Werewolves Be Damned - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,82

thick emotion that she’d never witnessed in him—raw and potent. “Breath, Nexi. Calm down.”

She was breathing—wasn’t she?

Before she had the chance to declare as much, the earth below her rumbled—a soft quake sending light vibrations to shudder beneath her boots. She glanced down at the grass still soaked with Kyden’s blood and the rattle grew angry, causing the branches from the trees to tumble to the ground. Leaves and dirt flew through the air as the house in front shook against its beams.

Unable to stand against the intense quake, Kyden dropped to the grass, as the wolves braced themselves against the trembling earth. Which also was the exact moment Nexi realized she was the only one not moving. Standing firmly in place, Nexi watched the world fall apart around her, then she realized she heard a sound that cut through her backyard.

Her blood-curdling scream.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nexi would’ve bet money she smelled smoke lingering in the air, and she’d bet even more money that it was the leftovers of her insides that had been scorched beyond repair. The pain, which had rendered her incapacitated, slowly eased, the fire blessedly extinguishing.

She noticed pressure around her temples that she figured was death coming to get her. Then her logical self realized it couldn’t be death since she held coherent thoughts. After a moment, the pressure eased, and she recognized that someone held onto her head.

Peeking open an eye, and with a little effort, she focused her vision.

Zia was kneeling beside her with her hands on Nexi’s head. Not only was that sight odd, but Zia was also drenched in sweat, convulsing terribly. Nexi might’ve been more inclined to help her if she hadn’t remembered what had happened. Panic enveloped her, forcing a scream out of her throat, “Kyden.”

“I’m here, Álainn.”

Nexi attempted to raise her head to find him, since he’d called from a distance, but she couldn’t move. Her body seemed to be glued to the grass, or weighed down by some power that she couldn’t see but could definitely feel.

She gave up trying to look for him when fingers squeezed hers. Forcing herself, she opened the other eye, discovering Haven on the other side of her, holding onto her hands. Even if Nexi couldn’t presently feel Haven’s tight emotions through their bond—which was odd considering she always sensed Haven—she spotted the worry hidden behind Haven’s smile.

“What happened?” Nexi asked, her voice dry and scratchy.

Before Haven could answer, Zia yanked her hands away, exhaling roughly. Leaning back on her legs, she wiped the sweat from her brow, then attempted to fix her normally perfect hair which now looked like something from the eighties. “Good heavens.” She winked, her baby blue eyes sparkling. “That was much harder than I anticipated.”

Nexi frowned, ready to get some questions answered, when suddenly a loud howl startled her. She lifted her head, realizing whatever Zia had been doing was the culprit, since she also sensed Haven’s concern through the bond now. Looking at the scene in around her, Nexi was convinced she wasn’t seeing things right.

Kyden stalked toward a wolf, which had a mini-tornado whipping around his body. With a determination that was more than duty—revenge oozed from him—he raised his sword, stabbing down, and with a twist the wolf dropped dead.

Gritting her teeth, Nexi pushed up onto her elbow and scanned her backyard, noticing that all the wolves had the same wind encasing them, and that Kyden wasn’t the only one offing them. Talon and Finn were also working their way around the yard, killing the wolves, one by one.

She got a good few seconds to look before her arm gave out and she lay back on the grass, staring up at the starry sky. Turning her head, she asked Zia, “What happened to them?”

“That’s your Air magic. Your wind is trapping them.” Zia smiled, continuing to fix her hair, as if this was everyday business. “Anger can trigger magic, and by the looks of things, you were very angry.”

“Bad time for a joke,” she muttered.

Nexi found nothing about this amusing. She’d be better off dead. More than exhausted, she was utterly spent. But the pungent scent of death filling the air around her added to her relief, knowing protection had come.

Starring up at the stars, she welcomed the reprieve. She had no idea how much time passed as she watched the clouds sweep over the moon when a face filled her vision, making things even better.

Kyden knelt down next to her and took her head in his