Page 13 of No Honor Amongst Shifters (It’s a Psychic World #9)

ROSLIN HAD NO IDEA what was happening. One second, he and Alcott were watching Elijah and Gunther fight, and the next, Alcott was gone.

For such a big dragon, Alcott moved fast. By the time Roslin started going after him, Alcott was already on the ground, bleeding. Roslin didn’t think. Part of his brain understood what had happened, and he pushed his power into the ghosts surrounding him. They crowded the mage who’d been attacking Elijah and had wounded Alcott, pushing her back as she screamed.

Roslin trusted the ghosts. He ran to Alcott, needing to know how his boyfriend was. In the darkness, he couldn’t even tell if Alcott was alive, which wasn’t something he wanted to consider. Alcott had to be fine.

He noticed a dragon taking down the mage, and a savage satisfaction filled him. He only had eyes for Alcott, though, especially as he knelt down next to his boyfriend.

He didn’t know where to start. Alcott’s body was massive, and while Roslin wanted to be close to his head so he could reassure him that he’d be all right, he needed to do something about the wound that had torn Alcott’s side.

It was bleeding heavily. Roslin pressed both of his hands against it even though he knew it wouldn’t help. He wasn’t a mage, so he couldn’t help Alcott. His ghosts wouldn’t be able to do anything about this.

“Shift back,”

he ordered Alcott, hoping that Alcott was awake enough to hear him. His wound wouldn’t heal if he shifted, but it would be more manageable.

Alcott shuddered. For a moment, that was all that happened, and Roslin pressed his hands harder against the wound. His fingers were slick with blood, and the smell of copper was heavy in the air, making him fight the urge to gag. He could feel pebbles digging into his knees, and he was terrified that someone would attack him from behind while he was focusing on Alcott. He was still feeding his power to the ghosts, but no matter how much he trusted them, they were cockatrice shifters. Their loyalty wasn’t to Alcott and Roslin. It was to their clan.

A clan Roslin and his people were attacking.

Alcott’s body shuddered. He started shrinking, and Roslin had to resist the urge to cry. Alcott had heard him. He was shifting back.

Alcott was panting and shivering by the time he was back in his human form. There was a wide gash in the shirt he was wearing, and Roslin had to push it aside to see the wound better. It was less impressive now that Alcott was in his human form, even though it was still bleeding and no doubt hurt like hell.

Every psychic had been equipped with a first aid kit. Roslin scrambled to take it out, dumping its contents on the ground as he looked for gauze. He tore the packets open and pressed the gauze against Alcott’s skin, causing him to cry out. That didn’t stop Roslin. He needed to take care of Alcott.

“I’m fine,”

Alcott said.

“You don’t look fine. You’re bleeding.”

“Yeah, I noticed. I don’t know what that mage did, but I’m lucky my dragon skin is thick.”

Alcott was talking clearly. He was obviously in pain from the strain in his voice, but he sounded strong, which gave Roslin hope. He just needed the wound to stop bleeding. He didn’t think Alcott would go back to fighting anytime soon, but he wouldn’t have to. There were plenty of people fighting around them.

Including Elijah. He’d paused when Alcott had been wounded, but he hadn’t had the opportunity to check in on him. He was too busy fighting a cockatrice.

“How is he?”

Gunther asked, appearing next to them.

There was a long gash down his cheek, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. The gash was bleeding sluggishly, so Roslin held out a gauze. Gunther took it and pressed it against his face, but his attention was on Alcott.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a scratch,”

Alcott tried to convince them.

“It’s a bit more than a scratch, but he will be fine,”

Roslin agreed. He wasn’t a doctor, but now that Alcott was in his human form, he was pretty sure that the cut wasn’t deep enough to kill him.

“I can check him.”

“Or you can focus on Elijah.”

Gunther hesitated.

“I don’t think I can.”

Roslin understood. Gunther was afraid to watch in case something happened to Elijah. He needed something to distract him.

“Why don’t you help me finish wrapping the wound?”

he offered. He released the ghosts from his power, relieved that he and Alcott now had someone to watch their back.

Gunther dropped to his knees next to him and went to work.

Roslin hadn’t needed help, which meant there wasn’t much for him to do.

He didn’t want anything to happen to Elijah, either, but he didn’t have the same strong emotions about the fight that was happening feet away from them, so he turned to look.

