Chapter 31
My body tensed as I tried to figure out what the hell to do. The coven members were low on magic, and my power was gone. The animals were our last chance to catch them off guard, but even then, that must be why they had weapons—to fight all of us, including the animals.
This could have been a suicide mission.
Josie whimpered as a blur blew past me.
Dave.
With his vampire speed, he raced forward. The coven members couldn’t keep up with him, and he descended among them.
My heart ached, knowing the turmoil Josie was going through. And this confirmed what I’d always suspected—Dave was a good guy, just misguided.
The witches tried to fire at Dave as the other two surviving vampires followed his lead, one coming from the left and the other from the right, creating a distraction.
I gritted my teeth. The inevitable had come, so I searched deep within myself, found the faint fizzle of my power, and yanked at it.
“Some of Ednah’s coven members are going to attack,” Keagan rasped. “But they can’t hold everyone off. We need more distractions.”
I had no choice. I had to be the one to do it. I yanked at my power again, and it hummed. It’d have to be enough to do … something.
Warin hissed. “Shoot them. You may not see them, but they aren’t invincible to bullets. Just fire. We want to kill them all anyway.”
A few of the gunmen fired but missed the three vampires, who reached the front line and broke three of their necks.
Panic ensued. Other society members backed up, firing their weapons randomly.
Then coyotes, bobcats, foxes, deer, and raccoons flooded the area, adding to the chaos. They didn’t directly attack but rather impeded the battles going on, giving our allies a chance to turn things in their favor.
Dave tried to move away, but with the constant shots, a bullet hit him in the chest. He stumbled back several steps, and Josie yelped and raced forward.
“No!” Aldric shouted. “Hold your fire!”
A few stopped, but the ones closest to the vampires didn’t hesitate; they kept shooting. Fortunately, they weren’t aiming at Dave but at the other two vampires. One of the vampires dropped dead when a bullet hit the top of his head, and the second stumbled after getting hit in the leg.
I yanked at my power once more, and it reached a high fizz, but it wouldn’t stay that way. I was running low, and it might not get that high again.
Imagining what I wanted to happen, I forced the power forward, using every bit I had, and aimed it at the porch. The power surged, and fatigue hit me, my knees going weak. I’d exerted myself too much.
As my butt hit the ground, the porch shook and shattered, collapsing the entire structure. Between the large pieces of wood, Warin, Olwyn, Slade, Aldric, and a third of the guards were taken out. The others near them spun around, searching for the threat, while the remaining fifteen continued to shoot while dodging animals.
I’d done everything I could.
“Holy shit,” Keagan gasped. “Was that you?” His gaze landed on me, his eyes wide.
I nodded. “Now, we need to attack before they recover.”
His eyes glowed as his side and the coven members on our side surged forward.
Lucy, I need you, Fane, Octavia, and Dru to stay with Skylar and protect her, Raffe linked as he ran forward.
My heart quickened as I watched my fated run into danger. I should have been there beside him. Still, when I tried to stand, my body sagged even more.
Octavia and Dru flanked me before Lucy had a chance to speak with my brother.
Dru scanned me. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m drained and hurting, but there are more important things to focus on. I need you all to fire at the guards so the others have less of a chance of getting shot,” I gritted out through clenched teeth, trying not to snap. “Avoid the animals.” My physical state could be addressed later … if we lived.
“But—” Dru started.
Octavia lifted her weapon and interjected, “She’s right. Let’s clear them out so we can actually save her parents and take care of her.”
Lucy hurried over, eyes forward, searching for a threat, with Fane right beside her.
Gunfire continued, and I watched as three wolf shifters from Keagan’s pack were taken down. Two raccoons grabbed the hands of one of the wolf shifters in animal form on our side that was injured, half guiding, half dragging him toward the woods to safety.
My stomach roiled. This was a bloodbath.
There was no way in hell I’d stay here and not fight alongside them. I just needed to find a damn way to get enough strength to stand.
The coven attacked. Priestess Ednah and Priestess Caroline stood side by side, taking on the enemy together. Water shot from Ednah’s hands while flames expelled from Caroline’s.
