“Where’s Matteo?” I scanned the woods behind Claude.
“Searching,” Claude growled. “Female,sit down.”
Eve obediently sank to the ground after trying to peer over the bushes.
As much as I wanted to run into the fray, Viktor and Matteo were out there, along with Christian. There was no way in hell I could abandon these kids.
“Put your jacket on,” I said to Eve. “I don’t think poison darts can penetrate jean jackets. It’ll give you an extra layer of protection. Adam was an easy target in a short-sleeved shirt.”
Eve did as she was told and helped her brother into his jacket.
Shepherd touched Adam’s hand again. “If you start to feel funny or have trouble breathing, let me know right away.”
That put a fright on the kid’s face.
Shepherd zipped up his bag and met eyes with me. “They waited until it got warmer so we’d start stripping out of our clothes from all the hiking. Whoever’s out there is fucking smart.”
“Or stupid,” I countered. “We’ve got Chitahs, a Vampire, and a Shifter. They won’t get away.”
Shepherd wiped his sweaty brow. “Maybe they don’t care. And a man who doesn’t care is more dangerous than a patient man.”
Claude lifted the bottom of his black T-shirt and wiped his face. The adrenaline was making us all sweat as we kept our eyes on the woods. “Where’s Christian?” he asked. “Wasn’t he with you?”
I touched the necklace beneath my shirt. “Hopefully killing a lion.”
* * *
After Christiancompulsively branched away from Raven to grab the gum wrapper, he heard two things. The first was Adam cursing before hitting the ground, followed by Eve’s scream. The second was the quickened footfalls of someone on the run.
Knowing the team would be protecting the children, Christian pursued the runner.
Isolating the sound took seconds. He snapped branches that stood in his way and went sailing over fallen limbs. Christian felt strong when he ran, even at human speed. Vampires didn’t tire easily.
When he lost the sound, he skidded to a stop and sharpened his hearing. His heart was still beating at a regular pace, and he held his breath to isolate as much of the sound as possible without internal interference.
Wood snapped in the distance. Christian took off, water splashing beneath his feet when he ran through a small stream. He weaved around fat trees and closed in on the sound. A heartbeat filled his ears, and it was strong.
Not human.
Animal.
Christian’s fangs punched out. The Vampire in him behaved like a separate entity, and surrendering to that raw power was the greatest way to honor the ancient blood coursing in his veins. Seeing Raven fully give herself over to her Vampire nature when she killed the lion had roused a deep admiration within Christian. His blood might have been the push she needed to fully awaken. And she’d looked like a fecking goddess.
Steering his focus back on the lion, he crested a hill and caught sight of the beast. Its tongue hung out as it panted and paced. When it caught sight of Christian, it drew in a deep breath and roared. Predators couldn’t identify a Vampire from afar. It was only when they got close and didn’t pick up a scent that they would flee. From this distance the animal didn’t know who the hell he was dealing with, and right now Christian was wrath.
The two predators stared each other down. In a split second, they collided in a savage attack, and Christian wrapped his arms around its head in a crushing grip. Large teeth sank into his shoulder and back, piercing a nerve and causing him to lose his hold when they hit the ground.
Christian sank his fangs into the lion’s throat and tore open a hole. He could taste a mixture of self-preservation and the desire to kill, but fear was the underlying emotion, and that wasn’t common in a beast like this. Not unless he’d figured out what Christian was.
When he tried to get ahold of the animal’s jaw to rip it off, the lion took off.
“You little shite!”
He sprinted after the animal. Birds evacuated a bush when he tore through it like a tornado. Christian jumped for a branch and swung over a large fallen tree before dropping to the ground. The lion might be able to run faster, but Christian could run for a lot longer. It was only a matter of time.
Then he heard Raven and Claude talking. A wolf snarled, but all Christian could see was a never-ending pathway of trees, vines, and weeds.
“Run!” he shouted, hoping the group would hear him. “Raven, run!”
