He reversed course, rushing toward the battle. Diskant swiped Ava up and moved her away while the pack backed the hell up. The growls the pack made were angry but weak. They didn’t have faith in those who’d vowed to protect them. Without that safeguard none of them knew what to do. So they stood back, watching Sadie and Aldon exchange blows.
Trey’s feet carried him over the distance, the world blurring by. He was almost in reach of Sadie, nearly able to touch her. Lashing out with a clawed hand, he aimed at the back of Aldon’s head. As he swung the male vanished. Trey pulled back, barely missing Sadie. Her ice blue eyes darted over the crowd and her nostrils flared. Then she was gone.
Damn it.
Members of the pack, unable to do anything else, crouched into defensive positions. They were under attack but didn’t understand their opponent.
Aldon reappeared near one of gate posts. He yanked the length of metal from the ground and sent it whipping toward the barn. Most of the men and women in the way managed to lower themselves to the ground but a couple of them were nailed with the beam. They went down and didn’t get back up.
Sadie emerged behind Aldon. Dropping the sword, she went at the vampire with her fists. She hit him in the side and followed it up with a devastating knock to the back of his head. He pivoted, snarling at her. Trey’s heart sank to his stomach, terror and fear swirling together. He couldn’t lose her now. Not after he’d finally faced his darkest fears. Not when they finally had a chance for some kind of future together.
“Damn you,” Aldon spat, throwing up his hand. “You’ll learn.”
An invisible force lifted Sadie into the air. She flew back several feet and hit the wooden fencing. The wood broke under her weight, cracking in two as she crashed to the ground. Trey scented her blood, knew that she had been hurt. The beast roared in his skull, his hackles rising. He would rip the motherfucker apart.
“I’ll kill you!” Trey snarled, leaping at the male.
He let the wolf rise, welcoming its presence. His claws extended, fangs dropping in his mouth. He tackled the vampire, forcing Aldon to the grassy earth. The pent-up aggression Trey’d carried for so long finally had an outlet. He sent his fist into Aldon’s side over and over again. An ear-splitting crack informed Trey he’d broken several of the vampire’s ribs. A spattering of fur erupted from his skin, the wolf trying to force him to shift. He managed to keep his human form, using the animal’s strength.
His breath caught when something changed, a force like no other slamming into him. There was no feeling like it—raw power and strength. He wanted to bray in relief, finally given the one thing he needed. The pack had finally pulled together, offering him their solidarity. Their combined energy suffused him, making him stronger and faster. Each time Trey’s knuckles slammed into Aldon’s side he felt the bones give. Just a little bit more and he’d puncture the fucker’s lung.
A blast of fire seemed to come from the vampire beneath him.
Trey tried to hold on but something dislodged him. He skittered to the side, not far away but unable to strike the man. Aldon didn’t rise, phasing from the ground. Trey’s head moved, his eyes taking in the area. At any given second the asshole would materialize and go for someone else.
“She’s not here,” Ava yelled, her high-pitched wail tinted by fear. “She left hours ago. The woman you want is gone.”
“Who’s gone?” a pack member growled, his gaze darting wildly into open space.
“Are you sure about that?” Aldon asked, the inquiry full of menace.
Trey froze, the wind knocked out of him.
Aldon stood behind Ava, his hand wrapped around her neck.
“Choose your answer carefully,” Aldon seethed.
“Fucker!” Sadie thundered, jumping on Aldon’s back.
Trey’s stomach bottomed out. He hadn’t seen his mate appear.
Ava ducked—getting free as Sadie went at Aldon’s eyes with her fingers—and made a mad dash for Diskant. Trey ran to his mate, his feet pounding against the soft ground. Each of his breaths was short and stinted. He’d never tried to direct the pack’s power to someone else but found himself sending all his energy to his Sadie. He willed everything he was to her, sending the pack’s influence to his female. She wrapped her legs around Aldon’s waist, holding on even as the male tried to shake her off.
“I spared your life and this is how you repay me?” he snarled, fangs shining and lips drawn back. His blond hair mixed with Sadie’s, one shade slightly lighter than the other. “No more. It’s time you were introduced to humility.”
They vanished, evaporating before the pack.
Trey forced his weight back, coming to a stop. He used his nose, trying to find Sadie’s scent. Alarm sent the wolf into a mad frenzy. He tried to keep it back, flexing his muscles. The animal didn’t want to listen, ripping at his insides.
He heard Diskant snarl and glanced up.
Aldon stood across the field with Sadie in his grasp.
Trey’s chest tightened, a phantom hand squeezing his heart. He watched—horrified—as Aldon threw his mate from him and Sadie soared through the air. She was headed toward the barn, her body moving too fast to catch. The momentum would kill a person. He wasn’t sure that she’d survive the impact. Only a few feet from the barn, she disappeared.
“Sadie!” he screamed, fisting his hands. His claws pierced his skin, causing blood to flow. He’d never run faster, going for the barn. Praying he’d find her. “Sadie!”
Then she was there, standing directly in front of him.
He almost sagged, thankful she was still alive.
Until he saw the deep, jagged wounds running from her neck to her stomach.
Blood covered her shirt, seeping down her torso. It looked like four claws had been pierced her skin and torn the flesh all the way to her bones. She tried to lift her arms, her eyes dulled by pain. Her legs buckled and she fell, sinking to her knees. She tried to talk, lips moving though she made no sound. Bringing a hand to her chest, she tried to stem the bleeding.
Oh God. No.
He made it to her, catching her before she landed on her face.
“Is he gone?” a pack member questioned, followed by someone else asking, “What was that?” Another voice chimed in, “Why would a vampire attack one of its own?”
Confusion turned into concern.
“What’s wrong with her?” someone yelled. “Is she all right?”
Irony. How he hated it.
They’d wanted to toss her aside, leave her on her ass and forget all about her. Yet she’d tried to protect them anyway, putting herself between them and danger.
His inhale was ragged, his fingers trembling.
If she hadn’t have gotten Aldon away from Ava the pack would have lost Diskant. The Omega wouldn’t continue living without the tiny woman. He’d rather die. Where would that leave them?
Alone and searching for a place to call home.
“Back off,” Zach ordered coolly. “Give them space.”
The Beta’s influence spread over the pack, reaching out to their beasts. He wasn’t as powerful as Nathan but he had definite potential. Even Trey felt the power of Zach’s wolf, the way it stretched itself to soothe the turmoil of the pack. It gave them a center of gravity, replacing chaos with order.
What had started as loathing had somehow turned to worry.
The pack’s anxiety slammed into Trey and he experienced their regret. Although they weren’t sure about Sadie they’d seen what she’d done. They created a circle around the fallen woman and their Alpha, forming a protective barrier around them. Trey wanted to be angry, to tell them all to go to hell. But he didn’t. He had to take care of Sadie. She needed blood and she needed it now.
“What did he do?” Ava shouldered her way through the wolves, Diskant on her heels. She was ruffled—her blonde hair messy and her face splotched with dirt—but unhurt. “How bad is it?”