by Siren Allen
Why they weren’t attacking, he had no idea. The creature spat. Kaede ducked. The venom landed on his back, stinging his flesh. He rushed the creature, forcing it back against the wall.
He could hear the larger one behind him. It was rising to its feet. Which meant he only had a few seconds to finish this one. He dug his claws into the creature’s stomach while leaning his head back as the shredder gnashed its teeth at him.
Even its breath smelled rotten. Kaede pulled his hands back. He didn’t bother shaking off the blood and guts that clung to his claws. He attacked again. This time wrapping his arms around the creature and sinking his claws into the shredder’s back.
Nails planted inside the shredder, he pulled the creature close. It struggled to get away from his fire. There was no escaping it. Kaede’s flames engulfed it. It’s high pitch screech filled the room as flames burned its body.
It thrashed violently. Kaede released it and watched it race from the room and stumbled down the steps of the porch onto the snow. The snow falling from the sky begin to extinguish the flames as the creature writhed on the ground.
Even once the fire was put out, the shredder was done for. Kaede turned around. Claws swiped across his face. Before he could retaliate, claws swiped across his abdomen. Kaede gasped at the pain.
His eyes widened as he stared at the creatures in front of him. The entire pack. And they were carrying fucking buckets of water and ice. So that’s what they’d been doing in the kitchen. Not as fucking dumb as he’d thought. Kaede took two steps back. The creatures dossed him with the contents of their buckets.
“Flame up,” Kaede yelled to his beast.
I’m trying. It’s cold. So, fucking cold.
The creatures hissed. Spit landed in his eyes, blurring his vision. Kaede stumbled backward. He felt himself falling. He landed on the snow-covered ground. The shredders descended on him, sinking their claws and teeth into his flesh.
His dragon roared. Kaede’s temperature was rising, trying to burn off the poison. It was just so much. Too fucking much. Kaede swung blindly. His fist connected with one of the being’s face, possibly its jaw.
He didn’t know. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d been at such a disadvantage. Claws and razor-sharp teeth sank into his skin, tearing away flesh. His fire was completely extinguished.
Kaede refused to cry out from the pain. He was an alpha. Alphas didn’t cry. Alphas got shit done. Alphas didn’t allow bitch ass shredders to get the best of them. Alphas fucked shit up. That’s what alphas did.
“Shift,” Kaede ordered his dragon.
I’m trying. Poison... slowing... me down.
A punch to his jaw caused him to taste blood and caused his ears to ring. But over the ringing of his ears, he could’ve sworn he heard the sound of snowmobiles. Boney fingers wrapped around his ankle and began dragging his body through the snow.
Blinking rapidly, he tried to focus his gaze on his surroundings. A gray film over his eyes prevented him from seeing anything. Fucking poison. Kaede strained to reach for the hand tugging him.
He fell back onto the snow. Shit. Kaede took a deep breath. Blood pooled from the wounds on his chest and abdomen. Ignoring the pain, he attempted to lean forward again. A heel crashed into his face.
Dizzy, head spinning, he fell back to the ground. Blood from his cracked nose dripped onto his lips. The snowmobiles sounded closer now. Rhen and his crew would be of no help to him. They stayed out of each other’s way. That was their truce.
Helping each other wasn’t part of the deal. The only person Kaede could count on was himself. Him and his beast. His sense of smell was off, but it smelled like there were only two or three shredders dragging him off. That meant the rest were going after his mate.
Noooo, his dragon roared.
The sound echoed through Kaede’s mind, adding more pain to his already aching head.
We have to save her.
“Flame up.”
Trying....
Kaede nearly groaned when his body was drug over some jagged rocks. The rocks scraped against his skin, ripping flesh from his back.
They’re sharing us. Some are going to feast on us. Some on our mate. Our heat is fighting off the poison polluting our blood. I can’t flame up until we metabolize more of the poison.
Fighting always made his temperature rise. Yet, he was weak from the amount of venom flowing through him. If he was any other creature, the venom would’ve paralyzed him by now.
