Page 46 of Their Shared Mate
Claire darted to the side and snatched a wrist-thick log off the stack beside the fireplace then returned to her earlier position at his back. Victor was pleased by her willingness to fight, but he had no intention of allowing either of the wolves to get that close to his mate.
“Give me some room,” he whispered. “I’m going to manifest wings.”
She took a quick step back and moved a bit to the side.
His back tingled and then burned as energy coalesced along his spine. He took several deep breaths, preparing for the inevitablepain. It had taken him years of practice and many disastrous attempts before he could control the size and shape of his wings. Today called for compact, bony wings, designed for combat rather than flight. The burning intensified. Victor let out one muffled cry as scalding energy rushed outward and transformed into matter.
The gray wolf took advantage of Victor’s momentary weakness and lunged for his throat. But Victor was ready for the move. Wolves were vicious and tenacious, but they were also predictable. He swung his wing and reached out with his arm. His wing sent the creature flying across the room, while Victor’s talons ripped long furrows along the wolf’s side. The wolf yowled, landing awkwardly against the wall.
Victor spun back toward the other attacker and sucked in a horrified breath. The hybrid had Claire by the arm and was dragging her toward the door. She kicked and twisted, swinging the log like a baseball bat. Propelled by the furious flapping of his wings, Victor swooped in on the wolf hybrid. Claire saw him approaching and jerked sharply, freeing her arm from the bastard’s hold.
Swinging his wing with murderous intent, Victor punished the wolf for daring to invade his home and lay hands on his mate. The bony spike on the upper edge of Victor’s wing caught the hybrid in the stomach. The hybrid stumbled backward, hands clutching his gut. Blood immediately oozed out between his fingers. His eyes glazed over, and his knees buckled.
A sharp motion drew Victor’s attention back toward the wolf. The stubborn creature recovered enough to charge again, but Claire swung the log with all her might. Wood hit flesh, bones crunched, and blood sprayed out in all directions. Victor spread his wings, trying to protect Claire from the crimson shower,but the reaction was several seconds too slow. Blood splattered across her face and hair, her upper chest and right arm. She gasped in horror and stumbled back, the log thudding to the floor.
Victor reached for Claire as he turned his head and made sure both invaders were incapacitated. The wolf was clearly dead, but the hybrid was still breathing.
“Why did they come here?” she sobbed. “Were they after me specifically or just a random female?”
“If it were targeted at all, they were after Raphael’s mate.” Raphael led the raid on their stronghold, and the wolves lived for retribution. But how had they known Raphael had a potential mate, much less where to find her?
His questions needed answers, but not right now. He wrapped his arm around Claire’s waist and guided her into the larger bedroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he suggested, gently stroking her back.
She shook her head, a bit of her characteristic spirit returning. “Is the bunkhouse still under attack?” She wiped blood away from her eyes, but created a dramatic smear across her cheek instead.
“Let me find out.” Victor slipped into Raphael’s mind and tried not to react outwardly. The fight was far from over. The lower level of the bunkhouse was a massive melee. Furniture had been smashed, tables toppled. The wolves, some partially transformed, others fully wolf, grappled with and lunged for the raptor hybrids. Victor withdrew from the link and shielded his mind, not wanting to distract Raphael while in the heat of battle.“It’s still going on. Why don’t you take a shower. I’m going to deal with them.” He nodded toward the living room.
“You won’t leave, will you?” She shuddered violently. “I know I sound pathetic, but I can’t seem to calm down.”
“I won’t go any farther than the front yard,” he promised. “And nothing about you is pathetic. Many females would have been cowering in the corner and screaming their heads off. You faced the enemy bravely and protected my back. No mate could ever ask for more.”
Her smile shook a little, but at least she smiled.
“I’ll leave the door cracked. Call out if you need anything.”
Victor waited until she started toward the bathroom, then he returned to the living room. One glance at the hybrid told him that both wolves were now dead. He refused to feel pity or remorse. Anyone who dared to threaten his mate would forfeit their life. It was as simple as that.
He dragged both bodies outside, then quickly repaired the hinges on the front door. The door itself needed to be replaced, but that could wait. He nailed a board over the broken window in back, then hurriedly mopped up the blood. This was their home, a safe, secure place where they could dream about the future. Tonight, that sanctuary had been defiled. The culprits had paid with their lives, but his need for vengeance still smoldered.
Raphael spun in a tight circle, catching one wolf hybrid with his booted foot and gouging another with his long, sharp talons. Gabriel fought at his back, wings extended, movements sharpand precise. They’d battled like this countless times before. First on Earth, because their captors left them no choice. And later, on Rydaria to establish and protect their territory. Unlike the cats and wolves, raptors had not been engineered to be soldiers. Their transformations made them aggressive, even predatory, but they remained focused on science and technology.
A transformed wolf leapt toward Gabriel. One swipe of his powerful wing sent the wolf catapulting across the room. The creature yelped, whined, then limped away protectively lifting one of his legs. Raphael looked around, waiting for another wolf to charge. The attack never came. The main floor of the bunkhouse was littered with dead wolves, but the ones still able to move had finally retreated.
For a moment, Raphael just stood there panting, unable to believe that the fight was over. He reached out telepathically for Levi, one of the males he’d sent upstairs.
Report, Raphael ordered, not wanting to distract Levi if he was still fighting.
All’s quiet up here. No one went in, and no one came out.
Relieved that the wolves had failed, Raphael released the tension in his muscles.Good job. Maintain your position until we get things cleaned up down here.
Understood.
Raphael relaxed enough to release his partial shift. His talons retracted and his fingers reformed in one sustained motion. He shook his hands, dispelling the lingering sting, then flexed his fingers several times. Gabriel released his shift as well, but he still looked ready for battle.
The other raptors watched Raphael and Gabriel, clearly waiting for orders. “Stack the bodies in the front yard,” Raphael instructed. “The wolves have until morning to collect their dead or I’m going to light a bonfire.” The raptors nodded and went to work. Raphael turned to his brother. “Are all of our wounded being tended to?”
“Of course they are,” Gabriel sneered, his features tense with disapproval. “We lost two outside and it’s unlikely that Mitchel will survive. Do you still think the rescue mission was worth it?”
