Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

That will be to our advantage. Fen glanced around to see if any member of the pack could see him. He would have to use the speed of the H?n ku pes?k kaikak—Guardians of all—if he was going to kill both guards and keep them silent as they died.

Zev was the only one within eyesight of him to see his blurring speed. Tatijana, have Bronnie distract Zev just for a moment. I need enough time to take both guards out simultaneously. She’d better be quick. I’m running out of time.

He could hear the other werewolf breathing in short, ragged pants. He’d been injured recently and hadn’t completely healed. Fen could smell the wound. He kept his eye on Zev even as he planned the moves out in his mind.

He could reach out and touch the first guard. The second was two steps away, cursing as he got hung up on a thorny branch. The moment Zev looked away, Fen rose up fast, slamming the silver stake through the rancid werewolf’s heart with his right hand, silencing him as he did so. He turned, using his left hand to take out the second guard. The rogue never actually saw him, he was too busy trying to get brambles out of his fur when the stake went through his heart.

He felt Tatijana’s relief. She poured into his mind just for a moment, letting him feel her love before she quickly turned back to her job. Fen eased across the distance separating them until he was beside Zev.

“The others will have to use their swords to cut off their heads. I’m not hacking them off with my knife.”

Zev grinned at him. “What a wuss. All this time I thought you were so tough you carried a spare knife in your teeth just for hacking off heads.” He signaled the pack forward again.

“I trust you have a plan for entering that cave,” Fen said.

“Not exactly. I thought we’d let them come to us.”

Fen raised his eyebrow.

“That blue dragon up there came up with an idea and sent it to me through Branislava. She thought it might be fun to fill the cave with insects. The biting kind. If you’ve got your eye on her, Fen, you might reconsider. She’s intelligent and has sass. You’re old enough to know to stay away from that kind of woman.”

“Not a bad plan,” Fen agreed. His lady did have sass. You could have shared your plan with me.

I had to give Bronnie something real to distract him. He’s too smart for anything else. In any case, I didn’t want you charging in there. You and Dimitri seem to get into trouble every time I turn around. I’m in your mind, wolf man. You planned on leading the charge, didn’t you?

He shared his amusement with her. I’m faster.

You’ve been fighting other people’s battles for too long, Fen, and you can’t stop. You use your body as a shield for the others, and Dimitri is just like you.

That much was true. Dimitri was more like him than he wanted his brother to be. Dimitri was fearless in a fight. Fen would rather have him than any other at his back.

Zev signaled his pack to move forward into place. He nodded to Fen.

We’re ready down here. Do you want to do the honors, my lady? Or should I? he teased, already knowing her answer.

I lived in a cave my entire life, wolf man. I know insects. And what I don’t know I can imagine, Tatijana added with a little laugh.

The wind drifted over them, a soft, gentle touch that sent a ripple through the leaves around them. Above them, the clouds changed shapes as they lazily floated across the dark sky. A slapping sound suddenly disrupted the silence of the night. Inside the cave, a muffled yell, quickly silenced, was heard.

Suddenly at the entrance, men in various stages of shifting began pouring out of the cave, nearly falling over one another, slapping at their clothes and fur. Two stumbled and fell, creating chaos for those still inside. The two downed werewolves were trampled as those inside, desperate to vacate, simply ran over them. Swarms of red ants covered their bodies so that they looked as if their clothes and skin were alive and moving.

That woman is a terror, Zev observed, hardly able to contain his laughter. We may as well go home and let her handle this.

Fen couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. His lady did have a scary imagination, sending revved-up fire ants swarming over the werewolves. Make certain none of us get bit, he warned her.

Don’t be such a baby. She gave a little sniff of disdain, but he felt her laughter. She did have a nasty little sense of humor.

I believe in retaliation, he warned, although his threat was an empty one and they both knew it.

Tatijana laughed softly and he felt her fingers brush down the side of his face.

I brought them out of there, now it’s your turn. And check on your brother, after. Something’s not right.

What does that mean?

If I knew I wouldn’t have said to check on him. Again there was that soft laughter.