Kyran
Kyran! Selene’s panicked voice cuts through my mind and I immediately crane my neck above the undulating crowd in search of her. Berserkers and vampires, at the edge of the field, hundreds of them! Alert everyone immediately! I’ll hold them off as best I can, her tone is cold and angry without a trace of fear and my heart leaps into my throat as I take off towards the woods, shoving people out of the way with a savage growl.
Jeger! I mindlink him with a shout, Hundreds of infiltrators, how did they get here? I seethe, my blood pumping painfully as I snarl in my effort to get to my mate.
I’m being ambushed just as you speak! They’re coming in droves, out of fucking nowhere! His gruff voice is strained in response and my fury spikes violently.
“Fuck!” I hiss through clenched teeth as screams begin pealing throughout the crowd and a hazy smoke drifts upward from the ground. It becomes impossible to see through the rapidly growing chaos and I suppress the urge to start throwing bodies out of my way as my desperation increases in search of Selene.
We’re under attack, shift now and take out any red eyes you find, I command the other alphas at once and hear all of their outraged responses immediately followed by distant sounds of agony tearing through the air.
Valdr pushes forward and I shift, multiple wolves falling into step behind me as I cut my way through the melee and release a harsh howl into the cacophony of screams and terror. Many howls instantly respond and I know my pack is working cohesively, well trained to fight in units and I trust them to hold their own. My paws slam into the grass as I cross paths with a hoard of vampires, their razor tipped fangs exposed in bloody grins and I bare my teeth at them as I charge.
At the last second, I feint to the left and leap onto the closest vamp on my right, clamping my jaws around his neck and tearing his head free in one swift movement. A few wolves tag team the vampires, one taking them down at the knees as another crushes their skulls in one fell swoop. I hear a harsh whine emit behind me and I glance over my shoulder as I run, finding a wolf not of my pack collapse beneath a vampire with their throat torn out and their lifeless eyes staring at the sky. The sight enrages me and I search for Selene with haste, fearing the worst with her being the one to have uncovered them.
Where are you! I yell out to her, cutting through a small cluster of berserk wolves, latching onto their throats and thrashing their bodies to the ground, letting the wolves behind me finish them off as I keep moving.
In the woods, not far from the Hall, her reply is brisk and tight and I curse as I bank hard to my left, picking up speed.
A witch manifests in my path and snarls at me, throwing up her hands to raise sharp, craggy rocks from the ground and I nearly get impaled by one as I leap clumsily to the side. I hear a wet crunch and another cut off yelp of pain, knowing without looking two of my wolves have met their end. Their loss rips through me and I clench my jaw as I circle around the distracted witch, stepping carefully to not alert her of my presence.
Hybrids! Clear out the smoke and put markers in the air above any enemy you can find! I call out to my pack and within seconds, bright floating stars begin popping up and dart around the writhing mass of chaos. A dark movement to the right of the witch catches my attention and I find Felagi hunting her as well, our eyes meeting in silent acknowledgment for a moment before we simultaneously attack.
Just as I leap with my jaws parted, Selene’s spike of emotion causes me to falter. The witch whips her head around toward me, hurling a mass of rocks at me like meteors and a few painfully slam into me, knocking me off my feet.
----------------------------------------
SELENE
The throng of berserk wolves and vampires break off into clusters and begin to surround me as I summon my shadows to encompass my entire body. Almost immediately, a drove of wolves pour through the forming wall and blood flies around me as bodies tear one another apart. My eyes lock onto Bolvi’s as he grins wickedly at me, the manic gleam in his red eyes portraying the loss of his human mind. I bare my teeth in a snarl, all of my emotions and memories of him pooling into one solid pit of rage as I lower my stance and tense my muscles in preparation to fight.
