by Eva Brandt
We’d brought along plenty of ghouls and revenants, but we decided to add some extra soldiers, just in case. Latarra excelled at working with animals, so she created a ghoul that looked like a cross between a deer and a fox. There were some rather interesting three-headed rabbits too. Yuli chose a more elegant method and spoke to the creatures of the night. Crows and bats came to him easily, obeying his commands.
The animals were sent out as scouts, tracing the movements of the werewolf pack. Meanwhile, I took a closer look at the wards and analyzed them for any fundamental flaws.
“Can you break the spell, My Lord?” Latarra asked.
“Probably, but it would take me more time than I would like,” I admitted. “It’s not meant to be a shield against us. They know they can’t actually keep us out if we want to attack their lair. It’s an alarm. Maybe even a trap.” After all, if Daimon had warned them I was coming, Alpha Brooks wouldn’t have waited for me to show up and left the more vulnerable members of his pack defenseless. He would have moved them and with the Committee’s aid, it wouldn’t have been too difficult.
“So where to next?” Yuli asked. “The witch coven?”
I nodded. “The witch coven.”
I didn’t like witches. Out of every supernatural creature in the world, they were the only ones who’d never outright stated where they stood and who they supported. They were like the eternal double agents, taking refuge in neutrality, claiming to side with Mother Earth and staying out of the bloodshed through their cowardice.
Honestly, if I had to choose between killing a werewolf and killing a witch, it was the witch I’d drain dry. Shifters might have betrayed their own kind to the humans, but at least they had resolve.
“Maybe this will teach the witches a lesson too,” I said. “They can’t continue lying to themselves and to the world for much longer.”
“I don’t know,” Latarra mused. “I’ve always found their approach clever. They’re opportunistic, yes, but you have to give them points for self-preservation.”
“I might have, twenty years ago. I appreciated not having them as my enemy. But I’ve grown tired of playing such games. It’s time to end it.”
They didn’t argue with me. Knowing them, they were looking forward to tasting some magical blood. After all, it was said to be a delicacy and a rare treat at vampire tables.
We decided against using our wings for the trip to the coven. It wasn’t far and I had no doubt the witches would be expecting us to come. If we tried flying, we might be shot right out of the sky. Besides, most of our ghouls weren’t so advanced and if we left them behind and rushed ahead, we would be taking a stupid chance.
Our minions were slower than us, but even so, we made good time. Within less than five minutes, we’d reached the outskirts of the witch settlement.
In this area of the forest, the wards were even thicker and the air teemed with potent magic. The ground pulsed underneath my feet, as if reprimanding me for what I was planning. I couldn’t care less. I would drown the earth in blood tonight and there was nothing anyone could do to change my mind.
Scanning the invisible shield with my power, I reached into my core and prepared myself to strike. I never got the chance to deliver the blow.
The sound of a gunshot echoed through the forest. I ducked and the bullet wheezed past me. It ricocheted against the strikingly solid shield and hit one of the nearby revenants.
I stole a look at the falling revenant and laughed. “Well, well. It looks like the witches decided to prepare a welcoming party. How kind of them. Why don’t we show our appreciation for their gesture?”
As I spoke, I extended my wings and launched myself into the air. Yuli and Latarra did the same.
By the time I’d finished my little speech, we’d already identified the source of the gunshot. It was a human, although he’d managed to mask his life signs. Hunters constantly did this through technology, but nothing could escape the senses of ancient vampires. The human must have received some extra aid from the witches to stay out of sight.
It was annoying, since it meant there could be countless people just like him around us. I might not notice them until it was too late. But that was fine. I’d find them the hard way and make them scream. They would beg for death and wish they’d never dared to stand in my way.
“Spread out! Find everything that’s hiding in this forest! Leave no one alive!”
Yuli and Latarra didn’t need to be told twice. Like silent shadows, they disappeared into the forest, taking several vampires with them for reinforcements. The ghouls were ordered to advance through the undergrowth in groups of twenty, under the command of the most advanced of their unit.
