“Why?” Talia’s words were full of concern.

  “Easy, love. It’s no different than you trying to run away from me, from the pack. Do you not remember that? I had to run you down.” Joshua gave her a brilliant smile as he came up onto the porch. He went to take Pyper from her, but she swatted his hand away.

  “Leave her be, she’s fine.”

  “Such a fussy woman.” Joshua moved to stand against the wall.

  “What brings you two out of the “men only” war cabin?” I asked, snarkiness filling my voice. Dem gave me a look and smirked. Yes, I was a little pissy. I hated being stuck out here and not knowing what was going on in there. We’d tried multiple times, to no avail, I might add, to get into that dang cabin. Daddy and Uncle Trenton had it locked up tighter than a tick on a dog’s butt. Guards and shifters kept us at bay.

  “You are both worrying over nothing. It’s just the men talking over strategies,” Dem said. His Irish lilt filled his words. That made me scowl at him. If the Irish was showing then he was uneasy about something.

  “Demetrius,” I questioned.

  He looked away and shook his head.

  “Fine. Be like that!”

  I stood up, but something stopped me instantly. The air shifted and the hair on my arms stood on end. I tilt my head to the side and slowly scan the area.

  “Mari?” Dem’s voice was soft, close.

  I waved him off and slowly made my way down the porch stairs. The wind shifted slightly when my feet touched the ground.

  “What is that?”

  I heard Talia’s question, but I ignored it.

  One, I didn’t know, and two, something wasn’t right. I turned as the snapping of tree branches filled my ears. I went to take a step forward, but Talia grabbed my arm.

  I snarled - out of habit - and turned to see her eyes were blazing blue and unfocused. I glanced back. Pyper was curled up with Thor on the swing. I looked back to Talia.

  “Someone is coming….”

  Her words sent a shiver through me.

  Joshua and Dem were calling to us, but it was as if the sound of their voices were being funneled away from us.

  The whirl of the wind stopped almost as soon as it had started and we turned to see two women standing at the tree line. The snarls from behind us faded as well.

  “We mean you no harm, we just want the girl.”

  They spoke in unison. Thor snarled and I gave him the command to stay. My feet took me to the middle of the yard, Talia was right at my side. But it was Dem who spoke from behind us.

  “No one here is of your concern. Be gone with ya.”

  “Do not test my patience, Guardsman.”

  “Careful Heckle and Jeckle, or someone may drop a house on you.”

  His taunting was pissing them off. I could feel the power rolling off of them both. I opened up my senses just as Dem had shown me and looked at them through the eyes of my magic. The aura around them was blackened.

  I took a step closer and let the power in me start to unfold. It was as if a map was unfolding and I was following the path it had laid out for me. I just knew what to do. Talia half shifted next to me and snarled. Her body stood tall and deadly.

  “Holy sh..” I clamped my mouth shut as the two women moved closer. It was once again as if we were in a tunnel, one leading us to the next threat.

  Great!

  8

  Demetrius

  What. The. Actual. Fuck? We’d been standing around, calmly talking and now… I don’t know what was happening. The Prince, Alex and a few others came running our way, but something slowed them down.

  I tried to get to the girls with no luck. I too was slowed down by something. Joshua was making no progress as well. Whatever these people - fecking Druid’s - wanted, it wasn’t good. Shit was about to get real intense, real fast.

  There was an almost invisible barrier, keeping us from our mates. We watched, helpless, as the girls faced off with the women.

  After a moment, they shifted from where they stood and were no longer blocked from view by Mari and Talia. I recognized one of them and a snarl escaped me. Katia!

  “What in the hell is happening?” The Prince bellowed as he and Alex moved to stand beside Joshua and I. The wolf pack and guards were on their heels.

  “I don’t know,” Joshua said, his hand moving out to touch the barrier. His shout of surprise had us all stepping back. Joshua shifted, and snarled at the invisible wall that had sent a wave of energy through him. He quickly shifted back to his human form.

  “Oh, no,” the panic in Sheri’s voice had us turning to her. “Magic wielders! They hold dark magic.”

  Her growl of angry disapproval said more than the accompanying snarls from behind her.

  “Your Highness, we must find a way to get to them. One of those things, I sneered, “is called Katia. She is a dark Druid. She is the personal servant to the King.”

  “She’s an assassin. She’s...” Alex so helpfully added but stopped. His gaze went from mine to the Prince.

  “What is it, brother?” The Prince met Alex's gaze and with a flick of his eyes I knew they were speaking through their shared link.

  “Your Highness?” I questioned, his urgent growl of frustration as he locked eyes with the women before us had me on edge. Whatever Alex just told him, he wasn’t liking it one bit.

  His next words had the hairs on the back of my neck prickling.

  “The other is called Leena. She’s an elemental assassin. She, too, is different.”

  The Prince stepped up to the barrier and snarled. Everyone went deadly quiet. Both women snarled in return then looked back to the girls.

  “You will leave this place. You will not harm this innocent child. You will step away from our daughters. You should remember, our uncle is not the only one you should fear.”

