The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 96

Ninety-Six: Natalie

Natalie's P.O.V.

I had never been more in awe of my mate than I was at that moment. I had been ready to take on the world. The need to draw blood was primal, and while I was nervous about my first kill, I was also being spurred forward by my need to protect my mate and my newfound family.

I had no idea where Joselin had taken my mother, but with Killian leading the charge, I had no doubt they would be safe. He wouldn't let the bloodsuckers get through him.

He was a force to be reckoned with, a vicious animal.

As the walls from each side collided, he sliced them down quickly, taking on minimal damage. I kept glancing around, waiting for Lillian or Talia to appear. The witches seemed to have stayed back on their side, and I had the suspicion that they were letting the vampires thin themselves out and thin us out before the witches had to step forward and put in any effort. Either that or, based on the sounds, they were in their own battle.

If they needed to guarantee that their spot on the throne would be secure, they couldn't have an army of vampires there to threaten their rule.

A small pale creature slid in between my occupied guards with a malicious smile. I saw Tobias send me a panicked look over his should while he fought his own enemy, but I focused on the woman before me. My first kill.

'Focus, Tobias. I've got this.' I muttered to him through the pack link and could practically hear his eyes rolling in response.

The beady black eyes of the woman were locked on me, and I pulled back my lip to snarl at her. She didn't wait as she lunged at me, trying to get her arms around my neck. She was small and fast, but it also made it easy for me to overpower her. I slammed her down on the ground, holding her there with one paw on her chest before digging my teeth into her neck and ripping her throat out.

It had been easier than I had expected. Still, she was also very young, more than likely a newly turned human from one of the cities that had reportedly vanished overnight. There was no doubt in my mind that she had less training than I did.

If that were the case, I worried about the witches' real plan. Surely they didn't think they could win a war with a bunch of untrained bloodsuckers fighting against the Lycans, one of the strongest creatures on Earth.

But if they needed us distracted, it was a good plan.

My heart dropped when the three vampires fighting Killian got a grip on him, one biting into his flesh before ripping out a chunk of his arm. He spun out of their grasp, slicing his claw across the throat of one and shoving his hand through the chest of the next before ripping out the vampire's heart.

The one who bit him was on his own and only lasted a second longer before Killian also ended his life.

He was magnificent.

But as soon as the three were down, four more surrounded him. Two more came at me, and I did my best to dodge, bite, and slice through our enemies.

It took a lot longer than it did with the first vampire I had ended, but soon the two bodies joined their fallen comrade, and I was left with only a small slice down my side from one of their nails.

I wanted to cut through the vampires so I could get to the source, the witches, and deal with them before the exhaustion hit, and it seemed Killian had the same idea.

Killian had stepped further forward, moving through the wall of vampires with ease, taking on a few scratches and a couple more bites that had blood dripping down several parts of his body. His skin was healing as fast as it could as he moved and cut down the threat to us.

I was almost positive that he didn't realize the distance he had placed between us, but I also knew I couldn't distract him while he was fighting so many. I moved to close the gap when another vampire stepped in my way.

The chaos around us was deafening, and seeing the giant man before me made my heart want to beat out of my chest in terror. The others had been small, young men and women. But he looked in his mid-thirties and was easily comparable to Tobias in size, just slightly smaller than Killian.

I was grateful that I had my wolf. I was larger in that form. Had I been fighting in my human form, I would have been in for a world of pain and would have likely met my end. Yet, he ran at me with a smirk of premature victory.

A laugh of surprise left me as a giant beast crashed into the vampire's side, knocking him to the ground and tearing him to pieces. His muzzle was dripping with blood, and he looked thoroughly satisfied as he turned his head to look at me. His black eyes sparkled with excitement. I nodded at Damien in gratitude as he turned back and ripped out another chuck of the vampire's throat for good measure.

I raced forward, following after Killian, not wanting to be separated, but he was a good way ahead. He was closer to his smirking mother than he was to me, and that did not sit well with me. He was strong, but he had struggled with the idea of her death for years.

Plus, with Lillian's newfound powers, we had no idea what to expect from her. I didn't know if he could take her down on his own.

Another vampire launched from his right, wrapping their arms around him and trying to take him down. Her teeth sank into his shoulder, barely missing his neck as I raced toward them. It would be risky to turn back to my skin and use my magic, but I hadn't figured out how or if I could even use it when I was in my fur.

Killian shook her off, but blood oozed from his injury. His body was working hard to repair itself, but I knew the exhaustion and strain it was under would delay his healing.

I stopped short as a battle between one of Charlie's team members and a vampire stumbled before me. A large smile was on his face as he sidestepped his attacker before slicing his blade across the vampire's stomach.

My gaze went over him just as another group surrounded my mate ahead. He was knocking them down one by one.

I bit down on one of the leech's sides as I ran by, ripping the skin from his body. He let out a howl of pain before the wolf fighting him took his head clean off.

It was then that I felt the first emotion from Killian. It was similar to my dream. The stabbing pain in my ribs wasn't mine but felt just as real as any injury I had ever had.

I bit back a whimper, knowing it would only distract those around me, especially Killian. He was injured. Injured enough to let his wall fall for a second, so I could feel it through our bond.

My paws pushed me faster, and I ducked and dodged the attacks. A fireball whirled through the air, skimming my back as I ran. The scorching pain made me let out a yowl before I could swallow it.

My heart dropped as Killian stood at the front of the battle with over a dozen vampires surrounding him. He was holding his own, but the blood loss and continuous damage to his body were taking its toll, and he seemed to be moving slower than before.

Lillian stood behind her people, watching with no emotion as her son was attacked. Her eyes met mine. She lifted her hand to her side, gesturing for someone to come closer.

I had expected to see Talia join her, but I couldn't as the wall of vampires surrounding Killian grew thicker.

She had called reinforcements to take down her son, her firstborn child.

Killian roared as he tossed another one off him, and I crashed into the vampire on his left before the attacker could touch my mate.

The scent of their poisonous blood was everywhere, but the strongest smell in the clearing was my mate's. By looking at him, I couldn't tell what blood was his and what belonged to the dead he had left behind in his rage.

My jaw snapped wickedly at a threat as another lunged at me, but I disposed of him quickly using a technique Tobias had taught me.

I could feel the pain still coming through the bond, but it gradually worsened. Killian's body couldn't keep up to heal him fast enough, and I felt the pain as he received another bite. The venom was coursing through his bloodstream, poisoning him on top of the other injuries.

My legs shook beneath me as another landed on my back, trying to pin me down, and latched her jaw around the skin on my shoulder blade.

It burned horribly, and I kicked and bucked to be free of her. When she was ripped off, I turned to see Killian stumbling back away from me as he was grabbed and dragged by the vampires. There were too many, and they were all concentrated in this one area at the command of their leader.

I could hear our side fighting to get through, to get closer to us, but they wouldn't make it in time.

"Ah!" Killian roared out his anger as he was dragged further away, closer to his mother.

My adrenaline pushed me further as I heard the pain in Killian's voice. His growl was lower than it should have been, and as I ripped another throat out, I saw Killian suffering another bite.

No.

He was in too much pain. I felt like I couldn't breathe as it passed through our mate bond, and I knew he was struggling to hold on. He would fight until his last breath if he had to, but I couldn't let it come to that. I wouldn't.

My body moved more fluidly and skillfully to avoid the vampires launching at me until I finally reached my mate. One of the vampires had their hand above Killian's chest, black nails extended to points, prepared to slice through the skin over his heart.

"No!" My cry broke free as I shifted to my skin. My naked and bleeding body fell over Killian's as a protective barrier.