As for me, I flew up to the reckless hunter and fished him out of the tree he was in. He tried to shoot me again while I was heading his way. Several others joined in and an avalanche of bullets assaulted me. I dodged them all with ease and grabbed my target from his hiding place.
“How generous,” I said, licking my lips. “A snack, this early in the evening. Just what I needed after the long trip.”
“Fuck you, you filthy—”
His words died in a choked off gurgle as I buried my fangs in his throat. I liked to take my time in my feeding sessions, but today, I was brutal, drinking greedily and almost draining him dry. I didn’t need the power boost, but it didn’t hurt either, especially if I had to worry about breaking some wards later.
The other hunters tried to shoot me again, but I just used their friend’s body as a meat shield. It was almost funny. No matter what angle they picked to attack me, they’d always hit the young hunter. In fact, they were the ones to ultimately kill him. A bullet hit him in the head, making blood and brain matter explode over my face.
I dumped the body on the ground, since I had no interesting in drinking dead blood. Maybe we’d be able to use the remains later in a ritual, but for now, it was time to deal with the hunters who were still alive.
It was so easy it was anticlimactic. Over the next couple of minutes, I found ten others. I killed nine of them, but left one, a woman, alive. I weaved a thrall around her, suppressing her consciousness and willpower. Her eyes glazed and her stance relaxed. “You’re mine now, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Yes, Master,” she replied. “I am your most loyal servant.”
“Perfect. Why don’t you start hunting your useless human friends? I think that would be amusing for everyone, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, Master,” she answered. I gave her back her fallen gun and waved her off. She disappeared into the bushes and I left her to it, knowing she had no choice but to do what I’d told her.
Besides, I had other, more important things to worry about. A stronger, fiercer presence was nearby. I could sense werewolves, yes, but there was something more here, an energy far more delicious than that of a mere shifter or even a witch.
Once upon a time, when I’d been much younger, Vladimir had told me, “We might be immortal, Roman, but that doesn’t make us infallible. There are more things in this world than we can ever hope to discover. One day, it’ll kill us both.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I’d promised him. “I won’t let anything defeat the Popovic line.”
Vladimir had laughed, but the sound had been small and sad. “I wish I could believe that.”
My brother’s ability to see into the future had been limited and he hadn’t always shared his knowledge with me. But he had told me one thing.
Another person had been involved in Vladimir’s death. A woman. Not a werewolf, not a vampire, not a human or a demon. Something else. Vladimir hadn’t known what she would be. He had just said that one day she would appear and she would change everything.
I hadn’t told Yuli about it. I didn’t have the courage to reveal that my brother had known he would die and had done nothing to prevent it. But even if Vladimir had wanted this, even if he’d believed this was all for the best, I refused to accept and forgive what these werewolves and this w
oman had done.
Snarling, I started to make my way through the forest. With a thought, I summoned several undead to my aid. I didn’t strictly need them, but the woman was surrounded by werewolves. I didn’t want them to distract me. I needed to handle her first.
I found the woman roughly two miles away from the witch coven. She was part of a group of shifters that was fighting Latarra. Latarra was doing a good job and had already taken out several of our enemies. She’d lost most of her tools, though, and she was visibly relieved when she saw me. “My Lord, welcome to the party.”
“What can I say? I just couldn’t stay away.”
Ironically, it was true. The woman drew me like a moth to the flame, the intensity of her mere existence just as powerful as the glow of the moon. She was wearing werewolf-style clothes, but using hunter daggers and guns. As I watched, she buried one of the daggers in the chest of a revenant, all the while shooting three others in the head. She was fast, faster than any human should have been. And she was being closely watched by three werewolves.
I recognized two of them as Alpha Xander Brooks and his Beta Byron Page. They easily shape-shifted from one form to the other and made quick work of our cannon fodder. The third one was different. He was more slender than his two companions, but the power curling around him tasted almost demonic.
