Page 33 of Gift from the Nexus

Bryce stops talking and spins around just in time to throw his arm up and block the massive black wolf from wrapping his jaws around his neck. It takes me a moment, but as soon as I recognize him, I gasp as I watch them viciously attack one another.

Lyker.

I gawk, horrified as they battle feet away from me. It’s so much more vicious than what I witnessed in the Alpha trials and worry pounds at my heart as they trade off blow for blow. I have no clue how Lyker can track the crazy speed with which Brycemoves around, but he does, his keen baby blue eyes following every move.

Out of my peripheral, I see a sleek, black-and-tan body, with teeth as long as daggers slowly creeping up on Lyker’s side, and a scream of warning bellows from out of me.

“Lyker, watch out!”

The shrill is loud enough that both Lyker and Bryce falter, turning to see what it is that has me screaming like that. Neither of them has time to react when a…a…fuck, I have no clue what that is.

A beast I’d picture crawling out of the depths of hell, with jaws wider than anything I’ve ever seen, tackles Max to the ground. They tussle and roll with savage swipes of their claws and their jaws chomp around wildly. Somehow, Max gets the creature on his back and my heart thuds violently.

Protective instincts flood me and with a savage scream, I jump on his back, hands partially shifted, and dig my claws into his side as deeply as I can. He rears back with an agonizing screech and bucks me through the air, sending me flying back into a tree. My breath is knocked out of me and I wheeze, trying to force my arms to push me up and my lungs to work as he stalks toward me. Worrying about reacting to me was the biggest mistake he could’ve made.

The creature jumps through the air with its jaws hanging so far open, he could fit Max’s head into his mouth. The second he locks onto his neck, he turns sharply, snapping the bone in two. When Max’s body falls limp, shifting back into his human form, I know with one hundred percent certainty, one of my tormentors is dead.

Frantically looking around, petrified I may be this thing’s next target despite their actions, I find myself alone, Lyker and Bryce long gone, and the creature is slowly making its way to me. Itstall, slender black body stands almost six feet tall from shoulder to paw, and his head puts him closer to Tillman’s height.

He’s not a wolf, or a dog, although his body and teeth have similarities to both. But the large jaw that can easily open at a full ninety degrees is throwing me all the way off. As he continues to approach me, I scoot back, pressing my back to the tree.

Dropping down to his belly, he slowly crawls toward me, and I stop my retreat at the docile behavior. With my magic and everything else in me on the brink of being drained dry, I don’t risk calling my dragon back to the surface, but I sense she’s not the least bit nervous or concerned.

When the bright light of a shift takes over his form, I come face to face with a handsome man and my chest fills with warmth. His dark brown hair is shaggy, carelessly brushed everywhere, either purposely or from this battle, but when I meet his eyes, I suck in a trembling breath.

“My Aurora is going to love you. We’ve waited many, many years to meet our boys’ Primary,” he says, awestruck, gracing me with a huge smile.

“You’re…you’re one of my father-in-laws,” I stutter embarrassingly,

“Here, we call that your Patera-Nexus, but yes. I’m Dyce Vito, your father-in-law.”

Overwhelming emotions flood me, and before I can stop myself, I sling my arms around his neck in a huge hug and fall apart as he holds me back tenderly. I soak up the warmth of a caring embrace for a second longer, then pull back and wipe my eyes.

“Will you take me to them?” I ask.

“It’ll be my pleasure, Willow. Drink this first. It’s the only one I have, and you need far more than that, but it’ll help for now.”

I swear I could either cry or hug him again when he pulls a vial out of his pocket and pops the cap off. I don’t have to taste it. I can smell it and know it’s Gaster’s healing vial.

Greedily chugging it down, the effects are instantaneous as he helps me stand and get my balance. The healing tonic sweeps rapidly through my blood, knitting the rest of the hole in my palm closed, wiping away my dizziness, and the lingering pain from Bryce’s bite finally dissipates.

Then more damaged areas throb, begging for some reprieve as well, but that seems to be all the healing vial has in it. I’m a long, long way from being remotely close to healed, but I don’t feel nearly as helpless as I did just a second ago, so with a confident nod to him, he steps away and shifts back into his massive, intimidating form.

Taking a few steps forward, I stop and stand over Max’s lifeless body. There’s no remorse to be found in me, and honestly, I’m thrilled I got to witness him die. It’s a small reward for what I had to endure from him today.

Just as I go to turn from him, the sack tied to his belt loop catches my eye, and the realization of what that is comes flooding back to me.

We need that.

Bending down, I snatch the dagger out of his holster and use it to slice the sack from his belt loop, sparing just a second to peer inside and make sure nothing is broken. To my relief, I find five vials safely intact, so tightly gripping the sack in one hand, I keep the hilt of the dagger gripped in my fist and we start our jog back to the structure.

Peering around, it’s only now I’m realizing how far from the structure Bryce moved me. The sound of the battle raging on ahead of us is a distant noise and the only people I see are wolves in their shifted forms running from the tree line in the same direction we are.

The closer to the battlefield we get, the faster my legs seem to push me. Strength purely fueled by adrenaline and need forces me to ignore the pain because I feel them. All four of them, and Oakly.

My bonds stretch out, searching for them, and I finally set them free. The moment they’re released, it feels like a tremendous weight has been lifted off my chest, and I can breathe at last.

The sight in front of me as we round the corner of the structure has me stumbling and righting myself all in the same motion. Mastery members are everywhere, and the identifiable E.F. uniforms are the minority, but it doesn’t matter. They’re ruthless.

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