CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Asher didn’t have time to shout at Valeria to stop when, in a blur, she jumped off the roof. He didn’t even have the reflex to run to the ledge until a loud boom made the building shake. When Finn, Violet and he approached to peer down, what they saw rendered them speechless.
Two stories down wasn’t the body of Valeria, but the one of a dragon. Smaller than Soren, she was darker in color, a deep, rich brown that shimmered gold and amber. Asher knew about dragons; they were the mightiest of the shifters, a vanishing species.
Valeria moved awkwardly at first, and as their opponents were stunned by the sudden appearance of a second dragon, it gave her a moment to get her bearings.
“Come on, baby, let the dragon take over, she’ll know what to do.” He was aware that his whispered encouragements couldn’t be heard, but he wished for her to understand. His body tense, Asher knew that his wolf, as vigorous and powerful as it was, couldn’t help her. Feeling powerless was very uncomfortable for him, preferring a protective role, but he had to trust her; have faith in her, and whom she was becoming before his eyes.
The intruders attacked first. The closest to Valeria sent a burst of energy, punching her in the gut. She howled and swished her tail, sending two of them flying into the wall below them.
“Way to go, girlfriend!” Violet shouted beside him. But the attackers weren’t completely disabled, and they quickly scrambled back to their feet. “Oh no, you don’t!” And Violet blasted them with some sort of magical sphere, cracking their skulls in a sickening crunch.
“Excellent move, witch.” Finn was smiling and nodded at her.
Violet arched an eyebrow but didn’t say a word, and all eyes returned to the battle below.
At first, compared to Soren, Valeria seemed more like cannon fodder than a fighting threat. Surrounded by fewer Enforcers than her father, her dragon form deflected most of the magic, but Asher knew that she would have felt the pain nonetheless. Slower, she was still discovering how to move.
“I can’t stay here and do nothing.” The words were out of his mouth before he could think of the consequences.
Violet turned. “Asher, it's not a good idea. Between Soren and Valeria, you could be caught in the crossfire. Pun intended.”
Finn looked around. “I agree. And you have the people below stairs to think about. Their protection and survival are paramount. Me, on the other hand, I haven’t a thing to lose.”
And as Asher stepped in the direction of the vampire, he jumped.
“Damn, stupid, idiot vampire.” Violet mumbled her curse, but her eyes stayed with him. “I can’t let him go into a fight without me.”
Asher was quick to grab her arm. “Stop! You can’t go down. I need you to protect the house against fire.”
It was evident she wasn’t pleased with his request, but Violet nodded. “You can count on me. I’ll do my best. But get Sera up here. If Enforcers try to get in, I might have my hands full.”
Asher nodded and dashed downstairs. Sentinels were still gathered in the kitchen, trying to see what was going on. Ian was helping Sera get back on her feet. Patricia seemed better, more color on her cheeks, sitting straighter now on the floor.
“Sera, go to Violet. She will need your help containing the fire from both dragons.”
The blonde witch blinked behind her thick glasses. “Both, as in two? Valeria?”
Asher could only nod, and from his peripheral vision, he saw the sentinels tense. He didn’t have the time to gauge their reactions, as they needed to act quickly.
“No problem. I’m on my way.”
Ian made a move as if to follow her, but Asher stopped him. Something passed between them, something he understood all too well.
Once he sensed that his beta had settled, he turned to the warriors assembled.
“This Sanctuary is under attack. And even if we have two dragons defending us, it may not be enough. I won’t stand inside, waiting for our fate. I’m going out. Those of you who want to follow me, know that we will encounter the fires of hell, and your skills and courage may not be enough. Those who wish to stay, rally to defend those inside these walls. You will be our last defense.”
On these words, Asher turned, not waiting for any of them. As he crossed the threshold, he offered a silent prayer to the gods and let his wolf loose.
As he rounded the corner, the sight stopped him in his tracks. The two dragons were back to back, surrounded by more than fifty Enforcers blasting ceaseless bombs and shocks against them. Soren was bleeding. On the forest edge, he saw Finn, or more of his blurry silhouette, taking out Enforcers who strayed too close to him, one by one. Violet and Sera were also under attack, but from what he could see, both witches conjured a translucent wall for their attackers, protecting both themselves and the house.
His wolf growled deep and charged. He didn’t play fair or seek a fight; Asher was going for a straight kill. Blood filled his mouth as he tore the throat of the first Enforcer on a single leap. Roars erupted all around him, but his focus never wavered. His next target was chosen before his current kill hit the ground.