The mysterious Omega of the Brooks pack, maybe? I’d heard rumors about Ulysses Barnett and his peculiar nature even before this whole thing had happened. It hadn’t occurred to me that his skills as an Omega might be related to a half-breed background. This pack had a lot of secrets.
They were all trying to protect the woman, which worked out well for me. I would kill her first. To avenge my fallen brother, I would make them watch as I tore her apart. And only after that, I would grant them the sweet mercy of oblivion.
It would be a good way to pay Daimon Rossi back for his betrayal too. Vladimir had died during a soulmate summoning ritual and she must have been the mate he’d stolen for himself. Oh, yes, revenge would taste very sweet indeed.
Smiling to myself, I lunged at the woman. Our eyes met. Something lurched inside me. And that was when I truly knew that my brother had been right. She wasn’t what she seemed and she would change everything, in more than one way.
* * *
Byron
When the vampires arrived, we felt them. Ancient undead emanated an aura that affected everything around them and the leader of the Popovic coven wasn’t trying very hard to stay out of sight.
He didn’t head toward the pack lair. That wasn’t great, since we’d booby-trapped the whole place. The females, elders, and pups had been evacuated and sent to a nearby haven. We were ready to sacrifice the lair itself as long as our people were safe.
But Roman Popovic must have seen through the ruse, because he’d gone to the witch coven instead. That had been something we’d anticipated too. Alan Lee had stationed people around the wards in the hope of taking the ancient vampires out while they were busy with the witches’ spells.
But something had gone wrong. The hunters had failed or missed, and now, Roman Popovic had come for us. White-haired and red-eyed, he looked like a monster torn straight from the nightmares of the humans.
It wasn’t a big surprise. Even after Xander had gone to speak to the Committee, I’d known that in the end, this fight would still be in our paws. He was after us and he wouldn’t stop until he caught us.
Or so I’d thought. When he showed up, I was ready to take him on. I wasn’t ready for him to make a beeline for Imogen.
I moved without having to think about it. Leaping over a ghoul, I shifted into my human form and pounced on Roman. Our bodies collided mid-air and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Roman ended up on the bottom, taking the brunt of the impact. I tried to use this to my advantage and buried my fist in his chest. But I’d underestimated him. He didn’t even flinch. “Interesting,” he said. “I suppose those rumors about white wolves are true.”
He sounded like he wasn’t in the least bit worried about the possibility of having his heart torn out. And the reason for that became obvious when dark magic started curling around my arm.
Pain erupted through me, but it was gone so quickly that I barely had the chance to register it. Even so, my instincts screamed to retreat. I pulled my arm out of his chest and jumped back, feeling woozy and nauseated.
I couldn’t feel my hand at all. My skin was black and dead, as if it had been consumed by gangrene. I felt sick to my stomach, but I didn’t let myself think about what this meant.
If I lost my arm, I’d have to step down as Xander’s Beta. But some things were more important than others. My limbs, my life, the pack—even my soul—I’d sacrifice it all, as long as it meant Imogen was safe.
“Was that supposed to scare me? Because it really doesn’t.”
Roman smiled lazily and got up. “Oh, I know that. Werewolves aren’t so easily thwarted. But I don’t mind. Besides, you’re not the real target for this game.”
He stole a look at Imogen, who had staggered back and was watching us with wide eyes. “What do you want with me?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll figure it out on your own, princess,” he answered. “Although so far, I see you haven’t had much luck.”
“Leave her be,” I growled. “Your fight is with me. I’m the one who killed Vladimir.”
The words had the desired effect. Roman focused on me again, his crimson eyes burning with fiery hatred. His pale skin shone like marble in the moonlight. “Is that a fact? How did you manage that?”
“To tell you the truth, I tricked him into killing himself,” I admitted. “It was his own magic that was his downfall.”
