Seduced by Power by Alex Lux

me off of Rose, but Bankun didn't release her, twisting to face this new threat. Blake punched him in the face, and I felt the blow. For the first time, I cheered Blake on, hoping he killed me if it meant saving Rose.
    Rose reached for the vial, grasped it in her hands and opened it.
    The scent of roses filled the room.
    Blake locked his arms in place, and Rose leaned up, still pinned but stretching herself to pour the vial into my mouth.
    The scent seemed to repel Bankun. He fought harder, pushing at them with his own power. With a blast of white light, he threw Blake across the room, knocking him unconscious.
    The vial fell from Rose's hand and spilled into the carpet, lost to us both.
    With Blake out of the way and the oil no longer a threat, Bankun returned his attention to Rose, who raised her fists, ready to fight though she had no chance of winning.
    Once again, he used my hand to punch someone I loved. Rose's head clunked against the floor, but she held on to consciousness and shifted enough to knee me in the balls. Bankun and I both felt that.
    Just not enough.
    Another fist to the kidney, and she screamed in pain.
    He pulled at her clothes, until she wore nothing but panties and a bra.
    A back hand across the face when she resisted.
    A twist of her arm with a sickening snap.
    Using my hand, he reached for her panties.
    No. No. No.
    NoNoNoNoNo!
    Anger. Rage. Blinding and complete. I dug deeper, finding my wolf, finding my power, using my love for Rose to feed my strength. I would die before I let him do this to her.
    I growled, howled, forced myself to shift.
    At first it was all in my head.
    Then my body began to transform.
    As it did, as nail turned to claw and skin to fur, my wolf took back control, no longer under the spell of the demon, and pulled away from Rose.
    She moaned, bruised and beaten and in pain, and scooted herself to the wall, shivering.
    My wolf form retreated, and at my center, I found my power, hidden and weak, but still there, pulsing with a blue light. I reached for it, begging it to help me, then slammed it against Bankun, pushing and pushing, forcing him out of my body.
    Rose came closer to me, her face a mask of pain, and held up her hand, covered in red. "Derek, are you there? I know you're fighting. We need to banish him."
    Bankun still fought me, inflicting injury on Rose as she touched my forehead with her blood, drawing some sort of symbol. Her eyes glowed white, and she poured her power into me, but this time, instead of feeding on my soul, it fed on the demon inside.
    Bankun spoke through me. "No! You bitch, how dare you!"
    "I learned my lessons, Bankun. Your brother was a good teacher, even if unintentionally. You are banished to the hell of your own making as I absorb your power and cast you out of Derek."
    What? She had to take his power?
    I backed her up with my wolf, who still had half control of my body, while Bankun struggled against me.
    The walls shook, the air pressure dropping. Bankun screamed in me and through me. Rose spoke in a language I didn't understand, her eyes glowing brighter.
    Thunder roared and then the room went silent.
    We collapsed to the floor, the world flipping in on itself.
    I lifted my hand, flexing it, and it obeyed me. When I opened my mouth to speak, my own words came out. "Rose, I love you more than life."
    With a bloody mouth, she smiled. "Derek! I love you, too."

T WENTY
     
Our Fears Do Make Us
     
R OSE
     

     
     
    When our actions do not,
    Our fears do make us traitors.
    — William Shakespeare, Macbeth
     
     
    WE HAD TO move, to check on the others, to make sure Bankun's enthrall had been destroyed when he was banished back to the demon dimension, but I didn't want to let go of Derek. He was himself again. No taint of demon, no stench of blood lust, just the love of my life in the flesh. My broken arm rested across his stomach, the warmth of his body comforting despite the pain radiating through my bones.
    He kissed the top of my head that