  His voice never changed pitch, but we knew the moment they realized he was challenging them. Something told me that wasn’t a good idea.

  There was no sound from the woman other than their bodies shifting stances before they advanced on the girls.

  That was when things went from dangerous to ‘what the fuck was that’ deadly.

  Marissa

  The dark energy rolling off of these - things - made my skin crawl. I could feel the power pulling me towards them, but I pushed it back. A rumble from Talia’s half shifted panther had me cutting my eyes towards her. She was also fighting the pull they thought they had over us.

  “The King shall have your heads!”

  I braced myself, as did Talia. They thought they had us. Yeah, not today. If we lost they’d get to our families, and to that precious little one on the porch. I wasn’t having that. I saw that Talia had the same thoughts.

  Game. On. Bitches.

  The moment they advanced on us things got weird. There was no real time to process what was happening. It was literally fight, or die.

  The earth below me rumbled and a spout of dirt shot up from under me. I flipped backwards and used my power to slam the dirt into the bitch. She dodged my second attempt to sling dirt at her and advanced closer. With each wave of her hand, mine moved to block what she was doing. Just when I thought I had an advantage, my feet sank into the earth.

  “You stupid bitch!”

  I screamed in utter frustration and slammed my hands into the dirt; with a push of my power the earth under us rumbled. A geyser of earth shot up over us to surround us both in darkness.

  “You will die!!!”

  A body hit mine with a thud, catapulting us both backwards. Her words - which seemed to be on repeat - sent a chill through me. My head slammed into the earth and for a moment black spots formed in my vision. I pushed the pain aside. I could not be taken down by this - this, thing.

  I had to keep fighting.

  Strong hands wrapped around my throat and tightened, but not before I twisted, wrapping my arms and legs around her body. I jerked my body straight, and with some effort I pulled her arms from me. The hands on my throat loosened and I flipped us over.

  Her fist connected with my jaw.

  I saw big, bright stars. Pain ricocheted through me. It felt like a brick wall had just slammed into me.

  The anger I had been trying to control sprang forward.

  She started to shift under me. What the hell was she?

  I snarled, the darkness inside me taking k over. My fangs extended, I opened my mouth and my head fell forward. Her skin was pierced before she had time to react.

  Her scream filled the air, but it was no match to the accompanying scream from behind me. I jerked up from her neck, tearing her throat open, only to see Talia about eight feet off the ground, her claws embedded in… something.

  Whatever it was, it was fitting of Jurassic Park.

  Talia

  I’ve never taken on an opponent that made me feel physically sick. Nothing I had come across with the King's men, or in the training yards, had prepared me for this.

  The power, and vileness pouring off of this thing was choking me. She was fast, too. I’d ducked around her and was able to land a solid blow to her chest, only to be slammed onto the ground when she started to shift. It happened so fast I almost missed it.

  The shadow of a massive, ugly as all get out…. thing was now covering me. I scrambled back when it clacked it’s beak at me. Its red and white eyes stared back at me.

  Fear ran through me.

  I was not going to let this thing get the best of me. It looked like a big dinosaur kind of bird thing. It had feathers and it looked as if it’s face was covered in war paint.

  Great! I was facing off with the Goliath of creepy bird monsters.

  My panther took over as fear once again swamped me. Snarling, I leapt on the back of Big Bird’s ugly crazy cousin.. I was still in my half shifted state, and I could feel my power running through me, but there was something more there.

  Bone crunched when the creature slammed its beak into my side. I absorbed the pain and let it fuel my anger. I slashed with my claws, sank my teeth into its leathery, feather covered skin and tore at its body.

  I was flung off, but landed on my feet. A hiss escaped me. Not so fast.

  With a flap of it’s massive wings it was in the air. Its cry of pain as I leapt up once again, this time sinking my razor sharp claws into it’s flesh, would have had me giddy if not for the black blood running across my half shifted hands.

  What in the seven suns?

  “What are you?!” I growled out. I was having to hold on for dear life. It was trying its best to shake me off.

  The bird’s half red, half white eyes widened and it screeched. One of those, only dogs can hear, type of screeches. I guess cats could hear it too, though, since my ears were ringing.

  I used my claws to climb further up its body. With each new set of wounds it screeched in pain and anger. Its beak whacked me on the side of the head, which almost caused me to lose my grip, but I held on by digging my claws and fingers deeper into its flesh.

  This monster was not leaving here alive. She was dead the moment she stepped from the forest, she just hadn’t realized it then, but I’d make sure of it.

  Something inside me sprang forth. The darkness that usually hid from me pushed forward. With a snarl I pulled my hand back and knew what I needed to do. I plunged my clawed hand into the massive chest cavity, latched onto the beating heart of this thing and squeezed.

  We instantly dropped in altitude, though not enough. I gave the organ a yank. A squawk left the monster and my head spun, but I did not let go. I pushed all of my power into squeezing the organ. With a hard yank, it was pulled from her chest.

  Instantly we fell and I slammed into the ground with a grunt.

  Demetrius

  The barrier came down just as the second creature hit the ground. We took off running towards the girls. I slid to a stop as Marissa slowly got to her feet. She wobbled and fell into me. My arms wrapped around her.

