Ileus heard a loud curse from his friend and then the sound of spears slicing the air. Screams and grunts and shouts followed. He jumped over the stairs, darted through the corridors and reached the entrance. He had to pull the portcullis down to stop the demons from entering, though he wasn't sure as to how long the structure would be able to sustain their brute strength. However, by the time he reached the portcullis, his eyes widened, shocked at what he saw in front of him. 

There were a few demons running towards the entrance with their bows and arrows, swords and spears. They appeared to be at least two hundred yards away. If he didn't bring the portcullis down now, they would charge inside. He reached the jammed sides of the gate and tried to free the pulley, but the chains were rusted so badly that they refused to move. Frustrated, he left them and then leapt in the air to grasp the thick iron grill to bring it down. He knew it was risky because now he was completely exposed. Still he tried because he would take all the arrows and spears to save his wife, who was still sleeping inside the room with his baby in her. 

The demon roared and then in his demonic language commanded his people to shoot arrows at the man who was trying to pull the portcullis down. A flurry of arrows shot past and now Ileus knew that he didn't have time. Then so be it. He jumped down with a ferocious growl. He charged at them head on. He leapt in the air in one graceful arc and when he landed, he had turned into a massive back werewolf with smoke peeling off him. 

The demons stopped and they looked at him with shock across their faces. Ileus let out an ominous growl and then leapt at the soldiers. He had to protect his wife. In the next moment he brought down one demon but was immediately surrounded by more. They were about to attack when yet another brown furred werewolf attacked them from behind. The demons stopped shooting arrows and only used spears. The air was filled with growls and snips and the sound of swords slicing the air, flesh and blood and bodies. The place descended into chaos. 

More thunder grumbled with a deluge of rain not showing signs of stopping. The ground rumbled as if with heavy footfalls. More demons were coming. But Ileus was ready. He communicated to Kaizan to take Anastasia away from here and Kaizan in turn barked at him to leave. As they were talking, they heard a loud boom of wings flapping and Ileus looked up towards them with panic, hoping against hope that it wasn't Anastasia. There was no one. He leapt on a demon when fire sparked to life over them. A beam of light arced over all of them and landed behind, right on the cracked pavement that led to the main entrance, splintering the stones out there. More sparks flew into the air. 

The rain made it impossible to scent anything. 

--- 

Iona was getting tense with each passing minute. She was sitting on her horse and wanted to yank all her clothes off. She looked up at the thundering skies and hoped that the rain didn't stop, because the moment it stopped, she was sure she would shift. She was getting antsy. No. Her wolf was getting antsy. And it was because of the green eyed demon with sexy horns who just ordered for men to guard her while he plunged himself in chaos. 

Her chest shook with a growl when she thought of the danger Rolfe was in. Her wolf wanted to protect him from every threat. But she also knew that the only threat that posed in front of him was she. 

No one had told her how her first shift would be. She had stopped her wolf from coming out the last time, but this time… it had become feral, almost murderous. She could feel that if she didn't let it out, she might go mad for not being able to protect her… mate. Wait. What? Mate? MATE? MATE.

"Gods!" she rasped. This can't be. Wolves never scented their mates in first shift. She stared in the direction where Rolfe disappeared in the thick fog. Gulping down the feeling, she turned to look at Ara. In a low hoarse voice she said, "I need to go to Rolfe." 

"What? No!" Ara refused her outrightly. "Whatever is there, we can't allow you to leave. The prince has asked us to protect you." 

"Why?" asked Iona even though she knew the answer. Her skin prickled. She could feel the bones cracking in her, rearranging themselves… slowly. What if the consequences of letting her beast run free would hurt those around her, those who were protecting her? She couldn't let that happen to Rolfe. 

"Because he feels that you are his mate," said Ara. "The first royal mate in thousands of years. And that means a lot. Not only the four of us, but all of us know that you are his mate. This news will reach the king in no time and he will try to harm you. Do you realize the consequences? If you die, our prince is going to go berserk. You are too precious for us for that complication." Ara was breathless. The tension was apparent on her face. She wanted to go to help her prince, but she had to guard his mate. 

"You don't understand," Iona said and closed her eyes. There was so much heat in her body. When she opened her eyes again, her vision was changed and a growl came out of her. She let the heat consume her. The cells tore apart and started rearranging. She jumped off the horse and let her wolf take over. She roared as excruciating pain spread to all parts of her body, as her bones rearranged, as the fur rippled out of her body. 

Iona dropped to all fours—a beautiful wolf with fur as white and soft as snow and golden yellow eyes. 

Shock flickered wildly through the demons as they watched her transformation. To say that they were mesmerized by the most beautiful creature they had seen, was an understatement. They were thunderstruck. When Iona looked up and let out a dangerous howl, they let her go. They knew that she had also scented her mate and nothing could stop her. 

Iona sniffed his scent in the air and loped to the forest to find her mate. To protect him, as he tried to protect him. Ara and the others followed her wordlessly. 

Nose lowered, vision enhanced and feeling feverish, Iona's wolf knew only one thing—she let her wolf rule. There were no rules to follow, no inhibitions and certainly there could be nothing between her and her mate. She ran down the meandering path, in and out of the trees. When she reached the fortress, she caught familiar scents. This couldn't be possible. There was furious mayhem. 

--- 

When the fire arced above them, Ileus knew that it was Anastasia, but all his senses fled when he saw the fae soldiers beating their wings ferociously.. They were led by Yion. 

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