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They howled and made failed jumps, trying to reach me. Several of the beasts clawed at the side of the structure, trying to climb it.
I looked over at Xander. He wasn’t faring much better than me. “Xander!”
A wolf that I hoped was my companion turned to me. “Send them to me and get out of the way.”
He hesitated for a moment, then he bolted toward me. He’d seen my magic. I think that he had a sense of what I might do.
The wolves chased him, reaching the others who were surrounding me. I squatted and looked over the edge. “You want me? Why don’t you come and get me you mangy mutts?”
I needed to keep them here and Xander needed to get the fuck out of here. I wasn’t even sure if this would work since my magic wasn’t as strong as it should be, but it was our only chance. If we couldn’t incapacitate the wolves, we’d risk killing them. I was trying to avoid that and honestly, I wasn’t sure why.
In the past, if I was under attack, I wouldn’t care what happened to my foe. Even if they were being mind controlled, it was me or them.
Every time I considered lethal force, I thought about Skylar. If she found out I’d hurt someone who was being controlled by the queen, she’d never forgive me. Then there was Madison and Clara. Meeting someone who’d had five years stolen from her and knowing my sister might be in a similar situation made it far too close to home.
The longer I stayed in this realm, the less monstrous I became. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Where I was from, this would be seen as weakness. Weak kings were overthrown. But I wasn’t in my realm and I wasn’t king.
I heard a whistle and glanced up to see Xander in his human form. He’d climbed on top of another large headstone. A few of the wolves turned toward him, their ears twitching from the whistle.
“Look here, assholes,” I said, turning my attention back to the wolves.
They looked back at me, ignoring Xander. I lifted my hands, the tiny sparks dancing on my palms, spreading to my fingertips. The longer I’d let the magic flow, the stronger I felt it become. I was hoping I had enough to pull this off.
The wolves pushed through the others, fighting to be the closest to me. They tried to scale the stone, snapping and growling.
None of them worked together. A usual pack would have already ended me, but they were each out for themselves. Another clue that they were being controlled. If they had full capacity and wanted me dead, I’d probably already be done for.
I felt my magic surge through me, gaining intensity. The glow got brighter, the tingle of the sparks danced over my skin. I coaxed it to expand. I needed a little more.
Some of the wolves were losing interest and looked away from me. I whistled as if I was calling a dog. That worked enough to get them to look at me but I wasn’t sure I could hold them for long.
I had to go now.
With a deep breath, I let my magic flow, sending a stream of white light toward the creatures.
They whined, one of them howled, and a few tried to run. But I reigned them in, capturing all of them in my magic’s glow.
I hadn’t done this spell in decades, but it had to work.
Exhausted, I let go of the magic, dropping my hands to my side. I was breathing heavy, and everything hurt. I hadn’t felt this much effort from a spell since I was in training when I was a kid. The wards on this place were something else that was for sure.
As the light faded, I saw a pile of humans. Naked humans. And they were all asleep. At least I hoped they were. That was the intention.
The spell was a specific disarming spell for shifters. I forced transformation and slowed their hearts enough to make them sleepy. It shouldn’t kill them but it wouldn’t hold them for long.
I jumped to the ground, bypassing the group of sleeping men and women who were going to feel very hungover in about an hour.
“We don’t have long.” I walked toward Xander. He’d already jumped off his stone.
“They dead?” He didn’t look happy as he asked me that question.
“No,” I said.
His shoulders noticeably eased and he nodded. “Let’s see if the mages are still here.”
I followed him. Winding through headstones until we reached a pile of stones. I was guessing it used to be a structure of some kind but it wasn’t anymore.
“Fuck.” Xander crouched and started moving stones.
