Chapter 48
Zane
Thirty minutes earlier…
If not for the fact my precious pet, the Juliet to my Romeo, was once more in the clutches of my archnemesis, the evil mage overlord, I’d be loving life right now. There were very few things I enjoyed more than taking Brenda on a psychotic murder spree.
As I told Rasmus when we first went hunting together, murdering was an important bonding exercise for harem mates. Or pack mates, as Maverick liked to call us.
I let him have that one. If being labeled the alpha made care bear happy, then fine. He could do his alpha thing. I had no great desire to be in a leadership role. I much preferred life as a lone wolf.
Or not-wolf.
Nobody liked wolf shifters.
Not even other wolf shifters.
The goddess knew I didn’t follow orders particularly well. Or at all, if I were being completely honest. Which was why I’d persuaded the vampire that we needed to cause as much bloodshed as possible, contrary to the bear’s instructions that we focus on finding our mate, not killing mages.
What was wrong with doing both?
I was born to be an overachiever.
The dragon had landed on the roof shortly after we arrived. A quick glance at my phone showed the humans were live streaming everything, no doubt all agog at the sight of a real-life dragon.
Good for Olaf. He deserved his fifteen minutes of social media fame after hiding his scaly ass away for centuries.
Maybe becoming a dragon celeb would help him connect with other dragons in hiding. As well as the two dragons he’d told us about, I was sure there had to be more hiding in plain sight. Just like there were probably more vampires lurking in dusty crypts.
Countess Fangalicious seemed cool. I especially liked her swords. She and I were birds of a feather, or siblings from another species. I felt sure we’d be good friends once we’d eliminated the mage problem.
“Fucking mage scum!” I yelled as we burst through a door to find ten of the bastards waiting. Since I had juiced up on rage and pain, I felled them with a wave of visceral fear, enjoying the way they screamed as their worst nightmares exploded inside their pathetic little brains.
Five of them dropped dead from heart failure, which left five to slice and dice.
Kasumi, my new K-dude bestie, hopped onto a table and groomed himself as Rasmus and I divided and conquered. Kudos to the vamp, he sure was efficient at killing.
No blades needed. That dude’s teeth were his best weapon. I dodged a nasty attack spell as Count Suckula tore the throat out of a mage while snapping the neck of another.
He yanked the heart out of a third mage before the asshole even knew what was coming for him.
That left me with two to deal with. Since time was of the essence, I wielded Brenda like a scalpel and skewered them both in a precision move.
“Nice,” Rasmus commented with a smirk as the mages choked on their own blood. One tried to cast a last-ditch spell, but I severed his hand before it manifested.
The kitsune barked to get our attention. He hopped off the table and sprang onto my shoulder. Rasmus reached for my wrist, and we blinked away, landing in a reception area.
A snooty female witch with shiny red hair screamed when she clocked my handsome face.
Was it the blood? Or perhaps the severed hand I tossed at her? Honestly, it was hard to tell, so I screamed back in solidarity.
The witch fell off her chair in a dead faint.
“Where to, little K-dude?” Kasumi blinked up at me. Did he not understand?
“She’s on the floor above,” Rasmus said, his head cocked.
“How do you know?” I couldn’t sense my pet at all, which bothered me more than I cared to admit. I’d grown used to the sound of her thoughts and the chaotic buzz of her emotions. It healed a wound I didn’t know I had.
“She still wears my ruby necklace,” he replied. “I can track her.”
I made a mental note to buy my pet a gift when we escaped this place. She deserved all the gifts. Damn that vampire for one-upping me on the gift front.
Would she like a trophy necklace of severed fingers?
I’d clean them up first, obviously. Maybe even add a touch of polish to the nails. It would be an artistic gift of love. Highly appropriate since my love language involved killing all her enemies.
Rasmus didn’t seem convinced by my idea when I voiced it. Kasumi hissed, which I took to mean he thought I was mentally unwell for even suggesting such a thing.
We jogged up a stairwell as dragon fire rained down on the plaza below. Human media vehicles exploded, cars burned, and spectators fled for their lives. If I weren’t here to rescue my mate, I’d be enjoying the colorful show.
“The Nightshade witch is here,” Rasmus hissed as we reached the next floor. “Her dark magic taints the air.”
Kasumi barked and flicked his tails in agreement.
Sudden pain speared me, and beside me, Rasmus fell to his knees, gasping as a mate tether in our chests snapped. I’d never known pain like it. Not even the agony of seeing my father executed before my eyes could compare.
One of my pet’s mates had died, which meant she might follow him through the veil if I couldn’t reach her in time.
“We have to go to her,” I gasped, dragging myself to my feet, huffing up the vampire’s pain to fuel me even though it tasted worse than wolf piss.
“This way.” Rasmus wrapped his cool hand around my arm, and we shot away at vampire speed.