Fuck.
A younger witch—who can’t be older than twenty—rushes forward, her eyes emitting a soft blue light, but one of the wolves leaps at her with terrifying speed. His claws rake across her chest, and she cries out in pain, barely managing to push him away with a blast of energy that sends him skidding back.
A short distance away, a shifter still in human form is dodging the attack of a tall, willowy witch with pitch-black hair. The air around her shimmers with energy, and in a sudden burst of light, a blinding flash of lightning arcs towards the human shifter. The bolt strikes with incredible force, sending the wolf flying back, his hair singed and his body twitching.
Chaos. Absolute fucking chaos.
And Travan? My mate’s father? He simply laughs giddily like this entire show of death and carnage has been set up for his amusement. He stealthily moves through the fighting witches and wolves, that unhinged smile never faltering.
Until he reaches the magical barrier cocooning Delaney and the warlock. All at once, his smile fades, and a malevolence I’ve never seen before enters his dark eyes.
“Give. Me. My. Daughter.” He slams his fist against the barrier, but it manages to hold.
His knuckles come away red and raw.
“She needs to be trained,” Delaney hisses. Her hair seems to hover around her in all directions like she’s underwater. “Let me protect her.”
“You? Protect her?” Travan hits the barrier again, this time with those strange, shadowy claws of his.
The energy flickers, wavering for just a moment, but it’s enough time for Travan to push all the way through.
Without preamble, he shoves his entire hand into the male warlock’s chest and rips out his heart.
“Don’t go breaking my heart,” he murmurs to the dead warlock, and I realize the crazy fucker is still trying to come up with a suitable catchphrase.
“Damn,” Reid says, wincing. “Remind me to never get on his bad side.”
“We’re mated to his daughter. We’re already on his bad side,” I reply. Then, in a lower voice, I add, “I’m totally going to piss my pants the first time we’re officially introduced.”
Reid, the biggest, scariest motherfucker I know, says, “Same.”
I can no longer hear Delaney and Travan’s conversation. They don’t appear to be fighting, though. Just…talking. Delaney’s eyes are cold glass shards, and I can no longer see Travan’s expression. Somehow, that makes it even more terrifying.
I don’t think there’s anything scarier than Travan’s unpredictability.
“Move!” Ashton roughly shoves me aside, racing forward with two familiar men directly behind him.
He must’ve left to find Silas and Kyle while I was just standing here like a gawking idiot.
It only takes Silas and Kyle a second to assess the situation.
“Travan!” Silas bellows, charging for his pack mate.
But just as he takes a step, a witch thrusts her palms out, and the ground beneath his feet cracks open. Stone pillars shoot up, pinning him in place, holding him trapped in a small prison.
Silas yells something, and then the stone shatters around him when he bursts through as a large gray and white wolf. His one eye swivels in both directions until it lands on the witch who trapped him. He leaps at her, but instead of killing her, he simply hits her with his paw until she falls unconscious.
“Goddammit, Travan.” Kyle scrubs a hand down his face, looking as if the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders.
“You don’t sound that surprised by what you see.” Ashton turns towards Kyle incredulously.
Kyle winces. “We were teaching Travan self-control,” he says in explanation.
“You’re saying that he’s going on a murderous rampage because he doesn’t have a stress ball to squeeze?” Ashton’s brows touch his hairline.
“We need to calm him down before he kills everyone,” Gerry interrupts, his eyes fixed on Delaney and Travan.
Delaney’s hands are slightly raised, her palms emitting white magic. But she doesn’t make a move to attack. Not yet.
