Page 74 of The Witch and The Blood Oath

She nodded mutely, and I squeezed her tighter.

“You’re a badass, remember?” I said.

“A badass witch,” she agreed, and I grinned.

As we reached the yacht, my smile faded. Arion charged right onto the bow and reared. Gravity shifted the yacht toward us, and partially shifted werewolves rolled our direction. Their mouths were filled with elongated teeth, and their eyes were bright with power. My companions and I slid off Arion’s back and faced the wolves as they crouched and sneered.

“Who the fuck are you?” the nearest wolf demanded.

His olive skin glimmered with malice, and the tattered remains of his white shirt stretched across his bulging muscles. A female wolf—dark-haired and slender—crept to his side and bared her teeth.

“We are here on behalf of the High Witch to apprehend the chimera,” I explained and stared down the male wolf.

He chuckled darkly. “Is that right?”

Wordless yelling caught my attention. As the kelpie whipped his tail in the air, Walker soared off the creature’s back and landed in a heap by my side. He groaned, and I stared at him incredulously.

“In my head,” he rasped and got to his feet. “I stuck the landing.”

“This is who the High Witch hires?” the female wolf mocked. “Good thing the Sovereign sent us.”

The wolves laughed at the shock blanching our faces. Ryder snarled and cursed.

The nearest male wolf’s jaw slackened. “You’re—”

“Alpha Kaidan’s son,” Ryder growled. “And you’re in my way.”

The dark-haired male wolf snarled, and his dark eyes blazed brighter with power. Wild magic pressed on my chest like a weight—Alpha power.

Ryder didn’t avert his gaze from the Alpha’s stare.

“You think this thing is a problem only for the witches?” the female wolf interrupted their dominance battle. “No. All the Leaders want it gone.”

“Where is it?” I asked. “Perhaps we can help each other.”

“And let you commandeer it?” the Alpha said and snarled. “Not a chance.”

Walker pulled the Sol Sword from his back, and lightning sprang to life across the blade. With a frenzied smile, Ryder extended his claws. Arion shifted into his saber-toothed tiger form, and Cadence summoned sand from deep within the ocean’s depths. It swelled on either side of the ship. The Alpha blinked.

I smiled. “May the best pack win, then.”

I launched a gust of wind at the flames, and they flared toward the wolves. Some of the wolves dove off the yacht to escape, but the others rolled toward us, right into my friends’ awaiting blades and claws.

As Ryder locked into battle with the Alpha, I blasted wolves off the yacht with gusts of wind. Some, however, were quicker than others and dodged my blows. I narrowly avoided a swipe of razor-sharp claws. I grabbed a dagger tucked into my boot and lost myself in combat with a hulking wolf. I barely glimpsed his angry face and short-shaved hair through the chaos.

In my periphery, Walker and Cadence fought behind me. Neither was making headway, and Ryder still battled the Alpha wolf. I finally got the upper hand on the wolf I faced and swiped my dagger through his hamstrings. With a scream, he fell to my feet. I spotted a smaller boat tied next to the yacht.

If we can get the chimera, there’s our escape.

Right as another wolf leaped for my throat, a high-pitched scream pierced the chaos. It was so helpless, instinct drove me to look for its source. My moment of distraction wasalmost fatal. The wolf I faced—a female with a wicked, toothy smile—swiped her claws through my midsection. I dodged the brunt of the blow and avoided losing any entrails, but pain stole my breath, and blood sprayed from the wound.

I hadn’t been trying to kill these wolves, considering we shared common goals.

They clearly did not share my reservations.

Infuriated, I let the female think I was distracted by pain. I bent over and clutched my tattered stomach. When she lunged for my throat, I sent a spear of fire at her chest. Cursing, she landed hard on her back. The burn wouldn’t kill her, but it lead to a painful recovery.

Anxious that another wolf hadn’t attacked me yet, I looked up and realized why. Clutched by two huge wolves washer—the woman who had led me into Madame LaLaurie’s mansion.

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