Blooded Mate

Chapter 108 - The Beast

Ethan landed on her other side, trapping her between him and his mate.

The battle mage paused, eyeing him.

To the alpha's horror, a second sword grew out of thin air and hovered above her spine with the sharp edge pointed at him.

Fucking fire demon!

As if on a silent cue, they both lunged at the witch. The green swords swirled and slashed, chasing them when they dodged. Ethan twisted to the side as the blade came down. The blistering heat sheered a swath of hair off his flank, nearly skinning him alive.

He yelped, tripping in the grass as he backpedaled.

Then he whipped himself around, opened his mouth wide, and lunged at the hag's vulnerable thigh.

Miraculously, his jaws snapped on thin air!

Even Jan paused, blinking rapidly as his talons met nothingness.

Rawr! The battle mage tumbled sideways, rolling with the black wind that had slammed into her. The ferocious dark wolf on top of her snarled, twisting and turning. Bucking from the force, she screamed at the top of her lungs as its fangs violently ripped through her shoulder.

"What are you doing here, Brent? I told you to go with the medics!"

"I heard you howl. I'm not getting on the sick bus when everyone else is fighting!"

"Who's looking after Eri?"

A tawny wolf with a black stripe sprinted awkwardly past him, favoring a bandaged foreleg. "Worry about your own damn self!"

Eri darted into the fray and bit the struggling witch on her belly. Dumbfounded, Ethan stared at his incredibly stubborn friends.

"Watch out!" Jan yelled.

The three wolves ducked as bright green fire flew over them. Its heat roasted off the fine hairs on their pointed ears.

The High Priestess' snake.

It had grown!

Thicker than Ethan and four times as long, the emerald serpent burned a path through the battlefield. It opened its jaws to display foot-long curved fangs. Then, quick as a viper, it darted downwards.

"Aaah!"

One of Adam's warriors shrieked as the stench of scorched flesh filled the air. Horrified, Ethan watched the snake toss its head back and gulp. The vampire slowly traveled through the fiery serpent's gut. His mouth opened wide in a soundless scream as his skin seared off. Muscle and tendon melted next. Then, the bones disintegrated like ashes in the wind.

Ethan's belly roiled.

He crouched, heaving, but nothing came out.

"You bitch!" Adams yelled.

The High Priestess screeched, her evil cackling filling Ethan's ears.

Adams slashed his nails across the carrier he still held, creating a new bloody smile at his throat. The flimsily dressed hostage grabbed the gushing wound at his neck. Before his dead body hit the floor, the clan leader was zipping across the battlefield to the hag.

Two mages stepped in front of him, blocking his path to the priestess.

In a flurry of movement that belied his size, the vampire slashed and sliced, danced in circles around them, and stepped away, holding a steaming heart in each hand.

The women gasped, wide eyes staring at the new gaping hole in their chest. Then, they fell to their knees.

Adams carelessly flung the bloody organs away and stomped towards the High Priestess.