by Eva Brandt
The scent of my blood filled the air, driving the revenants into a frenzy. Their fangs dripping with venom, the undead attacked me even more ferociously, eager to tear me apart and turn me into their meal. To make matters worse, their flying friend chose that exact moment to wake up. Fucking wonderful.
He grabbed my foot in a strong, fierce hold, and lunged forward. In a panic, I stumbled back. Images flashed through my mind, and I could so easily see what he had planned. From this position, he could bury his fangs into my femoral artery. My uniform had survived the earlier attack, but it hadn’t protected me much from what had happened to me. I couldn’t rely on it.
And so, even acknowledging that I was crippling my own ability to attack, I threw my brother’s dagger at the vampire. Normally, this sort of strategy was unwise, since vampires were very agile and good at dodging projectiles. But he was too close and too feral to do that now. The dagger went straight through his eye, into his brain.
As he fell, I knew I couldn’t risk reaching for the weapon again. Resorting to my hands and feet, I found myself forced to retreat, heading back toward the building where I’d been held captive.
Paulette needed me and I hated running away like this. But if I got myself killed, I would solve nothing. That was what had gotten me in trouble in the first place, my inability to find another solution to Marcus’s problem.
The thought resurrected the dreadful memory from earlier, but I didn’t let it thwart me. Nothing could bring Marcus back now, but I might still be able to help everyone else who was in trouble.
The undead got in my way once again. As one of the feral creatures grabbed my shoulder and squeezed, pain exploded through me. There was a click at the back of my mind, and I screamed.
The next thing I knew, the undead were blasted back by an unseen force. The scent of scorched, dead flesh filled the air. I stood there, completely confused, not understanding what had happened.
Who had come to help me? There was a witch coven in the area, but witches rarely participated in outright confrontations. A rogue demon then? If so, I couldn’t trust its intentions. I had to find it and… And what? God, I didn’t know.
All of a sudden, I felt very weak. It was only sheer spite and stubbornness that kept me on my feet. I couldn’t afford to fall here, not after everything, not when my family and my clan still needed me.
But I wasn’t completely out of luck today. As I staggered out of the pile of dead vampires, a familiar figure appeared in front of me. It was my brother, and he was followed by Paulette and Victor. “Imogen?” my brother asked. “What…”
An almost suffocating feeling of relief swamped me when I saw him. He was fine, a little roughed up and covered in blood, but definitely alive and not injured too badly. The others were in a similar condition. It looked like they’d been busy fighting the undead, but the shifter reinforcements had prevented disaster.
The vampire had lied, probably in an attempt to provoke me and get me to lower my guard. It had worked, although it hadn’t ended well for him either. Of course, that was only because I’d been very lucky, but I’d worry about that later. For now, I just wanted to speak to my brother, to make sure everyone who wasn’t here had survived the battle.
Smiling, I rushed to his side. “Alan, thank God. I was so worried about—”
“Imogen, what did you do?” my brother cut me off, taking a step back.
I didn’t like the expression on his face. He was wide-eyed and pale, and he was staring at me like he’d never seen me before. And not only that, he was calling me by the full version of my name.
Granted, on the field, I was Huntress Zero, Imogen Julius, not Genny. But whenever we had problems, he didn’t shy away from showing affection. Our sister’s loss had taught us we had to stick together, and there was no shame in having a strong bond.
Maybe he wanted a report? That didn’t make sense to me, but I had abandoned my post, so it stood to reason that he was at least a little mad. Not to mention that my impulsive attempt to save Marcus had only made things worse. Yes, that was probably it. How could my brother not be disappointed?
“Popovic took Marcus captive,” I explained. A mild migraine throbbed at the back of my skull as I tried to remember, but I forced myself to continue speaking. “He asked me to… to go to him, to fight him. I lost, and he brought me here.”
I had so much more to tell him. A lot of what had happened inside was a blur, but I did remember the demon’s involvement and the arrival of the werewolves. My brother didn’t give me the chance to finish what I had to say. “That’s not what I meant, and you know that very well,” he told me, narrowing his eyes. “What did you do to these creatures?”
Baffled, I looked at the bodies. I couldn’t understand what he wanted from me. Oh, right. Maybe he had seen the rogue demon too. “They attacked me and almost overwhelmed me, because I had next to no weapons. I think some kind of paranormal creature came to my aid, because they were suddenly knocked out.”
Paulette shot me a look of disbelief. “There aren’t any creatures in the compound left that can do that. Don’t lie. What did you do?”
Her unexpected hostility shocked me. This wasn’t at all what I’d expected of them. “I just fought back. Nothing more.”
“Fought back using a supernatural power?” my brother asked, his voice deceptively level. “How exactly did you manage that?”
Every muscle in my body froze. I would have liked to deny it, because I didn’t think I had any ability like whatever had taken out the swarm of vampires. But there was one thing I couldn’t ignore—the fact that I’d broken a vampire’s throat with my bare hands. I shouldn’t have been that strong. It was impossible for a normal human, even a huntress like me.
