Page 84 of Assisting the Alpha
He’s going for my mate. Ethan can handle any shifter, but even he won’t be able to take on the magical power of a Nagual.
I must protect my mate.
To do that, I have to get out of this prison cell. I could work on altering the ward, or finding a crack or flaw like I usually would, but after all the time Ethan and Cal spent training me and building my confidence, I decide that if ever there’s a time to use my full magical ability, this is it.
I forgo finesse and blast the ward apart with pure, raw power.
No one keeps their feet as the shock wave radiates outwards, levelling half the building. Nyoka must be using a personal shield because he’s the first to recover, turning on me with those same yellow eyes that have haunted my nightmares.
I hesitate for a moment, using my magical sight to check the orange and crimson auras of shifter and vampire life signs. There are more green auras too—mages.
A couple of the auras are faint. Shit. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.
My breath catches as Ethan shakes off some rubble and gets unsteadily to his feet. Fuck, did I hurt my mate?
No, his gold aura remains pure and strong. His eyes glow blue as he catches sight of me, a wolfy grin momentarily lighting up his face.
Reassured, I turn my attention to Nyoka, as does Ethan. Caught between us, my cousin turns to me, apparently deciding I’m the bigger threat.
I lob a fireball at him to see what happens. There’s a flicker of surprise in those yellow eyes before the fire dissipates harmlessly across his personal shield.
Others are coming out of the rubble now—Aunt Lexie, as well as Zaiden, Jack, and SJ in their animal forms. Goddess, it’s good to see them. They acknowledge me before turning and getting back to the fight as several other shifters and members of the task force attack them.
Ethan pays them little attention, so I don’t either, trusting my friends to be able to handle themselves. We’ve got a Nagual to defeat.
From what I read in the grimoire, Ethan will be able to handle Nyoka as a shifter if I can get rid of Nyoka’s magical protections first, which means it’s up to me to clear the way for my mate. Just as Nyoka leaps at me, I throw an amped-up disintegration spell at his shield. The shield fizzles before scattering into magical ash.
“Now!” I yell at Ethan.
Nyoka knocks me to the ground with a yowl as Ethan pounces, knocking my cousin off me before Nyoka can do more than snarl in my face. They start fighting; tumbling, biting, and clawing. From how evenly matched they are despite Ethan’s size advantage, it’s clear Nyoka is using more than just the shield spell I removed in order to give him a magical advantage, especially since he somehow overcame the rebound aspect of my own personal shield.
Frustratingly, Nyoka’s charcoal aura is so dark it seems to be having a masking effect on the spells he has active. I get unsteadily to my feet and focus on seeing through the inky aura, trying to glimpse any of the spells he’s using, but I’m distracted when Fraser stands in my way.
“Give it up, Ayo.” Fraser sneers. “You couldn’t defeat me during the enforcer test. What makes you think you’ll be any more successful now?”
His betrayal of the coven hurts, not gonna lie. Are Lola and her sister in on this too? Is it just the members of the task force I can see, or are there others involved?
How dare they turn on our people. Leaders and police are supposed to protect, not destroy.
I don’t bother to explain to Fraser that I’ve had training since then. I simply raise my hands and all the rubble around us rises into the air.
“Power,” I explain, my voice resonating deeply due to my connection with the earth.
“What the hell?” Fraser’s eyes widen. He starts backing up even as he throws a concussion spell at me.
It bounces harmlessly off my personal shield as I advance on the traitor in front of me. He’s between me and my mate.
He attempts more failed spells as I send the rubble spinning around the two of us in a mini tornado. I don’t know if the burning in my chest is fury at this man’s betrayal or my core objecting to the prolonged connection to the ley line. Either way, I need to end this quickly.
I send the rubble flying at Fraser, burying him under it. His green aura is faint, but still there. He’s alive. Contained.
I turn my attention back to my cousin and my mate just as Nyoka squirms away from Ethan, his black fur wet with blood. Nyoka leaps at me, this time with his claws extended.
My personal shield is as ineffective as it was the night he attacked Irving and me behind Love Bites. Pain sears through my chest as Nyoka’s claws shred my gown and skin easily, even while my shield protects my back from injury as I land hard on the floor with a yell.
What the fuck? How is this possible?
Ethan rams into Nyoka, sending him tumbling off me and crashing into the rubble on top of Fraser. Nyoka gets to his feet as Ethan stands guard over me, snarling at my cousin.
