Page 160 of Broken Souls

“Then take her.”

“Sau! You can’t take them on your own. Antonio nearly killed you.”

“He won’t this time.”

I glance at the monster climbing out of the counter, but I don’t hesitate for long.

“Come on,” I tell Dayne as I peel out of the kitchen. We rush through the house, and the hairs on my neck rise. The memory of the last time I did this assaults me. My blood chills. Panic flairs through me. He promised to come back for my daughter.

I won’t let him.

But whatever was killing the plants was moving fast. The werewolves will be here as soon as they break through the property ward. How they can send a spell through it, I don’t know. My mind flashes back to the ward I set up around the basement the last time. Antonio walked straight through it.

Shit.

The basement safe room isn’t going to save anyone. The ward’s weaker than it was when I broke it; whatever witch they have on their side is strong. Still, what other chance do we have?

This is going to be a war between super werewolves and Sau’s monsters. We’ll be nothing but canon fodder to both sides.

“Shit,” Dayne says from behind me, and I turn my head to find him looking out the window. I twist back around to peer through it.

“Fuck.”

My heart rate increases. The plants are all dead, the ward is down, and there is a hundred-odd werewolves charging straight towards us. They’ll be on us in seconds. Pure terror comes down our bond. Fear for my safety.He knows.

Followed by determination and a need for violence.He’s coming –

A sudden shockwave shakes the house. I start to fall over, but Dayne catches me before I can knock into the wall.

“What the hel was that?” I ask, but the answer is out the window. A black dome has shot up around the property. Not around the house itself but behind the wolves. Their witch is trapping us all in here. Varius’ rage tells me he didn’t make it in.No!

“It’s Sau’s,” Dayne says grimly.

“What?”

He nods at the wolves. They’ve slowed down a little, and they look more restless. “They’re afraid,” he says.

“Why would she…” I close my eyes briefly. Of course. If her boys come back and try to fight them, they’ll die. If her monsters escape and run through St. Augustine, the seven archangels will come down to smite us all. There’s no back-up for us. Either Sau kills them all with her monsters or we die.

She’s just saved Varius...and I can’t hate her for that.

I love you.I push that through our bond, hoping that he can feel it.

“Shit, I can see why she’s named,” Dayne breathes, and I open my eyes.

My jaw drops as I watch a massive shadow form in front of the house. The first row of werewolves run into it and immediately get attacked by the monsters inside. They’re dragged down on howls of pain. The second row jumps back and snaps their teeth, but the third row barrels into them and shoves them forward.

Monstrous tentacles, claws, and teeth reach up out of the dark. It’s like Sau’s rung a dinner bell, and all her kids have come to feast. They grab hold of the werewolves and use them to drag themselves up. Monsters of all shapes and sizes now rip free and turn on the other wolves in a frenzy.

“Come on,” I say. We need to get down to the basement. If one of them sees Dayne, they’ll attack him just as fast as they will our enemies. He doesn’t have Shadow blood in his veins.

But just as I turn from the window, I whip my head back. I thought I saw a person out there, someone with wild red hair. Is it their witch? Did they see us?

Shit!

“Come on!” I race for the basement; Dayne’s right beside me. The glass behind us shatters. I risk a look behind me, needing to know if it’s their witch or a wolf or a monster to know what evasive action I need to take. My eyes widen at the speed the thing’s moving. It must be one of the super soldiers Antonio’s made.

“Don’t stop!” Dayne shouts as he throws up a pale-blue shield behind us. It reaches across the span of the hall. The werewolf slams into it and bounces back. He growls at it, then rakes his claws back and forth across it. Sparks fly off as he keeps shaving his claws, the magic burning everything that touches it, but the wardisstarting to break.