Chapter 23
THE JUICY CLIMAX
Killian gripped Crush’s fur, his heart in his throat. “Your alpha friends are headed there too, right?”
“They’re dragons; they avoid flying in broad daylight. It doesn’t make sense for them to show themselves, only for hunters to see them and follow them to the fight. But this means they’re usually traveling by car. And traffic is—”
On cue, multiple car horns blared.
Crush blew out a rough breath. “That. They could be held up by traffic.”
“But Titan—!”
Crush growled. “Let’s fix this before the dragons have to fly in and blow their cover. Some of the pack should already be there.”
But if Titan was sending out a distress signal, then it meant all of the wolves at the bakery were already in danger.
From Crush’s all-out sprint, he knew that too.
Killian pulled out Uriel’s spell sheets, sorting through them again. This time, he split the spells into two new stacks. “I’m giving you some spells in case we split up. Attack spells on one side, defense on the other.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll have the same.”
“I want you to have more defense spells,” Crush said decisively.
“But—”
“You’re pregnant, sweetheart. I’m bringing you along because you’re skilled, but I need you to be safe. That’s non-negotiable.”
Killian swallowed hard, moving more of the defensive spells into his own pile. “Okay.”
“Good.”
They were quiet for a few moments, straining their ears for sounds from the bakery.
“What about Albert Bleu?” Killian blurted.
“What about him?”
“I have the tracker on me. It’s still inactive for now.”
“Leave it that way. We don’t need more trou—”
In the distance, someone roared. Then came a yelp of pain.
Crush fell silent and ran even faster.
Killian activated offensive spells on both their guns. “Fast ball fireballs on yours,” he said. “1 cock wide. Barrier-penetrating heads on mine.”
Crush snorted. He didn’t comment, though. And the back of the bakery came into view through the trees.
Bodies littered the parking lot. None of them were wolves—instead, the wolves were backed against the side of the bakery, staring down a mage and some silver-skinned men.
“Crap,” Crush muttered.
The largest wolf twitched. He didn’t look over, but Killian felt the wolf’s attention on him and Crush.
“We took down the others,” the wolf—Titan—muttered, quietly enough that the attackers couldn’t hear him. “But these silver fuckers turn into liquid metal. We barely escaped from them trying to shove themselves down our throats.”
“Ugh,” Crush said. “Also, you’re hurt.”
When Killian looked more closely, he saw blood flowing down Titan’s foreleg. They didn’t have too long before he bled out.
“Least of our worries right now,” Titan muttered. “We can’t land a hit on the mage. He has a force field around him.”
The mage raised his arm to cast another spell. All the wolves stiffened.
Killian was moving before he could think. He slid off Crush’s back, took aim, and fired. “Sperm penetrates egg!”
With a nearly-invisible ripple, the bullet pierced the mage’s barrier, shattering it. The mage turned—slightly. Just enough that the bullet grazed his neck instead of blasting through it.
Before Killian could fire another shot, the liquid metal men turned and charged toward him and Crush.
Crush shifted into a man and grabbed his gun from Killian. “Spells?”
Killian shoved them at him. “Attacks on top.”
“Stay here. Stay hidden.” Crush glanced at the spells, then took aim and fired. “Fast ball fireballs!”
His bullet burst into flames and split into several fireballs, slamming into the charging men. They flinched; Crush fired multiple times, until his bullets returned to normal.
Titan and his brothers were about to charge at the mage, when the mage raised his hands to curse them.
Killian slapped another spell against his gun and smeared blood onto it. “Jizz cannon super soaker!”
A humongous jet of water gushed out from his gun barrel. The silver men dodged it. It slammed into the mage, sending him flying. The mage repelled the water with a sweep of his hand, but the damage was done—he had been knocked further away from the wolves.
“I can’t believe you’re shouting attack names,” Titan muttered. “Like those anime characters.”
“We’re not shouting them,” Killian protested. “I say them very quietly so Crush knows what’s going on!”
“Hey, pro wrestlers do it too,” Crush said. The silver men were charging forward again. Crush slapped a different spell onto his gun. “15 cocks wide!”
Halfway through the air, Crush’s bullet erupted into a massive fireball, so hot that Killian’s skin felt as though it might scorch off.
The fireball swallowed the metal men. Crush didn’t wait. Instead, he fired another fireball, then another, keeping the men engulfed in flames.
“That’s how they need to be taken down,” Crush muttered. “Get them hot enough to melt.”
“I’ll keep them burning,” Killian said. “Help Titan and the rest!”
Crush nodded sharply. “Throw up a barrier, bunny.”
Killian was already shoving a spell sheet onto the ground. The moment Crush left his side, Killian activated the barrier. “30 cocks wide, 15 cocks high! Better than any condom!”
