Blooded Mate

Chapter 21 - Uncontrolled Emotions

The wolves swarmed them, surrounding them, growling as they filled in the ranks. Angry spittle flew as they barked at the vampires just out of reach.

Jan hissed back his own challenged, daring them to come close. Death will dance among them tonight.

His irises darkened to a deep red, and he extended his senses, picking up every scrape of claw on dirt and musty stench of wolf around him. He could pick them out without depending solely on his eye.

One Lycan jumped up, much higher than Jan had expected. Its jaws came within inches of his calf. The vampire kicked its muzzle away, and Ivan swooped down, engaging the pack first.

They pressed in closer, coming at him in twos: one to fight him head-on while another targeted his flank. When the circle shrunk too tight, the Russian scurried back up the tree. And Jan leaped in, going after the exposed wolves who had foolishly turned their backs on him.

His claws sliced through thick fur, leaving deep gauges and hot blood spraying through the air.

When the wolves threatened to overwhelm him, he switched with his brother, springing back up the tree and letting Ivan take over. Then, he skipped to the other side of the trunk before leaping back down.

This time, he went for the wolves near the outer edge of the circle.

It was a vicious fight, but the vampires took more damage than usual in such close quarters and against such high numbers.

As Jan fought off two wolves, the pack leader came up behind him and bit his shoulder, tearing through his shirt and skin.

"Aaah, he cried," slashing wildly at the midnight wolf clamped on him.

For the second night in a row, Jan's blood rage overcame him, unbidden and unbridled. But, this time around, it stemmed from sentiments, not of his own. The anger feeding the storm in his mind poured in from the connection with Ethan.

The young Lycan's strong response broke through Jan's mental barriers and slammed into his blue orb.

Jan went berserk.

He curled his hand into claws and raked the side of the wolf, slicing through fur, sinew, and vessels. The wolf yelped, letting go, but another came at him from the back. The vampire rounded on it, swiping it across the face with deadly talons.

Jan's shift in focus was all the pack leader needed. It lunged in, tearing deeply into his side. The force was so much that when the wolf landed, it dragged Jan down with him.

He hissed furiously, feeling the fangs tear through flesh and something deeper.

Then, a furry shadow knocked into the black wolf with a menacing snarl, chomping on its shoulder.

Jan was thrown sideways as the pack leader released him, reeling from the hit. He rolled onto his knee, holding his bleeding side.

There was a moment of confusion for all combatants.

The new wolf, a massive gray with a white belly, was fighting the black Lycan. Its irises were blood-tinged, just like Jan's.

Red eyes? On a wolf?

Jan sniffed.

Ethan. Ethan had turned. And he was challenging the alpha!

Charging and snapping, the young Lycan harassed the black wolf into retreat. He fought on nothing but anger. No rhyme or rhythm. No feints or sophisticated moves.

Just pure rage.

Ethan attacked like he had nothing to lose, making it difficult to predict his moves. The other wolf, barely a size bigger than him, was on the defense.

The rest of the pack started circling them, growling at Ethan as well. They had finally gotten over their surprise.

Jan sprang to Ethan's side, covering his savior's back as he held off the pack leader. Jan sent tentative compulsion through his link with the young wolf, and the fiery swirls responded.

Ethan's anger flooded that channel. This time Jan welcomed it and sent his own back. The powerful emotions flowed between them in waves, building upon each other into an obliterating crescendo.

Ethan's eyes were his eyes. Ethan's body was his body. He felt what Ethan felt and sensed what Ethan sensed. Ethan extended him. Together, they were two bodies, one mind. They fought without par, laying to waste all those who dared to come close.

At the height of it all, they stood undefeated and alone in the middle of the clearing. The wolves melted into the trees and stayed there, watching.

"Jan!"

The vampire heard his name, but he was too far gone to make out who was calling. His world was eclipsed by the Lycan fighting at his back.

Someone sent him an icy nudge through Gaia's channels, but with his senses so entwined with Ethan's, he was not the only one who felt it. The fiery tendrils around his blue orb flashed at the intrusion. Their waves grew more agitated, which fed back into him.

So Jan brushed it away.

Ethan howled his defiance in the moonlight, and Jan hissed in answer.

Together they clamored for all to hear till the moon was well into its descent. By then, Jan's anger had simmered down though he kept a wary eye out. Most of the wolves had disappeared, and Ethan's snarling reminders kept the few who remained well within the safety of the trees.

His rage faded, and a lot of his blood had soaked his clothes and the earth he stood on. The vampire staggered, holding his side, and then crumbled to one knee.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around him, and his weary body slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N

Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.

Comment and let me know which side you are on: #TeamLycan or #TeamVampire. 

I would love to here your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.

What did you like?

And what didn't you like?

What did you think about the characters? Louie and Ivan?

Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.

Ciao!