Anger filled Michael as he realized he was being toyed with. Turning, he spied a big, red-headed man shouting as his broadsword pierced the heart of one of his wolves. Howling in fury, Michael’s wolf attacked the kilted man, his claws slicing through his chest.
Zane watched in horror as Michael’s wolf pinned Angus, injuring him badly. Leaping from the top of the boulder and landing alongside Michael, Zane dug his claws into Michael’s side, raking them across his belly. Blood spurted over him, staining his white fur red as Michael’s wolf howled in pain. Zane retracted his claws letting Michael fall to the ground, then shifting, he lifted Angus, sprinting across the battlefield with him, dodging men, swords and wolves.
Reaching the edge of the woods, Zane placed Angus on the ground in front of Ian and Colton. “Help him!” he shouted before shifting and running back to the fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone running away but ignored it as he entered the battle once more, taking down another wolf before tackling the next.
Kieran saw Angus’ men finally get the upper hand as they now out-numbered the wolves.Macushla, now!
Circling the battlefield, Logan roared, laying down a ring of fire to prevent the wolves from escaping. Swooping lower on another pass, he intensified the flames, making them higher.
Perfecto macushla! Oh look, the wolves are shifting and surrendering.
Looking down, Logan spied Zane’s red-spotted white fur, hoping his brother was okay. As Angus’s men surrounded Michael’s men, pushing them into a tight circle with their broadswords, Logan saw his brother shift and was relieved to see he wasn’t wounded.
Macushla, quick! Back to Ian! Angus is dying!
Following his mate’s order, Logan landed near Ian and Colton, shifting as soon as Kieran jumped off. Hurrying over to where Angus lay on the ground—pale and still—Logan was sure they’d lost him. Then he saw his brother reach out his fingers and touch Angus’ chest.
Colton held his breath, calling on Archangel Raphael to help him. Feeling the power surging through him, it exited through his fingertips into Angus’ body. A blinding green light flash filled the air. Removing his fingers, Colton waited.
~/~/~/~/~
Michael pushed against his stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood as he stumbled through the woods, searching for his backpack, needing his phone to call for help. Each step he took became harder than the last; he was growing weaker and weaker. He needed to shift, but the pain was too much for his body, making it impossible even though he knew it might help him. The only thing keeping him going was his anger at walking into a trap; he tried to concentrate on how it happened, hoping it would keep his pain at bay.
As the sounds of the battle faded, he inched along, forced to stop often to gain enough strength to put one foot in front of the other. Refusing to quit, he concentrated on a new plan for capturing David. Thinking back to his fight with the white wolf, Michael groaned when he realized itwasDavid’s mate he attacked.Dammit, that motherfucker has the same ability to vanish and reappear whenever and wherever. But I have a way to handle that.
Cursing his slow progress, Michael pushed himself harder, though blood was still dripping from his gut, eager to put his scheme into action. First, though, he had to find out more about David’s mate—he now had an alternate, someone who’d be just as useful as David. Finally seeing his backpack, Michael reached up to grab it but a sharp pain forced him to drop his outstretched arm and tuck it tight against his body.
Panting due to the pain and effort he’d exerted, Michael fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath and quiet his body. After resting a few moments, he looked up, wondering what ever made him put the fucking backpack up so high. Shaking his head at his stupidity, his eyes searched for a stick, long and strong enough to hook the bag off the branch. Finally, seeing one, he grabbed hold of the tree trunk to pull himself up and then stumbled over to get it.
Before he made it there, a scent filled his nose, causing him to turn and peer into the forest. “Tyson,” he called. “Come here, I need your help.” Silence. Then a man stepped out of the shadows.
“You hurt?” Tyson asked, sniffing the coppery scent of blood.
Grateful that at least one of his men had escaped, Michael said, “Yeah…can you reach my backpack? I need my phone.”
Taking a careful step forward, Tyson asked, “Are you calling Brenda?”
Alarm bells sounded in Michael’s head when he heard the question, but he quickly rejected them, racking it up to his injury. “Of course, but first I need to call a doctor so he can treat my wound and help it close. Hand me my phone once you got my backpack down.”
“Why don’t you shift?” Tyson asked, stepping closer.
“Because I can’t, the wound’s too deep. What’s with the twenty questions, Tyson? I’m your boss. Do as I say. Now get me my fucking phone!”
Staring at his panting boss before retrieving the backpack, Tyson removed the phone, then dropping the backpack, walked up to Michael. Handing him the phone, he looked around, making sure they were alone. Satisfied, he moved behind Michael and put him in a headlock.
Grabbing Tyson’s arm, Michael feebly tugged at it but was too weak to break the hold. As the grip tightened around his neck, slowly cutting off his air supply, he rasped, “Why…why?”
“You fucking asshole! Hiring someone to kill Brenda! Guess what? She’s not dead! You know why? Because she’s smarter than you’ll ever be. She knew your greed was gonna drive you to kill her. Fucking stupid asshole! Did you ever think about the men she fucked at that whorehouse?”
Loosening his grip on Michael’s neck just enough to keep him from passing out until he’d finished, Tyson went on. “Are you finally putting the pieces together, asshole? That’s right, one of her customers was the one you hired to kill her. You dumbshit! While you were acting high and mighty, she was trading her services forinformation. You know how I know this?” Tyson snarled.
“Because Brenda’s my fucking sister!” Tyson smirked, before ripping out Michael’s throat and throwing his lifeless body down. Then he picked up the phone and backpack and headed into the forest to call his sister and let her know the job was done.
~/~/~/~/~
Angus felt the power surge infuse his body, saw the green flash of light, and then felt his organs, muscles, and skin begin to heal while he lay on the ground. Scenting his king, the consort, Logan and Kieran surrounding him, Angus remained still, stunned at the power the consort had.
Colton watched Raphael’s power at work, smiling as he saw Angus’ mortal wounds heal, leaving thin pink lines. “Angus, how do you feel?” he asked.
