His father whimpered, nursing a broken foreleg as he limped away. Regardless of his pain, the king’s ears were pinned back as he bared his teeth, ready for more. Anthony prowled around his father, looking for the right opening, but the man shifted back to his human form.
Anthony growled with pleasure as he charged, but a flash of metal flew out of his father’s hand. A blade. Long. Too close to dodge. It landed just above Anthony’s heart, and he couldn’t suppress the whimper of pain as the blade cut deep into his body. He fell, sliding across the floor as his father stumbled to his feet.
“We’ll continue this another day,” his father said with a sneer. He bolted for the door, his shifter healing already mending the broken arm as he sprinted toward the roars of the dragons outside.
No! I can’t let him leave!
In utter agony and fueled only by his rage, Anthony tried to stand. Every time he managed to put weight on his feet, rippling pain tore through his chest, too much for even him to bear. He howled in frustration and anger, desperate to go after his father, to rip out the man’s throat for every wrong he had ever committed against the kingdom and against the woman Anthony loved.
“Shh,” Tina said by his ear.
His ears pinned to his head as he growled for a split-second, but he stilled when he recognized Tina. Her eyebrows twisted with worry, but his outburst didn’t seem to scare her. She ran the back of her hand along his face. Her soothing touch calmed some of his anger, and he lowered his head to the floor.
Her finger brushed the hilt of the dagger embedded in his chest. “If I pull this out, will your natural shifter healing save you?”
Anthony nodded.
“Okay, get ready.”
He gritted his teeth, preparing for the searing pain. When she yanked it out, the spike of agony was worse than he had expected. He growled, snarling on impulse while his body began to immediately stitch his skin back together. As the pain subsided, he nudged Tina’s hand with his nose to comfort her and apologize for his outburst.
She ran her hand along the thick fur of his neck. “You’re going to be okay.”
He wanted to close his eyes. He wanted to simply savor her touch, to let her soothe him, but their fight was far from over. The wound was deep, but he had to heal. He had to get up.
Anthony had to protect her, or she would die.
60
Zane
Zane stood between his father and Tina as she knelt beside Anthony. Zane and his father hadn’t come to blows yet, but he knew better than to think his father would see reason in this case. The man was simply weighing his options, biding his time for the right moment to strike. When he did, Zane would be ready.
“This is not a suitable solution,” his father said with the barest nod toward Tina.
Zane snorted derisively. “It absolutely is. This is the most peaceable way to unify the kingdoms. It’s my choice. Respect it.”
The king scoffed. “Respect it? How could I? There’s not much logic to your so-called choice. What will you do? Rule from afar? See your woman every other weekend? The logistics are weak at best.”
Zane balled his hand into a fist, his father’s condescending attitude chipping away at his usual wall of calm control. “That’s the point, Father. We rule as one. One kingdom, many cities. Unity.”
His father’s gaze flitted to Zane’s fist, and the king’s jaw tensed. “Could it be you’re letting emotion cloud your judgment? I thought you of all people were above such weakness.”
Subtly, Zane scanned the room for threats to make sure Tina was still safe. She sat beside Anthony, the giant wolf’s head in her lap as the gaping wound in his chest slowly healed. Flynn and his father had destroyed half the throne room with their battle, and Killian shifted into his eagle form as his father drew a hidden blade. Based on the distant roars outside, the dragons had flown far into the sky for their duel.
No one had gotten close enough to truly threaten Tina yet.
“She has completely ensnared you,” Zane’s father said, his brow wrinkling with false understanding.
Zane bristled at the accusation. “I’m smart enough to know when I’m being manipulated, Father. Perhaps you should be wise enough to admit when you are simply wrong.”
“I’m not wrong, at least not about her.”
Fast as a bullet, his father shifted into his tiger form. The white blur of claws and teeth bolted toward Tina, snarling as he lunged for her throat. But Zane was ready. He shifted and dug his claws into his father’s torso. His newfound strength stopped the king in his tracks, and the king roared in pain.
In one fluid motion, the king flipped onto his back and dug his claws into Zane’s face. Zane roared in agony at the blistering sting of claws ripping open his jaw. Nearby, Tina gasped in horror, the sharp breath almost too quiet to hear as blood rushed from Zane’s mouth.
Pushing through the pain, Zane clawed at his father’s head. The king ducked, and Zane’s tremendous strength left a dent in the floor. Not missing a step, the king swiped again at Zane’s face. With seconds to spare, he lifted his head out of the way and unleashed a counterblow. This time, Zane landed a vicious paw to his father’s head, knocking him father against the floor, dazing him.
The momentary reprieve gave Zane’s jaw the precious few moments it needed to mostly heal. Though he still bled, the pain subsided to the point where he could better think.
Zane snarled, claws sinking into the king’s hide. The pair writhed, fangs bared, twisting as they fought for dominance. Even in the blows that drew blood, Zane could feel his father’s hesitation. The claws never fully withdrew. The teeth never sank to the bone. His father could have done much more damage, but he held back.
Zane, however, did not. He darted for the kill zones to prove to his father he would not tolerate another threat on Tina’s life, regardless of who made it.
With the full power of his tiger unleashed and combined with the might that Tina had given him, Zane rained fury and blood on his father. He had strength and endurance on his side, whereas his father hadn’t seen the sharp end of a claw in close to a decade.
Tina would not die today, and Zane would shed as much blood as necessary to ensure her safety.
61
Tina
Horrified, Tina gaped at the chaos.
Anthony lay in her lap, his breath rough and ragged as he fought to heal the jagged wound in his chest. The dagger she had pulled from him was at least a foot long, and the deep wound gave his regenerative powers a run for his money.
Killian and his father had ended up outside with Draven and the king of the dragons. The roars and screeches from the four royal shifters curdled her blood. She flinched every time one of them screamed into the air, dismayed that it might have been one of her men in agonizing pain.
Zane and his father snarled, throwing each other across what was left of her throne room. Around her, her temple lay in shambles thanks to the fight between Flynn and the king of the demigods.
These kings had destroyed her home. They had tried to kill her, and now they were trying to kill her men.
A new kind of anger that blistered through her, its power deep and dark and deadly. It sank into her bones, into her soul, and it lit a fire within her that raged with all the fury of a burning building.
She gently set Anthony’s head on the floor, and his ears perked up as she stood. He lifted his nose, no doubt trying to stop her, but no one could.
Not now. Not after what these kings had done.