Page 5 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
Then again, Sai always had that effect. The man was nearly a living flame with his dark eyes that always seemed on fire, amber skin, and rich onyx hair that hung to his shoulders. He seemed to almost be glowing, and when a fire lit upon his fingers, it quickly enveloped the man. I kept his gaze instead of looking down, knowing this was necessary despite it being so violent.
Why wouldn’t the witches stop? It was clear they were losing. It was almost as if they were being commanded by a different source, their eyes devoid of anything besides the malicious intent they had towards my mates.
A sense of helplessness invaded me as the witches continued to throw themselves at my men, making me wish that there was an easier way to handle this. One that didn’t make me feel like we were doing something so wrong. They just kept running towards us, trying to hit us with magic, trying to hurt even the young boys with me. This was such a messed-up situation.
I watched as Croy stepped back from a man that put his hands out in a clear sign for mercy. The guy sprinted away, making Croy shake his head before refocusing. My wolf-mate looked completely spotless, his massive frame dressed in a comfortable dress shirt and tailored pants. His honey-blonde hair was perfectly in place, and his green eyes kept meeting Henry’s as they worked together to fight the witches back towards the tree line, gaining traction and space.
“Give it up, Malcolm!” Henry called as he forced a group of witches to kneel on the ground, unable to move.How did he do that?My breath caught, realizing how powerful he was, as some of his residual magic slammed into my barrier.
Not that it surprised me, but Henry, with his blonde waves and freckles, sometimes gave the impression he wasn’t a vicious predator. I say sometimes, because once you got to know him, that went away. I mean, the man was sweet to me, but between the dark tattoos on his skin and the way I could often feel his soft gray eyes on me, I knew he had a far darker side to him, and I would be the first to admit I loved it.
“Never!” the man growled.
The attacks continued, but I could see their numbers dwindling as my mates worked flawlessly together, making it very clear how well trained they were. But more than anything, I couldn’t ignore the revelation that they…liked violence. They were enjoying fighting. I honestly didn’t know how to feel about that.
My chest began to squeeze as the violence suddenly became overwhelming, and the part of my brain that dealt with moments like this began to process everything. It should have scared me—all of this should have—but instead, the part of me that wasn’t human as much as animal found it attractive.
No. Now was not the time for me to have this sudden epiphany about my feelings towards this concept. Rationally, I knew that.
It was only moments later when the only ones left were Pastor Malcolm, pinned to the ground by Marco’s hand, and a few witches, forced to their knees. I blinked, trying to ignore all the bodies, as I pulled back my power. I edged forward, waiting for something else to attack us, but when I was met with nothing, I moved to Marco’s side. When the man looked up at me, I saw affection break up the darkness in his gaze, and I knew that despite tonight being a new experience, I couldn’t be upset about it. Wouldn’t I do anything to keep my mates safe? They were doing the same. The idea of someone hurting my mates made me feel violent as well.
I looked back towards Malcolm, his face red and sweaty as he gave me a manic smile. Something was very wrong with this man.
“Baby girl, don’t get too close,” Marco instructed softly.
“Are there others?” I demanded as Malcolm’s smile grew. “Are there others like me?”
“Why the fuck would I tell you that, girl?”
“Because they don’t deserve this fate any more than I did,” I immediately retorted, feeling anger run through me at how much pleasure he was taking in this. “What’s the point in not telling me, you’re caught—”
Suddenly, the cliff began to shake, and Croy had me in his arms almost instantly, holding me close. Marco easily moved back as Malcolm’s skin began to glow and the man cried out, looking both shocked and thrilled before an expression of pain crossed his face…and then he was gone.
I stared at the spot in horror, then looked at the others, absolutely confused. What the heck had just happened? Had he portalled? How could he do that? I clearly didn’t have enough knowledge of witches.
“That wasn’t normal witch magic,” Croy hissed. “I have no idea what the hell that was.”
“Not dragon shit either,” Henry murmured.
“Who the hell would want to save that piece of shit?” Sai demanded.
My words were a soft murmur of realization. “Someone who doesn’t want us to know where the other phoenixes are.”
