Ch 12 fight to the finish

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:::content warning – Violence, death:::

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Coen was fighting as hard as he could, Callen too. Every time they killed a wolf or warform or walker, another appeared. They were both running out of strength, and so focused on their link and fighting together that they couldn't hear anyone else.

A wolf jumped at Callen's back while he was engaged with a warform, Coen was facing two and couldn't stop it from attacking. Suddenly, there was a shimmer of shadow and a flash of silver and the wolf's body landed in three pieces at their feet. Trinity stood between him and two shadow walkers. Surprisingly, the attackers back off, leaving the three youths standing back-to-back facing out in the middle of a ring of a dozen wolves and three shadow walkers.

A female shadow walker stepped forward, "You were clever pretending to be humans so you could get close enough to rescue the others, hybrid, but your luck has run out. Surrender and I'll let the wolves live." The three with her sneered.

"Who hunts me?" Trinity demanded.

"Lord Malak of the Dark Shadow. Our master only wants you to punish your grandfather for letting you be born." The closest vampire revealed. "You are coming with us one way or another."

Both Coen and Callen growled protectively, Trinity eyed their attackers coolly. "No thank you, I prefer to stay with my mate, like you." Suddenly, Trinity jumped on the male walker, sinking her teeth into his throat, as Coen and Callen lunged with her, protecting her, scattering the wolves by him. Her eyes glowed as she hissed the word obey, then she lifted her fangs from his flesh and pushed him down on the ground. In disdain, she spat the taste of his blood from her mouth.

The female shadow walker laughed, mocking, "You foolish girl, you can't..." Then she gasped, "No, it's not possible."

In the other walkers's memories, Trinity had seen these two mocking her brother as he wept holding a small girl. Now, they would pay for their evil.

"You turned my brother into a shadow walker, but you won't turn me." Trinity glared malevolently, as she responded in a deep, husky voice, "Malak didn't tell you why he wanted me, did he? His own granddaughter sent to her death, and he didn't even tell you what you faced." She let her shadow radiate the power she carried and leaned down to the one she bit. "I am to be a queen... Stand up, slave, you are to kill that female or die for the children you've both harmed. Feel their suffering and share it with her." Trinity purred.

"Yes, my queen," murmured the shadow walker as he stalked purposely toward Malak's granddaughter.

"No, no, you're my beloved, stop," She pled but his eyes held no recognition of her. She turned and fled, he pursued. The remaining shadow walker stared at Trinity terrified, then vanished in a shimmer of shadows. The screeching of battling shadow walkers began in the distance.

Coen's warform growled something that sounded like a chuckle and the other wolves stepped back. Callen howled a challenge. Trinity just smiled with them, and flipped one of her silver swords in the air, catching as she looked around at the warforms and wolves. She smiled sweetly as blood dripped down her face. "My mate and his brother want to know who's next?"

They moved as one, attacking the wolves and warforms. Coen's warform was as large or larger than the ones they face, and even though Callen's was slightly smaller is stature he made up for it in ferocity and skill. Trinity blurred and slashed. Her silver swords creating burning slices in the hides of those who weren't quick enough to evade. Callen snarled tossing a reddish wolf in the air to Trinity. She lunged upward, cutting it in half. One of her swords broke so she scooped up a mace that one of the warforms dropped when Coen ripped its heart out, spinning around she crushed the skull of a wolf that bit Callen's leg. After several minutes, the three teens reduced their attackers to four. A large, scarred man lumbered out of the trees, with the three-remaining shadow walkers. Lord Malak had yet to make an appearance. There was less than an hour till sunrise.

"So, we meet again, alpha pup. You fight well, now time to die," Fang announced.

Coen shifted into his mortal form and glared at the man who hurt his sister. His voice icy calm, "We know who you are, the criminal exile Sigmund Fangston. My sister talking to the Guardians as we speak. You are going to pay for what you've done."

Callen, still in his warform, growled, and Trinity stared at him. Her eyes dilated black, both wishing they could kill him but know Coen already claimed his blood by rights as eldest.

Fang sneered, "The master just wanted the hybrids, and we wanted a few to sell. But your mate wasn't at the party as we were told she would be. I must say though I did enjoy my time with your sister, I will get her back after I kill you. She will be my luna or die. I, Fang, son of the Icemaw vow it."

Callen vibrated with anger, but Coen seemed surprisingly calm. However, Trinity knew it was an illusion, through their bond, his rage felt like a volcanic eruption. She knew he would kill Fang before the sun rose.

"I do not think so," Coen answered slowly, "Neither she nor her child will ever be seen by you again. I, Coen, firstborn of the Darkwood, swear it, and I call for your blood for hurting my mate and raping my sister."

