CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The explosion rocked the cave enough to give the two fighters pause—a much needed pause for Dylan, who was already too wounded for his own good and had felt wrong during the whole battle. A niggling feeling had started in his stomach and hadn’t gone away, even while Isaac attacked him with fervor and showed even more dislike in his beast form.
When a second explosion sounded, Dylan’s wolf form stilled as Isaac shifted back to human form in the blink of an eye. He glared at Dylan, his rage showing.
“If you had anything to do with that, you don’t deserve a chance to fight. I will kill you instantly.”
A hot vibration filled his body as Dylan shifted back to his human form, too. He eyed Isaac coldly. “That’s not mine, Hart.”
Guards surrounded him, with one handing him a pair of cotton trousers to wear. He did so hurriedly and watched as Isaac barked orders all over the place, then positioned himself to shift back into his panther form. But before he could, a commotion sounded—and suddenly Dylan heard familiar voices shouting and running in their direction.
It was Simon and Robin. Robin had a spell in place that wrapped the two in a ball of transparent light, and inside, their clothes were charred. Dylan surged forward and kicked at the first guard that tried to stop him, running towards the teenagers and arriving there at the same time that Isaac did.
“Don’t hurt them,” Dylan growled in warning.
“What have you done?” Isaac snapped at the same time.
“You’re both fighting the wrong guy!” Simon yelled, his voice muffled by the spell.
Robin dropped it instantly. “We used an explosive spell to free ourselves and we’re not sorry.”
“Free yourselves?” Dylan echoed.
Robin nodded impatiently. Then she stepped forward, fearless and a tiny bit pissed, placing her hand on the two leaders’ arms. Isaac’s claw came out and dug on Robin’s skin. Both Simon and Dylan held on to him to stop him, and the hair at the back of Dylan’s neck rose up as threatening growls sounded from around them.
Then Isaac froze.
And so did Dylan, as Robin’s hand glowed and bombarded them with images after images of what happened.
The courtyard was vivid, and so was the image of Clay as he clawed at Robin and knocked Simon. But Robin had seen him—and so he dragged the two of them towards a nearby closet, tying them with simple ropes but using magic to enhance it.
But it was the image of Jason appearing when Robin opened her eyes again that had Isaac staggering back.
The niggling sensation in Dylan’s stomach doubled, and his head snapped up. Coldness gripped him when he scanned the crowd and saw no sign of one person.
“Isabella,” was all he said.
Then he was breaking away from the crowd and the guards, shifting to his wolf form, and running for all he was worth.
*****
The cave was a no-go, because Jason would not be stupid enough to take her inside and risk them both being discovered and trapped there. It frustrated Dylan that he didn’t know the woods enough to determine where to go, and had to rely on a certain panther shifter to guide the way.
He felt the presence of Isaac a few minutes after Dylan had shifted and ran through the greenery. They looked at each other in beast form, knowing this time, they weren’t going to be fighting. They were both still injured, but that didn’t matter right now—what mattered was there was no fresh blood to be scented.
In silent agreement, they both ran at the same time, with Isaac slightly ahead leading the way. Only same types of shifters could read each other’s minds, so Dylan had to rely on sense as he followed Isaac through the woods’ twists and turns. He knew they had no time to lose and had to hurry at all costs, otherwise it might be too late for Isabella.
A part of him wondered if it wasn’t already too late.
He should have seen it—should not have trusted Jason so much and taken the evidence at face value. But then again, it had been so well done—almost like Jason knew they would go there, and he decided to frame his brother.
Unless Isaac was also involved?
Dylan’s instinct said otherwise. The rage in Isaac once he found out his sister had disappeared was real and raw, and it burned like a furnace. That same rage was vibrating from him now as he finally stopped at the edge of the woods and looked ahead.
As quiet as the wind, Dylan stopped beside the panther and squinted his eyes. Up ahead, shadows could be seen, surrounded by a force field that could only be magic.
Isabella was inside, tied up and on her knees. Her face was caked in mud, and she was glaring up at Jason.
Beside Dylan, Isaac tensed and attempted to step forward. Dylan blocked the way, his ears perking up as Jason’s voice floated in their direction.
“We could have lived happily and peacefully, Isabella, without you knowing about all this,” Jason was saying, a mournful tone in his voice.
“How many people are involved?” Isabella asked.
“Just me and Clay in this clan. The rest are cowards. Our brother is too prideful to make actual, staggering money.”
“You’re sick.”
A slapping sound flashed in the air as Isabella’s head went down, and this time it was Dylan who tensed.
“Clay,” Jason growled threateningly. “Enough. Isabella, really. I suppose it is pointless to ask you to join our side and keep this from Isaac? We need to kill those strangers so no one knows.”
Silence.
Then Isabella spoke, loud and clear. “Go fuck yourself, Jason.”
Dylan’s heart swelled, never having been prouder. Then pride turned to anger as another slapping sound hit the air, louder this time. Isaac broke into a run, a black blur running straight for the barrier. It held, and he was tossed to the side as the barrier flashed and electrified him, crippling him to the ground.
Dylan came out of his hiding place. He saw Isabella’s eyes widen and intense hate flashing in Jason’s. His eyes scanned the barrier, which wasn’t entirely visible but was shimmering from this distance.
Jason took out a dagger, and Isabella struggled from her bonds.
Dylan. Charge. Now.
Simon’s voice entered his thoughts.
Dylan didn’t hesitate. He charged, faster than his paws had ever taken him, leaping through the air at the last second. An explosion sounded on the other side, and the ground shook with the force of it. Then Robin was shouting and Simon’s blur was there, and Dylan erased everything else in his mind as he landed on Clay, who had just shifted to his panther form to defend himself.
Jason clawed at his back, sparking pain, but he was off in a second. Isabella’s panther form was suddenly rolling on the ground with him, dark brown and brilliant and the most beautiful he’d ever seen. But Clay was taking his attention, trying to kill him with strike after strike—and so Dylan fought back, using all his strength to come out on top. His injuries reopened, and Clay took advantage as he struck in those certain areas.
Simon’s wolf form jumped on Clay, teeth tearing through Clay’s neck. He got in an inch before he was thrown to the ground, a whimper escaping as a spell was thrown his way—meaning the shifter still had some magic inside him even while in beast form. Simon slumped, motionless.
Rage flowed through Dylan.
A surge of power flowed in him, and he used it to tackle Clay to the ground. Then he was tearing and tearing, using his claws and teeth, letting the rage wash over him and turn his vision red.
When he came down from his high, the world returned to focus—and so did Isabella’s voice, as her human form pinned him in place and called out his name over and over. Dylan focused on her, those blue eyes filled with concern and fear, until the rage ebbed away, bit by agonizing bit. He shifted back to human form, and still her voice called him out.
When he looked down, he saw Clay dead and torn apart, his eyeballs and limbs strewn all over the place.
A few meters away, the scent of blood filled the air as Isaac put in the last strike, taking away Jason’s life.
Then a shriek followed, one of mourning, anger and sorrow.