The Shifter and the Witch

Deklan

It’s late when Lucy, Hannah, and I go upstairs to bed. I doubt any of us are going to get much sleep tonight. I know I won’t. I’m too revved up for tomorrow.

After saying good night to Hannah, Lucy and I head into my room. Quietly, we both change and get into bed. We meet in the middle, and Lucy snuggles against me, resting her head on my chest and her hand on my stomach. I smile softly up at the ceiling. This is becoming my new favourite sleeping position.

Curling my arm around her, I shut my eyes. It isn’t very long before I open them again.

Nope. I’m not falling asleep anytime soon. I have too much adrenaline coursing through my body. And fear. I called Blake earlier and told him Hannah would be taking me and Lucy to Malek’s. He declared he was coming and asked what time he should be at the house. My attempt to dissuade him from joining us fell on deaf ears.

Now, I don’t just have to worry about Lucy and Hannah; I have to worry about Blake too.

I know the more of us there are against Malek, the better. But still.

I think I’d rather go after Malek alone.

***

Lucy

The sound of Deklan’s alarm going off wakes me. Beside me, Deklan reaches over and silences his phone. I sit up and look over at him.

“Did you get any sleep?” I ask.

He sits up too. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he didn’t get much sleep, if any.

“A little,” he replies.

Grim-faced, we both get out of bed and get dressed. As I pull on my clothes and weapons, I steel myself for the fight ahead.

Even though it’s going to be four against one, it could still be a doozy.

Malek ain’t no slouch.

***

Blake

In wolf form, I hurry across Deklan’s backyard and up the steps to his back porch. The lights are on in the kitchen so I can see Deklan, Lucy, and her sister waiting for me.

Dropping my bag by the back door, I brace for the pain that comes with shifting. Once human, I throw on the jogging pants, T-shirt, and shoes, I packed in my bag, and then enter the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, the mood in the room is very tense.

“Hey, man,” Deklan greets me.

“Hey,” I echo, and drop my bag by the door.

“Blake,” Lucy says, drawing my gaze. “This is my sister, Hannah,” she says, motioning to her sister.“Hannah, this is Deklan’s friend, Blake.”

Hannah and I both nod politely at one another. I can see the resemblance between the sisters. They both have brown hair and the same-shaped eyes and mouth. Lucy’s face is a little rounder, though, and Hannah’s nose is a little wider. Both women are undeniably beautiful, and yet I’m not attracted to Lucy in the slightest. (Which is very good given that Deklan has claimed Lucy as his mate.)

I am attracted to Hannah, though. Very attracted. Now isn’t exactly a good time to focus on her, though.

“Everybody ready?” Lucy asks.

I nod along with Deklan and Hannah, and the four of us link hands. I take one of Deklan’s hands and one of Hannah’s. When I clasp palms with her, a tingle goes up my arm. My gaze shoots to her face. She’s already looking at me. I can tell by the expression on her face that she felt that tingle too.

Huh. That’s interesting.

Hannah’s expression quickly shutters, and she looks away from me.

“Hold on,” she says.

I grip her hand a little tighter. One second, I’m standing in Deklan’s kitchen, and the next, I’m in Malek’s penthouse.

***

Hannah

When I take Blake’s hand, I feel a tingle go up my arm. My gaze shoots over to him. My reaction to him surprises me. Given my state of mind, I would have thought ‘tingles’ were beyond me.

Blake looks over at me, and for a moment I hold his stare, then I get a hold of myself and look away.

“Hold on,” I say.

I teleport, and the four of us appear in Malek’s living room. On one side of me, Blake drops my hand; on the other, Lucy does the same.

A twitter of feminine laughter comes from the direction of the bedroom, drawing all four of our gazes. My lips twist with distaste. I recognize that laugh. It belongs to Jackie.

As I expected, Malek’s already having fun with someone else. I’m not surprised who he’s taken up with. Jackie’s been trying to get with him for a while.

A second after arriving at the penthouse, I see Jackie coming down the hallway. In the getup she’s in, there’s more skin on display than hidden. The demon’s long, bleach-blonde hair is down and curled, and it bounces a little with her steps.

Her slut-strut comes to a halt when she sees that she and Malek have visitors.

I smile.

Hello, bitch.

Jackie quickly hides her surprise and adopts a superior air. “Hannah,” she greets, with a condescending smile.

“Jackie.”

Heavy footsteps sound in the hallway.

Jackie’s smile changes from haughty to predatory. “This should be fun,” she snickers.

Malek turns the corner a moment later. He’s in black silk pants and nothing else. He comes up short when he sees the crowd in his living room.

I hold myself still, but inside, my stomach turns.

Shit.

Seeing him? Being here again? Is as bad as I knew it would be.

I raise my chin, meet his gaze, and do my best to appear cool, calm, and collected.

