Free A Council of Betrayal by Kim Schubert Page A

movements
and the lack of their shifter essences in their eyes, I was hopeful
that was a no.
    Jerry was chanting softly, his hands building
an icy white ball. His hunched shoulder straightened and he looked
for an opening. “Mark, down!” he yelled.
    Snapping the neck of his current opponent
with deft hands, Mark squatted down, kicking at his next
adversary.
    Jerry straightened, raising the ball over his
head before blasting the oncoming shifters, mowing them down with
the power ball.
    “Wow,” I muttered, impressed at the duration
of the magic.
    It cleaved a path through the oncoming attack
but it wasn’t enough, as Alec went down to a knee with a groan.
Hudson had broken the line formation and was now surrounded.
    “Let’s go,” I told Logan, moving next to
him.
    He nodded, cracking his knuckles, his dress
shirt straining at the seams as he called upon his lion.
    Show off.
    Without waiting, I moved in between Alec and
Mark. Being injured, I needed the extra protection on the sides.
Logan stomped past me, helping Hudson clear off the shifters
attached to his back.
    Blowing out a long breath, I calmed my
nerves, blocking out the pain in my leg and focusing all my
attention on the task at hand. It wasn’t long before a dark haired
shifter launched himself at me.
    My body hit the ground with a thump, my head
bouncing against the concrete. Warm blood spilled on me from where
he had jumped onto my blade. I carved it upward at an awkward
angle, cleaving him in two.
    Rolling up took more energy and time than I
was willing to admit, long enough for a shifter to grab me from
behind, pinning my arms to my sides, my blade dangling. I wished
for heels as I lifted my good leg up, smashing it down in the hope
of finding toes to crush.
    His chuckle brushed against my ear and I bent
at the waist, trying to fling him over me. He didn’t budge.
    “Scream, bitch,” he whispered, before
releasing my left hand to dig his fingers into the tender flesh of
the bite wound on my thigh.
    I hate to admit it, but I gave that asshole
exactly what he wanted. The scream tore from my throat as the pain
from his digging had my vision completely dissipating. His other
arm wrapped around my waist, holding my body up when the pain
threatened to be too much for me.
    We were both breathing heavily, although for
very different reasons. It cost me precious seconds, but I finally
regained control enough to braid the pain down and away from my
conscious mind, sending it deep so I could fight off the tide of
assholes bent on taking Logan’s power.
    Not on my fucking watch, assholes.
    I passed my blade to my hand no longer under
his control. With a controlled cut, I removed his hand. Turning, I
grabbed a handful of hair, dragging his head back. “Scream for me,
bitch,” I hissed, slicing deeply against his throat, severing as
much as I could as fast as I could.
    Hopefully, it would be enough to keep him
from regenerating. Pulling my gaze back to the fight around me, I
found the boys had done their work and done it well. Logan and
Hudson were each taking care of a few stragglers when my eyes cut
to the left, catching movement.
    A shifter was sulking on her stomach, short
red hair caked with blood, a syringe trapped between her razor
sharp teeth.
    “Logan,” I whispered, hobbling to him. Our
gazes locked and she sprung up, running at Logan full force. I
dropped my blade, pushing my abused leg to propel myself toward
him. Pumping my arms to gather momentum.
    She could not inject Logan with that
beast-making drug. I might have been able to bring Bear back from
the brink of insanity, but that was only thanks to Sonny and his
magical ring. Well, not to mention my stellar bedroom skills, but I
had neither at my disposal while being attacked. I could not lose
Logan for the simple fact I would be the one who would have to put
him down. I’m sure Darren could forgive a lot, but not killing his
brother.
    With a final thrust, I lunged for Logan at
the same time