19. Mai

Chapter nineteen

Mai

I landed hard in the snow, instinctively curling inwards to protect my baby. A white-hot jolt of pain shot through my arm, but it didn’t matter. Not right now. Anger rolled through me. The witch had tossed us aside like we were stick men.

Fuck, no!

This was no longer about just protecting Lark. We were the Three Rivers Pack, and we submitted to no one.

I pushed myself to my feet and saw my wolves—my family—on the attack. From different corners of the compound, Sam, Derek, and Mason sprinted, huge and snarling, toward the attacking Pack and their witches. The front door swung open, and Jem, Jase, Sofia, Esme, Wally, Maxwell, Amara, and Cameron poured out.

My eyes sought out Ryan, and there he was in his True Werewolf form. Absolutely massive, dwarfing the regular wolves of the Knox Pack. His dark fur rippled with power as snow fell softly around him. He looked like something out of legend, a myth come to life, as he let out an almighty roar full of rage.

The Knox Pack instinctively cringed away, their movements faltering. I recognized their shock. You couldn’t see Ryan’s True Werewolf form and not hesitate.

I moved, adrenaline pumping through my veins. My foot kicked against the soft snow as I launched forward. One of the wolves—a big one with dark, mottled fur streaked with gray—turned just as I crashed into him. Before he could snap at me, I wrapped my arm around his muzzle and used my momentum to drive him to the ground. His neck twisted to the side as we fell, and I used my other hand to deliver three punches in quick succession to his throat. He collapsed under me, and I jumped up, looking for my next target. My breath fogged in the cold air as I saw him.

Ryan.

Carving a path through the Knox Pack straight to me. Behind him, four werewolves were crumpled on the ground in various states of consciousness. He reached me, and his strong arms pulled me to him.

“Safe,” he growled.

Yes. I was safe. The baby was safe. He was safe. But he was interrupting me kicking ass.

I pulled back. “We’re okay!”

I saw in his eyes, felt it in our mate bond, his plan. He was going to take me out of here, get me to safety before coming back to fight.

“Don’t you dare!” I warned.

This was just like in my nightmares. Ryan’s attention on me, on the baby, leaving the rest of our Pack vulnerable. They’d fall while Ryan tried to protect me. Just the thought of it brought me out in a cold sweat.

“Ryan!” I snapped, yanking my arm free from his grasp.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of silver fur barrel through the field of snow. One of the Knox wolves—stocky, with blazing yellow eyes—charged at Ryan’s blindside. He turned to intercept, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“No!”

I lunged forward just as Ryan lifted me out of the way with one arm, as he literally stomped on the wolf, his foot coming down on the wolf’s head and driving it into the snow.

Alrighty then.

To our left, there were snarls and yelps of pain as my Pack attacked.

Sofia threw knives with deadly accuracy. Two of them caught one of the Knox wolves in the shoulder, and it stumbled back with a yelp.

Maxwell moved with a lethal grace I hadn’t expected from a human. He leaped, sailing over an approaching werewolf, twisted in mid-air, and as he landed, drove his knee into the wolf’s head.

Amara and Cameron fought side by side, their movements synchronized as they tag-teamed a large gray wolf. Cameron ducked as Amara jumped over him, her compact white wolf a blur of teeth as she slammed into their opponent.

Wally charged forward, his tennis racket held high like a sword, his battle cry ringing out across the snowy lawn. “This is for ruining my decorations, bitches!”

Ryan froze next to me, and I whirled to him. He was straining, his face tight with tension, muscles bugling.

What the hell?

“Can’t. Move,” he said through gritted teeth.

The witches. They were targeting Ryan as the biggest threat.

I spun, seeking them out. Near the edge of the battle, Esme was throwing snowballs at the witches. The snowballs were dissolving mid-air before they could hit their targets.

What was she doing?

We need to distract them, Esme’s voice rang in my mind. There’s a limit to the spells they can cast.

If we concentrated our attacks on the witches, they’d have to focus on fending us off, and maybe Ryan could break free.

Tell the others, I ordered Esme. She could speak in their minds and it meant we didn’t give our tactics away.

“Jem, Jase, cover us!” I yelled. We’d need someone protecting our backs.

From the right, I saw Sam lunge at the male witch. He flicked his hand to the side, and Sam bounced off an invisible barrier. Derek sailed over Sam’s head, trying to go over the barrier, but he hit it too and crashed to the ground.

One of Sofia’s knives hurtled past me, heading straight for the blonde. A gust of wind caught it and flung it back toward her.

