King’s guards soundlessly surround us from every angle.
“Thank you for falling so willingly into my plan.”
Kai pushes me behind him, as the others form a protective circle around me. I know I’m not some big ass shifter, but technically I’m the only one here who can’t die.
Even if it does hurt like a bitch.
I push my way through Kai and Rion, ignoring their snarling glares before they aim them at King.
A dark shadow shifts over Kai’s body just as his eyes flash red. “What the hell are you talking about?”
King smirks at the volatile hound of hell. “You’ve bonded. I can taste the fresh magic from here.”
“You knew we were mates?” I ask.
“Of course, I did.” A conceited smirk flashes across his face.
“What the fuck!” Jax narrows his eyes on him, his body trembling with rage.
He knew all this time? Then the so-called agreement was nothing but a trick. But for what? What could he gain from this?
King’s laugh is full of cruel delight. “I know everything that goes on in my city, especially about this particular whore of yours.”
Once the word leaves his mouth, Axel and Jax try to rush out. I catch them by the arm, pleading them to stay.
“Please, don’t.”
They don’t know how powerful King is. And with the powerful warlocks and shifters behind him, he will destroy them in minutes. We need to stick together. At least then we might stand a chance.
“He calls you that one more fucking time, and he’s dead,” Jax spits out, seething.
“They’re only meaningless words, they can’t hurt me.”
“No, but they’ll fucking hurt when I make him choke on them,” Axel says. His body vibrates with fury as his dragon comes to the surface.
I squeeze Axel’s hand, giving him a soft smile. He squeezes back, still focused on the psycho in front of us.
“What do you want from us?” Rion asks, his basilisk slithering just under his skin.
King lets out a humourless laugh. “You?! You’ve already done exactly as I expected. I no longer require your services or your farce of an agreement. My stepdaughter, on the other hand, will be coming with me.”
“Over our dead bodies.” Jax snarls, more beast than man, as his familiar blue flame lights up his irises.
The guys try pushing me between them again, but with the glare I give them, they stop.
“I was hoping you’d say that.” King nods to one of his guards as they begin to shift in seconds.
“Fuck,” Luka whispers, watching as powerful shifters show their true form. Wolves, bears, tigers and fucking jaguars, all charge forward, ready to strike. Warlocks line up outside them, creating another boundary to block us in.
The guys waste no time shifting into their beasts.
“Stay with her and protect her with your fucking life,” Kai says to Axel before grabbing me and pulling me into his warm body. Slamming his lips to mine, I taste death and danger. Savouring every brush and lick of flames as they spread through my body, lighting up my core. I clutch fistfuls of his shirt, not wanting to let go. We break apart, still breathless, our eyes making each other a promise.
We will make it through this and have many more moments like this.
With one last look, he turns and shifts into his hound of hell, doubling in size as the shadows and darkness cover his body, moulding it into hellfire and ash.
He rips apart a tiger before making his way to the line of bear shifters aiming an attack at my shadow wolves.
Luka and Jax are already in their wolf form. Both magnificent creatures that tower over the other shifters looking down at them like prey. Blue flames envelop Jax as he strikes the nearest tiger. His teeth clamping on his neck as his ice flames freeze him in place just as he snaps his neck in half.
Luka’s red flames drip from his mouth like blood as he snarls at the two bears trying to cage him in.
A dark shadow hovers over him like a cloak of death, waiting to strike down his enemies. The bears veer off, trying to attack him from each side.
I don’t realise I’m moving towards them until Axel grabs my hand, stopping my advance.
“They’ve got this, princess,” he whispers into my ear.
Glancing up at him, I see the promise in his words. He keeps hold of my hand, rubbing small circles with his thumb, making me shiver.
I look back, seeing both bears bleeding out on the ground.
Each of the guys is holding their own, but the shifters have doubled their efforts, teaming up to attack them.
I hear a gasp making my stomach drop. Morana’s amused chuckle hits my ears like nails as she throws energy balls toward Ry’s basilisk. His beautiful matte black scales light up and turn an angry scarlet the more she hits him.
