“Enough,” Callum ordered as he felt Sonia’s tension intensify.
“Mac was a decent king, loyal to his mate, like the wolf,” Titium’s voice declared proudly before it turned snide. “You, with your sweet human, won’t last for more than –”
“Enough!” Callum thundered.
Titium started crouching and declared, “It’ll never be enough. Not until you’re brought low.”
“Don’t do this!” Sonia shouted, sensing the escalation, her panic palpable.
“I should have done it ages ago!” Titium shouted, definitely as mad as his daughter and just as adept at hiding it.
“Ry, get Sonia out of here!” Callum demanded as he watched Titium’s skin darken, the change was coming.
And then it happened.
Titium crouched, Callum following and Sonia screamed, “Don’t!”
Both wolves leapt as Sonia moved, faster than any human he’d seen, within a blink of an eye she was between them. Like she was when he was wolf and she was a child, throwing herself in front of him to protect him but this time stopping what would have been face-to-face.
But by the time she arrived, he was no longer there. He’d changed and, to avoid her, at the last second, he leaped over her head.
Titium’s reflexes weren’t as swift and he’d reached out a set of claws through the transformation in an effort at catching Callum unaware.
So by the time Callum landed on a skid at the foot of the steps and turned, Sonia was down, her body facing him. Titium was standing over her as wolf, panting and pawing the step beside her as if trying to help her.
Her head was up, her neck twisted and she was staring at Titium, mouth open in shock.
Then her head turned and Callum saw blood trickling from her temple where it had cracked against the steps and at the sight he growled.
But he didn’t move because her eyes were wide as she gaped at him as wolf, face-to-face with her “puppy”.
Then her expression changed. She winced in pain but Callum knew it was the pain of betrayal.
She took in a breath that sounded both surprised and ragged before she lost consciousness. In so doing, she fell forward and rolled down a step as Callum tensed to leap but he stopped when Sonia came to rest on a wide step with her back facing him, Titium’s claw marks oozing blood through her jacket.
Titium’s men behind him all shuffled back at the sight of their fallen, bleeding queen.
But Callum didn’t notice.
He howled his fury and his muscles bunched to attack.
However Titium howled as well but Titium’s howl wasn’t fury.
It was the f**king tone of surrender which meant Callum couldn’t bloody well attack when his mouth salivated to tear into the wolf’s throat.
In the seconds that transpired, Ryon, Caleb and the Guard leaped into wolves. Ryon and Caleb were prowling, snarling and circling Sonia’s prone body. Callum’s guard was at the foot of the steps, snapping at Tititum’s men to warn them back.
Lucien, with lightning vampire speed, ran to Sonia, carefully lifted her in his arms and again like a flash, he was up the steps, disappearing into the castle.
Callum, as wolf, bounded after him.
* * * * *
There were way too many f**king people in the room.
Sonia lay on their bed on her belly, her head to the side, her weight pressed into her forearms, cords still on but back bared as Orphenon saw to her.
Younger brother to one of his Guard, Orphenon was also simply a young wolf, being only a century and a half old. But his calling made him a human doctor currently practicing in Glasgow. He’d come to be with his brother for the celebrations, his brother was one of the eight who’d witnessed the scene and after had called Orphenon in for human medical attention.