Page 60 of Luna Cursed

Ciara shook her head. "He keeps this side of him locked up."

"What a shame. It's rather spectacular."

Ciara nodded. "It is that."

A deep growl of challenge rolled from Tor's muzzle, and the chanting staggered but didn't stop. Varg looked up at them, and his smile was the cruelest thing Ciara had ever seen. Her hand went to the small pocket in her suit that held a canister of wolfsbane. She would more than happily douse the bastard in it again.

"Tor! Run!" Linnea shouted.

"Yes, Tor, run away," Varg mocked. He gestured to the warriors. "Kill the others, but keep that Wolf Slayer bitch alive. I want my revenge on her."

"Did you hear that, beloved? They are going to kill us," Imogen said and cracked her neck.

Arawan unsheathed his sword. "The audacity. I swear you leave the human realm for a few centuries, and they forget who they are dealing with."

"I've missed you guys," Lachie said fondly, drawing his two swords.

Tor raced across the cavern floor and collided with Varg with a roar of fangs and claws. The other warriors shifted and started to run towards them.

Ciara took up her position beside Lachie, and they met the charge head-on. She could feel Tor's alpha power surging through the bond and filling her up with magic and rage.

One shifter came towards her still in human form, and she used all her new strength to kick him hard in the stomach, the shifter went down, winded, and Ciara stabbed him through the top of his skull in one swift downward strike.

"Good one, sis!" Lachie called out before taking the head off another warrior. Imogen was swinging her battle ax with a manic smile of pure joy of the fight. Arawan faced off with the shamans, unraveling their spellwork faster than they could weave it.

Ciara smashed an entire canister of wolfsbane into the chest of the nearest warrior. He screamed, tearing at his own flesh in a panic. Lachie came up beside her and lopped its head off.

"Help Linnea! We've got this," he said.

Ciara raced across the cavern. Tor and Varg were tearing into each other. Varg had fully shifted into his wolf form. His black and brown coat was splattered with dark blood. Tor was bleeding as well but showed no signs of pain.

Ciara dragged her gaze from them and reached the first of the spelled circles.

"Not yet!" Arawan shouted, making her skid to a halt. Dark shadows rose like spears from his hands, and they sliced through the shamans before striking multiple points in the sigils. The spell broke, and Ciara's ears popped hard enough that she flinched.

"Now, get her, Ciara," Arawan said. His black gaze was fixated on the gigantic wolf's head. "What a magnificent beastie you are."

Ciara ran to the sobbing, bloody woman on the ground. "Hey, it's okay now. I'm a friend of your brother's."

"You are the Wolf Slayer," Linnea said. Ciara picked the locks that bound Linnea's hands behind her back.

"I am. How do you know that?"

Linnea smiled through her busted lips. She was finer boned than Tor, but her gray eyes were the same. "He used to talk about you before I was taken. You're probably the only woman he's ever been afraid of."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's worn off," Ciara said with a grin. The locks popped, and the chains unspooled. "Are you hurt?"

"Only superficial. They used my blood to draw their circles. The shamans told Varg that they needed the blood of an unshifted adult wolf to awaken Fenris. It's what kept me alive for the last year," Linnea replied.

"Fucking assholes," Ciara growled.

Linnea's brows shot up. "You sounded so much like Tor. Gods, you're bonded?"

"Ah, yeah." Ciara quickly busied herself with the locks on Linnea's legs. "It's a long story."

"I bet." Linnea rubbed at her legs and feet as the chains fell away. Ciara helped her stand, and they turned to see where Tor and the others were. Arawan was back with Imogen and Lachie, watching Tor's duel with Varg.

"Kill him already," Linnea hissed under her breath. Tears were falling down her hollow cheeks, rage burning in her eyes. Ciara hesitated a moment before she took Linnea's hand and held onto it.

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