Page 7 of Cursed Magic

And the person chasing them who came into view first had me dropping to my knees.

CHAPTER THREE

My lungs forgot how to work as every ounce of strength left me. That reaction should have terrified me, but seeing Kendric’s vampire girlfriend, Raven, made me feel like we finally had allies we could trust.

Her long black hair floated behind her as she ran at vampire speed, her cognac eyes warm against her dark eyeliner. I could almost feel the concern flowing off her.

All that relief deserted me when Lucinda, Bella, and Martin—the vampire queen Ambrosia’s top three guards—appeared behind Raven with even more vampires following them. Those three would take the first opportunity to kill the six of us.

“Stay back!” Briar snarled and tensed, preparing to fight.

I almost corrected her, but the way the three guards’ eyes narrowed and their noses wrinkled with disgust had me second-guessing. The three of them could easily turn on Raven.

“We’re here to help.” Raven lifted a hand and stopped. “We know your sister and the Grimstone pack.”

Briar’s strangled laugh had me jumping to my feet once again. Between maniacal peals of mirth, she croaked, “My sister would—”

“It’s true,” I rasped, the words feeling like sandpaper against my raw throat. “We’re staying with them.”

Briar’s head whipped in my direction, her color draining. She lifted both brows. “Are you serious right now?”

Hurt pierced my heart. My sister was looking at me like she didn’t recognize the person I was, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t feel much like myself anymore. The night our pack was murdered, something inside me had changed fundamentally because all I wanted to feel was anger. “The Grimstone pack found me and took care of me, and they trust these vampires. I didn’t know who was working with Reid and didn’t know which packs I could trust, so yes, I’ve been staying with the vampires.”

Xander exhaled, and his four wolf legs wobbled. I wasn’t sure how much longer he and Kendric could keep carrying Ryker.

From this angle, I could see Ryker’s pale face. His normally warm-brown scruff appeared black because of how much blood he’d lost, and the smell of copper hung heavy in the air. A panic-like pressure built in my chest. “We need to get to the vehicle and get Ryker mended before he loses more blood.”

I hadn’t realized how dire his situation was until this moment. He’d been moving well until we’d left the cabin… Had I known he needed immediate assistance, I would’ve handled the situation even more urgently.

Raven’s attention zoned in on Ryker, and her eyes widened. “I thought the strong smell of blood was coming from you.” She pointed at me.

Briar scoffed. “They could be watchingusright now,and we wouldn’t know it. If we don’t move, we couldallend up like him.” She bit her bottom lip and scanned the area.

She was right. Even though I was super relieved that Raven was here, that didn’t mean we were safe. “We need to get back to the vehicles and go.”

I didn’t feel that weird heaviness, nor did I hear footsteps running toward us, but that could change at any moment. Although, in fairness, I wasn’t sure if the damp, uncomfortable pressure I’d been feeling sporadically was caused by our attackers or if my mind was playing tricks on me.

“If it’s just the Shae pack, we’ll be fine.” Raven straightened her shoulders. “They won’t want to anger Queen Ambrosia by harming her people when we’re here just to check on her friends.”

“I wish it was the Shae pack, but it’s not.” We were wasting time standing here, and every second caused Xander, Kendric, and Gage to lose more of their strength and Ryker to creep closer to dying. “We can tell you everything back at the mansion.”

“If these are the people who attacked our nest, we shouldn’t leave.” Lucinda removed her sword from her side, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder.

We didn’t have time for this power play when the six of us were weak, hurting, and in need of healing. I inhaled deeply, taking a second to collect and calm myself. “If we could see them, then, yes, you’d have a point, despite youralliesbeing severely injured and one important alpha near death.” I had no issue reminding them of who we were supposed to be to them, per the vampire queen. “But you won’t be able to see them—that’s how they’ve been able to kill entire packs and a huge nest in a busy town without anyone seeing them coming. If you want to stay, be myguest, but the six of us need to go somewhere safe before our attackers can finish what they started.”

I wasn’t sure how Kendric and the others would respond to my stepping up since Raven was more integrated into their group than I was. I wasn’t the leader, but Ryker was incapacitated, and I was the only alpha left standing…or near enough to standing.

When Gage took off with Briar toward the vehicle, some of my worry melted away. I should’ve known that the need to get Ryker medical attention would trump any other concerns. They’d lost almost their entire pack; they weren’t going to risk losing him unless something detrimental to our species was happening.

Kendric and Xander didn’t hesitate, still working together to carry Ryker, following after the two. Their gait was slower, revealing their fatigue but steady.

I picked up my own pace, and each time my body jarred, I could’ve sworn a knife stabbed me in the back. As I passed, the vampires scowled at me. All except one.

Raven pursed her red lips. “I’m heading back with the wolves. I agree with Lucinda that the rest of the vampires should remain and try to determine what happened here. Queen Ambrosia would want that. But if you get attacked and there is no way to win or protect yourself, retreat immediately.”

Curling a lip, Martin stared at Raven with dead eyes that somehow darkened even more with dislike. “I understand that Queen Ambrosia put you in charge of the alliance with these mutts, but that doesn’t include you making strategic decisions. Besides, twenty of our guards split off from us and are already in the pack neighborhood. We would never leave them behind.”

When I’d met the three guards when we firstarrived at the vampires’ mansion, I hadn’t liked any of them. They’d made it clear that they weren’t happy about the alliance between Ryker and their queen. However, I hadn’t expected such animosity to be tossed Raven’s way when she was clearly favored and trusted by their queen.

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