HANNES
Her fire was all-consuming.
Her fire was everywhere.
Shewas fire…
The roars of battle muffled in the background.
Arnoldt’s blood was still splattered on my form after ripping his head, and the rest of him off piece by miserable piece. The pleasure I got from ending Arnoldt SchwarzWölfe’s miserable life should be disturbing, but it filled me with a sense of virtuous justice I couldn’t deny, and frankly, I didn’t give a fuck.
He was no longer the Alpha of the new RavenWolf pack in the U.S., but most importantly, he would never be Natasha’s tormentor again.
Arnoldt was nothing now. He was gone.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for the second loser in command. Ryker had escaped my claws alive, but not beforeI put the fear of the Moon Goddess in him. Those fucking Vampires with fake powers had gotten in my way but they, too, would pay for that. The next time we met, they would learn what ReinheitWölfe justice felt like.
In an ill-fated twist of events, Arnoldt’s blood now mixed with my own through the disintegrating white blazer. The fire burned through what was left of my suit, scorching my skin and muscles like I, too, was nothing.
As though I weren’t the motherfucking Iron Prince.
Untouchable. Indestructible. Unshakable… until today.
“I’m not afraid of anything, Natasha. I’m your shield, remember? Nothing can hurt me…”
The words I’d uttered mere seconds ago danced in the night, mocking me as Natasha’s fire managed to accomplish what nothing else ever had… hurt me.
Shock, disbelief, and alarm ran through me even as Dante shot hisTwilightat me over and over, desperately trying to extinguish the power that was turning my skin molten—like plastic.
Then, there was the pain.
Natasha’s hand flew to her mouth, attempting to muffle the sobs trying to escape her; her rare, blueish-silver eyes filled with horror.
The sight of her anguish destroyed a piece of me her fire could never reach. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault. Tell her I’d be okay, but I was too busy swallowing the debilitating agony I was experiencing for the first time in my entire life.
Strangled grunts left me as I struggled to breathe and keep myself alert until Dante finally extinguished the vicious flames, the ones trying to consume my being. Already healed, Vanessa bit her wrist open for me, offering me her blood, which I accepted without hesitation because I needed to heal, to be there for my mate.
Sadly, with this being the first time something happened to me, I had no fucking clue how my body would react. Did I even have the normal Wolf Shifter healing outside my Iron Prince nature? The hard truth was, I wasn't exactly sure because I’d never needed it.
“They took her! Go after them. Go!”Dresden roared somewhere in the distance while Vanessa’s blood rushed through me.
Eventually, her venom began to heal my wounds, sending a much-needed breath of relief into my lungs. Unfortunately, her healing came much slower than anticipated from Vampire blood, as though the remnants of the blaze on my skin were still fighting to destroy me.
With the relentless scorching carving my being in merciless waves, I collapsed to my knees, the muscles of my chest jerking and contracting around the melted skin and fried nerves.
“I got you, big boy,” Vanessa whispered sweetly, lowering herself next to me so I could continue drinking from her as long as I needed.
“They didn’t take me, I’m right here!” Natasha shouted, her voice getting lost among the pounding in my head, urging every inch of me to go to her.
Chaos seemed to renew around us with her words, but I couldn’t go to her. I’d never felt as useless as I did right then.
I was her shield… I should not be on my knees.
“You are okay,Bruderherz. I’m here. I’m with you.” My twin sister knelt before me, placing a gentle hand on my cheek. The evidence of blood splatters all over her said she had destroyed a few bastards too.
Any other time I would have scoffed at her“little brother”endearment. There was nothing little about me, but when her gaze connected with mine, I realized that although Alyce’s words were sweet, true fear gripped her heart.
Fear for me.
