Page 87 of Forbidden Wolf

Claws dug into my back and I gasped. Canines sliced into my shoulder causing pain to ricochet down my back and arm along with blood. I was torn away from the hellspawn and left wheezing on the ground.

Levi’s wolf paced between me and the hellspawn. He’d bitten me before, but not like this. My stomach spasmed and my flesh burned in erotic need. Arousal pounded through my blood in a tribal beat. A feral beast paced inside me, drawn to his wolf.

The hellspawn shrieked and launched himself at Levi. Both used their claws to dig into each other’s flesh to flay the skin away. Levi possessed superior strength, but the hellspawn had speed and unwavering energy.

A sickening crack sounded, followed by a yelp. Levi’s front leg hung at an awkward angle, his body toppling forward. The hellspawn loomed over him, ready to land the killing blow with his talons.

“Stop!” I scrambled forward and covered his body with mine. “I said I would go with you, but it’s only on the condition that no one else dies.”

His crimson gaze studied me before moving to Levi. “He deserves to die for his insult.”

“If he dies, then so do I.”

He pursed his lips together. Then he nodded once and held his hand out toward me. My grip tightened on Levi’s fur for a brief moment before I stood on shaky legs.

The other hellspawn began to pace restlessly as they circled around us, their hungry eyes trained on Levi.

“I mean it,” I said. “He lives or we both die.”

“You make absurd comments,” the master said. “You will live or die at my whim. Come, the dawn is approaching.”

The vampires began to move backward toward the facility, helpless against the coming daylight.

The lycans all paced, their gazes trained on their alpha.

Levi growled lowly and something broke inside me.

My heels dug into the ground and I struggled against the master’s hold. The words of my mother’s song from so long ago filled my head, and I finally remembered the rest of the words.

Stay strong against the creatures of the darkness.

They come to steal your light.

Surround yourself with golden armour.

Repel them with your daylight.

She wasn’t singing to drown out the voices—she was singing to tell me what to do.

His hand connected with my cheek and my face stung from the blow, his long talons digging into my arm. My hands burned and itched, and I realised my body wasn’t detecting these creatures from the depths of Hell but readying itself to fight them.

Pressure built deep in my chest like a volcano ready to erupt. My eyes fell on Levi and that pressure expanded exponentially. The master hellspawn had hurt my mate, and the beast inside me screamed in anger. My free arm stretched out to Levi, golden light shining from it to land on his wound. His leg twisted into place and a halo of light surrounded it.

The hellspawn still gripped my arm. I grabbed his face, my hand glowing. He arched back, releasing me as his hand tried to cover the blistering burn on his cheek. I yanked the silver dagger from under my sleeve and plunged it into his chest. His minions screeched and padded closer, their teeth chattering together.

A solar burst emitted from my chest and they cowered away. Their master held the end of the dagger, slowly prising it from his chest, his fingers covered in black blood. He dropped the knife to the ground. Blood gurgled from his mouth even as he stepped toward me. My hand came up and I focused all my intent. Heat blossomed in my chest and radiated from my palm. He covered his face with his arm, his red eyes glowing. The tears in his shirt revealed the damage the light was inflicting on his flesh. Welts and lesions appeared, black blood oozing from the injuries.

The sun began to rise in the east, lightening the sky.

The hellspawn started to retreat. My gaze locked with the master hellspawn, his top lip curled up in a sneer.

“This isn’t over, Tasha, you will always be mine,” he threatened before he joined his minions in their withdrawal.

My knees buckled and just as I fell forward, strong arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me against that scorching heat that always protected and soothed me. Levi’s lips skimmed my throat.

We may not have won the war tonight, but we’d survived the battle.

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