A few screamed, but the twenty-ish who’d stopped to help the people impacted by the collapsed porch were engaged in battle once more.
Raffe, Adam, and Keith barreled forward, attacking three of the people in front who’d pivoted to fire at our witches. Octavia, Dru, and Fane fired, though they struggled to find clear shots with our witches and wolf shifters fighting.
I took a deep breath to steady myself. I had to find the strength to get up and fight alongside them.
Two bobcats tugged Dave from a spot in the center of the yard, heading toward us. He groaned, his face white, and did his best to push himself along and help them. A warlock yanked on the second vampire to get him out of harm’s way as well.
Now that my adrenaline had worn off, the agony from my wound crept back in, making it feel as if my muscles were ripping apart.
Then I watched in horror as a woman turned her gun on my mate.
Fear strangled me, and I jumped to my feet. Raffe, watch out, I linked, trying to run toward him, but my feet moved way too slowly.
When the woman pulled the trigger, my world stopped. Raffe’s body jerked backward, and he flipped onto his back.
I swallowed past a large lump, yanking like hell against my power. It wasn’t even flickering. Still, I had to get to my mate before he got hit again.
My wolf surged toward the location of my power and pulled on the fated mate connection. Something flared inside me, causing my power to hum.
I pushed my power toward the woman with her gun trained on my mate, and her head exploded. Blood and tissue flew out, and her body crashed to the ground.
Knowing that my power wouldn’t last long, I pulled as much energy as possible into myself and linked, Get Raffe out of there. Acid burned in my throat at the state he was in, and worse, I knew this was a battle we couldn’t win, which meant I had to do everything I could … even if I died in the process. Everyone here had risked their lives for my parents and me, and they deserved me doing my best for them.
Blurry images came from both sides of us as wolves raced behind the vampires, heading toward us, and more animals ran into the clearing, distracting our enemies.
I suspected more Veiled Circle coven members would be coming forth shortly, using their magic against us.
I lifted my arms outward, imagining the twenty vampires knocked back as Olwyn, Aldric, and Warin pushed their way out of the porch disaster.
My power blasted the twenty vampires, tossing them back several feet into the side of the house with sickening splats. I didn’t have time to think about what I might have done to them.
I raced toward my mate and funneled my power around me.
Skylar, stay put! Raffe linked, his eyes widening as he twisted around, trying to get back on all four paws. You’re too exhausted. Just wait there, and I’ll be back to you soon. I need you safe.
His pain pulsed through our connection as he stood, confirming what I feared. He was hurt just as bad as I was. For the moment, I rode high on power, not feeling my pain. I linked, There’s no way in hell I’m staying back when you’re injured. What would you do if it were me?
He stumbled, and fear stabbed my chest. I had to reach him. He was one of their main targets.
“This ends now!” Olwyn exclaimed and lifted her hands to unleash her magic. “Caroline, you should have known not to get involved. Slade, take care of Ednah, the fucking traitor. She has water magic like you.” Her face twisted into a sneer, and she unleashed her fire power at Caroline.
Priestess Caroline didn’t hesitate, their flames colliding. Sparks shimmered from their streams together while Slade focused on the other priestess, wanting to take out the strongest of both covens, which would impact all of them.
Sedona hunkered to one side, causing the ground to quake underneath them as new enemy wolves attacked.
There had to be at least a hundred of them fighting against us. I heard the sound of tires squealing in the distance, indicating reinforcements were arriving.
Warin appeared in front of me, his coal eyes dark as night and wooden splinters sticking out of his dark, wavy hair. Just seeing him with his tan complexion, a sign of his ancient age, still shocked me.
“You bitch.” He sneered, his teeth elongating. “I told them you would cause problems, but no, they wanted the arcane-born.” He lunged.
From seemingly nowhere, Cat-Keith jumped into Warin’s face, halting his progression as she clawed at his face and bit his nose, yowling and hissing.
As Warin yelled and tried to shove her away, Raffe leaped, sinking his teeth into Warin’s neck and jerking his head.
