“What you're refusing to believe, it's true. And I apologize for forcing you here and locking you up like a hostage, and forcing you to marry me. The beast inside me couldn't see you in danger. I did the only thing I could to protect you.”
“The b-beast…?” Sophie stammers, her bottom lip quivering.
As I nod slowly, my mind snaps open, communication from the mind link I share with my pack members as a message coming through.
“Alpha! There's a breach on the border! Demon! West of Red Moon!”
The volatile moment is lost when I hear the panic in my delta's voice.
“I'm on my way!”I respond, snapping out of the mind link and looking at Sophie, who appears stunned as she stares at my face.
She must have witnessed my eyes shifting in intensity when the telepathic message came through.
I place both my hands on her shoulders, feeling a surge of energy rush through my pain. I don't mean to siphon energy from her, or drain her in any way, but whatever happens magically between us, because of the fated mate bond, is what I needed to strengthen my resolve. It flows through my veins like red-hot adrenaline, and Sophie gasps as if she feels it, too.
“I have to go,” I tell her. “My sol—my friends are calling me.” I correct, not wanting to overwhelm her with too much information. Not yet.
“H-how…?”
“It will all make sense soon, Sophie,” I assure her. “I promise.”
Sophie only stares at me with wide, doe eyes of uncertainty, and I have no idea what comes over me—perhaps a surge of protectiveness toward my fated mate—but I lean in and press a kiss to her forehead.
“Don't go outside. No matter what you hear.”
She stares at me innocently through the veil of dark lashes, nodding timidly, brows furrowing slightly as I remove my hands from her shoulders and step back.
Whatever animosity was between us is only slightly soothed, and right now, I have the demons to worry about. But I don't stop staring at Sophie until I'm at the door, swiftly turning on the porch and rushing down the stairs. Only when I'm around the corner do I shift into wolf form, landing on cushioned paws that feel firmer than they've ever felt, my heart pounding with adrenaline and a strength so profound that the river speaks to me again.
I take a deep breath and feel my wolf lungs filling with the elemental power of water while the river gathers to my command, swept up by the motion of me passing by. I peel my teeth back as if I'm smirking proudly, my chest puffing out with that same pride as the river follows me, bending to my will, crossing the banks where it usually rests. Nothing can stifle my power, not even the barriers holding the river to its flow.
The scent in the air shifts to the potent evidence of my wolves, along with the pungent smell of grease and gore and death.
My heart hammers against my wolf's ribs, and I thunder forward, where some of my soldiers are snarling at the obsidian apparition floating in the air.
Coiled like smoke and hovering above the ground, the demon lashes forward, hitting one of the soldiers. The others lunge for it, but I howl as I bring forth the power of our dormant magic.
Water sloshes forward, shaped like a majestic dagger that pierces through the demon. It screeches when it's hit, the blacksmoke cracking apart and shattering into tiny pieces. I stop with an abrupt halt, my wolves gathering in front of me with awe in their eyes.
“Our magic has reawakened!”I shout to them through the mind link, a growl vibrating in my chest. “Get ready to fight, Red Moon!”
The smell of the demon doesn't disappear, and my hackles rise as I sense the reappearance of the ghastly beast. I press my paws into the ground, and my soldiers do the same, as we raise every droplet of water from the earth’s surface.
When the demon takes form in the air again, my soldiers leap forward, penetrating it with the droplets formed like bullets in the air. I only have a brief moment to be proud that my wolves have regained their ability to wield water, because another warning screech slices through my right ear, prompting me to snap my head in the direction of another demon entering pack territory.
My wolf eyes fly wide when I realize it's headed toward my cabin.
“Sophie!”my inner wolf roars, my ears perking up, fur prickling with attention as I spin on my hind legs and race back toward the cabin as the demon soars forward through the air.
I chase the underworldly creature until it circles the roof of my cabin as if it found its target, and I let out a roaring howl when I hear the front door slamming open.
“Sophie! No!”I howl, but of course, she can't hear me through the mind link.
The demon gives another warning screech before black smoke curls into a tornado that descends to the front of my house. I kick myself forward, rounding the side of the cabin, onlyto come to an abrupt stop when I see Sophie standing on the porch.
My jaw drops, because what I'm looking at isn't the Sophie I know.
No.
