Chapter 520: Brief Life
As soon as Graeme saw the vampire soaring through the air towards August, he tore into his wolf after him. He had fought a vampire before and lost, but it wasn’t a mortal vampire. This one should be easy to kill.
Instead of having to wrestle the monster off of August, by some Goddess given miracle Daegel landed on the ground next to her with a loud grunt. Graeme sank his teeth into the vampire’s shoulder, dragging him away from his mate as the male screamed with the sensation of having his flesh pierced for the first time.
Blood oozed out of the wound and into Graeme’s mouth, and he snarled as he shook the male, tearing the muscle in his shoulder and causing more blood to flow out. There was a thrilling satisfaction of knowing he was the first one to make this vampire bleed.
Daegel roared in pain and tried to reach behind him to get a grip on the wolf so he could fling him off, but Graeme ducked low to the ground while his teeth remained in him. The vampire’s pain turned into fury, and he twisted around onto his back, causing Graeme to lose his grip on the shoulder. Daegel grabbed him by the scruff and threw him through the air against a far tree.
In the same moment, another pair of canines sunk into the vampire’s ankle. He cried out and gritted his teeth as he watched more of his bright red blood spurt out. The feeling of his warm life force drenching his shoulder and now escaping from his ankle made flashes of hunger appear like sharp memories behind his eyes. These were scenes he craved—the gouged flesh of victims and the nourishment their wounds provided. But now he was the recipient of it.
He shook his leg, but it was a mistake. Seth’s wolf didn’t budge, and the movement only caused his tissue to tear further. Spikes of pain shot up his leg from the injury, and he tried dragging himself away from the wolf using his upper body strength, but of course he was just dragging Seth right along with him.
This was all new to him. Daegel wasn’t familiar with being the prey in any situation. He wasn’t familiar with his own cries of pain or having to fight back in such a weakened state. All he knew was unending strength. The instincts needed to react were slowly coming online, but his shock at the pain and blood was making his movements much slower than what he would typically be capable of.
As he watched Seth glare up at him, snarls erupting like curses against his flesh, a third wolf appeared—this one a dark black with bright green eyes. Its lips curled back over its teeth as it lunged for his other leg.
He kicked the black wolf square in the muzzle before it could get a hold, causing a high-pitched whimper to escape. Seth’s attention was diverted, his eyes sliding sideways to the sound, and it gave Daegel a chance to use his free leg to kick at him this time. But Seth squeezed his eyes shut as he darted around, shaking the ankle to create more spikes of searing pain in his victim so Daegel had to stop and roar his protest.
August had gathered by Penelope, Nedra, and Sage as they all stood on edge watching the scuffle. They knew better than to get involved, but it was hard to watch. Daegel deserved this—the was undeniable, but his screams made Sage cover his ears, ducking further into his mother’s arms, wishing to hide from it.
Selah had shifted into her wolf, the pull to retaliate against the male who had dared threaten her brother too strong to avoid. But seeing her get hurt and hearing her whimper had Nedra clutching Sage so close as if she could help protect Selah that way as well. Her knuckles were white, curled into fists in Sage’s shirt.
"They’re going to be okay," August whispered, rubbing Nedra’s shoulder in comfort. The words were for her ears as well.
It was not easy standing on the sidelines, especially when Graeme was thrown against a tree. But she searched their bond, and feeling that he was okay, she stayed where she was. If she were to get in the way, it would only put him in more danger to have to worry for her.
Graeme and Selah both returned to the vampire at the same time. Selah took hold of the ankle she had tried for before while Graeme circled Daegel’s head, dodging swipes before lunging forward and grabbing hold of his neck.
It was a risk to attack that close to where Daegel could easily get his own hold on him, but the neck was also a kill point. Seth realized this too and let go of the vampire’s leg to help him.
He pinned down one of Daegel’s arms that swung up to try to remove the Alpha, sinking his teeth into his bicep and tearing the muscle before the vampire roared and flung him off. But the distraction was enough for Graeme to reposition his hold and tighten it. He felt Daegel’s windpipe cave in, crushed between his jaws.
Daegel’s eyes went wide as he lost the entryway for his breath—something that he had never needed to rely on before. But now that it was cut off, he realized just how badly he needed it. He should have protected this area. He wheezed in panic, creating a high whistle from his mouth.
The wolves were still on him, and he couldn’t breathe. With one last panicked attempt, he started slamming his fist into the Alpha’s ribcage, crushing bones until a whine escaped from the animal and it let him go.
He turned onto his stomach and pulled himself across the ground with one arm, the other still being held and now tugged on by one of these relentless creatures. Couldn’t they see he was going? He was giving up. He couldn’t breathe.
Had he known he was fighting lycans, he may have approached this whole situation differently. But it was too late.
Seth and Selah finally let him go, circling back around to check on Graeme, nudging him with their noses and sniffing him for any indication of organs that were punctured from broken ribs. But it seemed to just be the bones. Graeme got up and limped to where Daegel had stopped moving, the whistling from his crushed windpipe having also ceased.
The three wolves stood around the vampire, not hearing any breath. The alyko joined them, circling around to stare down at the being who had once been immortal and was now slipping from his brief life into death.
