Page 109 of Wolf Touched

Our group formed a circle with the coven members in front. After a minute, I heard the sound of paw steps as the wolves hurried to join us. The groups on either side of us were made up of half witches and half wolf shifters, with one vampire. We were close enough to see one another but unable to speak without shouting.

My heart raced faster with each step. I wasn’t sure when the enemy would pop out or if one or both of my parents were near death. All the potential situations had my stomach in knots and my power increasing. I swallowed, trying to keep it under control as much as possible. I didn’t need to drain myself before we even got there.

We’ve almost caught up to you,Raffe linked, though he didn’t need to. The base of my neck tingled, telling me he was watching me.

Static weaved through the air in front of me, and my wolf howled inside me.

“Coven magic,” I whispered, but it was too late.

Priestess Caroline and the other coven members slammed into an invisible barrier. They bounced off the wall, and Priestess Caroline fell hard backward. I rushed forward, catching her, but by righting her, I stumbled forward and I braced to hit the wall.

Static rubbed against me as I went through the barrier and dropped to my knees.

Skylar,Raffe linked, and his panic slammed into me as he tried to race through the perimeter spell they’d cast, but he was flung onto his back, snarling.

The same thing had happened that night at campus when the three Eastern wolves had attacked me and I’d shifted for the first time.

I spun around, searching for my attackers, but all I heard was silence.

No animals were nearby, which meant they felt danger. I noticed that all the groups had stopped and couldn’t get through. They’d isolated me.

Dammit, Sky.Raffe jumped back on his feet, baring his teeth.If they touch you, I’ll kill them all.

“Calm down,” Priestess Caroline bit out. “We need to bring down the spell, so stop running into it. It won’t vanish on its own.” She held out her hands toward the other coven members, who took them.

A shiver ran down my spine just as Dave yelled, “Vampires!”

I spun, searching for the attackers, and saw ten blurs charging toward me through the trees.

I yanked, my power humming as I lifted my hands.

“Focus on big targets, but don’t blast your power into the ground!” Priestess Caroline shouted. “If you can hold them off like that, your power will drain less quickly than forcing it into small or massive areas.”

I took a deep breath to center myself. The vampires were almost on me. I pushed the power from my palms, aiming for the closest blurs I could see. The coven members behind me chanted, though I couldn’t make out the words over the roaring in my ears.

Then, the fastest two blobs were on me, so I funneled the power from my hands. I knocked the first blob down, a hiss resonating, and blasted the second one, causing a sickeningpop. The smell of copper hit my nose.

But I had no time to see what I’d done because four other blobs were already on me.

A loud wolf howl came from behind me, and Raffe’s fear pummeled me, making my power surge to a song. I hated that he was seeing everything that was going on but couldn’t reach me. I could feel the edge of hysteria clawing between us.

And that made me miss the third mark.

One vampire wrapped his hands around my neck, choking me, as a second vampire snagged my arms and forced them behind my back. I kicked backward, nailing him in the knee, and heard a crack. Then I grabbed the pale, sinister arms of the one strangling me.

Power soared into his body as I stared into his dark eyes, dug my fingernails into his wrists, then kneed him in the crotch. He grunted and dropped to the ground, so I kicked him in the face. His head jerked to the side before he landed in a heap.

Two other vampires appeared at my sides, their teeth extended. The woman fisted her hands in my hair, dragging my body toward her. The male vampire kicked me in the stomach. Acid burned up my throat.

I had to do something before they killed me or worse.

So I allowed my power to go feral.

The power soared through me into the ground, and the earth quaked underneath me.

The vampire that had my hair hissed, and sharp teeth sank into my neck. Raffe’s snarls and whimpers echoed in my ears as the woman gulped and then gagged, the combination of my power making her crazy but my wolf blood poisoning her.

She released her hold and stumbled back as the man backed away, pinching his nose as if trying not to smell me.

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