Page 89 of A Luna’s Dynasty (Celestial #1)

F irst, she heard the loud thudding behind her.

Then, a blur through the air, followed by the sounds of yelps from the wolves and screeches from the imps.

There, shining in all his black beauty was Rowan the kelpie, along with another dazzling horse, his mate.

They had heard the ensuing battle and leaped into action from the nearby river.

They charged into the battle with no hesitation and immediately started landing fatal blows to the creatures they came into contact with.

Kelpies were considered battle fairies. They liked fighting …

they craved fighting … sort of like a werewolf.

They were strong, magnificent animals. Not only could they trample and kick, but they could also bite.

The two of them added into the mix was like a small pack of wolves coming to their aid.

The imps were no match for them. Their eyes were wide with fear as they began to back away from the bloodthirsty horses.

The fight was far from over, though. Caspian and Caden had made their way to Lita’s side.

The three were tired but continued to meet with the onslaught of demon wolves.

Grayson and the hellhound were a wrecking ball of fury, each slamming the other into the ground and nearby trees.

They both had deep wounds and were getting exhausted.

She was supposed to be mine. She didn’t give me a chance. I WILL have a fairy princess mate. This is her penance. This is all her fault. Whatever I have to do … it is because of her, Abaas snarled as he snapped at Asher. You wouldn’t understand. How could you?

Asher dodged the attacks from Abaas and followed with counterstrikes of his own.

What are you talking about?!

What if she would have rejected you? She is everything you’ve ever wanted, right? The one person your soul craves … demands. What if she would have run and never given you a chance?

The fact was she did run from him at first. She didn’t want to be with him at first either, but what if she’d kept running?

What if she’d run into the arms of another man and never given him a chance?

In a strange, sick way, he understood the demon’s madness, because it would have driven him to madness as well.

Maybe not as sick and twisted, but for a demon, this was probably normal.

Why punish Lita? Why go after my mate?! She’s mine!

And just as you would expect, as her mate, I will eviscerate anyone who tries to take her from me.

I get it, had my mate run into the arms of another …

I understand the madness of your pain. But I can say clearly, I would never have gone after her children.

I would never force myself on them, and especially not her.

You know why? Asher watched as Abaas’ wolf curled his lips up, baring his fangs.

Because that isn’t love. Real love is accepting your own pain and torture as long as they’re happy.

Seeing your mate happy should have given you solace.

It sucks. It hurts. It wasn’t supposed to be that way, but she didn’t feel the bond.

She was afraid. But you allowed yourself to be poisoned to the point that you no longer cared about your mate.

All you cared about was yourself and the injustice that you were served.

You never once thought about her, a pacifist fairy being pursued by a bloodthirsty demon-wolf.

If you did, you would have understood her fear.

You would have found a different way to approach her.

But you didn’t … because you cared more for yourself.

You know what? You didn’t deserve her. That’s why she was led to another mate, one where the bond was mutual. Someone who was patient and loving.

No, Abaas growled bitterly.

Someone who knew how to gently win her heart.

No!

Asher snarled as he lunged at Abaas. You never deserved her, and you sure as hell won’t get anywhere near Lita. I’ll send you to hell, where you belong.

You can try … wolf.

Lita couldn’t see Asher and Abaas anymore, but she could hear their brutal fight in the distance.

The relentless battle had dragged them deeper into the dark, tangled woods.

She’d had enough. Rage. Pure, unbridled rage filled her insides.

Her mate was fighting her battle. Blood dripped from Grayson’s battered body as he fought with every ounce of strength he had left.

The exhaustion was setting in for all of them, but she couldn’t give up now.

This was her fight to end, and she needed to summon every last reserve of power within her.

It was time to unleash the full force of her fury.

The sky turned into a sinister canvas as dark clouds blotted out the sun, suffocating the light and casting an ominous gray pall over everything below.

Seraphina screeched in approval. It was time to end this battle.

Despite her exhaustion, Lita pushed through and tapped into the power she was born with—power passed down from her alpha father and fairy queen mother.

She dug deep within herself, searching for the buried source of her strength.

And there it was—a warmth bubbling up from within her, a light she willingly embraced, a power she called upon.

With all her combined elemental, fairy, and luna powers, she unleashed everything she had in an act of desperation.

But as the energy drained from her, she couldn’t help but wonder if it would be enough.

A blinding explosion of light engulfed her entire body, shooting upward toward the menacing dark clouds.

They began to spin in a maddening rage, streaking a blazing trail of red and blue rays that sliced through the ominous sky like knives.

The intensity of her power radiated off her like waves, pulsating with raw energy and determination.

The earth shook as a blue bolt of energy flashed down into the battlefield.

As the bolts of energy clashed in the air, bright flashes of blue and white light illuminated the battlefield.

