1
Savage howls of rage tore from the warehouse. I pushed out my Glock, both hands fighting the tension as I stepped inside…and stopped cold. Jesus. The place was a bloodbath. Vampires and Wolves everywhere…bits of them, at least. I moved deeper through the open doorway, then jerked backwards as a Vampire tore past me, fangs bared and bloody.
I raised my gun and took aim as the bastard slowed, then stopped, turning his head to set that savage gaze on me. “Don’t you fucking even think about it, bloodsucker,” I warned, and stepped to the side.
But there was only the wall behind me…the cold, goddamn wall. Panic spiked and a mess of thoughts followed. Should’ve called in…fuck what the SAC said.
“Mortal,” the Vampire purred, and licked those bloody fangs. “You smell—”
Squeeze.
Boom.
Squeeze.
Boom.
Squeeze.
Boom.
The inhuman piece of shit stumbled backwards and went down as I licked my lips and croaked, “I do not repeat myself.”
A Wolf came out of nowhere, lunging across the space to finish the job, taking off the Vampire's head with one unmerciful bite. My gut clenched at the sight as blood sprayed, hitting him in the center of the chest as the beast crouched over the body, strong muscles across his shoulders tensing before he narrowed in on my movement and whipped that terrifying steely gaze to me.
“Easy now, Wolf boy,” I urged, and stumbled sideways as a wave of battling Immortals slammed into the warehouse door. The dong was soon muffled in howls of agony and piercing screams of fury. I had my gun…a fresh clip, and the desperate need to survive. I prayed it was enough.
A green glow came from the middle of the onslaught. Some kind of towering male moved amongst the glow, cleaving with a huge damn sword as he cut down Wolf after Wolf. I scanned the beasts and the fallen, looking for Ruth’s fangers, and couldn't find them anywhere…I couldn’t even find her.
But she was here—I knew it.
I'd followed her to the alley outside the Jewel, watching as she was attacked by the bloodsuckers. But they didn’t kill her. Nothing in my goddamn life could be that easy. I watched as she screamed, drew her gun, and got off a shot before she was hit and slammed into the wall.
Still, the bitch rose in that alley, sneering and bloodthirsty like the deviants she lay with. She might be aligned with the beasts across the river, but she was still going down. They all were…every single Costello. If it was the last thing I did.
This was more than a job for me, more than a vendetta. This was justice a repayment for all the nasty shit her family had done…and the destruction they left behind. She had to pay for what she’d done…they all did.
I stepped backwards and smacked into something hard.
“Watchit!” A male snarled.
I spun with a mouthful of my own rage on the tip of my tongue, and stared into the unmistakable dark blue eyes of Blane Costello.
“You?” he snarled.
“You!” I spat.
I was lifting my gun before I knew it, justice and retribution burning in my veins, until a shadow rose behind him, and the blood red eyes of a Vampire met mine before it lunged. I couldn’t move, not even to fire my gun, as the inhuman beast opened its jaws wide and bit, tearing into Blane’s neck.
He stiffened, and then roared, arms flailing as he beat at the beast. Instinct kicked in as I centered the Immortal in my sights and fired.
Boom.
I didn’t get to fire again before I was hit and knocked to the floor. My gun flew out of my hand and slid across the concrete floor, beyond my reach.
“Mortal.”
I lifted my gaze to the midnight beast bathed in a sea of green. He wasn’t Vampire…nor was he Wolf. He was something else…something other. I tore my gaze away, searching for my gun, and thrust my heels against the floor, shoving myself backwards.
“You are in the wrong place,” he warned, and reached down, grabbing a handful of my shirt before wrenching me up from the floor.
The sound of tearing fabric filled my ears, but I didn’t have time to care. I drew on all my training and let my weight fall. My shirt tore even more and cold air slipped in, licking my belly as I fell…before I drove my body upwards, unclenched my fist, and drove the heel of my hand under the bastard’s jaw.
His head snapped backwards, not enough to hurt, but enough to bite his fucking tongue.
And it didn’t matter how tough you were, that shit hurt.
He grinned as I pulled back, lifted my fists, and readied for the fight of my life.
Black blood slipped over his lips. That green hue around him pulsed with purpose.
“Fuck this,” I raged, and lashed out with a fist, catching him on the jaw.
But he didn't fight back, just watched me as I lifted my leg, pivoted, and slammed out my boot, catching him in the side of the knee. He should’ve gone down…if he was mortal.
“You fight like a warrior.” He stepped forward and lashed out an arm, grasping the ruins of my shirt. I bucked and punched at his arms, tearing out of his hold and spinning, leaving the ruins behind. Until he lunged once more, moving like a lion, grasping me by the neck.
“I wonder if you’d fuck as ferociously?” he purred in my ear, and lifted me.
My spine bowed as my feet left the floor. Pain dug into my head as he forced me to his will, that pitiless gaze staring into my soul before he clamped his hand over my breast.
Dark words slipped from his lips.
Words that made him smile.
Words that filled me with terror.
When he shoved me away, something stayed with me. My heart hammered, even harder than it had thundered before. I looked down at the deep sparkle of green embedded in my breast.
He smiled. “You’ll be mi—”
He was hit from the side by a towering, savage male. Silver eyes of the Wolf glinted as the powerful hunter scanned me, then turned back to the Unseelie. One gnash of his teeth, and the Wolf advanced, hands fisted and bloody…he'd left a wake of destruction behind him.
I tried to look for my gun…but my vision blurred. Something was happening to me, something that made me stumble. Agony roared through my chest and with it came a hunger unlike any I’d felt before. Ravenous. Terrifying. I fought the pain, clawed and yanked my shirt. It was burning this thing inside me, tearing through my skin to burrow deep inside.
Unmerciful blows echoed in my ears and the sickening sound of tearing flesh followed. The Wolf howled, and that sound seemed to puncture something inside me…seemed to drive through the wave of terror as the world slammed into me. Senses fired. Adrenaline pounded in my veins until all I could hear
Steel glinted not far from my feet. I lunged toward it, fell, and hit the concrete hard. Agony roared through my knees when I pushed upwards. Teeth and red eyes were all I saw as the Vampire hurtled across the warehouse toward the Wolf.
I tried to cry out…tried to warn him. But nothing emerged but a low moan that burned from the back of my throat. The Vampire lunged, sinking his fangs into the Wolf as he reached for the Fae beast. The Wolf turned and drove a massive tattooed fist into the Vampire's face before turning back to the Unseelie. But he was too late. The Unseelie lashed out, catching the Wolf on the edge of his jaw.
Panic raged in those silver eyes as the Wolf stumbled backwards.