Fear crawled like icy vines over my being, and I realized that those creatures were even more dangerous than I’d ever imagined. A vicious snarl also escaped my throat, my canines sharpening as my wolf pushed against my skin with her need to fight the monster, and patches of her white fur burst from my skin.
Adrenaline rushing through me, I tried to jump into the fight to help Ryker—sure he’d been a huge asshole to me, but I didn’t want him killed. Unfortunately, I could barely see them anymore, the shadows had completely cloaked them in a swirl of death.
Damn it.
“Vampires!” I yelled again, but no one came. Where were the Hunters? Couldn’t they hear me?
Hating myself for not being able to fully shift, I whirled around and ran back into the clearing. “Help! Vampires are attacking?—"
Heart slamming against my chest, I watched in horror as the same darkness swirled through the clearing, obscuring the creatures now attacking the Hunters too.
“Get into the cabin, now!” Isis ordered, running full speed toward me.
Yet, my eyes frantically searched for the innocent caught in this fight. “The cubs, the breeders?—!"
Her arms caught me before I could even move, and Isis lifted me clear off the ground, running toward our house with me in her arms like a footie ball.
“Stop, we have to help!”
“The breeders and cubs are safe in their houses,” she assured, placing me on my feet and slamming the door behind us. “Yes, even the Omegas,” she added when my mouth opened to ask.
Whirling around, she rushed to the window, peaking through the blinds at the fight outside.
Pulse racing, I walked after her, dread capturing me whole when I noticed the slashes and dripping blood on our hunters, while they slipped in and out of the swirling darkness somehow aiding the Vampires’ attack. “I have to?—”
“No. You don’t. I know you want to help but I cannot let you go out there, Natasha. I can’t let anything happen to you. Even if I have to restrain you myself, you are staying here. I’m sorry.”
Legs trembling from adrenaline, breath accelerating out of control, I walked back to the table, pacing the tiny room. I knew Isis, and if she said I wasn’t going anywhere, then not even the Goddess herself would get me out of her sight.
Then something else occurred to me, and I spun on my heels, staring at her. “They were here since the morning,” I gasped. “They have been here all day, watching us and waiting for theperfect time to attack. You said there was no danger, Isis. You said it was nothing, you said we were safe?—”
“Therewasno danger this morning. And itwasnothing,” she assured, seeming troubled by the turn of events. “Something changed,” she added, talking to herself more than to me as her gaze seemed lost in thought. “This is not nothing, this is something else entirely.”
Turning to face me, the anger, frustration, and undiluted concern marring her beautiful features became abundantly clear. She briefly paced too, clearly desperate to go outside herself but unable to leave my side in her duty to protect me.
As she came closer, her eyes fell on my hands, and both sadness and irritation transformed her expression. “Damn instincts to protect,” she mumbled, taking my hands in her, and lifting them to inspect my ripped nail beds.
It was only then that I felt the pain running through my hands and arms from the partial shift. Patches of white fur scattered along my arms, my canines had extended to their full length in my mouth, puncturing my lips, and my spine was on fire.
“It’s okay, baby girl. It’s going to be okay,” she soothed, turning to the closet to pull out the healing potion.
“It’s no use,” I interjected. “My wolf is not going to retreat, not with what’s happening outside.”
“I know.” She slowly nodded. “Drink it anyway.”
Unfortunately for me, when I took the first sip, only a few drops fell on my tongue… “I guess I drank more than usual yesterday.”
Isis cursed, realizing the bottle was empty. “I was going to refill it this evening, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” I assured, because it wasn’t. Normally, the Witch she bought the healing potions from in the human city, only needed to refill the bottle once every three months,neither of us would have expected I would need so much of it this time.
Turning, she grabbed the salve instead and began to carefully spread it over my fingers and nails, needing to take care of me. I didn’t have the heart to remind her of my wolf not going anywhere any time soon.
We sat on the bed for a while, holding hands while I prayed to a goddess that didn’t exist for our pack to be safe and survive the Vampire attack. The fight could still be heard outside, and every once in a while, the noises came too close for comfort, but Isis stood each time, guarding the door.
Unexpectedly, all sound disappeared.
Our eyes connected and I jumped from the bed. “What?—?”