“Hannah,” Malek greets and steps forward. He stops and faces me from the other side of the living room.

Jackie takes up position at his side.

“Malek,” I reply.

Malek looks over at Lucy and then back at me. “Savina and Calia will be disappointed to learn their work was undone,” he muses.

My mouth drops open at that, and I suck in a breath. He knew what was done to me? And who did it? Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me that he knew, but it does. I feel like I’ve taken a punch to the gut.

Malek chuckles at my reaction. He looks from Lucy to Blake to Deklan. Seeing Deklan his smile becomes more menacing as he shifts into his true demon form.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” he chortles.

“Funny,” Deklan says. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

***

Deklan

When Malek shifts his gaze to me, my wolf growls.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” the bastard chuckles.

“Funny,” I reply. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

Asshole.

When electricity starts crackling around Malek’s hands, I shift shape. Off to my left, out of the corner of my eye, I see Blake shift. The two of us prowl toward Malek.

The demon’s eyes change, the whites turning black, the irises clouding. His skin blanches while black veins appear and spread. His nails and teeth sharpen to points.

Apparently, the female is a Jogon too, because she takes on the same pale, creepy-eyed, veiny look.

I growl and bare my fangs at them. Malek just smiles at me before shifting his attention to Blake. I growl louder and prowl closer in an effort to pull the demon’s attention back to me.

Eyes on me, asshole.

As if he heard my thought, Malek returns his gaze to me and squares off with me.

That’s right, focus on me.

Malek swings an arm up and forward, and an arc of electricity comes shooting toward me. The demon’s shot goes wide, thanks to Lucy. She used her powers to knock Malek’s attack away.

I see that she isn’t going to be able to do that a second time. She’s suddenly busy with Jackie.

Shit.

My gut clenches with worry; my protective instincts riding me hard. Lucy’s a great fighter, sure, but Tuk was too.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Malek fire another arc of blue electricity at me.

“Take down that bitch,” I tell Blake through our telepathic connection, as I dodge Malek’s attack.

***

Lucy

I just barely avoid the fireballs Jackie throws at me rapid fire.

Damn. This demon bitch is fast.

I throw my arms up and toward the Jogon and try to blast her off her feet. My shot misses. I hit nothing but air.

Dammit.

Blake swings toward the demon and grabs her by the hair with his teeth. He yanks her backward, off her feet.

Nice.

He gets on top of her, snapping and snarling. Jackie holds him off. She’s not only fast; she’s also stronger than she looks. The Jogon is such a small, tiny thing. It doesn’t look like she could hold off a much larger werewolf with such ease. But she does.

While she and Blake grapple, I pull my knife from my boot and move closer. If I can just get an opening, I can take out this bitch.

Blake and Jackie roll towards me, then they roll away, and Blake goes flying off Jackie into the wall. Before Jackie can get up, I’m on her.

You’re not going anywhere, missy.

I straddle her waist and plunge my knife toward her heart. The bitch catches my forearm in both of her hands and holds me off. I shift my other hand to my knife and put all my strength into inching the tip of my blade toward the demon’s chest.

Suddenly, Blake’s muzzle appears in my view. He bites down on Jackie’s shoulder. She yells and falters in holding me off. I lunge, and my knife skewers her heart.

Yes!

I pull my knife free, and after a second, I find myself looking at ash and floor.

“Thanks for the assist.” I smile over at Blake.

A second later, Blake shoves me out of the way, and the electric current that was meant for me goes into the wall.

Shit!

I roll over onto my back, get Malek in my sights, and quickly get on my feet. Blake exchanges growls with the demon.

I crouch, readying to fight, and wait for Malek to make his next move. Blue energy sparks around the Jogon’s hands, and I prepare to dodge and deflect. Malek raises his hands, one aimed at me and the other at Blake. Before he fires, Deklan jumps him from behind and takes a bite out of his shoulder.

That’s my man!

Malek roars and bows back. The energy sparking from his hands shoots off through the air, a safe distance from hitting anyone. With another roar, Malek reaches back, grabs a hold of Deklan, and launches him over his head.

“Lucy,” Hannah calls, “I’ve almost got a hold on him. I think we can hold him if we try together.”

I look over and see my sister with her arms extended toward Malek. Her face is strained as she tries to freeze him in place. Immediately, I raise my hands towards Malek and join my sister in trying to freeze him. His movements slow, then stop.

We have him! Together, Hannah and I have managed to freeze him in place. Our celebration is brief, however, because Malek fights our hold and starts breaking free of it.

Dammit.

Deklan and Blake prowl towards him even as they move away from each other. They’re obviously trying to split the demon’s attention. He doesn’t bother with either of them. He chooses me as his target.

I brace for his attack.

Bring it on, you asshole.

***

Deklan

When Malek narrows his eyes on Lucy, I growl.

