When Lucian saw Volcan’s fist connect with Peri’s jaw, a floodgate that he hadn’t even known existed burst open. Power—raw and savage—erupted out of him and then the barrier was gone and he was running. The only thing he could see was a dead man, because that is what Volcan was, only now that he had hurt Lucian’s mate, he would be a mutilated dead man. His wolf was hungry, and he wasn’t picky about what kind of meat he ate. The flesh of his enemy would satisfy him even more than the hunt of a worthy opponent.
He lunged for the sorcerer and barely missed his throat when he was flung back. Lucian jumped back to his feet and began circling his prey. Volcan was focused now on a new threat as more of the wolves attacked him, but it was apparent that the blood of the little healer he had devoured had made him very powerful. That power was only made more evident when he threw up his hands and yelled something in a language Lucian didn’t understand, and the mother of all bird attacks came raining down on them.
“Not this again,” Peri said as she came up beside him, holding her hands above them using her power to deflect the nasty birds. “They’re more annoying than dangerous,” she yelled as the noise around them rose with flapping and cawing.
Lucian watched as one of the birds dove at Lee, its talons raking a huge gash in the wolf’s arm. Immediately the wound turned black and the skin around it bubbled as if acid were burning it. “I think they are more than annoying this time, beloved,” Lucian told her as they watched Lee hit the ground hard, his knee’s buckling beneath him. Lucian started towards him and felt Peri at his side still protecting him.
Adam’s scent whirled past him and he heard Peri yell. “SHEILDS, ADAM! THE BIRDS ARE POISONOUS!”
Lucian didn’t turn to see if the fae obeyed, he was too busy trying to figure out how he was going to tell Dillon that one of his wolves was gone.
∞
Dalton’s eyes bounced back and forth from the ruined mess that was once a healer, to the woman who had been the cause of her suffering. He didn’t understand the overwhelming urge to protect the healer; he didn’t even know if she was alive. He only knew that the minute his eyes landed on her, his wolf went feral. Had Lucian not already pulled him back, Dalton would have lost all control of him. As it was, he was hanging on by a miniscule amount of control. The other two healers where slowly sitting up, as whatever spell had been cast to hold them dissipated.
Dalton stalked his prey, deciding that he needed to neutralize the threat before he checked on the female. The one called Lorelle didn’t even know she was being hunted, she was distracted by Crina and Elle who were holding their own pretty well against the hag. She was also battling the birds that her master had conjured—he must not want her if he hadn’t protected her from his spell. He and the others were no longer bothered by the birds because of Adam’s magic. So he was free to focus on his target.
He waited, watched as Elle threw knives and bolts of magic at her enemy. Crina, in her wolf form dodged forward just as Elle would strike against the fae, taking advantage of the distraction. She sunk her teeth into Lorelle’s leg and then jumped away quickly, narrowly missing the spell fired at her. Finally his patience paid off.
Elle was hit. Her body took the blow in the left shoulder flinging the small fae around to fall on her stomach. Lorelle turned then to face Crina. The she-wolf lowered her body, getting ready to pounce, while Lorelle being the vain witch that she was, taunted the wolf instead of attacking. Dalton made brief eye contact with Crina, but it was enough for her to understand his intent. Faster than most wolves, Dalton lunged, phased and landed on the back of his adversary. His huge muzzle wrapped around her neck and his teeth sunk deep into her flesh. He heard the satisfying pop of the spinal cord. She hadn’t even had time to scream. Blood coated his tongue, the taste and smell only serving to provoke his wolf further. He shook her still body violently, slinging blood all over his fur. She, who had hurt his little healer, was dead. He had destroyed her. With the wolf fully in control now, Dalton was unable to think of why it might not be a good idea to drag his kill’s body across the ground to next to the altar where she still lay in her own blood. It was a gift; it was nourishment that would make her strong again. Still holding onto the neck of the woman, he looked at the face of the girl he had killed for. Her eyes fluttered but did not open. He whined, imploring her to see him, to see what he had done for her. But she didn’t move. The wolf’s rage roared on and he sunk his teeth even deeper and shook his head hard, over and over, until Lorelle’s head ripped from her shoulders. The rest of her body hit the ground with a thud as her head rolled a few feet away. Now he didn’t know what to do. His wolf still wanted blood and death for the horrific things done to her. Dalton didn’t understand it. He was every bit as angry as his wolf, but the man was able to reason and therefore stop himself from killing anyone who came too close to the altar where she lay.
