Lyric
“Why the hell are you yelling through the mind link?”
Tyler sighs. “Sorry, but I had no choice. Astro is here!”
“What!? How far out?”
“Eastern border, he’ll be here any minute.”
I gasp and hold on to Thane’s hand. I’m not ready for this! I gave birth today and had my daughter taken from me. I haven’t got my head around any of that, and now Astro is here. I told Harmony that Astro would know when Aurora was born and that he’d come for her. He’s here for my little girl!
‘Well, Aurora isn’t here, is she? So Astro has no hope of taking her. Aurora is safe with Levi, and as much as you’re hurting, that’s a good thing. Once this is all over, she will be home!
‘No! Xale and Leviathan went to fetch her. They’ll be back with her before we know it, and Astro will take her. What about Sebastian?’
‘Sebastian is safe with Moira, and if Xale and Leviathan return, we’ll send Aurora to be with her brother. Astro cannot get into the castle; I promise they will be safe.
‘I hope you’re right, Aspen.’
‘I am. Now, let’s concentrate on ending that Fairy Pri.ck!”
A startled scream leaves my lips when Xale materializes in thin air, slamming against the wall as if someone threw him through a portal.
He’s alone.
Where’s my baby?
“Xale?”
Xale picks himself up off the ground and brushes down his clothes. He looks at Thane.
“Sorry about that.”
“What the hell happened?”
“To cut a long story short, Levi just used Daminotavista. On his own father!”
“Dami… What?”
Xale looks at Tyler. “My three-year-old son just banished me from Belvore. That’s what Daminotavista means, to banish one from Belvore. Levi shouldn’t have been able to do that, but he did, and he won’t return Aurora until Astro has been dealt with.” I should be angry, but I’m not. If Aurora is in Belvore, Astro cannot get to her.
‘That boy is powerful. That could be problematic in the future.
‘Yeah. Is all I reply to my wolf with.
“Isn’t there somewhere we should be?!” I snap because we don’t have time for this!
“What’s going on?”
“Xale, Astro is here.” Thane pulls me closer. “I’ve already mind linked every warrior to get into position. Though I didn’t need to because Blaze has that covered. I’ve also got Luke rallying every ally within a twenty-mile radius.”
“And I’ve linked Isla and Emori. They’ll take Mom, Esme, and Taylen to the safe room.” Tyler looks at me, and I can already tell I’m not going to like what he has to say. “Harmony is refusing to go with them, no matter what Theo says to her.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in through my nose. I knew this would happen!
“Mom has Adam and Sebastian; she’ll keep them safe.”
Purple light fills the hallway. It came from outside. Astro is letting us know he’s here and he’s waiting for us. He got past the wards and protective spells all around Lykos. None of it fazed him. He’s here to kill, and he won’t stop until he gets what he came here for, and I am terrified of what will become of my family.
Theo, Ronan, Thorin, Tane, Tristan, and Brody run towards us.
“Thane,” Theo rushes out. “It’s chaos out there. Astro brought Demons, Witches, and fuc.king Trolls! Aidan and his coven are trying to hold them off with our warriors. But we need to get out there and help!”
“Fu.ck it all!” Thane screams. “Lyric…”
“Don’t even bother saying it, Thane. There is no way I’m staying behind, so don’t suggest it because I’m going. You know I can’t die, so there’s no problem. I can help, Thane. I’m not weak.”
Thane takes my face between his hands and kisses me softly. “I would never think you’re weak, Lyric. You’re the strongest woman I know. Just be careful out there. I know you can’t die, but that doesn’t mean I want you getting hurt, either.” “Ditto. Be careful out there, Thane. Remember that I love you.”
“I love you, too.” With one last kiss, Thane pulls away from me. “All of you, be careful out there. This isn’t a drill; this is the real thing. Astro will tell you anything to make you crumble. He’ll try and get into your head and twist your mind. He’ll use your mates against you, but remember; they are safe.
“For those of you whose mates are out there, they are strong and don’t need you jumping in front of them. Keep your mind on what you’re doing, and try not to get distracted. Don’t play the hero, but kill everything that doesn’t belong to us. Remember that I love you all, and I’ll see you once this is over.”
I can’t help the smile creeping across my face when the brothers all hug. The love between them is beautiful to witness.
“I still think you should stay here.”
“Fu.ck off, Brody. I don’t need your permission.” Tristan mumbles before walking away. Brody sighs and chases after him.
I don’t know what’s going on between the two of them, and I don’t even care right now. Tristan says he’s able to fight, then that’s good enough for me.
All around me, women and children are running towards the safe room. Thane screams at them to hurry up and get to safety, and I pray Moira keeps Sebastian safe. I can’t lose him too. I don’t want to leave my baby boy, but I have to face the monster who has haunted me my whole life. Only then will we be free.
“Xale?”
“I’m with you, Thane. My warriors will be here soon enough. Now, let’s get out there and end this once and for all.”
Exiting the castle, my heart slams against my rib cage. The sight that befalls me is the stuff of nightmares. Gigantic Lycans, Werewolves, Trolls, Witches, Demons, Fairies, and Goddess knows what else are engaged in a battle to the death. Goddess, I’ve never seen anything so horrific outside of a movie!
A massive howl rents the air, and I turn my head to see Thane in his Lycan form. Twelve feet of magnificence, fighting off anything and everything that comes his way.
Jagger is perfect.
‘They both are.’ I cut Aspen off with a gasp when an ugly-looking Witch, the stuff of every child’s nightmares, throws spell after spell at me.
