Tye, white fur now flecked red with fresh blood, was battling a silver wolf who”d lunged at Kaiya moments earlier.

It amazed me that even with all that potion he”d drank and the relic”s thrall, their bond broke through when she was in danger.

”I”ll keep the silver one away while you get Tye!” Kaiya yelled over her shoulder as she pointed at the larger wolf.

I readied my staff, and we pushed our way closer.

If I was going to pull this off with Tye, I”d somehow need to do it without being eaten at the same time.

”You ready?” she asked.

I nodded, praying to all the saints she was right about this plan.

”Here goes nothing!” I yelled and ran straight toward him.

Tye released his prey, then turned and lunged at me.

I narrowly dodged the attack, breathing in his essence as I passed. Spinning on my heel, I mixed our essences inside me like I”d done at so many parties and orgies in the past.

Without skipping a beat, Tye spun with a feral grace, lunging for my neck, but barely missing. He landed just out of my range, lips curled as he glared at me suspiciously.

Damn, Wolf-Boy”s got good instincts!

I needed to goad him closer.

Planting my feet, I swallowed my apprehension and forced a grin. ”You know, Tye, if you behave, maybe I”ll let you join Kaiya and I the next time we fuck …”

The white wolf”s golden eyes went wide, and he let out an enraged howl as he lunged toward me.

Saints. That was a terrible idea!

We hit the ground together, and for the second time that day, I held back the massive wolf”s head, muscles straining, as Tye snapped at me.

Breath raspy, I exhaled our mixed charisma into his snarling face and prayed to all the saints that it would work fast.

His teeth snapped a hair”s breadth from my face, and my arms shook. ”Hurry up and change, you stubborn fool! Or are you finally admitting that she”s mine?”

My fingers tingled as his fur began to pulse.

But that damn relic cawed again, and those yellow eyes met mine, once more filled with blind, mindless rage.

”Fuck.” I tried again, inhaling his essence, and repeating the process from earlier. ”Help me out here Wolf-Boy!” I wheezed. ”Kaiya needs us — she needs you.”

cAAAaaaaWWwwww

The wolf snarled, but his gaze slid to the right, where Kaiya stood fending off several wolves as blood dropped from gashes in her shoulder and back.

She was amazing, but even she couldn”t do this alone, and he had to know it.

Growling softly, Tye”s body began to shake, then white smoke erupted from his fur, and he leaped away from me.

The cloud cleared, leaving a naked and very pissed-off-looking Tye crouching in its place.

”She”s m — not yours, asshole,” he growled, rising shakily to his feet. A long gash stretched from one tattooed shoulder up to his chin, but it seemed shallow enough that he”d survive.

I grinned and let out a long sigh as I pushed to my feet, legs wobbling slightly.

It worked! Thank the fucking saints.

Tye stepped to Kaiya”s side, grabbed the pale gray wolf attacking her, and threw it into a mob of wolves nearby.

”Welcome back,” she grunted, slamming her staff into the side of the silver wolf as it lunged for the newly returned Tye.

His gaze took in the surrounding room, and his jaw ticked. ”What the fuck is going on?”

”Mage Korym somehow got his hands on the fucking Karemi Relic, that”s what,” Kaiya spoke through gritted teeth as we braced for another charge. ”And it”s going to be a massacre if we don”t do something quick. Jaiel can rouse people from its thrall with his charisma, but we have to hold them off while he works.”

He turned to me, eyes wide, lip lifted in a half-snarl. ”You”re letting her fight them all alone?”

”Come on, Wolf-Boy,” I chuckled dryly as Kaiya dropped a pale brown wolf in a single swipe. ”As if I could stop her? Besides, I”m out here helping, aren”t I? You, though.” My gaze dropped to his wound. ”You don”t look so good.”

”I”m fine,” he said, yellow eyes flashing. ”I”ll protect her and —”

”No. You won”t.” I cut in. ”We need you to get the wounded and young and bring them back here so I can free them. She”ll take care of herself.”

Tye glared at me, eyes shifting from yellow to gold then back as he battled his wolf. Finally, he nodded.

”There,” he said, determined gaze focused on something to our left. ”I”ll start with them.”

I strained to see what he saw and hissed at the sight of a group of smaller wolves hiding under a set of tables, howling and snapping at each other, then at the adult wolves trying to get at them.

”Yell, if you need help.”

Tye rolled his eyes. ”Remember,” he growled. ”If she dies, you die.” And then he was off, dodging multiple fights as he made his way to one child, then another, tucking them under his arm as he went. They snarled at each other, but he kept going.

CaaaaWWww

”Alpha”s next,” Kaiya said, motioning to the silver wolf Tye had been fighting.

Saints! I hadn”t even realized it was Alpha Blackwood —

He”d moved on to new prey, jaws snapping as he tackled a brown wolf, his larger body sending the smaller one flying. The other wolf hit the wall with a thud, then collapsed to the ground.

The silver wolf turned his attention to us and prowled closer, muscles rippling beneath his coat.

