THE HYBRID'S MATE, sterek [book 01] ✔

xxvii. rebirth of the phoenix

↱                                                                                   ↰

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐘𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃'𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺-𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯: 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘹

↳                                                                                   ↲

One Month Later

     REMEMBER HOW I SAID that danger was on the way? Well, it's here.

     Everything is burning. Pack members are laying on the burnt ground. They're either out cold or dying. We haven't had the chance to check. Too busy fighting off this goddamn Phoenix. Not all of them are bad, but this one is just corrupt. All it wants is Power and total supremacy. It thinks it's more powerful than three Packs, and, right now, it's right.

     It roars and grins at me, its eyes burning amber and challenging me. I snarl at the beast, my own eyes burning their deep purple, the silver more prominent than ever. We have learnt that the silver only does this in extreme situations. It's my Fox side - my Nogitsune half - coming out and giving me a Power boost.

     Over the past month I have also learnt that I have the ability to share my Power with the Packs, and also take their Power. Right now, I need their Power. I take it from those passed out and feel my Power almost double, my eyes burning brighter and my muscles spasming under my skin. I flex my fingers and grin at the Phoenix.

     It's in trouble now.

     I half Shift and feel my teeth elongate, my ears doing the same. The Phoenix roars angrily at me and charges, its entire body covered in flames. I return to ferocious roar, but stand my ground. I know what it's going to do now. I've been studying its actions and attack patterns for the past hour. It's stupid enough to have one.

     Animals don't need an attack pattern if they listen to their instincts.

     As it reaches me, I step to the side and spin. I bury my claws into its back and yank my arm back, dragging it backwards and sending it back into a small clump of trees. The trees catch alight and I internally groan. More fire to put out. It roars in anger and moves faster than ever, darting towards me with fury alright in its eyes.

     It grabs my arm and burns me as it spins me around, making my head tighten. I growl and use the momentum to go faster and knock it off its feet. It lands on the ground and I pull its arm hard. A loud crack fills the silence and is followed by a howl of pain. I land on the ground and roll as best I can, my hands running through the leaf litter to find the Chinese Ring Dagger than Allison dropped.

     My hand closes around the handle and I rock back onto my feet. I slip my pointer finger through the hole and spin the blade, wrapping my hand around the hilt comfortably as it hits my palm again. I have had plenty of practice with these, and Allison was more than happy to help me train. They actually aren't that hard to learn to be honest.

     Everything happens so quickly.

     The Phoenix launches itself at me, its arm hanging awkwardly at its side, and wings spread out behind it. Pure fire. I push my fear to the side and let my animal side control me, ignoring the cries from the Packs surrounding me. I push off from the ground and feel the heat from the fire burn my exposed skin.

     The pain rockets through me, but I barely pay attention to it. My anger overrides the pain. I kick the Phoenix in the head and, while it's disorientated, I drive the Chinese Ring Dagger into its heart. More pain explodes within my body, but I push it to the side and bury the dagger further into the Phoenix, making sure that it dies.

     A piercing cry leaves the Phoenix's open mouth and every Pack member covers their ears. I wince and hold the dagger in place, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to block out the cry. I jerk the dagger quickly to the side and the cry stops abruptly, the Phoenix going stiff for a second before falling backwards and dragging me with it.

     I pull the dagger out and stagger to my feet, wincing as pain flares in my abdomen. I ignore it and look at the Packs surrounding me. Derek's eyes are glowing red and full of fear and horror, and a hint of pride. Everyone else has similar emotions covering their faces and in their eyes, but the main emotion is horror. That's what confuses me.

     "What's the matter?" I ask, looking around at them all. 

     Derek stands and limps over to me. "Stiles, you're hurt. Badly."

     "What?"

     I look down at my abdomen and then everything makes sense. Their worry; their fear; their horror. The pain rocketing through me like there's no tomorrow. Well, there may not be a tomorrow for me. It's pretty bad looking if I say so myself. By the looks on their faces, it's not just me that says it looks bad.

     There is blood covering the entirety of my lower shirt, but that's not all. There's an arm sized hole straight through my body, and the flesh around it is burnt beyond recognition, and so are a few of my organs. That's why it hurts so much, and why there's not that much blood. When the Phoenix caused the wound, it cauterised the wound at the same time.

     I look up at Derek. "We need to get to Deaton and Chris. Now."

     As soon as I say that, everything goes black and screams fill my ears.