Kissed by Krista Street

Chapter 1

~ WYATT ~

“No! No!” I barreled through the trees in the direction the elf lord had taken Avery. Her scent clung to the breeze, her lilac fragrance as fresh as a newly cut bouquet of flowers.

Behind me, the battle raged at Shrouding Estate. The potent scent of magic filled the air, and screams and shouts from the Fae Guard and SF members carried through the wind.

Amidst the sounds of clanging metal and twisting branches, the earth rumbled when the trees shifted and swayed. The forest fought us, following the elf lord’s bidding as the powerful warlocks cast deadly spells.

We were losing even though an entire battalion had been fighting to protect my mate.

My mate who had just been abducted.

A flash of Avery’s dark hair appeared in the trees. “Avery!” I yelled.

The sight of them disappeared again, and I sprinted faster, frantically searching the thick swamp of trees.

There! The elf lord had stopped. Rage seared my skin when his arms wrapped around her. That glazed look coated her eyes, the thrall from Nicholas’s compulsion still fogging her mind.

I launched myself toward them, a guttural roar bellowing from my lips, but at the last moment, the trees shifted, their branches locking in front of me as they attempted to halt my progression.

I ripped through them, bark and shards of wood cutting into my skin, but the trees fought back, holding me in place even though I hacked and clawed.

My eyes widened when a portal appeared only feet away from the elf lord.

No!

Lord Nelifeum Godasara spun, whispering to Avery before magic flowed from his fingertips and penetrated the skin on her neck.

She gasped, her eyes rolled back, then she slumped against him.

I snarled and exploded through the branches, but new tree limbs twisted and curled around me just as fast, snapping at my ankles and ensnaring my wrists. “Avery!”

A wicked grin streaked across the elf lord’s face. Triumph gleamed in that cruel expression.

We made eye contact, and a tidal wave of my alpha magic shot off me, shredding the trees encasing me.

The elf lord stepped into the portal with Avery in his arms.

“NO!” I launched myself the remaining ten feet of distance, arcing through the air in one giant leap.

But the portal closed, the elf and Avery disappearing into it, and all that was left was a rustle of leaves and the sway of trees as the magical door faded.

I slid on the dirt right where they’d stood only a second before, my knees collapsing as disbelief coursed through me.

That didn’t just happen.

That did not just happen.

But it had.

“No! Fuck! No!” I slammed my fist into the ground.

I leaned back on my haunches, and a howl of fury coupled with fear tore from my lips. My wolf stretched my skin, his hairs sprouting through the backs of my hands. My fingers plunged through my hair, yanking on the strands as terror coiled inside me. Where did they go? Where had he taken her? How do I get her back? And how did this happen?

My heart beat erratically, like a thundering beast raging inside me. How?

Avery had been seconds away from safety. I’d just handed her off to an SF member whose job had been to whisk her back to headquarters, on earth, and safe from the elf lord that hunted her. I knew there was a health risk by her leaving the fae realm, but I’d been willing to take that chance since being captured by the elf lord was so much worse.

But we’d failed. I’d failed. He’d taken her after all.

I ripped at my hair again, trying to process my colossal mistake. Lord Godasara had come from out of nowhere and snatched Avery right from our hands. We hadn’t even known he was there.

My fist pounded into the earth again, the skin on my knuckles splitting from the impact as a terrible primal scream ripped from my throat.

The sound of it cut through the forest, sailed through the breeze, and rocketed to the stars.

I’d failed. Failed so badly.

Avery had been taken.

I hadn’t kept her safe.

“Wyatt!” Bavar flew through the trees, running at full tilt. Wild eyes met mine. “Where is she?” He came to a sudden stop beside me, swinging around in a circle, his dagger in one hand, a sword in the other. Blood streaked across his face and through his hair. “Where’s Avery?”

“He . . . he took her.” My entire body shook, and my chest heaved. It still didn’t seem real. None of this could be real.

Bavar’s face paled.

Inside my chest, my wolf howled, his rage firing through me.

More hairs sprouted on the backs of my hands. Heat shimmered over my skin. My bones crunched. Fire licked my insides.

In an explosion of magic, I leapt from the ground and shifted. My huge wolf landed on all fours on the forest floor. Snarls and vicious growls tore from his throat.

The elf took our mate.

He’d taken her to some location we didn’t know.

And the pain that thought provoked . . .

My wolf tilted his head back and howled again. The long agonizing sound flew from his throat with so much pain and raw fury that Bavar backed up.

“Wyatt, we’ll find her. We’ll get her back—”

My wolf tore past him, his paws thundering on the ground as blood lust consumed his thoughts.

Kill.

Destroy.

Torture.

The warlocks would pay for what they’d done. They would die. My wolf would tear apart their limbs. He would devour their entrails.

The world became a blur. Streaks of twisting branches and fluttering blue leaves flew past our sides. The forest didn’t try to stop us. The trees’ limbs had grown completely still.

The second we reached Shrouding Estate, the stench greeted us—smoke, magic, blood, and scorched skin, yet nobody was fighting.

Pentacles of ruined rubble lay on the castle’s west side. Only three of the castle’s wings had survived the battle.

“Where did they go?” someone shouted.

The Fae Guard and SF members breathed heavily, bewildered expressions on their faces.

I blew past them, searching for the warlocks, hunting for the men who’d taken my mate. I circled the castle again and again. Pursuing. Chasing. Raging.

But they were gone.

“Wyatt!” Bavar called again. He blurred to my side, a sorrowful expression rippling across his features. “You need to shift back. You need to gain control!”

But my wolf was too far gone.

He wouldn’t listen.

Rage soaked every cell of our being, and the need to kill and maim those who’d hurt my mate consumed us.

SF members leaped out of the way when we surged past them. The Fae Guard that was still standing, limped to anything that would support them.

My wolf circled the perimeter of the estate again and again and again. His form became a blur, his massive body a streak of magic and despair.

But nothing remained to destroy.

Not one warlock.

My wolf ground to a halt on paws shredded from stone chips and shards of glass. But we welcomed the pain. We deserved nothing less. Another howl ripped from my wolf’s chest.

And it was only when the realization hit us that there was nobody to kill, that my wolf’s frenzied mind finally allowed me to shift back to human.

In a flurry of twisted limbs, I reappeared, crouched to the ground, my body naked and streaked with blood. Bavar was there in an instant, draping his cloak over my back.

But my chest still heaved, and my insides roiled.

Avery was gone, and nothing I had done had kept her safe.