Mated to the Moon (Portal City Protectors Book 6) by Georgette Clair (little red riding hood ebook free txt) 📗

“Catch her, Cynes!” Eiravel bellowed.

His voice always soothed her, the deep way it chased away bad dreams and made her feel protected. She didn’t scream, knowing Cynes would be there to wrap her in his arms before she hit the ground.

They never left her side, and she wondered if they ever got bored staying around the Lombardi main house, but they never showed her if they did. When they could, they took her on trips and played with her when she wasn’t in school.

Cynes had even scared Bryson Ponce into leaving her alone.

“Izzy, I need you not to argue with me,” he called as he scooped her right out of the air. She giggled when he put her on her feet and ran a finger down her cheek. “Do you remember the place I made for you to hide?”

She nodded. “In the grove next to the house. Look for the amethyst stones. I can get in the bottom of the tree there, in the den you made for me, and it will seal. But if I really need to come out, I say ospernay and it will open.”

Cynes had practiced that word with her over and over until she could say it right and his magic yielded to her. She could do it in her sleep now. He then taught her how to look for the places he’d marked for safety in different areas of their lands and drilled her on them every week. It was hard learning to live without the extra growth. Her mind understood who he and Eiravel were to her, but her body wasn’t nearly old enough to catch up.

“Go there, and don’t come out until Eiravel or I come and get you. Don’t look back, Izzy.”

She nodded, already bending over to shift into her wolf. Seconds later, alarms blasted, sounding the attack, but she was prepared and it didn’t frighten her. One of the Hallows Cynes had warned her of dropped down in front of her, but she cut to the left. Cynes released an arrow, piercing the beast between the eyes as she ran.

“Go, Izzy! Faster. I’m right behind you.”

She pushed her legs as fast as she could, stretching out her stride so she was loping. Wolves leapt over her, coming to Cynes and Eiravel’s aide to protect the Alpha female moving to safety. Her heart thundered in her chest as the grove came into view.

A cry pierced the focus in her mind, and she stumbled, rolling over her head and slamming into the ground with a yelp.

Cynes.

She turned, searching for him, and he was locked in the jaws of a Hollow. Cynes was too fast, too strong. How had he gotten caught? The beast shook his head from side to side, ignoring Eiravel’s sword and the razor-like claws of the wolves attacking it.

No.

He’d been protecting her, not able to stay back at his normal distance to fight.

“Izzy, go. Please.”

They hadn’t told anyone Cynes and Eiravel could speak in her head. Her father got really weird about how close they were. He drew the line at them sleeping in her room, no matter how much Isadora asked.

But at least he didn’t stop them from using their nickname for her.

“No.”

“I’m going to be fine. I promise. Run.”

She refused. She couldn’t leave him like that. Eiravel hoisted his sword high, and Isadora pushed her Alpha call toward him, adding strength to the swing. His red starburst eyes met hers the moment he cleaved the head off the Hallow.

“Izzy!”

Too late. She couldn’t move, and another Hallow barreled into her side.

Cynes and Eiravel yelled together, and dirt flew everywhere when Eiravel called forth the Berserker inside him.

“Oh, deadly.”

“Izzy,” Eiravel fumed.

What? She liked when they made things go pop.

Cynes groaned, struggling to his feet as the wolves turned to attack the Hallow, but she didn’t care. She needed Cynes, had to touch him. Had to know he was okay.

“Cynes,” she cried.

He moved, one painful step at a time, and she inched toward him. Warmth spread across her side, agony with it, but she had to get to him.

“Shift, little one. You know how to do it, to heal.”

“It hurts.”

“I know,” Cynes cooed. He was closer, just a few steps away. “But you’re strong. You almost beat your Daddy, remember? You can do it.”

She reached for her change, bolstered by his words and trying to ignore the pain. Her father told her rapid shifting wasn’t easy, but it could heal a wound in a pinch. Isadora morphed, only focusing on her middle, switching between human and wolf.

The partial shift wasn’t normal for her kind, but Isadora wasn’t normal.

“Good. Just like that, Izzy.”

He reached her side, pulling her into his arms just as he collapsed. His weight was too heavy, but she didn’t struggle. At least now she could feel his heartbeat and know he was alive.

They’ll never touch us.

She pushed out her Alpha call, stretching the limits of her gift, and blended it with her Witch Doctor blood. Darkness grew as tendrils spread across the ground before locking around the feet of the Hollows surrounding them.

“Die.”

The darkness lifted, pulling the Hollows into the air before snapping them apart, raining black blood on them all as the Hollows were ripped to shreds.

“Izzy … did you do that?”

“They hurt what’s mine; they deserved it. Tell Silva that’s got to be like a thousand points.”

Cynes chuckled a half-laugh and moved off of her. “You healed me,” he finished in wonder.

“That’s an extra five thousand. I’m sleepy.”

“Not yet, Izzy. Get to the hiding spot.”

She forced herself up on shaky paws and kept going toward the grove. She made it and slipped into the low roots