He turned his massive head back to look at her, but her face was distorted with blood. He didn’t know her, though he would protect her regardless of his feeling towards her because she was a healer. But as he gazed at her, he couldn’t deny what his wolf was feeling. Ours, rumbled the wolf and Dalton agreed.
∞
Sally, Anna, and Stella were running full speed ahead through the thick forest. Sally held the red fae stone out in front of her and it blazed brightly lighting their path. They could hear the snarls, the shouts, and the birds and it only made them run faster.
Sally held back the scream of her mate’s name as they burst onto the scene. It was not what she had been expecting. The first thing she saw was Costin and Crina in their wolf forms battling a man who she assumed was the infamous Volcan. Adam was throwing spell after spell at him and Dillon was attacking with hand to hand combat any time the fae was distracted. Behind the battle she saw two girls, one of which was Heather. Sally let out a small sigh of relief; they both looked to be in one piece. She watched as Anna and Sally moved past the two altars they had occupied, trying to get to the third but were brought up short by a massive grey wolf standing over the body on the altar. Every time the two healers took a step towards him, he growled and snapped his teeth. His muzzle was pulled back revealing wicked sharp canines and his eyes glowed a blue that made Sally think of artic glaciers.
She hoped that the two girls would take the hint and not move any closer to the wolf before she could get to them.
“We’re going to go to the left here,” she motioned to Anna and Stella. “I need to get a look at the injured.”
They hurried to a tree where Elle was propped up. Sorin lay beside her in his wolf form, with his head on her lap as slow steady growls rose from his throat.
“Elle, are you okay?” Sally asked as she knelt down next to the fae and put her hand on her chest. Sally closed her eyes and pushed her essence inside of Elle, searching for any damage. There was nothing physically wrong, but she had been zapped of her power. Sally pulled back into her body and opened her eyes. “Sorin will be able to help you once he’s no longer furry.” Elle nodded and then motioned past Sally. “Check on Lee,” she wheezed. “He’s been down along time.”
Sally nodded and then walked quickly in a crouch, attempting to stay as small a target as possible while Volcan continued to fight. Lucian was kneeling beside the still wolf. Sally looked closer and saw that his chest didn’t rise and fall. She put her hand on him but Lucian shook his head and patted her hand softly. “He is gone; there is nothing you can do for him.” Sally felt the tears welling up in her eyes but quickly brushed them away when Lucian said, “Please check on Peri.” She turned to see where he stared and Sally saw Peri’s back as she leaned over yet another body lying much too still on the ground.
“There is nothing you can do,” Peri said the minute she knelt down.
“Why do people keep saying that!” Sally bit out in frustration. This time she let the tears fall. She didn’t know Lee or Phillip, but she was a healer, and when she couldn’t save wolves, whether hers or not, it hurt.
Peri stood up abruptly and suddenly her body was glowing as Sally had seen it do on several other occasions. Most of them were when she had moved past angry to downright homicidal, which was definitely the case now.
“ENOUGH!” She bellowed and her voice filled the air, overwhelming the snarls and shouts of the battle.
Peri stared past the wolves attacking Volcan and into his soulless eyes. He was too powerful for her, she knew it and so did he. Bastard, she spat inwardly. If she let this continue more would die before the night would fade and the light of day would reveal what was left of their battle scarred group. She had to make a decision. It wasn’t what she wanted. It wasn’t acceptable, but then neither were any more pointless deaths.
“Why couldn’t you just stay dead?” Peri asked. She saw Lucian slowly stand and then heard him in her mind.
