I jumped up just as another vamp came at me from behind, but Ren leapt onto his back, sinking her massive teeth into his shoulder. He swung an arm back and caught her in the ribs, throwing her into the wall. I grabbed his arm, twisting it behind him until I heard a satisfying crack, then kicked the back of his knees and he went down. I grabbed his hair and yanked his head back before sliding my hand across his neck, releasing a knife’s edge of power that sliced clean through his neck.

  Ren lay up against the wall, breathing heavily and I positioned myself in front of her as Dallas and Raife finished off the last three vamps standing. They were at my side quickly, as we scanned each other for injuries, then Raife shot toward the back of the house where we still heard fighting.

  I knelt in front of Ren, stroking her fur gently. “Are you okay Ren?”

  She got to her feet and pushed her muzzle into my hand before giving herself a little shake.

  “Dallas.” Raife called from the back of the house.

  He ran ahead with Ren and I following.

  Raife, Jay and Trey stood looking out the back door to the field behind the house, where our shifters and vamps battled against hundreds of our enemy, vampires and shifters, wolves, lions and bears!

  Chapter thirty-nine

  Dallas

  I looked at the battle being fought behind my house and wondered how we could have missed this massive attack by our enemies! It didn’t matter now, we had to find a way to push them back before my pack, my wolves were slaughtered. We needed to get out there to make a stand, give our shifters and vamps a way to regroup and face our enemy together.

  The top of the small hill was our goal, Jules could blast them back enough for us to get through. Even though it wouldn’t kill them, it would give us time to get past.

  The six of us moved into the backyard where I faced our small group.

  “We stick together no matter what! Let’s go!”

  We took off with Jules in between Raife and I, followed by Trey, Ren and Jay. Jules kept her palms facing out, preparing to blast the first group we approached. Vampires surrounded three wolves and Jules managed to direct her power at the vamps, sending them careening off toward the tree line. The stunned wolves looked our way and I yelled, “Stay with us!”

  “We’ve gotta move”, Raife yelled.

  The more vamps that Jules sent flying, the faster those remaining ran, making it very difficult to separate them from our people. Trey and Jay jumped into the fight, trying to separate the enemy so Jules could blast them, and we continued on this way.

  Our group grew larger and those at the back had to fight off the vamps that came running back after being sent flying into the trees.

  Slowly, we gained ground as the fighting moved out to encircle us, and as our people realized what we were doing, they joined us, leaving Jules a better shot at leveling our enemy.

  I didn’t leave Jules' side, as she continued to push the vamps back without hitting our people, leaving them time to get into our expanding group.

  Sweat coated my body as I continued to battle any vamp that got close to us, slamming them into the ground until they turned to dust. Raife became a blur as he ripped limbs from bodies, heads from shoulders and tore hearts right out of chests, throwing them to the ground, still beating.

  Jules didn’t flinch at the mayhem around her, completely focused on pushing the enemy back, shearing off heads where she could and gaining ground around us.

  Trey and Jay barked orders at our group which was now close to seventy or eighty, yelling to keep the circle tight, expanding our area until I didn’t see anymore of our people fighting outside the circle.

  The enemy began to back away as the fighting slowed before coming to a stop completely. We were completely surrounded by what looked to be more than one hundred vamps.

  Raife and I stood shoulder to shoulder with Jules and I clasped her hand in mine, as did Raife.

  I bent to whisper in her ear, “Are you okay? You still have power? They’re going to come at us all at once now.”

  “I’m okay Dallas, I’m good.”

  She looked deep into my eyes and I was lost to the depths of her, a vast ocean of blue, as she held me in her power.

  “I love you Dallas.”

  I could no more stop myself from kissing her than I could stop myself from breathing. I claimed her with my mouth as I grasped her hair, yanking her body tight to mine. Raife pressed into her back, one arm encircling her waist, while his other hand clutched the back of my head. I clung to my mates, my heart frantic with the idea that one of us could fall this day, that this could be the end of us.

