Breathe,Ves.You can do this.
On the third attempt, I am through. The stowaway box contains stacks of cash, passports, and an entire rack full of various handguns and magazines. With no time to be picky, I opt for a small pistol and quickly shove the magazine in its designated compartment, cramming a spare in my pocket before shutting the door.
Multiple snarls from the other side of the window tear through the silent house. I don’t dare to look outside to who—or what—is clashing out there. Clamping one hand over my mouth I remind myself to breathe steadily as I pull back the safety with the other. When I’ve managed to still the rattling in my limbs, I extend my arms, holding the weapon out in front of me, slowly tiptoeing down the stairs.
When I hear shuffling in the kitchen, I force myself to shove down my terror. Thinning my breaths, my index finger slips into position, readying to curl around the trigger the second I turn the corner.
A naked female’s back faces me as she reaches for the phone strapped to the wall, rapidly dialing. Sensing me, she turns over her shoulder, gasping. “Oh, thank the Goddess. It’s you.”
Gemma. I release my breath, retracting my finger and lowering the gun.
Shaking her head, she dials the phone number again. Blood is spattered on her face, caked into her hair. Her nasally voice chokes up. “A rogue just showed out of nowhere. He almost mauled the guys to shreds . . . I’m trying to get a hold of Nell, but there’s no reception. She should be here by now.”
Oh, no.
“Tripp—is he?”
“He’ll bleed out if help doesn’t come.”
Panicking, I snatch the hanging dishtowels. “Where is he? I’ll go and?—”
Gemma’s eyes shift to something over my shoulder. A warm hand clamps over my curled fingers, clutching the gun.
When I try to whirl, another hand clamps over my mouth, cutting off my scream with a rag. The gun clatters to the floor, instantly going off. A bullet launches itself into the wood cabinet, just barely missing the cadet.
“Watch it!” she chides the person who latches on to me tightly as I squirm. But the more I struggle, the thicker and sourer the air becomes. Thrashing does nothing against the strong arms that constrict my ribs.
Gemma pulls open the silverware drawer, grabs a knife, and severs the phone cord. It’s the last thing I see as I’m dragged away, the world spiraling and giving way to black fog.
Axe
My feet thump against the pebbled beach as I race for the compound. The moon glistens above the river, its milky beams highlighting the rippling waters. A faint splash about a hundred yards out flags my attention. One that could only be made by a bobbing head.
This fucker is trying to hide out underwater.
Steering towards the riverbank, I force my legs into overdrive, leaping into the water before the vampire reaches a depth beyond my grasp. Instantly, I’m met with murky visibility and piercing cold pressure. I dive deeper, fighting against the current. And after a few seconds, I see it—the flapping coat.
My teeth clamp down on the vampire’s elbow and I thrust the two of us up to the surface. He writhes and kicks like hell, but my canines only sink further, dragging him to shore. Desperately, he claws for a rock, a stick, anything to fight me off. It never fails to amuse me, watching demons cling to life as if death isn’t something they’ve already come back from. With his next kick, I latch onto his leg and snap it in two. Rotting blood sprays as he bellows and flails. He chokes on the wordpleaseas I plunge into his chest to silence him.
I arrive with the carcass in tow just as a warrior is pulled out from underneath the flailing body of a tawny female lycan, neck impaled by his spear. As she takes her final breath, fur and claws recede, body returning to that of a human.
A few feet away, Solmuk raises his machete to a bludgeoned demon, hacking and tossing limbs into the fire. Crossing the remnants of the battlefield, I fall to his side and place my fresh kill at his feet.
The Tilaak are prepared to face the enemy who prowls for warm blood in the night. The rogues, however, are a different story. Wolves are the patron symbol of their people, most considering them spiritual guardians. Reincarnations of their lost ancestors. Their protectors. This carnage is unfathomable.
Leaving him to make his peace, I hang my head and stalk towards the staircase of the center lodge. Six Tilaak bodies are strewn together. Women weep deliriously over them.
I should’ve been here.
Demi retrieves her arrows from the fallen rogues. One is alive—face a bloody, pulpy mess, subdued by Jabir and Qinnu to be brought back to pack grounds for questioning. The rest have been gunned down or executed with silver blades.
My sister stomps over to me. “Where is Tesni? Her unit was stationed here, but I couldn’t find her.”
In wolf form, I can do nothing but gape at her, at the crystalline river that flows along their quaint settlement, now tainted with the blood of peaceful men. I swore on my life that I would never let anything like this happen.
Securing silver chains around a half-conscious rogue, Qinnu answers for me. “We don’t have her location yet. She’s tracking down the oracle. She left at dawn.”
Whipping her head back to me, she sneers. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