The suspicion in my brother’s eyes burned me. I tried to think of any explanation for what had happened, but I couldn’t explain it to myself either.
“Imogen,” he snapped. “The truth. Now.”
I covered my ears, not wanting to think about the implications of any of this. “I don’t know! Please… I haven’t done anything! I… I was bitten by a vampire, yes, but I’m still Imogen.”
That would have probably been more convincing had my protests not been accompanied by another explosion of power. It wasn’t as bad as the one that had hit the undead—thank God for small mercies—but it was still strong enough to make Alan and the others stagger.
They righted themselves and were instantly on their guard again. “No, you’re not,” Alan said. “You’re not my sister anymore. You’re a monster.”
And with that, the hunters attacked me, just like they—we—had attacked countless paranormal creatures in the past. As for me… I stood there like a deer in the headlights, wondering how things had come to this. I didn’t want to die at my own brother’s hands, but what else was I supposed to do?
* * *
Ulysses
Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. I could feel it, taste the panic, anguish, and dread in my mouth.
This whole mission had given me a bad vibe from the very beginning. I’d sensed something would happen from the moment it had started, but there had been no way to stop it. When the huntress had been taken, that feeling had gotten even worse.
I’d have liked to believe it meant our pack would survive with less damage, but I knew better.
Still, I could do nothing but support my Alpha. Xander was strong, but there was a reason why every pack—and every Alpha—needed an Omega. I couldn’t afford to let my own misgivings get the better of me.
Things went downhill pretty quickly. Leland arrived with several wounded. Trent was the one who’d been injured the worst. Burns and lacerations covered his body, and there were still traces of dark magic on him, hindering his advanced healing factor.
“There was some kind of demonic ritual going on,” Leland explained. “Byron asked us to go back and get reinforcements from Alpha Brooks.”
“And Xander is on his way there?” I asked him, already
directing my attention to the wounded.
By my side, my friend Gypsy was doing the same. “Is that safe for the Alpha?” she asked, her hands gentle in Trent’s hair. “This seems worse than we expected.”
“I know,” Leland replied with a sigh, “but we have to trust Alpha Brooks and Byron. They should be handling everything now.”
I agreed with Leland, but it didn’t make me any less antsy. Once I made sure everyone was as fine as they were going to get, I told Leland to retreat and gathered my strongest fighters.
“We’ll push forward. There are bound to be stragglers now, and maybe we’ll be able to provide reinforcements for Xander too.”
They agreed, and together, we shifted and advanced from our position, closer to the compound. It didn’t take long for our decision to pay off. The attack had made both undead and demons start scattering like rats, and I felt them before I even saw them.
With a huff, I told the others to take cover and get ready. I didn’t have to look at them to know they understood. Gypsy pawed at the ground, eager to sink her claws into some demon or undead flesh. I might not have told her what was going on and what I’d sensed, but she was more perceptive than most. She’d sort of had to be. When we’d been younger, the white strands in her gray fur had often caused our enemies to target her. She’d had her mother to rely on, but Veronica was a nurturer, not a fighter.
And so, when the time came, I leaped forward, trusting Gypsy and the others to follow. A group of at least twenty undead had decided to cut their losses and flee. Three of them were superior vampyr, but they had some ghouls with them too. Taking advantage of the element of surprise, I ambushed the vampire closest to me. He screeched, already trying to take my eyes out with his claws. “Get off me, you fucking—!”
His words died in a choked gurgle as I ripped his throat out. I wasn’t as fast as Byron or Xander, but I didn’t need to be, not for this.
The other vampires tried to retaliate, but I jumped back just in time. My aura spread out all around us like a lethal miasma.
It didn’t work on undead as well as it did on living creatures, but it did make them a little more sluggish. It also gave my own people an extra boost, which was always nice. And in a battle like this, every weapon counted, even the most unlikely one.
I’d always found it hilarious that humans had this weird idea in their heads about werewolf Omegas being weak. It didn’t bother me. Sometimes, it even came in handy and I encouraged it. But right now, I didn’t have time for games. I doubted the undead would have believed it anyway. Vampires were many things, but they weren’t idiots.
I managed to take out another of the vampires and two ghouls, fully intending to do the same with the others. I never got the chance. All of a sudden, an outburst of strange power echoed through the ground, exploding over my senses. It was an onslaught of guilt, terror, outrage, and confusion, and it shook me so much I stumbled and fell on my ass.
I would have probably gotten myself killed in the process, but the others seemed to sense it too, if not on the same level I did. The undead gripped their heads and started screaming, unholy screeches that made my skin crawl.
“What the hell is going on?” Gypsy howled. “What is this?”
I had no idea, but I knew we didn’t have time to sit around and talk about it. “Finish them off! Xander needs me.”
Gypsy let out a sharp growl. She finished tearing apart a ghoul and said, “Go! We’ll handle things here.”
I had no doubt that they would, but normally I still wouldn’t have left them. This time, though, I had to make an exception. Because something was wrong, very wrong—far more than I’d expected.