As a dragon shifter, it merely slowed him down. It made his entire body feel too heavy to move. Even his eyes felt too heavy to keep open. They’d drifted shut minutes ago. And the amount of poison in his system kept his fire from blazing.
He was in a fucked-up situation. If his mate was killed because he’d been too weak to save her, he’d never forgive himself. If she was harmed at all, he’d never forgive himself. Fuck his own life.
Hers was the one that mattered most. For her, he would fight through the pain while his dragon worked to rid the venom from their system. Kaede opened his eyes and held them open, allowing snow to fall into them.
It stung a bit. He didn’t care. He hoped it would help clear up his vision. At least clear it up enough so he could see what was going on around him. He no longer heard the snowmobiles.
Just then, a high-pitched shriek filled the air. The shredders that had remained behind. Had Rhen stopped to battle them? Or worse, was his mate battling a pack of shredders on her own?
Go to her. Our fire will be ready soon. Find the strength. You have to.
His beast was right. He had no other choice. Kaede squeezed his eyes shut. Water trickled from his eyes and down the side of his face. It burned his skin, signaling that some of the venom in his eyes was washing away.
He forced his eyes open again to allow more snow to fall in them. Bright light. He couldn’t see the sky. But his vision was no longer gray. He knew there was light shining down on him from the sun.
Kaede blinked. Burning water dripped down the side of his face as his head was drug over a rock. Fuck! Kaede blinked again and tried to lift his arm. He couldn’t move it yet. It felt like a fifty-ton brick was weighing him down.
The claws at his ankle dug deeper into his flesh as the shredders dragging him off made weird clicking sounds with their tongue. They were communicating with each other. His body was drug over more rocks.
There was a lot of snow-covered rocks littering the ground outside the gate of his mate’s cottage. He was no longer on her property. He had to do something before they reached the forest.
Their dens usually housed forty to fifty shredders. He was in no condition to battle that many of them. More shrieks reached his ears. Kaede blinked rapidly. This time the water that fell from his eyes burned less. It contained less poison.
Almost there, his dragon told him.
He couldn’t wait on his beast. His mate needed him now. Kaede tried to lift his hand again. He only lifted it a fraction to test his strength. This time, it was easier to raise his arm. Plan in mind, he lowered his arm to the ground once more.
He blinked rapidly again. The water barely burned when it dripped down his face. He could now see a little better. Still blurry. Yet, he could make out the dark clouds floating overhead.
Kaede inhaled deeply. His cracked nose had healed enough for him to be able to scent the shredders. Besides the one walking ahead of them, dragging him, there were two others. One on either side of him.
Outnumbered. That had never stopped him before. Kaede flexed his fingers then raised his left arm again, a little higher this time. As expected, the shredder on his left clicked his tongue, communicating with the others.
Hand raised, Kaede listened for the sound of... there it was, the sound of the air near him shifting as the shredder raised its long leg and brought it down swiftly. Moving off sound alone, Kaede jerked his hand back then reached for the leg.
He caught it just as it missed his raised arm and slammed into th
e ground. Digging his nails into the creature’s flesh, he gave a hard tug, pulling the animal to the ground then releasing its leg to reach for its throat.
Blinking rapidly, he stared in the direction he’d heard the creature fall. He couldn’t make out its features. He could, however, make out its form. He swiped his claws at what he hoped was the shrieking creature’s neck. Those shrieks changed into gurgling sounds. That’s what he wanted to hear.
Listen.
The sound of wind shifting again. This time to his right. Kaede caught the foot aiming for his face seconds before it would’ve cracked his nose. He twisted the foot until he heard a snap that caused the shredder to howl in pain.
I love that sound.
“Me too.”
He shoved the foot away. The creature crashed into the snow. His leg that was caught in the front shredder’s grasp was released. Kaede sat up. Too slow. A fist slammed into his nose. Cracking it. Fuck.
Move faster.
He caught the other fist before the shredder could repeat his actions. He twisted the hand until he got the cracking noise he was listening for. The wind shifted. A swooshing noise sounded to his right.
