In a blur one of the vampires is behind me, one hand tangled in my hair and the other gripping my chin from behind. He leans into me, his nose grazing the column of my neck. “Why would we do a thing like that?” I struggle in his grip. “Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. One little twist and this pretty neck of yours will break in two. Tell me,” he pauses and everything in me screams to get away. “Can a wolf heal a broken neck?” He knows we can’t.
Both vampires laugh. The one behind me leans forward again and sinks his fangs into the column of my neck. I growl and jerk away from him, shoving my elbow into his chest as hard as I can as the smell of my own blood assaults my senses.
He releases me, but my momentum only pushes me into the arms of the other vampire—Elliot. I take advantage of it and slam my clawed hand into his chest, sinking my fingers deep into his skin and between bone. He hisses and grips my still good shoulder, squeezing until the bones grind against themself. White hot pain flashes through me as bone crunches beneath his grip. My mind blanks, unable to think past the burning agony, but I manage to tighten my fist around a vital organ in his chest, my claws piercing his heart before losing all sensation in my hand. He freezes, his hold loosening on my shoulder as wide crimson eyes meet mine.
He swallows, a very human gesture that lets me know I’ve struck gold.
A smile curls the edges of my mouth. “Not so tough now, are you?” I grit out.
He bares his teeth, but his body is locked in place, refusing to move so much as an inch for fear I’ll tear his heart out.
“What the—” I don’t bother to turn around.
“Tell him not to come any closer.”
He says nothing so I let my body sway backwards. He reaches for me, wrapping both hands around my biceps to hold me in place as panicked eyes flint over my shoulder. “Stay there,” his voice is strained and I take pleasure in knowing I have him by the balls.
My mind races through a million different scenarios. I need to get away but I now have two useless arms and I don’t know how long my grip will hold on the vampire’s heart.
If I kill the vamp in front of me, the one behind me will return the favor. But if I release him, they’ll probably still kill me.
I need to shift if I have any chance of healing my injuries enough to, at the very least, protect myself, but no way will either of these two give me enough time to shift to wolf and then back again.
Shit.
I meet the vampire’s stare for a split second before catching myself and turning my gaze to the corner of his mouth. “Why me?” I demand.
Thankfully he doesn’t bother to pretend he doesn’t know what I’m asking. “Because we can. You’re …” he wheezes. “Unprotected. Free game.”
I look over my shoulder at the vampire standing a few feet behind me. “Come over here. Keep your distance but I want you in my line of sight.”
His jaw clenches but he does as I’ve instructed and shifts to my right letting me finally get a good look at the two. Both have dark brown hair and aristocratic features. The one with my hand buried in his chest wears his hair shoulder length and tied back at his nape. The other wears his hair shorter, barely long enough for the ends to curl around his ears, and both are dressed like arrogant assholes in button down black dress shirts and black slacks.
“So let me get this straight. You two decided it was open season on a seventeen-year-old girl because she doesn’t belong to a Pack. Is that right?”
Neither answers.
I pull back and the first vampire hisses, clutching me to his chest so tight I flinch. “Let go or I’ll drag my hand down through your sternum taking your black heart with it.”
He loosens his hold and I tilt my head back, noting the ashen quality to his skin. “So, what’s the plan, asshole? Because the way I see it, I can’t very well let go.”
“Release me and we’ll leave. No one has to die today. You have my word.”
I laugh.Right, because I believe that.
“You have no idea the mistake you’re making, wolf.” The other vampire sneers. He’s clearly the ringleader in this little duo.
“Don’t I?” I snarl. “You two had every intention of killing me! I never did anything to you. Or to anyone. I’m a freaking teenager. And you vamps decided to—”
In a blur of motion the second vampire charges me, shoving me back away from the first. My back slams into the hard pavement and I pull on the thread in the pit of my stomach that leads to my wolf. My bones snap and my arms elongate into a partial shift I didn’t even realize I was capable of. Pain burns through my arms but the shift dulls some of it, taking already broken bones and mending them into my new form. Rolling to my feet in a warrior form, a blend of girl and wolf, I face the two vampires only to realize the first has collapsed.
I take a few steps back just as the remaining vampire lifts his gaze from his fallen friend and locks onto my hand. I follow his gaze, spotting the undead heart in my clawed grip.
So gross!I drop it, making a sound of disgust in the back of my throat as my stomach revolts.What did I just do?
“I should thank you,” the vampire says, advancing on me. “You took care of an inconvenience of mine. But …” The corner or his mouth lifts and his eyes brighten. In a whirl of movement, he’s inches away from me, wrapping long fingers around my now fur-coated throat. “I’ll still need to kill you. I have people to answer to. You know how it is.”
As though I weigh nothing, he flings me across the parking lot and I crash into a nearby parked car, my body denting the metal.
