A mage was sprawled near the entrance, a knife protruding from her chest. Max’s scent was on her, and he bit back a growl, nudging Max to his other side to keep her out of Max’s line of sight.
He needn’t have worried. As soon as the den came into view, so did the source of the growls and snarls and crunching of furniture.
Three more kids were pressed against the back wall, but he dismissed them as a non-threat for the moment.
Two large white wolves circled the room like sharks. Blood oozed from dozens of wounds, splattered across carpet and walls alike. The wolves looked nearly identical, except for the scars visible on the left shoulder and foreleg of one. Which made the older one with gray aroundhis muzzle Kostas. They were both limping, their fur matted with blood. Caius had a nasty gash on his face that was bleeding into his eye.
“No,” Max hissed, rushing forward, but Quinn managed to catch him and drag him back before he got himself killed.
Both wolves paused when they noticed their new audience.
Kostas snarled before tipping his head back with a short howl. A call to attack.
Quinn drew his dagger and checked the hall before focusing on the kids, but they showed no sign of responding. He wasn’t sure where the new threat was until Max grunted and hunched forward, flames licking the air around him. His magic smelled bitter beneath the usual smoky warmth of his fire.
“Fucking hell.” He shoved the dagger back into its sheath. “Max, stop,” he hissed, but Max showed no sign of hearing him.
The flames grew brighter and hotter until Quinn finally realized what smelled wrong about him. Kostas had bound Max.
He didn’t have long to fix this. Already the flames were coalescing around Max’s hand into a deadly fireball. When Max lifted his hand and aimed at Caius, Quinn did the only thing he thought might work.
“Cap! Arty!” he yelled. He didn’t have time to make sure Caius understood. He grabbed Max from behind with one arm and clamped his other hand on the wrist with the fireball.
“Don’t fight me,” he snarled, pushing his will into the bond despite how much he hated to.
Max sagged against him and Quinn took full advantage, steadying Max’s palm. Caius was crouched as he faced off against Kostas, and Quinn desperately hoped this would work. He covered Max’s eyes with one hand, gave a quick pull with the other, and yelled, “Fire!”
He squinted against the heat and light as the fireball erupted from Max’s hand. The whoosh of the tiny inferno drowned out everything but a pained howl. The fire swirled around the wolf, filling nearly the entire room with flames and smoke. The fire alarm went off, but the flames eating their way across the ceiling and into the hall killed it, the beeps dying out in a pitiful screech.
“Max! Get rid of the fire before we all die!”
Max jerked against him and crashed to his knees. He threw an arm towards the large bay window and the flames howled, shattering the glass as they spiraled through the window and out of the house.
Silence fell in their wake.
Quinn coughed, grimacing at the smell of burning fur and flesh. When he cracked his eyes open, he saw a charred and crispy wolf writhing on the floor. Caius stood nearby, his head low and his sides heaving.
“Caius,” Max keened.
“He’s okay.” Quinn dropped his hands to Max’s shoulders and pressed his face into Max’s hair. “Good job.” When Caius let out a low growl, he lifted his head in time to see Caius rip Kostas’ throat out.
Max shuddered against him, and Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as the stench of Kostas’ bond vanished. Max pulled away and stumbled to Caius before dropping to his knees beside him. “Caius,” he whispered, lifting his hands to Caius’ bloody muzzle.
Caius leaned into the touch for a moment before shifting. His human flesh was as bloodied as his fur, but the worst of the injuries seemed to be healing.
Quinn turned away as something slammed into the front door, drawing both his daggers as the wood splintered.
The door flew open, and Lukas stalked inside.
Quinn didn’t hesitate before launching himself at Lukas, hooking both arms around his neck and pulling him down for a desperate kiss. “Fucker,” he growled between kisses. “What the hell happened?”
“Long story,” Lukas muttered, burying both hands in Quinn’s hair and holding him close.
He could definitely get used to that. He wanted nothing more than to drag Lukas into the nearest unoccupied bedroom, but the clatter of metal hitting the floor behind them reminded him there was a clusterfuck to clean up before anyone was getting any.
He reluctantly pulled away and turned to see the mage sitting up, a hand pressed to her ribs. “Impressive,” he said. “That would have killed most mages.”
“I’m not most mages,” she replied with a bland look. “And I have no agenda against any of you. This was one of my last missions for the Order before I get my freedom.”
