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Her face paled, but she kept pace with me after that. I didn’t dare to ask where Johnny was, figuring she was probably just as frantic to find her other half as I was.
There were surprisingly few people out and about as we made our way towards the sound of fighting, which mainly consisted of crackling fire and the occasional explosion. Every sound might as well have been nails on a chalkboard.
My angel was demanding control, bordering on unreasonable. It wasn’t until I pointed out how distracting that was that he settled for the sake of finding Aria.
Dual howls sounded off ahead of us, and the sound alone nearly put me on my ass with the sudden jolt to my equilibrium. Marilyn actually did fall sideways, cursing the whole way down; I paused long enough to help her to her feet.
That time gave the two massive wolves time to come into full view from the trees near the training ground, and I wished I hadn’t looked.
Eight pairs of glowing red eyes were staring back at me. One of their mouths had fallen open in a pant, displaying two rows of razor-sharp teeth in a too-long muzzle. The tongue lolled out; I had to look away as it nearly dragged on the ground, dripping with what must be blood and saliva.
“The twins,” Marilyn supplied what I’d already deduced, still struggling to make my mind absorb what it was seeing. They were so wolf-like, but alsonot; it was disorienting to look at.
“It’s part of their power,” she added, now telling me something Ididn’tknow. “You can’t look directly at them in their true form. It triggers your body’s freeze response.”
“A heads up would have been nice,” I bit out, trying to make my trembling limbswork.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me give you the Resistance member handbook, it has all that in our profiles,” she snapped back. I then realized she was also struggling to make her body work through the sudden burst of adrenaline.
The pair bolt by on too-long limbs, meanwhile. I closed my eyes until the sound of their running was out of earshot. When we were alone again in the field, I stumbled on, shaking out my arms as we jogged.
We’re frozen, just like when Marilyn arrested us,Aria sent me as I turned the corner into pure chaos, taking in the Paras and Resistance members taking shots at one another.
We?I asked, and she was quick to respond.
Auren and I.
Jealousy hit me in the chest, then was firmly brushed aside. There was no reason to be jealous of my little brother getting to spend time with my mate. It was wonderful that they were getting along so well, even.Have you seen Johnny? Marilyn is with me.
No, but Neo was with us earlier. I think he’s fighting up the hill with Kiyomasa.
The temptation to see what they would look like was powerful, but I put it away as we weaved between houses and by members of the Resistance and Paras both. My only focus was reaching Aria—thankfully, nobody tried to get in the way of that.
Marilyn was hot on my heels, throwing out the occasional spell that I was too distracted to pay attention to. When we finally caught sight of Aria and Auren a little ways down the street, they were isolated from the rest of the fighting, five Paras standing in front of them.
Marilyn moved before I did, one hand shooting out with a fireball already made. It wasn’t until that moment I put together that this was real—she was fighting tokill, and so was everyone else.
I didn’t know how she knew which of the witches present was casting the spell to keep them still, but the moment it let up, Auren grabbed Aria in a flurry of black wings and barreled toward us. There’s screaming—I can only assume Marilyn hit her target as my brother and Aria land gracelessly with us, wings blocking my view.
“Thank fuck,” said Auren, sounding as bored as ever when he dropped my mate, who threw her arms around me.
I returned her hug fiercely, hiding my face in her hair and taking the moment to breathe her in. She’s here—she’ssafe.
“That’s Captains Aster and Velez,” Marilyn instructed, gesturing to each person when Auren turned to take in the recovered Paras. “They’re both witches, but the three with them are vampires. Justus used to be on my team.”
Of course, they were. I recognized Justus immediately, sneering when I caught his eye. The asshole had been there when Marilyn arrested us all so long ago, and he didn’t seem any happier to see me.
“Good to know.” My little brother flexed, and I realized he was sans leather jacket and aviators. The scarring around his eyes sucked the breath from my lungs.
My horror must have been too obvious because he looked away hurriedly.
Before I could even hope to process this, Captain Aster stepped forward with a scowl. “Captain Ansen,” she hesitantly said, then rolled her shoulders back. “This is… a disappointment.”
The words didn’t bother Marilyn at all, from the way her eyes rolled.
I’m so glad you’re okay,Aria said as she clung to me for a moment. After it, she stepped back, letting out a long breath as she turned to eye the Paras.
With the addition of one of their own to our little cluster, they seemed hesitant to go after us. Now at a stalemate, we all stood and eyed each other in relative silence.
