Preparing to fight her way to those who’d come for her and the man made for her by the Universe, Nessy ran to the door. Leaning against the wall by the doorframe, she and Celeste pushed their preternatural senses as far as they would go.
Just when she thought she was going to have to go out into the hall to see if the coast was clear, the same Enchantment that made fire fly from her fingertips extended the reach of her senses. Thankful for the help, she didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and counted four Wolves charging up the front staircase from the second floor.
Focusing in the other direction, she found six more Lupine Shifters advancing from the ground floor. Angeline’s bellowed instructions shook the walls. “Catch Vanessa Bryant! Do not harm one hair on her head!”
The sound of pounding footsteps cut off the She-Wolf’s next orders, then Nessy heard, “She’s harmed! You die!”
Angeline’s voice came from somewhere in the middle of the house, and she was surrounded by more heartbeats thanVanessa could count.“Of course, she’s keeping herself well-protected,”Celeste snarled.“Once a coward, always a coward.”
Taking a deep breath, Vanessa braced her right hand on the doorframe, counted to three, and propelled herself into the hall. Running faster than she ever had, feeling a warmth, a presence unlike anything she’d ever known, she made it to the back staircase a second before the first set of Wolves stepped onto the third floor.
“STOP!” They roared in unison.
Fear and desperation filled the hallway. They didn’t want to be chasing a pregnant Polar Bear, but they were doing as they were told to avoid punishment. They didn’t give a flip about her. It was their own hides they were worried about. It hurt her heart to think they would be punished, but she was in the fight for her life and had no intentions of losing.
Flying down the steps, skipping over as many as she could without busting her ass, Vanessa was more balanced and still moving faster than she ever had as she kept watch for more Wolves. Jumping over the landing between the third and second floors before she even thought about it, she grabbed the banister to keep from tripping over the oriental runner covering the steps. Looking over her shoulder, she bit her lips to keep from laughing and losing her balance, but it was no use. She and Celeste laughed out loud as they watched the lead Wolf fall ass over teakettle down the steps. Landing with a resounding thud, his head was on the landing, his butt was in the air, and he was unconscious with his mouth open and one of his shoes on his chest.
Pouring on even more speed, Nessy turned to the left, the opposite direction from where she knew the remaining Wolves and Angeline were and kept going. Taking another corner at top speed, she heard the crash of breaking glass and the cracking of wood down the hall.
Instant recognition filled her heart and soul. It was Cyrus. He really was there. Celeste whooped in celebration, and the unfamiliar Magic that had been helping her grew stronger as bright red scales flashed to life and floated just above the flesh of her arms.
“Baby?!” She gasped, but there was no time to wait for confirmation. She needed to get to Cyrus, and she needed to do it ASAP.
Racing down the hall, she threw open the large double doors standing between her and her Mate and came to a sliding halt. Standing tall, more handsome than she remembered, stood Cyrus MacDonald, a gleaming broadsword swinging perfectly to stop the downward strike of the biggest male Wolf Vanessa had ever seen.
But Cyrus moved masterfully. With his arms above his head, both hands on the grip of his blade, his expression was one of the fierce determination of a true warrior.
Celeste roared within the confines of Vanessa’s mind. She demanded,“Let me out! Let me take that bastard down!”
“I’ve got this,”Cyrus’s voice rang within their minds.
But not even his words stopped the need both Nessy and Celeste felt to fight by his side. Fire built within her as sparks from the clash of blades lit up the darkness.
Movement outside the collapsed French doors drew her attention. Instinctively throwing her hands out to blast any Wolves heading towards Cyrus, she had to swing them above her head as the renowned Guardsman, Carrick, another Dragon with long, dark hair, a female Bobcat with the Power of the Goddess rolling off of her, and the Black Bear she’d felt before burst into the room.
The names of Ruairí, Tamsyn, and Luke floated through her mind. Even as he was fighting for their lives, her Dragon introduced her to their allies.
“Thank you,”she quietly sent directly into his mind as the warmth from her stomach reached for him.“It is you, isn’t it?”She asked her unborn child. More love and adoration filled her heart and soul as the superimposed Dragon scales still covering her body flashed.
“Damn girl,” Tamsyn smiled. “Cyrus said you were a Polar Bear Shifter. What’s with the scales?”
Before she could answer, the Dragon Guardsman she now knew to be Ruairí– and Tamsyn’s Mate–stepped in front of them and pulled his sword from the Ether. Joined by the Black Bear, who had a massive hunting knife in one hand and the other Shifted into that of his Bear, the two stood at the ready as a stream of Wolves poured through the door beside the fireplace across the room.
Vanessa’s eyes went directly back to Cyrus. She watched as he blocked every swipe of the big Wolf’s blade with finesse while forcing his opponent backward with his own well-placed stabs.
A roar from the left had Nessy spinning around just as Aamon burst into the room, brandishing a long, thin-bladed Kitana. Aiming for Cyrus’s back, he smiled menacingly and charged. But her Dragon was too quick for the idiot.
Turning towards the attack as Ruairí moved to handle the bigger Wolf, Cyrus blocked Aamon’s poorly placed thrust and pushed the redheaded Wolf backward. Not willing to concede to the better man, the Wolf pushed back and slashed a huge X in the air between them.
Back and forth, Cyrus pushed while Aamon tried to maintain what little ground he had left. Their battle was like a well-choreographed dance, with Nessy’s Dragon always keeping the upper hand. He was poetry in motion– so much more graceful than she’d ever believed a man of his size and musculature could be.
From the moment they met, Vanessa knew Cyrus was the man made for her by the Universe. The battle of Light and Dark that she and all like her were tasked with fighting would not be won by a single Polar Bear, but by the goodness of those who fought for what was right– and that was Cyrus.
She had never doubted her Mate and watching him in battle only reinforced what she already knew – Cyrus Mac Donald was the Mate of her heart, her soul, her forever, and the Polar Bear Princess with whom she shared her soul.
“You know it,”Celeste cheered.“That crazy ass, stubborn Dragon, is the one man in all of the world who is strong enough to handle us both– and that babe who already has a mind of their own.”
Forcing her attention to the others who’d come to rescue, Vanessa was surprised to see a woman who looked almost identical to Tamsyn, but with strawberry-blond hair. Before she could ask, a sweet southern accent floated through her mind,“Hey, Girl! I’m Peaches, Tamsyn’s sister.”