You leave her alone, you asshole!

I snarl and lunge at the demon. The Jogon turns to me and raises his hands, and small arcs of electricity start sparking and flowing around them.

I wait and prepare to dodge.

Go ahead and fire, asshole.

As soon as Malek takes his shot, I lunge at him again. He makes like he’s going to shoot at me with both hands, but at the last second, his left hand swings towards Lucy. As a current of energy crackles toward her, my heart stops. I watch as she tries to get out of the way. She isn’t fast enough. Malek’s high-powered charge hits her dead center in the chest.

No!

“Lucy!” Hannah yells.

Lucy flies backward, slams into the wall behind her, and crashes to the floor. Malek looks over at me and chuckles. And. I. See. Red. My wolf takes full control.

On my left, out of the corner of my eye, I see Hannah raise her arms and extend her hands toward Malek. She’s trying to freeze him again. She still isn’t able to hold him, but she slows him down. The demon starts moving at a sloth’s pace.

Thank you, Hannah.

Malek roars with frustration as I lunge at him. The bastard can’t move fast enough to dodge or get a shot off. I make contact, my front paws hitting his chest. The demon timbers backward and down to the ground under me.

Goodbye, asshole.

Snarling, I go for his throat and unceremoniously rip it out. Blood fills my mouth and covers my face and chest. I chomp down on his neck over and over again until the bastard’s head is no longer attached to his body.

Finally, I stop.

After a moment, Malek’s corpse turns to ash.

I did it. I killed Malek. And I couldn’t care less at that moment. The only thought in my head is concern for Lucy. I shift and rush over to my mate. Hannah and Blake are already with her. Blake moves out of the way, and I take his place at Lucy’s side. I take her wrist.

“She’s got a pulse,” Hannah informs me. “It’s weak, but it’s there.”

I hear her words as if through water. Clutching Lucy’s hand, I look over at Hannah. Her eyes are glassy with the same fear choking me.

“Get us to a hospital,” I tell her, and put my hand on her arm.

Hannah already has a hand on Lucy. She reaches up and takes Blake’s hand when he steps forward, and a second later, we disappear from Malek’s penthouse and appear in an empty hospital room.

I stand and bend to pick Lucy up in my arms.

“Wait.” Hannah stops me from leaving the room with a hand on my arm. “You can’t go out there looking like that.”

Shit. Right.

Good thing she’s thinking. I couldn’t care less right now if people see my dangly bits, but if I go out there naked and covered in blood like I am, security will be on me like white on rice.

Hannah teleports away. While she’s gone, Blake hurries into the bathroom and comes back with wet paper towels. I quickly wipe the blood from my face and chest.

“Here,” Hannah says when she reappears.

In her arms, she has two of my sweatshirts and two pairs of my jogging pants, with two pairs of my sneakers on top. Blake and I take the clothes and quickly slip them on. The pants and sweatshirt fit Blake well enough. The shoes are too big, but at least he has something on his feet.

Now decent, I carefully lift Lucy into my arms and hurry out into the hallway.

“This way,” Blake says, pointing to a sign that indicates the emergency room is to our right.

I follow him down the hall, Hannah right beside me. I go after the first nurse I see. She’s a short, plump, dark-haired woman, and she has on pink scrubs. She sees us coming and moves in our direction, her eyes on Lucy as she approaches.

“She’s been electrocuted,” I tell her.

The nurse looks up at me and does a double take.

Shit. My eyes must be flashing silver.

Her brow furrows for a moment before clearing. I assume she’s attributed my bright eyes to funky contacts. She quickly shifts her gaze from me back to Lucy.

“Come with me,” she says, and quickly leads us down the hall. She starts communicating with someone along the way on a pager.

“What’s her name?” she asks.

“Lucy,” Hannah supplies.

“Put her down,” she tells me, pointing at an empty stretcher pushed against the wall.

I carefully lower Lucy onto the narrow bed while the nurse unlocks the wheels. Doors at the end of the hallway open toward us. A male in light blue scrubs waits on the other side of those doors, and the nurse starts rolling Lucy toward him. Hannah and Blake, and I stay right on her heels.

The nurse stops at the door, lets go of the stretcher, handing Lucy over to her colleague. She turns to us while Lucy is rolled away. I can’t peel my eyes off my mate.

“The doctor will take care of her,” she assures us as the doors start to slowly shut.

Before they close completely, I see the doctor push Lucy around a corner and out of sight.

“You’ll have to stay in the waiting room,” the nurse says and starts by me.

She leads the three of us back down the hall, past the room we teleported into, and around the corner to the right.

“The doctor will come to see you as soon as he can,” she tells us.

Hannah thanks the nurse, who nods and leaves us in the waiting room, which is full of people. Some are obviously in pain or ill; others are sitting with the afflicted.

I can’t sit. I can’t stay still. I start pacing back and forth.

