by R. E. Butler
* * *
Ren didn’t have time to fully count the attackers, but there were easily more than twenty. He had Caleb and Zander on his side, but it would be twenty minutes before Acksel and the others showed up.
“I called Acksel,” Zander said. “Are these the assholes who destroyed your place?”
Ren nodded. He looked at the males advancing on him. “You get one chance to get off my property and forget about this place.” He let his wolf out enough to change the sound of his voice. It was deeper now and rough. He was a powerful wolf, and these males would not get to his mate.
“Come with us, and your female will be spared,” one of the males said. “Fight the inevitable, she dies, and you come with us by force.”
“You’re as delusional as the female leading you,” Ren said. “The only thing happening today is that you’re leaving. In a body bag or on your own, it’s your choice.”
“Force it is,” the male replied.
Ren saw movement at the house and glanced to see Stef stand between the house and Kismet.
“Kismet! Run!”
Something huge and furry landed on him and he mentally chided himself for getting distracted. Kismet was an excellent distraction in the best of ways, but not when he was trying to keep her safe and his own head on his shoulders.
He rolled to the ground, planting his feet on the wolf’s stomach and hefting it behind him. It landed with a grunt. Before it could roll to its paws, Ren tackled it, clamping his hand around its jaws to keep its deadly fangs at bay, as he wrenched its body in the opposite direction. Its neck cracked, and the wolf went limp in his hands. He dropped it to the ground and spun with a snarl.
Caleb had changed forms into his wolf and howled angrily, the sound echoing through the morning air. Ren knew the pack would hear the sound and know what it meant. It was the howl reserved for use when a pack member was in danger. It meant get the fuck over here.
Ren jumped to his feet and barreled into the group of advancing wolves. He swung his clawed hands, ripping throats, punching, and kicking at anything that moved. His vision hazed and all he could think about was putting down the threat to his mate for good. Behind him, he left a string of bodies, his wolf howling at him to finish them all.
His pack members joined the fray, urged to action by Caleb’s howls. Lucian and Jeremiah were in their partial shifts, looking like monsters from a horror movie. Ren had never felt so in tune with his wolf. They were both of the same mind – put down the pack and keep Kismet safe forever. Time seemed to stand still as his pack cut down the invaders one by one.
Ren stood, chest heaving, in a sea of bodies. Around him, the only ones standing were his own pack members.
Acksel jerked off his shirt and wiped blood off his face. “What the fuck was their problem? What the hell was worth dying for?”
“This one’s alive,” Jeremiah said after returning to his human form. He lifted a male by the neck. His legs twitched as he tried to wiggle out of Jeremiah’s grasp.
Malachi snarled. “That’s Tanner from the Dorlan pack. He’s the one that tried to pull Nila from the SUV and Jack bit off his finger.”
Tanner’s eyes were glazed with pain and Ren could smell the impending death from his mortal wounds.
“Tell us why you’re here,” Ren demanded.
When Tanner didn’t speak, Jeremiah jabbed his finger into a bleeding hole in his side and the male shrieked in pain. “Please stop,” Tanner wheezed. “Let me die in peace.”
“Tell us what happened,” Ren said.
“Stef wanted…you to help her pull a coup on Isaiah for killing her mate.”
“Why did she want Ren?” Acksel asked. “She could have taken any of these males as her mate.”
“She wanted…someone she could control.”
Ren frowned. “She must have thought I’d be the sort of alpha male who would let her be the true leader.”
Acksel snorted. “She clearly doesn’t remember much about you.”
Ren agreed. “Why wouldn’t she just walk away?”
Tanner let out a gurgling grunt. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “She was obsessed. Couldn’t be…reasoned with.”
“Crazy bitch,” Malachi said. “She lost her pack for no good reason.”
“We done with him?” Jeremiah asked.
“Yeah,” Acksel said. To Tanner he said, “You better hope the afterlife is more merciful to you than you were to those you harmed in the name of revenge.”
