Dark Wolf(56)

"Are you all right?" Dimitri asked Zev when he sensed the other man falter for a moment.

"I'm alive, and that's all that counts." Zev's breath came in ragged  gasps. He'd been injured, but Dimitri couldn't take the time to see how  bad the wound or wounds were.

We need to see if we can find the divide between the factions, Fen suggested. I can detect a faint difference in smell at times.

Lycans conceal all odors when hunting, Zev reminded. His sword flashed  as he whirled around two aggressive wolves wielding swords. He disarmed  one and cut the arm off the other, returning to his position  back-to-back with Dimitri.

Nevertheless, I can tell the difference, Fen said. I can feel the energy leaking out of their shields as well.

He drove three particularly large and hairy Lycans back from the fallen  dragon. One actually had a chunk of dragon belly between his teeth.

Wait for it, Zev, Dimitri said, allowing his senses, growing so acute  and sharp, to flare out, trying to find the differences Fen had  detected. He's going to start in any moment with how much more evolved  he is than us.

Two Lycans fell at his feet, both sprouting arrows. He nearly slipped in  the blood surrounding Byron's dragon. The warriors in the sky were  making the job easier, wounding every Lycan that dared to tear at the  dragon.

With the addition of three deadly silver swords, the Lycans fell back, trying to drag their wounded with them.

I've got a shield up for you in case they try using guns again, Zacarias  said. This time the bullet will bounce off and return to the sender. He  sounded as low-key as ever. Nothing seemed to ruffle Zacarias.

We've got a few just below us, pulling out their rifles. Rafael's voice held a hint of satisfaction.

Dimitri, Zev and Fen reached the dragon, moving around it in a circle, making certain no Lycan remained.

You've got to shift, Byron, Dimitri insisted. You can't pass out on us.  We can't lug this form into the sky. It's dead weight. Shift and we'll  get you out of here.

They didn't have much time. The Lycans would rally and make another  attack. A volley of shots rang out, bullets peppering the shield, head  shots every one.

Military training for sure, Fen observed.

Screams and howls rose as the bullets found the shooters. Zacarias  hadn't taken great care to ensure those firing didn't suffer permanent  damage. He didn't much care, not with Byron nearly torn to pieces and  three of his other men in harm's way.

Byron stirred inside the great dragon's body, groaning a little as his  torn body refused to answer his demands. Give me a minute.

Zacarias was determined to buy him whatever time he needed. Rafael, you  and Nicolas take out the shooters, every last one of them. No kills if  possible, he tacked on. The Lycan can regenerate limbs, so don't worry  about being nice. And if you happen to get an inkling of the ones who  shot Skyler, Paul and Josef, well, whatever happens to them, we won't  shed any tears.

Unleashing his two brothers on the shooters would most likely not have  met with Mikhail's approval, but Zacarias knew them, knew their skill.  They would make it so dangerous for any Lycan who dared raise a gun  toward the Carpathians that few would try.

Nicolas in particular was adept at reading thoughts of various species.  If he managed to find the original shooters, those men were definitely  part of the group determined to assassinate the council members and  start a war. He hadn't included those who shot Dimitri, mostly because  he was a Carpathian warrior and considered fair game, but no one was  going to shoot Paul and get away with it.

Zacarias was well aware he'd chosen the two most skilled and dangerous  of his brothers to drive those with guns back. They knew to stay high,  away from the Lycans. All of them shared the information Fen and Dimitri  had provided the Carpathians with about the wolf packs and how they  fought. He gave one more order to his brothers.

The moment you know for certain who the shooters are, I want to know.

It will be done, Rafael agreed. He was lifemate to Colby, Paul's sister,  and she'd looked at him with tear-filled eyes, pleading with him to  find Paul and bring him home. No one made his lifemate cry, or attempted  to kill his young brother-in-law, without retaliation.

They had come to find and kill the shooters. They would do their best to  follow Mikhail's orders and not start a war. They would avoid killing  innocents if they could, wounding those they were unsure of whose side  they were on, but once the guns had come out, those shooters had marked  themselves.

