You're Too Late
*Hezzlie*
‘Where the fuck is he going?’ Rowan asks in my head as we watch King Solomon tear off toward the castle as fast as his two legs will take him.
“He isn’t going anywhere,” I say aloud. Lifting a hand, I send a spiraling beam of bright light at the retreating figure, and immediately, he comes to a halt, frozen in the grass near the castle with one foot still in the air. His shouts and groans fill the air as he tries to struggle free of my magic, but nothing is working at all. I’m surprised he can even move his throat enough to make the pathetic sounds pouring out of him.
Blood still drips from Rowan’s snout as he stalks toward the other Alpha King. He could barrel across the lawn and end him in one swipe of his monstrous paws, but that’s not how he chooses to proceed. I know why. He’s making Alpha King Solomon feel the terror in every second he’s forced to stand there waiting for Rowan to reach him and rip him in half.
Part of me wants to watch, to feel the satisfaction of watching our enemy die. I want to see Rowan finally have total justice for what happened to his family. I know that King Solomon deserves everything that he has coming.
But part of me doesn’t want to watch either. I remember what it was like to be that little girl wondering why all of her friends had a father while mine was missing. How many nights had I begged whoever was listening to my prayers to help me find my daddy? I dreamt that he would be a kind man who just never knew about me, and once he realized he had a daughter, we would be the best of friends.
Of course, that’s not what happened. I’ve had to give up on those dreams and accept the fact that my father is a horrible person, someone who doesn’t even deserve to be acknowledged as my father.
Rowan is mere steps from King Solomon. I see our enemy attempt to turn his head to see how close he is. If I could pinpoint my magic enough, I’d let him do just that, but I’m afraid to take the chance of accidentally releasing him.
Not that Solomon would make it far.
Rowan’s front feet leave the ground as he lurches at the other king’s back. His claws sink into the flowing purple cape draped over his shoulders, and Rowan rips it free, letting it go as he raises up again. This time, his razor sharp claws sink into Solomon’s back. The evil king snarls, crying out the best he can in his frozen state as Rowan pulls him back.
Solomon should be dead now–or in a matter of seconds. It won’t take long for Rowan to devour him, but just as my mate opens his mouth to chomp into Solomon’s head, I see a flash of movement in a window of the castle, a couple of stories above our heads. I turn my attention to a metallic gleam, and that’s when I hear a familiar crack.
“No!” I scream as I realize what is happening. I lift my hands to turn my magic in the attention of the gun wielding assassin standing there, but it’s too late. The bullet has already found its target, and Rowan falls backward onto the ground.
Rage boils over as I blast the bitch in the window with all of my powers. The queen raises her head to look at me as my magic envelopes her. She tries to pull away, but I won’t let her. I take hold of her with my powers and yank her through the narrow window. Once she’s free of the building, I take my powers back and let gravity take over.
The queen kicks her legs and waves her hands as she careens to the ground, but there’s nothing she can do, and when she smacks into the earth, a sickening crack fills the air. Her neck is twisted at an unnatural angle, and I can see the bones protruding from her arm as blood begins to pool beneath her body.
Forgetting her existence, I move toward Rowan. Solomon is bleeding profusely as he scrambles up and rushes toward the castle. I could drag him back, or use my powers to light him on fire, but that isn’t necessary. A familiar wolf comes tearing across the yard, chasing Solomon into the castle. My brother will not hesitate to end him, I have no doubt.
All of my attention is on my mate as I rush to his side, dropping down on my knees next to him. It’s clear immediately where the bullet hit him. Blood drips down his chest from a bullet hole in the top left side of his chest. In his wolf form, it’s difficult to tell how close it is to his heart, but it has to be close.
“Rowan!” I breathe, pressing my bare hand against his chest. At first, I think the bullet must’ve slipped beneath the chain mail suit, but then I see there’s actually a hole in it. “How is this possible?”
‘Silver bullet,’ he says in my head. ‘The suit isn’t meant to protect against weapons.’
That makes sense to me, but he needs to save his strength. In my head, I yell, ‘James, where are you?’
‘Back toward the mansion, tending to the wounded,’ he tells me. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s Rowan!’ I shout. ‘We’re by the castle. He’s been shot.’
‘Fuck,’ the doctor says. ‘I’m on my way.’
‘I need to shift,’ Rowan says.
“No!” I shout at him. “It’s not safe. The bullet will move.”
‘I have to,’ he counters.
I shake my head, but I can’t stop him, and with a series of grunts and groans, he changes from his wolf form to his human form. I grab Solomon’s cape and drape it over his naked body. With his clothes off and no fur, it’s easy to see where the bullet is, and I quickly ascertain this is not good.
“The gun,” Rowan says to me.
I raise my eyes only for a moment. The queen hasn’t moved. She’s obviously dead. I can’t see the gun, but it doesn’t matter. “Rowan, James is on his way. Just hold on.” I bunch up the cape and hold it over his wound. Maybe my magic can somehow help him. I’m not sure. It’s worth a shot. I concentrate on making my hand glow, begging the Moon Goddess to send Her healing powers through me.
A soft blue glow surrounds my hand. Rowan closes his eyes, and I think, perhaps, it’s going to work.
I see movement out of the corner of my eye and lift my head in time to see the queen flopping around on the ground. She’s so severely wounded, she can’t pull one over on me this time. I’m about to use my powers to send her flying against the castle when a wolf lunges from across the yard. It’s Mara, I just know it. She leaps at the queen, and her teeth clamp down on the woman’s arm. The gun and the queen’s hand are in the wolf’s mouth as she bites down and pulls. The queen screams as Mara yanks her hand off. She spits out the severed limb and then crunches down on the queen’s head, and the screaming stops.
I turn back to Rowan. His eyes are closed, and I have no idea if my powers are working or not. ‘James!’