  “Are ya ‘alright, love?”

  She didn’t speak any words she simply shook her head, “no”.

  Understandable. What we had all seen was intense, but she was right here, in the middle of this action, in the middle of the chaos. There was blood and other things on her clothes. I needed to get her cleaned up and have Sheri check her over for injuries.

  My gaze snapped to where Talia lay on the ground. She was talking but with the way she was wincing - I knew Sheri would be busy for a bit. I scooped Mari up and moved back towards the cabins.

  For now, I would get her cleaned up, and assess her injuries myself.

  Then, I’d have to talk to Alex and the Prince. I had a feeling their private chat needed to be shared. If what just happened was any indication of what’s to come, we’re all fucked.

  “What do you mean they have been… changed?” Alex roared, spittle flying from his mouth. The Prince put his hand on his brother’s shoulder to pull him back.

  “Rixon, please continue.”

  “The women that were here, they are assassins.”

  “We know that,” Alex spat.

  “Brother, be a kind man and shut up so the boy can answer my question.” The Prince cut his brother a look and with a huff Alex moved to stand against the far wall and glared at Rixon.

  “As I was saying, these assassins are not your normal kind of assassin.” Rixon looked a little nervous now, but he carried on with his words, “they are-were Reapers. A special breed of being used to eliminate others of power.”

  “Hold up. That is a fable? Yes?” I asked.

  “Sort of. It is real, the stories have been twisted over the years. As a member of the Druid Council I am privy to such things. I assure you, I wish this wasn’t the case but as your daughters have both spilt the blood of a Reaper, they shall also become Reapers. Female Reapers… they are very rare. Highly volatile and aggressive. With the powers that circulate between Natalia and Marissa already... We are lucky they are on the the side of good. If they were as the two they killed were-”

  “None of us would be standing at this point.” The Prince’s words had Rixon nodding and Alex growling from the place he stood.

  “Demetrius?”

  I turned to Alex. His brows were pulled together.

  “You sure she was okay when you left her?”

  “Aye. She was sleeping soundly.”

  “Our only worry then is Talia?”

  “Yes, Your Highness.

  “She is fighting the effects of the blood running through her, changing her. I am not sure why it did not hit Marissa as it did Talia.”

  The Prince sounded so lost.

  I frowned.

  “It was because she was in her Shifter form. Her two halves are fighting it together. We should give her a little time. If not, Marissa should be able to help her. We just have to wait and see how her body handles the change first.”

  Waiting. I hated waiting. As did every other man in this room. Great!

  9

  Marissa

  I’d been in a funky, out of body type of daze for what seemed like forever. In reality it had only been a day, but it was a very long day. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything that had happened to us in that fight. There was something off about the whole dang thing. I just couldn’t put my damn finger on it.

  Talia was in and out of consciousness and fighting something that we were not prepared for. Sheri and a few of the packs Medicine Men were working to keep her comfortable until someone Daddy knew and trusted with our lives got here.

  Pyper had been moved to a cabin away from the fighting so, thankfully, she hadn't seen those things… the poor kid was already on the edge of losing her noodle as it was. She didn’t need anything else to traumatize her.

  Until Talia was better, Pyper was staying with me or one of the shifter females because she was still very leery of all the male vampires - other than Dem that is. This was also so that she was guarded, protected at all times.

  With a frustrated sigh I moved to the bathroom. I needed a shower. I’d never feel clean again. I swear it.

  Nothing beats a nice hot shower. Especially the one Dem and I had after the attack.

  The hot water of the shower was cascading down my body as Dem washed every bit of dirt and grime off of me. Bad thing was, it was doing nothing for my frazzled nerves. I was feeling something, but I’m not sure what.

  Each time I closed my eyes I saw the women we had been fighting turn into those- those- things. My fear was swarming me.

  The soft caress of his lips against my ear was the only thing to bring me back from this place inside my head.

  “It’s over now, aye? Focus on me, lass. Only on me.”

  His words, soft and soothing, wrapped around me as he moved me to stand facing the hot spray. Within seconds his fingers were rubbing shampoo into my hair. My scalp was tingled with each pass of his fingers. A smile pulled at my lips.

  He’d done this for me so many times. It was one of his ways of calming me down. His hands moved to the back of my neck and back up my scalp.

  Heaven. This was pure heaven.

  I moaned as his thumbs circled across my pulse points, his fingers massaging the muscles in my shoulders. A shiver ran through me and I turned to face him. As expertly as always, he reached up behind me and started to rinse my hair out.

  My eyes closed as my head fell back slightly, letting the water cascade down over me. His lips brushed mine and I was lost in his warmth, his taste.

  “I thought you would both be lost to me, love.” His voice sounded pained.

  “Never. I will always protect what’s mine.”

  His eyes sparked with a feral need to protect, yet ravage me. No one knew it yet, but I was pregnant. I had only found out a few days before the attack. Sorena had been the only other one to know about it... and those things had killed her. The only way to protect our child was to not speak of the babe, not yet.

 

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