Page 48 of Ascension of the Pack

Isaacs smirked. ‘Let’s keep this one on one, shall we?’ He was holding out his hands; he’d constructed some sort of dome of air over the two wolves to isolate them.

Inside the dome, the black wolf and Arden crashed together, rolling and biting, their snarls filled with hatred. Arden managed to sink his fangs into the black wolf’s flank, ripping at flesh and muscle, but the enemy’s claws found their mark in Arden’s chest. My heart stuttered.

I reached inside for the foreign air magic and tried to will it to my command, tried to deconstruct the air dome that was stopping me from reaching my packmate. But the magic was new and unfamiliar, and I didn’t know what I was doing. Rage and despair were riding me. Despite my fumbling efforts, the cage of air remained locked round them.

ARDEN!Esme shouted.

Arden stumbled as his strength faded. Blood was pouring from wounds that were now surely fatal, and despair almost choked me, but even in his final moments, he refused to give in. Tristan had always been a stubborn son of a bitch. Tears blurred my vision.

The black wolf thought Arden was dead and he was already howling his victory to the whole battleground. It was that wonderfully exposed throat that Arden sank his teeth into and tore open. The black wolf's howl wassuddenly cut off as he collapsed. He let out a low whimper and then he was silent.

With a soft whine, Arden’s legs buckled and he fell too. His breath was coming in shallow gasps, his body broken.

I raged against the air cage around him, pounding it with my fists. I whirled around and fire rose within me, hot and raging. Flames flickered around my body, mixing with the wind Isaacs had unwittingly helped to awaken. I harnessed it, channelling the air and fire and feeling the elements bend to my will.

Isaacs’ eyes widened as he realised his mistake: his air magic was tied up in the dome he’d created so he had nothing left to protect himself with.

‘You’ve forgotten something,’ I said, my voice low. ‘Fire doesn’t fear the wind – it feeds on it.’

Then I unleashed a torrent of it, twisting it with the wind and sending a spiralling inferno straight at my enemy. It moved with such force that he couldn’t stop it any more than he could stop the sun.

The flames engulfed him, but I couldn’t have him die like Xander; I couldn’t see that again. Besides, he’d engineered Arden and Tristan’s death and killing him by fire seemed tooremoved. I needed to look this piece of shit in the eyes as I killed him. Ineededvengeance.

I called the flames back and leapt at Isaacs, partially shifting my face to match my claws. Our claws raked into his flesh and our teeth sank into his throat with brutal precision.

Isaacs collapsed beneath me; it was an eerie replica of Rain’s death and, like Rain, Isaacs tried to shift to save himself.No,I ordered his wolf, piping it and holding it still. Isaacs’ hands clawed at his ruined throat, and in that moment IknewI was a monster because I felt nothing but satisfaction as the light faded from his eyes.

I stood over him, my breath coming in ragged gasps, as my fire swirled around me.

The crown slipped from his head. I bent down and retrieved it and the glowing orb.

My Queen!Terrance’s voice vibrated with intensity.Please know that I would never have willingly served that cur, but he threatened to burn Nina to the ground if I did not assist him. I couldn’t let him hurt Nina!His distress was evident.

I understand,I said softly.I would have done the same if Greg had been threatened.

I shifted to fully human and put the crown on my now-human head. Now that Isaacs was dead, the dome of air around Arden had fallen. I ran to him and threw myselfto the ground next to him. I put down the orb so that my hands were free and lifted his head onto my lap.

His golden eyes rolled up to look at me. ‘You’re okay,’ I lied. ‘You’re going to be okay.’

He was still breathing but his wounds were too great; there was no coming back from those, even for a shifter. We were hardy but we weren’t immortal. I stroked his head. ‘You’re okay,’ I repeated. ‘You did such a good job saving me.’

Arden turned his head to the side and his tongue reached out to lick my hand, one last sign of quiet affection, then his eyes locked on mine and flashed brown. Tristan looked out at me as his chest sank and did not rise again.

A sob ripped from my throat. Helplessly, I pressed Arden’s head to my chest and rocked back and forth, crying my heart out at the death of one of my wolves. Tristan and I had come such a long way since we’d first met and his death tore me to shreds. He had died for me.My heart was in tatters.

Arden’s body shifted back to human and I gently pressed a kiss to his forehead. ‘I’ll be back soon,’ I promised as I laid his hands across his ruined chest. I patted his shoulder and then I stood, grabbed the glowing orb and surveyed the destruction around me.

The battle was still raging; if anything, Isaacs’ death had reinvigorated his warriors. I spotted Rohan ripping into the throat of another wolf and wondered whether I was witnessing my brother’s first kill or whether it was one of many.

My Nonna and Nonno had been joined by Angelo and Beatrice. Together with Maxwell and Alyssa, they appeared to have paired up with some of my wolves and were using their flames and air powers together with devastating accuracy.

In the end, it was a massacre.

‘You can surrender,’ I called to Isaacs’ wolves. ‘No one else will be killed if you surrender.’ The air filled with defiant snarls and the Merseyside wolves doubled down. So be it.

One of them tried to come towards me but before it could reach me Red tackled it and sent it flying. The battle raged on and I let it. I had finally learned my lesson: dead enemies were far better than living ones.

I stood next to Tristan’s cooling body and used my air and flames to raze my enemies to the ground.

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