Page 24 of Griffen's Mate

She was the last Enewu, but she was now something new. She wasn’t going to follow in her people’s footsteps, she was going to fight to her last breath to save herself and her new family. She hoped that Griffen and the men were doing the same.

* * * *

Griffen

He’d never seen so many demons together. Kane had told him that they weren’t the only ones under attack. Faith had seen towns around the world: two American shifter towns, one in England, and a Chinese town was under attack too. The attacks were a desperate plea to gain their advantage. Now that his people had Hope, the demons were at a loss. They’d lost their seer and their underground strongholds.

Griffen glanced over at Grayson, who was in half-shift, prepared for the demons who were charging toward them. The newer human recruits looked terrified, but they needed all the help they could get. He and all the teams weren’t going to let the demons into their town. They weren’t getting any children or women.

There were no minions or zombies with all the demons, and he hoped that the women were handling what was thrown at them. Faith and Hope had both said that they were going to be hounded by minions and zombies in the visions they saw. He was damn glad he had spent those weeks training Hope, and he knew that the women had been training hard. Griffen had to have faith that the women could handle the minions and zombies, but right now he needed to focus on his own battle. Griffen had never fought this many demons.

He refocused his efforts on the approaching demons. They came in a large group of ten. He could hear the faint sound of fighting in the distance from the other groups. The demons must have gotten to them first. Griffen and his team were outnumbered, with only two shifters in their group. Logan was mated to his sister and was sometimes even better than shifters at fighting, but with twenty humans, and half of them not up to standards for what they were about to do, he worried that they may lose the fight. He needed to remind the humans what they were up against before it was too late.

“Remember to work together as a team. It will take two humans to cut off their heads. Their blood burns like acid. Try not to get it on your bare skin. Just remember you’re a team,” he yelled as the demons roared at them as they swung their tails, hitting a human and taking him down in one swoop.

He half-shifted, pulled out his swords, and charged the demons. Forked, sharp, pointed tails swung, and he ducked and weaved. He had a mission—cut the hearts out and stab them. The humans were climbing up a demon’s back so he went straight for its heart, hoping it would keep its tail and hands on him and not on the humans.

He moved from the first one to the second with quick, efficient ease, but by the third demon it was harder. The humans were exhausting quickly. He could see that they wouldn’t last long as the demons were deliberately getting cut so their acid blood was getting on the humans’ exposed skin. They’d covered the humans in leather, which seemed to be the best protection against the acid-like blood, but their hands and face weren’t covered.

The first human went down quickly in fits of screams as his hands sizzled and the holes in his clothes got bigger before a demon tail dug deep into his chest. The human dropped his weapons as the tail dragged down, ripping him open, and he fell to the ground.

Griffen had no time to feel pity for the man, they were losing. They couldn’t lose, there was too much at stake. There were too many children and a lot of pregnant women in the town. They might be outnumbered, but he would fight to his last breath to save the women and children. He would fight so Hope never went back to being a slave. She deserved freedom. Everyone deserved the chance to be free.

* * * *

Griffen had never been so exhausted in his life. He didn’t know how many hours had passed, but it was pitch-black and they were down to eight humans and six demons. He wouldn’t give up though. He’d keep fighting until his very last breath.

He dragged his body over to a demon about to rip a human’s head off and chopped the hand around the human’s neck, watching its grip loosen and fall to the ground. Logan was on the demon’s back and he was climbing up to its head. Griffen went for the heart but grunted when he felt the slash of a sharp tail across his thighs. Not stopping, he ignored the pain and used his swords to stab up and at the demon.

He heard the chopper, it was loud even against the sound of grunts, growls, and snarls of fighting. He didn’t expect what happened next. Men propelled down...no, not men, half-changed shifters, ten of them. Griffen didn’t know the shifters, but he was damn grateful for them. They got straight into the fight, and with renewed energy he attacked the remaining demons.

The new shifters were swift as they killed the demons. Most of them were panthers. He knew that they were based in New Zealand, but he hadn’t worked with them before. He’d met their alpha and had seen them at meetings, but this was the first time they’d worked together, and from what he was seeing now, he knew that they were good. There was a wolf he didn’t know with them and a bear he knew had come over as an exchange from America, but the rest were panthers, and they were fast and moved with effortless grace as they fought and killed one demon after another.

Griffen had three bears of their own come to join the pack and a panther, but he was from England and they had also gained four lions from Africa, and other wolves from around the world to make their pack bigger. Faith had been a huge draw card for them. A lot of shifters wanted their mates, and Faith could give them that.

The fighting ended with the help of the new shifters. Griffen wanted to rest, but he wouldn’t be able to until he knew the women and children were safe, until he knew Hope was safe.

A panther stepped toward him, his swords still in his hands. “I’m Blaine. Faith called us hours ago and told us about the vision. We got on a plane and came straight here. With our private plane we could get here fast. I know other packs sent help too. My brother is the alpha, he wanted to come, but we thought it best to leave him behind to protect our home in case there was an attack there. Now go. I bet you’re anxious to get to your women and children. We sent men to the beaches too.”

Shifting, Griffen nodded his wolf head before taking off toward the beach at breakneck speed.

* * * *

Hope

Hope had never been so happy to see new shifters. She’d spent the last couple of hours fighting like her life depended on it, and in a way it did. She would never go back to being a pet to the demons, she’d rather be dead. The shifters came in helicopters and dropped down from ropes. They changed to half-shifted quickly and fought the remaining minions and zombies.

Hope stumbled down to the water, and by the time the waves lapped at her feet she was down on her knees, grateful that there was help. Her strength gone, she closed her eyes for a moment and let the throbbing pains of all her cuts, bruises, and lacerations make themselves known. She still gripped the sword and knives and was sure they’d now melded to her body.

Griffen had been teaching her how to swim. She was good at it. Anything to do with the earth and nurture she enjoyed. She loved the water and didn’t want to be far away from it again.

Hands lifted her from under her arms. “Hope. Hope. Stay awake. We need to cheek you over.” She heard Kirby’s sweet voice and felt her gentle touch as she helped her to stand.

She didn’t want to open her eyes. Every muscle hurt, and she didn’t think she could move without assistance if she tried. Prying an eye open, she looked at Kirby, seeing she had some scrapes here and there, but otherwise she looked good. Hope was happy Kirby was okay. Hope had fought so hard to make sure her family was safe, and it looked like Kirby was.

“I’m so happy you’re safe. Is Ryland okay too?” she mumbled.

“Ryland is fine. He’s with Aunty Sandra.” Kirby’s voice was soothing, and Hope closed the eye that was open.

“Is Ava good too?” Hope needed to know all her family was alive and not taken.

“Oh, Hope, we’re all alive and doing as best we can.”

Hope nodded, or at least she hoped it was a nod, before dots spotted her vision and her then blackness completely took over.

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