Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (55 page)

Yelping and whimpering, Blossom rolled in the grass, trying to rid herself of the creatures. Some of the combatants stopped mid-blow, straining to see what had happened. They all backed up once they realized. Weevil even turned a bit greenish.

Margot looked at Lia, wiping a maggot from her lips. “You want a taste, No Name?”

Lia ran.

She might be a coward, but Blossom would be fine. The maggots wouldn’t kill her. She needed to make sure her Alphas were safe.

Clove screamed. Mayella and Ruth were diving at her, harrying her. Lia asked their boughs to turn to stone, but nothing happened. She tried to make a spark in her hand, but none appeared. Clenching her fist, she pushed her way through the meadow grasses. She couldn’t help Clove. She couldn’t even help herself. She was out of magic.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of white. There was Kane, fighting Viper and Claw. One of the witches was shooting arrows at him, but they kept skimming away at the last second. Lia grinned. She might have put too much of her magic into the clay, but she didn’t regret it. She couldn’t lose one of her Alphas again.

From the other side of the battle, she heard a roar. Ronan was snapping at Pike and Razor. They fled before him, any notions of honor lost.

“Alpha!”

Ronan stopped, looking up at Bellerose on her bough.

“No,” Lia whispered. “Run.”

“I have something for you,” Bellerose said sweetly. Giving him an evil smile, she whipped her hand forward. Acid sped toward him. He didn’t have time to move aside.

It struck him on the flank. Lia winced, bracing for the howl of pain. Ronan just cocked his head at Bellerose like he didn’t understand what she was doing, then raced after an enemy wolf.

Lia laughed. The acid had melted some of his clay symbols away, but for all Ronan felt it, it may have been water. Bellerose screamed her frustration.

Lia didn’t care that she was out of magic and totally unprotected. Her Alphas would be safe. She was satisfied.

A snarl ripped through the air. Canker struck her, pinning her to the ground. Lia gasped for air. She couldn’t breathe. He was going to crush her.

“Paws off.”

Canker bellowed, spinning around to face his foe.

Lia sat up, coughing as her lungs slowly filled with air.

“You like that? How about that? Here too, maybe?”

Each sentence was punctuated by a squeal of pain from Canker.

“You’re going to swipe at me, but I’m going to take that opening to stab you in the throat. Now you’ll snap, but I’m going to kick you in the teeth.”

With a high-pitched yelp, Canker fell back. He scrabbled to his feet and ran, kicking up clods of dirt.

“That’s right,” Lia’s savior called. “You’d better run. I’ve seen this battle three times, bud, and it doesn’t work out so well for you.”

Lia turned to the voice, bewildered. Who had saved her so spectacularly?

“Don’t worry, Mom.” Lilah reached out a hand, pulling Lia to her feet. “I’ve got your back.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Someone has to protect you guys.” Lilah grinned, shoving her short knife into a sheath at her belt. “Come on.”

Lia let her daughter pull her along the field of battle. They stopped and started as Lilah made sure they missed getting hit by stray arrows and lightning bolts.

“Are you sure you should be here?” Lia asked. “What if you get hurt?”

Lilah laughed. “I’m pretty sure I would have warned myself if I get hurt.”

Lia winced. “That sentence made my head hurt.”

“Welcome to my life.”

Across the field of battle, there was a horrible howl. A white wolf fell, covered in blood.

“No!”

Lilah clamped a hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place. “An illusion, made just for you. Ignore it.”

“Are you sure?”

Lilah gave her an incredulous look.

“Oh. Sorry.”

Her daughter pointed. “Dads are over there, see? They’re ganging up on that unfortunate brown wolf. Oof, he’s going to be sore tomorrow. If he lives to see it.”

Lia scanned the meadow for Finn. Though he was acting on Shade’s orders, she was sick of him playing out her fantasies and nightmares. She was going to have to do something about him.

She spotted him a few hundred yards away, keeping close to Shade. Lia eyed the bow and arrow on Lilah’s back. None of this was his fault, but he was getting too dangerous. She had wanted Della to be alive so badly she had almost fallen for the illusion. If Magnus hadn’t saved her, she might be Shade’s by now.

Finn had his back to her. She hated to do it, but Shade left her no choice.

“Hey,” she whispered, “can I borrow your bow?”

Lilah frowned. “Why?” She was reaching for her bow when they were blasted with heat.