Red coats my vision as I measure up my new target, no longer caring in that moment what Morana used to be to me.
I make it two steps before a hand pulls me back.
“Don’t even think about it, princess.” Axel growls, looking pissed off.
“I’m not standing here doing nothing while the rest of you all sacrifice yourselves.”
“We’re not sacrificing anything, especially not you. So, sit tight and this will be over soon.”
“They need our help, Axel,” I plead with him. He frowns, looking over at Jax and Lukas’ wolves as they take on a group of jaguars that viciously strikes at them from every angle. They’re holding their own, but there’s too many of them and a group of warlocks waiting right behind them.
We need to help. Even as powerful alphas, they can’t take on this many shifters by themselves.
I think he’s about to listen, but then he shakes his head, narrowing his eyes on me. “I can’t. If anything happened to you—”
“I can’t die. Please, just help them. I’ll be fine.”
A loud howl draws our attention. Frantically I search out my missing shadow wolves, coming up empty.
Morana is nowhere to be seen, making the pit in my stomach grow.
“There.” Axel points in the opposite direction I was looking. What I see makes my throat turn dry and stomach turn to ash.
Jax’s wolf is on the ground, struggling to get up from a deep wound on his legs.
Warlocks are throwing energy bolts over and over while the bears coordinate a vicious attack.
Luka has unleashed his dark side, but even that’s not enough to hold them all back.
“Help them,” I beg Axel.
Axel glances over at his bond brothers and back at me, looking conflicted.
“Please, if anything happens to them…” My voice breaks, a mirrored reflection of my heart.
Axel lets out a growl, giving me a fierce look as he pulls me over to two crates.
“Promise me you’ll stay here.”
I agree immediately, not wanting him to waste any time. “I promise, just hurry.”
Axel shakes his head, kissing my forehead before unleashing his dragon.
Crimson scales climb up his body as it grows twice the size of the large crates beside us. Heading towards Luka and Jax, he releases a terrifying roar of flames, taking out half of the bears and catching the warlocks off guard.
A shrill of screams can be heard all over as Axel becomes ruthless, letting loose his dragon’s wrath on those who dare hurt his brothers.
“Look what we have here. A little mouse to play with.” Morana saunters out from the shadows behind me followed by two of King’s demons, making me back out into the open.
“What do you want?”
“What I want doesn’t matter… At least not yet…”
I glance around, looking for a way out. Behind me there are a group of jaguars, but I’d take them over Morana any day.
She narrows her eyes on me, seeing my exit plan form.
“Grab her, she’s coming with us.”
“What about King?”
“He’ll meet us there.” Morana narrows her eyes on the demon, not liking being questioned.
The demons hesitate just as Morana’s eyes flare green, making them scurry forward.
While they’re busy talking, I inch backwards, hoping to turn and make a run for it when one disappears, reappearing behind me and blocking any chance to escape.
Damn it.
They grab me, forcing me to my knees. I struggle trying to break their hold, but it’s no use. They’re too strong and I’m out of options.
Looking up at Morana, all I feel is the sharp sting of her deception and betrayal.
“What the fuck did I ever do to you to deserve any of this?”
“You exist. You’re an abomination that should be destroyed. Something I will willingly assist with.”
“All because I can’t fucking die!”
She shakes her head as if disappointed in me.
“Ignorant until the very last minute.”
I struggle against the demon’s grip, cursing Morana to hell and back, but she ignores my protests.
“Tie her up, we need to get her out of here, quietly.”
“King—
“Will meet up with us, of course.” Morana cuts him off, waving him away.
The look in her eyes tells me she’s lying. Whatever she has planned most definitely does not involve King.
The further we move away from the guys, the more dread fills me. I shout out, but the demon to my right gags me, adding a back-hand for good measure. The other demon chuckles, watching on.
We make it past the cluster of crates, the only sound a click and clack from Morana’s heels.
Coming to the edge of the docks, I spot a small boat floating near the marina, making me freeze.
“Looks like you get your wish after all.” Morana turns to me, giving me a cruel smirk.
