Chapter 31

31

Coughing with ringing so loud in my ears that I was dizzy, I slowly sat up.

“Kass! Kass!” Reed called out, his voice far away and distorted by the ringing in my ears.

There were so many sounds and ringing and … pain.

“Kass! Get up!” Grant bellowed. His yell was immediately followed by a scream of pain.

Grant was in pain?

Not just him.

I could hear other cries of pain.

Forcing my eyes open, I took slow, even breaths as I surveyed my surroundings.

The front door of the restaurant was blown apart and now a gaping hole. There was shattered glass all over the restaurant from the front windows that had been on either side of the door before it had exploded.

Theo was outside on the street, magic swirling around her in a dazzling and almost blinding display. Her wig was gone and her short, natural hair stuck out like she’d been electrocuted. Her eyes glowed white as she shielded herself against magic blasts being shot at her.

Grant and Reed stood just outside what used to be the front door, bodies shifted into warrior forms, but both were not fighting or even attempting to join the fight.

Where were the twins? I couldn’t see them, so maybe they were outside.

Zara bent down beside me, blood dripping down her face, and started using magic to heal me. “Are you okay, Sister?”

“I’ve been better,” I wheezed as I struggled to sit up.

Silver grabbed a chair nearby, smashed it against the ground, and spun the now splintered chair leg in his hand like an ax. “Stay down if you’re too injured to fight, Daughters.”

“I can’t be outshone by an old bastard like you,” I breathed and tried to stand, but my knees wobbled and I fell.

Zyra put her hands in my armpits, lifted me to my feet, and slapped a hand on my shoulder. “That’s my sister. Let’s go show this enemy what happens when they mess with our family.”

Zara sighed. “How about a little rage? Will that help?”

“Rage?” I asked.

She smiled. “You’re not the only one who has been practicing and trying to improve their abilities.” Exhaling, she held her hands out like cupping a ball and a red light began to glow between them. “I’m going to give you a bit of rage to help you fight.”

“Oh, rage ! Yes, please! I’ll take a double helping.” I smiled and clapped my hands together.

She made the light grow larger and instructed, “You three touch the light.”

Zyra, Silver, and I reached out and touched the red light.

Immediately, a burning rage exploded within me.

I screamed, threw my head back, and shifted into a shark-woman warrior form complete with a tail, fin, and a wider head to accommodate more teeth. “Blood!” I screamed. “I need blood!”

Zyra growled loudly beside me. “Let’s hunt!”

We ran outside, Silver right behind us, and before anyone could react, the three of us began attacking Roman and the two goblins standing on either side of him.

He had been so focused on Theo that he’d not realized we were close and battle ready.

I punched him in the face with knuckles covered in my shark scales that immediately sliced his skin apart.

Zyra had a short sword and cut into his chest. Silver swung the chair leg and it shattered on impact with Roman’s head.

Roman stumbled a step back, but raised his hand and used a spell to knock us all back.

There were three others helping Roman fight Theo from a distance away. They appeared to be witches as they looked human and were flinging magic spells with abandon, but I didn’t recognize them.

My feet bumped into something as I slid backwards and when I glanced down, I realized it was Damien, the orca shifter that Theo had been dating and next to him was Tristan, the dolphin shifter Theo had dated. Were they her boyfriends? Was she really dating an orca and a dolphin?

Part of me was hurt, but I blamed that on the rage still boiling within me, so I pushed those feelings aside.

I glanced at her and saw the fear in her eyes as she looked at me and the two men at my feet. Was she afraid I would hurt them? I may not like their kind in general, but I would never harm someone she cared about. Gritting my teeth together to quell my rage a bit, I quickly looped an arm around each of the unconscious males, and ran towards the restaurant with them.

Grant’s eyes widened when he saw something behind me. He exhaled a huge breath of fire, which I ducked under as I continued to carry Theo’s men. I presumed he was breathing fire at Roman or his minions to keep my back safe.

I ran into the kitchen and put the two unconscious men on the floor. Inspecting them, I saw no huge wounds, so I left them. Most shifters would regain consciousness not too long after being knocked out thanks to the fast healing. I just hoped they did it sooner than later as we could use as many fighters as possible.

Heading back out, I realized Jong-min and Jong-hyun were completely missing. “Where are the twins?” I demanded as I walked up behind Reed and Grant.

“Jong-kyu teleported them away. They were severely injured,” Reed explained.

Exhaling, I said, “I hope he can heal them. I’m going back into the fray. Care to join me?”

“We can’t move,” Grant growled. “There’s a spell on us, keeping us rooted to this spot.”

Why would he keep Grant and Reed stuck, but not me?

“Be safe,” Reed ordered me.

I winked. “Yes, sir.”

Silver and Zyra had killed the two goblins and were trying to fight the witches, but the witches were doing a good job keeping them back. Zara had come outside and was fighting against them as well, trying to give Silver and Zyra opportunities to get closer.

Running over to Theo, I asked, “What do you need?”

“More power,” she said, her jaw clenched. Her top was torn, exposing her flat, bare chest beneath and a deep gash across one side.

“How can I help with that? Can you use some of my power? Can I give you energy or something?”

Roman started to move closer, but Theo sent a wall of wind that pushed him back and sliced into his cheek, making him hiss in pain.

“He’s so strong, Kass,” she whispered and her lip trembled.

I slapped her across the face hard, making her face swing to the side from the impact.

Roman blinked in disbelief and lowered his hands, stopping the attack he had been about to use.

Theo blinked tears out of her eyes and her lips trembled as she looked at me.

“Stop whining and acting afraid! You’re one hundred times the witch he is. You were one of the most terrifying witches of the Hunters Association. You defeated dozens, probably hundreds, of beings. You faced years of ridicule when you came out as transgender, but you did it with a smile on your face, as you were able to finally live your life as the person you always knew you were. What’s scarier? This douche nozzle or the night you told your parents you had changed not just your name, but also your pronouns?”

Her lips stopped trembling and curved upwards in a smile. She threw her head back and laughed. As her head dropped back down, she wrapped her arms around me. “I love you, Kass.”

I patted her back. “I love you, too. Now, tell me what to do so we can kill this mother fucker.”

Releasing me, she faced Roman and said, “Time to end this.”

Behind Theo, I saw the hunter I’d called and another man in a matching cloak running towards us. “The hunters arrived,” I whispered.

“Tell them to loop around and attack from the rear. I’m going to send a barrage of attacks at him. If we can keep those three witches Silver and the troll sisters are fighting busy, we have a good chance of taking him down. The hunters just need to wait for an opening.”

“You got it, boss.” I winked at her and ran to relay the plan to the hunters.