22. Kade

Kade watches, astounded and relieved, as Kira jumps down and lands silently on the grass.

"Release Laith. Now," she snarls, the ball of fire still raging in her hand.

Kade has no idea how she"s been able to hide this kind of power from Elara or himself, but there"s no hint of overconfidence in Kira's tone of voice as she speaks. She"s a powerful witch.

Ebony steps forward, her posture just as furious. "No."

Kira smirks, and Kade figures his calculations have been right. Kira has a lot of power. "Wrong answer."

With a barely visible flick, Dinah throws her daggers at Chad, the blades glowing with demon power. Kade doesn"t question where she got them. He doesn"t want to know. All that matters right now is that she"s on their side and protecting Elara. The daggers spin through the air, glowing brighter and brighter, impaling in Chad's hands. He screams and releases Laith, who falls to all fours at his feet.

Chad roars with rage, yanking the demon knives out, one by one. He holds them in his bleeding palms, preparing to slam them in Laith's exposed back.

Kade never has a chance to react. It's Elara who shifts into a magnificent gray wolf. She powers forward, uncaring that her ability to shift outside of the full moon isn't supposed to be possible.

Uncaring of the risk she's taking as she runs at a demented madman without hesitation.

The shifters are temporarily shocked, Chad staring at the impossibility as Elara barrels straight for him. The shifters didn't know the extent of Arthurians powers. But they do now. Shit.

With an otherworldly howl, the shifters move as one as they leap forward. Denzel shifts and releases a howl, ordering the Shadowgrace wolves to attack. Animals and humans clash, snarls and cries and slashes and thuds filling the clearing.

Kade's already running as he shifts. It's four paws that push into the soft soil and launch his body up like a spring. He clears a wolf battling a cougar. He sidesteps a lion roaring with rage. He stomps on a monstrous snake as it tries to bite a Shadowgrace member.

He only has one goal.

Elara.

She circles Chad as he looks on with more unease than he probably wants to feel. Elara's the unknown they didn't plan for.

She's the threat they underestimated.

"Stay out of this," Elara warns, speaking to Kade in his mind. It comes to her so naturally that it almost knocks Kade off guard. He didn't know that's possible, especially considering they don't belong to the same pack. Their connection is already deeper than he suspected.

He refocuses, knowing has no intention of doing what she asks. "I"m here to fight beside you." Always.

Elara lunges at Chad, aiming for his throat. He steps nimbly to the side, grabs her head and shoves her down and away. Elara doesn't fight the momentum, instead snapping her jaws around his leg. A piercing screech tears from Chad. He glances around frantically, and Kade realizes what he's looking for.

The demon knives.

They lie in the grass only a foot away, still glowing with power. Kade growls as he injects another dose of adrenaline through his veins, ready to make the final leap. Chad will never get his hands on those knives.

A blood curdling scream pierces the air. It rises and then rises again, drawn out and agonized. Kade and Elara glance back, registering Ebony's succumbed to Kira's fire.

The witch writhes and screeches as flames devour her hair, her clothes, her skin. She collapses, the cries dying as she inevitably is.

"No!" Chad roars.

Kade turns back in time to see Chad reach down and grab hold of Elara's neck. His rage is evident, and his moves desperate. He puts all his strength and more into wrenching Elara's clamped jaws from his leg, uncaring of the damage. With a violent yank, a powerful heave, he lifts her wolf body and throws her into a nearby tree trunk.

Elara's body hits with a sickening thud. With enough force to shake the branches above.

With enough strength to wrench a groan out of her as she shifts back to human.

Kade rushes to her side, fear making it hard to breathe. He crouches down, unsure whether his heart will beat again.

"I"m fine, Kade," Elara says weakly, although she makes no move to get up. "Just watch your back."

A body bumps his and he spins around, finding Denzel and several wolves moving in. Denzel looks at him pointedly as they take defensive positions around Elara. The roar of rage behind them tells Kade what he's trying to communicate.

Kade spins, finding Chad barreling toward him. He's shifted into his weapon of choice.

A black wolf that mirrors Kade in size and power.

They leap simultaneously. Crash. And become a frenzy of teeth and claws and intent to kill.

Kade knows he's strong. He's the first evolved werewolf. Even stronger than a shifter.

But Chad is something else. Every snap is a vice. Every shove is a battering ram. Every swipe is a slash of razor-sharp blades.

Within seconds, Kade's on the defensive. He spends more time deflecting and blocking than attacking. Any bite or slash that lands seems to only inflame Chad's thirst for more. The sight of his own crimson blood only fuels his desire to spill Kade's.

Chad leaps with a roar, slamming into Kade with the force of a truck. Kade's sent sprawling backward. He tumbles once and then rights himself, his claws gouging through the grass.

The distance affords him the chance to see two things. To the right, Elara, wearing an oversized shirt, and Kira have freed Laith and are helping him hobble away.

And to the left, Dinah slips into the trees and disappears.

The sight of the witch running away sends unease coursing through Kade. Especially when he registers the Excalibur replica is still wedged into the ground where Elara left it. What's Dinah running from?

Or running to…

The distraction is all Chad needs. He leaps, opening his jaws wide, revealing teeth already tinged with pink. Ella cries out, but Kade doesn't look over. He can't.

He's watching his own doom descend on him.

The irony that it's his own image isn't lost on him.

He was always his worst enemy.

Chad lands on top of him, his jaws unerringly clamping around Kade's throat. He winces as teeth break skin. He feels warm blood trickle down his fur.

He lets the fight drain from his body.

He died protecting Elara. Even Laith. He's played his part in the prophecy.