Page 20 of Red (Everdark Tales #1)

Keeping myself from running up to her and literally strangling her to death, I nestle into Alex’s arms around me. He seems tense, flexing below the fur. I can sense the tragedy’s already brewing.

“Hello, Julia,” she has the audacity to speak as if she hadn’t let me believe she was dead for the past two months. “Good to see you.”

“I really wish I could say the same.”

Staring me down, she frowns, noticing what I’m wearing. “Is that my vintage Dior?”

I don’t even feel like responding to her. Is that what concerns her at this moment? Yes, I’m wearing her damn red wool Dior coat, so what?

She gives me a phony smile. “I understand this might be a little upsetting. Please, allow me to explain.”

“Thanks, I’m not interested.”

Her demeanor changes, and as she waves, a soldier steps out of the car with Greg, holding a gun to his head. My heart shatters, seeing him bound and gagged, scared to death.

“Release him!” I yell and Alex has to hold me from launching.

“We can do this the easy way, or the hard one, if that’s how you want it. But you will come with us.”

“Can I kill her?” Alex growls next to my ear.

“Not yet,” I whisper.

“Hard way it is then,” she says.

The other military man, who sits in the front passenger side and seems to be in charge, issues a command. A few more squad vehicles pop up on the horizon, and I can also hear a chopper arriving nearby.

I feel the need to vomit, knowing damn well what’s coming. “How could you do this to me!” I accuse, glaring at Senator Nancy Carter—I will no longer call her my grandmother.

“Oh, honey, don’t be dramatic! I gave you Dean. Trust me, I was convinced you couldn’t do better than him.” Her eyes move up on Alex. “Clearly, how wrong was I! You got yourself a king.”

A king?

Nancy must notice the shocked look on my face because she ridicules, “He didn’t tell you, did he? Well, I suppose if I were the antichrist, I wouldn’t introduce myself that way either.”

The antichrist?

My mind races, trying to process. He snarls behind me and I realize she’s one wrong word away from him snapping.

“It’s time to go.” She pulls out her hand.

I flinch. “You won’t keep me imprisoned!”

“Imprisoned? No, you’re family! I wouldn’t do that to you! Michelle could walk freely after you were born. Of course, I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. I need a boy from you.”

“You disgust me.”

“I’ll even let you keep your partner.” Once again, she looks at Alex. “I’d love your firstborn son, Alexander Marduk.”

Marduk… Why does this sound familiar?

Faster than anyone can react, Alex’s hand reaches over me and sinks inside her chest. All the blood vessels burst in the whites of her eyes as she stares right at me, a haze slowly covering her irises.

He rips her heart out, crushing it inside his fist, and the blood spills from her mouth before she collapses.

Short of even a moment to register what has just happened, Alex sweeps me up and tosses onto his back. Sprinting toward the woods, he keeps dodging away from the machine gun.

I can hear the whirring of helicopter blades slicing through the air right above us. Together with some vicious fight sounds in the distance. It becomes clear that, despite being unprepared and outnumbered, Alex’s family attacked the military on the ground. But my face is buried in his fur as I’m too terrified to look behind.

Before we reach the shelter under the trees, Alex gets hit and tumbles down. Careful not to lose me, he turns to check on me, his eyes soften with concern. "Are you hurt?"

“No, but you are.” I promptly examine his body to find a couple of gunshot wounds. “Is it silver?”

He nods in response, confirming he’s not at a hundred percent anymore. He doesn’t seem to care much as he assumes the position, shielding me. “Stay close to me.”

He doesn’t need to tell me twice. I cowardly hide behind him, shadowing his moves.

No longer interested in Alex, however, the attackers target others. From the chopper's side, which is mounted with heavy weaponry, shots keep raining down.

Poor Maddox gets critically injured, taking a barrage of shots and plummets to the ground. Penelope, who is dismembering the soldiers closest to him, rushes to help.

At the same moment, a spine-chilling holler comes out of Edwin’s chest as he watches his son from the distance. With Tristan’s assistance, he takes advantage of the helicopter’s position low to the ground and gets a hold of the landing skids. This immediately causes the aircraft to sputter and veer off course before faltering. No one’s spared after Edwin attacks the crew.

Left without a backup, Katia suddenly gets overpowered. With no hesitation, Alex leaps to her rescue, scooping me on his back once again. My legs circle his waist as I fist his fur, holding on for dear life. I feel how the powerful muscles ripple below his thick skin while he moves with a predatory precision. Refusing to watch, I can only hear his teeth gnashing and claws slashing mixed with the screams and horrific sounds of blood being shed in the most gruesome of ways.

