I navigate the forest with my agile steps, nearing the captured demon just as Alpha Elias’s voice rings out in my head to inform me that he and the others are almost here, coming from every corner of the woods. We meet at the trap, taking turns to beat the captured demon senseless, and clawing its hideous, shaggy flesh to shreds as the witches throw bolts of flickering flames at the creature.
With one gnarly snap of his teeth, Dawson tears the demon’s head from its body, and its dark, ominous spirit curls in the air before slipping through the trees as it disappears.
We have a moment to catch our breath, but the threat isn’t gone yet. The screeching and bleating cries of more demons sound from deeper in the woods, from the direction the one we killed just disappeared.
I shift into human form involuntarily, as if I’m too exhausted, too overwhelmed by emotion, when I notice no sign of Rissa in this spot.
“Rissa went after the demon!” I yelp out to the others, snapping around when I can feel her presence close by. My body erupts with an electric charge spreading through me, and I know she’s using her magic.
I’ve always been able to sense it, but the sensation is stronger than ever.
Without invoking my wolf, I rush through the woods, relying on instinct to guide me toward my mate just as her scent grows stronger. The other alphas and witches follow my lead as I bolt through the woods, my eyes widening when I find Rissa surrounded by three more demon dogs.
“Rissa!” I yell out so she knows not alone anymore.
“Brooks!” Her voice comes out like a painful cry for help. “The portal! We need to close it before more come!”
I look up to see the round and black, swirling mass in the air behind Rissa’s head as she points to it.
“Distract the demon! Yvonne and I will close the portal!” Aurora yells out as she points at the black mass in the sky.
I shift into wolf form, and the group of Alphas and witches work in tandem to draw the demon’s attention away from Rissa. We take on the three evil spirits, fighting and dodging their attacks while the witches throw magic lightning bolts at them. The fight is horrifying, and even as I battle a demon alongside Thane, I can sense that Rissa’s strength is dwindling. Instinctively feeling like she needs me right now, I tell Thane to cover me through the mind link.
When his thunderous howl rings out, he lunges for the demon.
“Go, Brooks!”
His words spur me into human form as I race toward Rissa just as Aurora and Yvonne get to her.
“You can do it, baby!” I yell out with urgency in my voice.
She stares at me with round, green eyes, gulping as she nods and takes my encouragement. I can feel in my bones that she’s regained her strength, and she turns and places her hand on the one Aurora holds out between them.
What happens next is a magnificent show of teamwork from the three witches, who each have one of their hands stacked together, the other aimed at the portal. Bursts of colorful bolts of magic penetrate the portal’s center, an energetic ball of their combined powers growing until it’s large enough to envelop the portal.
“Brooks! We need you!” Aurora shouts out, her face strained as they struggle to keep the ball of magic alive. Only the green light flickers as if it’s about to die out, and it means that Rissa is getting weak again.
Rushing over to the three witches while the other Alphas battle the demons behind us, Aurora steps aside and hastily nods at Rissa, who seems to be having some kind of epileptic attack that shudders her body and keeps her eyes stuck to the portal.
“She’s going into shock, and she needs you!” Aurora yells out to me.
“What do I have to do?!” I ask, my eyes zapping from Rissa’s hands to her face, where her eyes become blank pools of lifeless green. Panic rises like bile in my throat, and I snap, “Tell me, Aurora!”
“I don’t know, Brooks! This has never happened before!”
Yvonne places the hand she isn’t using to wield the magic ball on Rissa’s chest. “Her heart rate is dropping. She’s gonna die!”
Muttering a string of curses under my breath, I step in front of Rissa and grab her face, acting on pure instinct when I crush my lips to hers and kiss her with unabashed passion. I hear her sighing with relief, but her power doesn’t falter. Instead, it grows stronger, the magic ball behind me getting hotter against my back.
I don’t stop kissing her. I can’t stop kissing her, our lips locked in the most passionate, soulful kiss I’ve ever experienced. It’s as if she’s drawing strength from me, my mouth feeding her with more power while my body is lit up with energy that courses through my veins. It’s so magical and freeing that even with the battle raging on between my fellow alphas and the greatest threat we’ve ever faced, I can’t let her lips go.
Giving it my all while Rissa gives her all to the magic she feeds into the portal with her friends, a whirring sound rips through the field, echoing through the forest until the alphas howl in triumph over the demon’s defeat.
I break the kiss when it feels safe to do so, and Rissa’s eyelids hang heavy over tired eyes that return to their usual shade of green. Her arms fall to her sides with a drawn-out sigh, and she collapses forward.
“Brooks,” she murmurs, but I hold her tightly in my arms.
“Shh…it’s okay…they’re gone…you’re safe…” I whisper into the top of her head, pressing a kiss there to console her.
