Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Ifelt a faint stirring in my body. Dear Goddess, I wasn’t sure who was inside me, but I swore the energy was unlike any I’d ever encountered, filling me with power.
The ice was replaced by fire. I welcomed the surge, knowing the Fey and possibly the Goddess herself had gifted me with a little something extra.
My wolf howled, and since I’d woken as a woman, in my human skin, I wasn’t scared of shifting. No, I knew I could be both in the blink of an eye. The invisible bonds holding me snapped. Greta took a step back, then recovered.
Feeling the Goddess herself working inside me, I threw out my arms and shielded the innocents in the room, leaving myself facing Greta. “Come now, old woman, what else do you have?”
The taunt had the desired effect. The black eyes narrowed, and the cloak she wore disappeared. A being of nightmares replaced the sixty-year-old woman. I was glad I wasn’t scared of green scaly things. Much.
“Alright then. You’re a witch. So, you need a big pot and a fire to make your potion or what?”
“Silly girl. You have a simple mind. Like, there is only good and evil, black and white. You think witches are evil?”
It stalked me, no longer sounding quite feminine. “I have nothing against witches. Heck, I was taking a stab in the dark. You’re like a sickly shade of green, and I thought maybe you were like the witch in the movie where the house fell on the bad one.”
I had to keep her—or it—talking until Slater and his pack arrived. Although I felt confident in my own newfound power, I wasn’t sure how to wield it properly. I’d missed Kick-Ass 101.
“The veil between your world and mine is thinner on All Hallows Eve, child. I came through over fifty years ago, and to stay, I must offer a sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice, but one such as you. I’m thinking they’ll love you now that you have some goddess powers.”
I tilted my head. “I’m gonna have to say...no. Yep, that is a big fat no.”
“Mother, just do it and be done. I’m growing bored. It’s like you enjoy playing with your food,” Bianca said in a bored tone.
I’d thought the girl was a shifter. Now, a dawning thought occurred. This thing had a child with a shifter. That meant Bianca was a cross between it and a shifter.
“You know what she is and what she does, and you’re okay with it?”
“She’s my mother. Besides, there are too many idiots on this earth, and my mother needs their blood to stay young and here.”
“How old are you?” I narrowed my eyes. Bianca couldn’t be much older than twenty, yet she had a worldly attitude.
“I’ll be twenty-one on my next birthday. I’m bored with this, and I’m pretty sure you’ve allowed her to drain enough of her powers now, Mom. Let us be done with it.”
Her words jarred me. Had the other woman been playing with me, knowing that by holding the others in a safe bubble, it was draining me? I reached inside myself, sensing no fatigue, which was astounding in and of itself.
In my mind, I felt Slater and his pack. I stumbled to the side, reaching a hand out to the table to steady myself. Under the shield of my eyelashes, I counted the men with Greta and Bianca.
“I don’t know how many you have with you, but I have one green thing that used to be the old crone, her daughter, who is half shifter and half demon or something, and four shifters with me. I’ve got the rest of the pack behind a shield. Don’t ask, I’ll explain later.”
“Oh, you will be doing lots of explaining. Damn baby, I can feel whatever you are doing through our link, and...let’s just say it’s a little embarrassing to be running around with a hard on.”
“Don’t make me laugh, I’m trying to act tired. Just get in here and save the damsel in distress.”
His chuckle had me tightening my legs where I stood. “See, I told you. Now, grab her and let’s take her out to the field. It’s prepared.”
I allowed them to drag me out, making as little fuss as possible so it didn’t appear I was too docile. In the clearing, I noticed a large stone well. “What the hell?” That had not been there before. Was the green being from Hell?
“Ah, you see the portal? I know it’s quite antiquated, but it works.” I jerked back as black smoke drifted up from the center, its acrid scent smelling of rotting flesh.
“Oh, no, none of that,” Greta ground out.
Bar held me easily, the smoke curling up into the air. “Don’t do this.”
“When the veil opens, I hold the power to stop others from coming through. You don’t want to stop me, girlie.
I can allow a hellbeast to come across. You shifters think you’re the top of the food chain, but let me tell you, those big bastards make you little wolves look like house pets.
When they come through, they’ll imprint on the first person they lay eyes on.
That would be me. I can order them to do anything I want.
How long do you think it would take me to figure out who and where the rest of your family lives?