Fuck! This was going to be a bit harder than the larger and relatively slower Tye.

”Be a good boy, Blackwood,” I crooned. ”We”re your honored guests, remember?”

Of course he just snarled more loudly.

”Saints,” I snarled back. ”If anyone had told me I”d be charming a pack of wolves that were trying to eat me today, I”d have told them they were fucking insane.”

”Come on, Jaiel!” Kaiya yelled, glaring over her shoulder. ”You need to go faster. More of them are noticing us, and Tye will be back with the pups any second.”

Three wolves lunged at her as she spoke, and I looked between them and the alpha.

Saints forsaken! Even if we could somehow get these people turned back, it would take too much time. The charisma pool inside me was already dwindling, and I”d only helped two people!

The alpha”s silver wolf lunged at me, and I dodged, barely avoiding his bite.

He circled me slowly, and an idea bubbled in my mind. It was risky, but I was running out of options.

Moving carefully, I guided Alpha Blackwood closer and closer to the wolves Kaiya was fighting.

”What the hell?” she hissed.

”Four body mages should be easy for you,” I said, moving beside her. ”Not even a full mage harem.”

The four wolves growled and snapped as they drew into a tighter bunch until they were close enough that I could reach all their essences at once.

Thank the gods Kaiya was good with the staff! Otherwise this would never work.

But even she could barely keep the four of them at bay with her wide swings and lightning-fast strikes.

Breathing in a massive breath, I quickly pulled the four shifter essences into my lungs. Focusing on my emotions and charisma, I combined it all into one, then exhaled hard, trying to send the concoction out toward the snarling wolves.

The invisible cloud hit Alpha Blackwood first, and then the other three wolves. The alpha snarled, wolfish brown eyes narrowing as he darted forward.

The other wolves did the same.

cAAAaaaaWWwwWw

Fuck! We needed a few seconds more. The charisma should work any time now …

Desperate, I held out my hands to summon my shadow monster. It took longer to come without a wraith nearby, but if the charisma didn”t work, it was our only option.

”Kaiya!” I shouted. She needed to get away while she had time.

But Alpha Blackwood knocked Kaiya to the ground, and she was left glaring up at him, arms shaking as she held off his snapping jaw with her staff.

Saints alive.

Gritting my teeth, I forced back the monster, then tackled Alpha Blackwood from the side, both of us tumbling over Kaiya as three forms darted past us, eyes trained on Kaiya.

My chest tightened.

”Come on, Alpha!” I shouted. ”I know you”re in there, you stubborn old man.”

He just snarled.

I slammed my elbow into his side, and for a moment, he faltered — long enough that I was able to kick him away.

He puffed back into cloud of silver smoke right before he hit the ground, letting out a very human grunt as he collapsed into a pile of limbs.

Turning, I stumbled to my feet.

Where the fuck is she? The last I”d seen, those other wolves had been going for her.

Everything hurt, but panic buzzed through my system as I caught sight of Kaiya”s pale hand, outstretched and unmoving beneath a heap of human bodies.

”Kaiya!” I shouted, dropping to my knees as I shoved the unconscious shifters off her.

Her face peeked out between limbs, that curling blonde hair wet with blood, but her hazel eyes were alert.

”That was close,” she wheezed.

My heart stuttered, and I swallowed, trying to ignore the intense relief twisting through me. ”Enjoying a quick break under a heap of naked bodies, Princess?” I said, forcing a smile. ”Isn”t that my thing?”

Her hazel eyes widened, then she shook her head. ”Not the time, Jaiel.”

I helped her to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain in my shoulder and side. ”Right. We still have people to save.”

The now-human mages I”d hit with my charisma began rousing, and her jaw dropped as she caught sight of something behind me.

I spun to see Tye jogging toward us, face and arms covered in scratches as six pups squirmed beneath his arms.

cAAAaaAAaWwwwWw

”Do your thing and fix these!” he demanded with a growl as he held them out to me.

Nodding, I pulled on more of the charisma and sent it into them, relief filling me as the small pups quickly returned to their childish forms.

I was almost empty, though, and I could feel the monster inside stirring. If it thought it had a chance at overpowering me, we were all fucked.

But there were still hundreds of shifters in their wolf forms.

Kaiya looked over at me with a panicked expression, and an answering panic burned inside me.

BOOM —

The stronghold shook, sending dust falling from the ceiling. I sprinted to protect the roused children, covering several while blocks rained down around us.

Kaiya”s hazel eyes rounded, and she turned to help a child to his feet, muttering curses under her breath.

”What was that?” I yelled as the child ran away.

”Japhire and his men must be trying to get back in to finish the job —” Alpha Blackwood said, stepping up to my side as another crack shook the ground.

I took in the terrified expressions of the people around us and the still brawling wolves spread across the room.

”This isn”t going to work,” I ground out, my panic building. ”By the time I get to a tenth of these people, whatever”s behind that door will break through, and those who haven”t been roused will have killed each other. I”m sorry, Princess —”