Standing there, Ella was reminded of Shakespeare's Macbeth. A delirious laugh spilled out, echoing in the quiet theater. How many times had she spoken the phrase, ‘Out, damn spot,' as she looked at her hands? Now, they were stained with the blood of the man she loved. But she wasn't the only one to blame.
The curtain was falling on her hour to strut and fret. Drake would arrive any minute now. However, she would not gently give way, like a candle simply snuffed out. No, this finale would be full of sound and fury.
Ella cried out for Wolf, though outwardly she stood frozen like a statue. A fierce swirling torrent of anguish and anger consumed her. The doors on the theater flew open, but Drake's men had arrived too late.
Spotlights and speakers rattled loose, crashing to the floor, as Ella's curse surged forth. Row after row of seats ripped free from the floor and flew outward. They whipped around the theater, striking her pursuers.
"Enough," Drake snarled menacingly as he fought his way through the chaotic debris, a determined sneer twisting his face.
Ella stared at him stoically as she rose off the floor. The walls began to shake when the final floodgate on her curse fell. The violent tremors grew, knocking the men to the floor. The plaster and stone veneer on the walls came crashing down, only to be swept up in the swirling maelstrom.
Drake's eyes widened as he suddenly understood the error of his ways. The jackal made a futile attempt to back down the aisle, but he was pinned by the unseen hand of vengeance.
Wolf
"The jackals followed Ella into the theater," Cain reported to everyone. "But we've got a problem, the casino's starting to shake like it's having a seizure."
"Ella!" Wolf heard Char cry in distress. "I'm going in there."
"His men are trying to get out of there, but you want to go in?" Cain yelled through the earpiece.
Wolf ignored the pain in his chest and stomach as he ran into the hotel lobby.
"She might calm down if she sees me," Char said.
"We've got your back then," Vick replied.
"Get out of my way," Tony snarled.
Wolf heard the scuffle in his ear, as the jackals attempted to prevent his pack from reaching Ella.
"It's your funeral," one of the guards yelled, giving up the fight.
Wolf grunted as he made his way through the casino. The last of the guests and employees didn't care if they knocked into him as they fled. Wolf forced open the rattling theater doors. He briefly glanced at Char and the guys. They were tucked against the back wall, attempting to avoid the churning chaos.
Wolf's eyes swung to the stage, and he was instantly riveted to the sight of Ella. She was a vision unlike any he'd ever seen. Ella hovered twenty feet in the air. Her long auburn hair was swept back, suspended in a wild halo, as all around her whipped a vortex of debris.
Her hands were outstretched, palms up, in a gesture of supplication. Ella's head tilted to the side, her expression placid as she gazed upon the doomed soul standing at her feet. She was an angel, beautiful and pure, awesome and terrifying.
The power radiating from Ella, pressed against Wolf, crushing the breath from his lungs. Still he fought to reach her, ducking the debris careening through the air. Wolf wasn't the only one attempting to get to Ella. The fucking jackal alpha stood in the eye of the storm. But he wasn't going anywhere.
Wolf watched in smug satisfaction as Drake dropped to his knees under the weight of Ella's immense power. The bastard bellowed, and shook with impotent rage, his fangs gnashing. But the invisible force tore at the jackal without mercy or reprieve.
Wolf stared in horror and awe as the skin began to rip from the jackal's body, starting at his outstretched hand and working up his arm. Muscle and sinew were revealed, layer by agonizing layer, followed by bone, which crumbled to nothing as Ella laid waste to her tormentor.
"Wolf, no," Char screamed in horror, when she looked away from the nightmare, to see Wolf's struggling forward.
"She needs me," he snarled.
"You can't. Look what she's doing."
"I know, Sis." Wolf calmly smiled back at Char, despite the chaos.
Ella had lost herself to a force Wolf could barely fathom. She saved him. Now, it was his turn to save her. No one else could do it. And it had to happen soon. The hotel was starting to come down around them.
