31. Deacon
Chapter thirty-one
Deacon
I hesitate.
Sam doesn’t.
He moves his hand and a shield crackles into place around Adam, Njáll, and Elle just before Hale reaches them. He crashes into it, stumbling back, and before he can right himself, Kieran races across the floor and punches him directly in the face.
Well, that’s long overdue.
“The others need to know to come in!” I shout to Sam. He nods, raising another shield when one of the mages throws a spell bag in his direction. His attention is torn, Kieran further away from the three of us, but if we don’t get more people in here, we’re fucked.
One of the vampires runs, clearly intending to dart around his shield, and I shift, tearing out of my clothes before I run at him. He cries out when I clamp my jaws around his calf.
Sam pivots on one heel, blasting the doors open. That’s one way to let them know.
I take the vampire down as our allies flood in. Lucien leads the charge from the corridor Tamesis came down. Tamesis and Vasile.
I can’t smell him. I see him, out of the corner of my eye, as he matches Tamesis blow for blow. His teeth are bared, blood painted like freckles over his pale face.
What if he isn’t alive at all? What if this is some fucked-up final push, his need for revenge against Tamesis driving him from the afterlife, driving him here—
A wolf comes crashing down next to me and I turn my head to see Kieran has her pinned. He’s panting, and his eyes narrow when he looks at me.
“He’s alive,” he says. “Pay some fucking attention.”
Right. He’s right. I give a full body shake and Kieran slams the wolf’s head down. She shifts back once she’s unconscious, and he gets to his feet.
Sam’s crouching next to Adam, inside his shield. Chaya and Orion stick with our wolves, working together the way packmates should to bring their enemies down. Lucien is in Drew’s orbit. Drew pounces on a vampire, bringing him to his knees, but Lucien delivers the killing blow with a stake, dragging Drew back before the vampire bursts into flames.
“Get to them,” Kieran says. He means Vasile and Tamesis. His gaze moves as quickly as mine, cataloguing where he next needs to jump into the fray. “He needs your help. We’ve got this.”
I let out a quiet yip because I know they do and weave my way through the fighting as Kieran turns to meet another wolf who thinks they can sneak up on him. Magic crashes overhead, enough of it that even I can smell it.
Elle and Njáll are free now and angry. Njáll uses his bulk to take down one of the mages, and when another throws a spell bag at him, Ophelia is there to catch it, somehow shielded against it so she can throw it back. Pris isn’t far from her, and neither is Dante, both of them tossing their own spells where they are most needed.
Vasile pins Tamesis against the wall and Tamesis snarls at him, one booted foot connecting with Vasile’s thigh. I hear Vasile’s cry of pain—though his expression is all anger—and try to move faster.
“I’ll end it here,” Tamesis snarls. “All of it. It ends here!”
A wolf barrels into my side before I reach them. I snarl, rolling to all four paws, and turn on Hale.
Tamesis isn’t controlling him. Not right now. Did he ever have to at all?
It doesn’t matter. I can face down one impudent alpha; that’s never been in question.
I lower my head and let out a snarl—a warning. Tamesis grabs for Vasile, trying to reel him back in and get the upper hand, but Vasile skips away, body low as he searches for a way through Tamesis’ defences.
Hale leaps at me. I meet him, claws digging in, and ignore the pain as he does the same thing. I’m bigger than he is, heavier, so I force him down and he retreats, letting out a growl as he dances back a few steps.
Another wolf growls behind me. Hale’s beta, the one we don’t have locked up. I flick my tail, listening for his movements as Hale and I circle each other.
We meet again and again, and every time it looks as though I might pin Hale, his beta jumps into the fray, forcing my attention to split between them. Around us, the fight still goes on. We’re winning, I think. Yes. Some of the wolves are struggling to fight the control Tamesis has over their bonds, but the more time passes, the more of them surrender.
I snap at Hale, teeth grazing his muzzle, and glance over at Tamesis and Vasile again.
Tamesis has Vasile against the wall, one hand around his throat. Vasile bares his fangs—at least he doesn’t need the air, technically speaking—and claws at his side. His eyes flash gold and Tamesis stumbles back, his own hiss low and dangerous.