Jeremiah’s arm flexed and Tanner’s neck cracked, the light going out of the male’s eyes before he hit the ground.
Ren knew Kismet had opened a portal. He’d seen the flash and felt the pulse of power as she’d rent the air between the realms. There was no sign of Stef or Kismet. If she was okay, wouldn’t she have returned by now?
“Where the fuck is Kismet?”
Chapter 17
Kismet knew she had one chance to kill Stef. Her body weakened swiftly, and she needed to end things before she reached the point of no return. She sidestepped as Stef leaped at her, but the female’s claws caught her numb upper arm and shredded the skin. Kismet dropped to her good knee with a gusty exhale, grateful for the numbness in her arm so she couldn’t feel what surely would have been a bitch of a scratch.
Using the sword to push herself upright, she slashed at Stef, who darted out of the way, snapping her jaws at Kismet’s legs. Stef jumped, twisting in the air and slamming her back legs into Kismet’s side, sending her tumbling to the ground. The sword hit the ground with a clang, just out of reach. Kismet groaned and reached for the blade, jerking her hand back just a second before Stef’s jaws snapped together.
“You can do this,” E’lahn said. “Use your strengths.”
Kismet blinked at her father. The pain in her left side had reached her foot now, and soon she wouldn’t be able to stand on it.
Strength?
Stef growled, and Kismet’s mind cleared for a moment. Her strengths were her powers over nature. With a shout of pure fury, Kismet planted her good hand on the ground and called forth the ancient plants buried underground. They responded, bursting through the ground and tangling Stef up in their vines and branches. Stef struggled, snapping her jaws at the plants that held her captive, but she was no match for the thick vines that held her immobile. Kismet picked up the sword and rose to her feet, her good wing rising high behind her back, and her skin crackling with the power she wielded.
Lifting the sword, she said, “I warned you that I’d kill you.”
Slashing the sword downward, she cut through the plants and into Stef’s body, sinking the blade all the way through and out her back. Stef whined, her jaws working as her eyes rolled back in her head. She went limp with a shuddering breath and changed back to her human form.
Kismet dropped to her knees, her left side entirely numb as the pain moved across her shoulder blade to begin its descent to her right side.
Her father joined her. “It’s my honor to finish the job.”
He grasped the sword and twisted it, ensuring that Stef was dead. Then he pulled the sword from her body and held it behind him, calling for a soldier to clean it. The male took the sword from him and stepped back. Her father lifted his hands and flames erupted from the ground, so hot and bright that Kismet had to shield her eyes. The flames turned Stef and the plants to ash swiftly. Her father lifted the ashes into the air in a cloud, and one of the trainers opened a deep cleft in the ground and her father sent the ashes down and out of sight. The trainer closed the ground back up.
“Healer!” her father shouted as he lifted her into his arms, careful to avoid her injured wing. He ran as Kismet closed her eyes against the pain.
“Ren,” she said.
“I’ll get him, after you’ve been to the healer,” he said.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“I’m proud of you.”
“I killed someone.”
“She had your death on her mind.”
“I know.”
A door creaked open and the military’s main healer, Broderik, said, “Set her on the bed, E’lahn.”
Her father laid her down on a soft bed on her right side. “Dad.”
“I’m going to get Ren right now.”
She opened her eyes and smiled in thanks. Her father jogged out of the room, calling for soldiers to join him in case support was needed at their home. She had no idea what Ren was going through, only that she was certain he had succeeded in safely putting down the threat from the other pack. She couldn’t bear to think that he’d been harmed, so she chose to think about how much of a badass her mate was.
“It’s broken, but I suspect you know that,” Broderik said. “Where’s the pain now?”
“My right elbow.”
He spoke to his staff in the clinic and there were hurried movements around her, but she couldn’t focus on anything but the pain. Broderik placed a wooden bowl in front of her. “This is a healing draught. It will put you to sleep and clear out the magic from your body. I’ll set your wing while you’re unconscious.”
