Page 50 of Midnight Whispers
He wasn’t sure if the wolf was dead, but he was at least unconscious. His lifeless body lay at the base of the tree on his side.
The dizziness came in waves. Was it blood loss? Or maybe slamming his already injured body against a tree twice knocked a few screws loose. Cass needed to assess his body but he didn’t know if he had the time.
The alpha would send another two more wolves to fight him. He had to run before then. But Miller didn’t wait. He sent two more wolves after him as soon as Cass defeated the last two. Maybe Miller knew he was close to defeating Cass and wanted it over with.
That made two of them.
It hit him all at once that Riley was in his mind for a reason. Cass could smell him before he saw him, and so could Alpha Miller.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bile rose in Riley’s throat. It wasn’t the dead body a few yards away, half covered by brush, that got to him, although that didn’t help anything. It was Cass, covered in blood. He was mostly a wolf, but not entirely. Standing bipedally like a human, the rest of him was a wolf. Fur covered his body, but blood matted it down. So much blood. His shoulder and neck were gnarled. Seeing all that pink flesh exposed and torn up as if a shark had bitten him instead of wolves, was what brought on the urge.
He thought for sure he’d lose his stomach contents, but tears flowed and instead, emotion clogged his throat.
The instinct to go to him was overwhelming. He started to, but Dad grabbed him, holding him back. “He needs you to fight for him. Can you do that?”
The desperation in Dad’s voice broke through Riley’s panic, making it possible for him to think about how he could save Cass’s life. He stopped fighting against his dad’s hold and listened. “What do I do?”
Riley never fought a day in his life, although he knew how to protect himself. He came from the not-so-great part of the city where carrying mace was a necessity. Muggings and assaults happened fairly regularly in his old neighborhood. But he’d never been a victim.
“You know how to create fire. Use it.”
Riley didn’t know what to do with a small flame. He didn’t have time to think about it because the wolf in the back shifted into a human. Alpha Miller was naked, which made him seem out of place.
“Attack them,” the man yelled. He was definitely the alpha. Riley remembered him from before.
Cass swayed as if he’d fall over at any moment, but he seemed to brace himself for the attack. Four wolves surrounded him, growling and snarling. Four more lay on the ground. One tried to get up but couldn’t.
Dad chanted, and the next thing Riley knew, something shimmered around Cass. It happened at just the right moment because Cass swayed a little too hard to the left and fell.
Two wolves went after him, and at the same time, two more ran for Dad and Riley.
Instinct kicked in. He ignored everything but saving himself and the two people he loved. He stepped in front of his dad for reasons he couldn't explain, protecting him from the wolves.
“Riley!” The frustration was real in his dad. But he chanted and threw something over Riley’s shoulder. One wolf froze mid-attack.
The flame was a natural extension of himself. It appeared as if Riley held a lighter. And when the flame grew into a ball of fire, it came from instinct. Riley threw it at the closest wolf.
The fire seemed to suck up the wolf. There was no other way to describe it. One minute, the wolf was there, and the next, he was gone in a giant whoosh. It was as if the wolf had never existed.
The wolves ran at Cass but bounced off the protective field Dad had created, yelping as they landed on the ground.
Cass got to his feet, but Riley could tell he wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Dad took action. He pushed Riley behind him, throwing magic around as though he were playing basketball. It was freaking amazing. He had two wolves in some sort of shiny magical bindings. Two were too injured to be a threat. He made the rest freeze.
They all shifted simultaneously, making Riley think maybe Dad had forced them to shift into a human somehow.
As soon as Riley stepped toward Cass, something slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him when he landed on his back.
He stiffened when he felt teeth on his neck. The wolf was heavy as it stood on his body.
It had to be the alpha. He must have shifted to a wolf again.
Cass roared, which made the wolf tighten its jaws.
Riley shut his eyes and waited for his teeth to sink in. But then Cass said, “Fight me. Leave him alone.”
