As Drackus vaporizes from the room, I slap Kane's arm for his slip. He stifles a grin and offers me an unapologetic shrug in response. We don't speak for fear of being overheard. Instead, we silently make our way out with our fingers interlocked.
"If you see one of them making a move, blast the fuck out of them," he says while snaking his arm around my waist.
"They're that dirty?"
The wolves all let the snarls be heard to show their disapproval for Kane's overheard remark. He doesn't acknowledge their menacing growls or autumn-infused eyes, nor does he answer my question.
He kisses the back of my hand before walking over to stand across from Reese.
The alpha smirks while pulling his shirt off over his head, dropping it to the ground seconds later. When he starts undoing his pants, I look away quickly, avoiding the sight of yet another naked man.
It's frigging freezing out here, and I'm still wearing the sexy bullshit I put on while I was crazy. I shiver noticeably, wishing I hadn't left Kane's jacket in the warm car we abandoned. Right now, I'm wondering how I avoided the chill so easily last night.
In a smooth motion, a leather jacket finds its way around my shoulders, and I look back in time to see Gage walking away. He doesn't meet my eyes as he focuses on the fighters ahead.
His jacket smells just like him, and it brings me the warmth left over from his immortal body. I think I'd rather be freezing.
Kane doesn't seem as ramped up as the adrenaline-buzzing beast who has finished stripping down to nothing. I shouldn't have looked. Damn.
Nudity doesn't bring shame to the Were who are all devoid of any modesty. In a breeze of motion, he shifts, his skin turning to fur before my eyes. A strangled, painful groan turns into a bone-shaking roar. And before he lands to the ground on all fours, the change has completed.
His beastly size is a surprise. He's almost the same size as a lycan, but Were are supposed to be so much smaller. His jet black fur ruffles under the winter wind, and his autumn eyes seem to be even more lively.
The sharp contrast of his onyx fur and the stark white snow draws my attention. I gauge how much larger his paws are than what I expected. They pound each white section with predatory precision as he circles my night stalker.
Kane doesn't waver in his stance when Reese starts growling, baring his intimidating sharp teeth. In a blink, he lunges with a wolf's snarl, and hurls himself toward Kane.
In midair, Kane catches the wolf by the throat and tosses him back with a forceful thud ringing out when Reese's back cracks against a tree. In wolf form, he looks to weigh at least two-hundred pounds, but Kane made throwing him look as easy as tossing a pebble.
Just as Kane suspected, shredding fabric sounds out as the rest of the pack drop to all fours, wolfed out before they hit the snow. Drackus smirks when they yelp from running into the force field they never knew he projected.
My hands are circled by silver orbs, but I extinguish the dark magic when I see my father has it under control. Containing all six of them with effortless ease, Drackus turns his attention back to the fight underway.
I somehow missed the second strike Reese made. Kane is standing up, wiping blood from his arm as he glowers at the alpha jerk. Then something inside both of them snaps as they become a blur of fangs and fury, both fighting for dominance.
My mortal eyes can't keep up. Zee runs over to me in the middle of the fight and cringes, making a pained face.
"Why the hell is Kane fighting a werewolf?"
"Long story—I can't tell what's going on, can you?"
"Um... I hope he's holding back," Zee says while cringing again and shielding his eyes.
Gage curses, spewing multiple profanities as he looks on. Obviously Kane isn't doing as well as he hoped he would. That's really, really not good, and it's hard for me to hold back when I know he's out there getting his ass shredded.
Why doesn't he use his freaky powers?
Each spray of blood that escapes the blur of crazed malice makes me sick. If that fucking alpha hurts Kane, I'll do my best to make him crumble when this is over.
A loud yelp rings out as the blurry motion stills, and I look to see a bloody mess of a night stalker pinning a rabid wolf by the throat. Reese growls and tries to wiggle free, but it's no use. Kane proves his dominance when he succeeds in restraining the mutt.
The betas of the pack do their best to break through Drackus's barricade to help their fallen comrade, and they finally succeed in shattering the force field. Fangs bared, howls released, and fur ruffled, they all dash to rush Kane.
Kane entrusts us with the task of fending off the wolves as he concentrates on the still struggling alpha that would most likely rip his head off if he got free right now. In an effort to thwart off the attack, Gage starts flinging several blue swipes of energy, knocking the wolves to the ground.
Drackus just smiles as his eyes dilate dangerously, his power flowing freely before I even realize he's launched an attack. The ground vibrates beneath the flow of power and the wolves all cry out at once.
Drackus smirks menacingly as the darkness fills him, draining the sanity from his eyes. In a cloak of ominous energy, he moves too fast to be seen. Blood finds the air, and I scream out for him to stop.