Page 45 of Wolves' Midlife Reunion
“Yeah, I see that. Decided to go to the witch’s house for some weekend fun.” Chris’s eyes darted to Tina and raked up and down her body. “Sorry, sweetheart, but your man’s got something to take care of. Of course, if you want to be with a real man, maybe we can talk later.”
“I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole,” she sneered. “Take your mutts and get off my lawn before I call the cops.”
“Oh, she’s a spicy one,” Chris said, looking back at Dex now. “She must be the one who wears the pants in this relationship.”
A vein in the side of Dex’s neck was throbbing. “You can try all you want to get me riled up, but I’m not fighting you.”
“No? Fine.” Chris laughed. John and Jacob echoed that laughter, but they stopped as soon as their leader did. “I’m still gonna fight you.”
Chris leaped toward Dex, his wolf springing back out of him with swift ferocity. The two of them tumbled backward, knocking Tina aside as they rolled into the house.
“Shit!” Tina hit the floor hard. She thought she saw Sage disappearing up the stairs, grateful for that, at least. She was also thankful that she wasn’t the only one home. “Help!”
John, in coyote form, came flying in the door just as Tina was trying to pick herself up off the floor. He bowled her backward, sending her into the wall.
“Now you’ve really pissed me off!” Tina let her wolf fly free. It’d been wanting out for so long, and it snapped its jaws before it was even fully formed. John was faster in his coyote form, but she was bigger. Shoving her paws beneath her, she shot to her feet and sprang toward him.
Maeve came running into the room from the kitchen, carrying a pan. “What the hell is this?”
“I’ve got the old lady!” Jacob announced, his last word cutting off as he let go of his human and returned to four feet. He charged at Maeve.
“Fuck off, fleabag!” Maeve swung back and clocked him hard with the pan.
Jacob let out a yelp as he flew to the side, crashing into the table lamp and then to the floor.
Chelsea came from upstairs. “What’s going on? Sage just came running upstairs, and—oh!” She let go of the handrail, her body flying over a few stairs before she landed on all fours. She charged hard into Chris and Dex, who were tangled in a knot of teeth and claws. The force was enough to knock them apart for a moment.
Tina, meanwhile, was still wrestling with John. He was small and wiry, and he didn’t look very intimidating, but he was quick. He snapped at her paws and throat as she tried to block him from getting over to Dex. Tina tucked her head and rammed into him. His teeth clamped down hard on her ear as they hit the wall again, and she felt hot blood gushing down the side of her face.
John got back on his paws. He reeled backward, preparing for a hard pounce on her ribs.
Heavy thuds made the floor beneath her shudder. Tina looked up in time to see a bear running in from the back porch.
Amanda roared with anger as she stomped one heavy front paw on the floor. Energy waves radiated from it, and she’d aimed them directly at her target.
John’s eyes went wide as he lost his balance and fell on his ass.
Tina was starting to feel pretty good about how this fight was going. Chris and his boys were outnumbered, and they’d been foolish enough to bring the fight to the covenstead. They had no idea just how powerful everyone there could be, nor how much they would sacrifice to save each other and those they cared about.
A deep, ferocious growl had her turning her head, flinging blood against the wall. Chelsea had managed to separate Chris and Dex for a moment, but it hadn’t lasted long. Chris had jumped on Dex once again. The two of them were thrashing and biting. Cuts showed as red slashes in their fur, leaving dark stains on the hardwood floor as they rolled further into the room.
Tina saw the flash of Chris’s yellow fangs as they sank into Dex’s throat. Pure protective rage fueled her as she rushed at him, determined to show this arrogant dick just what a ‘little witch’ could do.
She bounded through the air, but John’s hard skull crashed into her ribs. All the air left her lungs in an instant. The edges of her vision went black, and she felt the heavy impact of the floor. Tina struggled to hold onto consciousness. She couldn’t be defeated this easily!
Amanda came after the coyote once again. This time, she wrapped her large mouth around the scruff of his neck andtossed him off to the side. He hit the stair rail and broke two of the spindles, leaving a tuft of bloody coyote fur hanging from one of them.
Meanwhile, Maeve and Jacob were still battling it out. Tina’s mother had taken on her stronger wolf form, and she looked pleased with herself as she deftly avoided Jacob’s attacks.
Colette came running in the front door. She must have just arrived. She took a quick look around and then opened her palm, instantly summoning a brilliant white sphere of magic. Colette tossed it in the air, and a thin cord of energy kept the orb tied to her hand as she swung it around her head. Her delicate features were hard and determined as she finally let go, letting the sling of magic fly across the room to crash into the side of Jacob’s face.
Tina scrambled to her feet once again. Everything was balancing out just fine for most of them, but nothing seemed able to interfere with the two men who were truly at the center of this battle. Chris had told Dex he would settle this fight, but Tina was beginning to worry.
Just how far did he think he had to go before it was over?
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Dex could tasteblood in his mouth, but at this point, he didn’t know if it belonged to him or Chris. He was barely aware of the destruction they caused around them as they locked into their fight. Jaws snapped, claws ripped, throats rumbled with growls.
