Cage Me: A Wolf Shifter Romantasy (Immortal Vices and Virtues: Shadow Shifter Bonds Book 1)

Chapter 30

Icould sense Drake’s calm. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and try things his way, but the moment that bitch threatened my family, I lost all sense of control. My wolf trembles just beneath the surface, and I don’t want to hold her back any longer.

We’re both craving the blood of this witch and we’re going to get it.

Right before I shift, Drake reaches for me, but I step away from him, not wanting to accidentally hurt him. My wolf pushes forward in a rapid transformation that sends a jolt through my entire body. Bones break and skin shreds before everything comes back together in the shape of my white beast.

She stands tall on four legs, head down, eyes narrowed, and jaw snapping.

Right before we leap for Kel, Drake catches our attention. Or more accurately, what’s in his hand does.

He has the pouch from Kasha. We have no clue what’s in it, but this might actually be a good thing. The fae did say to use it if we were in a dire situation.

When he opens the velvet top, my wolf’s ear twitch. There’s a ringing coming from the bag that’s high pitched, but not enough to hurt our head.

Allowing myself the brief distraction, I watch as Drake turns the pouch over and out come tiny glowing…flies? I don’t know what they are exactly, but they seem to be waking up and the more they move, the louder the ringing becomes.

Kel screeches. “What the hell is that?”

I grin internally. Thank you, Kasha.

The fluttering beings start to circle and turn into a swarm that gets bigger before they start to form into a cone directed right at Kel.

Before I charge in, taking advantage of her distraction, I catch Drake dropping to his knees and holding his ears.

My wolf goes to him, nudging his shoulder and growling. She wants him to shift.

His head shakes and his eyes are closed, but she doesn’t relent, nipping at him, leaving small tears in his shirt. It isn’t until she starts scratching at his legs that he finally roars.

We back up just in time for his wolf to burst free. A wolf that isn’t as shadowy as he once was. His dark charcoal fur has layers of white woven throughout, almost like highlights.

He’s absolutely stunning.

His continued snarls remind me that the time for admiration isn’t now, and my attention goes back to Kel.

The swarm from Kasha is covering the witch, and I smell blood. I have no idea how they’re hurting her, but it’s our turn now.

My wolf lunges forward, claws out. We slice across Kel’s stomach, but the sharp tips barely leave a scratch in the leather bodysuit she’s wearing.

Her hands thrash, trying and failing to get the…bugs away from her, but still, she lets out a taunting laugh. “I already told you. You can’t hurt me.”

The fuck I can’t. Her clothes might be tough as steel, but that doesn’t mean the rest of her is, proven by the fact that she is bleeding. Though, I can’t see where.

I go for her again, but Drake beats me this time. His wolf is right there, jowls wide and canines out. He aims for her throat, but only manages to bite her arm before a surge of power bursts through the room and sends my mate flying over tables and crashing into the counter.

A snarl builds low within my wolf, and we scrape our paw over the peeling laminate. Go! I tell her, but she’s already charging forward.

With every step we take, the light around us grows brighter and it’s almost as if my wolf is getting bigger. The power I’ve been keeping shoved down my whole life comes to the surface, eager to be unleashed. Our muscles coil, preparing to spring forward. Just a little bit closer.

A black smoke starts to billow around Kel, and I growl. That bitch isn’t getting away. No, we’re finishing this now.

Just as we leap for her, the smoke attacks, dropping us to the ground like a sack of rocks midjump.

The glow around me flickers, but I’m not even close to done. She won’t beat us. She won’t hurt my family or have my mate.

Drake is back up and moving faster than I am. Through our bond, I sense his worry for me, but more than that, I can taste the smokiness of his vengeance. His need for blood now matches mine and I’m here for it.

Forcing my wolf back to her feet, I concentrate on our connection to Drake and the power I hold within myself that I’m pretty sure I’m also sharing with him.

I may not understand exactly what I’m capable of yet, but I know that I’m more than a wolf shifter. I’m a woman who has been fighting for her life since she was born. I’m a mate who just wants to feel and give love. I’m a daughter and sister who can’t lose her family. Not like this.

And right now, I’m not only fighting for them. I’m fighting for myself because I deserve more than the brief glimmers of happiness I’ve had as of late. I deserve to thrive in the new life I can see for myself. One where I no longer have to hide who I am and can quit pushing everyone away.

