Fates Entwined

23

The cave opened up into a larger chamber, and I paused to take in the scene before me. Faint light spilled in from the top of the cavern, which stretched out before leading off into hidden alcoves waiting to be explored. Roxandra stood in the center with a young man with dark hair, who appeared to be unconscious on the ground at her feet. She was dressed in a red hooded robe and she appeared to be casting some sort of spell over Miles that caused a faint glow to surround him. I caught a glimpse of her cruel but beautiful face, marred only by the s***h of claw marks across one eye, a scar that Ayla had given her.

My plan was for us to sneak up on her and take her out since we were invisible, but Jordan had other ideas. He charged her without warning, moving far enough away from me that he became visible again. Roxandra sensed him before he got to her and threw her arm out, sending out a wave of magic that sent him flying back.

“Hello, Jordan,” Roxandra said with a triumphant smile. “It sure took you long enough to find me. I was starting to think I'd have to tear through your pathetic little wards and come visit you at home soon just to get your attention."

Jordan growled and shook off her magic, creeping toward her again like he was prepared to attack at any moment. I whined low in my throat, trying to warn him to stay back, but he didn’t even look at me. Once he was only a few few from Roxandra he shifted back to human form. "Let my pack member go."

"Oh, Jordan. I have missed you. So much passion." Roxandra reached out as if she wanted to touch him, but Jordan batted her hand away with a snarl. "How about I offer to give this male back and leave the Leo pack alone for good?"

"In return for what? I know you wouldn’t do that out of the kindness of the heart you don’t f*****g have.”

“In return for you." Her eyes gleamed with hunger as she looked his naked body up and down like she wanted to take a bite. Jealousy and rage surged inside me, and I had to hold myself back from lunging for her. Mine, my wolf growled inside me. It must not have gotten the memo that he was no longer my mate. But I sure as hell wasn't letting Roxandra have him either.

Jordan tensed, and I thought it was because of what Roxandra said, but then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I quickly whipped my head around to see some movement in the shadows. Dark shapes formed into unnaturally beautiful men with sharp fangs who moved with a lethal grace toward Roxandra. At the sight of the vampires, some primal instinct inside me snarled and snapped, desperate to bite their heads off.

Shit, I realized, with a burst of fear. It’s a trap.

"As you can see, I've brought some friends, and they're very hungry," Roxandra said. "It would be a shame if they had to visit your little town next."

"I have a better idea," Jordan said, his hands turning to claws. "How about I kill you all, and make sure you never hurt my pack again."

He swiped toward Roxandra, who darted out of the way just in time, but two vampires came up behind him. I didn’t have time to shift back and warn Jordan, and I needed to protect him while his back was vulnerable. It was a gut reaction, one I didn’t even have time to think about because Jordan’s life was in danger. All I knew was that I had to defend him.

I lunged toward the vampires, snarling and snapping my teeth as my invisibility dropped. I tried to keep them back away from Jordan, but one of them darted around me. I set my teeth in his shoulder and ripped his arm off. The vampire shrieked, and chaos erupted all around us. Together, Jordan and I fought the vampires, but they were so fast it was impossible to keep them all off at once. I dodged a particularly nasty blow and tore off a vampire's head, then spit his blood out on the cave floor.

With a flash of light, something painfully hot burned into my side. I let out a sharp whine as I staggered back, while Roxandra prepared another blast of sun magic. I rolled out of the way just in time, but that only sent another wave of pain through me. I shifted back to human form, clutching my burned side, and sent one of the vampires careening into the wall of the cave with a blast of moonlight. He landed on a stalagmite and was impaled, and I turned back to fight off another one, but the burning pain became too strong and my legs gave out under me. I collapsed on the stone floor, while the vampires circled around me like sharks closing in on their prey.

“No!" Jordan yelled. A wave of fire burst out of him, roaring through the cave like an unleashed dragon. Every vampire it came into contact with burst into flames immediately. The fire avoided me completely, while Roxandra used her own magic to protect herself from the blast.

It was over in an instant. The vampires fell to ashes, and Jordan stepped back, looking down at his hands like he couldn't believe what he'd just done. I couldn't believe it either. Jordan had just used sun magic. How was it possible?

Roxandra clapped her hands together and laughed. "I knew you were the one! The first male with sun magic in decades. If I’d known all it took to unlock your magic was to threaten this female shifter, I would have done it much earlier.” She conjured another blazing fireball in her hand. "Can you do it again? Or do you need to hear her scream first?"