by Hawke Oakley
I flinched. You people. He meant omega males.
“I - I can’t answer that,” I said.
“You’re pregnant now, aren’t you?” the raider asked, his face twisting into a nasty grin.
A wave of cold fear crashed into me. “I’m - “
“He is! Look at him!” They pointed excitedly to my showing belly. “We need him! Get him!”
All hell broke loose. They attacked the barrier. Some of them started to run in opposite directions. Terror gripped me like ice.
I realized with cold dread that they were going around the barrier.
The raiders ran, shouting, raising their weapons. I stumbled backwards with a yelp. My concentration broke.
The barrier shattered.
The raiders closed in. They were going to get me.
They were going to get my baby.
17
Dante
My muscles screamed for relief. My wings were aching from the non-stop hours of flight. But there was no way in hell I was stopping.
Lorenzo and Gabriel had maybe an hour head-start, at most, but I still hadn’t caught up to them. I snorted smoke in frustration. Had they not stopped to rest for the night at all? I flew furiously, refusing to slow down.
Judging by the landscape below, I was approaching Stoneheart pack’s lands - if they could even be called that. They barely had enough space to live. The territory surrounding them might as well belong to the human raiders.
As I passed over the pack’s walls, scanning constantly for any sign of my mate, something caught my eye. It was like a shard of broken glass. I gasped. There, below, was the tell-tale shimmer of clear magic.
I tucked my wings and instantly flew towards it. My heartrate picked up. I recognized the large silver dragon - Lorenzo. He was tensed with concentration, and then I realized why. He was creating a barrier for Stoneheart.
But where the hell was Gabriel?
Everything happened fast. The glimmering shard of glass disappeared. Human shouts and the clatter of steel weapons rose up to meet my ears.
Then I heard it. The haunting, long cry of a wolf.
My wolf. Gabriel.
Blood rushed in my ears as I held my wings closer, fell faster, like a bullet raining down on the earth.
“Gabriel!” I shouted.
Humans were closing in on him. My vision blurred from how fast I was falling. If the humans laid a hand on him, I would kill them all. The human closest to Gabriel reached out for him with greedy hands.
I landed hard, my claws digging into the human’s flesh, smacking him into the ground. His neck broke and he died instantly.
The other raiders paused, stepping back at the sight of another dragon.
I wasted no time. I spread my wings menacingly and spewed a blast of blue fire - so hot that it would melt their skin on contact. They screamed and leapt back, although a few weren’t so lucky to escape it.
I wasn’t done. With Gabriel safely between my arms, I swung my spined tail hard and knocked back a row of oncoming raiders. I let out a roar so loud the air itself seemed to split.
All I knew was fury. My vision blurred red. Stoneheart pack sat safely tucked away in its little corner, behind its safe walls, while my mate fought for their freedom. Rage took control. With a snarl, I darted towards the pack, reared back, and blasted a powerful fireball towards the wall.
The fireball exploded. A huge whole blasted through the wall. Stone and debris came tumbling down. Now everyone inside Stoneheart pack could see what was really going on outside.
Unable to contain my anger, I screamed at them. “Gabriel is fighting for you, you fucking cowards! He’s trying to save your stupid lives! The least you can do is watch!”
“Dante,” Gabriel cried, clutching my chest.
He was probably upset with me. I did just blast a giant hole in his old pack’s defenses. He had every right to be angry, but I had to do it.
“Sorry,” I growled. “It’s something they need to know.”
“No,” Gabriel said with a weak laugh. “I’m glad you did it.”
“Are you okay?” I asked. I quickly looked him over. Blood trickled down his cheek, which ignited anger inside me, but otherwise he seemed unharmed.
“I’m fine,” he said. Tears rimmed his eyes. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I’m so sorry, about everything.”
“No time for that now.” I nuzzled his face with my snout, loving the warm contact of our bodies. “We can deal with that later.”
“Dante, the raiders!”
I whipped towards the voice - Ruby was hovering outside, above the chaos, flapping her wings frantically.
