Nico’s grin vanished. “I got them.” We dematerialized east, moving in a frozen rush of air as we flew down dark, narrowed streets and alleys toward the sound. Hunting this labyrinthian city was all instinct, tracking the stale scents of foreign vampires who were feeding sloppily… right in front of us.
We landed at the mouth of a pinched, narrow alley between two buildings, a fresh blood trail still gleaming beneath the moon.
“They’ve already taken one.” I bent down, running my fingers through the droplets.
“Let’s make sure they don’t take the rest.” Nico’s voice was ice cold, all the lazy humor burned away.
We followed muted whispers sliding over the stone, the sound of quiet, panicked sobs, catching fragments of a rough, European dialect, sharp consonants that belonged to deep mountain forests, not a city built on water.
Nico’s knuckles brushed mine—a simple, old signal.I’ve got your back.
I nodded, then he was gone, just as I stepped into a small courtyard, nothing but walls that stretched to the black sky.
A dead end.
“Draconi Brotherhood,” I called in Italian, my voice ringing off the stone. “Step away from the humans, and you might actually survive this.”
The reaction was instant.
Murky shadows solidified into a long, pale face, red-tinted eyes gleaming, fangs still wet. The vampire was far older than me—blood smeared from cheek to chin as he gripped a human girl by the throat, her dangling feet barely touching the ground. Another human, a man in a cheap jacket, lay crumpled at their feet, his heartbeat thready. A third—another girl—cowered against the wall, tucked into a shivering ball.
“Ah,” the stranger drawled, switching to a heavily accented Italian. “Il Lupo Nero, himself.How exciting.” He mock-bowed, flashing a grin. “I am honored by your presence.”
I didn’t bother answering. I stood between him and freedom. Nico was flanking the interloper, melted into the shadows, ready to strike. This asshole was fucked. My only goal was making sure the two remaining humans survived.
Perhaps the third, if we got lucky.
“You violated our laws,” I explained patiently. “Hunting humans in the open, leaving bodies where anyone could stumble across them.” My gaze drifted to the girl, her eyes unfocused. “That’s a death sentence in my city.”
“Yourcity,” he smirked, like our laws were a joke. “You don’t own the world, Dominico.”
“Iown these streets. I protect them.” I took a slow stepforward, the shadows closing around me, cold and sharp, something sharp raking down my back. “The D’Immortali Dynasty controls this city and everything in it, includingher.”
With a growl, his fingers tightened, and the girl choked, clawing futilely at his hand. Her wild eyes rolled toward me—frightened, uncomprehending. I met them briefly, letting my power wash over her, soft and inexorable.
“Sleep,” I ordered, voice dripping with compulsion. She went limp, consciousness falling away as the vampire’s fingers slipped from her throat, and she dropped from his grasp like a puppet with its strings cut. The man on the ground shuddered when she landed beside him.
Alive. Barely.
“She wasmy kill,” the leader hissed, “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“And you shouldn’t have set foot in my territory,” I replied cheerfully, cracking my neck, still trying to get rid of that one stubborn knot. “Submit to my judgment, and perhaps your line survives.”
Highly unlikely, but I live to be surprised.
He threw his head back and laughed. “You might have the council at your back, princeling. But here?” He spread his arms, encompassing the cramped alley, the slick walls, the starless slice of sky. “Out here, it’s just you and me.” Three more figures detached themselves from the darkness behind him, fanning out.
“Oh, wait, my mistake. Four against one.” He flashed his fangs, like some sort of hierarchy play. “Seems we’ll be the ones who finally take down the Black Wolf.”
I wanted to roll my eyes at his theatrics, but frankly, I’d already had a shit day.
I sighed instead. “Niccolò,” I called. “This idiot thinks it’sme against the four of them, and they actually stand a chance. Should I let this sick fuck enjoy his delusions, or should we set him straight?”
Nico’s soft, evil laugh rang out, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at once. The leader’s head snapped up, searching the darkness for the source.
Too late.
Nico materialized in the center of them, boots striking the vampire on the far right with enough force to smash him into the wall. Brick cracked. His skull, too.