He caught the shredder’s other hand before the creature could punch him in the jaw. He twisted it. Snap. He shoved the creature away. Good thing shredders didn’t heal as quickly as other creatures did.
Kaede pushed against the ground and rose to his feet. His movements were swifter now. Not as fast as usual or as he’d like, but faster than before. Fast enough for him to take out three shredders.
Blinking, he stared down at their bodies writhing in the snow. His vision was now clear enough for him to see their features. They glared at him. Drool dripped from their mouths as they gnashed their teeth at him.
Despite being in pain, they still wanted to feast on him. Their insatiable hunger was the reason he couldn’t let them live. They’d caught scent of his mate’s blood. They would hunt her down until they found her.
Kaede swiftly ended all three. Another shriek pulled his eyes back in the direction he’d come from. His mate. Kaede took off running toward her cottage. Anger fueled his steps.
“Flame up.”
Almost all of the poison is gone. Give me a few more minutes.
“We may not have a few minutes.”
Make a few minutes.
Growling, Kaede pushed himself to run faster. He raced through her gate and down the path that led to her cottage. Flames and black smoke rose from her home. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest.
Another shriek rent the air just as he leaped onto her porch. Inside the cottage, he quickly made his way to the back room. The smoke didn’t bother him. He inhaled it and it billowed from his nostrils.
It’s making us stronger. Breathe it in.
Kaede inhaled deeply as he raced to the backroom. Bodies littered the ground. Shredder bodies. Where was his mate? A piece of burning wood fell from the ceiling and dropped in front of him.
Stepping over it, he continued forward, walking through the blaze surrounding him. His mate could survive this. She was a fire witch. Fire was her friend. She could survive this. She had to survive this.
Kaede stepped over the bedroom door that he’d closed earlier. What was left of it was now on the ground. He scanned the smoke-filled bedroom, searching for his mate. Stepping over two more bodies, he strode into the room.
The window was open and a badly burnt shredder was trying to climb out of it. Kaede quickly ended the creature’s life by banging its head against the windowsill until the shredder stopped writhing.
Shoving the body out of the way, he peered outside in time to see Rhen climb onto his snowmobile. Fuck Rhen. It was the female seated on the back of Rhen’s bike that Kaede cared about. His mate. And she was wrapping her arms around Rhen. Kaede saw red.
The poison is gone. Destroy him.
“Flame up,” Kaede roared as he jumped out the window.
Chapter Fourteen
RHEN’S EYES WIDENED.
Roaring, Kaede raced across the snow-covered ground.
“Hey, dragon,” Rhen called out. “Why the fuck are you naked?”
He would die today. The dead-man talking climbed off his snowmobile.
Rhen bared his fangs. “I know we have a truce,” he called out. “But I can’t let you take this one to The Deciders. She’s...”
“Mine,” Kaede roared.
“Wait, you can talk?” Rhen looked confused.
Soon, he’d look dead.
That’s the look I crave.
Indeed. Rhen retreated a few steps. His bandits started circling Kaede. Don’t worry, you four will die too, he thought as he leaped over Rhen’s bike, landing a few steps from the vampire.
“Throw a punch and you break the truce.”
Fuck the truce. He tried saying that. The words didn’t come out. He’d show him instead. Kaede slammed his fist into Rhen’s jaw. The vampire stumbled backward. His crew revved up their bikes but didn’t interfere.
“Mine,” Kaede roared again. That seemed to be the only word he could say.
Rhen dodged the next blow Kaede aimed at him. Vampire speed. He hated fucking vampire speed. Rhen spat out blood, changing a patch of snow from white to red. Then he eyed Kaede, still wearing the confused expression from before.
“I really don’t want to fight a naked man,” Rhen told him. “This shit is weird.”
Don’t fight. Die.
“Are we really about to do this again? I thought we were good?”
You thought wrong. Damn it. Why the fuck couldn’t he talk?
“Dragon, you’re outnumbered here. Just let me and the lady go.”