This piece of shit deserves to die and I am more than glad for it to be at my hands. He doesn’t get the gift of healing his disease, not when I know the true monster that lies within him without the vampire venom poisoning his wolf’s soul. I match his steps as he begins to circle me, his crazed laughter echoing out above the cacophony of death and despair and I grimace at the sound. He just points a finger at me and numerous vampires dive in my direction. A few of them are ripped out of the air and many of them are torn to pieces the moment their feet hit the ground, but a couple dozen make it past the protective circle the wolves have formed around me and I lash out with my power.
I throw my arms out in a sweeping arc, my shadows billowing out widely and latching onto most of the vampires darting for me. Clenching my fists, I harshly slam my arms downward and the resounding cracks of their bones shattering pulls a satisfied smirk to my face. The few vampires who evaded my shadows dash over their fallen brethren as I use my shadow-walking to vanish and reappear behind them, their rapid steps skittering to a halt in confusion. One whips around with a hiss and I smile wickedly as I slice a thin ribbon of shadow through the air, effectively beheading all seven of them at once.
My chest is heaving as I wheel my gaze around to find Bolvi baring his teeth at me with anger before he throws his head back, letting out a garbled howl and charges for me. His speed is unexpected and I leap back into my shadows, transporting myself to the other side of the small make-shift clearing. I laugh dryly as he pulls himself short and whips around to glare at me before he shifts, his dirty colored wolf growling viciously. A savage roar rips through the air and I feel Kyran’s rage as Bolvi uses my minute distraction to leap at me.
----------------------------------------
KYRAN
Felagi was successful in the witch’s distraction with me, clamping his jaws around her middle and thrashing her side to side like a ragdoll. It gave me enough time to heal from her attack and I launch myself at her, snapping my jaws over her skull and crushing it without hesitation. Her putrid blood tastes like tar in my mouth and I cringe from it as I shake my head in an attempt to fling the bits of flesh from my teeth.
Bounding away, Felagi falls into step beside me and we cut through the slowly diminishing crowd as the fighting spreads out over my lands. The Great Hall crests into view through the hazy mist and a beam of moonlight illuminates in the distance. Selene, it has to be, I focus on the light and charge toward it. A blast of a fireball rockets into Felagi and his pained snarl tears from his chest at the impact. I whip my head to its wielder, finding a smirking, familiar witch holding a flaming hand up with a wave of her fingers.
The bitch is one of the witches that was responsible for poisoning Selene that night at my bar, and I snarl at her as I skid to a stop. She doesn’t hesitate to throw fire at me, the burning balls coming in rapid succession and a couple singe my fur as I dodge my way toward her. She snaps the fingers of her other hand, releasing a thin whip of flame out to her side and lashing it toward me. It burns my flank as I dart forward and I growl from the impact, leaping away as she strikes for me again, the fire flaring out around the ground as it nearly misses my face.
Kyran! I hear Trey’s alarmed voice and see his tawny wolf rush up behind the witch with Asteria at his side. The look of fury on her face as she rips her gaze toward me matches how I feel inside as she yells out, “I’ve got this, go to her!” and I don’t waste a breath as I turn on my paws to bound toward the glowing area where Selene must be.
I’m blindsided by a vampire who wraps their arms around my ribs like steel, cracking my bones and dragging me to the ground. A savage roar leaves me as I catch sight of Selene surrounded by vampires with her shadows swirling around her and I slam into the dirt. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I shift in the vampire’s hold and drive my elbow hard into his head, his iron grip releasing me on impact. Rolling quickly to my feet, I wrap my hands around his throat and tear his head free from his neck with an angry yell, hurling his skull into another vampire lunging toward me.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
It slams into her face, careening her backward and I turn to run toward Selene when a wall of fire incinerates my skin as I collide with it. My scream of agony tears out of me as I throw myself backward, my blistered skin healing slower than usual and I clench my jaw as I scramble painfully to my feet. The witch bitch’s twin sister is standing at her back grinning wickedly at me and I shift with my rage at the sight of her. My burns heal with my shift and I launch myself at the witch, my movement startling her causing her to miss the hastily thrown fireball.
