Page 114 of Wolf Touched

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

My body tensed as I tried to figure out what the hell to do. The coven members were low on magic, and my power was gone. The animals were our last chance to catch them off guard, but even then, that must be why they had weapons—to fight all of us, including the animals.

This could have been a suicide mission.

Josie whimpered as a blur blew past me.

Dave.

With his vampire speed, he raced forward. The coven members couldn’t keep up with him, and he descended among them.

My heart ached, knowing the turmoil Josie was going through. And this confirmed what I’d always suspected—Dave was a good guy, just misguided.

The witches tried to fire at Dave as the other two surviving vampires followed his lead, one coming from the left and the other from the right, creating a distraction.

I gritted my teeth. The inevitable had come, so I searched deep within myself, found the faint fizzle of my power, andyanked at it.

“Some of Ednah’s coven members are going to attack,” Keagan rasped. “But they can’t hold everyone off. We need more distractions.”

I had no choice. I had to be the one to do it. I yanked at my power again, and it hummed. It’d have to be enough to do … something.

Warin hissed. “Shoot them. You may not see them, but they aren’t invincible to bullets. Just fire. We want to kill themallanyway.”

A few of the gunmen fired but missed the three vampires, who reached the front line and broke three of their necks.

Panic ensued. Other society members backed up, firing their weapons randomly.

Then coyotes, bobcats, foxes, deer, and raccoons flooded the area, adding to the chaos. They didn’t directly attack but rather impeded the battles going on, giving our allies a chance to turn things in their favor.

Dave tried to move away, but with the constant shots, a bullet hit him in the chest. He stumbled back several steps, and Josie yelped and raced forward.

“No!” Aldric shouted. “Hold your fire!”

A few stopped, but the ones closest to the vampires didn’t hesitate; they kept shooting. Fortunately, they weren’t aiming at Dave but at the other two vampires. One of the vampires dropped dead when a bullet hit the top of his head, and the second stumbled after getting hit in the leg.

I yanked at my power once more, and it reached a high fizz, but it wouldn’t stay that way. I was running low, and it might not get that high again.

Imagining what I wanted to happen, I forced the power forward, using every bit I had, and aimed it at the porch.The power surged, and fatigue hit me, my knees going weak. I’d exerted myself too much.

As my butt hit the ground, the porch shook and shattered, collapsing the entire structure. Between the large pieces of wood, Warin, Olwyn, Slade, Aldric, and a third of the guards were taken out. The others near them spun around, searching for the threat, while the remaining fifteen continued to shoot while dodging animals.

I’d done everything I could.

“Holy shit,” Keagan gasped. “Was that you?” His gaze landed on me, his eyes wide.

I nodded. “Now, we need to attack before they recover.”

His eyes glowed as his side and the coven members on our side surged forward.

Lucy, I need you, Fane, Octavia, and Dru to stay with Skylar and protect her,Raffe linked as he ran forward.

My heart quickened as I watched my fated run into danger. I should have been there beside him. Still, when I tried to stand, my body sagged even more.

Octavia and Dru flanked me before Lucy had a chance to speak with my brother.

Dru scanned me. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m drained and hurting, but there are more important things to focus on. I need you all to fire at the guards so the others have less of a chance of getting shot,” I gritted out through clenched teeth, trying not to snap. “Avoid the animals.” My physical state could be addressed later … if we lived.

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