Page 68 of Witch Undecided
Chapter Twenty
Cora
Heat rushed through my limbs, adrenaline pooling in my veins. My connection to the guys flared and thrummed in my chest, a deep vibration that made my teeth ache. I focused on it, sending the bat signal because there was no way we could take on the varga alone. Unable to shift and without weapons, the wolves were defenseless.
I dipped and drew my daggers from my boots, then stepped in front of Halle. “Back off, fuckers.”
Okay, I probably looked ridiculous to them. What damage could one witch with no access to magic and two daggers do to three vicious varga? But I wasn’t planning on having to fight them. All I needed to do was stall until the call I’d sent out was answered.
“Cora, no!” Halle grabbed my arm.
“Have you got weapons?”
“No.”
“Then hush.”
The three varga had fanned out to circle us. One was larger than the others with fur so thick and spiky it looked like spines. It watched us with pale, arctic-blue eyes.
Three-on-one, effectively.
Not great odds if Tor, Leif, and Rune didn’t get here on time, but it was my fault the wolves had shifted to human form. A silver wolf dashed into the clearing and froze.
“Astrid, run!” Halle cried.
The silver wolf looked from the varga to me. I saw indecision in her gray eyes and then her lip curled, eyes flashing as she leaped over the varga and landed in front of me. She growled deep in her throat, body vibrating in warning.
Fuck, who would have guessed.
Okay, so part of me wanted to kick her for not listening to Halle and getting backup, but as another varga materialized from the shadows, I couldn’t help but be grateful for her presence. If the guys didn’t make it…
I twirled my daggers and fell into a defensive stance. “Get out of the circle as soon as you can. Put distance between you and them so you can shift.”
“Yeah,” Halle said. “Not leaving you.”
“Right now, you’re a liability. You get bitten or scratched, and you’re fucked. As soon as the guys get here, you run.”
“The guys?” I heard confusion in her voice.
My lips curved in a smile as heat flared in my chest. I resisted the urge to close my eyes and revel in the thrum at my solar plexus. This was their answer. They were coming. My wolf mates were on the way.
The varga inched in slowly, gaze passing over me dismissively to fix on the women behind me. Astrid snapped at them in warning, inching forward to urge them away.
I joined her, slashing out with my blade to ward them off.
Come on, guys. If these fuckers attacked, we were fucked. Wait, why hadn’t they attacked yet?
Shadows moved around us, and three figures stepped into the clearing. Guys I didn’t recognize, dressed in strange clothes that looked like they were made of stitched-together leather. Furs hung around their necks and their hair was long, shaggy, and golden. Piercing blue eyes sat in faces that may have been handsome if not so gaunt. Their frames were broad, but there wasn’t an ounce of excess fat on these men. All muscle and sinew moving dangerously beneath pale skin.
“Come.” The voice was a raspy command. “You will come with us.”
“And who the fuck are you?” I glared at him.
“Varga,” Halle said softly. “Shit.”
The varga in human form moved toward us, and the varga in wolf form came with them. I noticed the chains hanging from the men’s fingers. They intended to take the women.
What the fuck?
