Page 69 of Forbidden Wolf

The blades whipped the air up and made me take a few steps back. A lump formed in my throat and my eyes filled with suppressed tears. The black bird slowly took to the skies, carrying my mother and sister far away from me.

I’d either saved their lives or signed their death warrant.

***

Tasha

Levi wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his head on my shoulder. His energy was a cloak around me even as I struggled to suppress the cascade of emotions tumbling through me. Mum and Kimber flew high above all of us, my family being taken from my reach. Tears formed behind my eyes as I tried to control my turbulent emotions.

In the forest below us, the hellspawn began to creep out of wherever they’d been hiding during the daylight hours. Our group started to strap weapons to their bodies.

“They’re coming,” I said, fear curling deep in my stomach.

Levi didn’t reply, just manoeuvred me inside. The boy in the forest used to chat and smile freely. The man was silent and deadly, his emotions locked down.

Dean was waiting in the hall for us, vampires on one side and lycans on the other. Levi strode to the front of the room, wolves stepping aside to form a corridor for him to walk through. Every one of them watched him with respect in their eyes.

He squeezed my hand and left me standing at the side among his wolves, giving out a clear message to where he believed I belonged.

“Thank you all for joining us,” Levi started, taking command of the situation. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Levi and alpha of the northern quadrant. Dean and I have signed a treaty to put aside the war between lycans and vampires.”

Gasps echoed around the room and vampires cautiously stared at the lycans, some displaying their fangs.

“We now face a common threat to our existence,” Levi continued. “One that could eradicate us if we don’t stand side by side. The hellspawn are already regrouping out there. They are making their way back to your door, and believe me, without our help, every vampire in this castle will be dead before the sun rises at dawn.”

Silence reverberated around the room even as eyes widened at his declaration.

“It’s true,” Dean said, rubbing behind his neck. “They would have succeeded last night only the lycans arrived to aid us.”

“They are ruthless and relentless,” Levi said. “Pain and injury doesn’t stop them. They will keep coming even as you hack their limbs off. They are fierce and vicious, their bite causing agony and paralysis. When you kill one, another two are behind it. Lycans and vampires were apex predators who have just discovered that there is another level to this food chain.”

The room was so quiet that I could barely hear a breath.

Levi stepped into the gap between vampires and lycans. “We can both try to face this threat alone, but we will fail. Each side brings something different to this new war. Only united can we succeed. Only together can we bring this new enemy to its knees. If we can’t stand together, then we will fall separately.”

Pride made my chest swell. Levi had grown into a leader when I wasn’t looking. Every eye in the room was trained on him. I wanted to shout to everyone who was listening that he belonged to me and claw the eyes out of all the women who leaned closer to him.

A red light began to flash overhead, heralding the approach of intruders at our gates.

“Choose,” Levi said. “We either stand together, or I take my wolves and retreat to leave you to your fate.”

A scream outside made everyone’s decision. Some of the vampires closest to the door grabbed weapons, and vampires and lycans made their way toward the door together. Levi and Dean stood side by side and watched them.

“He’ll kill me, you know,” Dean finally said. “Castus will see this as a betrayal.”

“Castus is a fucking coward,” Levi said. “Every vampire here has sanctuary in my base. My wolves know who the enemy is and will do everything in their power to stop them. Do you have helicopters here?”

Dean nodded. “There are a few left. Castus and his close commanders took the others when the hellspawn first attacked.”

“They’ll pull back after the first attack wave to make us think they’re retreating. Get everyone into the transport. The second wave of attack will kill all of us.” Levi placed his hand at the base of my spine, his attention focused on the door. “Have all the pilots ready to go. Gather anything you need to take with you now.”

Levi strode toward the door with me beside him.

“How do you know?” Dean asked from behind us.

We stopped and Levi turned to face him. “I’ve watched these creatures for the past six months, cataloguing their behaviour. They are systematic killers that follow the same pattern over and over again because it works. They won’t stop until they overrun this castle and stamp out all life inside it.”

A shiver rippled down my spine. Everything seemed so black and white and lacking emotion.

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