As Coen shifted back into his warform and lunged, Fang jumped behind a walker while he was shifting. Coen's claws ripped the throat from the obstacle, tossing it aside like a doll, in his rage to get at Fang. The four wolves attacked Callen together as Trinity battled the two shadow walkers. She cut off one's hand as it clawed at her, then used the mace to bring him to his knees. She resisted her demoness's urge to bite him and force obedience, she only had venom enough for one bit left and she might need it. As she decapitated him, the other threw her against a tree. She shimmered away as he struck the tree and it exploded from the impact. Coen and Fang grappled and torn at one another, neither getting the advantage, the ground shook as they collided. Callen stepped over two of the wolves dead at his feet, but the last warform was fighting hard against him. Two more wolves arrived and charged toward Callen.

In a blur, a shadow walker tackled Trintiy again. She flew past Callen, twisting to strike and killing one of the wolves before landing in the grass. Jumping up, she returned to attacking the shadow walker. He backed away slightly from the ferocity of her attack. Both wielding swords, striking and blocking, never drawing blood as their swords rang in the morning like bells.

"You're good, daughter of Bloodstone, but not good enough," he hissed.

"And yet you fail to slay me," Trinity growled, pushing her attack, "Submit or die, shadow walker, the Master of the Dark Shadow has been revealed. My Great-Aunt Levena and the Lords will punish your coven for trying to cause a war with the Werewolves."

"Perhaps, Princess, but not before I present him with you," he feinted and dodged easily. "Then I shall retrieve your brother from the dogs and teach him to be a proper shadow walker."

She screamed and lunged, "You'll never touch him again!"

Trinity didn't realize he was luring her away from Coen and Callen until it was too late. They were in a clearing where the female vampire was holding the body of her dead mate, Lord Malak stood beside her. Before any could react, Trinity leapt past the one she was fighting with, planting her sword in the back of the female's neck, ripping the blade sideways and removing her head. Her rage over what had been done to Gabe made her foolish. As she yanked to sword free, a cold hand wrapped around her throat. With his other hand, Lord Malak seized her wrist, forcing her to drop her sword. His power surged into her body, freezing her muscles, but they twitched as she fought. He frowned, looking down at the body of his dead granddaughter and her mate.

Trinity followed his eyes and her shadow grinned for a moment, hissing, "Weaklings."

"You made him obey," Malak asked coldly. When Trinity didn't answer, he shook her, "Didn't you?!" he roared.

"Yes," came her strangled reply.

"So my ancient nemesis has born a queen into his coven, and a hybrid queen at that," he smiled malevolently, "Such an atrocity has never existed in the history of our kind... And so powerful for one so young. "

He shifted his grasp from her neck to her shoulder, "I, Lord Malak of the Dark Shadows, claim you, Trinity of the Bloodstone, you may serve me, or die resisting. Either way, I win." Then she screamed as he plunged his fangs into her neck.

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His venom burned in her veins while in her soul her mortal, wolf, and shadow fought together to resist submitting to the ancient demon. They vowed not to be his. Chain of shadow wrapped the parts of her soul trying to subdue them for every one they broke, another appeared. Each one was made up of the terror of Malak's previous victim and the horror of their last moments.

The circle of light the parts of Trinity's soul shared grew smaller as Malak's malevolent laughter grew louder. Her wolf was completely wrapped as her shadow wrapped herself around her mortal part to protect her from being killed. Unable to free her body as she was tortured with images and sensations of centuries of murderous horrors, Trinity screamed. Her wolf struggled to break free as her shadow began to change under the weight of thousands of chains.

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Coen stood over the dead body of Fang. He howled in victory, then turned to help his brother who was facing eight wolves on his own. They fight in tandem. Callen flipped one in the air with his powerful jaws, Coen drove it into the ground with his claws, severing its spine. Callen swiped at the one leaping through the air at his brother's back, disemboweling it. Coen stomped on one crushing its shoulder as it snapped at Callen's leg. They panted. Blood dripped from their fur and their wounds, but they refused to yield. They were fighting to avenge their sister, and Trinity's brother, who was a baby brother to them, and all those killed or maimed or sold by this evil group. They were fighting to avenge innocence destroyed when a voice of ancient power echoed through the trees, "Enough, dogs! Surrender or she dies."

"Mate," growled Coen's warform.

Callen snarled beside him. Both were covered in blood and gore from their night-long battle. As one, they faced the ancient demon, the master shadow walker who masterminded so much evil. He was holding Trinity by the shoulder like she weighed nothing. His talons dug into her flesh, with blood leaking from around them and from the bite on her neck. Her dazed black eyes stare blankly as her body twitched.

