Page 46 of Dancing Moonbeam

“No!” Vicino shrieked.

Kalen and Jax shifted into their wolves and attacked the undead, claws and teeth shredding through graying flesh. Jaytee dove for Damon’s wolf when a vampire went for his twin. “Don’t you fucking touch him!”

The vampire’s head rolled from its shoulders with a swift stroke of the fae’s blade.

“I’m Casimir. Don’t move,” he said in a deep, commanding voice. “Protect your twin while I rid us of these heinous defilements against Mother Nature.”

Jaytee didn’t want to stay down. He wanted to fight alongside his family and warrior, to decimate the horde, to kill Vicino with his bare hands.

But he didn’t want any of these vile creatures near Damon’s body, and Jaytee’s own body wasn’t in any shape to fight.

He gasped when a swirling portal appeared next to Kalen. “Your left, Dad!”

Whatever that was, Jaytee would be damned if it harmed his dad. He shoved to knees just as Panahasi emerged, followed by Prince Christian, Maverick, alpha of the timber wolves, Zues, alpha of the gray wolves, Ahm, a tall and proud shadow elf, and lastly, Nazaryth, leader of the winged beasts.

Holy shit. Jaytee’s jaw dropped as Panahasi threw his head back and bellowed a war cry, his skin turning from an olive color to crimson. Sharp and deadly talons grew to at least twelve inches from his fingernails, as a tail at least four feet in length shot out behind him.

Then horns shot up from his scalp as leather wings unfurled. At the same time, Nazaryth’s feathered wings shot out, and then the two took to the sky before swooping down and cutting through a swath of the undead.

What. The. Fuck. Jaytee knew who the Ultionem members were. He just hadn’t known Panahasi could take on a different form. Rumors circled that he was more than just the demon leader, and Panahasi had just confirmed them.

Jaytee watched as Ahm fought side by side with Casimir, while Maverick helped Kalen and Jax.

Zues matched Vicino in height, but the alpha’s girth could have classified him as his own planet. Even from where Jaytee lay, he felt the bald man’s commanding presence.

Jaytee frowned when he noticed Christian simply standing there off to the side, his anger palpable as he watched the battle rage on. He was the first vampire ever born, a prince to the race. At least, that was what Jaytee had heard.

Vicino went blow for blow with Zues, exchanging ferocious punches that would have killed anyone else. The gray wolf alpha’s fists looked larger than Jaytee’s goddamn head and the gray wolf knew how to swing them.

“Jaytee!” Elvine appeared in front of him, her colorful wings fluttering furiously as she lay Raidh’s limp body down next to him.

“Why did you bring him here?” Jaytee shouted when he saw Vicino’s eyes gleam, his smile so wide it split his face in half.

The ancient vampire threw his head and shoulders back, his hands balled into fists, as he shouted a triumphant cry.

“Look at him!” Elvine screamed at Jaytee.

Pulling his gaze away from Vicino, Jaytee looked down at his mate and sucked in a sharp breath that caused his lungs to erupt in pain. Moonbeam was struggling to breathe and drenched in sweat, his stunning lavender-gray eyes filled with tears.

The cut on his arm from casting the spell had gotten so much worse. The skin around the wound was more crimson than Panahasi’s current skin. Puss oozed from every inch of it, and when Jaytee touched the redness, he snatched his hand away from the fiery heat.

He pressed his hand over Raidh’s heart and felt how slow it was beating.

“Moonbeam? Talk to me, sweetheart.” Jaytee’s voice quivered.

Raidh was dying right before his eyes. He was losing his mate. Jaytee was willing and ready to sell his soul to save his little fairy.

He was willing to do anything.

Raidh finally looked at him, and then a soft smile curled his lips. It looked like a struggle as his mate lifted his slim arm and placed his palm against Jaytee’s cheek. “I love you, my sweet wolf,” he wheezed. “We’ll meet a-again and dance hand in hand like m-moonbeams through the Milky Way.”

His hand slipped from Jaytee’s face and hit the ground, his gaze unfocused.

“Raidh!” Jaytee crushed his mate’s limp body against his chest then threw his head back and released a soul-piercing howl. All-consuming pain ravaged his entire body, the agony splitting his very foundation in half.

Elvine openly wept as Jaytee rocked his little fairy in his arms, running his fingers through his mate’s long golden hair as violent sobs racked him. The loss filled him to overflowing, suffocating him to the point he couldn’t breathe. He’d failed his mate, and now there was no way to ever make up for it.

“Please, please, please, Moonbeam. Please don’t leave me.” He rocked back and forth, his gaze unfocused from the tears flowing from his eyes. “I can’t live without you, sweetheart.” He buried his face in his mate’s chest. “I’m going to join you so you won’t be alone. I promised nothing would separate us, so I’m coming to be with you and Damon.”

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