Fighting Fate (25 page)

“Help me up.”

Once they were both standing, he crushed her body to his, needing to make sure she was real. He

inhaled her scent, calming his wolf somewhat, but not fully. He needed the rage, the extra power that

his wolf held, in order to defeat what was coming.

They all knew it.

“Cailin!”

They turned at the sound of Kade’s voice then moved toward him and his mate. The Alpha

looked like he’d seen better days, but he and Mel were in one piece.

“Did you find everyone?” Cailin asked, worry in her tone.

Logan gripped her hand, trying to steady her. His mate was strong, so strong that sometimes

others forgot she could break. He wouldn’t let that happen though. Not while he had breath in his

lungs.

“Working on it,” Kade said. “Find the others then get to Emeline. We need to figure out what the

fuck happened.”

Logan nodded then took Cailin’s hand, leading her away.

“We need to find them,” she whispered.

“We will,” he promised.

He heard someone call out then ran to them, pulling Cailin with him. As soon as they reached the

rock that had pinned Reed to the ground, Cailin was already pushing at the damn thing.

Hannah and Josh were there as well, using their strength—which wasn’t much in Hannah’s case

—to push as well.

“I’d use my magic to move it, but I don’t have enough control not to hurt Reed at the same time,”

Hannah said. She looked on the verge of tears, but was holding them back. Probably not to scare her

mate.

Reed grinned from the ground, even though it looked more like a grimace. “Don’t worry, darling.

Josh is all He-Man right now, and we have Logan and Cailin too. I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

“Then I’ll Heal you.”

“Then you’ll Heal me.”

Josh gave Logan a look that said it all. If they didn’t move the boulder soon, Reed would end up

like Adam and lose his leg.

Damn it.

They stood on one side and pressed their hands on the rock, bracing themselves. “On the count of

three,” Logan said. “One…two...three!”

They pushed, shoved, and growled, using every ounce of their werewolf and demonic strength to

push the bounder off of Reed.

Reed grunted, clearly holding back a scream.

Just when Logan was sure they wouldn’t be able to move it, the boulder shifted, and Reed was

able to pull himself out. Hannah was on her knees immediately, her hands over Reed’s broken leg.

“Just Heal the bone, baby,” Reed said through clenched teeth. “Save your strength for others. I

have a feeling we’re going to need it.”

“Pull through the bond if you need more energy,” Josh put in.

The Healer nodded, hard at work.

“We’re going to find others. Meet you at the center with Kade,” Logan said, meeting Josh’s eyes.

“Deal,” the other man said.

Luckily, the others were either all unharmed or relatively so. They gathered back at the center

area where they’d performed the magic.

Emeline leaned heavily on Noah, her body looking as though she’d used more magic than she

should have. Her hair stuck to her pale, damp face and her limps shook, though she looked like she

was trying to appear brave and well. Whole.

“What the fuck happened?” Logan snapped, ignoring Cailin’s pull on his arm.

“The wards are down,” Emeline whispered weakly. “The demon knows we’re here and we’re

up to something. That explosion was the final dark magic snapping.”

“He’s on his way then,” Kade said grimly.

“And he’s pissed.”

Logan turned at Cailin’s words and followed her gaze.

Wolves. So many wolves.

All of them in wolf form, their stronger forms, but that meant they wouldn’t be able to move like

a human and take on more than one at a time.

All of them looking as if someone had pushed adrenaline into their system.

They moved as a unit toward the Redwoods and the Talons with Caym prowling behind them.

The battle was on.

Logan just prayed the spell had worked somewhat, even if they hadn’t transported him away, and

they could kill Caym.

If not, all would be lost.

Chapter Sixteen

Cailin sucked in a breath as Caym held up his hands. Each Central wolf stopped where they

were, their chests heaving. The Centrals froze without even
seeing
Caym move.

Shit.

“You’ve surprised me, Redwoods,” Caym called out, his voice rising.

The demon’s usual chiseled features and cool demeanor seemed to show wear and tear with the

slight lines on the corner of his eyes and mouth. His hair moved in the wind, rather than being

plastered to his head in that iced way he’d used to have it. Caym was on edge. That had to mean

something was working, that the spell had done its job. She just prayed they could kill him or at least

have the portal that should have opened pull him back in. All Cailin knew was that they’d hurt Caym.

That was more than anything they’d done before.

And from the haggard way he looked now, they’d weakened him either through the spell, through

his use of power to get here so quickly with his hyped-up wolves, or a combination of both.

According to Maddox and Ellie, Caym had looked weakened only once before, when he’d used all

his power to bring back Corbin. Corbin, apparently, had to have died at the proper time for the

demon. Then again, when they were fighting in the Redwood Pack circle, Lexi had scarred the demon

with her claws.

Each battle might not have been huge in their eyes when it came to victory, but there were seven

Jamenson siblings and only one demon.

They were wearing on him.

They had to be.

“Surprises don’t matter in the end, however,” Caym continued. “You might have taken down the

wards, but you’ll never be able to take me. I’m stronger than all of you. I’ve cut you, burned you,

taken your children. I’ve killed the Alpha and his mate. I’ve made you bleed, made you scream, I’ve

taken your hope. You have nothing. While I…I have everything.” He held out his arms, that sinister

smile on his face. “What do you have to fight for, Redwoods?”

“Everything,” Cailin whispered.

Caym’s gaze went straight to hers, and she raised her chin. Logan growled softly beside her, and

she knew it took everything within her mate not to step in front of her, blocking her from the demon’s

focus.

“Ah, yes, the little princess and her pet,” Caym sneered. “It’s too bad you and your little wolf

made it through the flood. The forest around the new lake didn’t fare so well. Neither did the twelve

humans who died in its wake.”

