“Emma!” Aidan yelled as he turned and ran in my direction.
“The perimeter.” Beatrice turned, scanning the area where the howl had come from. “They’re here.”
Holy shit. They’d found us. How the hell was that possible?
Chapter Twenty-One
“We need to hide you.” Aidan grabbed my hand and began pulling me toward the house.
“No, I can’t hide.” They were here for me. They would kill as many people as possible to get to me. I couldn’t hide like a coward.
“They’re here to kill you.” Aidan glared at me, and his face creased with worry. “This isn’t negotiable.”
“I’m glad you agree.” I loved him with all my heart and soul, but I wouldn’t let him control me.
He sighed with relief.
Oh, bless his heart. I yanked my hand free and ran toward everyone else.
“Emma, what the hell?” Aidan called after me and hurried to catch up. “I said this isn’t negotiable.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I agree to your terms.” I stopped and turned around, ready to fight him on this. “They are here for me. The witches are protecting me. I can’t turn my back on them.”
Twenty wolves charged toward us, and I stayed stationary, watching to see if any more appeared.
“Why is there such a small number?” This didn’t make any sense.
“They didn’t realize we’d be with a coven.” Aidan blew out a breath. “So they must have followed us, and this is who we got. This is a good thing.”
A wolf lunged at a male witch. The witch held his hands up, and his lips began to move, but the wolf bit into his throat and ripped it out.
Holy shit. The fight had just started, and blood had already been spilled.
“Everybody, we need to ready ourselves!” Beatrice yelled as more witches ran past us. “We need to let them come to us. Our fear shouldn’t give them the upper hand.”
“You’re right, Momma.” Amethyst straightened her shoulders and stood next to her mother. “The wolves are petrified. They didn’t know what they were running into.”
“As of now, we have the advantage. Don’t forget that.” Everyone needed to realize it. I needed to instill confidence, but there was no telling if more shifters were coming or how many of us would die before we could take them out. “We need to leave one alive to question. We need to know what else to expect.”
“You’re right.” Beatrice nodded at me. “Make sure one stays alive, at least, for a little while.”
Beth ran over to me and glanced back at the fight that was breaking out. “Emma, what do we do?”
“I’m going to shift and fight beside the witches.” It was the only real solution I had.
“Emma, please.” Aidan’s eyes were full of fear, and his hands shook as he reached for me. “They’re here for you.”
“Then let’s do this together.” If my destiny was to lead, I would start now.
He grimaced and rubbed a hand over his heart. “Fine, but we stay together.”
“Promise.” That was an easy vow to make.
“Okay.” He nodded even though his body was still tense.
I understood how he felt. I wasn’t thrilled with him going into a fight either, but this was our only chance at survival.
I connected with my wolf, calling her forward. It wasn’t long before she was taking control. My vision became crisper as hair sprouted all over my body and my bones cracked. My clothes ripped off me, and soon I stood on four legs. When the shift was finally over, I surveyed the area and found Beth with light brown fur all over her body and Aidan with his black fur. Our wolves’ fur was the same as our natural hair color. I’d always been curious what Beth’s color was.
“You better stay close to me too.” Finn appeared at my side and stared into my animal eyes. “You may be half-wolf, but you’re the only family I have left. We need each other.”
Those words softened me toward him, but now wasn’t the time to be emotional. I howled, alerting the other wolves of my location.
I was glad Aidan and I couldn’t mind link because I could tell he was pissed at what I’d done. But with their focus solely on me, it would be easier for the others to take them.
Just as I’d expected, the wolves perked up and glanced in my direction. They charged the grassy area where the majority of witches were.
The group split apart, six running left, six running right, and eight heading straight down the middle. They were circling us, intending to herd us into a group. What they didn’t know was that we wanted to be together.
A wolf began running faster, and the witches turned their focus on it. They’d begun chanting when a scream came from the left, breaking whatever spell they had started.
I ran toward the noise and saw a wolf with its teeth in a female witch’s arm. It thrashed its head as others nearby began casting a spell. Another wolf attacked the people focused on saving the girl.
That was their plan. Get our focus on saving our people and take us out one by one. We had to get off the defensive.
I growled as I ran at the wolf that was about to strike near us. I must have caught it off guard because I steamrolled him ten feet before he reacted.
Two wolves surrounded me as I realized my mistake. I’d put myself closer to the eight wolves with no one beside me.
I faced one of the other wolves as he attacked. His sharp teeth sank deep into my front right leg.
Pain radiated down my leg, and the longer I kept from defending myself, the worse the injury would be. The problem was, I had to determine how to get him off me without causing him to clamp down even harder.
Black fur flashed past me, and Aidan tore into the wolf. He bit down hard. The wolf loosened its hold on my leg. I spun away, limping.
Another wolf surged forward, and I stumbled to the ground, narrowly missing his attack.
Beth appeared beside me, snarling at the wolf.
Unfortunately, two others were also closing in.
“We need to help them.” Coral’s voice rang loudly from fifty feet away.
Three wolves took off after her to prevent her from getting close enough to help us.
I forced myself to ignore my injured leg; otherwise, I would only get hurt worse. I pushed through the pain and faced the two wolves moving like one toward me. Aidan and Beth were embroiled in their fights. This was their chance to take me out.
If I didn’t stay calm, I’d be dead within seconds. The two wolves split up to flank me. I would have to choose one to keep my eye on while the other attacked from behind. This was a lose-lose situation.
As I turned to glare at one, I heard the other spring its attack. I tried turning back around but stumbled with my hurt leg.
I expected to feel another jab of pain, but then wind blew past me, and I heard a loud thud and whimper as the wolf hit the ground.
“What did I say about staying close to me?” Finn’s words could have passed for a growl if he had been a shifter. His eyes locked on the wolf getting back to its feet.
Finn had saved my life. The other wolf took the opportunity to charge. I waited until the last second, and then I dropped to the ground and rolled onto my back. The wolf lost its balance and fell on top of me. When its weight hit all four of my paws, I lifted with every ounce of strength I had to throw it. It only flew eight feet but hit the ground with a sickening crack on its side. I hoped I’d broken a rib, leg—hell, anything.