Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
The other alpha flinched, like he hadn’t expected this to take off, and then he and his pack were rushing toward Austin, all at once.
My blasts of magic turned panicked, hurrying everyone along. Begging them to get there quickly.
Ulric and Jasper both dove, using claws to scrape across the backs of various shifters, while Cyra dive-bombed our attackers with fire. I flew to Austin as Hollace covered the other side of the property, his lightning raining down, his thunder filling the sky.
Austin reached their alpha and roared, swiping with one enormous paw. His six-inch long claws dug into the wolf’s side, scraping away flesh and reaching the shoulder to break bone. The alpha yelped as Austin swiped with the other paw, ignoring two wolves that attacked on his right. I sent a blistering spell down to them as Austin’s other hit took the wolf alpha in the head. Even as the wolf fell, Austin turned and lunged at the other wolves coming in strong. He swiped and bit, taking out enemy after enemy in a hurricane of violence.
I let him handle that group, sensing he had some aggression to take out, and worked on the would-be reinforcement wolves crossing the grass. My spells tore into them, ripping at fur and blasting sides. Lightning from Hollace and fire from Cyra did further damage. Ulric and Jasper were hovering low, fighting within the onslaught of enemy.
And then Tristan was diving into the fray from the treetops, having gotten there faster than the rest of our people. He snatched up two wolves, hovered in the air just out of reach, and smashed them together. They went limp and he tossed them away as the basajaunak exploded out of the trees.
Dave grabbed the nearest wolf by the hind legs. Before the wolf could bite, the basajaun lifted him up and then slapped him down, ending the struggle. He grabbed another by the head as the basandere from my wood snarled and ran past him, diving onto two wolves and wrestling them until they stopped moving.
Gargoyles flew over the trees, their attack formation perfect, trained by Tristan and currently led by Nathanial. They zeroed in on the enemies that weren’t on fire, dead, or being attacked by the basajaunak. I flew above, ready to aim spells but finding no clear shot. Unlike when we usually did battle, we weren’t outnumbered anymore, especially since Austin was working through the attacking pack like a comet barreling toward earth’s total destruction.
So I selected one of the enemy shifters, a larger one with a burn mark on his hind flank, half an ear torn off, and limping badly. He was still in the fight, though, jumping up to try and get Jasper, filled with courage and led by stupidity.
He’d be the one to tell the tale, as Austin had wanted.
I wrapped him in a protective spell and grabbed and lifted him. The shifter snarled when I dropped him onto the roof. His nails scratched against the tiles as he ran to the side. He didn’t go far, though, lowering down to his belly when he saw the drop. Instead he turned to face me, his lips pulling away from large canines.
I shifted into my human form so I could speak as Nathanial dropped down beside me. Good timing. If I got clumsy and did a swan dive off of this roof, he could grab me.
“You’ll need to wait right—oops.” I threw up a magical wall to stop the shifter from rushing me. “Nope, that won’t work. I have magic, you see. Just stay put until Alpha Steele is through taking out your pack, and then I’m sure he would like to speak with you.”
In no time at all, the winery had been cleared. Austin roared out his victory, anger and triumph ringing in the sound. He had a few scratches and bites but nothing that he couldn’t easily heal himself. Still, I blocked out the pain for him.
The gargoyles rose high into the sky, beating their wings, chorusing Austin. The basajaunak joined in, and then Hollace and Cyra, everyone proclaiming their victory.
“Shift,” I told the wolf, now eyeing me warily. “Shift or he’ll kill you.” I pointed down at Austin, now looking up at us.
The wolf did as I said, turning into a brawny, brown-haired guy in serious need of landscaping his Netherlands. I put out my hands for Nathanial to grab and lift me.
“Tristan,” I called, “take this shifter to Austin.”
Tristan swooped in to grab the guy, then followed us down to where Austin had shifted into his human form.
Basajaunak checked all the downed enemy to make sure they weren’t faking. Usually I’d try to curb such behavior, but this wasn’t my gig. This battle was under Austin’s leadership, and I’d respect his decisions.
“You’d wanted to save one.”
Nathanial and I landed in front of Austin.