Seduced by Darkness (The Seduced Saga)(9)

We'd talked Father Patrick into staying with Alaric and the younger kids. He'd not been a fan of the idea, but he didn't have powers and we couldn't risk someone hurting him. Besides, there were a lot of kids. Alaric looked sick to his stomach when he realized he'd be alone with all of them. I personally begged him to stay and keep an eye on Ana. We hated leaving her, but this was the best way to protect her.

Sam stood at a makeshift podium covered in white Christmas lights. As she cleared her throat, the music quieted and so did the crowd. "Thanks for coming, everyone." She smiled and my heart skipped, remembering the other night, the passion and intensity of our lovemaking.

"We are here to celebrate life. To celebrate the special gifts we've all been given and to remind ourselves that no matter how dark times get, there is always hope. Always a reason to smile and laugh and dance and enjoy our lives."

Suddenly, someone screamed and Sam turned, looking behind her, toward the woods. I followed her gaze and saw the red glowing eyes a fraction of a moment before the Beast leaped at her, growling.

She stumbled to the side and ran, just in time. The Beast tore through the podium, breaking the tiny white lights and biting a chunk out of the wood as it sought Sam, caught her in its sights, and lunged toward her.

From the perimeter, men in black and armed with guns jumped out of the woods, surrounding the beast. A few trainees from our group were with them, including Luke, Lucy and Ocean. The adults who had been brought into our plan ushered the kids to a safe place as IPI took over the attack.

They shot at the Beast with darts, and it paused, stunned for only a moment before charging again.

I ran for Sam, my heart pounding as she stumbled over a rock and skinned her knee. I could smell her blood, but ignored it as agents tried to trap the Beast.

But their carefully laid plan fell apart as the Beast charged the agents, knocking them away like pins in a bowling alley. Hunter put himself between the Beast and Sam as I reached her and helped her up. He fought with this large blade as he lunged, parried, and dove for the Beast with an agility not entirely human. Derek joined the fight in wolf form, growling and nipping, not giving the Beast any quarter. I pulled Sam away and protected her as we ran toward the mansion, keeping my eye on the fight as we did.

The Beast grabbed Hunter with one paw and tossed him aside like a rag doll. When Derek attacked, the Beast rose to his hind feet and growled so loud it shook the ground. He growled again, longer, and roots from the trees rose from the earth, coming to life and pulling down any agents who go too close. What kind of creature had these powers?

Luke and Lucy turned their attention to the trees and roots, fighting them with swords they'd taken from fallen IPI agents. Luke used his para-power to stop attacks coming at him, but it wasn't enough. The trees around us came alive, attacking, tearing, trapping and destroying anyone who tried to harm the Beast. Even Ocean, draining part of the lake to push the trees back with powerful bursts of water using her witch powers, couldn't hold them back for long.

The Beast threw Derek aside, and both he and Hunter lay limp, either unconscious or too hurt to go on.

Behind the Beast I noticed a shimmering, and I froze.

No. God. No.

Toby materialized behind the beast and sunk a knife into its back.

The brave fool. I ran to him as the Beast backhanded the boy and threw him several feet into the air. He landed hard, knocked out and bleeding from everywhere it seemed. "Sam, run! Get safe. Protect Ana. I can't leave Toby."

Hoping she listened, I went for the boy, picking up Hunter's sword on my way. It glowed in my hand, sending power pulsing through my veins. Had it ever done that before?

The Beast leaped for Sam who had turned to find me, and I leaped through the air using everything in me to stop it from hurting my wife.

I felt like I was flying as I soared through the air in a way I never had before. Strength surged in me, strength I thought I'd lost forever when I lost my old powers. Now that old strength paled in comparison to this. I drove the sword into the beast, ramming it through its stomach as we both collapsed on the dirt-packed ground.

The Beast raged, roared and swung its claw at me, flinging me to the side as it stood and pulled the sword out of its stomach, blood spilling into pools around its feet, soaking into the earth. It charged me, and I grabbed the Beast's claw with my hand, holding it back as my muscles stretched and tore.

A look of surprise flashed across its face.

With my other fist, I punched into the Beast's wound. It stumbled back and I tried jumping again, jumping high, landing on the other side of the beast. I pulled out the knife in the Beast's back and slashed at its neck, but I wasn't fast enough. The Beast turned and bit into my shoulder.

I screamed, falling to the ground as my muscles tore and blood gushed out of me. The Beast kicked me into the air and I crashed to the ground, the poison from the Beast seeping into me even as my own body, now Nephilim, rejected it, purifying my blood as I struggled to heal.

The Beast turned its attention back to Sam, who hadn't left, who'd instead picked up a sword and tried to fight. The Beast gained on her, was about to kill her when Rose, who hadn't turned, who hadn't fought, jumped in front of Sam and protected her. "No!" She screamed at the Beast. "Leave her alone!"

While Rose faced off against the Beast, Sam ran to me, dropping to my side as she used the sword to cut her wrist and drip her blood into my mouth. "You need to feed. Don't fight me."