Go! Did he really think he was leaving with her? Kaede opened his mouth. Fire spewed forth. The vampire dodged it. Kaede turned his head, following the leech, leaving a trail of flames that flickered out. The vamp could move fast, but he couldn’t outrun fire.
“Fuck,” Rhen yelled and fell to the snow, patting his sleeve that had caught fire. “This fucking truce is over Kaede. Kill him while I take Sinclair to the Frozen Region,” he shouted to his crew.
Sinclair was staying with him. And Rhen, well, he was going to die today. Kaede opened his mouth again, preparing to burn the leech alive.
“Rhen, look out.”
That voice. Kaede whipped around and stared behind him to find his mate with her hand raised. What the hell was she doing now?
“Freeze,” she shouted.
The wind blew, kicking up freshly fallen snow and throwing it at him. He flamed up to block the assault. The snow stopped coming when his mate swayed slightly.
“Not again,” she groaned before falling off the bike. His crazy-ass mate had passed out again.
What the fuck is wrong with her? Why is she defending him?
More reason for the vamp to die. First, Kaede had to pick his crazy ass mate up before she froze to death in the snow.
“Don’t let him touch her,” Rhen yelled.
His crew approached Kaede. Kaede snarled at them as he strode toward his mate who was passed out in the snow.
This cannot continue.
“Indeed.”
“What the fuck are you waiting on?” Rhen shouted from behind him.
The rage in Rhen’s voice sent his crew into action. They rushed Kaede. He fought them off easily.
Go to her before she freezes. She’s only wearing a fucking T-shirt.
A fucking T-Shirt! Kaede broke one vampire’s arm and threw him to the ground. If they’d fed recently, they would heal fast. Kaede stomped on the creature’s neck. Breaking it. That should keep his undead ass down for a minute.
Foot still on the vamp’s neck, he glared at the others who were surrounding him. He didn’t have time to fight them right now. The vamp he was standing on was okay. He would recover. However, if Kaede lit his ass up, he wouldn’t recover. Smoke curled from his nose. His dragon was ready to light that motherfucker up.
“Mine,” Kaede roare
d, willing them to understand that he wasn’t leaving without her.
Unsure of what to do, the remaining three vamps turned to Rhen for instructions. Kaede glanced over his shoulder. Rhen was rising to his feet. Remnants of his sleeve were melted against his flesh. That had to hurt.
He deserves it.
“Indeed”
“I’ll deal with you later,” Kaede thought, as he stared at the vamp he’d once had a truce with.
“I’m not letting you take the witch,” Rhen yelled.
A growl rumbled through Kaede’s chest. He whirled around when he caught movement from the corner of his eyes. A member of Rhen’s crew was moving toward his treasure.
“Mine,” Kaede roared.
The leech froze.
“She can’t stay on the ground,” Rhen shouted.
“I know,” Kaede thought, eyes still on his mate.
“What did you mean when you said, mine?”
Kaede removed his foot from the other creature’s neck. He was done waiting to see if they’d attack. He approached his mate. The crew stared nervously at Rhen. These guys must be new to the gang. Kaede had never seen them before.
“Fall back.” The vamps obeyed Rhen’s orders.
Kaede knelt down and scooped his witch up into his arms. His dragon sighed and offered up heat to keep their treasure warm.
“If you keep staring at her like that, I’m going to get jealous.”
Flames erupted from Kaede’s skin. He whirled around and growled at Rhen. “Fuck with her and die,” he shouted, finding his voice now that his mate was in his arms.
“That’s what I thought. You can talk now that you’re touching her. Fuck.” Rhen rubbed his hand through his long black hair. “She’s yours, isn’t she? Your mate?”
“She belongs to me and only me. If anyone else touches her, I will light their ass up.” Kaede looked to his left at the vampire who was trying to sneak closer to him.
“Fall back Lother. Don’t be a fool,” Rhen told his goon, before reaching into the sack on his bike and pulling out a vial of blood and downing it. He tossed the empty vial back into the compartment and then slammed it shut.