Valdov hissed at Rourke, a deep visceral sound that made my skin itch. Then, right before our eyes, Valdov’s features began to shift and change. I watched in horror as his lips slowly peeled away from his mouth and his canines grew longer and sharper, dropping well past his bottom lip. His face elongated, impossibly stretching, his cheeks receding inward as his chin dipped downward.
It looked like his skin was going to slide completely off his face.
Holy horror show.
Then, as the final gruesome capper, his eyes bled to full black, leaving no trace of white showing at all. Then a wave of his anger hit me. I shrank against it as it pummeled me with a taste of magic I’d never experienced before. This vampire was ancient, and his powers were completely off the charts.
My wolf sprang at him inside my head, snarling and gnashing her teeth. My muscles started to jump and twist as the adrenaline she fed me charged its way through my bloodstream. I had to rein her in quickly or we’d be dead before this fight started. Hey, I know you’re itching to fight Creepy here, and I want to too, but we can’t take him and all his cronies at once, so you’re going to have to cool it down. She snarled at me, her teeth flashing, showing me an image of us sinking our teeth into his bone-white neck. Even if we managed to take out the vampires with Rourke’s help, we still have the Southern wolves to deal with, remember? If we attack now we lose. Get it? We need a better plan, one that doesn’t include going balls out on a horde of powerful supernaturals. Just give me a minute. She barked loudly but backed off, her frustration echoing around me in angry waves.
Rourke squeezed my hand in warning, acknowledging my sudden influx of power. I took it to heart. We were going to have to wait this out as long as we could. If anything, I hoped we’d be able to outrun them somewhere in the mountains. Angry Southern wolves mixed with scary vampires did not tip the odds in our favor.
Valdov gained control of himself with effort, obviously having a change of heart about tearing Rourke’s neck out. As he organized his features back into place, he flashed us a wretched smile. Locking his gaze on Rourke, he managed, “It looks as though we will no longer be needing your … assistance after all.” He drew out his esses like a serpent. “You may consider your contract with us null and void from this moment on. You will be paid in full, of course, but we will take the girl now and you can go back to your den, or wherever it is you slink off to.” He gestured breezily with his dead hand, like he was flicking away an irritant. “Now run along before I change my mind and decide to kill you just because I can.”
“That’s not going to work for me, Valdov,” Rourke said. “I’ll tear your head off your shoulders if you take so much as one step closer. You don’t have the authority to dismiss me that easily, and you know it.” Rourke’s voice went eerily calm then, dangerous and cutting in its intent. “If you lay one dead finger on her you will be begging me to end your life. Do you understand? You will beg me.”
The energy in the clearing jumped at Rourke’s words. The wolves had slunk in closer, forming a ring around us. They chattered and growled, riled at the prospect of a good fight.
Valdov didn’t seem cowed in the least.
Instead, he shifted his beady little stare to me, cocking his head like a bird. “My, my, my, what do we have here?” A grim smile played on his face as he clapped his hands together. “And here I thought it was only your constant need to rut! My Queen will be ever so interested in this new development. Come out and play, little werewolf,” he addressed me directly. “Or are you too frightened by what you see standing before you?” When I didn’t respond, he shook his head in mock sympathy. “It’s too bad your daddy is so very far away, isn’t it, little werewolf? It’s such a shame he couldn’t be here in time to catch all the fun.”
He was challenging me.
I couldn’t shrink away from it, even if my very human side wanted to flee. If I let myself appear weak, it would hurt me in the long run, plus it wasn’t something I could do—my wolf wouldn’t do. She now resembled a raging lunatic on a short leash, snarling, gnashing her teeth, rearing her legs up. I squared my shoulders and pried my hand from Rourke’s grasp with great difficulty, since he wasn’t interested in letting me go anywhere near Valdov.
I disengaged and stepped forward. Rourke growled, a low, steady sound full of menace and hatred. I stared Valdov straight in the eye, and in the strongest voice I could muster, I said, “The last time I needed my daddy’s help was when I was seven, Valdov. And just so we’re clear, I prefer to dirty my own hands. So whatever you think you’ve got, feel free to bring it now. I’m not scared of you.” I ended with a smile, flashing full white teeth, my wolf’s warning to stay the hell back or there would be trouble.
Right as I uttered the last words of my pretty speech, my body surged with power.
My wolf’s idea of backup. She fed me just enough juice to send a rough pulse through me, but not enough to start anything moving.
Perfect.
She barked.
Valdov inhaled again, closing his eyes in some kind of awful ecstasy, ignoring my bravado completely. “Ahhhh, such raw power, little werewolf,” he breathed. Then his eyes snapped open, cunning and superiority written all over his face. “Unfortunately, it won’t be enough to withstand all of us, poor female, no matter how dirty … you manage to get yourself. However entertaining that might be to witness, we will regretfully have to decline this time.”
I was about to tell him exactly how much dirt I was willing to shovel down his throat when he snapped his fingers, and almost immediately a figure stepped from the deep shadows across the clearing.
As it traipsed forward, I realized it was a woman.
She had long, flowing red hair, and as she sauntered confidently to us, her tresses danced wildly behind her like she was caught in a wind machine I couldn’t see.
She was outfitted head-to-toe in black leather. A short cropped jacket covered a skintight bustier, hugging her tiny waist so completely it was a wonder she could breathe. Both the jacket and corset were studded with sharp, angry metal spikes. The whole ensemble was accompanied by a pair of extremely tight, hip-hugging leather pants that stopped just below her belly button. Over the pants were thigh-high black boots. She also had what appeared to be a bullwhip attached to her hip.
Geez, now I knew who was in charge of bringing sexy back.
The mystery woman laughed as she drew near. “Did you miss me, my sweet? It’s been entirely too long since our last rendezvous, don’t you agree, Rourke?”