“They’re attacking Lorenzo!” she cried.
“Hang on tight,” I growled to Gabe.
I shot out of the hole towards the raiders. Lost in their rage, they changed their target - their eyes were on Lorenzo now. Spitting fury, I shot out a blast of fire to the ones closest to him. I knew Lorenzo wouldn’t be affected by the fire, thank gods. I hovered above him, safely out of range of the humans’ weapons.
“Are you hurt?” I asked. His wing membrane was torn and bleeding, and he looked exhausted from spending so much energy - both physical and magical.
“Deal with the humans so I can finish this!” Lorenzo snarled.
“Done and done,” I growled back.
It was time to pay back the raiders for making my mate live in fear - and for putting their filthy hands on him. And because Gabriel cared so much about his pack - something I still didn’t entirely understand, but now respected - this was revenge for them, too.
I took off, high above the humans.
“Don’t look if this is gonna upset you,” I muttered to Gabe.
“No,” he growled back. “I don’t care anymore. There’s no reasoning with them. And they threatened my baby.”
I roared in rage. My love for my child made my flames burn even hotter. I shot a blast of white-blue fire directly into the front line of raiders that were running towards Lorenzo. The rest of them staggered back. A few tried to throw spears at me, but I was wiser this time. The same trick wasn’t going to work twice.
In a flash of shimmering light, I created a barrier shaped like a bubble around Gabriel and I. They would never touch my mate or my baby.
Confused by the sudden extra barrier, the humans seemed at a loss. In a blind fury, they began hurling weapons at us - which instantly burst into flames and dissolved into ashes the instant they touched the barrier’s edge.
I smirked in satisfaction. We were dragons. Mere humans could do nothing to us - and it was time that they learned that the wolf shifters were powerful, too.
I shot towards the ground, where Lorenzo was still straining to put up the barrier.
Behind us was the huge hole in the wall. Almost every member of Stoneheart pack was gathered, eyes wide and mouths open in shock as they watched the scene unfold. None of them were brave enough to take a step outside the imaginary boundary.
I put Gabe down, then shifted into my wolf form while still keeping the bubble around us. The Stoneheart shifters watched in awe.
“Listen, all of you!” I shouted at them, my dragonspeech allowing me to communicate with them. “I am not just a dragon. I am a wolf, the same as you! It’s time you all took your freedom back from these mere humans. Wolves need freedom!”
A few of them exchanged glances, but didn’t move.
Then, Gabriel shifted and took his place beside me, snout raised high and proud. “Please,” he called to his people. “We can’t let fear control us any longer. There’s a whole world outside these walls that you haven’t experienced. You shouldn’t have to live like caged animals any more!”
For a moment, my heart raced, and my chest was thick with contempt for these cowardly shifters. But then, someone stepped forward.
A young omega. And then, beside him, his alpha.
“Otis! Dustin!” Gabriel cried.
“I’m with you, Gabriel,” Otis said, his fur fluffing up
and making him look bigger than he really was. “I want to see the world, too.”
“And me as well,” Dustin added.
Another wolf joined them - an elder omega wolf with shaggy grey fur and wise eyes. “I, too, wish to help.”
“Marlowe,” Gabriel murmured in relief.
A few more wolves cautiously stepped forward to join the growing group. When enough of them had come forward, I announced, “Good. Anyone who wants to fight for their freedom, come to me. We’ll hold the humans back while Gabriel and Lorenzo finish the barrier.”
“Me?” Gabe asked.
I nodded firmly. “Yes. It won’t be the same if you don’t help. It needs that special something to make the barrier strong - and you have it. In your heart and soul, you care about these people - about this pack. That’s what the clear magic needs.” I urged him closer to Lorenzo. “Now, go. We’ll watch your back.”
“Okay.” Gabriel paused, then quickly nuzzled my neck with his snout. “I love you, Dante.”
“I love you, too, Gabriel.”
