Chapter 23

Gabriel PoV

The rebels have come for my wife, they have come to destroy her, but I won’t allow that to happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not for as long as she is by my side. They will not harm her.

I whistle as loud as I can, alerting my men that are stationed around the castle, they will come. We just have to survive long enough for them to get here. The castle grounds are large, and the rebels knew exactly where we would be.

That means that someone has betrayed me, someone tag works in the castle. I will find them once this is over, and I will torture every single scrap of information out of them about these rebels. The traitor will beg for death when I am finished with them. They will never seem the light of day again.

I knew that the rebels had been growing in numbers, but I never suspected that they were actually a threat to me or Rhea. I was clearly wrong about that. Perhaps I should have been more careful, but rebels come and go, my bloodline will survive it all.

Rhea doesn’t move when I tell her to run back inside, her eyes are locked on the horizon, on the masses of bodies coming right for us.

Fuck, I wish she would just obey me.

It would be much easier for us both if she did.

I cannot concentrate on fighting and keeping her safe, it’s an impossible task. And yet, I must somehow figure out how to do it.

“Rhea.” I say, my eyes on the bodies getting closer to us with each passing second. “It is too late for you to run now, they will easily catch you.”

“What do I do?” Her eyes are wide, I can hear it in her voice. “I don’t even know how to shift.”

I look around, searching for a weapon, anything she could use to defend herself, she has the strength of an alpha, she just needs to harness it. But I don’t have time to teach her right now.

There are no weapons, nothing but rotting sticks.

“You better figure out how to shift.” I grind out, my fangs pressing against my bottom lip, “you don’t have much time.”

She moves back a step, “I can’t do it.”

“You have to, Rhea, there is no other choice.” I say, trying not to sound as desperate as I feel.

I can’t lose this one too, they all seem to die.

I need an heir; my time is running out.

“I can’t!” She shouts at me, shaking.

I turn to her, carefully keeping my eye on the enemy, “I can’t protect you and fight, you have to protect yourself.”

She shakes her head, crying, “I don’t know how.”

“You do.” I tell her sternly. “You just have to call upon your wolf, she will come.”

She wipes her eyes, and I see the moment that they harden, the moment that her fear turns into anger.

“Good.” I praise, “let that anger guide you, show them that you are not someone they can destroy.”

Rhea nods, her eyes suddenly flashing golden, “I can do this.”

“Yes.” I agree, “you can.”

I’ve never seen a wolf with golden eyes like that before, there is something peculiar about this she wolf, and I will find out what it is, but first, I have to kill these traitors.

The first vampire to reach me was cocky, he smiled like he had already won, and he went straight for Rhea, but I stopped him. I grabbed his arm and twisted it so far back that the bone snapped in half, and right on cue he screams. I drag him back towards me and snap his neck, ripping his head from his body.

That’s how you kill a vampire, you remove their head.

Rhea looks at me with wide eyes, shocked by how fast I am, or perhaps she is shocked by the brutality of death. It doesn’t matter either way, but the fact that she is distracted does matter.

She could easily be killed whilst her eyes are on me.

Stupid girl.

“Focus.” I growl at her. “They will come thick and fast.”

She blinks and nods, as though I woke her from a trance.

Jesus fucking Christ, why do I always get the squeamish ones? Couldn’t I get a she wolf who loved the sight of blood? Is that too much to ask?

Three more arrive, the rest of them close behind, but some cornered by the guards and warriors I have stationed here. Three isn’t so bad. I can take three at once down.

Rhea groans, and I hear bones snapping, but I can’t look back, I’m too focused on the enemy. By the sound of it, she has figured out how to shift into her wolf. It’s about bloody time.

She was cutting it rather close.

I hear the wolf growl behind me, and a vampire laugh at her, I didn’t need to look to know he was going to die. Rhea is a lot stronger than she looks, even if she doesn’t know what she’s doing half the time.

“Silly girl.” The vampire growls, but a second later I hear him scream out in pain.

She got him. Good girl.

The three that approached me were circling me, trying to find a weakness in my stance, there wasn’t one.

The first one attacked with his fists, I dodged all the hits, and snapped his neck, it’ll keep him down for a moment.

The second shouts curses at me, and lunges without thinking, I snap his neck just as easily as the first.

This is pathetic, and they call themselves an army?

“Hello, King.” Says the third. “I won’t go down as easily as they did.”

I laugh, but otherwise don’t respond.

I am dying to see how Rhea is fairing against those attacking her, but I can’t take my eyes off the man in front of me. Distraction means death. Always.

He pulls out a long blade, holding it with both hands, “you’ll meet your end today.” He says coldly, “and so will the dog you’re trying to train.”

Dog. How dare he?!

She is braver than he will ever be, and impossibly stronger too. Especially in her head, and her heart.

She has more character in her pinky finger than he does in his whole body.

“What the hell.” Screams someone behind me, a ball of light shooting past my shoulder, burning me.

I wince and move to the side, the ball of light hits guy number three, turning him to ash right before my eyes.

What the fuck was that?

This time, I turn to look at Rhea, and what I see makes my blood run colder than ice.

She truly is a marvel.