Trading one cage for another was never something I wanted.
The demons give me a harsh shove toward the pier.
Just before I take a step onto it, we’re surrounded once more by King and his warlocks.
Morana doesn’t miss a beat, pasting on a fake smile for her lover.
“King… You’re back early. Everything go okay with your deal?”
“Cut the small talk.” With a nod to his head, King has the two demons holding me, encased in flames. I feel the lick of heat hit my face and arms as they burn to ash beside me.
“Well, there’s no need to be dramatic.” Morana pouts at the ashed demon remains.
“You tried to steal something that belongs to me.”
“I was getting her away from those foolish alphas for you, you should be thanking me.”
“Is that right?” King gives her a bored look, not falling for it one bit.
“Of course, it is. What would I want with a little spoiled brat?” She sneers at me.
“Maybe it was to offer her to the rival vampire clan?”
Morana’s eyes widen slightly before she covers it with a nervous chuckle. “What a preposterous delusion. I’d never betray you. Stop this foolishness and let’s be on our way.”
With the click of King’s fingers, a tall lanky man with a greying beard saunters into view, his smug smirk aimed at Morana.
“Hello, Morana .”
Morana narrows her eyes before giving King a confused look. “I’ve never met this man before in my life.”
“You weren’t saying that last time we met. An endless supply of blood, you said. Could have her for as long as we wanted.”
King looks to the shifter to his left who resembles a line-backer on steroids. He shakes his head confirming whatever silent question King asks.
“It looks like you’ve outlived your usefulness.”
My heart picks up as King’s warlocks enclose around Morana, energy balls at the ready. Even after all she’s done, my stomach still turns at the thought of her no longer being around.
“Wait. Wait!” Morana’s eyes widen as she backs up, realising what King’s about to do.
King doesn’t call his men back, ignoring her pleas. She should know by now how cruel he is.
“I’ve been loyal to you all these years. I’ve played my part and kept her in line. I just wanted more time with you. She’s taking so many years from us. So much time wasted. I just wanted you to myself. Just for a bit.”
I feel like someone sucker punched me in the stomach. Here I am still worrying over what King’s going to do to her and she’s about to hand me over to be bled dry.
There is one thing she’s right about.
I am too fucking naïve.
Clenching my jaw against the gag, I stare right at her. Seeing her true colours for the first time, I give her no more of my compassion or time.
I can’t keep trying to make her out to be someone she isn’t, just because I hoped for it.
“But… but… you love me…” Morana’s childlike voice reaches my ears but still I focus on everything she did, every betrayal and deception.
I would not let her break me again. She isn’t worth it.
“You were always a means to an end. Nothing more.” King’s reply left no room for doubt. He never loved her.
Morana drops the innocent facade, recognising she’s lost. “You rotten bastard!”
King’s bored look turns into a crooked smile. “Kill her.”
Morana narrows her eyes, rapidly shooting out energy bolts of her own. The warlocks dive to the ground, throwing their own back at her.
I duck behind a bolder, just as chaos erupts around me.
King watches on, feeling confident of his warlock’s ability to kill his jilted lover.
The warlocks work in sync, wearing her out, before going full force at her.
One bolt hits her before she’s able to take cover. The warlocks see this and work together to send a larger bolt at her.
She freezes on impact, her eyes widening in shock as she lands near my feet. Her skin turns a molten grey before me as she rasps out her final few breaths.
I bite down on my gag, promising myself I would not cry for this bitch. Not after everything.
The Alana I knew, looks to me one last time. Before she takes her last breath, she rasps out a broken few words. “Not just a healer. You… re… a…”
She dies before she finishes her sentence, leaving me more confused than ever.
I’m thrown sideways as an explosion of fire hits the marina, blowing up Morana’s boat and the surrounding pier.
The concealed attacker hits again, hitting the ground, setting it on fire.
King and his guards pull back, ducking for cover just as another explosion hits.
While they’re distracted, I see an opening and make my way to the nearest crate. Just as a sliver of hope runs through me, I’m yanked backward into the small, tight space between two crates and disappear into the darkness.
