AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maddox,” Addie breathed.
She ran her hand along my fur. Her arcana sank into me. I breathed it in and felt my muscles unfurl. My lungs expanded once more. I licked her cheek in thanks before spinning to put myself between her and the creature.
The creature was a white wolf. It looked a lot like myself, much to my surprise. It skidded along the rocky ground before crouching low. The white wolf’s gaze flicked between me and another beast. A female shifter, smaller than myself and the white wolf, paced with her teeth bared.
Behind us, Vi started speaking. Her words were cut off by a choking pressure in the air. We all flinched as it slammed into us. Addie grasped at her throat as she winced. The female shifter snarled until all sound was cut off.
The white wolf lifted itself proudly. Its glare darkened, a black light blazing in the depths of its dead eyes. The creature was very much alive, but something inside it had snapped and shattered.
Light flickered beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Vi trying to summon fire, but the oppressive air snuffed it out instantly. Vi said something, but all I could hear was a low thrum. She shook her hand and tried again, but all she could summon was a few sparks. Her face twisted with outrage. Red flashed in her eyes.
Addie scrambled to her feet and ran for Vi.
The white wolf lunged for Addie.
It all happened in the blink of an eye. Though the pressure in the air pushed against me, slowing my every movement, I refused to let it keep me from protecting Addie. Once again, I shoved myself between the wolf and Addie. The wolf’s impact sent me flying. Together, we rolled across the rocky ground.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Addie throw her arms around Vi. She pulled back and grasped the sides of Vi’s face, forcing the blonde to look her in the eye.
I turned my attention back to the white wolf. It shouldn’t be a match for us. It was four versus one. However, this pressure in the air had handicapped us. Vi seemed to be on the edge of losing control. The way Addie jumped into action, I knew I didn’t want to see the antichrist succumb to her father’s blood.
The girls had to get out of here. I leapt on the white wolf and shoved him to the ground to give the others time to run. Addie’s voice was distant and muted, but I could hear her telling Vi that they had to go. Addie had read my cues. She knew how to work alongside me. I only hoped that they could move fast.
The white wolf twisted and bit into my leg. His bite sent burning pain up my limb. It made the muscles clench tight. I howled and leapt back from him—making sure to put myself between the wolf and the girls in the process.
I planted my feet wide and lowered my head.
Addie shoved Vi up the steep ravine at the edge of the cliff. When she looked back, her jaw slackened. The way she gaped at the white wolf told me that she could see something that no one else could.
I prowled closer to the wolf until several shapes flashed in front of me. One by one, they appeared. They stuttered like something was keeping them from materializing. Human forms, they bent over the wolf. When a wave of Addie’s arcana surged toward us, it washed around me and into the ghosts.
The ghosts fully formed. Each one grabbed at the white wolf’s fur and pulled. He was caught in a cage of his own making while the ghosts held onto him. Their hearts were black voids, like Addie had described once before. Tendrils of black webbed out from the sucking voids. They spread beyond the ghosts’ form and reached towards the white wolf.
They had him.
I turned and ran after Addie and the others. My foot didn’t want to obey, though. It gave out beneath me. Pain gripped the limb like a hand crushing my bone. I lifted it and ran on three legs. My gait was awkward, but I refused to stop.
The pain climbed higher and higher as I scaled the ravine. My bones threatened to shatter. The dark sensation reached deep into me. It tried to grab onto something that wasn’t there.
My run faltered when I realized what the power wanted from me. I couldn’t tell Addie while I was in this form. She needed to know what that wolf had done to his victims.
He’d devoured their souls.
If that was the case, what did it mean for me? His power reached inside me and tried to mark my soul for consumption, but he’d found nothing. There was a void where it should have been.
Addie
I snatchedVi’s keys from her. She was in no shape to drive. It’d been a while since she’d had a slip. We’d all assumed that she wouldn’t succumb to her anger issues anymore, but I’d caught the flash of red in her eyes.
Did it have something to do with the torn threads of fate? Outside of the weave of the world, Addie was a Nephilim. She was more angel than demon. Away from the weave of the world, where fate could not find her, she became chaos.
I couldn’t bring her near that white wolf again, or else we would find ourselves fighting off Hell all over again. I didn’t need demons overtaking this little mountain town.
I spared a glance back. Ness was right behind us. The three of us burst out of the woods. At the edge of the road, Ness paused and looked back. She let out a bark.
Where was Maddox? I heard crashing. Without thinking, I dove back into the woods. I should have gotten behind the steering wheel and started the Jeep. Instead, I leapt over caution tape and fallen logs until I saw Maddox.
He limped on three legs, his gait slow and pained. I didn’t know if I had it in me, but I bent and scooped him up. Adrenaline must have fueled me because I shouldn’t have been able to lift the massive shifter. He groaned for me to put him down, but I wasn’t going to let him out of my sight.