I let the barrier fall as he dashed off to Lorenzo’s side. Thankfully, the raiders had pulled back from him and were focused on the growling pack of wolves in front of them now.
Good, I thought angrily.
“Let’s give these humans something to remember us by,” I snarled to Stoneheart pack.
We attacked as one. The wolves by my side formed a thick wall of teeth, claws and fur. As the raiders rushed at us with their weapons ready, I noticed something - they had lost some of their vigor. The length of the fight was starting to take its toll. They were tiring.
This was their best shot at winning.
I had to make sure this was a fight Stoneheart pack wouldn’t lose.
As I ran ahead, my blood pumping with adrenaline and love for my family, I shifted back into my dragon form and unleashed a shot of fire that drove back the raiders’ front line. As the humans danced to avoid the flames, the Stoneheart wolves dove onto them with years of pent-up anger and frustration. Snarls and human cries filled the air. Weapons were picked up and thrown, or crushed between powerful canine jaws.
For the first time, the raiders looked truly afraid.
“Keep going!” I commanded. “You can do this!”
Suddenly, snarls sounded from behind me. As I glanced over my shoulder, I was flooded with relief.
The rest of the pack was joining them.
Soon the ground disappeared. The whole area swarmed with wolves, all shifted and all ready to fight for their freedom.
The raiders clearly didn’t expect this. Even if the humans surrounding this area outnumbered the wolves in total, only a small army of humans were here right now. That gave us just enough of an edge to complete our task.
The mass of wolves pushed forward. Slowly, the humans edged back. They knew they couldn’t win this fight. I grinned in satisfaction and exhaled a celebratory plume of fire. At this point, I wasn’t even doing anything - Stoneheart pack was doing it all on their own. They were taking back their own freedom. I just had the opportunity to watch.
I flew back to Gabriel’s side. He and Lorenzo were straining hard in concentration, but the barrier was almost complete. Sweat trickled down Gabe’s brow. He was putting everything he had into this.
I shifted into human form, closed my eyes, and put my hand on his. The warm, softly electric sensation of magic flowed through my fingertips and into his hands.
The vibrating thrum of the barrier became louder. I didn’t dare open my eyes just yet.
“Dante,” Gabriel said, his voice thick from concentration. “Is that you?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m right beside you.”
“I feel your magic flowing through me… Is that normal?”
I leaned closer to him and pressed my head against his, feeling his warmth. “Yes. As fated mates, we share a magic pool. Any magic I possess can be transferred to you.”
“Fated mates,” he murmured.
“I know you don’t like that phrase,” I admitted gently, “but that’s the best way I can explain it.”
“No.” He shook his head, his hair brushing against mine. “It’s perfect. It’s what you and I are. Fated.”
I smiled. Even though my eyes were still closed, I got the feeling he was smiling, too.
Suddenly, Gabe’s magic swelled, like a tightly shut flowerbud finally blooming. The earth trembled beneath our feet. Something in the air changed. Wind forcefully rushed all around us.
Gabe staggered back from the intensity and I reflexively grabbed him to prevent his fall. Even Lorenzo grunted. We all felt it.
When I opened my eyes, I didn’t see anything.
Gabe’s eyes furrowed and he groaned in frustration. “What happened? Where’d it go?”
He turned around, eyes flickering back and forth.
“Did you feel that?” Lorenzo asked me, stunned.
I nodded. “Yeah, I did. There’s no way the barrier just disappeared. I know something happened.”
“But where is it?” Gabriel asked frantically.
From up ahead, close to where the humans first attacked, the omega named Otis called. “Uh… Gabriel?”
We all approached him, and all gasped.
The humans had all turned to stone. Lorenzo approached one cautiously and tapped it with his claw. Instantly it dissolved into ash and blew away in the breeze.
“Stone and ash,” I muttered. “Earth and fire.”
Gabriel and I exchanged a knowing glance.
“Did we do that?” he asked, shocked.
“I suppose we did.”
Dustin cried, “Look!”
