Howls erupt the second we walk out of the house. “Shit,” Stark grumbles. “They know something’s going on.”
Grabbing my hand, Micah pulls me with him around the side of the house. “We’ll be ready for them,” Micah claims. “Our people are in the woods.”
The second I turn the corner, my foot thumps against a body. I hold in a gasp when I see it’s the wolf who had been standing guard at the front door, only now his head is detached and resting six feet away. The smell of his blood soaking into the ground nauseates me. Death has never bothered me before, but maybe it’s because he comes from a line of pure evil shifters. It puts into perspective how much we don’t know about our world.
Micah presses a finger over his lips and then peers around the corner of the house. “These wolves can only be killed by tearing them apart,” he whispers. “We can’t leave them intact. It’s how Soren was able to come back to life.”
Stark grumbles and scans the area. “Good to know. Must be nice to be able to cheat death.”
Micah comes back to me and pulls me into his arms.
Stark clears his throat and clucks his tongue. “Um, how can you hug him when he looks like that? When does that shit wear off?”
Chuckling, Micah lets me go. “Tia’s waiting for me with the others. She’ll change me back. She did this once before when I had to switch places with Tate to save Faith.”
Stark blows out a sigh. “Interesting. But thank the Great Luna, it’s not permanent. Every time I look at you, I want to kill you.”
“Trust me,” I say, sheepishly glancing up at Micah, “I already tried to stab him in the neck.”
Stark’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. “That’s my girl.”
The sound of movement catches our attention, and Micah steps protectively in front of me while Stark does the same. “It’s three of them,” Micah breathes, his voice low. “I can’t tell if it’s our guys.”
“Neither can I,” Stark hisses.
The wolves pick up their pace, their steps getting closer and closer. We can take them. Both Stark and Micah are ready to fight, their bodies tense with anticipation. The blood rushes through my veins, igniting the fire within me. I refuse to let the black wolves win this battle.
The three wolves are almost to us, but then I hear Dany’s voice whisper my name. Micah and Stark step aside just as Dany appears around the side of the house, her hands covered in blood, with Colin and Kami flanking her. She freezes when she sees Micah, but to her, it’s Soren.
I wave Dany forward. “Dany, it’s okay. It’s Micah, not Soren.”
Colin drapes an arm protectively around Dany’s shoulders. “Look who we found trying to escape.”
Dany runs over to me, and she clutches me tight. “I killed Saul. I was coming to save you.”
I wrap my arms around her. “I was going to come save you, too. It looks like we both had the same idea.” When I let her go, I glance down at her blood-stained hands. “How did you kill Saul?”
Dany grabs her chest and takes a breath. “I ripped out his throat.”
If she had known their heads needed to be torn off, I have no doubt she wouldn’t have hesitated. When I peer over at Micah, he shakes his head. “Then, he’s not dead. Come on, we have to get back to the others.”
Dany gasps. “Not dead? What did I do wrong?”
Stark walks over, and I can see the torment in his eyes. “The safest way to ensure their death is to tear off their heads.” Dany glares at him, and he sighs. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through. I wasn’t changing sides, only pretending so I could find the right time to save you and Rae.”
Dany’s expression softens. “You had me worried,” she huffs, throwing her arms around his waist. “I didn’t know if I was going to have to kill you.”
Stark snorts. “Like you could.” He lets her go and jerks his attention back to the front of the house. “I don’t know where everyone’s at. They could be planning their attack.”
Colin stands protectively beside Kami. “That’s for damn sure. We need to get to our pack.” He focuses on Stark. “How many black wolves are there?”
“Seventeen,” Stark answers. “Fourteen men and three females, but it’s actually sixteen now that Micah killed one.”
“We’re outnumbered by four,” Micah cuts in. “That’s also if every single one of us fights.”
I step forward. “I’m fighting.”
Dany brushes up next to me. “So am I.”
Still with Soren’s face, Micah shakes his head and is about to speak, but I growl and let my anger explode. This isn’t the time for him to protect me. “We don’t have time to argue. Let’s go.”
Micah reaches into my mind. “You’ve already been through so much, love.”
I meet his icy blue gaze, loving how I can see his actual color through the façade. “I promise I’ll be fine. You need me.”
Colin and Kami take off for the woods, and we follow them about a mile into the forest where we’re met with an army of royals. Standing in the middle of them all is a young woman with chocolate brown hair and sea-green eyes. The essence emanating from her is powerful.
Taking my hand, Micah leads me over to the witch. “Raelynn, this is Tia.”
Tia smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Raelynn. Hopefully, making this one look like your psycho ex didn’t mess with your head too much,” she says, nodding over at Micah.
I wave her off. “Oh, no. I just wanted to kill him.”
She laughs. “It’s a good thing you didn’t.”
Micah lets me go and opens out his arms. “All right, Tia. Work your magic.”
Holding her hands out to him, Tia murmurs an incantation under her breath. The air around Micah shimmers, and the glamour that made him look like Soren sparkles away. Micah turns to me, and I jump in his arms, kissing him fiercely.
“So much better,” I gush.
Micah clutches me tight, and I don’t want to let him go. However, Stark’s following words make me shudder with fear.
“They’re coming.”