"Evan!" I rushed toward him.
"Don't... don't come..." Evan gasped, struggling to rise. "Protect... Kai..."
Drake turned to me, bloodlust in his eyes.
"Your turn, hybrid." He charged.
I raised the gun and fired three times.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But Drake was too fast. He dodged sideways. Bullets struck stone, spraying debris. He scattered my protective detail. Closer. Closer. I could see his fangs. Smell his rot.
Diana screamed inside me. The rage of her stolen pup had been compressed too long. A massive force exploded from within. Bones shifted. Skin tore. Muscles expanded. Fur erupted from beneath my skin.
Brown. Soft. Gleaming amber.
I shifted.
We collided mid-air and hit the ground, rolling in a tangle. He snapped at my throat. I kicked his chest with my front legs, creating distance, dodging his bite. My hind claws raked his belly. Blood spurted.
Drake howled in agony. Pain fueled his rage. His attacks became wild.
Blood. Fur. Furious snarls.
He hurt my child.
He had to die!
I found an opening in his chaotic assault. The fierce battle had drained him. I deliberately exposed a weakness, baiting him to kick with his hind leg, then stomped hard on the joint.
Drake roared. I seized the moment. Clamped my jaws around his nape. With everything I had—
Twisted. Crack. Clean snap of bone.
Drake's body went rigid, then slowly went limp. I released him. He fell, eyes still open but lifeless.
Evan and the warriors still fought the vampires, but the tide had turned. Drake's death sent the vampires into disarray. They retreated.
I shifted back to human form, covered in blood, but I didn't care.
"Kai!" I started toward the pillar.
"Mommy!" He cried. "Mommy..."
"Such a touching reunion." A voice echoed from deep in the mine, sinister and sickly pleased.
I froze. Slowly looked up.
A gaunt figure emerged from the shadow, footsteps echoing in the vast space. He stepped into the firelight. Deathly pale skin. Brooding features. Eyes glowing red.
Finn Blackwood.
He wore a black robe, hands clasped behind his back, a mocking smile on his lips.
He'd changed.
His skin was paler—corpse-white. Eyes blood-red. At the corners of his mouth... fangs barely visible.
