Then he had her.
He fucking had her.
Her body was shaking, the gun still clutched in her hand, her eyes wild as she looked up at him. Sloan didn’t ask if she was okay. He could smell the blood, see the mark on her face, feel the fear rolling off her, and every deadly thing inside him came alive all over again.
His eyes shot over her head. Men were coming through the rain, spreading out from the house, searching the yard, heading straight for them.
Sloan moved fast, pulling Becky behind the thick trunk of a tree as Duncan hit his side with both swords already drawn. “Guard her.”
Duncan didn’t ask a single question. “With my life.”
That was all Sloan needed to hear.
He pressed Becky back against the tree, his hand going to her face for half a second. Not enough time. It would never be enough time to make sure she was okay. But it was all he had. His eyes locked on hers, letting her see him, letting her know he was there, and she was safe, then he stepped away before the first bastard could get close enough to make her a target again.
The vampire rushing him never saw death coming.
Sloan met him halfway, driving him away from Becky, farther into the rain and mud. The bastard swung, but Sloan caught his arm and snapped it backward before burying his fist in the vampire’s chest. He ripped the heart free without slowing down, dropped the body, and kept moving.
Every step he took pulled them farther from her.
Every kill bought her space and that was the only thing that mattered.
More came from the shadows, and Sloan let them see him. Let them focus on him. Let them think the rage in his eyes meant he had lost control, when the truth made him far more dangerous.
He had never been more in control in his life.
Duncan stayed between Becky and the fight, blades moving in clean, deadly arcs when anyone got too close. Rafe came in from Sloan’s right, cutting off two vampires trying to flank wide. Jared and Sid hit the next line hard, driving them back toward the house. The Dark Guardians tore through the trees beyond them, keeping the demons from breaking through, while Daniel’s presence pressed against the night like a warning nothing evil could ignore.
Then the back door opened.
The half-breed stepped out into the storm.
Sloan felt the change in the air before he even saw the bastard’s face. The others felt it too because the fight shifted, Warriors moving without being told, widening the space, clearing the path.
Good.
Sloan wanted nothing between him and the son of a bitch who had dared lay a hand on Becky.
The half-breed’s mismatched eyes locked on Sloan, then slid past him toward the tree where Becky stood protected by Duncan.
Wrong fucking move.
Sloan’s fangs lengthened, his voice carrying through the rain for every bastard there to hear. “Look at her again, and I’ll take your eyes before I take your head.”
“She killed my fucking brother!” Darius bellowed, pointing toward Becky.
Sloan’s eyes never left him. “Good. One less piece of shit I have to deal with.” Even though Sloan said those words, he felt overwhelming sorrow that Becky had to take a man’s life. She never should have been put in that position, and it pissed him the fuck off.
The words cut through the rain, cold and final. Darius’s face twisted with rage as he started forward, but Sloan moved into his path before he made it two steps. Around them, the fighting had faded into the distance. A scream from the woods. The clash of steel. A demon’s roar cut short. Sloan didn’t look. He didn’t have to. His Warriors had done what they were born to do. The Guardians had done the same. This battle was over in their favor, but there was one more battle to be won, and Sloan would not fail.
Duncan stood between Becky and any threats, swords in hand, with Rafe close enough to stop anyone stupid enough to movetoward her. Warriors and Guardians spread out through the rain, battered, bloody, and silent, their eyes locked on Sloan and Darius. No one stepped in because they knew. This was Sloan’s battle.
“She is carrying my child!” Darius bellowed pointing toward Becky. “It is my right to have her.”
“You have no rights concerning my mate,” Sloan’s voice was calm and to the point.
Darius let out a guttural scream as he lunged first, fast and wild, rage making him sloppy. Sloan sidestepped and drove his fist into the half-breed’s ribs as he passed. Bone cracked beneath his knuckles, and Darius hit the mud hard, rolling once before coming back to his feet with a snarl.