We followed his gaze. Then I knew exactly what had happened.
Far beyond us, nearly two miles away, stood an enormous barrier. It was both translucent and thick, with a shimmering surface that shone with beautiful red, green and black iridescence. When I turned to look back, I saw the other end of the barrier - miles away, again.
Gabe’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. “Holy shit.”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Holy shit is right! Gabe, look!”
Every single raider had turned into a statue made of ash. Their weapons were still raised - although now useless - against the Stoneheart wolves.
“Did we really do that…?” Gabriel asked again in disbelief. “Make this huge barrier together?”
“We did.” I grinned at him. “Your pregnancy must have been enhancing your magic way more than I thought.”
He shot me a wry smile back. “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help.”
“Fair enough.” I walked over to Lorenzo, who was hunched over in exhaustion, and I clapped him on the side of his scales. “And we couldn’t have done it without you, either, bro.”
“It was nothing,” he said humbly. “I’m just glad we could do it, in the end.”
Everyone exhaled a collective sigh of relief. The humans were gone - at least all the ones who happened to be trapped inside the barrier. I had a feeling every raider outside the barrier would think twice about entering it, lest they also be reduced to dust.
“Marlowe!” Gabe cried.
The elder grey wolf from before approached us, his head bowed. A few other elder wolves stood by his side. They all shifted and similarly dipped their heads in respect.
“Please, elders, there’s no need to do that,” Gabriel said, waving his hands.
“There is,” the one named Marlowe said. “You have saved us all, Gabriel.” He glanced at me. “And you, too, dragon.”
“His name is Dante,” Gabe said.
Marlowe shook my hand. “Dante. Thank you. And the silver dragon, as well.”
Lorenzo, who stood nearby, only nodded in grateful acknowledgment.
“What are you going to do now?” Gabe asked. “Since the wall kinda has a big hole in it…”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sorry for that at all. It ended up being the catalyst for S
toneheart pack finally standing up for themselves and joining the fight.
Marlowe glanced to the other elders, who nodded in agreement.
“I don’t think the humans will be bothering us again. We have decided to live freely, as you insisted we do,” Marlowe said. “Since we now have the barrier, we are no longer confined to the walls.”
“And the leftover pieces of the wall?” I asked with a grin. “They’d be fun to tear down.”
Marlowe chuckled. “I think we can manage to do that ourselves. After all, we seem to be done living by the rules of others.”
I laughed. “Fair enough.”
“Are you staying?” Otis asked Gabriel, clutching his arm.
“No, Otis. I’m sorry.” Gabriel hugged him. “I have a family of my own - a baby and a mate. And while I’ll always have a place in my heart for this pack, my home is at Cinderhollow now.”
Otis nodded sadly. “But what about the barrier? Will it go away if you leave?”
“I don’t think so,” Gabe said. “Lorenzo said that it should stay up, as long as I’m alive.”
“Yes,” Lorenzo confirmed as he walked over. “As long as you’re alive and have the same strong feelings towards this place, the barrier will remain. Especially since it was created with your mate’s magic, as well.”
Gabe smiled at me. I couldn’t help myself - I leaned over and kissed him, not caring that everyone was watching. It made Gabriel blush furiously, which just made me want to kiss him more. But I restrained myself.
Ruby cleared her throat softly behind us. “Well… It seems like your work here is done. Congratulations, Gabriel. I’ve never seen such a feat.”
Gabe, who was already blushing, turned even redder. “Thanks.”
“Shall we get going, then?” Ruby asked us. She gestured to a group of Stoneheart shifters who were already cleaning up the remains of the dust and ash. “I think they have things covered here, now.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. And to be honest, I’m ready to go home. And sleep in my big comfortable bed.”
I was, too. Actually, I was ready to do a few other things in bed, but I didn’t mention those out loud.
Gabriel said his goodbyes, promising he would visit and see how things were going after the baby was born. When he was finally done, he joined me and took my hand. “I’m ready to go home.”