AllFreeNovel
Share Us
However, just like I’d hoped, my shift had tilted my body enough, so I landed on my side. It hurt—oh, boy, did it hurt—but a fall from that height as a wolf just meant a few broken bones.
Already I could hear them popping and grating, moving back into the appropriate places and leaving burning trails of pain in their wake. But as much as it hurt, I felt a strange giddiness flow through me.
My wolf was finally in her first battle, and she had a lot of lost time to make up for.
Chapter 25
Kai
The alarms of the fort sounded, an electronic battle cry, and I burst into motion. I was in full captain mode before I even issued my full order and began the planned mobilization.
It was imperative we kept the battle away from the fort and all the innocent people housed within it. We hadn’t risked everything, experienced so much, just to let the very citizens we were meant to save be crushed in a vicious attack.
But we also needed to keep the danger away from Ayla. It’d been miserable keeping my distance from her so she could do what she needed to do, so she could properly install the relic and save everyone, but I'd done it. I’d been able to stick to it because it wasimportant.I knew without it, even our impressive forces wouldn’t be enough to stand up to Vekas, especially not with the Shrouded Shriek coming.
Two days.
Just two days.
It felt like an eternity apart, but also not nearly enough time to properly prepare for a battle that was supposed to spell the end for Fort Canid, and the beginning of Vekas’s successful encroachment upon our borders. Yet it was all we had, so it would have to do.
Much like our first clash back in what seemed like a lifetime ago, I got our troops into place, and we rushed forward. But unlike the previous attack, we were far more prepared. It certainly helped that the surprise attack was more of an inevitable wave we knew was coming and had time to prepare for. That meant we had nymphs and dryads emerging from the ground, and flora in strategic spots behind the enemy. We’d have our few winged and flight capable soldiers positioned advantageously in the sky.
We’d have Ayla’s protection plan to boot.
…hopefully, at least. I still hadn’t gotten confirmation on that one. In fact, I didn’t even know exactly where my beloved mate was.
I tried not to let that get to me as I raced forward, breathless, heart thumping in my chest. But it was difficult considering how much my inner wolf was screaming at me about protecting our mate, about making sure not a single hair on her head was harmed. Not exactly practical under normal circumstances, but even less so in the heat of a battle that was meant to end us all.
I somehow forced myself to concentrate as we raced forward as one, a united Canid front moving across no man’s land.
That’s when I finally got confirmation Ayla’s protection plan was working.
Naturally, we still had all of our psychics, sorcerers, and other gifted cryptids shielding us, and I could see and feel the force of their skills all around us. However, most of their barriers weren’t reacting, as the enemy’s long-range attacks, volleys, and otherwise highly unpleasant missiles of flaming death were all being repelled.
Yes!
I knew she could do it. My Ayla was just as amazing as she was stubborn, which certainly was a brilliant combination considering our situation. She’d already beaten impossible oddsby getting that relic from her old coven, and it was apparent that she’d turned around and done it again.
Perhaps it wasn’t the best time to mentally praise my mate in the middle of a fight, but the pride in my chest fueled me as our front lines finally clashed, teeth in flesh, and claws across hides. War was always chaos, but this felt even wilder, their witches, fae, shifters, and monsters no more of a force than our own people.
At least that was how it felt until I heard a familiar, bone-chilling shriek.
Hewas here.
As difficult as it was to scan the area, considering the manticore I suddenly found myself embroiled with, I tried to catch sight of the telltale warlock. I knew I was getting ahead of things, but it would make Ayla’s life so much easier if I could just sink my teeth into the magic user’s neck, biting down until both he and his awful ways were no more.
Tempting, most certainly, but not exactly practical. I knew the awful things said about the Shriek were more legend than fact, but if even a quarter of them were true, he wasn't someone to mess with, even if I really,reallywanted to.
But first the manticore. My teeth were wedged solidly in its tail, and I was yanking it backward, pulling it away from the younger shifter it'd managed to knock to the ground. It wasn’t the best position to be in, but it was certainly better than my wounded brethren, and the space allowed him to get to his feet and scamper away.
The manticore whirled on me, the tough grip of its carapace nearly taking my teeth with it, its claws clacking rapidly. It almost sounded like a rattlesnake’s warning, and it pretty much served the same purpose, telling me that I was in danger if I didn’t stand down.
As it turned out, I didn’t really need to worry. Suddenly, two large, furred forms landed on the creature’s back at the same time, one going for the soft spot just behind its head and the other for the base of its tail.
Wolves!
I realized that it was Mad Dog and Oren as I dodged to the side, their familiar scents practically shouting about protection and packs.It was like a shot of adrenaline straight to my soul, my wolf howling his appreciation before grabbing the smallest joint in the manticore’s arm, my teeth going deep as I snarled. Together, we ripped the manticore apart, leaving us covered in a pile of armory pieces and a deeply unsettling, stinking goo.
