Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

Is Mikhail’s son in the house? Gregori’s daughters? Tatijana was worried the sheer number of rogues would overrun the small defenses they had.

No. Sara’s children. Sara is on bed rest and Gabrielle is there with her. Gabrielle and Shea are in the house to be the last line of defense for the children.

Vikirnoff and Natalya? They had to be somewhere close and yet they weren’t in the middle of the fray. Tatijana couldn’t imagine either of them sitting out a battle.

Destiny ducked under one of the beasts, slipped past another and got to Gary. She plunged a silver stake through the back of the wolf tearing at Gary’s insides. Crouching, she got an arm around his back. He was a mess, his belly ripped open and great chunks of flesh removed from his chest. Once the wolves got a victim down, they tore him apart. Gary made an effort to rise, but he had to clamp both hands over his open belly, and he’d lost so much blood so fast that he was weak. The blood made him slippery and trying to lift him was impossible. The patch didn’t begin to cover the mess.

“Come on,” Destiny hissed. “We’re not out of trouble here.”

They were ringed by snarling wolves. She was bleeding in dozens of places. Zev was in nearly as bad a shape as Gary, and Jubal couldn’t get past the wall of werewolves to get to them.

“Get out of here,” Gary urged. “You can make it through without me.”

“That’s not an option.” Destiny looked to the sky. Tatijana, flame these bastards. I’ve had enough of them. She raised her voice. “Jubal, Zev take cover now!”

With that, completely trusting Tatijana to do as she asked, she took Gary back to the ground. Before she could cover him, he was covering her, hands over her head, his body on hers, pinning her down.

“You’re crazy, you know that,” he whispered in her ear, laughter in his voice in spite of the pain he had to be in.

Without hesitation, both Jubal and Zev hit the ground. Jubal, still close to the porch, managed to roll partially beneath it. Zev went down where he was trusting several wolves would follow him to the ground, which they did, effectively covering his body.

The world around them erupted into flame as the dragon blasted out of the clouds, neck extended, wings creating a windstorm to help fan the white-hot flames as they burst in a steady stream from the dragon’s gaping maw to the ground below. Rogues, half wolf, half man, found fur and hair on fire, and dropped, rolling, desperate to try to put it out.

The temperature in the front yard went from crisp and cold to instant searing heat. The roar of the flames thundered in their ears. The wind rose to a fever pitch as the great wings fanned those flames so that they jumped from one rogue to the next. She hovered overhead another moment or two after she quit spraying fire, her enormous wings acting like bellows and then with a loud trumpet, she once more gained altitude.

“Now, now,” Destiny hissed. “This is our chance.”

Zev leapt to his feet and began slamming home silver stakes, heedless of the flames, uncaring of any injury to himself. Jubal rolled out from under the porch and followed his example, staking as many as possible.

“Use the sword,” Zev called out, tossing his sword to Jubal. “Any that’s been staked, sever the head.”

Jubal caught the sword easily with one hand and swung at the head of a rogue charging at him who had remained relatively unscathed.

Gary made a huge effort and rolled off of Destiny, coming up to his knees, careful to keep his hands over his ripped belly. The rogues were adept at their chosen fighting method—to incapacitate their opponent by eviscerating them. It took only seconds. Gary had saved Zev, but he hadn’t escaped the pack and their relentless, tireless thirst for blood and the kill.

Destiny didn’t think any of them had escaped. Every Carpathian and Lycan had very bad wounds. Once again she got her arm around Gary. He made a valiant effort and struggled to his feet, going completely pale, black blood pouring from his gut. She knew those signs, and they weren’t good. Gary obviously knew it as well, but he said nothing, breathing deep to try to make it through the burning yard, back to the house.

Gregori. We have great need, Destiny called to their healer on the common telepathic path. Gary won’t live out the hour if you cannot make it to us. No other has the skill to save him, not even Shea. She did not say that she doubted even Gregori could save him, but it was in her mind and he would know.