“Just a primitive species who think they are superior because they have physical strength,” The other witch scowled at Hunter.
Hunter lowered his head and growled at the witches, his ears forward and his gaze fixated on their every movement. He stood straight up, preparing himself. Sharp, searing pain shot into his side as a burst of light flew into him, a small whimper escaping his throat as he composed himself. His feet were glued to the floor at that moment, as if he’d been sealed in that spot just then.
Then one of the witches threw some sort of ball toward him. When it landed, a loud crack split the air, and shards of metal shattered around him. Hunter yelped as the silver lashed against his skin, tearing into him, his blood trickling onto the floor. His body burned with pain where some of the silver remained lodgedinside him. He looked up at the two witches and snarled lowly. Who did these lowlifes think they were messing with?
A witch raised another ball, ready to throw it, but this time Hunter anticipated it. The moment she threw the ball, he generated wind to push it back into the witches. The ball shattered, and the dim light briefly reflected across silver shards as they went flying over the witches. Crimson splattered over the wall and floor, pooling from their bodies.
“You MUTT!” one of the witches bellowed angrily, her menacing gaze set on Hunter.
Mutt? How dare she speak to us in such a manner!Blaze growled angrily.
You ready to do something about it?Hunter asked with a smirk.
Let me be the one in charge. I would have ended this already instead of playing the nice guy. There is no redemption for these hags.
Hunter chuckled.You’re too bloodthirsty, Blaze. I’ll handle it.
“Don’t think this is going to be easy for you, mutt.” The other witch wiped her face with her hands, clearing the blood dripping from it. A sinister smile crept over her face as she reached for something else behind her back.
“Jin, blow this smoke out of here and get rid of all that incense,” Freja yelled as she stopped in a large parlor. She couldn’t pick out Hunter’s scent through the thick haze in the room. The place was huge, and there were so many areas to search. She didn’t have that kind of time. She needed to find Hunter.
“Adam! Sam!” Freja turned to look at them. “You guys check the hall to the left and I’ll go to the right. We’ll meet back here. Howl if you run into anyone.” She didn’t wait for their reply, blurring down the hall.
She entered a great communal room with doors on each side. The moment she reached the middle, all four doors slammed shut, the crash echoing through the space.
Freja froze as she looked around. Shit. She was so frantic looking for Hunter that she didn’t realize she’d run right into a trap. She dropped to one knee as her eyes landed on the crystals that connected around her in a square.
“Well, well, well … What do we have here?” a cruel voice hissed as someone walked out from the darkness.
Freja’s gaze landed on someone familiar. She knew her scent. She knew her voice.
“I can see you haven’t aged well. Meryl.” Freja’s eyes narrowed on the woman, who walked closer and folded her arms over her chest.
“Tch. Such a vile child. You really are a disgrace and need to be eliminated.” Meryl clicked her tongue and shook her head in disgust. There was no reason for her existence. It was an abomination. Her mother was stupid. How could she mate with a vampire?
Freja,Ember whimpered.
Shhh.Freja felt part of her weakening inside the crystal barrier.
“How did you know?” Freja asked in an airy voice.
Meryl’s lips curled upward viciously. She walked to the side as she studied the girl on the ground, the sound of her shoes clacking against the wooden floor echoing off the walls. At the end of the room, a fire crackled in the fireplace. The smell of wood burning wafted through the air. She sighed and looked down at Freja.
“Now, did you really think I wouldn’t find out what was going on with the other coven leaders? You know the saying: ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’” Meryl shrugged. “Well, in this case, I already knew those damn women thought I wasn’t good enough to lead the coven. No one was. Who could fill your mothers’ shoes? I was just the tolerable replacement. I knew from the beginning they would try to get me out of this position. So I worked on finding reliable sources from within their covens. Erica’s damn coven was sealed tight. Those snobs wouldn’t even look my way.” She clicked her tongue and sneered at Freja.
“But Myra’s coven … that was different. Her advisor was someone I became close to. She knew just enough to let me know when you would be attacking and that somehow you had broken the blood potion. Impressive. You must tell me how you managed that before I kill you.” Meryl tilted her head to the side and cocked her eyebrows up.
“Tell you?” Freja spat out. “The woman who sent the demons to kill me and my parents?”
“Oh? You knew? Well, oh, dear me. I guess that secret is out.” Meryl straightened up and raised her hand over her chest, feigning remorse.
“How deep are you in with the demons?” Freja’s other leg began to tremble as it weakened. She planted a hand on the floor to help support her body. Little by little, her energy was being drained from her.
“I’ve abandoned balance and have chosen the winning side, of course. The Briar Coven will be aiding the demons when the time comes. That is the agreement we’ve reached. So many questions from someone who is about to die.” Meryl looked around the room, a bit bored. “Maybe we should speed this process up some?” Her lips pulled up over her teeth as she flicked her wrist at Freja, shooting an electric bolt into her body.She laughed as a loud scream of pain ripped through Freja’s throat. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and she relished the sight of Freja’s blood pooling onto the floor. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to have those boards replaced.”
A jar broke in front of Hunter, filling the room with a scarlet cloud of dust. The two witches smirked in triumph. But through the crimson cloud, they saw a set of eyes coming closer to them, and they both gasped. “How are you moving? Why didn’t the werewolf potion affect you?” one witch breathed out shakily.
Hunter lunged forward, attacking the first witch while the other slashed at him with a knife. He yipped and snarled, turning his attention to the second witch. A deafening bang came from behind him. He turned his head to see the door lying on the floor and a gigantic bear standing on top of it.