Elijah’s dragon form was impressive.

He was a big man in his human form, but in his dragon form, he was massive.

The cockatrice fighting him didn’t stand a chance, but that didn’t stop them.

They kept coming at Elijah, biting and scratching him where they could.

They were a lot faster, and Roslin hoped that wouldn’t be enough for them to win this fight.

Something touched Roslin’s hand.

He glanced down to see that Alcott was trying to link their fingers together, so he flipped his hand, gripping Alcott’s before turning back to the fight.

The cockatrice darted under Elijah’s front.

Elijah reared back, opening his wings to keep his balance.

Elijah grunted loudly and jerked back.

Even though the night was dark, they were close enough to the houses surrounding them that their lights illuminated the scene.

Roslin didn’t have a shifter’s vision, especially in the darkness, but even he saw the blood staining Elijah’s chest.

Roslin squeezed Alcott’s hand harder and swallowed.

They couldn’t afford to lose Elijah.

He was their leader.

He was the one who gave them strength and guidance.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

He’d been listening to Misha’s voice in his earbud since they’d entered cockatrice territory.

It was easy to ignore him when there was so much to focus on, but without him, everyone would be lost.

He wasn’t the clan leader, though.

Elijah was, and he needed to survive this fight.

The cockatrice was still trying to get to Elijah’s throat.

Elijah raised a front leg and hit them, sending them flying back.

The cockatrice managed to keep upright and dug their claws into the ground, sliding but not going as far as Elijah had probably hoped they would.

They ran back at Elijah right away.

They were fast and tried to slide under Elijah’s body again, but Elijah used his wing to slap them away.

The cockatrice lost their balance and stumbled back.

Unlike dragons, they didn’t have four legs and two wings.

Their wings were part of their arms, and Roslin suspected it meant that they were better at fighting in the air than they were on the ground.

“That’s Irwin,”

Gunther said.

Roslin hadn’t realized it, but he hoped that once this particular fight was over, the other cockatrices would stand down. He didn’t know what the coven would do, but he’d seen the bodies of several mages on the ground, and some of them had to be wounded.

The coven hadn’t attacked the dragon clan head-on. They’d asked Irwin for his help, which hopefully meant that they were outnumbered and knew they would lose without the cockatrices on their side.

Roslin looked up. Irwin was moving forward again, but even though he was fast, Elijah had his bulk on his side. He rammed his shoulder against Irwin’s chest, turning sideways as he sent Irwin flying. He also snapped a wing forward to catch Irwin, stopping his fall and pulling him forward. Irwin struggled, but in the end, he was no match for Elijah.

Roslin watched as his clan leader snapped his head forward and bit down on Irwin’s neck. Irwin screeched, and when the sound abruptly stopped, Roslin knew that Elijah had won.

He prayed it would be enough to save the clan.

ALCOTT WATCHED IRWIN die, and the only thing he felt was relief. The fight wasn’t over yet, but one of the monsters had been slain. Hopefully, with Irwin gone, the cockatrices would take a step back.

For a second after Irwin’s body dropped to the ground, everyone in the area was silent. Alcott could still hear people fighting in the distance, but the people who’d seen Irwin fall knew what this meant.

Alcott wasn’t surprised when a woman stepped forward. Her dark hair was wild around her face, and she was holding her arm against her chest, but she didn’t seem to care. She stood strong as she looked around, pinning every cockatrice shifter in the area with her gaze.

“Irwin is gone,”

she declared.

“We need to stop this madness.”

Alcott recognized her voice.

He’d heard her several times when he’d lived here with Damien.

He’d never seen her face, but he knew precisely who she was.

Irwin had felt he was doing a good thing when he killed his cousin.

He hadn’t counted on his aunt wanting revenge for her son’s death.

Curt’s mother seemed to have decided she’d be the one to take over the cockatrice clan now that Irwin was dead.

Alcott didn’t know if it was a good idea, but it was none of his business.

He wasn’t a cockatrice, and if he had anything to say about it, he’d never return to cockatrice territory once this mess was over.

It wasn’t yet.

As soon as Curt’s mother was done talking, someone else stepped in.

Alcott shivered when he recognized Arlene.

The coven might not have a leader per se since they were guided by a group of them, but if anyone asked Alcott who the worst of them was, he’d point his finger at her.