Trey darts out beside her and clamps his jaw around her leg, dragging it with him as he passes and I hear the snap of her bones when she collapses with a wail. I lunge forward and my jaws snap through the air as she vanishes with a shriek. My growl reverberates loudly, drawing the attention of her sister and I watch as Asteria’s black and white eyes glow brightly when she raises her hands in the air. Lightning skitters around her fingers before shooting out toward the witch, caging her body in a searing net of deadly power. Her screams grow haggard as she burns alive and I turn to race toward Selene without a glance back. Her wretched screaming chokes off abruptly and a few sets of heavy paws pound the earth on either side of me.
I can sense the other alphas’ presences nearby as we break off to encircle the hoard of vampires and berserkers surrounding Selene. The five of us tear through the writhing clusters, taking care to avoid each other’s packmates as we thin the enemy masses in synchronous efficiency.
----------------------------------------
SELENE
I managed to evade Bolvi’s attack as I wrap my shadows around him, lifting his wolf off the ground and slamming his body down hard. He yelps as two of his legs break, but he heals ridiculously fast and charges at me again. I bare my teeth with a savage snarl, waiting until he leaps to shadow-walk behind him and lash out a stream of shadows around his neck. I clench my fist and send him flying into the writhing mass of vampires.
“You fucking bastard!” I seethe with all my pain and fury at this monster who haunted me for too long.
I yank my arm back harshly, dragging his wolf across the ground and command powerfully, “Shift,” glaring into Bolvi’s crimson eyes as he appears on his hands and knees before me. Thrusting my hand out, I slam my splayed palm against his awful face and blinding white light emanates around me. Tears pour out of my eyes in rage as I viciously rip the wolf’s from his body, the agonized screams tearing from him making me grin savagely.
“I hope this fucking hurts, you piece of shit,” I bite my words out inches from his face. “I hope you feel every ounce of pain you put me through. Let this agony be the last thing you feel as you die by my hands,” I hiss the words, glaring into his fearful eyes.
I raise my other hand and razor-sharp claws grow from the shadows coating my fingers. With a vicious snarl, I cleave into his chest and his screams pitch higher when I grip his racing heart in a vice before crushing it within my fist, tearing it free from his body as it still thumps its last beats. My chest heaves as I watch the life leave his bloodshot eyes and I release my hold on his corpse with a sneer, my gaze lifting to the fighting around me as every being watches me in either horror or pride.
----------------------------------------
KYRAN
A bright white light catches all of our attention for a few heartbeats, and I shift to see Selene slam her bare hand against Bolvi’s face. That fucking bastard, I seethe, my rage boiling over at the sight of him and it costs me as I am tackled to the ground, a vampire sinking his fangs into the side of my bare neck.
His venom burns into my blood and I rip him off of me, rolling on top of the parasite as I shove my hands into his mouth. I tear his bottom jaw free and another leaps onto my back, sinking its fangs into the other side of my neck. I bellow out in fury and reach over my shoulder to drag it off of me when another and another piles on, forcing me to my knees. I watch Selene as she rips the soul out of Bolvi’s body and part of me is proud of her for being able to wreak vengeance on him for what he’d done to her, the other part wanting to be the one to do it.
I feel myself weakening with the venom coursing through my veins, their sharp nails are clawing away at my skin and all I can do is watch Selene. On my hands and knees, my gaze follows her as she slams her hand into his chest and gouges out his heart, his cries of agony dying with his body. I’m glad you could be the one to do it, I’m proud of you, I murmur to her through our bond as my vision starts to blacken. I shake my head to clear my sight to find her eyes locked on mine through the writhing chaos around us and hear her cry out my name.
The weight of some of the vampires fly off of me and I shove hard against the ground with effort, twisting to grip the blooksucker on my back and hurl him into the crowd. My blood drips off me, streaming onto the churned earth in rivulets as I drag my gaze to Daine who just nods once before diving back into the melee. Whirling around, my vision narrows to a pinpoint on Selene’s glowing body as she lets out a sob and stumbles toward me, her chest heaving from exhaustion and I curse against the thick throng of bodies in my way.
