He was torn, frustration and fear growing inside of him. His brothers needed him. He needed to shift and to jump into the fight, but he couldn’t leave Wiley’s side. Not yet. Not until he knew whether Wiley could get rid of the spell.
Baer and Grey flanked Wiley, their backs brushing against him while they prepared to fight off any who tried to get near the young man. Baer looked over his shoulder at Wiley to find his eyes clenched shut and his fingers pressed hard into his temple as he concentrated.
“Fuck!” Grey shouted. “Baer! Baer!”
“What?” Baer snapped.
“Gator! It’s a fucking gator!”
Baer turned to look where Grey was pointing and Jesus fuck, it was the biggest goddamn gator he’d ever seen. It was as if the monster had crawled straight out of the Cretaceous period. The thing was running straight toward Grey with its massive mouth—filled with teeth—open. Grey leveled the gun on the thing, but Baer wasn’t sure the shotgun would even stop it.
Wiley placed a hand on Grey’s arm and smiled. “I’ve got it.”
“Are you sure?” Grey’s voice was higher than normal, and he’d yet to lower the gun. Fuck, there was no way Baer would lower the weapon even if he had control of the creature.
Wiley didn’t answer Grey. He kept his entire attention on the animal as it charged. Baer wracked his mind, searching for something big enough that he could shift into that could stop the gator if Wiley couldn’t remove the spell in time.
But he couldn’t think like that. Wiley could do this. If his soul mate said he could free the animal, then he could. Baer placed his hand on Wiley’s shoulder and sent his soul mate deep feelings of love and support. Beneath his fingers, he felt Wiley’s muscles relax as if he’d sighed.
“There,” Wiley whispered. “He’s all yours.”
As soon as Wiley finished speaking, it was like a little light had flickered on in the darkness crowding Baer’s brain. He could sense the animal. Hear its thoughts. Feel its irritation, fear, and confusion.
Without hesitation, Baer pushed his powers into the reptile’s head. He fanned the creature’s anger and pointed it at the pestilents. Those things were the cause of the alligator’s confusion and frustration. Those things were why its belly was empty and it was so far from its home.
Baer watched at the gator’s head snap toward the camp and the nearest pestilent. It charged off, catching the poor creature in its powerful jaws.
“Fuck, I thought I was going to die,” Grey said in a rush. He swiped a shaking hand through his hair, wiping some sweat from his brow despite the chilled air. Baer couldn’t blame him. He’d be happy if he never had to stare down another creature like that.
“Wiley?”
“I’ve got this.” His voice was strained, and his body shook slightly. “I’ve got…like a toehold into this spell. I can pry my way in, free more of them now.”
“What can I do?”
“Can…can you grab control of them while you’re shifted and fighting?”
“Yes.”
“Then go. Help Clay and Lucien. Kill the witch bitch.”
“But—”
Grey straightened and loaded more ammo into the shotgun. “Go, Baer. I’ve got him covered. They’ll have to go through me to touch him, and that’s not gonna happen.”
Baer hesitated. He couldn’t help it. All his instincts screamed for him to stay beside his soul mate. He had to protect Wiley. Keep him safe. It was bad enough he’d brought him right to the center of danger. Now he was just supposed to leave him?
But his brothers—Lucien and Clay needed him too.
“Trust me, Baer. I’ve got this.”
It was Wiley’s calmness that finally tipped the scale for Baer. If Wiley was confident in his ability to handle the attacking animals and the witch’s spell, then it was Baer’s job to believe in him as well.
Not wanting to break Wiley’s concentration, Baer pressed a quick kiss to Wiley’s sweat-damp temple. He released him and started to run. By his third step, he was racing across the dirt and grass on all fours, his body a powerful lion’s. This animal offered up pure speed and power. Plus he loved the massive claws, paws, and teeth.
Pestilents screamed and ran at the sight of him. He pounced, crushing bones and tearing flesh. Coyotes darted in, trying to tear into his hide, but he shook them off and batted them away. He moved quickly, scattering the army of animals and pestilents.
Here and there, he caught glimpses of Clay and Lucien in the fight. The earth rumbled and shook under Baer’s paws as Clay toppled charging pestilents and even some of the animals. Lucien was setting anything that would burn on fire. Chaos was everywhere.
Ardette stood just past the main building, screaming at her army to attack the Weavers. Both her arms were raised over her head, and her hands were bloody. Baer could feel the weight of magic in the air, but he couldn’t hear her commands, even while he was in the lion’s body. He could only guess that since he wasn’t a true animal, she couldn’t put him under her spell.