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Fenris
The Wilderness
Andes Mountains, Peru
Time Until the Eclipse: Hours
I woke up slowly without feeling particularly rested. Celeste lay against me, quiet in her slumber. She’d been on the hilltop for over three hours under the night sky until I convinced her to come back to the camp and getsomeamount of rest. Still, I suspected neither of us had gotten much actual rest, despite closing our eyes, then pretending we were asleep to convince the other to do the same.
I sighed as I watched her.What am I missing?There were so many little things she couldn’t tell me, and it was getting harder and harder to live with that knowledge—even if it’d just be for a few more hours. Yet, I still felt a growing knot of fear deep in my gut.
What if she doesn’t survive this?
I’d never forgive myself.
No. Do not think like that. I cannot afford to.
I took a breath and steeled myself. If all went as it should today, I would have my Lunar Bride by noon. I’d be able to claim Celeste as my mate, and we’d watch over the paranormal world together. No matter what else happened, I would have her by my side. There was nothing that would compare to that.
Despite everything, I found myself smiling.Thatwas a future I could look forward to.
All at once, Celeste threw the blanket back, practically bolting upright. She got to her feet, robotic in her motions as she grabbed her clothing and started pulling it on. I was coming to recognize the rigidity in her actions and the expression on her face—Celeste’s sixth sense was active. My mouth formed a grim line as I stood, starting to dress myself once she looked at me with a hollow expression. Her senses were telling her what I already knew.
The Battle of the Eclipse will begin soon.
And it would be painful. Not just for us, but for everyone involved.
I finished dressing and left the tent, stalking through the encampment to make sure everyone was getting prepared. Senior members of the Order of the Stars were already wide awake, organizing the groups, when a magical blast erupted on the far side of the camp.
Uneasy silence exploded into action. Shifters blurred past, rushing into the woods as a sudden volley of magical fire flew over the canopy, raining down in a hail of explosions. Someone howled. Elsewhere, several members of the Thalassa coven hurried forward to start forming magical barriers overhead. The flower faeries scampered up into the treetops, shouting down locations to the witches and warlocks below as they prepared a counter-offensive.
No sooner did the volley of witchfire start than it abruptly stopped. “Hold!” an old warlock shouted to his coven, giving mea knowing look. “We’ve only just begun! They aren’t giving up so soon!”
The words had barely left his mouth when dozens of vampires appeared from the forest’s murky shadows, streaking into the camp. Piers hissed as Gilbert sounded an alarm, sending the vampires loyal to me to meet them. A witch or warlock couldn’t match a vampire’s speed.
While the vampires held off the ground assault, I signaled for the covens to continue the return fire. We couldn’t simply react to whatever the Solar Sovereign was throwing at us, or we’d always be on the back paw.
I need to get Celeste to the temple safely. She needs to prepare the spell to bind us together.
If I couldn’t do that, then everything else was for naught.
I took a deep breath and allowed my wolf to surge forward, knowing I’d be faster on four paws than on two feet. As I lunged for a vampire who’d broken past the front line, I realized the encroaching eclipse was already affecting me. Whereas my wolf’s weakened strength meant it was harder for him to override my will, it also meant I was slower than I’d expected to be.
Shit.I wasn’t as slow as a human, but I knew this would only get worse the closer we were to the eclipse.
There was another magical blast from the far side of camp. I could hear shouting, snarling, and the occasional roar. I realized enemy shifters must have breached some of the wards, but I couldn’t go rushing over. I had faith in Keziah and the other alphas. And more importantly, I had to help Celeste.
Smashing the vampire into the forest floor, I pinned him under my massive paws as he hissed and scratched at my forelimbs. It stung, but the pain only enlivened my wolf more. With a snarl, I bent down and grabbed the creature by thethroat, clamping down to end its existence as quickly as possible. I didn’t have time for anything else.
I turned, about to bolt back to the tents when I saw Cody out of the corner of my eye. I snarled, jerking sideways as I caught a black panther shifter by the back leg while it leapt towards him. I’d barely gotten there in time, but the large cat yowled and hissed as it hit the dirt instead of grappling with Cody. The young wolf managed to slip out of the way as the cat twisted, grabbing me with its massive claws when I dragged it by its back leg. Its tail thrashed, smacking me in the face before it started kicking with its free limb, ripping my nose and muzzle with its claws.
Cody came barreling back toward us, grabbing the panther shifter by the scruff. It yowled in anger, but stopped kicking me, clearly forgetting I existed when its life was in much more imminent danger.
Now that the young alpha had the enemy shifter under control, I turned back to the tents, scanning the area for Delila. We’d planned for the witch to transport us to the ancient temple to eliminate some of the possible danger to Celeste, but I soon spotted her warding off a pair of vampires. As I galloped over, a blast of cold air slammed into the back of one of the vampires, throwing her into a nearby tree.
“On your left!” Celeste called to Delila, just in time for the older witch to duck down, narrowly missing the male vampire lunging for her. As he stumbled past, she formed a dark ball of flame in her hands, pushing it into his back as he screamed.
The female vampire had pushed herself off the tree, and I pounced, not wanting her to get to Celeste or Delila. I snapped at her arm, wrenching her sideways as she hissed and tried to punch and kick at my face, anything to get me away. She grabbed one of my ears, trying to wrench my head sideways to get to my neck, but I had a thick ruff to defend me.
