Page 40 of Alpha Power

Zamorra followed behind Kylo as he led them outside. She could feel her werewolf start to rouse, reaching back for their connection and she knew she was running out of time. The second her werewolf breached the surface, they would know.

When they exited the club, Zamorra took a deep breath in, steadying herself.

Kylo studied her, a few locks of his brown hair escaping his man-bun and cascading over his face. "Where's your car?" He grunted.

"That way." She pointed down the street. The two burly shifters took point, their black combat boots scuffing along the pavement as they walked. She hated the fact she had no idea what type of shifters they were. It made her feel unprepared.

Her eyes scanned the street, catching a glimpse of Axel and Darius hiding amongst the shadows. She kept her expression neutral, her stride even as she passed them and turned the corner into the alley behind the club. The black SUV she drove in was parked halfway down. "That's my car." She pointed.

Zamorra took a step towards it, but one of the shifters placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait," he grunted. He looked at Kylo. "You smell that?

Kylo frowned. "Smell what?"

The shifter inhaled, his chest rising and falling before his eyes flashed gold. "Vampires," he growled.

In the blink of an eye, Luther's Elite Guards appeared, as if materializing out of thin air - Axel and Darius coming from behind, and Roman, Ophelia, and Maddox from the front. They moved like a team, a well-oiled unit, each person knowing exactly where they had to go, what to do. They were all perfectly in sync, like they had done this a million times and would probably do it a million more.

Zamorra still didn't have access to her werewolf, which meant she had to rely on her own strength and speed to get out of the vulnerable position she was in. Spinning on her heels, she brought her knee up hard and fast, hitting the burly shifter straight in his family jewels. His eyes bulged, a groan of agony escaping his lips as he fell to his knees, cupping his privates.

Her mother always used to say, when in doubt, go for the balls.

Zamorra stepped forward, grasped his head between her hands and gave a sharp twist. A loud crack echoed through the alley. His body slumped instantly in her hands, the life that had once been flowing through him snuffed out of existence like it was never there to begin with. She let him go and he crashed to the ground, dead. She knew she should probably feel guilty about it, about taking a life. But she didn't. It would have been her or him, she was sure of it. She just chose herself.

Axel and Darius each had a hand on Kylo's struggling body, holding him in place while Roman, Ophelia and Maddox slowly circled the last shifter, eyes red and fangs bared.

In a heartbeat, the man shifted. Ancient magic swirled through the air, familiar and comforting to her senses as he transformed into a massive black griffin. He stood over nine and a half feet tall, with the body and hindquarters of a lion and the wings, head, and front legs of an eagle. The griffin squawked, spreading his wings wide and scraping his razor-sharp talons along the cement, sparks flying, his yellow eyes tracking the approaching vampires with anger.

Zamorra couldn't help feeling a sense of awe staring at the mythical creature. She had never seen a griffin before. She had heard stories about their viciousness though, how they liked to peck their victims to death, often going for the eyes. She backed up slowly. She wasn't in the mood to lose her eyes. Not today, no sir.

Maddox moved first, blurring to the griffin's side while Ophelia moved to the other. The griffin beat his wings, sending a gush of wind their way knocking them off their feet. He pushed off the ground with his powerful legs, trying to get into the air and take the advantage, but Roman wasn't having it.

With a snarl, Roman jumped, wrapping a hand around one of his hind legs and tugged down. The griffin shrieked, beating his wings harder, his other leg trying to claw at the bulky vampire attached to him, but Roman's grip was iron-clad. He wouldn't falter.

The griffin slowly started to rise in the air, despite Roman's incredible weight. He was now higher than even she was capable of jumping, and Roman was still holding on tight. Darius sprinted towards them, a knife in his hand and fangs bared. Maddox dropped to one knee, cupping his hands in front of him. Darius jumped, stepping off his open palms and Maddox hurled him into the air with a grunt of exertion. Darius sailed through the air, covering the empty space between him and the griffin in a matter of seconds and landed on his back.

The griffin baulked, flailing wildly, trying to get free from not only Roman but now Darius too. The added weight made the griffin slowly start to slink back down to Earth, despite his wings flapping violently. The griffin tried to turn, pecking at Darius but he didn't have the reach.

Teeth clenched, Darius plunged his knife deep into the base of the griffin's neck, making him shriek in agony. The griffin immediately dropped, Roman barely managing to get free before the massive griffin fell to the ground with a loud thud. Darius leapt free at the last second, rolling along the ground and landing on one knee. A whimper of pain escaped the griffin moments before he shifted back to his human form, his brown eyes now dark and lifeless.

Damn. That was pretty impressive. She'll admit she didn't think Darius had those kinda skills. He always seemed to treat everything like a joke, and she was surprised he could move so quickly, so deadly. He actually reminded her a little of her uncle… okay, a lot.

Darius got to his feet, wiped the dirt from his jacket and walked over. He grasped the handle of his knife, put one foot on the lifeless body and pulled it free with a grunt. He rotated the knife in the air and looked at the blood dripping from its blade. With an evil glint in his eye, he ran his tongue up the blade and groaned. "Mmm, nothing quite like shifter blood." His red eyes flicked to her, and he winced. "Sorry Z."

She waved a hand through the air. She didn't care, as long as he didn't try and get a taste of her blood, she was all good.

"What have you done?" Kylo screamed, trying to fight off Axel and Ophelia, who had joined their side after Darius' impressive parkour skills.

She gave Zamorra a scathing look, but didn't say a word. Zamorra had a feeling she was on a tight leash after the incident at the mansion.

The knife Axel held to Kylo's throat prevented him from shifting, and by the way his eyes blazed gold, it was easy to tell Kylo was pissed about it.

Several humans walked by the entrance into the alley, but thanks to the Glamour spells placed all around the city, they couldn't see them, couldn't hear them. To them, the alley was empty. Zamorra always found the things mages could do, both light and dark, fascinating. If she hadn't been born a shifter, she would have loved to have been a mage.

Zamorra sensed Luther's powerful presence seconds before he rounded the corner and stepped into the alley. His jaw clenched, his eyes burning red.

"Do you realize what you've done?! Who you're fucking with?!" Kylo shrieked, still attempting to break free. "You're all dead!" He seethed. He continued to fight, yelling threat after threat until Luther stepped in front of him.

Luther waved a hand over Kylo's face. "Quiet," he snapped, his voice deep and commanding.

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