Fighting back my panic, I rushed toward the undead compound. Through some kind of miracle, I didn’t run into any other vampires on my way there. It was a good thing. I might have been able to handle a fair number on my own, but they would have created a delay I couldn’t afford.
I wasn’t completely out of luck. The attack had spooked the creatures enough that someone had broken straight through the wall. The vampyr wards had long ago collapsed, which I assumed meant Xander or Byron must have tracked down their target. That meant I could burst inside without too much trouble.
But that was where my good fortune stopped, because what I found in the courtyard of the compound shook me to the core. I followed my instincts to the source of the power blast and got there just in time to see a human hunter attack another, female one.
Time seemed to slow. The male hunter pulled out a gun and pointed it at the woman. I didn’t think. I just reacted.
Moving faster than I ever had in my life, I pounced on the hunter. The gun went off, but the bullet whizzed right past me and its target.
“What the fuck?” one of the other hunters present asked. “Who the hell are you?”
Unlike my pack mates, the humans wouldn’t understand me if I tried to communicate while I was in wolf form. After a few seconds of hesitation, I got off the fallen hunter. Everything inside me screamed to hurt him like he’d tried to hurt her, but that was an irrational thought. These were, technically speaking, my allies and we were still in the middle of an enemy base. I had to try to be civil.
I changed into my humanoid form and introduced myself. “I’m Ulysses Barnett, Omega of the Brooks Union. What’s going on here?”
As expected, the humans relaxed when they heard I was an Omega. The second man even curled his lip disdainfully. The woman was more polite, but she still spoke to me slowly, as if I was still a pup. “Don’t worry about that. Go back home.”
I didn’t bother replying. I didn’t have time for human stupidity, not right now, if ever.
I turned the other human female, the huntress who had been attacked. “Are you all right?”
She stared at me like she couldn’t understand what I was asking. “W-What?” she stammered. “W-Who? Who are you?”
It was worrying that she was asking that when I’d just provided the answer to the question less than a minute ago. I leaned in a little closer to her and gently tested her mind with my aura.
It only took me about ten seconds to feel the lingering demonic and undead energy swirling around her. Ah. So this was the huntress who had been taken captive. Against all odds, she had survived, although it was obvious that she hadn’t come out of the experience unscathed.
As I worked, our eyes properly met for the first time. My breath caught and my heart skipped a beat as I realized who she truly was—or rather, what she was to me.
She was my soulmate. God, she was my soulmate. I almost couldn’t believe it.
I wanted to start screaming the truth from the rooftops, but this was the worst possible time for a romantic confession. So instead, I kept my emotions in check and did my best to look reassuring. “I’m a friend,” I told her. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be all right now.”
The other hunters glared at me. “You can’t make her that promise,” the first male said, getting up and straightening his back. “You have no right. Butt out.”
How cute. He was posturing.
I smiled at him sharply and bared my fangs. “Make me, human.”
The male tightened his hold on his gun. His gaze flitted to the huntress again. He looked like he was seconds away from trying to shoot her.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I warned him. “Try it, and you’ll find that my claws are as sharp as my Alpha’s.”
I didn’t know if they believed me, but in the end, it didn’t matter. At that exact moment, Xander and Byron joined us. They were both covered in blood and dark residue and they emanated a feeling of righteous anger stronger than I’d ever experienced before.
They took one look at the fallen creatures around us and shifted into their human shapes too. “What’s going on here, Lead Hunter Lee? Explain!”
I didn’t bother suppressing my grin. I looked like Lee was just about to learn why it was a bad idea to mess with a werewolf. My Alpha might not have witnessed the whol
e thing, but he was already pissed off. And I was petty enough to answer in Lee’s stead.
“Alpha, I arrived here just in time to watch Lead Hunter Lee attack the huntress. I intervened, but they still seem intent on harming her.”
“What.”
The sole word Byron uttered didn’t sound like a question. It was barely a statement, more like a growl, really. I wasn’t sure the humans even understood it.
But the anger in the sound was very clear. Lee finally tried to defend himself. “Look, I understand this is unusual, but this is clan business, for hunters. Don’t get in the way. It has nothing to do with you.”
“And if we step aside now, what will you do?” Xander asked with deceptive mellowness in his voice.
I got the feeling he wasn’t that surprised at this development. He must have known our enemies had done something to the huntress that would make her family turn on her. Byron had likely been aware of it too, because otherwise, someone would have lost a hand by now.
The huntress didn’t know all that, of course, and she decided to explain. “They’ll kill me of course. Because I’m not a human any longer. I’m a monster, and I deserve to die.”
The words were almost like a trigger. The hunters reached for their weapons again. Several ghouls emerged from the shadows, lunging at us. Xander, Byron, and I shifted back into our lupine forms.
Chaos exploded in the courtyard of the undead compound, and in the middle of it all stood the lost and confused huntress.
I didn’t know what had made her believe she was a monster, but there was one thing I was certain of. I wouldn’t let her die.
Chapter Seven