  Jules pulled away from my mouth, spun in my arms and crushed her lips to Raife’s. His fingers flexed behind my head as he pulled me closer and Jules trembled between us.

  “Boss.”

  Jay’s voice pulled me back, back to reality and the vampires surrounding us. Jules gave a shaky exhale, shook her arms, rolling her shoulders and Raife stood at her side.

  With no discernible signal, the vamps charged us with stunning speed, crashing into our ranks like a wave.

  Jules blasted the vamps running straight at us, but they quickly got up and ran at us again. I let the shift take me, my clothes shredded as my huge black wolf emerged and I lunged at the first vamps to reach us. I tore into his throat and tossed his head aside before leaping on the next, ripping his arm from his body and knocking him to the ground where Jules slapped a palm to his chest, ending him. We fell into a rhythm, where I took them to the ground and Jules finished them off, Ren a constant at her side.

  Raife was a blur as he took out vamps while never getting too far from Jules.

  Dust clogged the air as vampires fell and we battled on, the number of our enemy seemed endless. The line we held became broken as some of my wolves fell under the onslaught and we became separated by the sheer numbers we fought.

  Jay moved closer to me, his huge brown wolf covered in streaks of blood, one ear hanging sideways where it was nearly torn from his head. We took down vamps together and Jules blasted them, but our numbers were dwindling while our enemies numbers were seemingly limitless.

  Trey fought beside Raife and they were both covered in the dust of dead vampires, blood running down their chins and necks where they’d ripped throats out with their own teeth.

  Jules leapt to my side, her palms out as a group of more than ten vamps surged toward us. She threw her head back and screamed, a battle roar ripping from her throat as white flames raced at our enemy, engulfing them in seconds. She spread her arms, the flames torching anything they touched, vampires incinerated instantly.

  Fighting stopped as our enemy backed away, leaving a large open area in front of us. Jules clenched her fists, smothering her flames as she stood beside me panting from the release of power.

  She lay her hand on my head, her fingers digging into my fur as Raife came to stand at her side, Ren at her back.

  A group of vampires emerged from the trees, ten across with so many rows behind them we could not see their end. They advanced to within one hundred feet of us, before stopping, the rest of the numbers fanning out to either side. Behind us were less than fifty of us who had survived the battle to this point.

  Jules hissed in a breath through her teeth.

  “Motherfucker!”

  Raife and I immediately turned to her. “What is it Jules?”

  “That’s the son of a bitch from the bank. The one who got all the loans from my boss.”

  He stood in the center of the group, black pants, black shirt, hair slicked back, a sneer pulling the corner of his mouth.

  “Nice to see you again Jules.” He spoke easily across the distance that separated us.

  “You fucking piece of shit”, Jules yelled, her anger clearly sparked.

  I whispered in her ear, “Don’t let him anger you love, it’s what he wants.”

  “Now that’s not a very nice greeting, and here I thought you and I could have a little chat.”

  I squeezed Jules hand and willed her breathing to calm.

  “How about you just come over here nice and easy and your friends can all go back to their house. No one else has to die here.”

  “How about you go back where you came from Victor, because you will never touch her.”

  I snapped my head to Raife, wondering how he knew this vampire, but he didn’t take his eyes off our enemy. Trey was slightly behind Raife, his fingers flying across his phone screen.

  “Raife, it has been a long time, and I’m sorry it’s come to this, but Jules will be leaving with me.”

  “That’s where you’re very mistaken Victor, Jules will never be yours.”

  Trey had pocketed his phone and stood at Raife’s shoulder. Jay stood next to me, still in his wolf form though I had shifted back. Behind us our group pulled in tighter, expecting an attack.

  I don’t know where the fuck all of these vampires were coming from, their numbers still growing. I guessed Trey had been asking more of Raife’s vamps to come to our aid, but I was under no illusion they would arrive in time. Jay had sent an urgent message out to a group of bear shifters that were about forty minutes from here, but I feared this fight would be over long before they could get here.

