Chapter 27 #2
Blood leaked from the vampire’s mouth before he disappeared from my grasp in his smoky teleporting thing he did.
Kaida caught him a moment later, sinking her canines into his shoulder.
Phelan joined her by latching onto his other arm.
Garrick hooked into a forearm. More wolves bit into him, one after the other, pinning him where he stood.
The vampire’s blood dripped in droves to the floor.
Morcant laughed, his hands twitching as the pack forced him to his knees. “You wolves. Your barking is certainly worse than your bite.”
“That so?” I asked in my deeper, werewolf register. Discovering a free spot on his arm, I bit into him, piercing the bone. The only thing keeping his limb still attached was my jaw.
Morcant cried out, the faint whispers of his smoke rising around us as if he was about to disappear.
“Wait,” Aurora shouted.
With the vampire still between my teeth, I turned to look at her. Aurora held a gold amulet on a chain, the size of which trumped her palm. Growling and snarling, we wolves kept hold of Morcant.
“Before you escape like the pussy you are, Morcant, you’re going to give me the only genuine gift you’ve ever given me.” Aurora stepped forward, shoving the amulet in the vampire’s face.
Morcant shook, his lower lip trembling. “No. You’re my prized progeny. I won’t.”
“You’ll never have me in your brood. You’ll never have my blood. My mate overpowered your maker’s influence, and I’m now a part of the same pack who has you locked in their jaws.”
Shit, I was proud. And she called my pack her pack.
A blood tear escaped Morcant’s eye.
“Release me, Morcant.” Aurora shook the amulet at him.
Another tear streaked down the vampire’s cheek. “You could have been a vampire of extraordinary power, Aurora.”
“I am one, just not in the way you wanted.” Aurora lowered her face to his, her eyes softening slightly. “Release me.”
Morcant pinched his eyes shut and whispered, “I release you.”
The amulet shimmered, that same glittering glow framing Aurora.
More shadows, only darker, thicker, and animated like coiling tentacles, formed around us. We slowly released our holds on Morcant, our jaws snapping shut.
“Before you leave, vampire,” a familiar voice said.
Erebus stepped through the shadows, the strands spiraling around him, caressing him, trailing behind him like a smoky cape.
Morcant’s eyes bulged, a sort of terror pulling his face taut.
“We cannot have you attempting to come after your progeny in the future when you have gotten over how pathetically embarrassing this all was, can we?” Erebus prowled forward, snatching Morcant by his throat.
“You are only so lucky that your bloodline forbids me from separating you from your immortal life.”
Aurora tugged on my fur and whispered, “Kins, what the fuck is going on?”
“Pulled in a favor.”
Erebus extended his hand toward Aurora. “Morcant, watch as your progeny becomes ever untouchable to you. For eternity.” The inky shadows swirled from his fingers, surrounding her like a framing halo before settling into her skin.
“The hells are you—” I lurched at Erebus.
“Calm down, wolf. It’s a shadow ward,” Erebus said, still looking at Morcant. “You won’t be able to touch her, to summon her, you won’t even be able to track her.”
Morcant shook with rage, his hand gripping the arm Erebus had at his neck. “I will figure out a way to ruin you, shadow night god. Even if it takes hundreds of years.”
Erebus leaned into the ancient vampire’s face with a demonic smile. “Good luck.” He released his hold on him.
Morcant disappeared into the inky darkness.
“Fuck, no,” Phelan yelled, turning circles. “Where’d he go?”
Aurora stared at the amulet. “We couldn’t have killed him.”
“She’s right,” Erebus added. “If a primordial god cannot, what makes you all think you stood a chance?”
I shook my head, beat my paws against it, trying to calm the werewolf. It was being stubborn.
Aurora tossed the amulet in her palm before moving to the fireplace and throwing it in.
“We may not have killed him, but we sure as shit made him hurt,” Kaida preened with a wide grin.
Grunting because I was still in werewolf form, I bumped my head against Aurora’s back.
She sniffled and turned to face me, her eyes glistening with red tears. She stroked her hand over my muzzle. “Thanks, big guy.”
I wrapped a long arm around her, pulling her to me, and she buried her face into my furry chest, inhaling me. It was almost instantaneous. Her skin against mine, her tears, her emotions and scent willed me back to my human form. We stood by the fire in her maker’s room, embracing.
Erebus loudly cleared his throat. “I’ll be taking my leave then.”
Aurora pulled away, but kept her hands on my arms. “Thanks, Erebus.”
The primordial bowed his head. “Until next time at the Crypt.”
“Consider your drinks on the house forever.”
A whisper of a smile tugged Erebus’ lips. “I’ll take it.” Just as he arrived, he disappeared through his shadows and smoke.
Cupping Aurora’s cheek, I asked, “What’d he release you from?”
Aurora peeled back, her cheeks stained red. “Our bond as sire and childe is over. I’m all yours, Kins.”
A satisfied growl rumbled in my chest. I held her tighter against me. “Almost, Rory. Almost.”
“Say, guys, this is great and all, but that portal won’t stay open forever,” Garrick said, hooking a thumb at the shattered door.
“You might also want to put pants on, Alpha, before you give the Shaman a heart attack,” Phelan added.
“Shaman?” Aurora asked.
I put on what remained of my shredded pants. “We got a lot to talk about, but first, there’s something I—something we need to do.” I held my hand out for her to take.
It was time to truly make her mine.