Page 82 of Cursed Love
“Wait.”
Ethan cocked his head to the side in question when she paused but remained silent. Brandy shrugged and watched her friend carefully. The hair on his back raised, his ears twitched, and his eyes became glossy and unseeing. Brandy’s heart raced at the sight.
“Catulus.”
“Catulus?” she whispered and glanced at Ethan, who shrugged.
“Hellhound. Nasty things. There are at least three nearby.”
“Hellhound, three nearby.”
Ethan nodded, and they moved closer to the house. She debated telling Ryan they were near but was unsure if Aja had made her way back in. She did not feel anyone else in their connection, but she could not take the risk with so many lives at stake in the rescue operation.
A low snarl drew her from her thoughts. Turning toward the sound, she found a black beast lunging for her. Her breath stuck in her throat at the sight. Before she could counter, Xander knocked it to the ground. His teeth locked onto its neck, and when he pulled back, she stared with wide eyes as blood filled the gaping hole he made.
Blood dripped from Xander’s muzzle as he looked to Peter before dragging the catulus into nearby bushes.
“Almost there. Let’s keep going.”
Her eyes moved from Peter to Xander, and she swore he winked at her. Ethan pressed a hand to her back, and she shook the images free from her mind.
The amount of demons and catuluses they encountered increased tenfold as they reached the property. Working together, Brandy and Ethan assisted Peter and Xander in the kills, destroying the bodies they could and hiding those they could not.
“If this is what is outside, what the hell is inside?” she muttered to herself.
“You’ve got this, babycakes. Remember, Ryan is the prize.”
She nodded and sucked in a breath. “Everyone in place?”
“Ask Ethan if the plan is still good.”
“Peter wants to know—”
“I know. Give me a second,” Ethan said and raised a finger.
No one spoke as a milky white film covered his eyes. She had seen him do it a handful of times, but it hadn’t made it any less creepy to witness.
It was crazy to think how quickly she and Ethan had improved their powers. If they’d gone up against these creatures around the time of her birthday, they’d be useless. She could barely remember how she had felt before magic ran along her skin. It was as natural as breathing.
“Nothing’s changed.”
Brandy threw up a shield, and Peter guided them to a door around the side, taking out a lycan before he sensed them. She stepped forward and pushed out her magic. The door splintered into thousands of pieces, as if a bomb had hit the wood. She watched a few tubars and another lycan run toward them, confusion clear on their faces as they stared at the spot where the door had been. Taking advantage of their proximity to each other and the fact they did not know she was there, she consumed them in fire. Their eyes widened with surprise, seconds before the searing flames swallowed them.
Shouting could be heard throughout as they pulled in close and moved into the house. Serena and another group of pack members entered the mansion somewhere on the other side, causing similar damage. Brandy blew apart more doors, clearing out room by room in their search for Ryan. It was silly, as Ethan had already said Ryan was in the basement, but they could not take the chance her brother was wrong.
Smoke and debris filled the air. The stench of rotten flesh mixed with the profound scent of earth. For a second, she wondered if anyone in neighboring homes could hear the destruction. Worrying they would attract innocents into their supernatural bloodbath, Brandy turned toward Ethan.
“I’m lifting the shield to block the whole property from humans. I need you to—”
“On it,” he said with a nod.
The moment she pushed the shield out, she felt hisclickaround them like a warm hug. His magic even smelled like him.
“Guess Serena’s a better teacher than we expected.”
Catching her friend’s eyes, she shrugged. “Sure, but he’s also a Broderick. I should have known better than to underestimate his strength.”
“From how much time he’s spent with her—”
