Page 75 of Alpha Wolf's Arranged Bride
Her blood is scattered all over the center seal.
“I can’t move, Rex,” Scarlett moans. “Get out of here! Run!”
“No!” I scream. “I will not leave you!”
Vanessa starts to laugh, and the greenish-yellow glow of the runes brightens. A horrible, thick smell like sulfur rises around us.
“You said it had to be innocent blood!” I shout, trying to pull Scarlett to her feet.
“I’m as shocked as you are, boy,” Azarian says, his eyes slowly changing to black, empty pits. “But it appears the ancient gods have accepted her.”
“We have to complete the ritual!” Vanessa yells. “The magic is working through me, and I’ll be destroyed if we don’t finish it!”
I try again to get Scarlett to her feet, but it’s like she’s glued to the stone. Her blood glitters like rubies as it trickles across the runes and is slowly absorbed by the rock.
A groan tears from my throat as I realize I’m going to have to signal my men to move in. I don’t know what special circumstances are required to survive inside the circle, but I have no choice but to call on my forces now.
If we can kill Azarian and Vanessa, that might stop this—even if it triggers the explosion. I know all of them would willingly give their lives to prevent this evil from getting out of here. I have to call them in!
I sit up on my knees and find Brad standing in the outer circle. With two fingers, I give the signal to advance.
“No, Rex, no!” Scarlett screams.
Azarian begins to laugh, and even though Vanessa seems to be in terrible pain, she shrieks with laughter as well.
To my surprise, none of the advancing warriors get burned as they approach us. Shadows and wolves from Indian Creek advance on the center of the circle, weapons drawn or fangs out, stalking Azarian and Vanessa.
“No, Rex,” Scarlett moans. “What have you done?”
“I’m saving us,” I answer, stroking her shoulders. “It won’t be long now. My guys will take them out, then one way or the other, it’ll be over.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Scarlett gasps. “He needs—the blood of warriors—”
Through the sound of Azarian’s laughter and Vanessa’s demented shrieking, I hear howls of pain. Standing up, I look around frantically to see my Shadows and warriors being taken down, one by one, in a closing circle of death moving from the outer rim to the center.
Jesus fuck, what have I done?
“Only sacrifices can survive the circle, Rex,” Azarian laughs. “Anyone not useful to the gods gets melted. Anyone valuable gets to make it to the runes—so we can spill their blood to feed the stone!”
Around me, my men seem to slow down as if the rising green fog and gas have disoriented them. Azarian runs around crazily, cutting them down with his long knife, while Vanessa attacks with nothing but her long nails, which have grown out into razor-sharp claws.
I’m about to join the fight when the stone beneath us begins to vibrate. I put my arms around Scarlett and hold her as tightly as I can, trying to break the spell so I can pick her up and run.
From the exact center of the circle, a curl of pure black smoke rises in an elegant curl. Everything seems to pause, as if the world itself has taken a breath. Azarian, Vanessa, my men—everyone freezes in place, leaving me and Scarlett awake and aware in the dead center of the stone.
A great crack appears through the carved runes, the sound splitting the air with such force, it feels like my eardrums have burst. The ground shudders, and a sudden blast of power blows Scarlett and me in opposite directions.
Flames rise through the crack, but they flow like a river instead of flickering. They come together to form a serpent shape, slowly thickening and getting taller as it slithers free ofits prison. The strange time dilation collapses, and sounds come at me from every direction, my men fighting and dying, and all those trapped outside the circle forced to watch.
“An Old God!” Vanessa yells. “Yes, my beloved, let us worship you!”
The great serpent hisses and turns towards Vanessa. She cuts through two of my warriors, and the blood hangs in the air for a second before being absorbed by the snake. It begins to drift towards Azarian, and he races towards the center of the circle to meet it.
“That’s it,” I say, looking around at the absolute carnage through the circle. “We’re fucked.”
Chapter 25 - Scarlett
“We’re fucked,” Rex states with not even a hint of irony.
