“It’s okay to need me, love.” His fingertips ran softly across her cheeks.
She glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching, and Finn moved to completely block her from view. “Let’s get this done,” Lizzy mumbled.
Her body was already reacting to his close proximity. Finn was a dangerous combination of protective, considerate, possessive, and hot. Throw a compulsive need to suck on his neck into the mix, and no, Lizzy couldn’t help getting all hot and bothered. She shook her head and chastised herself. “Focus, Liz.” She leaned in, drawn by the intoxicating pulse throbbing beneath his jaw.
Finn chuckled, the sound a low rumble in his chest that vibrated through her. He tilted his head, offering her better access, his gaze never leaving hers.
Lizzy hesitated for a heartbeat, her wolf battling with the primal hunger clawing at her senses. Then, with a growl deep in her chest, she sank her fangs into the warm flesh of his neck.
The world exploded in a rush of sensation. Finn’s blood, hot and sweet, flooded her mouth, sending a jolt of pure pleasure through her veins. The vampire in her reveled in the taste, the sheer power coursing through her with every drop. But it was the wolf, possessive and fiercely protective, that sighed with contentment, its need fulfilled on a level that transcended the physical.
Lizzy drank deeply, her body trembling with the effort of holding back, of not taking more than she needed. Finn, ever the steadfast anchor, simply held her, his fingers threading through her hair, grounding her in the moment.
When the initial rush subsided, Lizzy forced herself to pull back, her fangs scraping reluctantly against his skin. She touched her tongue to the wound, sealing it with a hiss of air, her gaze never leaving Finn’s.
His eyes, usually the warm brown of melted chocolate, were nearly black, pupils blown wide with a mixture of pain and something else—something raw and possessive that sent a shiver down her spine. “Better?” he rasped, his voice rough.
Lizzy nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat. It wasn’t just the blood, though that did make her feel invincible, like she could tear down mountains with her bare hands. It was the intimacy, the raw need that passed between them, a silent language spoken with bared fangs and pounding hearts.
“Come on, love,” Finn murmured, his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her bottom lip. “Let’s go paint this compound red.”
With a wicked grin that mirrored his own, Lizzy headed back to the group, ready to unleash hell.
Dain and Disir moved forward, balls of light forming in their hands. “In about ten feet, we’ll be out of the sound barrier we created, so be ready,” Dain said.
“Let your wolf come forward, Lizzy,” Finn told her as he phased into his beast. “Phase enough to have claws out and use them ruthlessly.”
Lizzy thought about how Finn had taught her to call on her wolf and to let the beast know what she needed. A second later, instead of normal human nails, she bore sharp claws that would shred a human’s flesh like a knife through butter. Her teeth elongated into fangs that could rip a throat out. Finn’s bloodcoursed through her, giving her strength. As they picked up the pace and began to run at full speed, Lizzy realized that she was running faster than everyone else. She had to slow down to keep from leaving Finn behind.“That’s interesting,”she told him.
“Don’t get cocky, Lizzy.”Finn growled, letting his worry for her safety invade their bond.
“I just found you. I will not jeopardize that,”she assured him.“So don’t let me die, and I won’t let you die.”She heard his chuckle in her mind, and the warmth of his love came through the bond.
Suddenly, a swarm of fae and vampire guards burst forth from the compound to meet their advance. They came at a run, the fae occasionally illuminated by balls of light they were conjuring. Lizzy let her fury fuel her as she tore into them, fangs and claws shredding any who dared cross her path. She had vengeance to reap. All around her, Lizzy heard the cries and shouts of battle. She smelled the stench of blood and fear, thick and cloying, clinging to the night air—a testament to the horrors Cain had unleashed upon the world. Lizzy, a maelstrom of fury and grief, let out a guttural roar, a promise of retribution for every innocent life lost to the monstrous hybrids. She didn’t give herself time to worry about all the hybrids that had managed to flee the compound and were terrorizing innocents around the country.
Finn shoved her to the side, and she watched as he lunged at a fae who’d been about to impale her while she’d been focused on a hybrid. The strength of the hybrids was as deadly as the magic of the fae. Lizzy took a quick glance around to see how everyone else fared. She trusted Finn to keep her safe.
Lizzy saw Fane, a whirlwind of claws and fangs, carve a path through the throng of vampires and rogue fae guarding the compound. Jacque, right beside her mate, fought with a grace and ferocity that made Lizzy’s chest swell with pride. To her left,Dillon tore through the enemy ranks like a force of nature, his every blow echoing with righteous fury.
Costin, Wadim, and Zara moved as one in their wolf forms. Their actions were a brutal ballet of gnashing teeth and swiping razor-sharp claws. One would dart in and take out a knee, while another would pounce from behind, and then the third would rip out the throat. It was gruesome and beautiful all at the same time.
Kale stood beside his blind mate while she worked some sort of gypsy magic. Much like the fae, she could send out bolts of power that knocked the enemy down long enough for one of their pack to dispatch it. Kale could get most of them, though Drake was there guarding her other side and taking out any who got within his reach.
Lizzy whipped around and ducked, just missing the claws of a werewolf.“I got him,”Finn told her through the bond. She continued to check and make sure none of theirs had been injured. Lizzy might have only been a part of this pack for a very short time, but she already cared for them.
She caught sight of Nick across the battlefield close to the gates. Lizzy was impressed with the way he fought and prayed that he would remain uninjured. He was going to be a dad. And if something happened to him, then Lizzy would lose Kara again. That was unacceptable. Nick fought with a controlled savagery that spoke of years of training and proper battles under his belt. He moved like a predator and was ruthless in his kills.
Her attention turned to Myanin, the crazy-ass djinn. Her magic was gone from what Lizzy had learned, yet her spirit appeared unbroken. She fought with a warrior’s heart beside her mate Gerick. His warlock magic flickered like an inferno against the night. Disir and Dain, the two high Fae, were precise with every strike of their magic as their hands shot out flashes of light, incinerating vampires and knocking fae off their feet,none of which stood back up. Lizzy thought they actually had more than a snowball’s chance in hell of taking Cain and this whole compound down. They were winning and steadily gaining ground.
Lizzy, fueled by this realization and a potent cocktail of werewolf strength and vampire speed, became a blur of motion, her senses heightened, every strike precise and deadly. She felt Finn’s presence beside her, a steady heartbeat in the chaos, his strength a counterpoint to her own. They moved as one, their bond made even stronger by the blood he freely gave to her, an unbreakable tether in the heart of the storm.
They finally breached the gates and were less than twenty feet from the double doors that would lead them inside. The compound, once a place of twisted experiments, became a battleground, the air thick with the scent of blood and magic. Lizzy, her vision tinged red, fought her way toward the doors, drawn by the insidious pull of Cain’s dark power. She could feel it like a thrumming in her veins.
After getting through the glass doors, they were met with an onslaught of fae magic.
“Hit the deck!” Thad yelled.
Without hesitation, Lizzy was on the ground as flat as she could make herself. She watched in fascination as the fae flew back, slamming into the floor with resounding thuds. They didn’t get up. Whatever magic Thad wielded, it was a type you didn’t come back from. As she stood up, she glanced behind her to see the djinn leaning against Jezebel, his mate. His face was strained.
