Even in my mind, his words rang out with ferocity.
‘Wolves!’Brock’s voice commanded in my head. This was the alpha, not the lover. This message wasn’t meant only for me, but for the entire pack. His alpha power was strong enough to surge through my body as a tangible force.‘We’re under attack. Everyone mobilize now. Vamps are swarming. Follow protocol. Half of you shift, the other half double-fist shotguns loaded with UV rounds. Shoot to kill.’
I liked Brock’s style. Shoot now and ask questions later. Croft had warned us, and we both knew vamps didn’t visit you in the middle of the night for tea. They were here to kill. They might’ve managed it too if Brock hadn’t assigned extra patrols during the night.
‘Cass!’I called as Brock began moving again, whisking through the forest quietly in his bare feet. I wished I’d skipped the boots too, but I was still used to human ways—or dud ways anyway. When Cass didn’t answer right away, I tried again.
‘What’s going on, Ev?His answer was swift and panicked.
‘We’re under attack. Are you at your apartment with Tianna?’
‘Yes. Is it the vamps?’
‘Yeah, and lots of them from the smell of it.’I’d identified that more sinister stench beneath the scent of charred smoke—blood.
Old, decaying blood. The smell of powerful vampires.
‘Watch your back till I can get there. We’re on our way,’my bestie confirmed.
A wolf howl cut through the night then, making goose bumps break out across my bare arms. When at least a dozen howls responded, I shivered so hard that I skipped a step before catching myself. I’d never been a part of anything as close knit as a pack before; it had always been Cass and me, and sometimes Gran was there too. Through their howls I could feel the pack’s sense of unity. Brock’s wolves considered themselves a family. They were going to make the vampires regret attacking. I could feel it in my bones.
‘Quiet and still, Eve,’Brock said, slowing to a shuffle.‘They’re out here. I can feel them.’
‘Yeah, I feel them too.’I drew my katana slowly, inch by inch, working to mute its metallic ring as it rubbed against its sheath. I hadn’t tried the kitsune blade on vamps, but even if it didn’t have any greater effect than a usual blade, separating the head from the body would slow a vamp down—permanently. Especially when I burned the body afterwards.
The sound of soft footsteps had me whirling to look behind me, blade aloft, ready to mow down whoever was trying to sneak up on us. Reo and Haru emerged from the dark, the hands not holding their own katanas raised in silent warning. Their eyes told me they were aware that we were about to walk into a patch dense with vamps.
Brock spun too, following my movements, but as soon as he realized who it was, he nodded at them and turned back around to face the front. With a constant sweep of his head to either side, it was clear the vamps were working to surround us. I could smell them, sense them, hear them.
Reo and Haru flanked me, swords at the ready, their heads swiveling to sweep the ground much like Brock’s, looking to either side, then peeking behind before resuming the cycle. I was about to turn forward again when Molly tip-toed up behind them, barely concealed by shadows and trees. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be out here, that it was too dangerous, but she was anyway. Thank God she’d had the sense to bring Gran’s shotgun; it was tucked against her side.
Dammit, Molly. Don’t get killed.
My nostrils flared in frustration before I realized I’d probably do the same thing in her place. I couldn’t exactly blame her for wanting to protect her friends, even if she was supremely unqualified to do so.
Werewolves, larger than regular wolves, padded around us, circling their alpha, and I had to trust they’d help me protect Molly if it became necessary. When Brock threw his head back and howled, even in his human form, my instincts drove me to him and him alone. My body electrified. Like magic. I felt more alive and powerful than I’d ever been before. So this was what it was like to be part of a pack...
We were sharing energy.
Brock’s body tensed, just as I registered tires squealing as a car took the turn onto the long road that led to our homes. I craned my neck to identify the vehicle. The roar of a ‘67 Mustang Fastback, with enough power under the hood to satisfy an Amazon like Tianna, made itself known. The cherry red car blended with the night, the moonlight managing only to skim its body as the well-oiled machine flew across the road.
Cass had arrived with my new mentor. Heads. Were. Gonna. Roll.
My katana flashed a bright violet then, just as the vamps began to pop out of the tree line and slink towards us, making their presence known. There was no sense in hiding any longer. They knew we were aware of them now. I shadowed Brock as he stalked, unafraid, toward the throng of vamps ahead.
Fucking vampires. This night would end in blood, no doubt, and for what? Because Cass and I had offended their delicate sensibilities by entering their seethe party uninvited, when we had the law on our side and an evil perp to apprehend?
Brock paused, flinching as if he were in pain, when a heartbreaking howl rang out somewhere on the perimeter.
‘We lost one of our own,’Brock broadcast to the entire pack, sorrow lacing his every word.‘No more casualties tonight. Watch each other’s backs. Take down every last motherfucker responsible for killing Nathan and invading our home.’
Nathan. The new wolf that hadn’t been able to control himself, giving in to his animal instincts, and nearly killed me... he’d triggered my first kitsune shift.
I hadn’t wanted him dead before, even after all that, and I definitely didn’t now. His loss vibrated through me as if we’d been lifelong friends, a gaping wound within the pack bond.
Oh, vamps were gonna die tonight. They’d regret the decision to mess with my pack. Wolves, a demon imp, a fae-witch hybrid, kitsune protectors, and humans—all were mypack, family, mine.
I charged into the darkness ahead, silent and lethal, with my family on my heels.
