Page 67 of His Blazing Witch (The Silver City #3)

...Say what? Her eyes go down on Selena and Nora, and both of them growl, but before I can react, Luna's expression suddenly goes dark, and the ground beneath them moves. Damian is the first to react. The large black wolf jumps in to push his mate out of the way. On the other side, Selena felt it coming at the last second, and jumped back to avoid the wood spike that suddenly came out from the ground.

"You shouldn't have made them witches," says Luna. "Now I will have to kill them too."

"It's temporary, and it's to stop you," I retort.

"...You know, I never really liked fighting," she sighs. "Despite my Alpha blood, I'd always leave the fights to the males in our packs... I am much more fit to protect."

What is she getting at? She is so calm and ironically, it's making me nervous as hell. The others too, I can sense they are ready for her next attack, the next threat. Luna steps forward, and our group steps back as one. She chuckles.

"You think you have found a new pack... You think they can replace the family you lost," she whispers.

"They are not replacing anyone," I retort before she can spread any doubt.

However, Luna is not looking at me. Her eyes go to all my companions, one after the other, and a wry smile appears on her lips. The ground beneath our feet starts shaking again, and we all are on guard, ready for the next attack. What is it going to be this time? More golems?

"You think you're the good people. You think the Lunas are all powerful, and you have all the answers, but... what happens when the past comes back to haunt you?"

¨ I have nothing to be afraid of, 〃 growls Selena.

"Really?" suddenly says Luna, turning her head to the golden-eyed wolf.

Fuck, she can hear our mind-links? We all exchange looks, but no one dares to use it anymore. If she can read our mind-link, this is one hell of an advantage lost to her... The ground gets louder beneath us, and I'm really starting to freak out about what the hell she'll throw at us next. A hill suddenly seems to climb up in front of Nora, and she backs away, Damian growling too right next to her.

The ground starts to form a new shape, just as it did when it was about to free the golem, but, instead of a humanoid shape, this time it's... a wolf. Oh Moon Goddess, and the smell is just horrible. The soil retires slowly, and I'm not sure what I'm looking at. It looks like a wolf, but... this thing is dead. It's standing on all fours, and growling loudly, but based on the exposed skull, the opened ribs, and that flesh almost gushing out, that thing is definitely, a hundred percent, supposed to be dead. Oh, I feel like throwing up. Even Ben's horror movies don't get that disgusting.

The one thing I'm worried about most, though, is Nora's reaction. She's stopped growling, and instead, she's slowly backing away, looking... in complete shock. Damian immediately takes a protective stance in front of her, growling furiously at that thing for a reason I don't understand.

¨ It can't be... It's... Vince 〃 mutters Nora.

"Can someone update me?" I growl.

¨ That guy abused Nora years ago. But he's also been dead for years! 〃

I turn to Luna, who has a smile on, visibly satisfied with that terrible joke of hers.

"See? Power over life and death," she says.

¨ You damn bitch, 〃 growls Selena. ¨ If you can hear me, note that I'm going to rip your 〃

"Rip my heart out?" finishes Luna, raising an eyebrow. "Like you did with your ex?"

Another dead wolf suddenly emerges from the ground, at least in a better state than the previous one, except for that very visible bullet hole in its head... Selena immediately starts growling at that thing instead, joined by her mate.

¨ Diego 〃

Before I can say anything, both Damian and Nathaniel jump as one, each on the enemy facing them.

The four wolves fight brutally, the already torn flesh being ripped apart under the furious growls of the Black Brothers.

I can tell they are dead serious, and very, very mad. Without their wives having to move an inch, it's over.

The remains on the ground clearly won't get back up for another round this time. I'm... surprised it was that easy, but when I look back at Luna, instead of looking surprised, she just smiles...

As she's still staring, the ground suddenly swallows the remains, burying them deeper into the ground again. Nora suddenly throws up, and I can't blame her.

"That was fucking disgusting of you," I growl at Luna.