I deserve that and so much more and I’m going to have it. This witch won’t take that from me.

Kel might be more prepared and powerful in her own ways, but my motivations are stronger because they’re pure.

I am pure, and that’s how we’re going to win.

Pure determination, pure power, pure strength.

Focusing on our bond, I send as much of my energy to Drake as I can push through the tether between us. The more I do, the brighter his coat becomes and the louder his rumbles are.

He stalks toward Kel, wrath in his glowing eyes, but as he attacks, she’s ready for him.

The tiny beings from Kasha are still attacking the witch, but she’s created a shield around herself, stopping the worst of their… I have no fucking clue what they’re doing, but they’ve at least bought us time and hopefully weakened her.

Drake’s wolf bites Kel’s exposed hand, going right through the opaque shield around her. She wails and digs the sharp nails of her other hand into his neck. “That’s not you being a good boy, now is it?”

With a tight hold on his scruff, she somehow easily casts his couple hundred-pound wolf to the side as if he’s nothing, but I’m already charging forward.

My wolf takes advantage of her distraction and we hit her in the side, forcing her to the ground. We don’t ease up. Our claws scratch furiously at her body, hitting her exposed hand and chest, drawing more blood.

Just as I suspected, her bare skin isn’t protected, which means we need to go for her neck.

She tries to reach for me like she did Drake, but my wolf is prepared for that and bites her non-injured hand clean off.

Take that, bitch.

My wolf licks her lips and her eyes focus on Kel’s neck. Before the witch can get back up, we place a paw on her chest and expose our razor-sharp teeth. We go to chomp down, but her remaining hand pushes against our side and sends a bolt of electricity through my wolf. Muscles seize and it’s as if a few thousand needles are assaulting us, jabbing into every inch of our skin. Our vision falters and our head pounds, but there is no option of giving into the agony.

We have to win.

Being unable to keep our position over Kel, she gets up, holding her bleeding arm over her chest. “I’m going to make a welcome mat out of your pelt.” Her booted foot slams into our ribs, breaking at least one of them.

Damn it all to hell.

But Drake is right there, having recovered from his last blow. His eyes are glowing that deep orange I remember from before, and he doesn’t hesitate in attacking the witch.

His claws swipe across her face, ripping open her cheek and she lets out a wail. “Nooooo!”

Fucking yes is more like it.

My wolf’s body still trembles, and getting up feels impossible, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be helpful. Once again, I push energy through the bond to Drake. He hits her again, only her mangled hand gets in the way.

I’m pretty sure I see a finger fly through the air as Kel conjures magic within her bleeding palm. A black orb grows, and she smacks it against Drake’s wolf head. “I should have taken your mind years ago.”

My heart stops. What the fuck does she mean by that?

The quakes rocking my wolf start to cease and we stand, but my connection to Drake flickers. The magic from the orb starts to cover his fur, but the little… Holy shit. Are those fairies?

Whatever they are, they change their focus to my mate and it’s almost like they start consuming the dark energy trying to take Drake from me.

With a shake of his head, he snarls at Kel. Oh, how I wish I could hear what he’s thinking right now.

She takes a step back, eyes wide. “That’s not possible.”

Drake goes for her remaining hand, his teeth cutting through her wrist with ease before he spits out the body part. My wolf is already moving in to help finish the job, but just as we prepare to leap into the action, Drake’s wolf pins Kel to the ground.

Silence fills the small space, and it’s like the rest of the world has gone quiet.

One moment, Kel’s head is attached to her body, and in the next, with a swing of Drake’s right paw, I watch with glee as it tumbles toward my feet.

Her eyes are still open, and I’m sure she’s dead, but my wolf isn’t pleased. She leans forward and rips into the bitch’s face with her teeth, making the witch unrecognizable within seconds.

By the time we look up again, Drake has shifted to his human form, and he’s standing over Kel’s body. I start to shift back as well, wanting to go look for matches or something to set fire to the corpse, but when I’m back on two feet, she’s already…disintegrating?

“What the hell?” I mutter, making my way toward Drake.

“I think they’re eating her.” He points and I notice the fairies, or very tiny beings with bodies and faces I can’t actually make out, are burrowing beneath her leather bodysuit, cleaning up the mess.