Wolf battled against Ella's immense strength, putting one foot in front of the other. He looked down and noticed he was bleeding again, but pressed forward any way. His wolf surfaced giving him strength, until he finally got to the point where he couldn't go any further. The stinging, suffocating, sensation of Ella's gift was too much.
Wolf watched what remained of Drake explode and whip violently around the theater. Yet still Ella raged out of control. He had to reach her somehow.
Wolf took a deep breath.
"Hey, Princess," he bellowed with as much force as he could muster, his beast tinging his voice.
Ella turned blank eyes toward him. Their beautiful hazel depths suddenly filled with sorrow.
"I'm sorry he killed you," Ella mumbled, torment twisting her beautiful face.
The despair she felt manifest in her power, and Wolf felt it grip his heart. It was as emotionally painful as it was physical.
"Beautiful, I'm not dead. You saved me. But you gotta calm down. I'm here to take you home," Wolf called out to the woman he loved, trying to break through the nightmare she was trapped in.
"Wolf?" Her brow furrowed as she blinked. The power eased to a low roar, and all the churning debris crashed to the floor, as Ella stared at him in confusion. "Wolf, your face."
Dammit. Wolf realized he'd shifted, as he ran his tongue over his elongated canines.
"You're one of them," Ella whispered.
Her power no longer held him back, so Wolf pressed forward. But he had to approach her slowly. Ella was wary. Wolf couldn't blame her. Ella had been blissfully ignorant of Shifters, until the worst of their kind revealed himself, and plunged her into absolute terror.
"Not exactly, Beautiful. Remember I told you we're all weird. I wanted to tell you about it, but I had to go rescue that little boy."
"You found the boy?"
The caring side of Ella shone through, even in her confused state. Wolf moved closer, forcing his beast to recede as he did.
"He's just fine," Wolf replied as he stood at Ella's feet. "Please come down here, so I can hold you. I've been out of my mind," he entreated as he reached out for her.
Ella dropped into his outstretched arms with a heart rending sob. Wolf squeezed her tight as she trembled uncontrollably.
"I don't know what's going on," she heaved as she pressed her face into his neck.
"We're going home, Princess," Wolf husked, relief nearly overwhelming him.
He cradled Ella in his arms, ignoring the pain in his chest, and headed for the emergency exit. The others eagerly followed. Once outside, amidst the mass of people and fire engines, the group quickly moved toward the road.
"Trip and the other ladies are waiting across the street with some of my men," Bastian stated.
Suddenly six jackals, dressed in plain clothes, barred their path.
"Neck tattoo," Ella whispered as her power spiked.
Wolf zeroed in on the jackal with the neck tattoo. He may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but he'd been there that night in the desert. And the man was just as responsible for Ella's torment. Wolf took a step forward then stopped. He didn't want to release Ella, but he couldn't help the others fend off the bastards while still holding her.
Coso and Bastian's men melted out of the crowd, surrounding the jackals.
"Think very carefully about your next move, Chase. Drake is gone." Coso informed the jackal with the neck tattoos.
Chase shrewdly considered Ella, then all the other Shifters. Wolf could see the man playing out what would happen if he chose to follow in Drake's footsteps. The jackal could call in back-up, but would they arrive in time? Chase had already witnessed what Wolf and his friends were capable of. The jackals might outnumber the desert wolf and feline tribes, but the gifted women tipped that scale.
"Perhaps it was time," Chase replied.
"Indeed." Coso nodded in agreement. "His head got a little too big."
"I don't have that problem. And I know when to leave well enough alone," the jackal wisely replied.
Apparently, Chase wasn't the idiot his alpha had been. Wolf wasn't sure if he could forgive the bastard as easily as Coso seemed to, but now was not the time or the place.
The jackals dispersed into the crowd, and Wolf's group headed for the vans, before anyone else thought to detain them. Wolf gripped Ella tight against his chest. She was stunned and disoriented, but she was whole.
"I have you," he whispered as he nuzzled her hair. "I'm not letting you go."