Soren blew a wall of fire, and Asher was glad to see that he was trying to avoid most of the shifters on his path. As he glanced around him for the first time, Asher saw that most sentinels had decided to follow him. Even Patricia, who was taking on two opponents at once. He was about to go and help her out when he noticed an Enforcer from the corner of his eyes. He was taking a step back, preparing for something. He was closer to Valeria’s dragon and in his hands, he conjured a javelin. Bright as if burning. Asher’s heart dropped, and despite the distance, he ran as fast as he could. As he got closer, he recognized James Cooper. He had seen him way before he had met Valeria.
His stride didn’t even falter as the eyes of the man who betrayed his beloved met his. The traitor was here, willing to kill the woman he once professed his love to for a greater purpose. For madness.
Asher slashed Cooper’s shoulder with his paw as the wizard evaded his attack and dropped the flaming javelin.
As he turned to him, Cooper sent him a pulsing block of energy, but Asher was faster and jumped at him again. The trick was to stay as close as possible to prevent him from casting any spell.
For a moment, Asher got the upper hand and even succeeded in making the bastard bleed, but it was a big mistake to forget that he was battling a wizard and not a mere human. Cooper twisted under him, and Asher saw his hand turning into a claw, taking a swipe at his side. The wound burned like acid and made him stagger. Rolling back to defend himself, Asher saw that the wizard was not preparing to attack him again, but instead, scrambled to get the javelin. Muscles bunching to attack, Asher wasn’t fast enough, and Cooper threw the javelin at Valeria.
The sound she made when the spear embedded into her hip was a mix of a mighty howl and her own voice. Her pain tore at Asher, making him furious with despair, seeing red like he never thought he could in his life. Still beaming with glee, James was oblivious to the predator rounding behind him. Asher could have attacked, his wolf was waiting for it, demanding it. But he waited. He wanted the man to meet death in the face, to see it in his eyes.
He snarled, distracting Cooper, who swerved to look at the sound. The emotions flashing on his face, the madness barely concealed by the triumph in his eyes, convinced Asher that only his death would benefit this world.
He would have preferred to make it long and painful, disemboweling him until he screamed for mercy, but Asher knew that Valeria was wounded and the sentinels needed his help more than he needed to quench his thirst for vengeance. So he went for the jugular, never tearing his gaze from the wizard.
The wizard died with surprise on his face, and maybe Valeria wouldn’t understand his own satisfaction in ending the life of the man who made her suffer, but it was the way of his wolf.
Heaving and bloody, Asher turned his attention back to the sentinels who were making good headway through the rogue Enforcers. Soren was still in action, but Valeria had fallen sideways, the javelin still in her side. What he could see of it, glowed. Somehow, it must influence Valeria, on her dragon form or the magic inside her. There was no way his wolf would be able to remove it.
In the middle of the battleground, Asher turned back into his naked human form and ran to Valeria. He hesitated before climbing onto her flank but saw no other way. The brown scales were cool to his touch, almost metallic in texture. As gentle as he could manage, he reached her hip and saw blood slowly trickling from the wound. As he suspected, it wasn’t the injury that made her fall.
The javelin was still on fire, and if he was right, it was slowly, but surely making its way inside her body. Under his feet, Valeria shook, almost throwing him to the ground. He had to act, quickly. Asher gripped the javelin with both hands and winced at the fire searing his palms. Ignoring the pain, he pulled hard. Valeria shifted beneath his feet as he was certainly hurting her.
His entire body strained, pulling at the pike with unnatural strength, but as he felt his hands slipping due to the torn skin and seeping blood, something else made his head spin. There was strong magic in this weapon, and Valeria wasn’t the only one being drained of its powers. Asher’s wolf howled as he felt the magic being twisted and torn away from him, but both the man and the wolf couldn’t let go. If he did, she would no longer be, and Asher was confident that whatever or whoever she was, he couldn’t live without his Valeria.
The pike moved an inch, and that gentle yield gave him hope, even if he had less and less strength in him.
He opened his eyes to see Ian in wolf form jump to his side on Valeria’s trembling flank. Assessing the situation quickly, the dark wolf changed into human form.
“Asher! Damn!” And as he was about the reach for the spear, Asher yelled at him to stop.
“It’s something magic, Ian. It drains Valeria’s magic and mine. If you touch it, it will affect you too.”
But Ian didn’t even hesitate; shoulder to shoulder with his Alpha, he gripped the javelin and pulled. Asher was grateful for the help, even if it was ingrained in him to protect his beta.
