Chapter 30 #3
Whatever teasing comment Winter had been about to make died in his throat as they reached the first floor.
The sounds of battle had moved on, and the floor was littered with bodies and streaked with cooling pools of blood.
He didn’t allow himself the chance to linger.
If he lingered, he’d look for his brothers or their mates.
He’d search for clanmates he could do nothing for.
“Winter…”
Winter shook his head, pulling Fox up the stairs. “We keep moving.”
He spared only a glance at the fighting on the second floor.
There were over a dozen wolves leaping through the action and tearing down enemies while Bel stood in the center, shouting orders.
He thought he saw bobcats as well, but he couldn’t be sure in all the chaos.
He wouldn’t be surprised if his brother had brought a few more animals to turn the odds into their favor.
At the third floor, the numbers were fewer, but the fighting remained fierce.
Marcus was battling a pair of vampires as he wielded two short swords.
Ethan had his back pressed to a wall while shooting at any vampire who tried to circle around Marcus.
Sofia and her mate, David, were also cutting through Damon’s support.
But it was Aiden that Winter struggled to pull his eyes from.
In the center of the room his father faced off against Damon and he was holding a sword.
The man moved as graceful as the wind, the sword slicing effortlessly through the air.
It was like Aiden had been born with the thing in his hand.
For the first time, he could feel the heavy echo of Aiden’s age. His father was…ancient.
And Damon was no match.
“You can’t do this!” Damon screamed. “I’m going to lead our people into the light! We were born to rule the humans.”
“We’re vampires, Damon,” Aiden replied so very calmly. “We belong in the shadows. We were meant to rule the night.”
Damon rushed Aiden, but his father sidestepped him as easily as if they were dancing. The sword flashed out, deftly slicing Damon across the stomach. Blood seeped into his shirt and Damon howled, but the vampire was not done.
“Winter!” Fox shouted, jerking him from the fight.
“Can you help Ethan?” Winter asked. “I want to even some of the odds.”
Fox smiled and nodded. “Go, my scary boogeyman.” Fox pressed a quick, hard kiss to his lips and released his hand.
Fox automatically slid out of the dead world and hurried over to Ethan’s side.
Winter saw the young vampire’s eyes widen and heard Ethan exclaim excitedly between gunshots.
Fox would catch him up on what happened on the lower level and where Winter was. Not that it was necessary.
Smiling, Winter tightened his hands around the knives he held and launched himself at the nearest attacker. He bounced in and out of the dead world, slaughtering one vampire after another. He freed Marcus of his attackers and moved to Sofia. The numbers dwindled quickly, and some just chose to run.
When he was finished, only clan and allies stood around him. Covered in blood, Winter stepped fully into the world of the living, a feral grin on his lips.
“Holy fucking shit,” Sofia breathed. “I’d heard whispers…”
“The Angel of Death,” David said.
“Our family’s protector,” Marcus announced, pride ringing clear in his voice. Winter turned to look at his older brother, a mix of worry and relief in his blue eyes. He had a feeling Marcus wanted to say more, but he held his tongue.
Fox ran across the gallery and crashed into him, wrapping his arms around his neck. He didn’t seem to care about the blood and gore as he kissed him. “My tornado of blades.”
“How will you ever go back to a normal life after this?” Winter teased.
Swords clanged together and Winter tucked Fox to his side while turning toward the ongoing battle between Damon and Aiden. He was so damn tempted to step in and remove Damon’s heart, but Aiden had the fight well in hand.
“Your family will die!” Damon shouted.
“Enough!” Aiden snarled.
And it was. Aiden blocked one last desperate attack on Damon’s part and slashed violently through the air, removing Damon’s head from his neck.
The head spun through the air and bounced across the floor before coming to rest against the far wall.
Damon’s body collapsed to its knees and fell over with a squishy thump.
Winter stood frozen for a moment, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight.
It was a way he’d never seen Aiden. His father was the loving, caring mentor.
He was patience, concern, and more recently joy.
He’d never doubted that Aiden was a strong protector of their family, but it was another matter to see him in action.
Winter was simply in awe of him. He was the protector of all their people.
“King Aiden,” he murmured.
“All hail King Aiden!” Sofia shouted and someone else repeated it.
His father looked up at him and gave a little sigh. It wasn’t a title he wanted, but Winter knew he’d live up to it in every way.
Aiden opened his arms and Winter immediately rushed to his side. Marcus joined him a heartbeat later. They both embraced him tightly. A kiss was pressed to the top of Winter’s temple, and he smiled. King Aiden would always protect them all, but his sons would come first.
“I’m okay. Fox is okay,” Winter quickly said.
“Good,” Aiden breathed. He squeezed them for a second and stepped back.
“Go find your brothers. Help them. Leave Fox and Ethan with me.” He lifted his gaze to Sofia.
“Take Damon’s head and order the fighting to stop.
There is a new king in the Americas. Vampires will answer to me or follow Damon into death. ”
Sofia’s grin was wide as she hurried over to grab the head up by the hair. She and David disappeared down the stairs.
Winter hesitated. He wanted to make sure that Bel, Rafe, and the rest of his family were safe, but he was reluctant to leave Fox.
“Go, Winter. Fox and Ethan will keep me safe,” Aiden nudged. Winter nodded and winked at Fox. They were at the end of it all. The monster had been slain, and his family was safe.
Now he had to figure out what normal vampires did each night.
Not that his life was ever going to be normal with a witch at his side. And he was never going to let Fox out of his sight again.