  “It would seem that we have reached an impasse.” Victor called out, tapping his finger against his mouth as though deep in thought.

  “Take them”, he yelled out and their line surged forward.

  I shifted back to my wolf and let a roar rip out of my throat. Raife and Jay charged the oncoming vamps, not waiting for them to reach us.

  Jules threw her hands up and let loose with a blast of power so strong, a section of vamps twenty deep flew back into the trees. Jay and I charged into the gap she’d created, tearing limbs off and spilling guts onto the ground. Time seemed to slow around us as the surge of vamps kept swelling, pushing us back, forcing our diminished numbers closer together. Ren kept dropping vamps so Jules could hit them with her power as Raife and I tried to keep the huge numbers off her.

  Jay faltered next to me, his rear leg giving out and I leapt at the vamp trying to get his arms around Jay’s neck. He went down under me and I tore his head off, shaking my head at the vile taste. I took a step back, pushing Jay behind me as I faced a wall of vamps.

  Before I could leap into what could be my final fight, Jules was there beside me, hands raised as she sent a narrow beam of power into the six vamps in front of us, slicing through each one, turning them to dust.

  I stepped in front of her, trying to push her back away from the advancing vamps, but she stood there, solidly pouring her power into killing strikes against our enemy. Jay stood to her side and Ren at her back as Jules gave her everything, for us. Wind whipped her hair around, and a light inside her glowed fiercely. She was luminescent!

  Our enemy moved, shifting all of their attention to Jules, abandoning other fights to swarm toward her. Raife was at her side with Trey as the crush of vampires pushing toward us became overwhelming.

  The entire flank rushed Raife and Trey, tearing them from Jules' side and they went down under the onslaught.

  Jules screamed and the sound was otherworldly, sending chills down my back as she raced toward where Raife had been. She sent flames towering fifty feet into the sky and they began to twist, swirling together like a tornado as she directed it to the ground where it incinerated whatever it touched. Vampires tried to run from the destruction, but with a flick of her wrist, Jules sent her flames after them.

  I charged into the vamps where Raife had been, throwing them out of my way when I was joined by Trey.

  “Where’s Raife?” I screamed at him.

  He darted forward and I followed him, frantic to find Raife. Trey pulled a huge vamp off of Raife where he’d had him pinned down, and Raife leapt to his feet. I grabbed his arm and yanked him to me, desperate to get back to Jules.

  We fought frantically and I realized that Jules' flames had gone out. I looked to where she was on the small rise as she stood, hands still raised as her knees gave out and she hit the ground, her palms slapping down in front of her to stop her from going face down.

  “Jules!” Raife screamed and we fought with everything we had to get to her, but the vamps kept coming, keeping us cut off from her.

  Ren and Jay stood to each side of her, neither moving an inch as vamps surrounded them on all sides.

  “Jules…Jules!” I screamed and her head turned to find me, her gaze locking on mine, those eyes saying goodbye.

  “Noooo”, I clawed my way forward as I was knocked down, crushed by the weight of the vamps. I heard Raife calling to Jules, but it was getting harder to breathe as I tried to pull myself out from under the mass above me.

  A small gap appeared in front of me, between legs and I searched for Jules, wanting to see her one last time. She was on her knees, her head bowed, her hair brushing the ground and the air behind her shimmered.

  The shimmering grew, resembling ripples on a lake, expanding outward until a gap appeared in the center and figures stepped through. The light behind them made them appear as only shadows until they’d stepped forward enough to see. Eight men stood shoulder to shoulder, their white blonde hair shone in the moonlight, and they all wore deep green tunics with black pants and tall black boots. Swords were strapped at their sides. Fae.

  Chapter forty

  Jules

  The look on Dallas’ face, the anguished screams coming from Raife. How could I not be with them at the end, holding them, loving them. The tremors wracking my body were so fierce I could not move my legs, let alone stand on them. I was barely keeping my head off the ground, but I refused to take my eyes from Dallas, where he was being crushed to death. Tears flowed down my face as Raife’s voice became weaker before stopping all together.