I couldn’t have killed Vladimir Popovic on my own, even wounded as he had been during that blasted ritual. At most, I could have incapacitated him. His body had shut down because his power had turned on itself.
“Ah,” Roman said. “That makes sense. Clever. I’ll just have to remember to be more careful with my skills around you.”
The light of the moon started to dim as he spoke. The temperature dropped. Ghostly fingers raked over my body and my arm—the part of it that was still pink and healthy—pulsed with agony.
“Then again, I don’t think you’re too much of a challenge for me, now that you’ve crippled yourself.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. What was I supposed to do now? I couldn’t change shapes. If I tried, my body would rebel and my bones would crumble. I risked losing more than my arm and being incapacitated on the spot.
Ulysses, Xander, and the others were busy with Roman’s female minion. She was a powerful vampire too and it was taking everything in Xander’s power to keep her at bay.
There were more undead coming. The witches who’d promised to help us were nowhere to be seen. Taking a deep breath, I made my decision. “Genny, run. I’ll stall him.”
“No, you won’t,” Imogen said. “We can do that together. Partners, remember?”
And then, she was suddenly by my side, as strong and beautiful as always. She pressed her hand to my good shoulder and her presence anchored me, chasing away the pain. “An albino vampire? You’re really going all out with the Goth aesthetic, Mr. Popovic.”
“It’s Blood Count, actually,” he corrected her, flashing her a fanged smile. “But you can call me Roman. I’ll allow it, in your case.”
“Thank you, but I’d rather not,” Imogen replied. “You’re unwelcome here. Leave. Now.”
“Or what? You’ll make me?” His sharp grin widened. “I invite you to try, princess. Come at me. Show me what you’ve got.”
Imogen hesitated. I knew what she was thinking. She might have been able to control her magic when she’d lashed out against Daimon, but it could have been a one-time thing. She hadn’t hurt us, but we were her soulmates. There was no telling if things would work the same way this time, or with everyone else who was around us.
But the damn bastard didn’t give her a choice
. He flicked his fingers and dark shadows emerged from the ground. They didn’t zero in on Imogen like I’d expected. Instead, Roman directed them at me.
Even wounded and with only one working arm, I was still fast enough to dodge the attack. But there was nowhere to hide, not really. Once again, it was my own shadow I was fighting.
Daimon Rossi had used this type of magic before, at the undead compound, when he’d been casting the spell on Imogen. Back then, I’d only managed to shake it off because I’d been in one piece and I’d had reinforcements. But right now, my friends and lovers all had their hands full with something else and I couldn’t hope to escape Roman’s powers for too long.
Imogen must have realized that, because she panicked. “No!” she shouted. “Leave him alone!”
The cry held the same desperation that had burned through her when she’d first confronted Daimon for our sake. Her power had forced the demon to stand down, but it had also immobilized us and kept us from attacking him when he was at his weakest.
This time, it was different. Imogen focused solely on Roman and the energy she unleashed crashed over him like a wave. The shadows retreated, curling around him to protect him.
And then, the two of them clashed, and it was like an unbeatable force fighting an immovable object. The intensity of their colliding magic made us all recoil. I staggered back, clutching my throbbing arm once again. Xander and Ulysses let out twin cries of dismay. “Genny!”
But Imogen couldn’t hear them. She was too busy trying to destroy an ancient vampire. For a few seconds, it almost seemed like it would work. Roman lost what little color he had left in his cheeks and he came very close to kneeling.
But age and experience won out over life and determination. With a savage snarl, Roman sent out another wave of dark power, this time in her direction. Imogen’s new gift couldn’t protect her. She went down like a rock and didn’t get up.
My heart almost stopped beating. He couldn’t have killed her, couldn’t have extinguished her fire so easily. Or had he? I wanted to trust what my heart was telling me, to believe that she was still alive. But my head was spinning and I had trouble seeing straight.