Lake’s teeth had elongated, and he used them to rip out a demon’s throat, making him look even more like his animal counterpart. He was still so beautiful in his ferocity though.
“Captain!” Callum shouted. He fought more of the bird-lions, protecting Hudson. Briar had given Hudson a healing tonic as well, but he hadn’t gained back any strength yet.
My heart dropped into my stomach as I followed his gaze.
Four of the jaguar demons surrounded Maddox. Blood cascaded down both his arms, and some of his armor had been broken off—bitten through. Bodies lay all around him. He’d cut down dozens of them but they kept advancing. As a jaguar demon lunged at him, he barely raised his shield in time to block it. He stabbed it in the chest before slinging the demon off the blade, adding another body to the pile around him.
He was losing strength. I saw it in the sluggish way he lifted his sword.
He wouldn’t last much longer.
No.Tears burned the backs of my eyes as I charged in his direction, jumping over a fallen branch, then dodging another demonic worm. Anton severed its head, and I nodded in a silent thanks. He returned the gesture before facing off with another.
“Stay back!” Maddox shouted at me. “Goddammit, why are you still here? You should’ve left long ago.”
“As if I’d leave you, you stubborn butthole,” I responded once beside him, clutching the small dagger in one hand and holding the stick in the other. I could use it to whack something with at least. “You may be my knight in shining armor, but even knights need to be rescued every once in a while.”
Maddox, though visibly exhausted, tried for a smile. It looked more sad than anything. “You say I’m stubborn, yet here you are putting yourself in danger.” He slumped against me, leaning his head on top of mine. More demons encircled us, jaws snapping and mouths foaming. “I wish you would’ve left, sweetheart. This is no place for you.”
“Of course it is,” I said, throat burning. “I’m by your side. It’s exactly where I wanna be.”
A deep snarl came from the left.
The biggest wolf I’d ever seen emerged from the shadows. But it wasn’t a wolf at all. Not exactly. On all fours, it stood at nearly eye level with Maddox. The gray and white fur glimmered at the ends, as if stirred by magical energy in the air. Saliva pooled from its mouth, its impossibly large and sharp canines glistening. Bright yellow eyes glowed as they locked onto us.
The Fenrir. A demon Callum had said moved lightning quick and was one of the deadliest in the dark wood. It had the ability to use mana too, making it a far more lethal foe than the other demons around us.
It was the same type of demon that had once wounded Maddox and left the scars on his abdomen. Scars I had often kissed and traced with my fingertips while in bed, our bodies tangled together between the sheets.
The Fenrir snapped its jaws, and its eyes glowed brighter. It then sprang forward and leapt in the air, mouth open and its teeth aimed right at Maddox’s neck.
I moved on impulse. Without even thinking about it. I threw my arms around Maddox, placing myself right in the Fenrir’s path.
“Evan!” Maddox cried, his pupils blown wide. “What are you—”
A weight slammed into me from behind, the force of the hit sending me and Maddox to the forest floor. The breath was knocked from my lungs. I hadn’t felt the piercing bite of its teeth. Probably the adrenaline. Or maybe my body was in shock, numbing the pain response in my brain. A small mercy.
“No!” Briar bellowed.
Maddox lay under me and cradled me against him, a sob tearing through his throat. “Oh, sweetheart. What have you…. why did you…” His words broke off into a gut-wrenching cry, and as he turned his face into my hair, warm tears trickled from his eyes.
“Evan?” another voice shakily said. Lake.
“Help him, Briar!” Maddox sat up with me still tucked against his chest. “He… he jumped in the way… I…” Raw pain tore through his gruff voice. “Gods, please help him.”
I focused on Maddox. The ends of his long dark lashes were wet, and the ache in his deep blue eyes was one I felt in my own chest. I didn’t want him to be sad. “D-Don’t cry.”
He released a rough, grief-stricken sound.
Briar and Lake reached us, one dropping down on each side of me. A hand smoothed up my back, the touch light. Hesitant.
Lake whined and pushed his face into the side of my hair.
Everything else was quiet. I didn’t hear any sign of combat. Why?
“There’s no blood,” Briar said, touching the top of my spine. “I could’ve sworn the Fenrir tore into the back of his neck.” He glided his fingers across my skin before stilling. “That sneaky scoundrel.”
“What is it?” Maddox asked, still cradling me.