“Get down!” Lilah cried. She pulled Lia to her knees in some thick grasses. Pointing, she put her finger to her lips.

A bolt of lightning hissed over their heads.

“You are no son of mine!” Magda cried. “You have betrayed me twice now.”

Magnus snarled. “I’m not sure not letting you kill me counts as a betrayal. At least not in normal families.” Striking his staff on the ground, he sent a bolt of darkness at her heart.

Magda knocked it aside with her bough with a sound that made Lia shudder. She hoped Magnus never threw darkness at her. She had no idea what it was, or what it could do, but the sight of it filled her with bone-numbing fear. It threatened death, nothingness.

“You could have made everything up to me if you’d just given me your daughter.” Magda’s every other word was marked by lightning.

What on earth were they talking about? Lia had been with Magda for as long as she could remember.

“You can’t have her.” Magnus said, swinging his staff.

Magda brought her staff up to meet his. “Why do you care? You abandoned her.”

“She’s still my daughter.”

He thrust out a hand, cloaking Magda in darkness. The witch screeched as Magnus ran. Lightning rolled off her hair and fingertips as she stumbled after him.

Lia got up to follow, but Lilah held her arm.

“Stay here,” she said.

Lia shook her off. Lilah may have been here before, but she didn’t know everything. She sprinted after Magnus and Magda. She needed to hear everything they said.

“Mom, wait!”

There was a rumbling growl as the grasses parted between them. Raid appeared, his teeth bared.

“Aren’t you early?” Lilah asked.

His head swiveled toward her.

“Run.” Lilah took off, Raid on her heels. Why didn’t she shift?

Lia didn’t have time to wonder. The grasses rustled just enough to warn her to leap out of the way as Weevil barreled past. She hit the ground on all fours, feeling the dirt churn under her.

Weevil gave chase, snapping at her tail. Lia’s paws beat against the earth. He might be dumb, but he was fast. She couldn’t fight him. She had no magic, no weapons. She had to outrun him.

A gout of flame rushed past her. Lia ducked a second jet of flame, but Weevil wasn’t quick enough. He fell back, yelping, his muzzle smoking.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Lizabeth stood there, her back to Lia.

Lia shifted. “It’s me.”

Lizabeth turned. She held a lopsided ball of fire. Her eyes flicked over Lia, the hint of a grimace on her face. “Can’t you be decent and wear some clothes?”

“We don’t wear clothes,” Lia said. “We’re shifters. Clothes make it hard to shift.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t shift, then.” Lizabeth’s voice was flat. “Come back with us and be a witch again.”

“You already know my answer,” Lia said sadly.

“I know, but we were friends once. I thought you deserved one last chance.” The ball of fire pulsed in her hands.

“What do you mean, ‘one last chance’? What are you doing?”

Lizabeth’s face was expressionless. “What needs to be done.”

There was a sharp sound, and a splintering crack appeared on the ball of fire. Lia frowned. It almost looked like a hatching egg.

A shard of fire fell to the meadow, flaming out in a curl of smoke. Another fell, and another. Her stomach turned. There was something inside, with a questing beak of flame.

It punched its way out with a shrill cry, the rest of its prison falling to the ground. It was a tangle of limbs. The tiny creature let out a plaintive creel, trying to stand. Lizabeth blew on it, feeding the flames. Suddenly, it was too big to sit in her hands. It fell to the earth, where it started ripping up what meadow grasses it didn’t singe. Throwing its head back, the creature got the grasses to fall down its throat. Lia could smell them burning in its belly.

The creature ate and ate, blackening the meadow all around. Lia could only look on in horror. What had Lizabeth created?

It looked at her, hissing. Lia took a step back. It held its head steady as it wriggled its long neck, almost as if it were sizing her up. Slashing its tail, the creature took one last bite of grass. Gulping down its meal, it stared at her.

Its shoulder blades twitched. Wings sprouted from its back. Lia almost had to admire how delicate they were, how beautifully the reds and oranges intertwined. With an awful screech, the creature beat its wings. Air fed the fire, making it grow larger, taller, until it towered over her.

Lia’s mouth hung open. When she had left the coven, Lizabeth could create fiery salamanders. Now, she had conjured a dragon of flame.

Lia backed away, then ran.

“You can’t run from this, No Name!” Lizabeth called after her.

