Page 80 of Wild Wolf

“He wouldn’t leave and he kept showing me all kinds of videos about how they could be used and I just needed him to stop,” Hastings protested and I patted his arm again.

“Okay, we get it. But that doesn’t help us figure out where-”

The door in the corner of the room burst open with a heavy bang as it bounced off of the wall and my eyes widened in alarm as Ethan stumbled through them, his expression wild as he hunted the crowd for us.

I broke into a run, hurrying over to him, taking in the mud and blood on his clothes, the twigs in his hair.

“What happened?” I demanded.

“Sin said the three of you were fucking and we had some time to kill. He wanted to go back to his house and get some of his stuff before we went hunting for Vard but it was a trap – Jerome was waiting, he attacked us. He took Max and Sin, but he let me go so that-”

“Jerome took them?” I gasped, wondering what the fuck that stronzo had to gain from doing such a thing but the worst blow was yet to fall.

“Jerome took them to Vard,” Ethan panted. “He said because Sin won’t work for him the way he used to, he’d get the money he needed by selling him off instead and an Incubus is one of the rarest Orders of all.”

“We have to go after them,” I snarled.

“They’ll know we’re coming, it’s what they want,” Ethan warned though he didn’t make any attempt to deny that we would be going all the same. “Jerome said Vard wants your Order too and Roary back under his control. They’ll be waiting for us to strike.”

“Good,” I growled, pushing my way past him and leading my pack out of the caverns where the hunt was held. “Because it’s time we finished this shit.”

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

We had enough stardust to get us to the coordinates where Vard was located, but I wasn’t prepared for the freezing wind that battered me as the stars spat us out in the Polar Capital. We sank into the snow and took in the dark tower that rose up from the white ahead of us, reaching toward the moon and the shimmering green and pink of the northern lights.

“Cain, Roary, go around the back, Ethan take the front entrance,” Rosalie demanded.

“What about you?” I asked with a frown.

She gave the tower a savage look. “I’m going to take a more direct route while you keep the guards distracted.” Rosalie called upon her moon powers, turning invisible and I swore as she raced off across the snow, leaving tracks as she went. But with it being so dark out here, I doubted anyone would notice them, especially once the carnage started.

“What about me?” Hastings asked, smoothing down his fringe and giving the tower a determined look.

“You keep watch, bud.” I clapped him on the shoulder then gave Cain and Roary a nod before they sprinted away across the plain, heading around the tower in a flash of movement. A roar and clash of battle broke out as they found targets to fight and I started off across the snow.

“Wait, I want to help.” Hastings hurried after me.

“You wanna help? Find a way inside and get to Sin and Max then,” I said then started running, setting my gaze on the large wooden doors that led into the stone tower.

“Wait!” Hastings called, but his voice was lost to the rumble of my power as I pushed my magic into the snow that led all the way up to the entrance, gathering it in a giant wave, building it up and up and up then hurling it at the door.

The thundering wall of snow impacted with the tower with a boom that rang out into the sky, the walls shuddering and the door blown clean off its hinges. A group of guards were sent crashing backwards with screams of agony as the weight of the snow crushed them.

Once it settled, I took in the passage inside, now layered in white, a glimpse of a stairway beyond promising me a path to Sin. My friend. Family really. At this point I could hardly deny what he’d become to me. He was part of Rosalie’s pack which made him my pack, a brother in arms that I would do anything for. And I would retrieve him from this place come hell or high water.

I padded over the drift of snow that had mounted up in the doorway, casting a sword of ice in my grip and seeking out enemies in the dark. All was still and far too quiet, the sound of battle carrying from the direction Cain and Roary had taken, but nothing stirred in here.

The silence should have been encouraging, but my hackles raised, my instincts telling me not to let my guard down.

The snow shifted to my right and I raised my sword half a second before a monstrous beast burst from the bank of white. Gustard’s sharp teeth were bared and his clawed hands outstretched to grab me.

I swung my blade, scoring it across his chest as he collided with me, knocking me to the ground and sending us skidding back outside. I tried to drive my sword into him as he screeched in my face but he lurched off of me as blood poured from the deep slice in his hair-covered skin.

I scrambled to my feet, my limbs bruised but no further injury slowing me down as I ran at him again, swinging the blade and preparing to cut his head from his shoulders.

He released a horrid, high-pitched noise that seared into my skull, making me stumble mid-stride and go crashing to my knees. The noise intensified, drilling into my head and making it impossible to do anything but throw my hands to my ears to try and block it out, my weapon landing uselessly in the snow beneath me.

Gustard’s monstrous shadow fell over me, blotting out the light of the moon as he advanced, his large hands reaching out to end me for good.

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