Calling the flames to my hand, I lifted it toward him, but frenzied growls and screeches came from behind me. Reacting, I sent a stream of fire over my shoulder, seeing the closest of five crawlers ignite instantly.
The others halted behind him, reacting to the only thing their numb minds recognized and feared—theEternal Blaze.
The memory of my fire burning every surface of Dante’s bathroom suddenly flashed in my mind.
“Burn the crawlers!” I ordered the blaze incinerating the one behind me and watched my flames burst to life, jumping from him to the nearest one, engulfing him too.
Just like they did to Dante’s bathroom, they rushed from one surface to the next without mercy—in this case, swiftly scorching the creatures one by one even when they began to run away on instinct.
For them, there was no escaping my fire.
One of them was faster, but the last flame jumped to his leg before he could get away, and he stumbled onto another crawler, igniting him too. They both thrashed on the sand as their ragged shrieks split the air, my blaze finishing its mission.
Thank you, Natalia.
Back to saving Hannes. Glancing at him, I realized I was still too far, and I didn’t want to send a fireball to him in case whatever power theDark Onehad used had affected him. While I dragged myself closer to theBeasty Popsicle, Bjørnblinkedin front of us, taking in the scene.
I gripped his hand urgently.
“TheDark Onebecomes invisible, and he can block the effect our abilities have so nothing hurts him. It’s how he protects himself.” I swiftly caught him up to speed wheezing from the agonizing pain shooting from the injury on my right leg. “Only André’s solar flare was able to affect him a bit, but he escaped.” I paused trying to remember what else. “Oh! And he can also spew some sort of freezing smoke. He captured Hannes.”
Bjørn’s face paled when he saw my mate and the claw protruding from my skin.
“We are fine. I got him and I can heal myself. Go hunt that asshole!”
Nodding, he scanned the battlefield, his gaze glowing while he swiftly searched, looking beyond the physical world and into the ethereal realm of all energy.
“Got him!” he growled,blinkingaway andgoingafter him without hesitation. He reappeared several yards away, literally dragging theDark Oneback into the physical world.
A clash of titans ensued when they began to fight each other, everyone getting out of their way, even the mindless crawlers, but I was too concerned about my sexy Wolf Shifter Prince to pay attention.
Finally next to him, I called the fire to my hand and slowly lifted it to him. The heat began to emanate from it, causing the frozen surface to shine as it began to change. With luck, I’d able to melt his subzero prison.
Cracks expanded all along his chest suddenly, and the ice exploded, sending shards all over the air and forcing me to cover my face. Lucky for me, the projectiles melted the second they came near me my fire.
The Beast’s ferocious roar reverberated through the field once he freed himself, muscles bulging with rage along his body… then, he saw me.
Flawlessly shifting back to the man, Hannes knelt over me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “A little bummed I couldn’t melt the sexyBeasty Popsicle… I was going to lick it too.”
That dangerously adorable smile I loved captured his lips and he kissed me, bringing me fiercely into his arms as relief coursed through both of us.
A grimace twisted my face when my leg shifted, and my gaze focused on the injury.
His attention went straight to where I pointed, and dread spread over his face.
“My blood helped my dad, and it will help me too. I just need you to pull the claw out.” Gritting my teeth, I prepared myself for the pain that would come, moving my leg closer to him.
His gaze focused on the wound, and he let his claws extend again, using their very tip to carefully pull out the twisted, venomous piece.
I almost wished that he had yanked it out. A stifled moan left me, and I held on to him, trying to breathe the pain away.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“I’m sorry, Natasha. This is my fault. I should have seen him coming. I?—”
“It wasn’t your fault, Hannes,” I swore because it was true. “He was invisible and suddenly appeared before me. No one could have known.”
