Howls split the air. Achingly familiar and welcome.
I let the energy flow from me into the portal, where the black smoke rolled out, a grey cloud covering the black, pushing it down.
“No, you can’t,” Greta yelled.
Her green body tackled me like a professional linebacker. With focused power, I unleashed all my energy, pushing the blackness back. In my mind, I pictured the portal collapsing, sealing up on itself. Hands tore at my hair as reality intruded. I blinked, finding myself trapped under a hundred-twenty-plus pounds of furious green creature.
My wolf surfaced. The canines I’d loathed dropped. Fur rippled along my arms.
“Get off me, or die by my hands, you crazy bitch.” I relished the angry growl that escaped from my mouth.
I felt my hair being ripped from my scalp, and I turned to see Bianca joining the fight. “Two against one. I like these odds.” I reached behind me, using my wolf and the extra strength still flowing through me, and tossed Bianca several feet away.
The sweet sound of snarling and howls filled the space. Slater sent me the information, identifying the males and the packs they belonged to. The Mystic Wolves’ howls filtered into my hearing first. And then I recognized another pack’s scent.
Holy shit—Kellen, the Iron Wolves’ Alpha, and Xan, his second, leaped into the fray, shocking me.
“I’ve got this. Get Bar, he wanted to play with me.” I knew telling Slater that would keep him from my fight. I needed to handle Greta on my own. For too long, the old woman had been my version of the boogie man.
We both turned toward Bianca. The younger female didn’t get up. Her body lay sprawled in the middle of the once sacrificial place. The jagged stones were unforgiving on her human body.
“No,” Greta snarled, her focus turning back to me. “I will kill you for this.”
I allowed my claws to grow longer, knowing Greta would be enraged. Anticipation vibrated through my core. “Oh, bring it, beotch.” I was sure I’d heard that phrase somewhere before. Jenna’s laughter filled my head.
I was hearing the other woman’s and the Goddess’s memories, or words, fill my head. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not, but I let them guide me. Hopefully, when the battle was over, they’d retreat to the back of my brain, if not altogether. I wasn’t in the mood to be considered Sybil. Again, the two women laughed in my head.
I would so love to sit and chat with the two of them—or rather the Fey and a goddess—when I wasn’t locked in a life or death battle.
Circling each other, Greta spewed hatred and words meant to confuse and frighten me, but I blocked her vile verbal vomit. My mind focused on the being’s weak points. No matter who or what you were, you had a soft underbelly. With the long flowing robes, it was hard to guess what the woman hid.
With an evil grin, Greta reached inside, withdrawing her hand. A ball of flames appeared. The colors were a strange mix of blue, black, and grey. Greta held it up as if admiring it beforeaiming it at me. Almost too late, I rolled to the side. Before I could gain my footing, Greta lobbed another at me. Grass and dirt flew into my eyes. The next blast had me rolling toward Greta, taking out her legs.
I landed on top, locking my right hand around the other female’s throat. A flash of silver caught my eye. Greta, attempting to stab me, forced my wolf to come closer to the surface. I squeezed harder, feeling the bones of Greta’s throat give. With my other hand, I grabbed the wrist holding the blade, wrapped my fingers around it, and squeezed both with all my strength.
Staring down, I held Greta in place while cutting off her air supply. The woman’s cold black eyes bulged. I pictured my family before Greta. In my mind, I pictured them as a loving family—how they should’ve been if the bitch below me hadn’t come along.
The skin on my arm became shredded under the struggling, clawing form beneath me, but I only increased the pressure. Finally, I felt the bones snap, crush. I watched the air leave the woman, yet I knew that wasn’t it. Greta was evil incarnate and needed to be eradicated from the earth. I closed my eyes and let the Goddess flow through me, cleansing the ground and the surrounding area of the stench and taint.
Standing, I was shocked to see the wolves still fighting. I could easily pick out Slater’s wolf and gasped as he fell beneath the large brown and gold wolf that was Bar. Instinctively, I knew it was the bastard. The two wolves rolled, their lethal claws raking each other’s sides. The other fought for a killing blow.
Once I knew LeeLee was no longer in danger from the old woman, I turned my full focus on the big wolf who’d slunk off after the fighting started. Bar had taunted LeeLee with what he was going to do to her, yet when we’d shown up, he’d run off. Just as I’d finished off one of Greta’s enforcers, the worthless prick had snuck up on me. I spun in time to face him, his putrid scent hidden, thanks to the downwind, which nearly cost me my life.
Now, I didn’t need to watch her back. I exhaled. She was fine. Better than, except she’d just killed a being, and I wasn’t sure how that would affect her psyche. I wanted to reach out and ask if she was okay. When I finished Bar, I’d wrap her in my arms, and she’d never have to face anything so terrifying again.
I dodged another swipe of claws, growling low in my throat, knowing if I suffered too many more blows, I’d be the one they carried home. We rolled across the ground, breaking free, then turning back toward the snarling brown wolf. Amber eyes stared at me with death in them.
I launched myself in the air, meeting the other wolf head-on. My teeth sank into the other’s neck, locking on with deadly precision. I held on, shaking and biting, as the copper-tasting liquid filled my mouth. Once I was sure Bar was dead, I released him.
All around, wolves lay from the other pack. Niall shifted back to human, followed by Zayn. The two brothers were almost identical in looks, with commanding presence and equal forces I wouldn’t want to fuck with if I didn’t have to. Niall’s Alpha aura was hard to miss. They stood shoulder to shoulder with Kellen and Xan from the Iron Wolves. The four males were an impressive sight.
“I was starting to think you were gonna need a hand,” Niall said, clapping me on the back once I shifted back to human.Zayn laughed. “I knew you were just playing with the puppy. Um, you wanna introduce us to your mate?”
“I’m really not sure if I like the way you boys travel.” Kellen’s growl sent a shiver down my spine. He waved a hand around the clearing.
Xan slapped him on the back. “Ignore him. He’s not a fan of flying either.”
Kellen raised his right hand. His huge, tattooed bicep flexed as he flipped Xan off. “Go fuck yourself. Who in their right mind likes to be enclosed in a silver tube with wings?”
