Page 82 of The Daughters of Nyx

Third door,he whispered, and I released a relieved breath.The ones you love are in there.

How can you be sure?I asked.

Because I am always watching, my flower,he replied. Go in, and do not leave. Your little pets are on their way.

There was no guard leaning against the third door—Ginny’s room—but that didn’t mean another, or more, weren’t stationed inside. I almost asked what he meant bypets, but before I could question him, a scream, guttural and primal, sounded outside.

My hand tightened on the doorhandle, and I swung it open. One guard turned, but I swept out with the blade, the edge sliding through his face like butter.

Before I could attack again, the house rumbled, and the downstairs windows shattered.

I dropped to the ground, fear crawling its way through the calm, as the unmoving bodies of Kerry, Thea, and my sisters appeared around me.

The house shook again, and beside me, the guard screamed.

30

ELIAS

THE wolf took control as soon as we entered Ivy’s home town. The shift came over me painfully, almost like I was shifting for the first time again. But the wolf had only one goal in mind as he stalked through the foliage surrounding her house:

Save my mate.

He wanted to punish me for pushing her away from us, and I was prepared to let him once we had her safely in our arms again.

But until then, I remained a fixture inside the wolf’s mind; I didn’t let it take over completely. The wolf needed to be able to understand commands from Grey, and I wouldn’t

risk Ivy’s life because the beast didn’t want to listen to his leader.

Two more shifters joined me; one panther and another wolf, both from Jay’s back-up team. Neither smelt nice, too cloying and almost overwhelming to my sensitive nose. The wolf wanted them far away from here, but we needed them.

The panther was fast and quiet as she crept through the underbrush. She went ahead to scout, returning only to indicate that the way ahead was clear.

Keeping low to the ground, we crept closer to the back of the house. The sky steadily grew lighter with the arrival of the sun, but the shadows of the forest continued to protect us. On a soft breeze, I caught Ivy’s distinct scent, the comforting aroma of coconut, coffee, andhome.

The wolf breathed it in and took comfort in the familiarity of her scent. It was alive and if he listened closely, he thought he could hear her heartbeat. Hear her laboured breaths.

We had nearly thirty operatives with us, and Grey had to direct our course from the front of an SUV. I knew it pissed her off to stay behind, but the sun was already too high in the sky for her to safely join the mission.

Thank fuck Jay had his team and three others when we’d called. The bastard had come through.

Kingsley and Archer were leading teams of their own around the perimeter of the house. Jay and his own were set to enter from the downstairs, while the shifters and I took out the sneaky fuckers hiding in the forests. Based on intel, there were over six shifters with the betrayers, and nearly two dozen operatives hidden around the house and grounds.

Either more were on the way, or they were waiting for directions.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected to have us rally so quickly.

They had tried to kill Archer, and had he died, their attack would have died with him.

The wolf bared his teeth. He still wasn’t impressed with the mage, but knew Ivy wouldn’t be pleased if he ripped into Archer’s throat. But my promise still stood: if Ivy died, Archer would follow for his colossal fuck up.

Ahead, a wolf snuck through the trees with her belly low to the ground. She was smaller than me, barely a beta. Her russet fur glinted as she entered a stream of sunlight.

I pounced before she could see me and tore into her throat. The wolf whimpered softly, dark eyes going dull and lifeless. She went limp in my jaw, but I tightened my hold briefly before dragging her body back into the underbrush, hiding her behind a bush.

The panther slunk through the shadows and struck a fox shifter, tearing it in two. I hadn’t even smelt the fucker. My lips curled up in a snarl.

We took down two more shifters—a snake and some kind of small cat—before we were thrown from the forest. A bear shifter, black fur matted and bloody, attacked the other wolf with a ferociousness that made my hackles rise.

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