There is no need for me to hide my Fair powers any longer; Astro is already here. So, I pull my arms back and gather enough energy to crush the Witch where she stands. I push my arms forward, slamming it into the Witch, evaporating the hag instantly.
A blur flies past me, jumping over my head. Blaze, I realize when he slams into a Troll. They wrestle for a moment, but my attention is drawn elsewhere.
Two Fairies in the most elaborate warrior uniforms equipt with a helmet of gold charge at me. Lefty instantly gets a hit in, slashing my back with his sword. I stagger, wondering why the hell I didn’t grab a weapon when I had the chance.
The sound of screams and metal clashing is almost deafening, but I can’t let it distract me. My eyes wolf over as Aspen heals the wound on my back-the Fairy who slashed me charges at me. My hand shoots out, grabbing him around the throat. “That was a very silly thing to do.”
He struggles in my grip, unable to get away. He splutters, blood spitting from his mouth. “The King…”
“Is pathetic.” With that, I snap his neck and drop his body to the ground.
The other guy charges toward me, screaming in anger. But I jump high enough to land on the other side of him. Id.iot didn’t even feel me take the dagger from his side.
I turn, as does he. Face to face, he sneers at me. “Astro wants you alive, so I can’t kill you. But he never said anything about hurting you.”
“You could try, but it wouldn’t get you anywhere.”
He raises his hand, creating wind, which suddenly turns into ice. My eyes widen when a large shard of glass-like ice turns into a spear, spins in the air, then shoots into the chest of the Fairy. His eyes widen before he falls to his knees, then backward, dead. I turn my head, my mouth agape, to see Harmony standing to the side with a smirk on her lips.
What the fu.ck?
Harmony smirks again, tips her head, then runs back into the fray. I don’t know what the hell that was, but it was awesome!
My eyes search the carnage for Astro. He has to be here somewhere, but that spineless bas.tard is nowhere to be seen.
Every death on our side, I feel it through the pack link. It hurts like hell and almost brings me to my knees. But I keep going because there’s no stopping what’s about to happen.
I can’t see Thane anywhere. I know he hasn’t died and come back; I’ve felt nothing. He has to be here somewhere. Goddess, I hope he’s okay.
‘You can’t think about Thane right now. I know you’re worried about him; I’m worried about Jagger. But we have a job to do, and Thane has his!
‘You felt members of our pack die, Aspen. What if we’ve lost family members?’
‘That would suck, but everyone knew what they signed up for. Everyone knew what was at stake, Lyric!
‘I know, but…
“Well, well, well, finally, we meet in the flesh.”
A shiver runs through me, and I slowly turn to face the monster that is Astro.
“I wondered how long it would take you to show your face. But I shouldn’t be surprised you’d let your people die rather than fight yourself.”
Astro chuckles while nodding his head. He’s not even dressed for war; he’s wearing similar robes to the ones he had on when he dragged me into my subconscious. Pompous Pri.ck!
“You shouldn’t worry about what I am or am not doing. What you should be worrying about is the fact your mate is dead. Killed by my hands and left you here all alone.”
I swallow the lump in my throat as my gut churns.
‘Don’t let him get inside your head, Lyric. You haven’t felt Thane die. Even if he did die, he’d wake up again, so don’t panic!
Aspen is right, and a smirk plays on my lips.
“What’s so funny? Your mate is dead!”
“So he’s dead.” I shrug. “What? Did you think I’d crumble? Fall at your feet? What?”
“You sick little doggie.”
Bas.ard!
Astro starts laughing with his head thrown back. All signs of laughter are gone when he looks at me, and his eyes shine black.
“Where is my future bride?”
“You don’t have a future bride. If you’re talking about my daughter, she’s in a place you’ll never find her. All of this,” I swing my arms around, pointing to the carnage around us and realizing I’m in a bubble. This bas.tard has covered the two of us in a Fairy bubble, so nobody can get in, and I can’t get out.
Great!
“Goddess, you’re crazy. Why couldn’t you try dating a woman instead of forcing her to be with you?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Astro takes a step closer, but I don’t move.
I am no longer scared of this man. I was once, but then I looked at my children and realized there was nothing to fear. Once, just the thought of Astro’s name scared the hell out of me. But in the words of Hermione Granger, fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. That’s all Astro is, a thing, but not one to be feared. When you’re no longer afraid, you regain the power they once believed they had over you.
“You killed my daughter,”
I roll my eyes. “We’re back to this? Your daughter is dead, and you killed my sister-in-law. We’re even. No matter what you do, you’re not getting your hands on my daughter. You can kill everyone here for all I care, but you will never find her.”
Astro’s black eyes widen, his nostril flaring.
“You think you can beat me?”
“I know I can. You don’t scare me, Astro.”
“You should be very scared, Lyric.” In a flash, he’s behind me. “Look around you, Lyric. Your pack, your friends, they’re all dying, and it’s all your fault.”
I take a shuddering breath because all around me is death. The ground is littered with bodies, blood, and destruction. I can no longer see my family out there, and my head feels tight with grief.
“Come with me, and all this ends right now. No more of your family members have to die because of you, Lyric.”
A tear slips from my eye. I can’t let this continue. I can’t let anyone else die because of me. My entire life has been leading to this moment, and I can do nothing to stop it. My children will never be safe if I don’t do something. “Come with me, and I’ll leave your daughter alone. I swear to you, become my bride, and your daughter will always be safe.”
What else can I do?
I nod my head.
Astro walks around me and holds out his hand.
I reach out my hand and sob. I don’t want to do this, but there is no other way.
“Lyric, no!”
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