Protecting the Pack

by L. S. Slayford

  Mikey stomped away, back in the direction of the school building, and I was grateful that it was downwind. Small mercies when you’re frozen and can’t move.

  Henry ran a finger down my bare arm. There was nothing I’d like more right at that moment than to smack the hell out of him. His voice lowered as he pulled out a knife. “Now, let’s get this started.” The blade ran down my arm, the pain fresh and sharp, and the earth drank the first drops of my blood.

  Henry’s grin stretched across his face as the clearing glimmered gold for a brief moment. A pop sang through the woods and power rose, fell, and dissipated into nothing.

  The protection spell was broken.

  Oh. Shit.

  Nineteen

  “I’ve done it!” Henry cried, his voice thick with triumph as he watched my blood continue to seep into the earth. “Now all we need one of the pack. Anyone will do.”

  I tried to open my mouth, but the spell held me tight. I couldn’t do a damn thing but just sit in the same position. Then it hit me, he didn’t know that he needed Max’s blood to open the veil. Whatever it was that controlled it, was only in the alpha’s blood.

  But that also meant he’d kill the rest trying to rip it open.

  I needed to get free of this damned spell.

  Henry got to his feet, still holding the knife in his hand, my blood dripping from the tip. “Mikey. Where are you, you walking cesspit?” Silence fell like an executioner’s axe. Annoyance danced on his features. Henry walked away from me, heading east where Darcy’s cabin, once stood proudly, lay like an ancient ruin, the roof caved in and furniture smashed beneath its weight. “Mikey!”

  Suddenly, the clearing shone with purple sparks and a spell tore past the wizard, hitting the cabin where Lacey and Oscar lived.

  Energy swirled around me as another spell shot through the air as Henry rolled to the ground. He was back on his feet in an instant, his face morphing into fury as Daniel stepped forward, his right arm stretched out. “Your comrade is discovering if there’s an afterlife or not at this moment. So sorry,” he told Henry, his tone suggesting otherwise.

  “Idiots like him are easy enough to replace,” Henry spat, his eyes narrowing as he sent another blast of magic hurtling towards Daniel who jumped out of the way mere millimetres before the fiery orb could touch him.

  “This is your last chance to stop this madness,” Daniel shouted. “I don’t want to kill you, but I will.”

  “You’re the one who’s going to die. You, the witch, and all the damned wolves.”

  Desperation coursed through my veins as spells tore from the two wizards, sending showers of purple and red sparks shimmering through the air. Daniel dove to the ground, rolling to his feet, barely moving out of the way before a crimson fireball careened down beside him. He got off another orb, but it missed, and illuminated the rage that etched across his cousin’s face.

  Damn it, I needed to get out of this enchantment. I concentrated on moving my fingers, my toes. Anything. Anger fought with the fear that threatened to consume me, and I poured all my energy into breaking free. Could I feel something? No. Yes. I didn’t know!

  Helplessly, I watched Daniel jump to his right as another spell tore at him. A grunt of pain sang through the clearing, and he crashed to the ground. Red flames licked at his feet. A flash of silvery-blue light gleamed in the gloomy light and the crimson flames died down, but the distraction gave Henry enough time to speed over and kick him in the head.

  I tried to cry out, but my vocal chords were as frozen as the rest of my body. Goddamnit, Alana, move it, I commanded myself as Daniel fell backwards, his eyes closed, his body unmoving.

  Something tingled in my hands. That’s it, keep on at it.

  A malicious smirk stretched over Henry’s face. He raised his arm, another fireball forming in his hands. No, please, sweet Goddess, no.

  A growl ruptured the heavy silence and my eyes watched as a gigantic ball of golden fur leapt at Henry. The wizard attempted to direct his hand towards the movement, but he wasn’t fast enough.

  Taylor sank his teeth into Henry’s arm, the fiery orb dissipating as they rolled to the forest floor. Henry’s pain-filled cries resounded through the clearing, music to my ears, but somehow the bastard tore himself away from the werewolf’s grip. Momentum forced Taylor to keep rolling, finally coming to a halt mere inches from where I stood frozen.

  How I longed to shout to him, to warn him that the protective spell was broken. That they weren’t safe. That they needed to get out of here. But I couldn’t.

  Desperation ran through me like a blazing inferno. Taylor turned towards Henry, his hackles raised, and growls filled my ears. Muscled legs propelled him forward, a blur of golden shadows, and he leapt several feet from where the wizard stood, waiting.

  Henry fell backwards, his arm outstretched. Silver light burst from his palm in a shimmery explosion. Yelps rang out, and sparks cascaded over his body. A second later, Taylor thudded to the ground, sending a sickening wave through my stomach.

  “Yes!” Henry cried, sweat dripping from his face, mingling with the dirt and forming muddy rivers over his cheeks. He climbed to his feet, and ran to where Taylor lay, his massive form unconscious and his breathing laboured. I tried to ignore the hard knot in my chest and the tight ache in my throat and concentrated on my hand. My fingers wiggled, and my palm tingled. Come on, just a little more.

  Henry sank to his knees and clutched the dagger tight. “I did it. I did it. She’s going to be so pleased when she discovers I’ve done everything right, that I brought down the veil to Faerie.” Glee laced his words as the knife rose higher in the air, the glint of metal catching my eye. I just needed a few more seconds. “The Master will reward me for this, I know. Everything is -”

  Sparks shot up around Henry’s body, illuminating his face as shock registered across his features. The knife dropped to the floor with a thud. My gaze shot upwards. Relief surged through me. Blood poured down the side of Daniel’s face as he lay on his side, and his green eyes burned with an intensity that seared through me. Another ball of energy tore from his palm, striking Henry in the side.