I didn’t think so.

I plucked it out of the air as it sailed past. I was still twenty feet from her.

Behind me, I heard Ryan’s roar. It was working.

Derek and Sam were throwing themselves against the barrier. Sprinting, I threw the knife at the male witch’s back. He sensed it coming and waved his arm, but it was too late. The knife sliced the side of his face as he turned. Blood ran down his cheek, and the barrier broke. Derek and Sam surged through, and the witch disappeared under their huge bodies.

I didn’t stop. I focused on the blonde. She whirled to face me as snowballs from all sides zoomed toward her. Maxwell, Sofia, Shya, Esme, and Wally were scooping up snow and launching them at the witch. One after the other.

Ten feet.

A Knox wolf appeared on my left. It’s jaw wide, ready to tear my flesh, it darted in. I braced for impact, but suddenly Jem was there, his body slamming into the attacking wolf, another one of Sofia’s knives in his hand. For a split second, our eyes met, and I saw it—a flash of my brother, my protector, the one who’d taught me how to fight, who’d held me when our parents died.

Then Jem punched the blade into the wolf’s side, two, three, five times. It was quick and brutal, efficient.

“Go,” he growled, the word rough with effort. “I’ve got your back.”

I kept going.

Five feet.

The witch was batting the snowballs away. Behind her, I saw Wally reach into his cargo pants and pull out two tennis balls.

Three feet.

He threw the first one up in the air, swung the tennis racket and executed a perfect serve. The ball careered straight for her. Her fingers twitched and the ball dropped out of the sky. The snowball Esme had thrown at the same time slammed into her stomach though.

Gotcha.

She took one step back, and I crashed into her. She was ready for me and twisted with her hips, using my momentum to send me smacking into the snow. I rolled and was on my feet in an instant. Another tennis ball whacked into the back of her head as I charged. I leaned forward, my shoulder ramming into her midriff, and wrapped my arms around her legs. I pulled, taking her feet from under her. Her back and head slammed into the ground with a satisfying crack. I scrambled up and wedged a knee on her throat as Maxwell appeared by my side, grabbing her wrists so she couldn’t perform any more spells.

With the witches down, the fight turned chaotic—claws tearing, fangs snapping, knives whirling through the air. The snow beneath our feet turned pink with blood. Through it all, Ryan stayed too close, his massive form constantly shifting to keep himself between me and any threat. Every time I tried to engage, he was there, blocking, protecting, when we both needed to be fighting.

My attention snapped back to Ryan as another wolf lunged for us. This time, I wasn’t going to let him handle it alone. I ducked under Ryan’s protective stance and met the attack head-on, driving my knee up into the wolf’s chest. The impact sent shockwaves through my leg, but the wolf yelped and stumbled back.

“Mai!” Ryan’s growl was filled with frustration as he moved to shield me again.

No. This couldn’t happen. We wouldn’t lose anyone because he was too focused on protecting me.

A blur of dark brown fur streaked past the front door—Lark. The small wolf’s eyes blazed with hatred as she launched herself at Artie, teeth bared for his throat. My heart stopped. She was too small, too young—

“Lark, no!” I screamed, but my voice was lost in the chaos.

Ryan’s attention snapped to the pup, his protective instincts warring between me and the child in danger. To my left, Derek took a brutal hit to his side, knocked off balance as his opponent capitalized on his split-second glance in my direction. The Knox wolf’s teeth dug into his shoulder, and crimson bloomed across the snow.

Artie caught Lark mid-leap, his larger form easily subduing her. She thrashed wildly, her fury giving her strength beyond her size, but she was no match for an adult wolf. My stomach lurched as I moved to help her.

Ryan grabbed me and pulled me back. Ahead, a massive black wolf slammed into Mason, driving him backward into a tree. The impact shook snow from the branches above and sent it falling over them both.

Sam’s opponent got past his guard, and claws raked across his flank, and he barely managed to roll away from a follow-up attack that would have torn out his throat.

This was my nightmare come to life. Ryan trying to protect me, leaving the rest of our Pack vulnerable.

“Cam!”

I turned as Amara’s voice called out sharp with warning. A Knox wolf separated them, driving Amara back while another circled behind Cameron.

I spun away from Ryan, desperate to help, to fight, to do something. But my movement had been anticipated. A clawed hand curled around my neck, cutting off oxygen, and yanked me back.

“Stop!” Gabrielle yelled, her voice loud in my ear. “Stop, or I’ll kill her!”