Page 7 of For Her, He Falls

One of the Bane warriors snarls, and I turn just in time to see a wolf with dark fur and grey eyes leap out from behind me just in time to deflect the attack directed at me.

Mark!

He looks like something straight out of a nightmare, filthy and matted, with blood dripping from his snout and claws. I've never been so happy to see him.

'I saw your father outside,' the Beta tells me, his eyes locking with mine. 'He shifted and flew over the gate. It looked like he was going out onto the bridge on his own.'

There's only one reason I can think of that would make my father forget the plan and storm out like that. There's only one person that would cause the wise Night King to act so stupidly. There's only one thing that could make a person do something so mad.

Love.

But it's not possible. It can't be.

I have to know. So, in between claws, fangs, fear, and fury, I reach out for my father through our mindlink.

'Dad! Where are you? What's going on?'

I can feel my thoughts bounce against his mind, and my heart thunders in my chest as he replies with a single word that changes everything.

'Vanessa.'

I feel every muscle in my body go taut, and instinctively I turn toward my mate. Tristan's gaze meets mine, golden eyes widening with concern when he sees the shock in my own.

He can't hear my father. He doesn't know.

'Flower, what—'

Before he can even formulate the question, the Alpha takes advantage of that moment of distraction. He lunges forward, snapping his jaws at Tristan's neck. My mate is barely able to dodge the attack, and the white-chest Alpha sinks his teeth into Tristan's shoulder.

He lets out an agonized howl that tears through the fabric of my very soul, and I throw myself at his attacker until we're tumbling over each other. We grapple in a mess of snapping and snarling until he shoves me off of him. By the time I'm scrambling back to my feet, Tristan is there with Mark by his side.

'Go.'

The word rings in the back of my head, my mate's voice calm and determined as Mark and the Alpha circle each other.

No.

I don't know how much of the situation Tristan has gaged or what Mark managed to tell him in between the fighting. But I won't leave him. We stand together, come what may. That was the damn deal.

Amidst the violence and darkness that threatens to consume us, time seems to slow as Tristan's eyes lock with mine. Somehow, he doesn't know, but he understands.

'Mark and I have got this. I'll find you. Just go.'

I don't even know if I can. My father is on the opposite end of the battlefield, surrounded by the enemy. There's no way for me to get to him in time, no way to help him. I'd have to fly to reach him. I'd have to leave the man I love in the middle of a fight, tap into a power I'm not even sure I possess, turn into a bunch of bats, fly across a warzone, and... and then what?

'I can't,' I answer, feeling myself on the verge of shattering in the chaos.

The Alpha lets out a low growl, his eyes fixed on Mark. Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it now.

'Try.' The word burns with such intensity I can almost feel Tristan's will strengthening my own. 'Nothing could ever take you away from me. No guilt, no goodbyes. Go.'

And with that, he tears his eyes away from mine. He lunges alongside his Beta at their opponent, and I can't afford to hesitate.

Don't think. Don't hold back. Just go.

I give myself over to the power within me, letting it shred me into pieces in a burst of freedom and change.

All that time alone, trapped, powerless ... no more.

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