Warin dropped, and Cat-Keith ran off. Raffe leaped toward the next attacker.
Scanning the area, I noted we were more even with so many animals creating distractions and our coven members using their magic effectively, helping us stand our ground. However, several vehicles squealed to a stop in front of the house.
Something weighed on my shoulders. How could we keep going when we were low on magic and half of us were injured?
Octavia, Dru, and Fane ran forward, using their guns now that they weren’t risking us all, and Lucy hurried toward the new wolf shifters.
“Do not harm my daughter!” Aldric shouted. “That was part of the deal.”
“Fuck the deal, Aldric,” Olwyn spat. “She’s fighting against us on the side of the prince.”
Doors slammed shut, and I could hear people running toward us.
Faith stepped up beside her grandmother, adding her magic and creating a water tornado. The two of them pushed their combined magic toward Slade. They were going to win against him.
Skylar, Raffe linked. To your left.
I spun just in time and took a step back, causing the wolf to miss my neck and bite into my chest. I yelped, agony taking hold as my back jarred from the impact.
Pain sliced through me, and the connection I’d been pulling from stopped.
Suddenly, Fane appeared at my side, shooting the wolf before it could slash my neck.
Blood coated me. “Thank you,” I gasped.
I turned to find Raffe fighting for his own life with two wolves flanking him.
I noticed he was moving slowly, and it wasn’t due to his wound. I could feel his fatigue, and realization slammed into me. I’d accessed my power … by funneling strength from him.
No.
I hadn’t even considered that I’d been using him.
More people ran around the corner of the house, and I stumbled toward my mate.
“Move,” Fane rasped as he pushed me aside and shot the wolf nearest me before it hurt Raffe. He then shot the wolf in the back of the head, killing it.
A loud, familiar voice commanded, “Stop at once. No more fighting.”
My heart skipped a beat as the alpha will, laced into the words, brushed past me, and I blinked, taking in King Jovian and ten other men alongside him, including Valor and Finley.
Raffe’s dad was here.
The chaos stopped as his orders swirled through the wolf shifters, forcing them to stand down. Even some of the guards lowered their guns, confirming that not all of them were coven members.
But the coven members on both sides didn’t stop their battles, and I glanced over in time to see Slade get pushed over stray pieces of wood from the fallen porch and land on his ass.
Her son’s fall didn’t affect Olwyn, who continued to fight Caroline, taking a few steps toward the other priestess and pushing her flames closer to the older lady. Ednah turned her water magic on Olwyn, dosing her flames and her entirely.
Priestess Caroline pulled back her magic, not killing Olwyn even though she could have.
My respect for the priestess grew, especially with the number of bodies from both sides littering the backyard. In some cases, because they were in animal form, I couldn’t tell which side the wolves were on as I didn’t know Keagan’s pack well. Still, the numbers didn’t lie, and I wanted to vomit. This loss of life was completely pointless.
I couldn’t help but feel relieved that the people I cared about were okay, including Sedona, Stephanie, and Keagan—though Keagan had a large gash on his upper arm that was so deep I could see tissue.
King Jovian’s steel-blue eyes widened, and his nostrils flared as his normally olive complexion turned red. He marched toward the center of the yard, several feet away from me, taking in the chaos. “What the hell is going on here?” Somehow, his hair seemed more salt than pepper this time, and his beard had gray streaks throughout. “And who shot my son?” His eyes landed accusingly on Aldric.
“I … I—” Aldric started.
“Your reign is over, Jovian.” Olwyn scowled and shook the water from her arms. “It ends here, and everyone will be relieved that we don’t have to cower in your presence anymore.” She lifted her hands.
Raffe’s terror slammed into me, tightening my chest.
I couldn’t let Raffe’s father die, not like this. He’d never forgive himself.
Though I knew it was futile, I had to try, so I pushed through my agony and raced toward the wolf shifter king.
I waited for the flames to flash across, but instead, I smelled the rancid stench of burning flesh.
A yell of agony echoed, and a wolf whimpered, with Josie linking, Dad! No!