"Was it?" she smiles. "Well, it's easy when you have to fight against an enemy, but... what happens when you have to fight those who were once your loved ones?"

The ground starts shaking again, and more little hills appear, all around us this time. Oh, Moon Goddess, no, no...

More wolves suddenly appear, and this time, the shock in the wolvesˇ eyes is much worse. Nora is paralyzed in front of the black and white male wolf facing her.

¨ ...William 〃

Moon Goddess, that's... William Blue? My... half-sibling?

"Stop it!" I yell at Luna, realizing what's going on.

She just keeps smiling, and more bodies are unearthed. I'm getting really nervous and panicked this time. She's bringing back a lot of them. Liam gets closer to me, growling furiously. Another wolf appears in front of Selena, and this time, she doesn't growl, but backs away.

¨ No, no, no 〃 I hear her. ¨ Mara, I can't fucking fight Levi... Not him 〃

From the brown fur, I can already tell this is Ben and Bonnie's deceased older brother, who was once her best friend. I know he died in the previous war, but... he's standing in front of her right now, as impossible as it sounds. His eyes are... dead, but the wolves all around us are real and moving. Luna is bringing back fucking zombies of their friends, of everyone they lost before. Holy shit...

"Dad..." mutters Liam, and his older brothers are growling at the same huge, black wolf that looks like them.

What the... Even Judah Black? She can't! I turn to Luna, furious.

"Stop it!" I yell, trying to find the root of her necromancy spell beneath us. "Leave them alone!"

"Them?" she says. "Do you think I'll spare you?"

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have yet to lose anyone in Si"

Before I can finish my sentence, the ground starts shaking in front of me, another hill forming. Oh, Moon Goddess, no, no... I see the ground opening again, and another wolf steps forward to face me, growling. I feel my heart sink, and everything else inside. No, no, no. I can't... I can't believe it. It's Lysandra Jones.

This has to be a freaking nightmare. I can barely believe what I am seeing, but this time, it's... real. Painfully real. Lysandra is dead, and facing me with a scary amount of dark aura surrounding her. Unlike the others, her body is looking almost... fine, as she hasn't been... dead for long. I feel my blood boiling with anger, and all around me, loud growls are echoing my feelings. I can't believe she went that low.

"Mara, tell me this isn't fucking real..." whispers Liam.

We are back to back, as he has to face his father with his brothers, and I can feel the anger, but also the fear, in his voice. Unfortunately, this isn't an illusion this time. It's very real. This Dark Magic is using the people we lost against us, and Luna is the one doing all of this.

Before I can even make a decision or answer Liam, they all start attacking at once. I hear Nora's voice scream in my head as William jumps at her, and Selena jumps to avoid an attack from Levi. The Black Brothers didn't wait, though. They all jumped as one to face the huge, angry, black wolf.

Lysandra jumps too. Perhaps because she was a warrior, she's much faster and precise than I anticipated. I roll down on the side, finding myself almost next to Nora, who jumped to my side just prior to facing her cousin.

¨ Mara, we need a solution. We can't face them! 〃

¨ They are dead, 〃 suddenly says Nathaniel. ¨ Nora, Selena. They are dead. Those people aren't the ones you remember. 〃

¨ Easy to say for you 〃 his wife growls.

"Selena, I'm sorry, but heˇs right. I can't... feel any life from them. They are just empty bodies moved by Dark Magic."

¨ Then do something about it, you're the magic specialist! 〃

She's stubborn in not wanting to fight her once best friend, and I can't blame her. I don't want to fight Lysandra or William.

Only the Black Brothers are actively fighting the wolf that was once their father, but I guess the feeling has to be much, much different from ours. I feel Nora's pain, her distress so heavy, I almost feel my own heart sinking.

When Lysandra jumps on me again, I'm ready. I jump down, rolling under her, and get up right in time to blast a fireball at William.

The body is thrown to the side with a terrible burnt smell, and my fire consumes it.