Kasha mentioned me hopefully returning them, but there’s no way I’m fucking with those things.

More importantly, we don’t have time for that.

Kel sent those wolves after us before, and I have no doubt that she was being serious when she said my family was being attacked.

“We need to go,” I tell Drake, already digging out the witch’s pouch for another portal spell.

His eyes stay locked on the body. “It’s over. She’s finally dead after all these years.”

I open the portal and place one hand on his back. “We can celebrate soon. I promise.”

He nods stiffly, then tilts his head. “I think they’re all sleeping.”

My jaw tenses. Waiting a second longer to jump through that portal makes my chest ache, but I do anyway.

Sure enough, the fairies as I’ve deemed them are lying around the bodysuit, still as dead flies.

Drake pulls the velvet bag from his pocket and bends down. “We shouldn’t leave them out here.”

He’s probably right. Okay, I know he’s right, but I really want to fucking leave. Yet, the thought of going without my mate isn’t something I can fathom this soon after thinking there was a chance that we were both going to die today.

He sweeps them into the pouch carefully, but I can sense his urgency, which makes the painfully passing seconds slightly more manageable.

As soon as he stands, I grab his hand and jump for the portal without warning him. The moment we reappear in Kasha’s yard, my knees go weak.

Her house is gone. Not as if it’s disappeared. No, it’s been decimated. All that’s left is a concrete foundation and a few pipes sticking up. Everything else is…gone.

My hands tremble, and my throat feels as if it’s closing up, but not quickly enough to hold in my scream. A deep guttural sound that rattles my body and brings me to my knees.

I cover my face and shake my head. “No, no, no, no.”

Drake’s arms wrap around me, but even his warmth can’t penetrate the soul-deep cold I feel. My heart is freezing over with every final beat.

It no longer matters that Kel is dead. We lost. So much more than I was willing to sacrifice.

Sobs rip from my chest, and Drake holds me tighter, but no amount of support can keep the pieces of me from falling apart. There is nothing left inside me that?—

“Pence!”

I choke on another scream and lift my head, but I’m still frozen on my knees.

“Pence, you should have seen it,” Peter begins to ramble, having no clue my heart is still shattered even though I can see with my own eyes that he’s okay. “Kasha blew up her own house!”

My emotions can’t catch up. As he comes to a screeching halt, confusion gracing his face, I cry harder.

Twice in one week, I’ve thought I lost my family. That’s twice too much.

His little hands cup my face as I try to rein in my emotions. “Did something happen?”

I shake my head. “As long as you and Mom are okay, then no. I just…”

“Had a moment?” he fills in. “That’s what Momma called them when I couldn’t control my wolf.”

A strangled laugh leaves me. “Yeah, Bub. I had a moment.”

Mom and Kasha approach. One shared look with Mom and I see the terror in her eyes. I wasn’t the only one frightened. Yet, they’d kept the worst of whatever happened here from Peter and for that, I’m grateful.

“Is it done?” Kasha asks hesitantly.

Drake nods as I hold Peter, still needing to feel the warmth of his body to calm myself.

“And did my offering help?” she asks, a smirk on her face.

He tosses the small bag to her. “We almost left them behind, but I figured it was safer if, whatever the hell those things are, aren’t left unattended.”

She holds the pouch up to her ear. “They’re nice and full. Good job, my babies.”

“More like flesh-eating termites,” I mutter, finally standing.

Kasha chuckles. “You’re nearly right.”

I hug Mom next. “What happened here?”

“Kasha had some unexpected visitors,” she says, eyes flicking toward Peter. “They weren’t being very nice, and she had to show them what happens when they don’t listen.”

“You should have seen it, Pence,” Peter exclaims. “There was a tornado, and once me and mom snuck out the back, Kasha fed the rude men to it, but then her house accidentally went with it. That sucked.”

Kasha grips his shoulder and smiles. “It’s more important that we’re all safe. I can always build another house.”

He stands taller. “I’ll help you.”

My eyes close briefly, and I take a deep inhale. For just a moment, I breathe in the people closest to me. They’re okay. We’re okay.

Drake’s fingers entwine with mine and I look up at him, finally smiling. “We’re home.”

“Home is wherever you are, Mate.”