His energy was waning rapidly as his panic spiked. Damn javelin, even with the added strength of Ian, it barely budged! And Valeria’s breathing was starting to become erratic. Not good.
“Damn you werewolves for being as strong and hard-headed as you’re stupid!”
Asher ignored Finn as he came around them. “Go help fight off the Enforcers, vampire.”
Finn angled his head and put his hand nonchalantly in his pockets, hanging on to his sophisticated flair despite blood covering the bottom half of his face.
“I already helped, and Soren is finishing them off with the support of your sentinels, thank you very much. Mighty fine victory, and if all goes well, most of Lancaster’s men are dead as we speak.”
Asher nodded, sweat pouring from him, muscles shaking. Nonplussed, Finn continued. “Asher, you need to stop. You won’t be able to pull that thing out of her. Even with the strength of both of you, it’s a losing battle.”
He didn’t want to listen; he had to get it out of Valeria. “Apart from doing nothing but stepping on my beloved, do you have any kind of use around here?”
“Asher! Listen! It’s a magical weapon, one to kill shifters. Draining them of their powers. Apart from feeding the damn thing and hurting yourselves, you’re not helping Valeria.”
Asher shivered, but for once in his life, he didn’t know what do to, who to trust. Eyes locking with the vampire, he tried his best to size him, but also knew that he was getting closer and closer to fainting; his hands so numb that he had to look at them to make sure they were still attached to his body. It was clear that pulling on the spear was getting him nowhere. He let go. Ian immediately followed suit, brushing shoulders with him, sticking close. The man was smart, because two steps away, his legs gave out, and without Ian’s grip, he would have tumbled to the ground.
Once clear, Finn took the javelin and pulled. Asher knew vampires had great strength, and even without the spell messing with him, it wasn’t an easy task.
“Valeria!!” Asher didn’t need to turn to know that Violet and most probably Sera were running out of the house to help. Everybody better be sure the fight was won, or his wolf would make them regret it.
Ian helped him slide down, his friend as covered with bruises and blood as he was, but with less mangled hands. He didn’t care about them, his eyes glued to the trembling side of the small dragon. Violet jumped up and started to pull with Finn. Sera remained on the ground, and without turning, he could see she was sobbing. Ian put an arm around her and pulled the witch to his side.
Finn groaned loudly, and he could see both the witch and the vampire finally removing the spike, dripping with blood from the scaly flesh. The vampire shouted in victory, but as soon as the weapon was out, Valeria’s body shimmered, forcing both he and Violet to jump off. As he expected, dragons shifted like werewolves. And there she was, naked and wounded in front of him.
Asher scrambled to her, swearing as he saw the blood pouring from her side. While he would have sold his soul to gather her in his arms, he had to press both hands hard against the wound to staunch the flow, shouting for Sera. Both witches came to his side and, as Violet cradled her friend’s head on her lap, Sera settled on the other side of him and put her hands on both sides of his. Closing her eyes, she started an incantation, words he couldn’t decipher, but he didn’t care. He was working on a spell of his own, making pacts with every powerful being and deity he knew for her to be okay. He could live with every hardship on this earth but knowing that his Valeria wouldn’t still be walking on it, was something he couldn’t bear.
Sensing movement, it was Soren’s sudden appearance in human form that confirmed to him that the battle was over and won. Only then did the shifters turn back into human form. The weredragon came to stand by Valeria’s feet, waiting.
For the first time, he forced himself to tear his gaze from the woman he loved, and saw that Soren only had eyes for Valeria, hesitation and confusion on his face. And all around them, he saw sentinels, shifters, and members of the Sanctuary, gathered in a tightening support circle.
“Is there anything you can do?” Asher’s voice was filled with despair, and Soren shook his head, his mouth set in a tight line. “The javelin’s power counteracts all shifter magic. It’s what the spell is all about. Shifters stick together, and it would prevent any successful attempt at healing.”
Sera whimpered and immediately, Violet scrambled to her side, placing her palms on her friend’s hand, obviously pushing more power into the spell. Clenching her teeth, the red-haired witch snarled at Asher. “Our spell isn’t powerful enough, we lack power. We need more witches.”
“Would two faes do?” The crowd parted like the Red Sea, letting Genevieve and little Maya through. Asher’s chest constricted, incredibly grateful for their offer.
Sera and Violet peeked at each other. Sera smiled and nodded. “Sure. Thank you.”
Genevieve glided to Sera’s side, and her daughter sauntered by Violet’s and let her hand tangle in her hair to her shock and bewilderment. It seemed like the fierce witch didn’t know what to do with kids. With a smile, little Maya came to sit by Asher’s side, letting her head lean on his bulging arm.
