Blood Moon (MalexMale Paranormal Fantasy)

Chapter 22 ∞ DAIRE

Peter and I face down the last of our foes, circling back-to-back, knives drawn and fangs aching for more blood. Three vampyres lie staked and headless at our feet, washing the green grass red. The part of me that's tuned to Reeve's scent prickles in awareness to his approach.

Four wolves tear apart a vampyre across the field and two more prowl toward Wren, who finishes slaughtering his third lycan. He rises from beside its corpse with blood staining his mouth and shirt, and grins.

"Is that your alpha I smell?" He sneers then takes off in a sprint toward the trail Reeve's climbing. Rainer crests the hill first and throws himself at Wren, shoulder-first, knocking the air out of him and sending them both into the ground. Wren's up and stabbing at Rainer, plunging his knife into fur and body with savage anger, drawing bright bursts of blood with each wound.

Peter's face darkens with anger before he leaps from behind me and soars, landing on top of Wren and driving his knife up under his ribs. Wren drops down onto his side, allowing Rainer time to shuffle from beneath him. The stab wounds in his back not slowing him down as he bites into Wren's leg.

A vampyre pushes up from a hidden place in the grass to aid Wren, going for Peter first. Satu's hell, they're hiding in the grass now?

I scour the ground, searching for more signs of vampyres lying in wait. Matt, Reeve, and his guards surround the escalating fight, each pouncing in with a quick bite and scratch, targeting tendons and arteries.

The vampyre assisting Wren is launched from the group, kicked in the gut by Rainer's hind legs. He lands on his back expecting to vault forward and re-engage, but before he can right himself, I drive a stake down through his heart.

The scene has changed by the time I look up. Rainer stands wobbly and injured, leaking blood beside Reeve, who's hunched low and growling. His guards stand at the ready behind him. All attention is on Wren, holding Matt by his scruff over the cliffside. Peter stands to my left, slightly in front of Rainer, and it only takes a millisecond of our eyes meeting for us to share an understanding and move in sync.

"Your fight isn't with him, Lars. Let's settle this, you and I," I say, inching closer.

"One more step and I'll toss him over the ledge." He grins, hiding the thick lines of his facial scars. "I'll give you a choice, Prince—"

No more words make it out of his mouth as Peter rockets toward him and bites into the back of his neck. Wren releases Matt, but before he can drop too far, my arms are around him and I'm yelling out to Mavis as we plummet. There's no space for thought or comprehension, only the feel of wind ripping past us and the sound of Reeve screaming my name. Then a smash of bone against rock, a harsh sting of freezing water, and, abruptly, nothing at all.

∞  ∞  ∞

The searing ache in my muscles and the throbbing in my head pull me into awareness. My grimace forms as the world comes into focus. Through measured breaths and thick swallows, I find a way to tolerate the pain. I blink through a watery haze to see Priestess Iso Grey.

I try to push up only to be stilled by her firm hand and eyes that pin me in place with their knowing—a stare that strips away my straggling defenses and leaves me feeling much too exposed.

"Careful moving, Master Daire. How are you feeling today? Is there much pain?"

I'm too sore to evaluate each specific point of pain. "How did I get here?" The words scratch out, fading before the full question is voiced.

Iso leans forward and rubs over my forehead. "Mavis. You dove from a cliff and she raised the water to catch you, though not before you hit several rocks on the way down."