Page 52 of His Rejected Mate

Sensing weakness, the two other ferals bolted toward J.D., ready to tear him to shreds. Leif spun on them, growling in rage, and jumped into attack. Awed, I watched Leif single-handedly tear out their throats in a matter of seconds.

I got my head on straight and sprinted to help Kira. By the time I’d joined her, she’d dragged the pilot out of the first aircraft. Together, we subdued or knocked out two other pilots as well as the team loading the chopper, managing to prevent them from unlocking any cages and releasing creatures in the process.

We weren’t fast enough, though. The third chopper managed to take off. It was hovering twenty feet in the air by the time we got anywhere near it. The aircraft rose until it was above the lip of the volcano and headed in the direction of the mainland.

“You filthy sons of bitches!”

I spun, finding Simon striding out of a large, rolled-open metal door, flanked by nearly a dozen vampires and shifters.

“I am trying to bring the world things it has never seen.” Simon sneered. “Wonders the likes of which you’ve never dreamed of, and you”—he leveled a shaking finger and me and Kira—“have done all you can to destroy my dreams.” He shook his head sadly at Kira. “And you, my girl? Such wasted potential.”

Simon raised his hand, casting a spell toward our team fighting behind us. A massive fireball appeared and slammed into the fae next to J.D. She never had time to deflect or counter-cast. The fireball enveloped her, killing her instantly. There wasn’t even time for her to scream.

“Watch out!” I yelled. I shifted, dodging another spell Simon sent our way.

The vampires and ferals under his command encircled Simon, protecting him while he continued to lob spells at us. From behind Simon, Crew and the rest of the Haven survivors poured forth. Relief rushed through me when I saw our reinforcements, but we were still outnumbered.

“Crew?” Kira shouted. “Attack Simon.”

Crew gave a thumbs-up, but his team of survivors were already deep in the fight. The circular chamber at the center of the volcano erupted in the sounds of battle. Screams, howls, the crackle of magic, the agonized yells of the injured and dying—I’d never encountered anything like this. Even the battles in the halls leading here hadn’t been this chaotic. Simon had every member of his team here, trying their best to kill us.

Simon was aiming a spell directly at Abel, who was fending off a vampire trying to attack Chelsey. In the fray, I had a single moment to see the wicked grin on Simon’s face as he cast his spell. It slammed into Abel, and the alpha’s face went slack. He turned and grabbed Chelsey, trying to choke her.

What the fuck was going on?

Crew saw Chelsey was in trouble and broke away from the main battle. I tried to join, but I was bogged down with a feral bear. Abel growled and snarled. Chelsey screamed, desperately trying to fight him off. Zoe sent a spell into the bear I was fighting, and it collapsed, unconscious. Turning, I watched Crew, now in human form, leap through the air and kick Abel in the back of the head.

Abel fell forward, his head thudding against the hard ground, and went limp. I prayed he’d only been knocked out, not killed. My prayers were cut short when a vampire leaped onto my back, spitting and snapping its teeth at my neck.

Some of Simon’s people attempted to get to the remaining air transports, presumably to pilot them off the island. Crew saw them as well, and the battle moved like a slug across the stone field toward the helicopters. The fight wasn’t like a war anymore. Not how I imagined wars, anyway. It was more like a rugby scrum—chaos, blood, and screams. I was going to have terrible fucking nightmares for years to come if we somehow managed to survive this.

After seeing what Simon had managed to do to Abel, I kept close to Kira. He’d commanded Abel like a puppet, and I couldn’t help but think it was due to whatever experiments he’d done on him. I’d never heard of a spell that controlled someone’s mind like that. I feared Kira might be vulnerable to a similar attack.

Almost as though he’d read my mind, a similar spell went whizzing past Kira’s head while she fought off a feral wolf. My inner wolf, seeing how close she’d come to danger, lost control. I shifted and dived into the mass of writhing, fighting bodies, drawing closer to Simon with every step.

“Come, you mutt,” Simon hissed, watching me press into his circle of protective vampires. “See what I can do.”

Simon shifted, becoming the mangy and bizarre-looking wolf I’d seen on our last attack. He didn’t hesitate, lunging at mebefore he’d even finished shifting. We rolled, biting, clawing, and snarling at each other. Again, I was shocked by how strong he was. His strength equaled my own.

The battle began to turn. We were losing. Through the haze of my own battle with Simon, I could hear our people calling out for help, Simon’s staff shouting out in victory. We were going to lose. I could feel it. Was Crew still alive? Eli? I couldn’t see anything but Simon’s snapping jaws.

A vampire reached out, clamping down on my muzzle. Unable to bite or fend Simon off, he reared back, jaws wide, white teeth glittering with saliva, and brought his mouth down toward my throat. A moment before he could rip my life away, Kira barreled into him, knocking him aside.

Shaking the vampire free, I took a moment to dispatch him before turning back to find Kira, in her wolf form, snarling at Simon. With Kira helping, we were able to push Simon back, but he was still a surprisingly difficult enemy. All around us, the sounds of our defeat grew even louder. Simon’s forces were rallying, pushing the Haveners back, cutting Kira and me off from our support. I couldn’t even hear our people’s voices anymore above the dull roar of Simon’s staff.

A sliver of fear gnawed at my gut. We were going to lose. They were too strong, too prepared, unwilling to give up. This was where we’d die. I growled and bit at Simon’s paw in rage. If we did die here, I would do it beside Kira, and I would do it without surrender. If it happened, then I was determined to make sure this fucker was bleeding out beside me at the end.

Simon stood, snarling at Kira and me. A strange, victorious gleam shimmered in his eyes. He took a step toward us, then halted. His look of triumph faded, turning into one of confusion.

That’s when I noticed it. Cold. A pervasive, bone-aching chill.

A great swarm of bats swept over the lip of the volcano, descending into the fight. They merged together and becamea pale-skinned, terrifying woman. She stood between us and Simon.

Lucina cocked an eyebrow at the scientist. “You have caused me great irritation, fae,” she said. All around us, the cacophony of battle ceased as even the ferals turned to see the new arrival.

Simon shifted back and glared at her. “Watch your tongue, old god. I am not just a fae; I am a fae-shifter. You would do well to remember that, pathetic, powerless creature that you are.”

“Pathetic and powerless, am I?” Lucina cooed dangerously. “We shall see about that.”

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