“And let him take Isadore and Coral. We’ve got the camp surrounded, so just follow closely,” Chaz said.
“You could have told us this before we left the cabin.” She dug her claws into the dirt, bracing herself to watch her fated get—
Pop!
Dayton howled.
Pop!
Dayton dropped to his knees. “Holy shit, that hurt.”
“Are you going to be okay?” She stared at Aron who stood with the rifle aimed right at her.
“Flesh wound,” Dayton grunted.
“He’s not shifting,” she mumbled.
“We’ve got another problem. The witches and rogue wolves are charging the farm.”
“You mean I let this asshole shoot my mate, and he’s not going to take off running with the Wolfairy pups?” She showed her teeth, scraping at the ground. She wasn’t going to wait for an answer from Chaz. She would take great pleasure in putting Aron down.
“Come on, girl. Come get me.” He cocked the gun, his finger hovering over the trigger. “But you’ll be dead before you get five feet. You see, the beast really wasn’t who he said he was and he killed you, so I had to kill him to save the day. Everyone will bow to me.”
“My brothers never will.”
“Of course they won’t, but they will be dead too. So will their wives. All that will be left are these two little pups, and I will raise them as my own. I will be King of the Wolfairies.”
“You have to be a Wolfairy for that to happen.” She glanced at the Wolfairy pups. Hard to believe they were Coral and Isadore, but that was no less weird than her being part fairy.
“You’re outnumbered, and you’re not going to do anything to me as long as I have these two.” He reached for one of the pups, who growled fairy dust. Lightning popped inside the trail of dust, snapping at Aron’s skin.
But he just flicked it away.
It should have burned him, but a thin layer of black magic protected him. That wasn’t good.
“I’m tired of this game.” He raised the rifle. “The queen is dead.”
“No!” Dayton yelled.
Pop!
Instinctively, she dropped her head, falling to the ground, spreading her legs out, hoping the bullet would whiz past her. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched in horror as Dayton jumped in front of her, taking the bullet in his chest.
His large body jerked. When he hit the dirt, the earth shook so hard she bounced.
“Nobility only gets you killed.” Aron stepped forward, his weapon raised and ready to fire again.
Dayton’s breath came in a shallow gurgle. His lids drew heavy over his eyes. This was not how this was supposed to play out.
She rose to her feet and opened her mouth to howl, except instead of noise filling the sky, fiery fairy dust flew from her mouth and nostrils. The same kind of dust that nearly crushed Dayton.
“You are going to regret that.” She huffed and puffed until the dust settled around Aron’s body.
He dropped the gun, and his face contorted. His eyes grew wide, and he dropped to his knees.
She darted forward, knocking him to his back. She wrapped her mouth around his neck, putting just enough pressure on his skin to draw blood, but not enough to cause any real damage. The dust continued to squeeze his body. She wanted to watch him take his last breath.
“Stop,” Isadore said. She stood next to Cheryl in her human form with a blanket wrapped around her body. “You’re going to kill him.”
Cheryl growled, digging her teeth in a tad deeper. The taste of blood burned her tongue. She flexed her muscles, tightening the grip her dust had over Aron. “He deserves to die.”
“Let the council handle Aron. Right now, your mate needs your healing powers.” Isadore tapped her shoulder. “He’s hurt pretty bad.”
Cheryl snarled, releasing his neck. She glanced at Isadore and nodded before racing back to Dayton.
“Can you hear me?” she asked.
“I’m still kicking.”
She tipped her head, licking his wound with fairy dust. Green, red, yellow, and pink dust danced over Dayton’s body.
“Now we know what you were lunging at,” he whispered between labored breaths.
“I think this is going to hurt.” She raised her paw, commanding the dust to settle around his wounds like a magnet.
Dayton’s body shook.
“We should do this in human form,” she projected.
“You have to get the bullets out while he’s still a wolf. You can shift any time. We’ve got clothes for you.” Isadore dropped a T-shirt and a pair of jeans on the ground. “I’m going to take care of Aron and make sure the camp has been secure. If you need anything, you know how to reach us.”
She nuzzled her head against Dayton’s. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you back. Now please get these bullets out of my body. We have a Winter Wedding to attend and a honeymoon to go on.”
10
Cheryl sat in front of her mother’s vanity while her mother put the final touches on her hair for the Winter Wedding.
“You look amazing.” Her mother rested her hands on Cheryl’s bare shoulders and leaned over, kissing her cheek.
“I can’t believe how well your wedding dress fits me.” Cheryl rested her hands over her stomach. It had only been a week since she and Dayton had mated, but she was certain she was pregnant.
“It looks better on you than it did me.”
Cheryl turned and faced her mother, who had taken her new Royal Fairy status with humility, though she had too much fun playing with her fairy dust. “Do you think we’re all safe now?”
“We’re safer.” Her mother took her by the hands and helped her to her feet. “There will always be someone or something who will see Wolfairies or even fairies as a threat. People fear what they don’t understand.” Her mother cupped Cheryl’s cheeks. “The book of drawings has been completely filled in and signed.”
“By me,” Cheryl said with a smile. “How odd that I didn’t notice my own initials.”
“All the legends