“How long?” she asked.
“A day, give or take.”
He tipped the bowl and she drank the liquid down in several swallows. It tasted like licorice and mint. She immediately felt the pain in her right arm recede as sleep overtook her.
“Tell Ren I love him,” she said, her voice slurring at the end.
“Of course,” Broderik said. “You just rest and let us get you good as new.”
* * *
Ren saw the portal open and he smiled until he realized it was E’lahn and a group of soldiers wielding swords, but no Kismet.
“Where’s Kismet?” Ren asked.
“She’s with our healer,” E’lahn said. He looked around the yard. “She sent me to help in case you needed it, but it’s clear you didn’t.”
“Kismet’s hurt?”
E’lahn put his sword in a sheath between his wings. “Yes. Her wing is broken. She killed the female wolf who came after her, and we disposed of the body.” He turned and dismissed the soldiers with him, then joined Ren.
“E’lahn Thorburn, this is my alpha, Acksel Moore. Acksel, this is Kismet’s father.”
Acksel shook E’lahn’s hand. “Sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.”
“Yes, it’s a shame. Why was the female after my daughter?”
Ren explained about Stef’s delusion and the males who had willingly followed her to their deaths.
“I suspect the world is a better place without them in it,” he said, looking down at the bodies. “Do you need help in disposing of them?”
“Um, what do you mean?” Acksel asked.
“I incinerated the female’s body and we buried her ashes deep in the ground. I can do the same here, unless there’s a reason you need their bodies intact.”
“No, actually,” Ren said, “pack law is very clear that invading wolves are to be burned to ash. What you did to Stef is what we’ll do to them.”
E’lahn cracked his knuckles and his wings flexed behind him. “Stack the bodies and allow me to handle things.”
“About Kismet,” Ren said.
“Because of her broken wing, half of her body was numb by the time she killed Stef. She’s with our best military healer. He would have given her a potion to remove the toxic magic from her body and then set her wing so it would heal properly. The potion will keep her asleep for a day while she heals. As soon as we’re finished here, I’ll take you to her.”
“Thank you,” Ren said. Relief twined through him, but he knew he wouldn’t relax until he could see and touch her himself.
The wolves worked together to pile the bodies of the invading pack members in the center of the gravel driveway. Then they stepped back and watched as E’lahn lit the bodies on fire. It wasn’t as Ren had thought, with flames shooting from his fingertips, but instead E’lahn’s hands glowed bright gold, but no flames came from them. The fire appeared as soon as E’lahn lifted his hands toward the bodies, and the flames were at first bright yellow, then a deep orange, then red, and finally a blue so bright and hot that Ren had to turn his head away.
“Shit,” Acksel said as he stood next to Ren. “I feel like my eyebrows are singed off.”
Ren laughed. “Me, too.”
“That’s some father-in-law you have there,” Mal said.
Ren agreed.
The heat died swiftly, and Ren looked back to see a pile of ash and burned ground, and nothing else.
“Damn,” Acksel said. “E’lahn, your fire power is amazing. We would have been tending a fire to burn the bodies for days.”
“It’s the benefit of having power over an element,” E’lahn said. “It was my honor to assist. When you’re ready, Ren, I’ll take you to Kismet.”
Ren nodded and turned to his friends. Acksel clapped him on the shoulder.
“I’m thankful that none of us were hurt,” Acksel said. “I trust that Kismet will be back to health swiftly.”
“Thank you for fighting with me,” Ren said.
He thanked each male individually. Malachi smiled at him. “You stood by my side for Nila. It’s only right I returned the favor. That’s what the pack is for.”
“Not just pack,” Sam said. “Family.”
“I can’t thank you guys enough, truly. Thank you for everything.”
“We’ll handle things here,” Acksel said. “Dad told me he’s sending omegas over here to help you clean out the house.”