  “Nooo”, I sobbed, “nooo”. I stretched one shaky arm toward Dallas and my heart was ripped from my chest when his eyes closed.

  My mates, my beautiful mates, gone. I dropped my head to the ground, letting go… there was nothing left for me without them.

  Ren laid down beside me, her warm furry wolf pressing against me as Jay pressed in on my other side, covering me.

  My heart slowed, syncing with my dying mates and I felt relief that I would join them in whatever followed this world. Our bond pulsed slowly, warmth spreading through my chest as I let my body go, my spirit stirring, ready to escape its mortal ties.

  The heavy thud of my heart, a long pause, the next thud almost painful as time passed…from one thought to the next, a moment or a lifetime, I couldn’t tell. My heart no longer beat, breath no longer passed my lips, sound faded away in a wash of gray where I floated.

  A yank on the bond nestled in my chest stirred that silent organ and my heart kicked up, beating erratically, as another tug on the bond had me open my eyes, a palm pressed to my chest.

  I lifted my head enough to see tall black boots maybe twenty feet in front of me, and as I looked up I saw a small group of men, tall and all with long blonde hair and freakin swords at their sides!

  The one in the middle, taller than the others was staring at me, a hard look on his face and when I met his stunningly green eyes, shock jolted through me.

  Jay and Ren were both on their feet now and I leaned on them to help me stand, my legs weak and rubbery.

  I looked around frantically searching for Raife and Dallas, realizing that all fighting had stopped at the arrival of these men. My hand grabbed Jay’s fur, “We have to find Dallas”. I gripped Ren’s neck, “Where’s Raife”!

  The three of us moved toward the line of … now still, vampires facing us and the men all drew their swords as one, standing between us and the vamps.

  My rage ignited and I could feel my power swell at the base of my spine as I raised my hands threateningly.

  “Do not stand between me and my mates!” My voice was deep and menacing. “Get out of my way!”

  The Leader arched an imperious brow at me before turning, and in a move so smooth and graceful I knew he wasn’t human, sliced the heads clean off the five vamps in front of him. The men around him stood with swords raised as if awaiting his command. He moved forward, beckoning me to follow as the vamps shrank back before him.

  An anguished cry ripped from my throat when I saw Dallas’ lifeless looking body on the ground, and I raced for him, dropping to my knees beside him. I carefully lifted his head to my chest, wiping dirt from his face and sobbing as I curled around him, rocking us slowly. I let my hair fall over us, cocooning us as I pressed wet kisses across his eyes, his cheeks, his lips, my tears falling on his face.

  “Dallas, Dallas, Dallas…”, I whispered in his ear. “I love you, I love you, I love you…”

  “Love you too”, he croaked out.

  I clutched him to me as my heart raced…he was alive!

  “It’s okay love, it’s okay.”

  “Dallas”, I sobbed, “where are you hurt? Tell me.”

  He moved to sit up straighter as I wrapped my arms around his middle and he flexed his arms before pulling his feet under him to stand.

  “I’m okay”, he told me as we stood up together, each leaning on the other. He looked around quickly as Jay came to stand at his other side and Ren moved toward me.

  “Where’s Raife?”

  “Oh my God!” I gasped, looking around wildly before spotting Trey limping toward us, Raife slung over his shoulder, hanging limply. Dallas moved quickly to take Raife from Trey, lying him gently on the ground. He had a bad gash on the side of his head and his left arm hung awkwardly at his side.

  Dallas picked up his arm, holding it securely before twisting and giving it a sharp tug, his shoulder snapping back into place. He probed the wound on Raife’s head before pulling him into a half sitting position leaning against Dallas.

  Dallas grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him, his mouth against my ear.

  “He could use some blood so his head wound will heal, but I don’t want these vamps here to smell your blood, so I’ll give him mine. Stay close to me so we can block them.” I pressed against Dallas’ side, my arm around his back as Jay moved in close on his other side and Trey and Ren stood side by side at Raife’s feet.