Declan stopped Jaye as he watched me try to push through the magic she’d hit me with. I screamed out in pain, and several howls sounded off behind me. Some of my bones had partially contorted, silver fur sprouted from my arms in patches, and claws appeared where my nails had been.
Holy mother! It was painful. My legs were barely usable, and with all the adrenaline pumping through me, the pain throughout my body was barely tolerable, my hands and arms hurting the worst.
I watched helplessly as Declan’s wolves charged my friends. All I could do was hope they could hold their own until help arrived. Knowing there was nothing I could do and no assistance was coming for me anytime soon, I brought my attention back to Declan and Jaye, idly wondering where Rafe was.
“Oh, did that hurt, dear?” Jaye snickered.
Declan’s smug smile stared down at me. I was at the bottom of the three porch steps, and his menacing demeanor was enough to make me take a few steps backward. I could hear snarls and fighting behind me, but I didn’t dare remove my attention from the two in front of me. My hands continued to shift, making me realize Jaye had only slowed my shift, she hadn’t stopped it altogether.
I needed a new plan and quick, because everything else seemed to be going to shit. I switched my gaze between Jaye and Declan. Jaye didn’t seem to want to get her hands dirty, and Declan was enjoying my pain too much. He didn’t deserve that kind of joy, so I needed to do something about it.
My hands were done shifting and I was going to be rendered useless once the shift hit my torso. At that point, I’d be utterly helpless until the transformation was complete. It was now or never.
I swiped out my paw with claws extended, catching Declan by surprise. He fell on the wood deck, glaring at me. “You’ll pay for that, bitch.” His hand lifted and a stream of something dark and magical shot out.
I hit the ground, moaning as my changing body protested. My legs were beginning to shift, making it harder to function. Whatever Declan shot at me hit my calf, burning me severely. I glanced down at it and caught a glimpse of the fight behind me.
Davis was going against two wolves at once but managing to hold his own. Liam, Caleb, and Aiden each had their own wolf to contend with. Liam’s wolf was bleeding from somewhere, but I couldn’t tell precisely where since they were moving too quickly for me to focus on any one thing.
I tore my gaze away, unable to watch. It appeared even though the other wolf was injured, he still had the upper hand, so I attempted not to worry and focus on Declan.
As I started to bring my attention back to Declan, I realized Augie was missing and internally began freaking out. My head turned in as many directions as it could from the position I was in on the ground, but he was nowhere to be seen. My heart pounded and my anxiety went through the roof.
Where are you, Augie?
I was yanked back by my hair in a tight, painful grasp. “See your friends out there? They’re all going to die. Your family has caused me so much grief. I’m going to enjoy torturing you with each of their deaths before I finally kill you, too, but not before I’ve had my fun with you.”
Declan’s harsh words had my skin crawling. I had no doubt he would do just that if I couldn’t figure out a way to fight back. My arms and legs were completely useless now. Bones began breaking in my torso, and I screamed out in anguish. Declan’s cackle fueled my rage, and I realized that the angrier I got, the faster my shift took hold.
I fought back against him, not giving up. The harder I tugged against his hold, the more he pissed me off by not letting go. Shifting in slow motion was the most painful experience ever, but the thought of the ones I loved getting injured or worse was nothing in comparison. Finally, my head began to shift, and Declan lost his grip on my hair as it disappeared.
The final part of the shift came quicker than the rest, and as soon as I had my wolf head, I took a chunk out of his leg. I called on my wolf’s mind, but she was out cold from whatever Jaye had shot at me.
I shook out my fur, feeling stronger in my wolf form but not quite complete without my girl working with me. Hopefully, she’d wake up before I really needed her. Jaye was still on the porch, watching the scene before her in fascinated curiosity. Declan had retreated some when I bit him, but he was coming back for more.
“Jaye!” he yelled. “Help me cage her. I’m not done with her yet.”
“Oh, you’re useless. Do I have to do everything around here?” she spat.
Regardless of her contempt, she channeled her magic, which was black with red sparks coming off her hands. It was not faring well for me.
Before she could complete whatever she had been brewing in her hands, Augie’s wolf form came around the corner quietly. I saw him before anyone else did and held my breath. I was beyond excited he was alive and not visibly harmed, but I was going to throttle him for whatever he thought he was doing right then. Stupid wolf.
Once Augie had a clear shot, his russet wolf sprang out and clamped down hard on Jaye’s arm. She screamed out in pain, slamming whatever magic she did have in her hands into my best friend. I howled out in pain as I saw Augie’s body go limp, but a small victory was made as Jaye’s arm was still in his mouth. He’d bitten it clean off from the elbow down.
Jaye snapped her fingers with the hand she had left and disappeared, leaving Declan to flounder about, unsure of what to do without his powerful sorceress to back him up. An ATV came barreling around the corner of the cabin, and Rafe hopped out of it. I had wondered if he was one of the wolves my friends were fighting, but I hadn’t paid close enough attention when they came out of the cabin. My sole focus had been on Declan and Jaye.
“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Rafe snarled as he took several steps forward.
My wolf was starting to wake as I screamed at her to hurry up. I was strong without her, but I felt unstoppable with her.
Declan was a lovestruck idiot in my opinion, but Rafe was a twisted, broken kid. He had a feral look in his eyes. His wolf was fighting him; the battle between man and wolf was clear as day on his face, especially when I realized he wasn’t going to shift but fight me in his human form. Stupid boy.
A howl ripped from my throat as my wolf finally woke. She was pissed, and I grinned internally. We were about to have some fun.
I sensed Rick and the others joining us and hoped it wasn’t too late. I’d heard whimpers and groans from behind me, but I was too afraid to see if the noises came from one of mine or Declan’s wolves.
Declan was severely outnumbered now. The downturned expression on his face said he knew he’d lost the battle. He yanked Rafe by the arm, pulling him back before he got within striking distance of me. “Not today, son.”
Behind the two of them, some sort of wormhole opened up. My wolf didn’t like the thought of them getting away. We sped closer and before they could jump through, I clamped down hard on Rafe’s leg. He kicked out with his other one, but only succeeded in falling over. His body was half in the wormhole being tugged on by Declan while I locked my jaw tight, pulling Rafe toward me.
Declan quickly realized his strength was no match for my angry wolf’s. He shot another burning stream of magic out of his hand. It hit my wolf’s neck and once again burned like acid. We released Rafe and retreated, watching helplessly as they disappeared.
The hole closed as soon as they were out of sight. I wasn’t happy they’d gotten away, but we’d done quite a bit of damage, and we’d hopefully saved the humans. That would have to be good enough for the time being.
I heard Augie’s wolf moan from the porch and all other thoughts disappeared. He was shifting back to human form, which was a good sign. I reigned in my pain, making my way toward him. I nudged him with my snout, both my wolf and I unable to take a full breath until he confirmed he was alright.
His hand reached up to rub my head. “I’m okay, just give me a minute. How’s everyone else?”
I shook my head. I had no idea. I hadn’t been able to follow any of the other fights behind me. I turned and saw four mangled bodies on the ground. Three of which weren’t from my pack, but one was and my heart shattered.
No, no, no. This could not be happening. Not Davis.