“As soon as he finishes his sentence we converge on him. If we get him, we will dismember him and then burn his body. If we don’t, we will bury our dead, morn our loss and regroup to fight another day.”
Peri trusted Lucian to somehow convey the hastily made plan to the others around Volcan while she focused her power.
“I think your sister asked the same thing about you. You and I must have something in common if death cannot hold us. Perhaps you should consider that maybe you’re working for the wrong side. We could be great together, powerful beyond anyone’s imagination. And if you need me to console you after you leave your mutt, I can fill the role as your lover. It—,”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Lucian phased in the air as he dove towards his prey. Peri reacted a second later, throwing out her hands, concentrating all of her power on Volcan. Then a victorious howl rang out from the direction she had last seen Dalton., It was so loud that Peri was forced to slam her hands over her ears. Suddenly, the pulsing, violent energy was gone and so was Volcan. Lorelle. Her sister’s name sprang to mind and she turned quickly.
Her eyes landed on the beheaded body of her sister and what little love there had been left for her caused a sharp pain in her chest. It didn’t last long because Lorelle did not deserve her sorrow. She had seen Dalton attack her and had been about to help, but then she had caught the look in the huge wolf’s eyes and knew that he was feral.
“Dalton!” Dillon’s deep bark pulled Peri’s attention to the final threat among them. The impressive wolf stood on the altar straddling Jewel’s body. His head was lowered, ears flat and nothing short of ripping the face off of anyone who got close was in his eyes.
Lucian, still in his wolf form stood in front of her and pushed her, forcing her back away from the situation. She saw Sally heading slowly towards the enraged wolf talking in that sweet voice of hers. Peri could see the need in the healer to check on Jewel, to see if she could help her, save her. Costin moved forward in a dash and put his head in Sally’s stomach and pushed her back so fast that she stumbled, but the other healers were there to keep her from falling. Costin turned then and faced Dalton with his own teeth bared promising a fight if he snapped at his mate one more time.
“This could get ugly really, really fast,” Peri muttered as she watched Dillon take slow steps towards his wolf.
Peri knew there were several things in play at the moment, things that were making the normally controlled wolf a berserker. Her first guess would be that Jewel was his mate. She wasn’t of age so he probably doesn’t understand why he’s so protective of her, but his wolf completely understood, hence the standing over her bloody body and not letting anyone touch her. The second thing that was making the wolf lose control was probably the death of two of his pack mates, both of which had been above him in rank. This meant that he was now Dillon’s Beta. The need to prove his dominance would be strong, as would the pain of losing part of his pack.
“Dalton, if you don’t let them near her, she will die.” The deep inflection in Dillon’s voice told Peri he was talking wolf to wolf, Alpha to Beta. “Get control now or I will get it for you.”
Dalton’s glowing stare held Dillon’s until a rush of power from the Alpha had the feral wolf dropping it along with his head.
“Get down!” Dillon ordered and under the Alpha’s power Dalton could not disobey. He jumped from the altar, circled it once and then sat down next to Jewel’s face. He was so large that even sitting his head was still above the top of the altar.
Dillon motioned for Sally to go to the girl but Costin would not move.
Peri huffed. “Bloody hell, do you damn fur balls want to hang out in this death trap all night?”
“Costin,” Lucian’s voice was soft, but powerful. Costin stepped aside and let Sally past but stayed right next to her.
Peri started to walk towards the altar when she realized that her mate, who had been in his wolf form had just spoken. She turned and looked at a very naked Lucian who had surreptitiously placed himself behind her. She raised a brow at him, but didn’t leave him to suffer any longer. With a wave of her hand a pair of jeans covered him and a plain black shirt hugged his muscular chest.
That task complete, Peri walked over to where Sally was assessing the damage done to Jewel. Peri shook her head in disgust at what her sister had done. She had scarred this healer for life, and she didn’t just mean the hundreds of knife wounds that covered her body.
“She’s alive,” Sally finally said. “But she needs a transfusion now.”
