Jin looked down at the plate she’d dropped on the floor, which had shattered into dozens of pieces. She started to bend down, but a heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
“I’ll clean it up,” Harley said, gently easing her away from the glass.
“You’re not at all how I pictured,” Chelsie said as she walked up to Jin.
Harley took a small brush and started sweeping the glass into a dustpan. “I think a lot of us are not how we’re pictured.” He tilted his head up and looked at Chelsie. “A tame kelpie? A dark fairy who feasts on human flesh.”
“Eeew, don’t make me sick. I’m pregnant too, remember?” Chelsie held her hand over her mouth. “We might kill people, but we absolutely don’t feast on their flesh. Yuck.”
Harley stood up and emptied the contents of the dustpan in the trash. “And I just happen to be a modern demon who loves being a businessman. I enjoy the kill of taking out another business more than actually killing.”
“Do you think the battle has started?” Jin asked quietly.
Chelsie bit her bottom lip and walked over, placing her arm around Jin. “Let’s try not to think about it.”
“Right. Why don’t you two ladies go in there and make yourselves comfortable. I’ll whip up some chocolate chip pancakes for the two of you. Of course, I’m mainly doing this to spoil my growing mate.” Harley cleared his throat a bit while both girls gave him crooked smiles.
“He must think we’re naïve,” Chelsie said with an amused tone.
“It’s okay, Harley. We won’t tell anyone you really care.” Jin giggled. “Let’s find a feel-good movie to watch.”
Harley grabbed the milk and eggs out of the refrigerator. He looked up and smiled at the two girls as they walked away. Maybe he was quite uncharacteristic for the son of an original demon, but he didn’t care. From the moment he met Jin, there was only one thing that mattered to him, and that was being the person his mate needed him to be. He would be everything for her.
He turned his head and looked out the window at the rising sun. He had his spies watching. He would know the outcome as soon as it was decided. For now, all they could do was wait. He grabbed an egg and tapped it on the counter.
CRACK
The sound of a neck cracking echoed loudly in Lita’s ears as Mira tossed the dead body to the side. Her wolf and Asher’s were fighting side by side while Grayson barreled in deeper. He was fighting against one of the hellhounds just like Brody and Chasen were. As another demon came closer, Seraphina flew down and engulfed the goblin in fire.
Asher looked over at each of his children, trying to keep tabs on all of them, but he was interrupted again as a demon wolf closed in on him. It was total chaos. The air was saturated in the smell of blood that was pooling over the earth. This was nothing like he’d ever seen before. Even when he was younger, the war that claimed his parents was nothing like this. There were so many fighting on both sides that each side was getting engulfed by the other. Just as you killed one enemy, another stepped in front of you to take their place. It felt never-ending.
The demon wolf lunged at Asher’s wolf, Bo, who leaped and collided into it with full force. He fought with everything he had, trying to kill as many demons as he could in order to clear a path. He was worried. Hunter was fighting against a powerful demon. Bo clamped his jaw around the demon wolf and its blood splattered over him, pooling on the ground. He dropped the wolf and glanced over at Hunter.
What in the world …
Freja blurred over the demons in front of her. Slice. Dash. Cut. Stab. Dice. The bodies began falling. Every foe she met was swiftly annihilated. Immediately after the demons collided with them, she and Hunter were separated. Freja recognized the demon Leoric as he faced off against Hunter’s wolf, Blaze, and she was fighting hard trying to get to him. But the demons kept coming. It was as if they instantly respawned after she killed them. She could see Hunter. He was within ten feet of her, but they were separated by wolves fighting other wolves.
Freja,Ember said calmly.Project part of me out. Let me help.
What is this new energy bubbling inside me? Is it you?Freja threw two stakes into demons who were running toward her and spun, slicing two more demons. Their blood splattered on her face before their bodies dropped to the ground.
Your fairy magic is morphing together and creating a stronger power of your own. Of our own. Trust it. Use it. This way we can fight together.
Freja grasped onto the light inside her and forcefully pushed it forward, along with Ember. It was a strange feeling. She could feel herself almost evolve. She and Ember were one. A flame flickered around her body and over her hands, engulfing the daggers she gripped. Demons were immediately injured as they came closer. She had no time to marvel at herself. Her only thought was protecting Hunter and getting to him.
She started pushing her way through the army, repelling them with her flaming shield. As she got closer to Hunter, she gripped her daggers tighter.
Her eyes widened, and for a split second, she was stunned.How did I do that?
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
Blaze jumped backward, dodging the incoming attack from Leoric. His back feet skid on the soft dirt, creating a smokey pile of dust around him. He had a small cut on his side from where the demon's claws had reached him. He had to focus on the fight in front of him. It was too intense. He could smell Freja and knew she was close by but couldn’t even afford a second to look her way, because almost instantly, the next attack would come.
Suddenly, flames burst over Blaze, but he wasn’t on fire. This stunned even Leoric, who halted his attack.This is how Ember looks,Hunter thought as he glanced briefly to the side. His eyes immediately caught the green orbs that were staring back at him. Somehow, she had shielded them both. Her flames engulfed her human body as well as his wolf form.
“Now that’s a peculiar magic,” Leoric said as he eyed the large silver wolf. “No matter. Something like that may help you against the small fries, but not me. Our battle ends here, wolf. This field will be your grave.” He then glanced over at Freja, noticing the matching flames over her body. A smirk rose on his face. “Let’s make this more interesting.” A loud bellow escaped his throat and the attention of the nearby demons shifted. Theirprimary focus was now on Freja. “Let’s see how well you fight when your MATE is in danger.”
Hunter gulped and glanced nervously toward Freja.