"Yield or she dies," Lord Malak declared.

Realizing his helplessness, Coen trembled for a moment, then slowly dropped to one knee, fighting every instinct he had as an alpha to save his mate. Callen growled ferally, refusing. Lord Malak sneered and shook Trinity violently, she groaned when he stopped. Coen's wolfhead snapped at Callen, who grudgingly mimicked his brother. Their green eyes shined fiercely with hatred for Malak as they showed their mouths of war. Blood-stained teeth shone pale in bloody maws. Unafraid, the master smiled coldly and dropped Trinity in a heap on the ground at his feet. She twitched and moaned. Coen couldn't stop the slight whine that escaped his throat. He would bellycrawl to her if the vampire demanded it. He could feel her weakening with every passing second. He pressed the mate-bond, but could only hear her screams.

"Well, it is good to know that the sons of the Darkwood know who their master should be," Malak started. Callen growled, but Coen just stared at Trinity. "Shift now, dogs," Malak ordered.

In moments, they were back in their mortal forms. The teenagers were bloody and wounded.

"Give me my mate," Coen' words come out with a growl.

Malak narrowed his eyes as he taunted him, "Don't you have manners, dog?"

Callen snarled and almost shifted, but Coen's hand on his arm restrained him. In a softer voice Coen asked, "May... May I have my mate, please?"

Malak sneered then he kicked Trinity over to them. She landed with a thump in the grass. Her eyes were glazed over as she convulsed. Coen gathered her up in his arms. He felt the internal battle as she fought not to be overcome by the ancient master's demon. Her wolf and her shadow, struggled to save them, refusing to submit to the great evil threatening to kill them. His wolf howled to help them, sending his strength surging protectively through their bond. Malak had bit her, trying to dominate her and she was dying in Coen's arms because she refuses to serve him or his evil.

'Fight Trin, I know you can win, just don't give up.' Coen pled as his wolf's soul tried to rip the shadow chains from its mate.

'Coen!' she sobbed, 'I'm not going to make it... He's too strong for us, we can't break his control.' Her mortal and her shadow were being squeezed by the chains like a mouse by a snake as her wolf struggled to free itself from the metaphysical chains.

She convulsed in his arms, and whispered quietly through the link, 'I love you.'

Pushing his strength through his wolf into hers, Coen pressed his lips to hers, 'I love you Trinity, I always will.'

To Callen, he ordered, 'Protect her, brother.'

'Don't be stupid Coen, he's a master!' Callen shot back, looking desperately into his twin's eyes.

'He will not kill my mate,' Coen declared firmly, then he pushed her into Callen's arms. Trinity moaned because she sensed his arms were no longer around her.

Callen gaped because Coen turned and shifts into his warform Faster than he thought possible as he lunged at Malak. His claws striking the shadow walker, but instead of biting his neck, he bites Malak's shoulder. They land hard on the ground. They roll over into a tree, smashing against it, knocking the bark off and splintering the wood. Coen reared back to bite Malak again, as Malak's claws tore at his arms and chest. Coen clamped down on his arm as they roll back onto the grass.

Internally, the shadow chains slackened ever so slightly, as her strengthened wolf shook free her bonds and jumped toward her shadow and her mortal, knocking them loose. Trintiy gasped and sat up in Callen's arms, her eyes clear. Through their mate bond, she felt Coen dying. "No!" she choked out, as her head whipped toward Coen and Malak.

Malak jerked his arm to the side and bit Coen, who roars in pain as Trinity screams his name but he doesn't weaken his attack. Both drip with their blood and the blood of their enemy as they continue to battle. Finally, a weakened Coen managed to get his canines into Malak's shoulder, shaking him violently, and partially tearing his arm off, as Malak bites him a second time, "Die, dog!"

Malak kicked with his leg, throwing a limp Coen off him, and away. The warform rolled across the grass. He lifted his head weakly and whimpered, looking in Trinity's eyes before he collapsed, shifting back into his mortal form. Callen and Trinity scrambled to him and rolled him over.

"Brother!" Callen clutched his brother's hand to his chest as he felt his brother's heart failing. Coen's flesh hung off his body in ribbons, black lines radiated out from the venom in the two bites on his neck. Trinity cradled Coen's head against her chest, choking out silent screaming sobs because she couldn't heal him. Her tears fell on his face. Coen clutched his brother's hand, willing his alpha wolf's power to go into him. "My heir, my brother."

Coen's emerald eyes faded as Trinity looked into them. "Love you... my... queen." Coen's final breath wheezed out the last two words.

Trinity screamed, "Nooo!" as her wolf howled in her soul, echoing Callen's grief.