Silas held nothing back; he’d gone for the kill within the first two seconds and I hadn’t been prepared. Brayden’s human form was thrown against the back of the cage like a tornado had lifted him up and carried him there. He was held there like a butterfly pinned to a board. Neither male had even shifted into wolf form, and I wondered if they would at all.
The crowd roared with excitement and Lynnette gasped, “Oh, it seems we have some Greywolf power on display today.”
Maddy dropped to the ground beside me. “Now,” she said.
Silas could walk up and rip Brayden’s head off while he stood there frozen and I’d have to watch. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
Taking a deep breath through my nose, I did as Castiel had taught me and felt for the well of power that lay deep inside of me. It was expansive and never-ending, and when I sensed it I reached out and pulled it to me.
Brayden dropped from the back of the cage wall, and with a flick of his wristSilaswent flying this time.
The crowd gasped; even Lora got out of her chair, stumbling across the stage in shock. My gaze went to Leah and she winked at me.
Holy crap. Just as I’d hoped, they uncapped all of her power too. It was like two full-blown Greywolves fighting against each other.
“WREN!” Lora’s high-pitched bellow rang through the entire great hall.
She knew. Leah was in trouble now. Lora thought she was Wren.
“We have two fully-powered-up Greywolves fighting each other tonight, folks! What a treat.” Lynette sounded nervous but was obviously trying to make this seem planned and keep the crowd from panicking.
Lora walked over to a group of fae guards and whispered something to them, but I couldn’t look at her any longer. My eyes were peeled on the two men tearing into each other in the cage.
It was as if Brayden held an invisible whip in his hand and he was lashing into Silas with each hit. I felt Silas reach for my power but I held on to it, and a searing pain laced up my back, taking my breath away.
“Averly…” Maddy looked at me with concern.
Silas tipped his head back and roared. There was so much going on, with confusion down below, as Lora gunned it for Leah, but I couldn’t focus on it. I was in a fight for Brayden’s life. I had to hold on to this power so that Silas couldn’t use it, so that Brayden could end him.
Lora must have caught on to what was happening, because she screamed to end the fight. The Fae Lords were telling her to calm down. The pain in my back had moved to my head.
I looked up at the cage Silas now fought in and met his angry gaze. The bars were glowing blue and I peered at him through them. My lips curled and I gave him what I hoped was a sadistic grin.
Bye-bye, asshole.
The fear that crossed his face just then brought me untold joy. Maddy and I had lived in that same fear for a year, and today that would end.
Now.
Silas tried one last time to yank on my power and fresh hot pain sliced through my body. It was sharp and sudden, like someone had tried to rip my very guts out. A scream of agony tore from my throat as I pulled the power back into me.
Brayden transformed his face into his wolf form, and when his muzzle went around Silas’ throat, I held my breath. The crunch of bone and flesh was magnified throughout the space as Brayden ripped Silas’ throat clean out. The pain encompassing me instantly fled and I collapsed to the floor of my cage.
“No!” Lora’s guttural cry shook the walls, causing small cracks to appear in the stone. The cheering crowd went silent. My cuffs unlocked and hit the floor, and Maddy looked at me with a panicked expression.
It was go-time. It was all happening so fast, but I couldn’t let Brayden down, or Castiel for that matter.
‘Get ready!’I told Natalie, knowing she would relay it to Castiel.
With the portal egg tucked firmly in my sock, I stood and called my full Greywolf power to me. It was the first time I’d called it without having these cuffs on or having to filter it through Silas while he was asleep in the dead of night.
It was raw, wild, and slightly terrifying. My entire body shook softly, vibrating as I struggled to contain it.
Pandemonium filled the ballroom. Most of the partygoers knew when a good time was over and were now heading for the exits. Lora was gunning for Leah; the other Fae Lords looked so surprised they were unsure what to do. Brayden was grasping the glowing blue bars of the cage, bending them with extreme strength so that he could escape.
I reached out, following Brayden’s lead, and yanked at the blue glowing bars. A shock of pain zipped up my arms and then down my spine, but I pushed through it, allowing my Greywolf power to absorb and transmute it. With a final grunt, the bars ripped open wide enough that Maddy and I could jump through. I went first, dropping ten feet into a crouch, and then Maddy landed beside me.
“Get Mace. Now or never! I’ll protect Leah,” she told me, and I nodded.
