Page 45 of Ascension of the Pack

The air rushed past my face with such force that it was difficult to breathe. My eyes were streaming, too;Supermandid not accurately convey the problems you faced when flying.

We arrived at the mansion to absolute chaos. The lawn was covered with wolves and I was instantly transported to Ben’s vision, the one he’d been stuck in when he’d become a werewolf.

There were bodies everywhere, human and lupine. The acrid scent of smoke hung heavy in the air and cries of agony were dancing on the breeze. The sun was baking down on us, sweat drifting into our human eyes, stinging us.

Time to shift,Roan said grimly.

Let’s do this,I agreed.

The shift rolled over us, pleasurable and full, and we ran to join our sister and our Queen. Another wolf ran towards us but we didn’t want to hurt them. They were misguided, not evil. We pulled our air magic forward and blasted them off their feet.

Stay down, pup,Roan growled to the younger wolf. He stayed down.

We raced forwards to Lucy where she was battling the asshole that had started all of this.

I realised I’d made Ben drive to the mansion while Greg and I had flown dark-seraph style: that was why he was late to the party. But in his vision we’d had air powers. Had I done something wrong? Screwed up? Why hadn’t I managed to awaken the orb? Why hadn’t I tried harder? Now it was almost certainly in Isaacs’ hands, as wasmy Nina. If he hurt her or Terrance I’d rain all kinds of hell down on his head.

Pulled by Grandy, Maxwell and Alyssa stepped out of the shadow of the mansion. I ran to them first, because I had a harebrained idea and those were always the best.

Should be called wolf-brained then,Esme muttered.

‘Maxwell,’ I panted. ‘I need to pipe you to see what your fire looks like. Do I have your permission?’

‘Of course.’

I gripped his hand and pulled up my magic. Like I did with Esme when we shared our body, I merely resided within him for a moment, careful not to control him. I focused on him as he called forth flames to his hands, and I saw the spark of fire flare within him.

Now that I knew what being a fire elemental looked like at a magical level, I drew up my magic and pipedmyself,looking inward for that ember that Terrance had spoken of.

I searched for what felt like an age but could only have been seconds, and then I saw it, the smallest hint of warmth buried deep within me. Treating it like my father’s clearing, I carefully pulled back a multitude of layers that were laid over it, frustration growing that it wasn’t as quick and easy as I’d envisaged. Finally I removed the last layerthat had been banking the flames and carefully, gently, breathed into the small ember at the heart of me.

I used the memories Nina had freed for me of my mother and my father, of myself.Grow,I commanded the ember and, seized by my piping power, it did. Warmth flooded me, like I’d stepped out from the cold of the shadows into the glorious sun.

As I’d seen Maxwell do, I called the flames to my fingertips. New magical pathways formed and flared, dusting off old routes as fire licked along my veins and exploded from the tips of my fingers.

‘Holy shit,’ Maxwell breathed, eyes wide.

I had no time to celebrate the return of fire to my magical makeup. I had a foe to face – and I was certain he’d have fire, too.

Chapter 29

‘Isaacs! Come out, come out, wherever you are,’ I said in a sing-song voice. ‘Don’t cower behind the walls, sweetie. There’s nothing to be afraid of!’ Isaacs was an alpha male; nothing was more likely to get him out from the safety of Nina than to suggest he was weak and afraid.

I heard his shout of rage and moments later Nina’s front door flew off its hinges as he kicked it down from the inside. So freaking predictable – not that I was complaining.

‘You know there’s a handle, right?’ I called. ‘You grasp it and push it down. I know it’s hard – maybe we can try together later.’ I shot him a patronising wink to rile him even further.

Isaacs bared his teeth at me as he strode out. ‘Bitch!’ he spat.

My heart sank. As I’d feared, there on his head was Terrance; the six-foot four-inch brute had the Crownof Torr nestled among his black curls. I wasn’t familiar enough with werewolf lore to know if that made him the King or not but the bastard wasn’t going to wear it for long enough for it to matter. His would be the shortest reign in history.

I studied the man who was striding towards me. If it wasn’t for the cruel tilt to his mouth, he would have been considered handsome – if you didn’t know about the multitude of deaths that could be laid at his door. Isaacs believed in a hierarchy based on strength and fear. The wolves around him were all male; it was rumoured that the women in his pack were chained to their beds and used only for breeding.

After I’d finished with Isaacs, I was going to his pack lands and I was going to raze them to the ground. After I’d freed all of the women.

My mouth twisted into an answering sneer. Isaacs met my gaze and hatred rolled off him in waves. ‘I have your crown now, bitch,’ he smirked. ‘It was always destined for my head. It is only a matter of time before I make the seat of power name me king.’

Ahh, so Nina had to proclaim it. I had my title – for the moment.

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