‘Stop distracting me!’
Claire emanated fear, a tantalizing scent that instilled the need for the kill in every one of us. I had to make a move quickly. I couldn’t be certain that I could take her down faster than she could pull the trigger again. Arys was right. It wasn’t worth any of our lives if I tried and failed.
Before I could make a decision, Julian snapped. He lunged, his strong hind legs launching him swiftly straight at her. The gun sounded, and he dropped in a heavy thud that shook the floor beneath my feet. It all happened faster than I could blink. My hands vibrated with the power I held ready. Taking advantage of Claire’s momentary distraction, I hit her with enough metaphysical force to drop an elephant.
It was more than I’d anticipated. It flowed through me like a wave that could be neither seen nor touched, forcing me to my knees. I could feel Arys behind the massive wallop, guiding it when I ceased to have control. For a split second my skull felt like it might blow. The pressure eased, and blood dripped from my nose.
Claire hurtled through the air to crash through the draped window in an explosion of glass. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to the gaping hole. The wail that came from her was horrifying, so inhuman I quaked. Yet, watching her burn was harder than hearing her die.
Her skin sizzled audibly, blackening at the sun’s lethal touch, but death didn’t come immediately. The sickening stench of burning flesh was overwhelming. My stomach turned, and I fought the urge to vomit.
I turned away, unable to watch anymore. A quick look at Julian’s destroyed face was worse. He was dead. I couldn’t save him. Tearing my gaze from the brown wolf’s corpse, I rushed to Zak, finding him struggling to hold on.
‘Help me,’ I begged Arys. The high level of power we’d raised would be enough to heal Zak, I knew it. I just didn’t have the mental clarity and calm needed to do it. Killing was easy. Healing was hard. One might think it should be the other way around.
Kylarai’s high-pitched whine was mournful, and my heart broke for her. Scumbag or not, she’d loved Julian. Shaz went to her, nuzzling her face with wolf kisses. I focused on tuning out everything but Zak and what he needed from me.
‘Concentrate.’ Arys’ guidance was stern but gentle. ‘Make him all that you see, all that you feel. Envision the brokenness inside him. Push the energy into him as you would in an attack but direct it. Give it a purpose. You can do this.’
He fell silent, leaving me to save my wolf on my own. I didn’t ask much of my pack. I did all that I could to leave them out of stuff like this. They’d proven their loyalty by being there when needed, even Julian. My wolf rose to the surface, straining for release, seeking a way to comfort her own. It hurt to deny the need to shift. Right now, I had to be the vampire.
Closing my eyes, I held my hands over Zak’s wound, close but not touching. The harsh sensation of pain rolled off him. I could feel him slipping away.
Tuning out my surroundings was near impossible, but once I fell into him, aligning Zak’s broken energy with my own, it came together much smoother than I expected. I honed in on the wound, seeing it in my mind. With a deep sigh, I pushed my positive, vibrant energy into Zak, seeing his wound as healed. I held that vision as the current connecting us grew strong and warm.
I felt disoriented, as if the room was spinning and I didn’t know which way was up. A roar of white noise filled my ears. It was exhilarating.
The power fell away, and I opened my eyes to find Zak lying naked beside me on the floor. He’d shifted back to human form. The wound in his chest was healed, only a faint trace of pink scar tissue remained. A handful of buckshot lay beside him.
He blinked up at me with glazed eyes. “Alexa?”
I exhaled slowly, realizing at some point I’d held my breath. I felt drained. Good thing I’d killed Maxwell when I had because I didn’t have the energy to take him on now.
“Come on.” I helped Zak to his feet, supporting his weight when he leaned heavily on me. “Let’s get you out of here.”
I didn’t want him to see Julian. They were best friends. Zak had been through enough. I cast a glance back at Shaz and Kylarai. Shaz was nudging her along, urging her to follow me out. She resisted, her gaze locked on the body of her fallen former lover. After a few moments, I heard her paws pad along behind me.
Brogan looked up in shock when we appeared. She took in the naked werewolf at my side and averted her gaze. I would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so somber. Werewolves got used to being naked around other people. It came with the territory.
Once I got Zak settled in the backseat of Shaz’ blue Cobalt, I turned to go back to the house, but Zak grabbed my arm and held on. “Alexa. What happened? Did Julian make it out?”
His jaw was clenched, and he studied me knowingly. I wasn’t going to insult him by lying or sugar-coating the truth.