Page 81 of Wild Wolf

I scrambled away, trying to put distance between us, but that sound only found its way deeper into my mind and I started to black out. The power of it was too fierce to fight off and fear found me as I realised I was going to be stolen from Rosa all too soon. This death wasn’t worthy of me. I didn’t deserve to die here on my knees. And something in the knowledge of that gave me the strength to keep my head just long enough to have an idea. I cast bubbles of water over my ears, the sound instantly muffled, keeping the disabling power of it at bay.

Gustard continued to screech, prowling forward and I let him come closer, pretending I was passing out and subtly casting a shorter blade in my grip, hiding it beneath my body. As Gustard’s claws swiped at me, I acted fast, twisting up and slashing my blade at his hand, cutting it clean off.

Blood spurted and Gustard shrieked in pain, staggering back while I gained my feet. It took only a second for him to recover, charging at me again with a bellow of rage, his eyes pinned on me and demanding my death.

It was him or me, and I vowed on the moon above that I would win this fight.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Itook a running jump and grabbed hold of the side of the tower, my fingers digging into the bricks and forging handholds as my magic flared from me. The moon was out and I had sprinted across the ground to get here meaning that my magic was blazing to its fullest extent.

My gifts had shrouded me from sight once more so while Ethan, Roary, Cain and Hastings all drew the eyes of anyone inside the compound to them, I went unnoticed as I heaved myself up the wall to find them.

Ethan howled and I flinched as an echo of his pain slammed through my side, making me wince before I gritted my teeth against it and heaved myself higher.

I looked up, not caring that the ground was getting more and more indistinct beneath me because my destination was ahead and not below.

A flash of movement made me glance to my left where Cain and Roary moved in bursts of Vampire speed, tearing into the line of guards who had run from the compound to confront them.

Higher. I had to move faster.

I reached up again, my fingers grasping at the stone and forcing perfect handholds into place with every movement. I was travelling fast enough to regenerate my power too so all I had to do was focus on the climb.

Sin was close, I was certain of it. And I had to hope that he hadn’t been here long enough for anything untoward to have happened to him yet either. Vard’s operations took time and it had been little over an hour since he had captured my Incubus and his brother. Surely he couldn’t have started operating on either of them yet.

A blast rattled the tower and I cursed as I slipped, losing my grip on one hand, my feet swinging wildly beneath me as a dangled precariously by the tips of my fingers.

Magic flared through me even as the dizzying drop below swayed through my vision and I snarled at the tower, the world and the fucking stars for planting us into this tumultuous fate. But the moon had my back. Always had, always would.

I punched the tower with my free hand, my magic carving into the bricks like they were made of sand, until I could steady myself firmly enough to repeat the motion for my feet.

I panted as I clung to the wall, getting control of myself and letting the surge of adrenaline subside so that I wasn’t shaking as I reached upwards again. I was about halfway to the top where glimmering windows spoke of a way in which none of the bastardos hiding away in this place should have suspected.

Moonlight illuminated the pale walls before me as if once again my favourite celestial being was lighting up a path before me. I could hear her whispering encouragement to me, promising that I was on the right track.

Higher I climbed, the cries of my enemies and the howling screams of Gustard’s monstrous form fading away as I focused on nothing but the solid beat of my own heart.

My pack were fighting to buy me this chance. I wouldn’t let them down. And as the moonlight shone brightly on the windows high above, I felt certain that victory would soon be within my grasp.

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

The guards swarmed at us in a tide, but Roary and I cut through them like a storm of death, racing between their ranks and killing them with magic. My fire flared out around me, carving through their ranks, consuming them before they had a chance to cast back at me. Roary’s attacks were equally fierce, blasting shots of ice at our enemies so they dropped like flies.

A Medusa lunged at me with snakes bursting into life from her head, each of them snapping at me and trying to get their immobilising venom into my veins. I burned them all, moving fast enough to avoid the strikes and those snakes screamed along with the Fae they belonged to before her whole head was swallowed in flames and she fell dead at my feet.

I was already moving on to my next opponent. The man cast vines at me, one latching around my throat and trying to choke me. He had enough strength in his magic to make me stagger to a halt and two of his friends came at me from the sides.

I blasted fire at the unFae fuckers while simultaneously burning away the vine at my neck and putting on a burst of speed, tearing towards the earth elemental and ripping out his throat with my fangs.

His screams cut off in death and I tossed him away from me, seeking out Roary as the last of the guards fell prey to his shots of ice. Bodies lay around us in the snow, the deep crimson of their blood staining the white red.

“That’s it?” Roary said, looking to the iron gates they had exited through at the base of the tower.

Heavy footfalls carried from the twisting stairway beyond the gates and I lit fire in my palms, preparing to face whoever was coming our way. My throat tightened at the sight of Benjamin Acrux stepping out into the moonlight, casting fire just as I was and narrowing his gaze on me.

“Mason,” he said in his deep voice. “This fight has been long fated. I’ve owed you death for far too many years.”

“I almost killed you once. This time I will ensure the job is done thoroughly,” I hissed, glancing at Roary and giving him a nod. “I’ll handle this.”

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