I slithered free of the chains and flung myself at her, tackling her to the ground. She batted at me with one arm, her fear and anger taking over. I grabbed her hand and pinned it to the ground then grasped the locket around her neck and yanked. It came free.
She screamed again and struggled. It was easy keeping her pinned. Lucky for me, her emotions made it hard for her to concentrate her magic enough for an attack. Without that magic, she was almost human weak. Her strength was no match for my vampire enhanced one.
I grabbed her hair and banged her head against the ground, once. Twice. Until she was unconscious.
The smell of blood pulled at me. Hunger bringing out my fangs as I eyed her pulse. Her blood smelled like dandelions and grass. Saliva pooled in my mouth and I leaned down toward her neck.
“It’s about time you made your move,” Liam said next to me.
I jolted forward, scrambling off the witch.
He stood relaxed next to us, already turning his focus on the draugr and the two wolves.
I looked between him and where he was supposed to be lying unconscious on the ground. “How are you? I thought—Weren’t you unconscious a second ago?”
He gave me a roguish smile, the expression turning his face almost sinfully handsome. “A second-class witch isn’t enough to take me down.”
Well, excuse me. It had certainly looked like she had. That’s usually what people assume when someone is lying motionless on the ground.
“The sorcerer seemed to think the mark wouldn’t disperse without your direct involvement,” he continued, ignoring my glare. “I just manipulated events for the outcome I desired. Now that you’ve obtained the locket by yourself, there shouldn’t be a problem with fulfilling your end of the bargain.”
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t know whether to believe him or call shenanigans. If what he said was true, he’d taken an awfully big risk with my life. He could have just knocked her unconscious, freed me and then let me retrieve the items.
He gave her a distasteful glance. “I didn’t expect you to try to antagonize her to death or for it to take that long.”
He was one to talk. He was absolutely no help. Maybe next time he could do something besides just lie there while everyone else takes care of things. Not just pick apart how I did things.
We turned towards the wolves and draugr.
The tide had turned against Brax. He was out numbered and no matter how much damage he did to the draugr, it refused to go down.
He grabbed one of its arms and jerked, whipping his head violently. The flesh ripped. Before he could finish tearing the arm off, Victor barreled into him, knocking him away.
Brax lowered his head and bared his teeth, his eyes shining with Victor’s death.
“Shouldn’t you help him?” I asked.
“It’s wolf business.”
“Didn’t the draugr kill a few vampires?” I asked. “What’s the rest of the city going to say when they find out it was the wolves who avenged the dead? That the vampires stood idly by while the alpha fought?”
He gave me a glare and snarled, “Fine. I’ll help the damn alpha.”
I chuckled. Heh, so easy.
While Liam joined the fight in a blur of speed, dealing brutal bunches and kicks to both the draugr and Victor, I limped over to the remains of Victor’s clothes.
Where, oh where, was the watch fob?
I picked through the pile, feeling in the pockets, tossing aside the keys and rifling through a wallet.
There was a pained yelp. The brown and white wolf that was Victor dodged unsuccessfully as Brax’s dark gray one drove him to the ground, latching onto the throat and holding on. The light in Victor’s eyes faded as the white and gray wolf whipped its head back and forth. Blood sprayed and a piece of the brown wolf’s throat came away in the other wolf’s mouth.
Victor was dead.
The draugr threw its head back and roared. Liam faltered, turning towards the wolf. Brax shook his head and hopped and jumped as if something had bitten him. Tremors shook his body as he turned towards Liam, the fur on his back standing up. He dropped his head into a hunting position and crouched.
My hands felt something hard in the pocket of the shirt I was holding. I fumbled inside. My hands clutched something hard that was attached to a chain.