Genevieve waited for a cue. “We never … exchanged magic with witches before. The forbidden edict and all that, but we want to help Valeria. How can we do this?”
Asher heard them exchange technicalities and risked a glance at Valeria’s face. She was so pale even when he had fished her out of the river, coughing and malnourished, she appeared healthier. Damn woman, without the witch’s powers she knew since infancy, newly turned into a fire-breathing dragon and without any knowledge of how to breathe fire, she just jumped into defending all of them. Damn woman.
“Asher, please don’t cry.” He didn’t know he had been until he realised that little Maya was gently stroking his bicep as he pressed against Valeria’s wound. He didn’t give a damn about the tears but managed a smile for the little girl, who was worried to see the Sanctuary Master so sad.
“I’ll be fine, Maya, as soon as Valeria opens her eyes.”
Sagely, wise beyond her age as only faes were, the little girl nodded before turning her attention to her mother, instructing her how to pour her magic into Valeria.
Now, with four women, uniquely different, but united by magic, surrounded by the most amazing crowd seen in centuries, the Alpha wolf hoped. Soren moved to kneel by Valeria’s head, gently stroking her hair. Asher almost growled at the sight. He wanted to be the one soothing her, but he could bide his time if it meant he could have her all to himself. Forever.
Magic made his skin itch like static, and he blinked when he realized Valeria had taken a deeper breath and exhaled more smoothly. He dared not to believe it until he heard Soren’s murmur saying that it was working.
Minutes passed, and under his fingers, he felt the wound finally closing. It was only when he saw Valeria’s eyelids flicker and open that he finally let out a relieved breath. Maya yipped in joy. Sera, Violet and Genevieve collapsed backward as the healing was completed, drained but grinning.
Sitting on his haunches, his hands on his knees, Asher waited. Valeria opened her eyes, and winced as she tried to move. Her vision must have cleared because when she realized that it was Soren by her side, panic sat in.
Turning away from the weredragon, she coughed as her gaze met his. It was like a magnet, pulling him into her embrace, as he half crawled to her.
Asher closed his eyes as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck, ignoring the people around them, the pain searing his hands, his battered body and his obligations to only focus on the warming flesh against his.
When she pulled back to look at his face, he didn’t know who was crying more. As he tucked a soft strand of dark hair behind her ear, she gasped in horror, seeing his hands.
“Oh, my God! What happened to them?”
He shook his head. “Long story. You need to rest.”
But his beautiful and very stubborn woman had other ideas. Ignoring her nudity, she shouted at Sera and Violet. Both smirked, sprawled on the grass, and Violet answered with what was left of her energy. “Girlfriend, give us a minute. We just resuscitated you, for Goddess’ sake!”
Asher didn’t know who did it, but clothes materialized all around. It was when his eyes moved to Maya that he saw her scrunch her cute little nose at him. “There were too many naked people, and it’s getting cold.” Maya slowly approached them and gave Valeria’s cheek a noise kiss. The little girl frowned once more at him. “You’re still hurt.”
“I know, sweetheart. As soon as your mother, Sera or Violet can, they will heal me.”
Before he could react, Maya cupped his big bloodied hand in two of her little ones and softly blew. Amazingly, the air cooled the pain somewhat, and blue energy swirled around his damaged palm. He sensed the same for his left hand but didn’t want to let go of Valeria to check. And within a minute, the wound was gone.
Valeria released him long enough to cup the little girl’s head and kiss her brow. “Thank you, Maya.”
The little girl giggled and skipped away, among the stupefied shifters.
“Next time, Valeria, keep the roller-coaster ride to a minimum. Damn, my friend, I thought for an instant we would lose your sorry dragon’s ass.”
Valeria shook her head at her friends but froze when her father spoke. “A dragon is not easily killed.” Asher sensed her body going rigid. When she turned her head to him, something shimmered in her golden eyes, many emotions.
“Give me a minute with him, okay?”
Every single cell in his body didn’t want to let her go, not after almost losing her. And his wolf snarled at the other weredragon. Something was off, but he would need to wait to get answers. Instead, he helped her stand.
“Ian, get your hands bandaged too, or healed if the witches or the faes can manage it. Then take a crew to clean up this mess.”
He checked the crowd and saw Patricia still standing. Damn, that werebear was unkillable. “Patricia, triage everyone needing healing, plan a meal and make sure everyone is accounted for.”
And before he went to take care of his pack, he indulged in taking his Valeria in his arms and kissed her.