My stomach bottoms out and my breath leaves my lungs as a swirl of smoke billows out behind her and Caedes manifests with the bitch who evaded me. “Selene!” I hoarsely scream in terror, ripping anyone away from me in my panic to get to her. “Fuck! Selene!” my deep voice helplessly bellows out into the air.
Many screams screech hauntingly as I watch in absolute horror as my worst fucking nightmare comes to life before my eyes. Selene doesn’t even finish taking a breath to react when Caedes wrenches her head to the side and tears her throat out with his fangs.
----------------------------------------
SELENE
As I drop the warm, slick heart to the ground with a frown at Bolvi’s prone body, I feel Kyran’s trepidation wave through me and I whirl around in search of him. I’d seen him fending off vampires and my gut clenches when I find him on his knees covered in them. His blood coats his torn skin and his eyes are burning into me as I hear him tell me how proud he is of me and a sob escapes me at the awful sight.
“Kyran!” I cry out, reaching a shaky hand out toward him and pulling my shadows to me once more.
My chest heaves with exhaustion and my body feels worn but I’d fight to my last breath to keep him alive. Alarm courses through me at the sight of the numerous puncture wounds on his body and Luna’s voice flows through me, easing my worry. He is our Guardian, he will be unaffected, she speaks reassuringly, her voice firm.
Another sob wracks my chest and I stumble forward on weak legs, cursing my body for not being in proper shape. I breathe with relief when Daine appears beside Kyran, tearing the vampires off of him and he pushes to his feet. Kyran’s eyes are blazing with fury as he meets my gaze again and shoves his way aggressively through the mass of bloodied fighting bodies. Time seems to falter as his eyes widen with terror and he screams my name, his husky voice thick with rage and fear as he punches and tears his way toward me.
I’ve barely finished inhaling from my sob when I feel the chilling air at the back of my neck warn me too late of my demise. A hot tear streams down my face as Kyran bellows my name again, his pain roaring through his voice and my gaze is ripped from his when my head snaps to the side violently.
Searing agony courses through me as Caedes' dark chuckle fills my ears, his sharp, metallic scents roiling my stomach before my blood spills from my torn throat. White hot light bursts from me in thick beams, arcing through the air and slams into Kyran’s chest, ripping a savage roar from him. Several equally bestial cries echo from the other alphas as the Guardian forms take over their bodies. Collapsing to the earth in a heap, I sense a witch’s magic enveloping me as my vision flickers and the last thing my conscious mind can focus on is telling Kyran that I love him as everything fades to black.
----------------------------------------
KYRAN
My world slams to an excruciating halt when Selene’s blood pours from her torn throat and her body radiates blindingly, her power crashing into me with such force it drags me to my knees. The intensity of it sears through me and rips a roar filled with every ounce of fury within me and I sense the other alphas emitting the same sounds around her. Raging icy energy tears through my body and I feel my limbs lengthen with hardened muscles as I shift into the lycan form of the Guardians.
Selene’s gentle voice caresses my wild, seething mind and the purest, wrenching pain I have ever felt eviscerates me when I hear her whisper, I love you, as her body collapses to the ground. My heart freezes solid when Caedes’ wicked gaze meets mine in the moment he vanishes with Selene. A blast of lightning engulfs the now-empty ground, charring it black as Asteria’s horrified screams rake over me.
Blindly slashing through the people before me, I stumble to my knees and slam my elongated claws into the burnt earth coated in Selene’s blood. Over and over I shatter my hands with the force of my blows as my agonized screams of rage and despair rip through me. My heart fractures and disintegrates with the torturous devastation coursing like fire through my veins. Raging shadows burst from my body in lashing ribbons, writhing around in my fury and agony at losing the love of my life.
END OF BOOK 1