33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Nina, Eden's attempting the shift! We need Aidan !

Nero's telepathic shout would have reached Eden's sire even if she'd been a world away. Fortunately, she was already close by. With the Citizens releasing nearly one hundred rabid werewolves on the streets of Oahu, they had needed the kind of backup only a Reaper's gift could bring.

Nina appeared beside him instantly, her ice blue eyes widening. "She's too far into the process. You have to help her through."

"Get Aidan!" Nero demanded, baring his teeth with a flare of temper.

Warning flashed in those cool blue eyes as she turned on him. "Nero, get ahold of yourself! We're one step away from immortals being exposed. Aidan stays where he is, protecting our people. You will need to help Eden through her change."

"I've never shifted into a wolf!"

"You've shifted into your panther," she growled back, already refocusing on teleporting back to the front line. "Call on your animal if you can't do it."

As Nina vanished, Nero jumped into action.

Getting onto his knees, he found his mate's eyes closed as she struggled against the pain of the transition. The sound of her bones breaking, reforming, and realigning made him cringe, but he pressed onward.

"Eden, submit to the change," Nero commanded, his every drop of focus on the woman before him. "Allow the wolf to morph your body as she needs. The less you resist, the less it will hurt. You have to surrender, Eden. Trust your wolf."

Her whimper, more animal than human, scored his heart. In his mind, a proximity alarm bell rang, but he banished the urge to attend to the territory when his mate needed him.

Nero reached outward with his gift, soothing the fear inside her, and encouraging calmness into her psyche. Through their bond, he could feel the agony she was in, the paralyzing pressure that continued mounting while the other presence surfaced.

"That's it, Eden, let your wolf guide you."

As he spoke the words, her nose elongated, and her legs and arms began to shift. Halfway changed from human to wolf, a pulse of pride barreled through their mating bond, enveloping her in his confidence that she could do this.

A psychic alarm blared as his borders were breached. Immediately, his gifts speared toward the intrusion, cataloging how many minds had run through his wards. There was at least a dozen, if not more. Immortals—but not sane.

The howls from beyond the windows caused a chill to race up his spine. Rabid werewolves were coming for them, and Eden was vulnerable.

Nero snarled. Loathing the fact that his attention was being pulled away from his mate, he telepathically reached out to his lieutenants. None of them could be spared, but he was here—and he'd never leave her.

His panther surfaced, roaring through his human throat. Though the cat didn't want to leave his mate any more than the man did, both Eden and the Raeths in the shelter below the dome would die if he allowed those wolves to enter the building.

Many argued that fear, guilt, or anger were the strongest emotions, the ones who could drive people to do unspeakable things. Nero knew the emotion that eclipsed all others was the primordial urge to protect.

A mother bear guarding her cubs, an alpha wolf defending his pack, a Raeth shielding his mate. It was the driving force the compelled Nero to keep Eden safe.

A glimmer of movement was visible through the dome's windows. Using his elbow to break a pane of glass, he manifested the compound bow he kept in his arsenal. The long-range weapon would be the best defense until they drew closer. If he could pick them off before they arrived, there would be no reason for him to leave Eden.

"I'm here, mate—I'm not leaving," he reiterated. "Your wolf is rising— let her . You need to become one. Make space for her, let her know she can have control."

Arrows began whistling through the air only seconds later. His bow seldom saw use, but his aim was true. Four more times, the arrows found their target. With the commotion, the rabid werewolves made Nero's position. The pack altered course, heading directly for them.

It was an impossible situation. As he turned back to his mate, he hesitated. Touching Eden might only heighten her pain.

Nero whispered, "I love you, Eden Hawthorne. Have faith in your wolf as I have faith in you, mate. You will claim victory here; you've more tenacity and determination than anyone I've ever had the privilege of knowing. But I must protect my clan, as I must protect you."

With one last forlorn look at his mate, Nero charged into battle to defend her.

The sound of a snarl had his panther shrieking back as he burst through the door and cut down the first wolf without breaking stride. The blood sprayed on the grass outside the dome, as Nero was quickly surrounded.

There were at least a dozen wolves, snarling at each other before targeting Nero with their glassy eyes. As if drawn by the smell of a shifting wolf—or perhaps the blood already coating the ground—the beasts leapt into the fray, their teeth aimed for his jugular.

Fortunately, Nero had never been a lightweight.

Seamlessly dispatching two wolves, the sovereign Raeth snarled at the mousy-grey wolf that launched herself into the air to dodge his axe. Her teeth tore a hole through his shoulder, but swiftly met his second blade only seconds later.

The blood he was losing only made the wolves more frenzied. Reinvigorated, they converged on him, intent on an overwhelming attack as the Raeth fought them off. With every slash of his weapon, more wolves seemed to appear.

There were too many of them.

Nero couldn't fall back—if he retreated the wolves would make it inside. Both Eden and his people would be in the line of fire. There was no back up here; every single one of his lieutenants and allies were fighting their own way through the Citizens' attack.

The structure behind him would only hold so long against a pack of rabid werewolves. Many Raeths and their young children had taken refuge in the underground shelter beneath the dome, but some were still barricaded in their homes, unable to escape before the battle hit.

His panther writhed in his chest at his despair, snarling for a chance to do damage to the rabid invaders on his lands. Shifting was the only option now. Blades only went so far against tooth and claw.

He allowed the shift to take over him.

Euphoric agony speared through his limbs before his center of balance shifted and dropped. In the next moment, the panther's fangs were ripping through throats and flesh as the taste of blood coated his tongue.

Snarling at the frenzied wolves, his claws met blood and gore. He was eager to put an end to the threat that was too close to his vulnerable mate. Though injuries began to leach blood from his body, Nero was undaunted: Eden needed to be protected.

Just as fatigue began to weigh down his limbs, the tide of wolves thinned. Relief rocked through him, but the celebration came too soon. A brown wolf collided with him, throwing them both to the ground.

The remaining beasts converged on him with savage intent. Several sets of teeth connected with his flesh, puncturing deeply as he tried to scramble away. When he couldn't right himself, he latched onto the closest wolf, throwing it across the clearing. Another swiftly took its place.

Pain rioted across his body, his panther steadily bleeding out his strength from multiple lacerations. Using telekinesis, he threw the opponent closest to his throat into the wall, shattering the wolf's spine.

Three left.

Panting, Nero attempted to rise to his paws, but the grass was slick with his own blood. He staggered, and the enemies instantly took advantage. One dove toward the unprotected flesh of his belly, sinking fangs deep into the sensitive skin. Another bit down on the bones of his foreleg, crushing them as though they were nothing but brittle sticks.

He only had one thought left, repeated as a litany through the violent mauling. He couldn't teleport away without endangering Eden and leaving her in harm's way. Savaged, the panther's claws lashed at the closest wolf, scoring a hit against his body, but not deep enough to do true harm.

The truth was unavoidable: they were going to rip him apart.