“We’re going to stay at the apartment until the house is fixed, however the hell long that takes.”
“We’ll pack bags for you two and take them to the apartment,” Mal said.
“Thanks,” Ren said. “I’ll be in touch.”
Turning to E’lahn, he said, “I’m ready to see my mate.”
E’lahn opened a portal and stepped through, and Ren followed. He found himself in the training compound, where soldiers worked as they’d been when he and Kismet had first come to the realm. They walked toward one of the buildings within the compound.
“Kismet told me how serious wing injuries are. I saw her fall off the porch, but she opened the portal and disappeared before I could get to her.”
“I think she came here because she knew no one in the compound would allow the female to truly harm her.”
“I wish she hadn’t had to deal with that female at all.”
E’lahn stopped in front of a door with a sign that read healer. “She gave the female an opportunity to live, but she wouldn’t take it. Whatever was wrong with that female, I’m convinced she was obsessed beyond all reason. Her aura was dark and dirty, full of rage and bitterness, and a deep evil.”
“Kismet said as much when she confronted us on a date. I wish…” he let his voice trail off as his thoughts turned dark.
E’lahn appraised him silently for a moment and then nodded. “It’s easy to pick apart the past when we’re on the other side of a problem. You’re not psychic, right?”
Ren chuckled with a shake of his head. “No.”
“Then considering what you were up against, you did exactly what I’d expect of my daughter’s truemate. She’s safe now, and that’s what really matters.”
“Thank you.”
E’lahn opened the door to the healer, and Ren followed him inside.
“Broderik,” he said as a male with white wings tipped with grey, came into the room. “This is Kismet’s truemate, Ren.”
“How is she?” Ren asked as he shook the healer’s hand.
“Resting comfortably. Come to her room.”
Ren and E’lahn followed the male down a hall and through an open door. Ren rushed to the bed where Kismet lay on her stomach, her left wing splinted and covered with bandages. He dropped to his knees and brushed the hair from her face.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Her eyes were closed in sleep and her breathing was deep. He could hear her heart beating steadily, and he took comfort
in that.
Broderik cleared his throat and Ren looked up at him. “I gave her a draught to help her sleep. It serves a dual purpose of removing the toxic magic from her body and allowing her to sleep through what would be a painful process. The wing had a clean break, so I set it, and once she’s awake, it should be healed.”
“How long will she be asleep?”
“A day. I’m certain you’ll wish to stay here at her side. I’ll have my assistants ensure you’re comfortable.”
He rested his hand gently on Kismet’s head. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Broderik said.
“And the babies are okay?”
“Yes. After she was asleep, we had one of the other healers who specializes in our young check, and they’re both perfectly fine.”
He breathed out a sigh of relief that his whole family was safe. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Certainly.”
Ren looked at the healer. “Why are injuries to the wings so dangerous?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been the military’s main healer for many years and have seen any number of wing injuries. I’ve asked myself that very same question, and the only thing I can conclude is that any sort of power has both a positive and negative aspect. Our wings allow our power to increase, so if they’re damaged, there has to be a downside.”
“She came here because of her wing,” Ren said.
“It would seem that way,” E’lahn said. “She knew time would run out swiftly once the magic leeched into her system.”
“Then I’m glad she opened a portal, and I’m doubly glad she had you at her side when I couldn’t be.”
E’lahn rested his hand on Ren’s shoulder for a moment and then said, “I’ll check in on you later. If you need anything, you can ask one of the helpers.”
“I feel like I’ve said thank you a hundred times today.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it does.”
E’lahn and Broderik left, and Ren took Kismet’s hand and brought it to his lips. “Sweetheart, I’m so proud of you for taking Stef out. I wish you hadn’t had to face her alone, but I’m so thankful you’re okay. You and our babies. You’re amazing, and I’m the luckiest wolf on the planet to call you mine. Rest now, Kismet, and I’ll be here when you wake.”