Chapter 25 #3
A massive, concussive wave of black magic blasted outward. The Ravenspells’ violet barrier shattered like a pane of cheap glass. The force of the explosion swept over the concrete, throwing Selene and her sisters backward. I barely jumped out of the way to keep Selene from flattening me.
Wren stood in the center of the crater, completely unhinged. Dark blood poured from her nose and leaked from the corners of her glowing eyes, but she didn’t care. She raised her hands, pulling the absolute last dregs of her power together and drawing it toward her core.
I tracked her gaze.
She wasn’t looking at her family.
She was looking at mine.
Specifically, Calder.
He stood beside Evander’s fallen body, the head still clutched between his hands.
He looked worse for wear. Blood seeped through his clothing, and his chest heaved with every ragged breath.
From the looks of his slumped shoulders, he barely had any energy left to stand—killing a bear shifter that weighed at least six-hundred pounds more in animal form than you and decapitating a monstrous fae creature did that to a guy.
So, it seemed wise to assume he lacked the energy to dodge her incoming spell.
I gauged the distance between me and the witch in a fraction of a second. A measly fifteen feet stood between us. For a werewolf, that distance was minuscule. For an injured werewolf, it was a bit more challenging. But I had to try. I couldn’t let her steal my mate from me.
Ignoring the blinding agony ripping through my body, I burst into a sprint, launching myself across the floor.
The distance closed fast.
Thirteen feet, eleven, eight, five… at three feet, I bent my knees and leaped.
At the same second, Wren thrust her hands out with a scream. The power she’d gathered flew free, zipping right past me and aimed directly at my mate.
A second too late, my body crashed into hers. We hit the floor so hard her head bounced off the concrete. Stunned and vulnerable, she had no time to raise her hands in defense. I snapped my jaws shut around her throat, and with one violent rip, tore it out.
I didn’t wait to watch the life drain from the witch’s eyes. Not when my mate’s life was at risk.
The second Wren went limp, I released her and whirled around, my heart lodged squarely in my throat.
Where Calder had been standing, I saw nothing but a massive, smoking crater. Fear almost crippled me, and I instantly shifted back into human form and dropped to my knees, staring at the hole where my husband had stood not one minute ago.
A rough, hacking cough sounded just next to the blast zone.
I snapped my gaze to the sound to find Calder sprawled on his back five feet away, completely covered in a thick layer of rock and dust. He waved a hand through the air, clearing the smoke, then met my stare, relief brightening his eyes.
Every inch of my body went boneless at the sight of him, and I buried my face in my hands, if only to hide the tears that streaked my cheeks. He was alive. Thank the gods. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if he’d died.
I lowered my hands and watched as my twin rose behind Calder, still in wolf form.
He leaned forward and spat out a chunk of Calder’s shirt.
He must have helped pull him to safety before the blast hit.
Gratitude swelled within me, and I stumbled the rest of the way toward them.
Thankfully, Cassian seemed unharmed, except for what looked like a smoldering patch of singed fur covering his left hindquarter.
I paused and eyed the wound, my lips twitching of their own volition.
Smoke was literally pluming off my brother’s ass.
As though he only just realized it, he whipped his head around to look at his own butt, letting out a highly offended whine.
A breathless, broken sound punched its way out of my throat. Half-sob, half-laugh, and completely hysterical. The sheer adrenaline crash hit me so hard I dropped to my knees with one arm cradling my side.
Calder let out his own bark of laughter, then lay back on the floor, staring at the holey roof. Cassian sneezed out a cloud of concrete dust, spinning in a tight circle as he tried to inspect his scorched backside.
Footsteps crunched over the debris a few yards away.
I turned my head as Felix and Ricky stumbled out of the haze, both already back in their human skins. Evander’s black blood covered them, but otherwise they seemed completely unharmed. Felix stopped next to Calder and chuckled at the sight of Cassian frantically chasing his own smoking tail.
For three seconds, the sheer, absurd relief of survival washed over us.
Then the heavy sweep of robes whispered against the floor, and our laughter died.
Across the warehouse, the Ravenspell coven stood in a small circle around Wren.
One by one, they clasped hands, and from their joined grips, unleashed a spell that swept peacefully through the area.
Their magic felt nothing like Wren’s. Where hers had felt cloying and evil, theirs felt soft and right.
White wisps encircled Wren, wrapping her in a thin cocoon. The coven raised their hands, and Wren rose between them, floating on nothing but air.
Then they turned.
Selene met my eyes but didn’t say a word. She merely dipped her head before they vanished in a flash of light.
“So, that was fun,” Ricky said as he came to a stop next to me.
His definition of fun differed from mine. Drastically. But at the sight of the headless fae monster, even I had to grin.
Yeah. It’d been fun. In a sick and perverse way. But at least we had a new story to tell.
Sighing, Felix reached down and helped Calder to his feet, who then stumbled over to me.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Couple broken ribs, I think. But nothing serious. You?”
“Nothing worth complaining about. I could sleep for a week though.” He wrapped a gentle arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick of this place. Let’s get the hell out of here and get some sleep.”
Together, the five of us limped our broken bones and singed asses back to the truck and SUV.
A bath and bed sounded perfect.