He chuckled, keeping the sound low. “I’ve got too many plans for you. I’m not dying anytime soon.”
“Could you two stop flirting and pay attention?” Decebel’s nose was lifted in the air, and he took several deep breaths.
Note to self, don’t chuckle out loud while hunting vampires. Adam glanced at the beta. Since Decebel had returned from saying goodbye to his mate, there was a noticeable vibe flowing from the man, and it wasn’t a positive one. Adam could practically see Decebel’s aura framing his form in a black shadow. Not that Adam blamed the beta. Leaving Crina behind would suck wolf balls. He didn’t know if he’d be able to do it. It was doubly hard for Decebel, considering what he and Jen had been through. Adam could imagine he would want to take Crina far away from anything and anyone that could harm her so that his mate would have time to heal. And Adam knew it wasn’t only Jen that needed healing. Decebel’s eyes were even more haunted than his mate’s.
Suddenly, Fane came to a stop, and the rest of them put on the brakes, as well. The nose of every Canis lupus went up. Adam looked over at Cyn, and she gave a slight nod. She, too, was using her magic to help shield them from other supernaturals that might be in the area.
“Do you hear that?” Fane’s glowing eyes searched the surrounding buildings.
Adam reached past the city noises, tuning out anything that didn’t seem important. Then he heard it. “It sounds like scurrying rodents … only bigger.” The sound was coming from within a derelict brick building directly in front of them. Suddenly, the sound stopped. A few moments later, it started again behind them.
“Circle,” Fane snapped, and the group turned their backs to one another. They remained motionless, their eyes searching the darkness for any sign of movement.
Adam snapped his fingers, and a short sword appeared in each hand. Crina glanced at him, and he winked at her. Did he need to snap? No. But he liked to show off for her. He enjoyed feeling her excitement through the bond when he did things that surprised her or gave her joy, even in the midst of danger, or maybe especially in the midst of danger.
“Brace yourselves.” Fane growled so low that Adam was sure only their group could have heard him. His human hands now sported wolf's claws, and his mouth was full of sharp canines, bared for the threat coming their way.
Decebel let his wolf take over. His eyesight became sharper, his sense of smell keener as he picked up the scent of urine, trash, putrid flesh, and blood. The hair on his skin rose, and he felt his wolf’s hackles rising, as well. He didn’t stop the subvocal growl that grew in his chest as he tilted his head from side to side, popping the bones in his neck. He was itching for a fight. No, not just a fight. Decebel wanted a battle. He wanted to bathe in the blood of his enemies and bring a trophy home to his mate to lay at her feet, an offering to show her he would vanquish any threat to her and their child. His mate needed help that he couldn’t give her. The battle she was waging was within, a war she kept hidden from everyone but him. And as much as he wanted to fight it for her, he couldn’t. So he would fight the war he could. Decebel would face the enemies he could get his hands on. His rage grew until it finally came out in a roar. “Show yourselves, you bloodsucking cowards!”
“That’s one way to get their attention,” Wadim whispered and shifted next to Decebel.
“No sense in just standing here pussyfooting around.” Decebel’s words were rough because his mouth was no longer quite human.
“You are wolves, Beta,” Adam pointed out. “Not felines. There is no pussy-footing, well I suppose for the fe—”
“I will cut you if you finish that sentence,” Cyn warned.
“And I will laugh as she does,” Thalion, her mate and the newly appointed elf king, said. Decebel didn’t miss the satisfaction in the male’s voice. Apparently, he liked it when his female threatened other males. The beta could relate.
Adam started to respond but went quiet as several doors slammed open. Vampires began pouring out of the buildings, both in front of and behind them. “Finally.” Decebel’s beast rumbled. He salivated at the thought of flesh beneath his teeth. Even if it was disgusting vampire flesh. It was better than nothing.
