I just?—
I killed him.
Ikilledsomeone. With magic.
My stomach lurches, but there’s no time to process because another coven member is already screaming an incantation and Rowan is there, silver fur streaked with blood, tearing through shields like paper. Micah flanks him, the two of them working in perfect sync as they take down witch after witch.
The coven is falling apart. Now that their numbers have dwindled, Kyle is staying off to the sidelines, focused on avoidinghits rather than throwing them. And he knows my alphas are targeting him. Without his guidance, the coven members are just individuals. And individuals don’t stand a chance against a pack.
Most of them are down now. Dead or dying or fled. I see bodies in dark robes scattered across the meadow, Rowan standing over someone who’s stopped moving, Micah circling back toward Sean, who’s?—
Sean.
I feel his pain like it’s my own.
So much pain, and beneath it a stubbornness that refuses to quit. He’s still fighting, trying to drag himself toward the battle even with blood pouring down the side of his face.
Oh, gods, hiseye. I can’t tell if it’s gone or just swollen shut and there’s too much blood to be sure.
I have to get to him, but I feel the bond pulling me toward Killian, too. Stretching desperately in four different directions.
Killian is injured, but I can’t feel pain from him, just exhaustion and a resignation that scares the hell out of me. Like he’s already decided how this ends.
No.
Kyle is retreating. I see him backing toward where Rebecca and Kara stand, the silver-haired healer’s hands glowing with that sickly light that can kill as easily as cure. Three other men flank them. Taylor, Jason, and a newcomer Kyle must have swapped Paul out for. The one guy who occasionally dared to question him.
That checks out.
“Call it off,” I demand, stalking toward them. My hands are still glowing. Ryan’s body is behind me, and I don’t look at it. “Call off the werewolf.”
Kyle laughs. “Why would I do that? Your alpha is keeping it occupied. By the time it’s done with him, we’ll be long gone.”
“You turned that thing loose on a campus full of innocent people, and you don’t think the Council will come for you?” I seethe.
“Me?” He arches an eyebrow. “You’re the one who let it loose the first time. And those areyoursigils on its collar.” He must see the shock on my face that I can’t quite manage to mask, because his lips stretch into a wicked grin. “You left pieces of yourself behind when you ran in the middle of the night, Regina. You should know better than that.”
“They won’t believe you,” I grit out, even though I’m not sure. I’m a rogue siphon who bonded with the most troublesome wolf pack in the tristate area. Killian’s family may be rich and powerful, but that doesn’t mean they’re well liked. Only that the other supernaturals have no choice but to tolerate them.
“I think they will,” Kyle sneers. “Especially when they see the casualties here, from us tryingso diligentlyto stop you.” His voice drips with false sincerity as he stretches out his hands toward his dead followers strewn across the grass. “Stormvale can deal with the consequences of preventing me from taking what’s mine.”
The portal opens behind him and he steps through without a backward glance.
The remaining coven members stare after him, their faces cycling through shock and betrayal. Taylor actually takes a step toward the closing portal, like he’s thinking about following until it closes in his face.
Rowan, who lunged the second Kyle tried to go through, lands a few feet away with an indignant snarl.
Rebecca turns to me, fury replacing her surprise. “This is your fault. Everything was fine until you?—”
“Don’t tell me you’re surprised,” I interrupt. “He was always going to abandon you the second things got hard. That’s what Kyle does.”
I guess she’s finally realizing her prince charming isn’t the prize, after all.
Her face twists. She raises her hands, magic gathering between her palms. Sean and Micah put themselves between me and Rebecca, while Rowan tries to close the distance between them since he’s closest, clearly ready to tear out her throat. I call my own magic to the surface and brace for impact?—
Green fire erupts from the ground.
Not my fire or my magic.
