Page 36 of Banishing Regrets

Out of the earth, Kas saw hands made of flames emerge and wrap around Ciaran’s body. The druid made no effort to move or escape. It was at that moment, Kas realized the fall had killed him. A magical judgment had been handed down by Ethern and Death, and the flames were taking Ciaran into the depths of Hell. Kas turned away. This was the end of the man who’d tormented Jessica because he simply couldn’t accept the white witch was more powerful than him.

A loud roar came from somewhere nearby. Kas looked around. A black and white spotted dragon rose high into the sky. With Ciaran’s death, the spell he’d placed on Selene had been broken. She made her way back up to the remaining helicopters and led them away from the fight, giving the shifters a break from the hail of bullets that had been raining down on them.

Brayden appeared at his side. “One down, two to go.”

“Is Selene all right?” Kas questioned.

“She’s fine. She’ll keep the helicopters away so we can sort out the ground troops. We need to stop Nuka’s shifters first, though.” Brayden jumped back as one of Nuka’s shifters headed for him. Kas caught the attacking lion shifter and twisted his neck, killing him instantly.

“We do. We need to coordinate the pack. I’m putting a kill order out on all shifters not in our pack or Hunter’s. It’s the only way we can put a stop to this,” Kas commanded.

“There are so many of them.” Brayden looked around.

“And that’s why I’ve brought help.” Katia appeared behind them. She’d brought an army with her. They were dressed only in loin cloths and sported spears in their hands.

“Er, where did you find warriors?” Kas queried.

“The Amazon. They’ve been expecting us. It seems that saving the humans from Nuka’s pack is the only way they can save themselves.”

The Amazonian’s chanted, pledging their allegiance to the Glacial Blood pack. Kas didn’t know what powers they had, but he could sense they weren’t completely human.

The rest of his pack assembled around them. They faced Nuka who was at the head of his own pack. The humans watched on from the sidelines—their weapons were drawn but not raised. It seemed they’d finally realized this wasn’t a war they needed to be involved in at present.

This was now pack against pack.

Nuka stepped forward. “One final chance, Kas. Step down.”

“Never. These are my lands, Nuka. I will not let you take them from me without a fight.” Kas took a few steps ahead of his pack. “Surrender now. Your druid is already burning in Hell. Don’t force me to send you to join him there.”

Nuka threw his head back and laughed. Their grandfather, who’d been quiet during the fight, came to stand next to Kas’ brother.

“That’s the brilliant thing about Ciaran’s spells—there’s always a fail-safe. This final one is designed to make sure you have the hardest decision of all to make. You see, you can never win this battle. The longer it goes on and the more kills I get, the stronger our grandfather becomes. He’ll be more powerful than any of us can ever imagine by the time this day is over. You want to know why? He was created with my blood—it flows through his veins. The only way to stop our grandfather is to kill me. Can you do that, Kas? Can you kill us both?” Nuka wrapped his arm around their grandfather’s shoulders.

Kas’ stomach plummeted. To end the war, he had to kill two people of his own blood. Killing one was going to be hard enough. He’d hoped that maybe he could re-educate his grandfather once Nuka had gone, but that would not be possible. To end one, he had to end both.

Kas took a deep breath. On his right side, Katia grabbed hold of his hand. Jessica appeared on his left and clasped his other hand. Now all in a line, the Glacial Blood shifters stood, shoulder to shoulder, holding each other’s hands.

Brayden spoke, “There are only two of you to kill. With us, there are thirteen. To kill Kas, you have to go through me, Selene, Scott, Emma, Jessica, Ethern, Zain, Teagan, Tyler, Katia, Jackson, and even honorary member Hunter. I suspect, if we all failed, Lily, Isobel, and Kingsley would have a go at killing you as well. And then there is my mother. The woman whose husband you murdered. I think she’ll take great pleasure in trying to kill you. I certainly owe you a few scratches for my father.”

Nuka smirked. “You finally told him the truth then, Kas. I guess that’s why his bitch of a wife is swirling around the sky as a dragon.”

As if Selene had heard what Nuka was saying, she swooped low over the shifters and came to stand behind the pack.

“No, she’s doing that so, when the time is right, she can toast your ass,” Brayden retorted.

“Final warning, Nuka.” Kas took control again. “This ends now.”

Nuka raised his hand. “Kill them,” he ordered his followers.

The two opposing packs of shifters raced toward each other while Selene took to the skies again when the helicopters returned.

Kas headed straight for Nuka. Their blows had been halfhearted before, but now, they were deadly. Claws were drawn and sharp teeth exposed as they fought. Each had moments when they were on top. They reared up on their back legs, growling and snarling. They’d play like this as cubs, but this fight was real.

Kas couldn't help but wonder what the humans looking on must have thought. It must have been both a surreal and scary sight to them. After what seemed like forever, Kas managed to get the upper hand. Nuka fell back onto the ground. Kas brought his paw up—his claws sharp and ready to slash at his brother’s throat.

“Kill me, kill him.” Nuka’s words popped into Kas’ head, and he stopped his fatal blow mid stroke. “Kill the childhood we had. Kill the people we are,” Nuka continued. “We shared everything, Kas. We’re one and the same deep down. You are me, and I am you. We don’t just look the same. We think the same as well. Yes, we have our differences of opinion, but since the moment we were conceived, it was you and me. You were the first one out, and by being a few minutes older, you inherited all the power. It was your birthright, but you never wanted it. It destroyed everything you hoped for. Thirty-six years wasted. Almost half a lifetime spent running a pack, and all for what purpose? Kill me if you will, but you’ll be killing a part of yourself, and it will destroy you. You can kill our grandfather again, but it’ll still make no difference, because tomorrow you’ll be as good as dead anyway. The humans have seen the danger we pose to them. They know about us now. Nothing can ever change that. You’ll be experimented on and either die or waste the next thirty-six years of your life as a pet to the humans. Is that really saving your pack, or is it letting them suffer a slow and painful death? Fight with me, Kas, not against me. The two of us, together with our grandfather—we’ll be gods.”

Kas knew what his brother said was true. Even if they did win, the humans would never let them be free. He tried to attack his brother again, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t kill the owner of the face he looked at each day in the mirror.

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