Lucy has a pulse, but Hannah said it was weak. How weak? What if her heart suffered too much damage? What if her pulse doesn’t return to normal?

My wolf whines.

I know, bud. I’m terrified too.

I continue my agitated pacing. This was my fight, not Lucy’s. If I’d gone after Malek alone, she wouldn’t be hurt and possibly dying.

If she doesn’t make it...

I don’t let myself finish that thought. Lucy has to make it. She just has to. That’s what I keep repeating to myself as I wait.

The time passes painfully slowly, the hours crawling by. Blake eventually sits down on one of the hard plastic chairs lined up along the walls. I remain on my feet, as does Hannah.

After a while, Blake goes and gets us some food. I’m not hungry, but I know I need the fuel, so I make myself eat. I don’t even taste the sandwich Blake brought me, but I get it down and feel better for it.

Every time the door they wheeled Lucy through opens, my heart lurches. And every time, it drops when it isn’t Lucy’s doctor.

Where is he? Why haven’t we heard anything yet?

The door opens for like the hundredth time, and I hold my breath as I wait to see who appears.

C’mon. C’mon.

Finally!

The person I want to see is coming through the doors. I hurry towards Lucy’s doctor. Hannah and Blake hop out of their chairs and follow me.

“How is she?” I ask, stopping in front of the doctor.

The doctor extends a hand toward me and introduces himself.

“I’m Dr. Reynolds,” he says.

I don’t give a shit what this doctor’s name is. I just want to know how Lucy is.

“How is she?” I ask again, not taking the doctor’s hand.

The doctor’s arm falls back to his side.

“I’m Hannah, Lucy’s sister.” Hannah supplies, trying to be polite. “This is Blake,” she gestures to Blake. “And this is Deklan, Lucy’s boyfriend,” she says, gesturing to me.

The doctor nods at each of us.

“Lucy is a very strong woman,” he tells them. “Her heart was seriously stressed.”

No shit, doc.

“Her pulse was dangerously weak when she first came in,” he continues.

Again, no shit.

“She’s now stable and awake,” he assures us.

Thank God.

“We’re going to keep her overnight for observation,” the doctor says. “I want to make sure there’s no arrhythmia or abnormal fluctuations.”

I nod. “Can we see her?” I ask.

“Sure.” the doctor nods. “She’s been moved up to the third floor. You can take the elevators around the corner from the waiting room. One of the nurses up there will tell you which room she’s in.”

“Thank you, Dr. Reynolds,” Hannah says.

“You’re welcome.”

The doctor turns and moves off back down the hall, and the three of us hurry toward the elevators. While it’s a relief to finally have the doctor’s update on Lucy’s condition, I’m not going to feel totally better until I see my mate for myself.

I lose my patience waiting for an elevator to arrive and head for the stairs. When we get to the nurse’s station on the third floor, I let Hannah ask for Lucy’s room number.

“Room 320,” the nurse informs us and points us in the right direction.

We make our way down the hall to what ends up being the last room on the right. The door’s open, and I quietly step into the room, Hannah and Blake on my heels.

My wolf rumbles with pleasure at the first sight of Lucy. She’s laying quietly with her eyes closed and her head turned away from the door. Her hair’s down, and she’s in a blue hospital gown. A plastic hospital band is around her right wrist.

Tears pricking my eyes, I take my first easy breath in hours.

Lucy’s okay. She’s going to be okay.

Even being as quiet as we are, she hears us approach. Her eyes open, and her head turns toward the door. When she sees who’s entered her room, her face fills with relief and happiness. She pushes herself up higher in her reclined position.

“Are you guys okay?” she asks, looking at each of us in turn. “What happened?”

She reaches for me as I lean over the bed rail, seeking my embrace as much as I’m seeking hers.

My wolf purrs with happiness.

I blink away tears as I hold her tight. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let her go. I certainly don’t want to. I do, though, after several long moments so that Hannah can hug her. There are sniffles and quiet murmurs of love and reassurance as the sisters clutch one another.

When Lucy and Hannah separate, Blake comes forward and takes his turn hugging Lucy. When the hugs are out of the way, Lucy relaxes back into her pillows and looks back and forth between me and Hannah.

“What happened?” she repeats. She shifts her eyes over our faces, obviously trying to glean what happened from our expressions.

“Is Malek...?” she starts to ask.

“He’s dead,” I assure her.

She lets out a sigh of relief and visibly relaxes at this news. She reaches for my hand and squeezes it. Staring into her eyes, I return the squeeze.

Now that I’m not gripped with panic for my mate, the fact that I killed Malek starts to sink in.

The bastard that killed Tuk, that almost killed me, and that came way too close to killing Lucy finally got what was coming to him.

I would be happier about this, but my revenge almost came at too high a cost.

Way too high a cost.