“I had this!” Katia whines.

No, she hadn’t.

“You’re welcome,” Alex replies to her as he safely puts me down… right next to the pile of dead bodies.

She continues to pout at him like a child but smiles with her eyes.

Oh, these two are cute. No time for this, though.

I look over to check on Maddox and breathe out a sigh of relief when I see him standing up.

Yet, it’s way too soon to celebrate, because additional tactical vehicles arrive, and this time, the military isn’t alone. Half a dozen vampire “soldiers” line up, accompanied by a couple of massive, white-coated werewolves.

All hell breaks loose as they charge at us.

Unexpectedly, our own numbers triple. We are joined by more allies, who waited for a cue to reveal themselves. A surge of mystical energy pulses through the forest behind as a group of witches emerges from the shadows, chanting incantations. They are immediately followed by another pack of wolves, and a few more friendly vampires.

“Alexander!” one of witches shouts, pulling out a sword from under her coat.

Alex gets a grip on the handle mid-air after she tosses it. Right in time to decapitate a male vampire that dashes at him.

He then nods to her. “That’s Farah,” he tells me. “If we get separated, she’ll keep you safe.”

“Let’s not get separated,” I whisper.

The shots begin to pour as another military helicopter flies in circles above the clearing. And everything gets even more chaotic.

I miss the majority of action with my limited human vision. But what I see is enough—them fighting together, helping and protecting each other. I’ve never felt this sense of family before.

All of them are here only because of me, and still, they’re fighting to save me. I’m no magical individual, but I finally feel like I belong.

Although, despite their resilience and unity, they’re struggling to withstand the unrelenting onslaught. The forces of nature and mysticism are slowly succumbing to the calculated human ruthlessness, combined with the innovative technology of military weaponry.

The worst happens when one of the weird white wolves faces Alex, trying to start a duel. His glowing blood-red eyes frighten me, there’s no humanity in them. He seems too methodical to be one of the bitten ones, either.

“What’s this?”

“One of their hybrids. Smells like vampire.”

But looks like a werewolf.

Alex's fur bristles while he gives a warning snarl to the opponent, an echo disappears in the mayhem around us. The creature growls in response, its fangs glistening in the moonlight.

With a primal roar, Alex lunges forward, as I stay back. Claws clash and teeth gnash while they engage in a brutal dance of dominance that my eyes are unable to keep up with.

Despite all Alex’s hardiness and agility, the hybrid delivers a powerful blow that sends my werewolf staggering backward. Being already severely wounded prior to the assault, he loses his grasp on the sword, gasping for breath, he scrambles to regain his footing.

Capitalizing on his momentary weakness, the hybrid unleashes a barrage of calculated strikes. Each blow lands with devastating force, causing Alex to stumble further, his muscles strained and his movements growing sluggish against the relentless assault.

With a snarl of triumph, the hybrid seizes the opportunity, pinning Alex to the ground, its claws digging into his flesh, slashing his sides.

My heart breaks as I hear his whimper, and I dive for the sword. But I never get a chance to reach it as I’m caught by a vampire.

“Julia!” I hear Alex’s bellow from afar.

And then, there is only pain. Not sure about the source, but the agony feels like forever.

Until it stops when my attacker implodes, covering me from head to toe in its guts.

I wipe my face clean to catch Farah with the corner of my eye. Before the chopper flies above her, and she falls, tangled in a large net made from iron, I assume, since it blocks her powers.

My eyes locate Alex, who’s still struggling with the hybrid, trying to break free. I spit blood that’s pooled in my mouth, and jump back on my feet, racing to the sword.

So much gunk is on me; I’m not even sure if any of the blood is mine. My ribs are pressing against my lungs, causing huge discomfort, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as my own tears choke me. But none of it matters.

Running purely on adrenaline, I pick up the sword. It’s even heavier than I anticipated, but I only see red. With all the strength I have in my human body mixed with all the feelings I carry for my werewolf, I swing.

It's a clean cut.

The head rolls down by my feet as the blood gushes in waterfalls everywhere around.

“Nice one, baby!” Alex praises, tossing the lifeless body of the beheaded hybrid to the side from himself.

He then quickly raises to his full height and covers my frame protectively with his own.

The helicopter already hovers above us, yet they aren’t shooting. We must be too important for them because everyone but us is down.

There are zero chances we can win this now.