In a rippling surge of energy, the streaks laid siege to their opponents, shocking, burning, and incapacitating them.

Wolves scattered, imps scattered, pulling back in full-retreat mode.

The hellhound and Grayson circled each other like two savage predators, their chests heaving with exhaustion.

Every eye was glued to their ferocious battle.

In a sudden burst of energy, they charged at each other, teeth bared and claws ready to strike.

The hound lunged at Grayson, its fangs sinking deep into his shoulder and ripping out a chunk of flesh.

But Grayson had planned this, using the beast’s hold on him to his advantage.

Ignoring the searing pain, he clamped down on the hound’s throat with all his might, determined to bring it down with him if he had to.

Blood sprayed everywhere as they both fought for their lives in this brutal showdown.

Red. The ground was drinking the red liquid as the dark pools collected on the ground. The sickening smell of burning iron flooded the area as the wind tossed its scent in the breeze.

The beast fell to the ground, giving out its last few twitches of life before finally stilling.

The remaining wolves and imps disappeared. They fled with urgency, leaving their dead like discarded trash.

A loud yelp rang out.

Mira cried out in pain as a huge, winged creature sank its talons into her back.

The claws went in deep, her dark fur immediately soaked in blood.

Seraphina was instantly on it. The phoenix faced off with the harpy, clashing in the sky.

The harpy was a traitor. It was a creature that belonged to the fairy world, but this one had chosen to align with the demons.

It was no match for the deity, though. In a millisecond, she was charred, her ashes swirling in the wind.

Grayson was standing shakily at Mira’s side, looking her over.

She had various wounds covering her body, the deepest and the worst being the most recent lacerations from the talons of the harpy.

Her black coat was glistening wet from her life liquid.

His sweet princess was in bad shape. She needed to rest before she ended up further injured.

Mira was shaking. Blood was dripping down her back, and her legs were trembling, barely supporting her weight.

She couldn’t collapse yet. The sounds of fighting were gone.

Where were Asher and Abaas? She turned and ran in the direction she heard them last. Pure adrenaline fueled her.

She had nothing left. That last attack had exhausted her.

It was her drive to get to her mate that moved her feet.

She was ignoring the exhaustion. She was ignoring the pain.

She only had one thing on her mind—she had to get to Asher.

Behind her, the rest of her party followed. They were all exhausted and wounded. However, they all had the same idea. They had to get to Asher, wherever he was.

As they went deeper in the woods, they noticed blood on the ground, signs that an intense fight had taken place. It was quiet. Mira met with Caden’s eyes. He was conflicted, worried about Asher and Rosa.

Go find Rosa and the boys. There are enough of us here to help Asher.

Lita knew the feeling, because she was feeling it too.

The feeling of despair, not knowing where your mate was during a time like this.

She wanted to make sure her two boys were safe as well.

Caden’s wolf gave a quick nod, and he pushed his exhausted body to start trailing his mate.

Where was Asher? She couldn’t hear the battle at all anymore. She caught the nervous glances of those around her. She had to ignore them. Her world faded for a moment, but she just shook her head. She couldn’t black out now. He needed her.

They continued to follow the blood trail.

The forest showed signs of the intensity of the battle.

The trees and shrubs were bent and broken, with blood splattered throughout the area.

The ground was disturbed by deep claw marks.

There was nothing, though. She couldn’t smell him … she couldn’t smell either of them.

They came to a small clearing as they continued to follow the gruesome blood trail, where it suddenly came to a stop right at the edge of a waterfall.

Mira ran up to the edge and looked across the river.

It hadn’t been disturbed. She looked down the falls that crashed into a raging river of heavy rapids.

Oh no. They went over the falls. Before she could say anything, the two kelpies jumped, crashing into the river below.

A soft whimper left her throat. Even in the best of conditions, the river would be a challenge.

She had no clue what shape Bo was in when he went over the edge.

You need to rest. Grayson’s soft voice sounded in her mind. He had noticed the nonstop trembling from her body. Her blood dripped steadily onto the ground. She was going to die if she didn’t stop.

Mira turned and glared at him. Rest? He wanted her to rest?

! She snarled at him and then leaped over the hillside.

She tumbled down the steep hill, following the river.

She was going to search for her mate. She could hear the frantic calls and steps behind her.

She didn’t care. There was only one thing that mattered.

A blaze of light landed in front of her.

Seraphina blocked her path. She knew that Lita was running on fumes and had nothing left.

In the short pause as Lita met with Seraphina’s eyes, she felt her world drift away.

At first, she lost her sight. Then she collapsed onto the ground, her world spinning.

She tried to push herself, willing herself to stand.

Her body ignored her. As the darkness of unconsciousness overtook her, she transformed back into her human form.

Seraphina disappeared, along with her awareness.

One last, frantic thought was left. Asher, where are you?