“We’re getting our asses kicked here!” Harley growled at Jesse.
Well, he damn well knew that. Hell, he’d just watched an eagle soar upward and then rapidly descend, striking Bracken and knocking him to the ground. Once again, he thought about ordering his mate to hide with the pups, but he knew she’d never—
Hearing several loud growls, Jesse looked to see six wolves charging their way. The Phoenix wolves. Kathy must have called Trey before joining the fight. The wolves wasted no time in getting involved; two pounced on a harpy that had just subdued Zander with its vicious talons and was trying to carry him off. Another two dived to Eli’s wolf’s rescue, whose jaws were fixed shut by strong talons, preventing him from biting. The others took on a raptor as a team, each tugging on a wing and then tearing it to pieces.
Jesse turned in time to see an eagle flying low to the ground toward his mate, taking aim for the back of her head. He lunged and wrapped both arms around the bird, tackling it to the ground and crushing fragile bones. It let out a loud, piercing wail. He cut off the sound by snapping its neck like a twig.
He was about to get up when, in a very aerobatic move, another harpy rolled upside down just before it swooped in and hit him like a bullet. The eagle knocked him to the ground and pinned him there. It then tried biting his neck, most likely trying to sever the jugular vein. Fuck that.
Seeing her mate struggling with a harpy, Harley ran toward him, but she didn’t make it. A pain-wracking force hit her in the side, sending her sprawling onto her back. Her head smacked the ground hard, and stars burst behind her eyes. Motherfucker. The raptor’s hooked beak and claws attacked her pitilessly, ripping flesh from bone. Hissing with the pain, she reached behind her for something, anything . . . there. Harley heaved up the scooter and brought it down hard on the big fucker.
Something snapped, and the eagle fell back, wailing—stunned but not dead yet. Harley winced in pain as she tried to get up. She was slashed in too many places to count. The coppery smell of her blood was so strong she could almost taste it.
Talons caught her calf in a crushing grip, tearing through jeans and skin and muscle. She kicked and struggled, but the eagle dragged her along the ground. Her T-shirt rode up, causing the ground to chafe and scratch the skin of her back. “You motherfucking motherfucker!”
The eagle came to a sharp halt and wailed in pain. And there was Bracken; he’d seized the eagle by one broad wing and was now prying the talons from her leg. It was no use. He yanked hard on the wing, breaking its flight feathers. The talons withdrew from her leg, and the harpy, losing its balance, fell with a screech. A trio of wolves immediately dived onto it.
Jesse, having fought off his attacker with the help of Trey’s wolf, carefully helped Harley stand, biting out a harsh curse as he saw that she was covered in deep scratches and puncture wounds. Hell, she looked worse than he did. His hands shook as they took hers. “Baby—”
An eagle whooshed their way and snatched up Bracken, taking him high in the air. Another eagle joined the first and grabbed the enforcer’s leg; the two harpies then engaged in a tug-of-war midair. Bracken was shouting in agony.
Jesse’s heart slammed against his ribs. “Shit!”
There was the cock of a shotgun, and then bang. One of the eagles holding Bracken screeched and, releasing him, dropped from the sky and disappeared into the trees. Several more shots were fired. The second eagle also released Bracken, and they both hit the ground hard. Jesse winced, figuring the enforcer would have some broken bones from that fall. Better that than to be torn in half by harpies.
“Check he’s okay!” ordered Shaya, still holding the shotgun steadily. Jesse wondered at which point she’d ran back to the lodge to fetch the weapon.
“Any of the bastards left?” panted Taryn.
“Just one,” said Shaya, aiming at a tree. “Which is good, because I only have one shell left.” She cocked the gun again, then . . . bang. The eagle made an ear-piercing sound and then dropped to the ground. Panting, she lowered the weapon and handed it to Taryn. “I have to check on the pups.” Shaya hurried to the fort with a few of the others close behind her. And stopped dead, sucking in a breath.
“Oh my God,” muttered Jaime, the Phoenix Beta female. “Taryn, need a little help over here. Caleb and Kent are in bad shape.”
“What about the pups?” demanded Nick.
Shaya peeked inside the fort. Then, as if having some kind of adrenaline crash, she fell right on her ass. “They’re gone,” she whispered.
Harley went stock-still. “What?”
Shaya looked up, lower lip tremoring. “They’re gone.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Huddled against the tree, Cassidy held Willow tight. She could hear her pack fighting. Could hear wailing and screaming and growls of pain. She wanted to cry, wanted to curl into a ball like Willow, but she wouldn’t. Willow was afraid. Cassidy was older, so she had to protect the little girl. She’d tried to fight off the two large shifters that had taken them, but they were too big and strong.
Cassidy held the shaking pup tighter. She didn’t once look away from the male smiling down at them. It was the kind of smile Marcus wore when there was cake around, but this man wasn’t nice like Marcus. Cassidy knew he wanted her and Willow dead. Knew that was why he’d sent his guards to snatch them.
He had to be the man her pack had talked about when they thought she couldn’t hear them. Hector. The mean one who wanted to take away their home. It made her mad. Cassidy had never been as happy anywhere as she was at Mercury territory. She didn’t want to lose it.