“You better not get a mark on you.” Jennifer’s sharp voice snapped in his mind. “Only I get the privilege of that.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have left the bond so open. But when he’d told his mate goodbye, she’d threatened to revoke touch privileges if he so much as even shielded the smallest thought. His mate was crazy enough to follow through with her threat, no matter how it would affect her. And it would affect her. She needed his touch as much as he needed hers. So against his better judgement, he left the damn mate bond wide open. She had free rein to roam through his thoughts. His senses would be her senses, if she so wished to use the bond that way. “Wouldn’t dream of it, baby.”
A vampire stepped within his reach. Decebel snapped his teeth at the male, who was grinning as he advanced. The attacker appeared completely deranged and slightly rabid. Decebel didn’t wait for an invitation. He lunged, raking his claws across the male’s chest. The vampire hissed and dropped into a low stance. The monster dodged forward to his left. Then he made a quick twist and turned away from Decebel, doing a full 360-degree turn so that he was moving toward Decebel’s right. When the male faced him again, Decebel saw that he’d pulled two blades and now held them at the ready. It was clear by the way the vamp rotated his wrists that he knew how to use them.
“Anyone else getting the feeling that these bastards weren’t just random humans before they were turned?” Adam called out.
Decebel didn’t dare take his eyes off his opponent to see how the others were faring. He knew the vampire, who kept darting forward and then back, was just waiting for him to make a mistake. But Decebel and his wolf were patient hunters. Even in the middle of a fight, they could wait for the right moment to strike. He noticed the male kept attempting to get Decebel to either step closer and break the circle or to move around Decebel to get into the circle. Not happening, asshat.
Finally, the vamp darted forward with a purpose. He dropped low and swiped out his leg, but Decebel’s wolf was too fast. He jumped, and the leg zipped harmlessly through the air below him. When he touched down, Decebel reached out and grabbed the ankle of the male and jerked him forward. A blade came at his face, but Decebel blocked it, hitting the man’s wrist so hard that he released his grip on the knife, which clattered to the ground. Decebel released the ankle, grabbed the vampire’s other wrist, and gave a sharp turn. A snap of bone and a strangled cry made Decebel smile.
The vampire snarled and slammed his head into Decebel’s. Not a bad maneuver. But the wolf shook it off as easily as if he had been struck with a tennis ball. The beta let his wolf form take over his entire face. His muzzle formed, and Decebel pulled the struggling vampire closer. The monster thrashed, trying to break the beta’s grip, but he wasn’t strong enough. With a snarl, Decebel clamped his teeth around the vamp’s neck. The wolf vigorously shook his head back and forth, like a dog with a chew toy. Decebel felt skin break, ligaments snap, and bones crush until only the spine kept the man’s head attached to his body. Then the beta released one hand, pulled his arm back, and shoved his clawed hand into the chest of the vampire. The sucking sound he heard as he wrapped his fingers around the no-longer-beating heart was music to his wolf's ears. And the sight of the bloody organ held in his grasp when he pulled his arm back made his beast howl in victory. Decebel dropped the now-dead body to the ground and squeezed until the muscle in his hand was nothing but mush.
“You good, B?” Jennifer’s voice was tight.
“I won’t be good until I’ve ripped the heart out of every vampire, and I can lay them all in a row at your feet,” his wolf answered her.
“I suppose I can accept hearts instead of heads. There are pros and cons to each. I can use heads as target practice, but they eventually begin to smell up the place. It’s bad enough when you males come in with wet fur smelling like drenched dogs. We don’t need to add the scent of rotting flesh. Hearts, however, fit in jars, and jars fit on shelves. They’d make a nice display and conversation piece.”
Decebel’s wolf chuckled. “I should probably be a little disturbed by the fact that I know you’re not entirely joking, but my wolf is turned on by your bloodthirstiness. Now leave us be so we can kill.”
He felt her pull back a bit, but she was still a shadow in his mind. The sound of fighting filled his ears as he turned his head from side to side, observing the enemies his comrades faced. He’d been expecting another opponent to take the place of the one he’d killed, but none did.
Jacque fought next to him. He moved to assist her, but she snarled. “Don’t.”
He frowned.
