36. Everyone Gets a Time Out
36
Everyone Gets a Time Out
We watched Marcus scamper over toward Priscilla before we began clearing a path to the dais, the mate bond humming between us helping to coordinate our movements.
“You know,” Samuel said as he threw a vampire casually over his shoulder without breaking a sweat, “this isn’t exactly how I planned our first date to go.”
I grabbed a lunging fae by the throat, tossed her across the ballroom, and arched an eyebrow. “This was supposed to be our first date?”
“Yeah.”
I ducked under a witch’s spell, kicked her legs out from under her, and winced when I heard bone crunch. “If this is standard courtship in werewolf society, maybe we should revisit the rules.”
Samuel grinned. A werewolf jumped on him and took him to the ground.
I peeled the offending figure off and booted him across the ballroom with a snarled, “Excuse me, we’re having a conversation here!”
I helped Samuel up and scanned our surroundings. “We have to stop this infighting before the supernatural elite of Amberford rip each other to pieces.”
Samuel’s tone turned steely. “There is only one way to do that.”
Our narrow-eyed gazes found Camilla.
My voice deepened to a growl as I let my beast slip under my skin. “Shall we finish this?”
Samuel’s eyes flashed amber. “Yes.”
We transformed and bounded toward the dais, our wolves knocking adversaries out of the way with ease.
Camilla’s eyes blazed as she spotted us approaching. The witch in red did something with her artifact. Magic surged through the ley lines, making the floor vibrate.
The crystal skull’s glow intensified.
Samuel’s wolf spoke in my head. We need to get that artifact away from that witch.
We could do with a distraction.
Did someone say distraction? Hugh appeared beside us in his wolf form. He was grinning manically and his pupils were slightly dilated.
Samuel groaned. Please tell me you didn’t just take werewolf nip?!
I did not . Hugh’s wolf whined. Where the hell would I get my hands on werewolf nip around here?!
I studied him warily. Then why do you look stoned?
Hugh’s wolf had the grace to look abashed. I think the werewolf nip still in my system is reacting with the curse and making me hyper.
That explained his earlier enthusiastic throat punching.
I looked at Samuel and did the wolf version of a shrug. There’s no better distraction than a werewolf high on drugs.
Samuel’s wolf sagged. I never thought the day would come when I said this. He straightened and commanded Hugh. Go over there and do something crazy.
Hugh beamed and charged the dais with a demented howl.
“Kill them!” Camilla screamed at her remaining mercenaries.
The vampires hesitated, clearly thrown by the unexpected assault tactic that was a crazed werewolf.
I used their confusion to circle around while Samuel engaged them head-on.
Hugh waited until I reached the back of the dais before snarling and lunging menacingly at the witch. She startled and turned to blast him with her magic.
I pounced in a flash, grabbed the artifact with my jaws, and yanked it free.
The magic it contained stung my tongue. I held on fast and crunched down viciously.
The ley lines’ power cut off abruptly. The witch staggered, her magic flickering. She spun around, horror widening her eyes as I spat out the remains.
“ No! ”
The barrier fell.
Camilla raised the skull, her expression defiant. “You’re too late! The curse is already active!”
My heart sank as I looked at the ballroom. She was right. Though some of the supernatural creatures had broken free of the spell, most were still fighting.
My wolf stilled when I spotted Gregory and Constantia cornering Victoria and Pearl.
“They’re all going to tear each other apart!” Camilla laughed maniacally. “And then I’ll be the only one left to rule Amberford!”
I ground my teeth. As Pearl would put it, the woman was officially batshit crazy.
I shifted to human Abby and strode toward Camilla.
“You know what your problem is?” I snarled. “You talk too much!”
I put the full power of my wolf behind me and lunged. Camilla grunted as I tackled her to the ground in a tangle of limbs and evening wear. The skull slipped from her hands and flew in the air.
“ No! ” she screamed.
We both dove for it as it started its inevitable descent.
Unfortunately for Camilla, I was faster.
I backkicked her viciously in the stomach, pushed up, and jumped, my fingers clawing like I was trying to catch a lacrosse ball. The skull hit the wall of air in front of my hand and rolled gently into my grasp.
Magic surged through me when the cool crystal kissed my skin. I gasped.
It was old and powerful and dark.
“ Give it back! ” Camilla screeched like a banshee.
She stumbled to her feet and pounced.
Samuel hit her from the side and sent her sliding off the dais.
My jaw tightened as I gripped the skull in both hands and fought to control the ancient magic inside it. I was seriously wishing my werewolf lessons had included a session on how to undo curses when my wolf slipped under my skin and whispered in my ear.
I blinked and looked to the ballroom. I knew exactly what I had to do to end the spell. The hairs rose on the back of my neck as I tapped into the skull’s power instead of fighting it.
“ Everyone STOP FIGHTING and SIT THE HELL DOWN! ”
The effect was instantaneous. Every supernatural creature sat down with a thump, Samuel included. A champagne tower collapsed with an embarrassed tinkle in the fraught hush that swept across the ballroom like a tidal wave.
I became the focus of a sea of mortified stares.
Well shit. Who knew the command would be so humiliatingly effective?
“This is worse than obedience school,” Bo commented awkwardly from his sitting position.
Several werewolves whined in agreement.
“I totally meant to do that,” Pearl sniffed, somehow maintaining her dignity despite having plopped down in the middle of clawing Gregory’s face.
Victoria was squatting on the vampire, her expression stringent.
“Can you get off me now?” Gregory groaned.
“Does it look like I can get off you?!” Victoria snapped. “Just shut up and stay put until whatever the hell this is wears off.”
Constantia looked murderous where she sat obediently a few feet away.
Beatrice shifted back into her human form and began filming with the phone she’d somehow managed to recover from her mother. “This is totally going viral!”
Danielle’s eyes rounded at the sight of the device. She patted her purse urgently before squinting at her daughter. “Beatrice, put that darn thing away right now !”
“What and miss the cream of Amberford society making complete fools of themselves?!” Beatrice protested.
“Hey, you’re infringing on our supernatural rights!” a witch complained.
A group of dwarves and dragon newts groused in agreement.
Lauren smirked at Samuel’s wolf where she was sitting seiza style next to her sister. “Not so high and mighty now, are you?”
Samuel’s wolf scowled.
My gaze found Camilla. She had her butt firmly planted on the ground and was glaring daggers at me. I was about to say something sharp and pithy when the ground shook violently beneath my feet.
Now what?!
Dazzling light flashed through the crack the witch’s artifact had made in the dais. It grew until it blinded the entire ballroom, me included. I grunted when something heavy fell on top of me.
I landed on my front with a curse and barely managed to keep hold of the skull. It took a moment to blink away the black spots swarming my vision.
The ballroom came into view. Everyone was gaping at me.
“Holy crap,” someone mumbled.
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and prayed Camilla’s evil scheme hadn’t just dragged some kind of demon from the depths of Hell before cautiously turning my head.
A man with long hair and an unkempt beard was blinking at me. He smelled like a werewolf and looked bewildered.
He was also very naked.
My wolf went Uh-oh as the mate bond heated up.
Samuel changed into his human form and glared at the stranger.
“ Get off Abby, you lout! ”
“Fa-Father?!” Marcus stammered in a trembling voice.
Priscilla gasped and pressed her fingers to her mouth, her face crumbling. “ Arthur! ”
I did not see that one coming.