Star Blessed

Extinguished

RAFF

Raff didn't have time to move or feel betrayed, and he waited for the bullet to enter his body. Only, it never did, and a thump behind him revealed Meribella's actual target: a medium sized werewolf with a ragged, black pelt.

"How did you know that wasn't one of my men?" he rasped.

She holstered the gun. "Do your men make a habit of charging at you with intent to kill?"

"I'd hope not," he said, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst. When he'd started planning this war, he'd thought keeping his distance from her would be easy. Afterall, what were a few weeks compared to months, but seeing her here- now- was almost enough to undo him.

Meribella picked a piece of glass out of her palm before casting him a sly grin. "I'd ask why you're naked, but I know how much you hate that question."

Closing the gap between them, he pressed his lips to hers, rejoicing when she returned the kiss. "No, what I hate is never being able to get you naked," he joked as he broke away.

"Raff, I'm sorry."

"Meribella, now isn't the time," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her to a stairway. The snarls and growls of ongoing fights were fading, but he didn't want to remain in one spot, a tempting target to whoever might be left.

"Raff, you're hurt," she fussed when she caught the wince he tried to hide.

"It'll be okay." Lincoln, what's the status?

Good to know you're alive. We've got them on the run. The bottom floor is secure, and we're closing in on the last few rooms upstairs. Still no sign of Mac.

I'm heading upstairs. Keep an eye out for Thorne. Wherever Meribella went, Thorne was sure to follow.

A string of expletives exploded across the bond. His Beta didn't try to hide them. I'm guessing Meribella is there too? We're tying them up and locking them in the basement.

We don't have a basement.

We're going to build one.

Sure thing.

They reached the top floor and surveyed the damage. Most walls were marked with holes and scratches, while the floor was littered with splintered doors and bodies- some wolves, others men. Many faces he recognized, but now was not the time for mourning.

"Um, hello... Raff... Let me go!" Meribella snatched her hand from his, her voice resonating in the quiet.

"You still haven't explained why you're here."

"Why are you here? This isn't your territory."

"It is now," he answered, arching a brow at her, waiting for the sassy retort.

"You've started a war."

"No, it began along time ago. I'm ending it."

Two men burst into the corridor, both as naked as the day they were born, and bolted towards them. Meribella tossed him a questioning look, and he shook his head. These were not his men. Nodding, she grabbed her gun and pulled the trigger. It clipped the shoulder of the man closest to them, and Raff took advantage. Shifting he wrapped his jaws around the rebel's calf, the muscle and flesh pulling away from the bone like softened butter.

In a flash, he silenced the man's screams with a single bite to the throat. Dislodging his teeth, he turned to check on Meribella. He'd not heard another shot, and what he saw stoked the simmering rage in his gut to a wildfire. She was pinned by the second attacker, his hands around her throat while her feet flailed beneath him.

Before Raff could take the first step, her body lit up with the brilliance of a star and the werewolf shrieked and tried to remove his hands. She bucked her hips up, knocking him off and rolling to the side. Rising to her knees, she delivered a punch to his nose, the sound of cracking cartilage satisfying to man and beast. But the other man was already recovering from whatever she'd done to his hands, the hit barely phasing him.

The light beneath her skin flared again, and water formed between her palms. She dodged him as he lunged, maneuvering behind his back and throwing the stream of liquid around his neck like a rope. He clawed at his throat, but his fingers were unable to find purchase as she increased the pressure. As his struggles slowed, she let the water turn to mist and placed a hand on the back of his head and under his chin, wrenching until his neck snapped.

Letting the body slump, she stood, brushing at her leather leggings, now covered in blood and dust. She beckoned him over, her face curious as she examined him in his wolf form. Never before had she been so close to him after a transformation, but there was nothing but appreciation in her gaze as she ran her hand along the black streak on his back.

"Would you be offended if I told you I find your wolf sexy?" He snorted, his tongue lolling out to the side as his ears flattened. She giggled. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do with that response."

"Oh thank gods!" Thorne and Lincoln appeared at the top of the stairs, their faces softening when they spied Meribella and Raff. The witch bent over, placed her hands on her knees, and drew deep breaths. "I was not made for this shit."

"Awe, babe. We can start working out together," Lincoln nudged her, earning a sharp look in response.

"I'm in shape you asshat- for a human. I've been trying to keep up with you for the last thirty minutes while chasing after super selkie over there."

"After a thousand years, you all couldn't figure out how to not be naked when you turn back into men?" Meribella asked, her cheeks pink as she tried to look anywhere but at the Orion pack Beta.

"Ooh gods, I don't know how you can be such a prude after all the things you told me you two did," Thorne groused as she straightened, but her face flushed when Raff shifted into his human form. Suddenly, she had nowhere to look. "Point made."

He reached down and tugged Meribella to her feet. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. The extra support was appreciated. Though his wounds were mostly closed, his body had not recovered from the blood loss.

"Still no sign of Mac?" Raff asked Lincoln, exhaling when the other man shook his head.

"No, but we have complete control of his pack. The wolves that are left are ready to swear allegiance to you, but I have to be honest with you. Besides a couple of youngsters that we missed, most are a bunch of half feral animals. You'll have to compel them around the clock."

"Just lock them up for now. We need to tend to the wounded and bury our dead."

"Do you know if anyone named Chad is among the ones you've caught?" Meribella's voice quivered. They walked down the stairs and passed the spot where he'd fought for his life. The two wolves they'd killed were still lying there, the smell of decay and rot growing stronger.

"Who is Chad?"

The two women shared a look. "B, the lies have to stop. You've got to tell them."

Raff moved away from Meribella, unable to comprehend that she was going to lie again, but she grabbed his arm. "That day in the liquor store Herrin threatened my family. I didn't tell you then because I would've had to admit that I was human. Chad is the werewolf who was sent to keep tabs on my mom. He got her-"

The world tilted sideways and their feet lifted from the ground. White light fractured his vision, and blood seeped out of his ears. The air smelled heavily of charcoal, gunpowder, and copper- he could taste it. It choked him until he slammed into something solid. His throat rattled as he gasped for a breath, his damaged lungs refusing to inflate.

Blinking rapidly to clear his eyesight, he tried to see past the smoke. It undulated through the rubble, a cloud of gray flickering red and orange in the fire's glow. But nothing else moved or made a sound.

"Meribella," he croaked, trying to understand why his limbs weren't obeying his commands. The room darkened. At first, he thought someone had extinguished the fires, but it was he who was going out. His vision tunneled, the last of his strength fleeing as he let his head drop to the ground. "Meribella." And the darkness swallowed him whole.