Red Moon Rising(36)

Crying and panting, she snatched her sword up and staggered to her feet. She could hear Evan barking as he launched himself at one of the faeries. He landed with a hard thud on its back and it fell to the ground. Howling, Evan bit into one of its leathery wings and pulled. There was a wet ripping sound as Evan tore half its wing off. He backed away, the wing hanging from his teeth, as the faerie screamed in agony and crawled towards its brothers.

The faerie she had stabbed in the thigh flew towards Evan. He dropped on top of him and Bree screamed when he stabbed his spear deep into the young Lycan’s side. Evan shrieked with pain as the largest faerie, his side bleeding from her sword, landed beside them and stabbed his spear into his flank.

Bree looked down. The faerie she had blinded had dropped his spear, and she reached down and grabbed it. She couldn’t defeat both of them but if she could get the largest one away from Evan, he might be able to kill the other and escape. She knew she was going to die but as she sprinted towards Evan and the faeries, the knowledge of her own imminent death brought no fear. Instead, she felt only a cold acceptance.

She took in a deep, gasping breath of air, and shrieked her final war cry to the forest before throwing herself at the large faerie. She landed with a heavy thud on his back. The feel of his smooth leathery wing beating against her face made her gag, and she shoved the faerie’s spear deep into one wing.

He screamed in agony and bucked like a wild beast under her. She stabbed at him with her sword, but he twisted and turned before hurling his body backwards. He slammed her into a tree. Her breath exploded from her lungs in a hard, hot rush, and she lost her grip on her sword and slithered to the ground.

He turned and glared at her, his lips curling back, and reached behind his broad body. He tore the spear from his wing and splintered it in half before snapping his teeth at her like a dog.

“I’m not going to take your essence you stupid little girl. I want you alive and conscious when I roast you like a pig.” He spat. “You will suffer more than any human has ever suffered before.”

A loud howl cut through the cold air, and a large red wolf came bounding through the trees. He leaped at the faerie. His jaws opened wide and his large white teeth snapped viciously as he landed on the hideous creature. The wolf wrapped his mouth around the faerie’s head and with a quick violent jerk, ripped the faerie’s head from its body.

He raised his snout to the sky and howled piercingly. Behind him, two other wolves, one grey and one white, were tearing into one of the remaining faeries. Its guts poured out of it in a slippery slide of blood, and they turned away from its dying body. The faerie Evan had injured raised its hand in supplication and tried to crawl away.

“No.” It whispered as the white wolf stalked towards it. The wolf knocked it onto its back, and the faerie’s scream turned to a gurgling moan as the wolf ripped its throat out. The faerie she had blinded had collapsed against a tree, and the white wolf loped almost casually to it and tore a gaping hole in its chest.

The red wolf was standing over her and she stared up into its jade-coloured eyes. “James.” She whispered.

It whined softly and then ran towards his brother as Sophia’s voice rang out. She had shifted back to human form, and she was kneeling naked next to Evan.

“James! He needs you!” James shifted back to human and quickly lifted the brown wolf into his arms. He held Evan against his chest as the wolf whimpered with pain. Sophia stroked his head lightly.

“You’re okay Evan. You’re okay honey.” She soothed.

Bee staggered to her feet as Nicholas, naked and panting loudly, appeared beside her. “Are you okay Bree?”

“I’m fine. Evan - is Evan okay?”

“We need to get him home.” James gathered Evan closer and began to stride through the trees. Without looking at Bree, Sophia followed.

“Can you walk Bree?” Nicholas asked anxiously.

“Yes.” Her entire body was aching from being slammed into the tree, and the wound on her back where she had been stabbed with the faerie’s spear was burning and itching. Ignoring it, she picked up her bag and gave Nicholas a grim smile as he took her hand. They hurried after James and Sophia.





Chapter 11




Bree looked up as the door to the bedroom swung open and James and Nicholas entered. When they had arrived home, James had carried Evan to Avery and the three of them had disappeared into Avery and Tristan’s room. Nicholas had led her to her room and given her curt instructions to stay in the room before leaving.

That had been three hours ago and she had been pacing the room ever since. She had nearly left the room a few times, but the memory of the look on Nicky’s face when he told her to stay had kept her in the room.