  Magic thrummed through me and I channelled all my anger, all my rage, all my power into trying to move. Energy shot through my blood, through my flesh, and a shadowy black orb shot towards the mad wizard from my fingertips, hitting the ground by his feet. His head slowly twisted in my direction, his watery blue eyes dancing with panic. Sluggishly, his arm rose, red-orange flames licking his hand. Spells hit him from behind, causing the air to tingle and writhe with electricity, but his arm kept rising higher and higher. Dread pooled in my throat and my heart hammered in my chest. One hit from that fiery ball and I was dead. Daniel kept casting spell after spell, but it didn’t stop Henry’s arm from rising.

  I desperately wanted to close my eyes. I didn’t want the last thing I saw to be the face of the man who killed me, or the body of my friend dead only meters away, but the spell he’d cast still kept the majority of my body frozen, and there was no energy left for me to try another one. This was it.

  This was it.

  A growl resonated through the fog of chaotic thoughts and fears within my head and suddenly, a golden ball of fur suddenly shot up from the ground. Henry cried out as a muzzle of razor-sharp teeth clamped around his throat.

  Blood flew across my vision like crimson lace. Gurgles of suffering sang through my ears. Henry’s body convulsed under the pressure of Taylor’s mouth until finally, it stopped moving.

  “Alana!” My heart was a slow crawl in my chest as I watched Daniel edge towards me. Pain lined his face, blood trickling over his features. The tingling in my palm travelled lower, and almost as quickly as it had captured me, the spell released me. Exhaustion flooded through me and I collapsed into Daniel’s arms.

  Taylor’s blood-soaked muzzle nudged my hand and slowly, I sank my fingers into the warm of his golden fur. A sigh fluttered over my lips as a whimpering emanated from the werewolf’s throa
t. “We won. We won.”

  Epilogue

  “So far the death count has risen to seven million. The government is advising that all cities along the southern seaboard should evacuate immediately and seek higher ground. Everyone living on islands are being relocated elsewhere. We will update you with information as soon as it comes to us. Stay safe. This is Jessica Payne, for Hampshire Today.”

  I clicked the radio off. I hardly ever played it, but the TV couldn’t get a signal and it was the only way to get information without going into town. I suppose I should go, stock up on supplies if there was anything left, but I had enough for the time being, and the forest could supply me with whatever else I needed.

  It had been three days since the last major earthquakes and the English Channel had swallowed the Isle of Wight and brought it to its watery grave. I never thought I’d see the day when Atlantis would become reality. It was horrifying.

  In less than a week, nearly a third of the UK’s population had died to a supernatural attack they knew nothing about. Would any normal human being believe there were demons scheming for our home, scheming for a war against the fae and the gods who once roamed our home? I doubted it.

  Shoving the basket of cleaning supplies back in the cupboard, I arched my back and grimaced at the ache. Thankfully, I hadn’t suffered any lasting pain from Henry’s attacks, but my back was feeling the ache from clearing up the campsite.

  Most of what had been left behind was trash, crisp and chocolate wrappings from those who thought camping in my forest was safer than their homes. A few blankets, cushions, and soiled nappies had also been left for me to clear up. I suppose it could’ve been worse. But still, people needed to pick up their children’s shit. Literally.

  We’d also helped Max and the rest of the pack clear up Wolf Village. Half the cabins, originally constructed over a century ago, were ruined. What could be salvaged was placed on one side, and the rest went into the bonfire. They’d rebuild.

  Taylor only suffered minimal physical damage, but Max promised to tear him a new strip for disobeying his orders and not hiding with the rest. Damn, that cub was going to be a great alpha one day.

  But Max and I knew one thing; the spell my ancestor cast centuries ago, binding the pack to the forest but providing them safety, was gone. We needed to recast it or find a better one. One that hopefully didn’t include my death.

  And we needed to do it soon.

  Henry was gone, but I knew there were others out there. Just waiting in the wings, biding their time.

  “I’m ready.”

  Daniel’s voice jolted me out of my reverie. A look of resignation painted his features and his eyes were solemn.

  It was time for him to go.

  I walked over and stopped in front of him. Sweet Goddess, I wanted to wrap myself in that earthy scent of his. I lifted my gaze and attempted a neutral look. “Be safe out there.”

  He nodded, his green eyes darkening. “I will. Keep the wards strong and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  My brows knitted together. “What?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, forming into a devilish smile. “I need to inform the Council and the Academy about what’s happened, but I’ll be back. We need to find a new spell.” He brushed a thumb over the soft pillow of my bottom lip, and I tried to swallow my heart back into her throat as his head dipped lower. His mouth hovered over mine, so near yet so achingly far. “And I need to teach you some patience, little one.” Without saying another word, without claiming those last few millimetres, he turned and left me there, open-mouthed, knowing how much I was aching for the taste of him.

  The sneaky little …

  I always said a Locke couldn’t be trusted.

  The End

  From the Author

  If you enjoyed Protecting the Pack, please consider leaving a review on Amazon and Goodreads. These help me to know that you enjoyed the book.

  You can find me on Facebook where I hold regular competitions and giveaways

  www.facebook.com/lsslayford

  Sign up to my newsletter to be the first to know about new releases, giveaways, and competitions

  http://eepurl.com/cIiTSz