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The ripping of fur and flesh cut through the quiet night as Xander booked it toward the vehicle. He managed to get her there safely, his heart smashing in his chest, and he laid Harper down before returning to the ensuing battle.
He rapidly removed his shirt and blasted himself toward the rogue wolves. One had its ankle mangled by Declan, while the other had an enforcer beneath him, thrashing at the exposed red and blue insides of his shoulder bone.
Xander was an easygoing, solemn man. But he was a force to be reckoned with when it came to battles. He was like a monk who could slice your head off with the flick of the wrist.
He excelled in precision, not mad, wild brutality. He applied that accuracy as he nearly floated over to the rogue wolf who had the enforcer pinned to the ground, splashes of blood coating the black dirt with incessant gushes.
He grabbed hold of the rogue from behind, taking the scruff of his neck between his jaws and removing him from the wailing enforcer. At the speed of light, he yanked his enemy backward into him and curled a paw around the sensitive, supple skin of his throat.
Xander used two claws to draw thin lines across the wolf’s neck. He had been growling but was silenced immediately as quiet blankets of blood flowed onto his mangy and tangled fur.
Xander dropped his dead weight, which made a thudding sound that seemed to echo through the kingdom. He then watched as Declan and the second enforcer ripped the remaining rogue to shreds, their snarls and tearing of fur the harmony of nightmares.
The attackers were dead, and all that remained was the galloping of Xander’s heart in his chest and the lamenting of the severely injured enforcer. Due to his injuries, he shifted into his human form, lying naked amongst a growing pool of blood.
“I will take him,” the other enforcer insisted through their shared wolf telepathy.
Xander and Declan nodded as the enforcer threw the other onto his back. He sprinted into the darkness back toward the palace while the kings shifted, retrieving extra clothing always present in the back of the armored vehicle.
They climbed into the front seat, with Harper nearly unconscious in the back. Xander blasted down on the gas as he and Declan panted with a silent sense of foreboding.
Xander knew that it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
NINETEEN
LEXI
Tyler and Fletcher, the two kings who remained at the palace, reassured Lexi that things were going to be fine. They had worked with Xander and Declan off and on over the years of their rule and knew the men were both formidable and intelligent.
But they also had said that the cave area wasn’t far from the palace. It started to eat away at Lexi after less than an hour and a half. Her intuition vibrated over her skin like a pinball machine.
Taryn was better at keeping her concern veiled. As the eldest of the sisters, she likely believed it was her responsibility. But it was her prospective mate who was gone on the rescue mission with Xander, and despite the fact that she had only recently officially met Xander, the concern in her eyes was haunting.
“They will be back soon,” she said, placing a hand on Lexi’s as she paced in front of the fireplace. “Xander seems trustworthy.”
Lexi was hyped up on earl gray tea and sugar from the cookie tray the kitchen staff had presented them with. Lexi didn’t want to do anything that would distract herself because she was simply too focused. Too focused on the man who had already given her the gift of goddess-like admiration.
The moment Lexi opened her mouth to express more of her woes, she heard the door of the foyer slam open. She ran from the sunroom, through the kitchen, and into the area with a beckoning chandelier. It spotlighted the triumphant yet startling sight of Xander holding a limp Harper in his arms.
Her hands shot to her mouth, surpassing a howl of grief. Declan went to her and took her by the shoulders, reassuring her before she could crumble into a million pieces.
“She’s alive,” he said urgently. “But we need to get her help. We need you and your sisters again.”
The sisters gathered around the men, the front door flapping open and letting in a rush of rain and cold air. A few seconds after Xander had arrived, a wolf arrived with the other enforcer hanging over his back. He trailed dirt and blood all over Xander’s elegant carpeting.
“My God!” Taryn exclaimed.
“Take them into the healers’ bay,” Xander said, making orders firmly. “Call the shifter doctors immediately.”
Lexi watched as Xander ordered about the kings, as well as the remaining enforcers. He was good at dealing with an emergency situation, his eyes and body remaining still and calm despite all the chaos around him.
The kings took the enforcer, who clutched his neck with deep red blood seeping through his fingers, into the medical area that was tucked behind the public kitchen. Declan took charge of his care, calling up the shifter doctors in the dead of night.
Xander then regarded her, and it was only then that Lexi realized she was crying. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked over at her friend, whose eyes were distant and dazed, and bruises the color of a rainbow had formed around her jaw, neck, wrists, and ankles.
Xander lowered his tall body to hers, perspiration and rain dripping from his brow. She wanted to touch him and to stroke his face, but it didn’t seem like the right time with her sisters surrounding them.
“We need your healing powers, darling,” he murmured, a tender look in his gorgeous eyes. “We need your sisters, too, like last time.”