Nothing on this planet can kill them. Now, it’s you or them. What do you choose?”
Like mother, like daughter—only I’d choose my death over my loved ones. RozLee was a selfish bitch. I quit fighting, hoping and praying Slater had a plan.
“Oh, ye of little faith. The Goddess has gifted you with more strength and powers than you have given yourself credit for. When you need it, ask for it. She will guide you. I would come to your aid, but I am unable to do so physically. However, I can lend you my knowledge,” Jenna whispered into my mind.
Information flooded me, and with it a calmness.
Howls split the air. Achingly familiar and welcome.
I let the energy flow from me into the portal, where the black smoke rolled out, a grey cloud covering the black, pushing it down.
“No, you can’t,” Greta yelled.
Her green body tackled me like a professional linebacker.
With focused power, I unleashed all my energy, pushing the blackness back.
In my mind, I pictured the portal collapsing, sealing up on itself.
Hands tore at my hair as reality intruded.
I blinked, finding myself trapped under a hundred-twenty-plus pounds of furious green creature.
My wolf surfaced. The canines I’d loathed dropped. Fur rippled along my arms.
“Get off me, or die by my hands, you crazy bitch.” I relished the angry growl that escaped from my mouth.
I felt my hair being ripped from my scalp, and I turned to see Bianca joining the fight. “Two against one. I like these odds.” I reached behind me, using my wolf and the extra strength still flowing through me, and tossed Bianca several feet away.
The sweet sound of snarling and howls filled the space. Slater sent me the information, identifying the males and the packs they belonged to. The Mystic Wolves’ howls filtered into my hearing first. And then I recognized another pack’s scent.
Holy shit—Kellen, the Iron Wolves’ Alpha, and Xan, his second, leaped into the fray, shocking me.
“I’ve got this. Get Bar, he wanted to play with me.” I knew telling Slater that would keep him from my fight. I needed to handle Greta on my own. For too long, the old woman had been my version of the boogie man.
We both turned toward Bianca. The younger female didn’t get up. Her body lay sprawled in the middle of the once sacrificial place. The jagged stones were unforgiving on her human body.
“No,” Greta snarled, her focus turning back to me. “I will kill you for this.”
I allowed my claws to grow longer, knowing Greta would be enraged. Anticipation vibrated through my core. “Oh, bring it, beotch.” I was sure I’d heard that phrase somewhere before. Jenna’s laughter filled my head.
I was hearing the other woman’s and the Goddess’s memories, or words, fill my head.
I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but I let them guide me.
Hopefully, when the battle was over, they’d retreat to the back of my brain, if not altogether.
I wasn’t in the mood to be considered Sybil.
Again, the two women laughed in my head.
I would so love to sit and chat with the two of them—or rather the Fey and a goddess—when I wasn’t locked in a life or death battle.
Circling each other, Greta spewed hatred and words meant to confuse and frighten me, but I blocked her vile verbal vomit. My mind focused on the being’s weak points. No matter who or what you were, you had a soft underbelly. With the long flowing robes, it was hard to guess what the woman hid.
With an evil grin, Greta reached inside, withdrawing her hand.
A ball of flames appeared. The colors were a strange mix of blue, black, and grey.
Greta held it up as if admiring it before aiming it at me.
Almost too late, I rolled to the side. Before I could gain my footing, Greta lobbed another at me.
Grass and dirt flew into my eyes. The next blast had me rolling toward Greta, taking out her legs.
I landed on top, locking my right hand around the other female’s throat.
A flash of silver caught my eye. Greta, attempting to stab me, forced my wolf to come closer to the surface.
I squeezed harder, feeling the bones of Greta’s throat give.
With my other hand, I grabbed the wrist holding the blade, wrapped my fingers around it, and squeezed both with all my strength.
Staring down, I held Greta in place while cutting off her air supply. The woman’s cold black eyes bulged. I pictured my family before Greta. In my mind, I pictured them as a loving family—how they should’ve been if the bitch below me hadn’t come along.
The skin on my arm became shredded under the struggling, clawing form beneath me, but I only increased the pressure.
Finally, I felt the bones snap, crush. I watched the air leave the woman, yet I knew that wasn’t it.
Greta was evil incarnate and needed to be eradicated from the earth.
I closed my eyes and let the Goddess flow through me, cleansing the ground and the surrounding area of the stench and taint.