“This isn’t supposed to be funny,” Titan said, sounding like he was trying not to laugh.
The silver men were staggering now. Metal dripped from their bodies; they weren’t recovering. Killian fanned out his spells, grabbing one and slapping it onto his gun barrel. “Ball-crushing 25-cock fireball!”
Crush ducked out of the way. The flames slammed into the silver men; they screamed and melted into a puddle.
From the corner of his eye, Killian watched as Crush aimed his gun at the mage. “Wall crusher ball buster!”
The mage’s new barrier shattered. Crush fired again, but he was too late.
The mage had sent a red flare into the sky.
“What was that for?” Crush demanded, keeping his gun pointed at the man.
“I called my boss here,” the mage coughed.
Killian’s stomach dropped. No!
He wasn’t ready for this. Wasn’t ready to see the man who had tormented him for years.
Crush shot the mage in the face. “10-inch pounding,” he said flatly.
“We’ll back you up,” Titan said. “Any special powers?”
Crush glanced in Killian’s direction.
“Not supernaturally,” Killian blurted. “But he taught me how to fight. He’ll probably take me down easily. You don’t want to stand out here like easy targets. He bypassed Uriel’s simpler spells so maybe he has magical help.”
Crush narrowed his eyes. “Two more barrier spells on yourself, now.”
Before Killian could obey, a gunshot cracked through the air.
Crush and the wolves all dropped to the ground; there was no quick way to tell if anyone had been shot. His blood grew cold.
“Crush?” Killian whispered. Was Bleu the one who had fired the gun?
Had he shot Crush?
“Barrier, now,” Crush growled.
Relief swelled through Killian’s chest. Hands shaking, he bit into his finger and smeared blood across two defensive spells.
“A crop circle and a dick wall make a baby,” he whispered.
Ever so faintly, the air shimmered around him, encasing him in a hemispherical bubble.
He activated the second spell. “Hiding in a boob.” Another layer of air encased him.
Crush exhaled audibly. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
All of them twitched when footsteps sounded. Killian fought down the chill in his body; he hadn’t heard Albert Bleu approaching.
The alpha stepped out from behind the bakery, a cruel smile on his face. “You have something I want,” he said, his oily voice making Killian’s hair stand on end. Killian’s scars hurt all over. “Hand him over, and none of you have to die.”
Crush narrowed his eyes, raising himself to a crouch. “Yeah? And what will you do after we hand him over?”
Bleu’s smile grew creepier. “Play with him a little. He was always such a good subject—”
Crush’s eyes flashed gold; his fangs lengthened. He almost lunged at the man; his hands were shaking so hard.
“Crush,” Titan growled.
In a flash, Bleu unholstered his gun, pointing it at Crush.
Killian’s heart stopped. He wanted to step in; he wanted to shoot that gun out of Bleu’s hands. But his own hands were trembling; he couldn’t aim for shit right now.
But there was something that didn’t need a good aim.
Killian yanked out the clear plastic pouch containing Bleu’s tracking device. He placed it on a small flat rock, and swung down the butt of his gun.
Smash!
The device shattered. Energy exploded from it, prickling Killian’s skin
Bleu’s gaze snapped in his direction. Then he smiled, wide and gleeful. Killian recoiled from the sickness in his eyes.
Crush raised his gun and fired. But Bleu saw the movement, pulling his own trigger. The gunshot cracked deafeningly through the air.
Everything was happening too quickly. Had Crush been shot?
There was no time for Killian to get an answer. The wolves struck as a unit, lunging at Bleu. He tried to fire at them. A wolf bit into his wrist and wrenched it away. Two other wolves sank their fangs into his legs.
Crush got slowly to his feet, his gaze burning. “You will regret the day you laid even a finger on Killian.”
Bleu scoffed. “You’re just some scraggly mongrels yapping at me.”
He produced a spellsheet of his own. Then he blasted the wolves off him, sending them sprawling across the parking lot.
Killian swore quietly. This was bad. Bleu had spells; no one knew how powerful they were.
But he still had the element of surprise.
Killian fumbled for one of Uriel’s spells, activating it against his gun barrel. Then he pointed it in Bleu’s direction and pulled the trigger. “Nutsack broke. Balls on fire.”
Right before it hit him, the bullet split into several small fireballs. Crush and his brothers dodged them.
Bleu twisted away; two of the fireballs hit him anyway, in his arm and shoulder. The alpha roared in outrage. “How dare you? You think you’re so smart, escaping from me. But I’ve found you. I will always find you.”
Killian shuddered. “You couldn’t find me for years! You think you’re so powerful, but you’re not.”