Cailin’s heart lurched in her chest, her eyes widening. She felt Logan’s confusion over the bond

but didn’t dare remove her gaze from Caym.

Humans had died? Why hadn’t they known about it?

“I see you didn’t know,
princess
,” Caym said on a laugh. “Stupid weak humans. Once I finish

with you and the Talons that are hiding behind you with their tails tucked between their legs, I’ll be

taking care of the humans next. Nothing can stop me, Redwoods. Nothing will. I’m the powerful one

here, and the era of the wolves is over. You’ll bow before me, beg before me, and die before me.”

“We took down your wards. We’ll take down you as well,” Cailin called back.

Caym lifted a lip and snarled. “A party trick. As for real magic? Look at the wolves in front of

you. They’re infused with my own power. They’re stronger than you, faster than you, and will die for

me, but not before you do. That, my dear princess, is real magic.”

Cailin sucked in a breath, a quick burst of sadness washing over her at the thought of the poor

wolves that had sold their souls for more power. No, that wasn’t quite right. Not everyone had asked

to be part of what the Central’s Alpha had done. Some were innocents. Innocents with no hope now

that their blood mixed with whatever the demon had done.

They had been a lost cause before. Now the danger in front of them looked insurmountable.

Logan leaned into her, his gaze on the scene in front of them. “If he’s used so much of his power

for those wolves, he might have hurt himself in the process,” he whispered.

She nodded, agreeing with him. “He looks it, Logan. We’re going to win this. We
have
to.”

“He’s going for broke here, and he made a mistake,” Kade whispered on the other side of her.

“We’re going to take on the wolves like we’d planned. Mel and I will be with you and Logan as you

go for Caym. Gideon and Mitchell as well. We can do this.”

“I think the mistake in our past encounters, Redwoods, was that I went too easy on all of you,”

Caym taunted. “That won’t be happening today. Attack!”

The wolves moved then, fangs bared, hackles raised. They came as one, their bodies moving at a

rapid pace, their muscles straining at the excess energy pounding through their bodies. The sound was

deafening. Howls, growls, and the pads of paws on the earth.

They were coming.

“Do as we planned!” Kade yelled, his claws out, ready to fight. “We’re stronger. We’re

Redwoods. Take down the demon, win the war!”

The wolves howled, and Kade gave Mel one last hard kiss before they all went to their

positions. The Redwoods growled, claws bared, ready to fight. Their muscles bunched with their

own strength, not straining from the overabundance of magic like the Centrals were with Caym’s

energy running through them. Logan kissed Cailin hard as well, giving her a wink, then started toward

Caym. She let her wolf come to the surface, her claws out, ready to fight.

She’d stay in human form, much like the rest of her family, so they could get closer to the demon.

If they took the time to shift to wolves and back, they’d end up on the wrong side of a claw. Plus they

fought in human forms with their claws partially shifted usually. It gave them a better chance at

moving faster and a greater range of motion. Like their previous battles, the stronger wolves within

the Redwood Pack were fighting that day. That meant each of them could partially shift. All of her

family and dominants had been teaching the others the skill over time in preparation for this moment.

Walker and Ryder were the first to make it to the Centrals. They jumped as a unit, pouncing on

those of the enemy directly in front of them. Four of the wolves in question attacked back, their teeth

tearing into skin, growling and snapping their jaws. Walker punched one in the throat while Ryder

broke another’s neck. Together, the Talon pair killed the others, moving onto another set of wolves.

They both ended up bloody and breathing heavily, but they hadn’t lost.

These wolves seemed stronger than anything Cailin had ever faced, but that didn’t mean she’d

give up.

A wolf jumped out from behind a bush, teeth ready to clamp down on her arm. She ducked,

rolled, and then turned back, knowing Logan would protect her instinctively. The wolf had turned

back on a dime, ready to kill. Cailin growled back, then raked her claws down its side. She could

feel Logan behind her, hear him fighting another wolf. The wolf in front of her twisted so he could

bite again, but she moved out of the way quickly, Logan doing the same. Tired of fighting this wolf

when she needed to get to Caym as quick as possible, she ducked, pushing her claws, hands, and arm

through the wolf’s side.

It whined, and she bit back a curse. No matter how evil the magic running through her enemy was

at this point, she didn’t want it to be in pain. Not when this was all Caym’s, Corbin’s, and Hector’s

doing.

She quickly ended its life by piercing its heart, then pulled her blood-soaked hand back. With a

sigh, she turned back to Logan who had just finished snapping the neck of his opponent.

Two down. So many more to go.

Logan gave her a nod after doing a quick check over her body. She didn’t blame him because

she’d done the same, checking for wounds he might have missed with the excess adrenaline running

through his veins.

Willow and Jasper fought another set of wolves around thirty feet from them. It was six on two,

and despite the fact that Willow hadn’t been born within the den and had only just learned to fight, the

odds were still in the Redwoods’ favor.

A wolf pounced on Willow, knocking her to the ground. Cailin pivoted on her leg, trying to make

it to Willow’s side in time to help, but Jasper was faster.

Actually,
Willow
was faster.

Her sister-in-law rolled out from under the wolf in one swift move, jumped on its back and

snapped its neck before Cailin could blink.

Damn.

Jasper disposed of two more wolves, then wrestled another, Willow helping at his side.

Another wolf bared its teeth in front of Cailin and she ducked as it tried to jump on top of her.

She rolled forward then turned back on one foot, kicking out. Her foot connected with the wolf’s flank

and it went to the ground. She snapped its neck before it could bite her.

Cailin looked over her shoulder as Adam shouted out. Adam and Bay were on the other side of

Willow and Jasper, fighting as a unit. Even though Adam only had one leg, no one would have been