“The blood of her mate will keep her until we can get her back to the house. I don’t want to linger here any longer and a transfusion will take a while,” Peri quickly explained.
Nobody responded and she started to get irritated until she realized that nobody else understood that Dalton was Jewel’s mate.
She looked at the glowing eyes of Dalton’s wolf and said. “Phase. Now. If you want her to live.”
He phased instantly and Peri assisted with clothes nearly as fast.
“Have you figured out what she is to you?” She asked him.
“Aside from wanting to protect her,” he paused and looked down at her face and then back at Peri. “There are no other signs.”
Peri let out a deep groan as she crossed her arms in front of her and narrowed her eyes on him. “How is it, one as old as you is so ignorant of the gypsy healers’ history?”
Dalton’s stone façade was back in place as he looked at her. Peri had seen the flash of emotion in his eyes when he stared at Jewel, but he was in denial. Dumb wolves, she thought to herself.
“I’ll say it again, and it will be the last time because, in case you haven’t notice two of yours have fallen, Volcan got away, and I’m about two seconds away of zapping your ass, slitting your wrist myself and pouring your blood down her throat.”
“Please,” Sally’s plea seemed to touch something in Dalton that Peri’s threat did not. He gave her a stiff nod and then stared at the group of healers that had gathered around the table.
“Healers,” Peri called. “Adam and Elle are going to take you to my home. Get cleaned up, get some food in you, and then fall apart if you need to.” Peri looked at each girl and saw the same thing in their eyes―retribution. She knew that emotion well and it seemed that the little band of gypsies were going to be every bit as protective over each other as the wolves are to their own. She would rather see that in their eyes than brokenness or the lack of hope.
She watched them gather around Elle and Adam, every single one of them held their heads up. They didn’t slump their shoulders, or curl in on themselves. They stood tall. Yes, there were still tears streaming down some of their faces, but they were not tears of defeat. They were tears from the loss of innocence, from feeling helpless when they wanted to fight, from seeing the guilty one get away. They cried for the right reasons, and for that Peri knew they would be okay, maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, but one day soon and for now that had to be enough.
“Dillon,” Peri called to the Alpha who was carrying his fallen and laying them side by side to make it easier for them to be flashed. “I am forever i
n your debt. You assisted us when you did not have to, and because of it you have lost two good men. For that, I am truly sorry.”
Dillon wiped the moisture from his eyes and shook his head at her. “There is no debt, Perizada. We came to help protect and rescue the healers. They are pack to all of us until they are mated. They have the right to our assistance, and Lee and Phillip would rather have died while protecting the precious females, rather than have lived and stayed in Colorado to leave them to their demise.”
“I will take them back to Colorado for you. Are you going to stay or are you going home?” She asked as she looked past him to Dalton who was standing with his back to them as he took care of Jewel.
“I need to stay at least until he comes to terms with this. I know that Lucian is dominant enough to handle Dalton, but he’s not equipped to handle the ghosts that come with him.”
Lucian nodded and Peri knew he probably understood a lot more than Dillon realized. But regardless, she had known Dillon would stay. Alphas are protective of their pack, especially ones that are injured, even if the injury isn’t one that can be seen.
She was good on her word and quickly flashed the two fallen back to Colorado. Dillon had called ahead to let Aidan and his mate know so they were ready and waiting. When she arrived back in the clearing she appeared next to Lucian who stood back from where Dillon was speaking with Dalton.
“He hasn’t taken his hand off of her since he phased and I don’t think he even realized it,” Lucian told her softly.
“They have a long road ahead of them.” She felt an ache in her chest at the truth in her words. Lucian felt it too because he added, “But they won’t be alone.”
∞
“She’s breathing easier,” Dillon pointed out to Dalton whose jaw clenched and unclenched as he stared at the girl.
“What’s—,” Dalton began but had to clear his throat and no doubt shove his emotions back into the little box he had stored them in for so long before he continued. “What’s her name?”
Into the Fae Page 29