The dragon screamed, launching into the air. Its wings beat over her, the downdraft making her break into a sweat. She stumbled, falling as the whip-like tail struck the space her head had just occupied.

It flew on, swooping low over the battlefield. Lia got to her feet, brushing dirt from her knees. Lizabeth was right—she couldn’t run from it. The dragon circled lazily, keeping one eye on her. Lia suspected it was toying with her.

All the combatants had gone silent. Everyone stood still, watching the fiery beast. It hung in the sky, snarling at them, like it didn’t like the attention. Then it dove, breathing fire at the meadow below.

A knot of shifters ran for cover, all else forgotten. Twin River and Shadow pack wolves fled alike. The dragon didn’t seem to care if it burned friend or foe.

“Hit it with a volley!” someone called from the heights. “Ready! Loose!”

A storm of arrows flew toward the dragon. They burned away within three feet of it.

Hissing, the dragon landed on the rock face of the den, its claws digging in for purchase. It wrapped its wings around the rock possessively, leaving black scorch marks. They had to lure it away. It would kill everyone on the heights with the heat alone.

“Hey!” Lia shouted. “Isn’t it me you’re after?”

The dragon turned its pointy head toward her, interest renewed. Crouching, it leapt off the heights and back into the air.

It was coming right for her. Her plan had worked.

Fuck
.

Lia didn’t have any ideas for what to do now except face her own demise. Only one thought broke through her haze of fear, and that was to run. She wasn’t as fast on two legs, but she was too scared to shift.

Overhead, someone screamed. Lia looked up. Most of the witches had sent their boughs toward the ground when the dragon took to the skies, but a few hadn’t. Now Mayella was in its way. She jerked her bough down and to the left, corkscrewing away. Distracted by the movement, the dragon arrowed after her, playfully snapping at her heels.

Mayella flew wildly through the sky, calling for help. The dragon sent a puff of flame after her. It caught her bough, turning the shaped twigs at its tail into a spout of flame.

Mayella lost control. She spiraled toward the earth, crashing into it so hard that Lia could feel the impact from where she stood. Mayella’s body and bough were broken.

The dragon flew over, cocked its head, and flew on.

“Focus!” Lizabeth shouted. “Your prey is here!” She pointed at Lia.

Its head snapped toward her. Lia’s blood curdled as it fixed her with its flaming eyes.

“It’s time to put an end to this, No Name.” Lizabeth began to walk toward her.

Lia watched in horror. Lizabeth herself was burning now, flames licking along her skin. Her hair was ablaze, too. The fire wasn’t harming her—it was a part of her, feeding off her magic.

Lia turned to run.

The dragon set down behind her, cutting off her escape. Lia held a hand over her face. Even from here, it felt like a thousand forges.

The beast circled, its tail setting the meadow alight. Flames soared toward the sky. Her mouth went dry. No one could save her now. She was alone with Lizabeth.

“Are you ready to die, No Name?” Behind her, the dragon flicked its tongue, echoing the question.

Lia’s eyes watered with the smoke. “You’d really kill me, Lizabeth? I thought we were friends.”

The dragon sprang forward, Lizabeth at its center. Lia winced. How could she withstand the flames?

“You aren’t part of my coven.” The dragon’s head moved with Lizabeth’s, like they were one. “You have forsaken us; you’d kill us all, given half the chance. You aren’t even a witch.”

“I am a witch,” Lia said quietly.

“Then where’s your magic?”

She had no response.

There was a satisfied hiss. Lia wasn’t sure if it had come from Lizabeth, the dragon, or both.

“Magda will be so proud of me for this.”

Lia tried to swallow, but her throat was bone dry. She was out of magic, alone in a circle of flames. There was no Kane, no Ronan, no Lilah to save her now.

There was nothing left but to prepare to die.

Lizabeth grabbed Lia’s wrist, scorching her skin. Lia let out a wordless cry. The heat was horrible. Above her head, the dragon breathed out, preparing for the final blow. Its teeth were daggers of flame, ready to tear her apart.

“Lizabeth, please!”

She met Lia’s eyes, and for a split second Lia saw her old friend.

“Excuse me.” Magnus stepped into the circle, flames grasping at his cloak. Annoyed, he batted them aside. “I’m terribly sorry, but that’s my only child. I can’t allow you to kill her.”