As Byron managed to shift back into human form, another wave of Lycans  erupted out of the ground where they'd dug, hidden, to get to their  prey. Two caught at Byron's bloody body, dragging him back away from the  three defenders while the other eight rushed the mixed bloods.

Dimitri leapt over the wall of Lycans, landing squarely over the top of  Byron's body, straddling him, his sword cutting through one of the  wolves trying to pull Byron away. At the same time, Dimitri leaned down,  thrusting a silver dagger into Byron's fist, and yanked him up  ruthlessly.

"Stay on your feet. No matter what, stay upright," he cautioned Byron, engaging in swordplay with the second, now frantic Lycan.

Byron was bleeding from a dozen or more wounds, some bone deep. He kept  one hand over his belly, where the wolves had sought to eviscerate him  as they were known to do.

Dimitri sliced through the Lycan's sword arm. The wolf screamed as his  forearm, wrist and hand dropped to the ground. Dimitri dismissed him,  swinging around to face the onslaught as five of his companions turned  back to aid him. They swarmed Dimitri in an attempt to overpower and  kill him.

Stay behind me, Byron, and keep an eye on the one-armed wolf. Keep in tight and move when I do.

Byron didn't answer. He'd lost far too much blood and was growing weak  fast, but he refused to allow himself to slide into unconsciousness. He  gripped the dagger and tried to tune himself to Dimitri's rhythm of  fighting.

He was fast. Far faster than Byron had ever conceived of, even when he'd  been warned about the mixed blood and their abilities. There was no  possible way to keep up. More than anything he wanted to watch the  deadly ballet between fighters. He couldn't feel any energy rising from  any of the fighters, least of all Dimitri. He found himself anticipating  the moves of the enemy, being guided by them rather than his defender  as he tried to stay back-to-back with Dimitri. Dimitri's fast moves were  entirely unpredictable.

Without warning, two more Lycans erupted almost at his feet. Byron  thrust the dagger into the chest of the nearest one, sidestepping the  knife coming at him from the Lycan's left hand. The second wolf had a  sword and he swung it low, still half in the ground. Dimitri somehow  sensed the two as they burst out of the ground, but still Byron heard  Dimitri grunt and knew he'd taken a hit.

Dimitri swore softly under his breath as the tip of a sword caught him  across the back of his calf. Fire burned through his skin and body as  the silver penetrated. You think I'd be used to it by now, he said to  his brother.

Get the hell out of there. Zacarias has created an opening for us. Razvan and Ivory will do a flyby and pick you and Byron up.

Screw that, Fen. Dimitri was not about to leave the other two on the  ground, not with so many Lycans determined to kill them all.                       
       
           



       

Binding your lifemate hasn't improved your temper much, Fen noted. I  wasn't planning on hanging around. I'm not wounded in twenty-seven  places, burned all to hell and back and playing the hero for my woman. I  can grab Zev and go the moment you and Byron are safe.

Dimitri parried two swords at once, riding them in a circle to the ground and then cutting deep into both Lycans' chests.

Not to mention those De La Cruz brothers are wreaking as much havoc as  they dare. I don't think technically they've actually killed anyone, but  they're ruthless as hell and definitely riding a thin edge. They plan  to shield us as we take off. I can shift in the air. Zev's pretty adept  at flight now.

That made more sense. Just this one time, Dimitri considered that it  might be fun to be one of the De La Cruz brothers. They were a law unto  themselves-or rather, their eldest brother. Every Carpathian alive knew  one didn't cross Zacarias and come out of it unscathed.

I'm a little busy right now, Dimitri pointed out. You two get out of  here and we'll be behind you as soon as we can fight our way free.

We're heading your way now.

As Fen and Zev began to move steadily toward Byron and Dimitri, there  was a shift in their minds, a clear telepathic message of triumph.

We've found them, Nicolas said. Seven shooters. All of them are feeling  rather smug that they shot Skyler, Paul and Josef. They're even  whispering about how the girl is the one to kill, that if they managed  to kill her, the Carpathians would definitely go to war.

They think Skyler is Sange rau because she was able to construct the  shelter, Rafael added. A hit has been put out on her and their top  assassins have been sent to track and kill her, Dimitri, Fen and Zev.