Bound to the Vampire Chapter 16

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CHAPTER 16

Kayla

There wasn’t time to think. The wolves closed in. A plume of magic would be completely useless if the wolves jumped on her and carved out her insides with their teeth, but according to the woman, it could do a lot of damage if she hauled it in someone’s face.

So, she did. Grabbing the ball of magic as tightly as she could, she flung it at the wolves behind her. Her aim wasn’t great, but it hit one of them, like a boulder rolling down hill.

The wolf yelped, howling as it was run over. On impact, the plume detonated, sending sprays of green-gray magic in every direction. Caught in the blast radius, the other two soared back and Kayla used their disorientation to run. She raced back to the car and the woman, and the sparks of magic skittering across the road.

“Kayla? What are you doing here? I told you to run. Where’s the plume?” The woman barely glanced her way before catching sight of the wolves behind her, then made a gesture of understanding.

There were no good options.

Part of the subpack was back. Ten appeared at the intersection she and Garrick had turned down before he hid her between the cars.

To make matters worse, now that the plume was gone, her magic began to tug again. The syste latched back on, which meant Garrick hadn’t subdued him. Fear drenched her at the thought. Where was he?

“What do we do?” Kayla asked the woman, watching the alpha’s big body prowl up the street, zigzagging his pack around the flying magic.

“I’m trying to create a shield, but I can’t around the syste’s magic. Try to fight against him taking it.”

Easier said than done. Grabbing hold of her magic was like trying to clutch wet soap with oily hands. It slipped and dodged her touch.

Never in her life would she have thought she’d actually want her magic back. She’d spent her entire semester getting rid of it, but now at the prospect of having someone take it, she didn’t want them to have it.

The woman focused on the wolves, but there were too many to defend against. Well, the woman looked like she could take one or two on her own, but a pack of more than a few dozen, didn’t seem possible. And with the way the pack moved, coordinated and precise, they knew it too. They found their stride and jumped on her. The woman was knocked back and covered in a pile of fur. The others set their sights on Kayla.

What magic she’d been able to cultivate with the plume boiled out of control, racing across the street in every direction. The wolves backed away, but it seemed to fuel the syste.

Suddenly, the pulling on her magic stopped. A body hurled through the air and into the wolves close to her as if someone had used it as a bowling ball, aiming it at several wolf-pins.

On the other side, Garrick tore through several wolves as if they were nothing but paper, ripping a path to her. He was just as deadly as everyone feared. His precision broke through the coordinated pack. His lethalness was unmatched. He grabbed one by the snout and crushed it with his hands, before taking another and throwing it into a parked car.

Several wolves pivoted to fend off Garrick’s attack, gnawing and biting his legs. He fought them off but more rushed him.

From the curb, the syste gathered himself, then stood. His eyes, which glowed bright purple focused on Garrick and purple essence swirled around his hands. That was her magic. Rage filled her.

How dare he try to use her magic to hurt Garrick? Her anger burned so hot she couldn’t see straight as another burst came from her palms and barreled in to the syste. Then a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky, then shot directly into his chest.

The force of it smashed him into a neighboring building with a crunch. Glass shattered all around him as he twisted into the storefront and landed in a heap of awkward angles. After a moment of stillness, her magic seeped from his pores in a huge purple wave and raced toward her.

She choked when it walloped her in the gut and forced its way around her body and into her hands. The rush of it made her sick. She gagged and staggered back, but at the same time relief made her thank the foremages that she recovered it.

The woman turned to her. “Let me take it. I need to absorb it.”

What? No. And let her do what the syste had been doing? Was that what this was for? Did the woman only want to help her heal so that she could take her magic? Kayla backed away and looked for Garrick, who’d been trapped under a pile of shifters.

The woman’s magic sparked and raced to her but it never got close. A wolf sailed through the air, knocking the woman to the ground in a tangle of fur and auburn hair. They were a tangle of snarls, groans, and flashes of magic until the woman found the leverage she needed to kicked the gray wolf off her.

When it rose to attack again, the woman shot her magic at it. It yelped but reset its attack. She sent more until it no longer attacked. Then, she spread her magic across the street. As if playing a game of hop-scotch, the wolves dodged it, racing to her.

The others remained on top of Garrick. Kayla needed to get him out of there. Her magic, even in its shaky state, erupted from her fingertips and hit the wolf’s chest before her lava magic burned a path through the wolves to Garrick. Under their smoking bodies, one of them emerged.

It wasn’t as large as the alpha, but the midnight-black wolf was intimidating in its own right. Deep scars and nasty burns embedded in its fur, but it didn’t look like he lost many fights.

It growled, then charged her but as it launched itself, Garrick appeared behind it and grabbed it by the throat. He dug his nails into the wolf until his fingertips met.

The wolf slumped.

Behind him, the pack went ballistic, howling and yelping and growling. In the next second, the alpha was on its feet and on the warpath with renewed vengeance.

“Garrick, behind you!” She screamed, pointing at the russet wolf.

Garrick twisted, but when the wolf launched, it was as though he dove head first into an invisible wall a half a meter from his face.

It yowled in pain as it hit it with a boom. The other wolves watched it collapse, then rise and bare its teeth. He wasn’t going to back down. Then, just like they had outside the airplane hangar, the other wolves took launch. Each time, they hit the invisible wall until they realized it held.

With a growl, they sniffed the wall, following it until it met the sides of the brick building. They leapt back and forth, then clawed at it in frustration. Where they scratched, faint light blue sprinkles of light erupted under their nails.

“You won’t be able to get through. Now, go home.” The woman said to the alpha. It was a taunt that made the alpha furious. Its russet fur stood up on its neck, then it raced toward the invisible wall as if it didn’t exist. The wolf met it over and over, but it didn’t stop even though its snout bled and its bones cracked.

Its pack joined the fray. Jumping and attacking the invisible wall even though it remained solid. These were suicide wolves. They’d come for her and wouldn’t stop their pursuit until they had her back.

“You fuckers just don’t get the hint.” The woman shook her head and in time with their next attack, she moved the wall, forcing them to collide into it.

Being hit with a wall was evidently more devastating than hitting it with your own force. Several of the wolves broke their snouts. Others broke other bones. All of them dropped.

When the alpha rose again, it didn’t launch another attack. Instead, it sank back onto its hind legs, and sniffed the air before it yipped. The pack stopped their approach and looked at their leader. Something passed through the group as they looked around the alley before picking themselves up and racing away.

She guessed they figured their protection bubble would hold.

“They’re leaving,” she said in relief.

Kayla’s magic pulsed, scurrying after them, ensuring that they’d gone, but Garrick’s hand on her back made her jump.

“So should we,” he said next to her ear.

“Why? They’re running away.”

“There’s a reason.” He pointed to the building tops in the distance. Her gaze followed where he pointed, but nothing moved.

“What? I don’t see anything.”

“I do. And we need to go.” He brushed past her, then grabbed her hand and tugged. She followed but tried to get a better view. Still, nothing moved in the darkness.

“What is it?” she asked as his pace quickened.

“Vampires. A lot of them.”

Author’s Note: Dun. Dun. Dun!!!!!!!