The few times he’d been in the same room as her, she’d terrified him. She was emotionless and didn’t care about anyone but herself. She was also powerful and ready to do anything to obtain more of that power.

Elijah shifted back.

For a second, he and Arlene stared at each other.

Elijah was wounded, but he was standing strong, and Alcott had no doubt that his leader would shift back and fight Arlene if she refused to stand down.

“You lost,”

Elijah declared. His voice was loud, even with the sound of fighting in the distance.

“Irwin is dead, and the cockatrices won’t fight for you anymore.

You could never win this fight on your own.

No matter how much magic you have, my clan is stronger than your coven.”

Alcott noticed other mages gathering behind Arlene.

Thomas was limping, which gave Alcott a savage satisfaction because he remembered the asshole kicking him.

Callie stood behind Thomas, her arm around Freddie’s waist, holding him up.

From the looks of it, Freddie was in bad shape.

And then there was Damien.

Alcott had no idea what had happened to him after he and Roslin had run, but it was clear that he’d encountered a dragon.

Someone had raked their claws down Damien’s face and neck.

He was pressing some kind of fabric against the wounds, but Alcott could see them peeking out. The fabric was red with blood, and Damien’s skin was paler than Alcott had ever seen it.

Damien wasn’t dead, but he would never hurt Alcott again.

None of these mages would.

Alcott was finally free of them and, hopefully, free of what he’d done.

Roslin was still holding Alcott’s hand, and he squeezed harder when he noticed Damien.

He turned to Alcott, who shook his head.

He wasn’t afraid of Damien anymore.

He had been earlier, but he’d had time to think about what Damien had said.

Maybe Alcott was weak.

Did it really matter? He hadn’t thought twice about putting himself between Elijah and the mage who’d been trying to attack him.

He’d wanted to save his clan leader, and he had.

None of them could know if the wounds Elijah would have sustained if the mage had succeeded would have killed him, but it didn’t matter. Alcott had been there, and he’d taken the hit.

“You won,”

Arlene agreed.

“We will leave this town.”

“Why should I allow you to?”

Elijah asked

“You will because you don’t want any more of your people to be hurt. We might be weaker than you, but we have magic. We can still do damage.”

Alcott sucked in a breath. Arlene was right. If the mages decided to go down that path, they could do a lot of damage before the dragons killed them. Hell, some of them might even survive the fight. If they hurt enough dragons, they’d be able to sneak out.

Alcott briefly wondered if the coven would continue moving from town to town, destroying clans and hurting shifters. He felt guilty about sending them away, but at the same time, he needed to focus on the people he cared about. Once the coven was gone, his brother would be safe. The whole clan would be. That was all he cared about.

Elijah took a few moments to answer. “Go,”

he ordered.

“But know that if our paths ever cross again, I won’t be as lenient.”

Arlene’s lips curled into a smile.

“Neither will I.”

She turned and walked away. She didn’t wait for any of the wounded mages to catch up with her. Alcott didn’t think she cared about them. She just moved, and they were left to scramble behind her.

None of them hesitated. They followed her, limping and in pain, and that was the last Alcott saw of them.

As soon as they were gone, he flopped back down onto the hard ground and groaned. He might not be dying, but it fucking hurt.

“Everything okay?”

Roslin said as he turned back to him.

“It hurts.”

“You big baby,”

Gunther said as he gently prodded Alcott’s side.

He’d been working on Alcott while the fight was still ongoing. Alcott hadn’t checked what he was doing. He’d wanted to know who would win, and he trusted Gunther with his life.

“I healed you, but only partially,”

Gunther said.

“You’re not bleeding anymore, but I wouldn’t move too much if I were you. Stay here. Roslin will take care of you.”

Alcott turned to Roslin, who quickly nodded to agree. He would take care of Alcott, wouldn’t he? He’d been telling Alcott he would since they’d started talking, but Alcott had never allowed himself to believe it.

Maybe now, he could.

Together, they watched Gunther hurry to Elijah’s side.

As soon as Gunther reached Elijah, Alcott looked away.

The two didn’t have any privacy considering the number of people standing around them, but it didn’t mean Alcott had to stare at them as they reunited.

“You’ll be fine,”

Roslin promised.

“I hope so. “

“You will be. I’ll take care of you until you’re fully healed.”

Roslin paused and smiled.

“I’ll always take care of you if you give me the opportunity to do so.”

Alcott smiled back. “I know.”