Page 19 of Magic Unrestrained

Gage fought to keep his focus, his shifter instincts kicking in, guiding his body even as the rest of him reeled from the assault. He twisted sharply, breaking Falwell’s hold with a move that sent the demon staggering back a few steps. But before Gagecould press the advantage, Falwell’s power flared again, and this time, it felt as though the walls themselves were caving in.

“Enough of this!” Falwell bellowed, his voice booming through the room, shaking the very foundation of the mansion. The ground beneath Gage's feet trembled as dark tendrils of energy began to seep through the cracks in the floor. “I’ll destroy you all!”

Gage’s heart raced. He could feel the pull inside him—the part of him that was darker, more primal. The demon blood that coursed through his veins stirred in response to Falwell’s challenge, demanding to be unleashed. For years, he had fought to suppress that side of himself, to keep the Rougarou beast within him in check. But now, with Falwell’s power threatening to tear the room apart, Gage knew he couldn’t hold back any longer.

He couldn’t win this fight with half-measures.

His skin began to burn, a deep, searing heat that radiated from within. His muscles rippled, expanding as the shift took hold. This was nothing like when he shifted to his wolf. Allowing his demon half to take hold was painful and violent. His body was torn between the wolf and the demon, and for a brief, agonizing moment, Gage wondered if he would be able to control it at all. The pain was intense, burning through him like molten lava, and his vision blurred with the intensity of it.

But then, knowing he had little to no choice, he let it come.

His skin stretched as his muscles thickened, claws extending from his hands. His bones snapped and reformed, and his senses sharpened to a razor’s edge. The familiar, comforting presence of his wolf form melded and succumbed to the dark, twisted energy of his demon half, creating something more—a monstrous hybrid of both worlds. His eyes glowed a deep, unnatural red, and his chest heaved as he finally embraced the power he had always feared.

Falwell’s eyes widened as Gage completed the transformation, his twisted grin faltering. For a moment, the demon looked almost... unsure. But then the madness returned, and Falwell’s smile twisted even further, a grotesque mockery of triumph.

“You’re just like me,” Falwell hissed, his voice dripping with malice. “You think you can fight it, but the darkness will consume you, just like it did me. Your wolf will lose, and your demon will win, Rougarou.”

Gage’s breath came in ragged bursts, his entire body humming with energy. He could feel the pull of the darkness, the temptation to let go completely, to surrender to the power that now coursed through his veins. But he wasn’t like Falwell. He hadn’t given in to the madness.

He wouldn’t.

“I’m nothing like you,” Gage growled, his voice deeper and more bestial than before.

With a savage roar, he lunged at Falwell, their bodies colliding with a force that sent shockwaves through the room. The impact cracked the marble floor beneath them, and the walls groaned in protest. Gage’s claws raked across Falwell’s chest, tearing through skin and muscle, but the demon barely flinched. He fought back with equal ferocity, his own claws slicing through the air, narrowly missing Gage’s throat.

They moved like shadows, blurs of violence and power, each strike sending shock waves through the room. Every punch, every slash of claws or surge of magic reverberated through Gage’s bones, but he didn’t relent. He couldn’t. If he did, Falwell would destroy him—and everyone else in the room.

The remaining supernaturals scrambled for cover, some attempting to flee, but the sheer force of the battle between Gage and Falwell made escape almost impossible. The mansion itself seemed to buckle under the weight of the energy beingunleashed. Chunks of the ceiling began to crumble, and the walls cracked, the entire structure threatening to collapse.

Falwell unleashed a blast of dark magic, sending Gage flying backward into a pillar. The impact jarred his bones, and for a split second, his vision blurred. But before Falwell could follow through with another attack, Gage pushed himself up, snarling through the pain. His demonic side was screaming at him to let go, to unleash the full extent of his power, but Gage held on by a thread.

He had to stay in control. He couldn’t afford to lose himself.

With a final surge of strength, Gage launched himself at Falwell, their bodies colliding once more. This time, Gage’s claws sank deep into Falwell’s chest, and with a roar of fury, Gage slammed Falwell into the wall, the force of the blow shaking the entire room.

For a moment, Falwell’s eyes flickered with shock and then pain. Blood dripped from his mouth as he stared at Gage, his body trembling from the impact. Gage didn’t give him a chance to recover.

With a final, bone-shattering punch, Gage drove his fist into Falwell’s chest, the impact reverberating through the room like a crack of thunder. Falwell’s body crumpled to the ground, a twisted, broken heap.

The room fell deathly silent.

Gage stood over Falwell’s fallen form, his chest heaving, his body still humming with the raw, volatile power of his demonic nature. His vision swam with the aftereffects of the battle, the edges of his consciousness fraying as he fought to reel in the darkness that threatened to consume him.

For a moment, he wasn’t sure that he could.

But then, slowly, the rage subsided. The power that had surged through him began to fade, and Gage exhaled a long, ragged breath. He looked down at Falwell, whose lifeless bodyseemed to fizzle into a small flame, reducing it to nothing more than ash and dust.

For a few precious seconds, the mansion was still. The only sound was the ragged breathing of the few survivors who had managed to avoid the destruction.

Gage closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. He had won. But at what cost?

As he stood over the pile of ash that had once been Falwell’s broken form, his thoughts raced to Savannah, to the fight ahead. One thing was clear: there would be no turning back now. The storm wasn’t over—not yet. And Savannah was still out there.

Chapter

Ten

SAVANNAH

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