Page 84 of Bad Blood Alpha

Chapter 33

They ran across the ankle-high grass. A shadow passed over them, and Caitlyn swooped down to fly in front of them.

That was the whole team safe, so far. Flynn, still carrying Mayah, looked around for Emon. There was no sign of the black dragon, which might be just as well. He didn’t know anywhere they could gate to with an insane dragon who wouldn’t turn human.

He’d help Kira look for him later. Right now, the black dragon was better off than they were. They had to get their asses over that ridge. With Ragnor unable to give them orders, maybe the hellhounds wouldn’t chase them.

Damn it to hell, he’d jinxed them.

Behind them, faint howls ripped the air. Flynn risked a glance behind them. There were almost a dozen of them, bounding over the grass impossibly fast.

Six of them split off, three on the right and three on the left, circling around to get in front of them.

Oh, hell no. “Sloan!”

“I see them.” Sloan tossed a grenade to Caitlyn, who caught it in her talons and flew off to the right. Sloan lobbed another to the left.

Twin explosions, and the hellhounds flanking them flew through the air. But the others were almost on them.

They stopped and faced them down—Sloan and Flynn with bullets, Kira with magic. She was a warrior goddess, lightning flashing from her hands. They sent the hounds flying back, and started running again.

There were more howls behind them. They kept running.

The ground started to slope up, and the going was slower. Just a little further. Less than a quarter of a mile.

The howls grew louder, until they were a wild chorus of sound. They all slowed, stopped and turned.

Ragnor was galloping toward them on a giant beast—some kind of enormous six-legged reptile. Surrounding him was his army of hellhounds.

He came to a stop at the bottom of the slope, his magically augmented voice booming out. “You cannot escape. Surrender now, before my hounds tear you to pieces!”

Sloan panted, “Can we cross over yet?”

Kira shook her head. “And even from a standstill, they’ll be on us before we reach the top.”

“Caitlyn,” Flynn ordered. “Fly Sloan out.”

She landed and Changed, shaking her head. “No. We’re not leaving you.”

Flynn put all his alpha juice into his command. “Do it!”

Her face mutinous, Caitlyn Changed back to owl and grasped Sloan’s upper arms with her talons. She beat her wings, rising off the ground.

Ragnor said, “You have five seconds.”

Flynn turned to Kira. “I love you,” he said. “No regrets.”

He could see the tears that burned in her eyes, but she held them back. “No regrets. I love you.”

He slid Mayah to the ground, raised his weapon, and fired into the army of hellhounds.

As they surged forward, he heard another roar—but this one was behind him. A huge, ringing battle cry, as if from a hundred voices.

The hellhounds slowed down, looking past Flynn toward the top of the ridge. He turned.

Cresting the ridge was an army of shifters, animal and human. Leading the charge was Jace Monroe, alpha of the Silverlake pack, with his mate Emma at his side, dressed for battle. Kane Colton of the Silverlake Enforcers. Jesse Travis of Silverlake flanked by a tiger and a coal-black wolf—his mate Sophia and his best friend Rafe, leading all their warriors, in wolf and human form. And Donnie Jenkins of the Hunter Mountain pack, with all his wolves at his back.

And the Bad Bloods. Xander and Jenny in black panther form, flowing down the ridge like demons from hell. Jasmin and Brody in their full-on pure white battle forms, Monster Wolf and Monster Kitty, power crackling from their hides. Tank, the Protector Bear, big as a house and glowing with silver magic.