Edward’s head jerked up, teeth bared, aiming for Jeremy’s foreleg.
“Jeremy!” I shouted.
Jeremy yanked his leg out of the way. We didn’t know whether the sedative in Edward’s bite would knock out a werewolf, but this wasn’t the time to find out. Jeremy planted his forepaws on Edward’s shoulders to pin him, then slashed at his throat, ripping the flesh in a slice that would have been lethal to anything mortal. Edward snarled in pain, but the moment Jeremy lifted his head from the bite, Edward’s neck was whole again.
I turned to say something to Lucas, but he was already hurrying toward the altar. He grabbed the length of rope left over from tying Jaime, and jogged to Edward and Jeremy. As strong as Jeremy might be, unless he could behead Edward, this fight required a pair of human hands.
As Lucas approached, Jeremy lifted his head and met his gaze. Then he sank his teeth into Edward’s side and lifted him, to flip him onto his back so Lucas could tie him. Edward slammed his fist into the back of Jeremy’s left foreleg joint. Jeremy’s leg buckled and his grip on Edward slid.
Beside me, Savannah began to cast. I prepped a knock-back spell, then heard Savannah’s incantation and whirled.
“No!” I yelled. “Don’t—”
The last words to the spell left her lips as Jeremy regained his hold and tossed Edward up. As Jeremy swung Edward, he moved into the path of Savannah’s binding spell and stopped dead. Edward landed on top of Jeremy. Savannah broke the spell, but Edward already had hold of Jeremy’s rear leg. He bit it. Jeremy recovered and twisted, but Edward kept his teeth firmly planted in Jeremy’s leg, drawing blood and injecting his sedative. Lucas lunged at the pair. He caught Edward in the side and knocked him away from Jeremy. As the two skidded across the alley, Jeremy stayed where he was, looking around as if confused. Then he snorted, and slid to the pavement.
Lucas and Edward hit the ground fighting, each grappling for a hold on the other. I prepped a binding spell. I knew I couldn’t use it while they were tumbling together, but nor could I risk using anything dangerous. I felt useless enough standing there watching. At least the binding spell made me feel I could stop Edward if things went wrong.
The two men were an equal match in size and strength. Lucas had one forearm jammed under Edward’s throat, so he couldn’t bite, but every time Lucas lifted his free hand to cast, Edward knocked it down.
Edward wrenched away from Lucas and managed to get halfway to his feet before Lucas yanked him down again. They rolled together. When they reached the wall, Edward reared up and twisted. Lucas’s head slammed into the brick.
The blow dazed Lucas only for a moment, but in that moment Edward saw his chance. His head arched back, mouth opening. I cast my binding spell—cast it too fast and knew before I even finished that it hadn’t worked. Savannah and I both raced toward them, but we were ten feet away, too far to cover the distance in time. As Edward’s head swung down for the bite, Lucas recovered and ducked. Edward’s fangs still caught the skin of his neck. As Lucas tore himself away, a fine mist of blood sprayed across the alley. The air surrounding Lucas started to shimmer. He dove out of the way. I grabbed Savannah and yanked her backward.
Edward stopped. He saw that first glimmer of the portal and his lips curved in a slow smile.
“Natasha,” he whispered.
Lucas pitched himself at Edward, trying to shove him away from the portal. And Edward let him. He knew the portal wasn’t about to open. Not yet. He hadn’t spilled nearly enough of Lucas’s blood. Edward grabbed Lucas by the hair and snapped his head back, teeth arcing down to tear through his throat. Lucas’s eyes went wide as he realized his mistake.
“Binding spell!” I shouted at Savannah.
As she cast, I dove for Edward. I caught the back of his shirt and threw myself sideways. I managed to rip him away from Lucas, but not before his fangs made contact. More blood sprayed. The ground began to vibrate.
Edward wrenched away from me. As my grasp on his shirt slipped, Savannah cast her binding spell. Edward froze. Lucas wheeled to grab him.
“No!” I yelled. “Go!”
He hesitated.
“Get away from the portal!”
Lucas’s gaze darted from me to his father to the portal, shimmering behind me. Then he turned