Hale’s beta digs his claws into my back, and I curse my inability to focus. It’s harder when I can’t smell Vasile. The bond would be most useful, of course, but at least his scent would tell me how much pain he’s in, if he’s about to fall—
I twist, trying to shake the beta off, and Hale approaches slowly, each step confident. His tongue lolls out as he looks at me, and I snarl, a sound that turns into a yelp when the beta bites my leg.
Honestly, I’m just glad neither of them can talk right now. I’ve got no doubt they’d be annoying as fuck.
Hale lowers his head, readying himself to pounce. He intends to end me. And I’m so close to Vasile; I can’t let him do this. I have to—
A dark shape blurs into view, slamming Hale into the ground with astonishing force. Hale’s beta growls, his grip on me loosening, and I shake him off, pinning him to the ground with my jaws around his throat. No point in fucking around. I tear his throat out.
Adam punches Hale in the face, then again in the ribs when he snarls at him. Bones shatter under his fist and I approach cautiously, surprised—though I shouldn’t be—at the sheer rage on his face.
He holds Hale still when I brush against his side. Blood is splattered over his throat and face, and I can only hope he hasn’t swallowed it.
A taste shouldn’t hurt. Not much.
Vasile has Tamesis on the ropes now. He’s furious, resplendent with it, but he’s ready for this, too. Has been ready for it.
“I’ve got him,” Adam says. Footsteps approach, the person breathing hard, and then Sam’s standing over both of us, and the fury I saw on Adam’s face is an echo on his own.
“Yeah,” he says, voice flat. “We’ve got this. Finish it.”
There’s still fighting. Kieran drags Lucien out of the reach of a wolf who’s got too close. Drew is with the rest of the coven, though his gaze narrows in on his mates when he realises who they’re with. Chaya and Orion are rounding up the injured, those who have surrendered.
Jude, shifted, protects Silas from a mage and then collapses to the ground, unmoving. Afsaneh is there before anyone else; the mage dies when she snaps his neck, and Silas crouches by Jude’s side, checking him over.
I want to help all of them. I should help my pack, but my gaze is unerringly drawn to Vasile, though there is no longer a mate bond between us at all.
“Go.” Sam’s always been one for commands. I nudge Adam’s side, and he tightens his grip on Hale as I slip away.
Vasile and Tamesis circle each other. Tamesis looks worse off than my mate; his clothes are torn, and though he’s not bleeding right this moment, there’s blood smeared down his face and throat. Vasile’s attention never falters. He knows better than to take his eyes off him.
And if Tamesis thinks the same… I slink closer, keeping my body low. Most of the fighting is in the centre of the room, and the two are still near the door they used to enter. I think many of the others don’t want to go up against Tamesis, either.
I can’t blame them.
He leaps for Vasile, drags him close. Vasile struggles, digging claws in, trying to find a way to injure him through his clothes. Whatever fae blood Tamesis might have, his reserves must be low.
I’m ready. Tamesis lowers his head to say something in Vasile’s ear. My teeth bare in a snarl, muscles tensed, ready to—
Vasile looks at me. Horror pales his face, widens his eyes, and before he can move—before I can move—Tamesis shoves him back, away.
He crashes into the floor hard enough to leave a dent and Tamesis is there suddenly, right next to me, on me…
A heavy, dull pain radiates through my entire body. I blink, sluggish, turn my head.
Tamesis’ hand. I-It—
It’s inside my ribs, somehow, and I let out a choked snarl, blood heavy and thick on my tongue.
My blood.
He smirks, pulling his hand free. Blood and viscera drip onto the floor and I try to get my paws under me, try to turn, but I’m already shifting back.
“Good luck, wolf,” Tamesis hisses.
I collapse onto my side, no longer a wolf, and feel for the wound. My body is trying to heal, but it’s useless. I can hardly suck in a breath. Each one sounds wet, stuttering inside my broken lungs.
“V-Vas,” I murmur, a second before my eyes slide shut.