Shane threw a prayer to the universe, turned the doorknob, and slowly pushed the creaking metal door open. The sky had brightened considerably, and though he could feel the warning pull of the sun, Shane barely felt it because all he could see was Maya.
Maya was staked to the roof by her arms and her legs with chains of silver wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Aside from being able to smell her flesh burning, he could see wisps of smoke drifting up from the wounds. Sadie was staked out the same way, and Horace sat cross-legged between them with a gun against Maya’s temple. Every muscle in Shane’s body hummed with barely contained violent rage, and though he wanted to shoot Horace full of liquid silver, the gun at Maya’s temple gave him pause.
“If you want to live, then I suggest you let the women go,” Shane bit out.
“Let me think,” Horace said dramatically. “Nope. I took care of that scumbag, Rat, and his whore dancers. He was helpful at first but then he turned into a whiny pain in the ass, so he outlived his usefulness.”
“Shane,” Maya whimpered and winced in pain.
The sound stabbed at Shane’s heart like a knife, and he flicked his attention to her tearstained face. “It will be alright, youngling.”
Dakota stepped forward, raised his gun, and fired but Horace dodged the bullet, pulled a gun with his other hand, and fired two shots. One hit Shane and the other slammed into Dakota, who was sent flying down the stairs. Shane struggled to stay on his feet, but the silver bullet remained lodged in his chest. Although it missed his heart, the damage was severe. Pain burned through his veins when the silver festered in his body. He blinked and his vision blurred, but he kept his gun trained on Horace, who was kneeling between the two women.
The sun crept higher and Shane knew their time was running short.
Shane stumbled and fell to his knees. His left arm hung uselessly at his side, and he fought to keep the gun in his right hand, focused on Horace.
“Let the women go,” Shane sputtered and bit back the bone-melting pain. “You can have me instead. I’m a sentry for the Presidium, and killing me will be a much bigger coup for you than eliminating a couple of women.”
“I’m sick of bitches like her trying to make me look stupid.” Horace rose to his feet slowly. “Besides, killing all of you will make trouble for my old man and that’s fine by me. I hate the old fucker and my brother with his holier-than-thou attitude. They don’t deserve to have the power of the wolf because they fucking tamed it. Men like them are holding our race back when we could be ruling the world.” He snorted. “Why am I even wasting my time talking to you?”
The world wavered and Shane steeled his strength before taking a shot at Horace. The bullet bounced off the edge of the building, missing his target completely. Horace’s bullet, however, did not. Two more rounds of silver penetrated Shane’s torso and sent him to the ground in a useless heap. He landed next to Maya and could feel whatever life he had draining from him along with the blood. With his last bit of strength, Shane turned his head so that the last sight he would see on this earth would be the woman he loved.
Blistering pain seared through Maya’s body from the silver burning her flesh, but nothing wounded her more than watching Shane get shot. She watched the life began to fade from his eyes and the sight turned her pain to rage. Her fangs erupted and she screamed with pure, unadulterated fury, which only elicited a laugh from Horace. Tugging on the chains at her wrists and with pain shooting up her arms, Maya screamed against the pain and kept trying to break free.
“I think I’m going to fuck you quick before I go,” Horace said in an almost matter-of-fact voice.
He placed the gun on the ground and began to undo his pants while he stood over Maya. She flicked her gaze down to see that he was fully aroused. He shed the rest of his clothing and tossed it aside. Dropping to his knees, he kissed her cheek and looked at Shane while Maya continued to pull against the chains.
“I bet you like to watch.” Horace scraped his fingers over Maya’s arms.
With his unwelcome touch and his disgusting erection pressing against her hip, every ounce of anger inside of Maya erupted. With a primal scream, she pulled the restraints out of the roof and rammed her hands onto Horace’s chest. A massive surge of energy, just like the one that night in the bayou, gathered in her chest, shot up her arms, and blasted into Horace. The look of shock on his face was almost as satisfying as watching him fly naked through the air and slam against the building chimney. He tumbled to the tar roof in a pathetic heap before pushing himself to a sitting position. A look of terror covered his face while he pressed his hands to his chest.
“What the fuck?” Horace whimpered. He ran his hands over his hairy torso, as though looking for something he lost. “You fucking gypsy whore. What did you do to me?”
Shuddering with pain, adrenaline, and fury, Maya ignored his babbling and pulled the silver off her wrists and ankles, not even feeling the burns to her fingers. Frantic, she looked at the sky blazing orange along the horizon and she knew she had to get Sadie inside. Weakened from the silver burns, Sadie wouldn’t survive even the smallest amount of sunlight.
Doug landed on the roof next to Maya just before Killian came bounding up the steps and burst through the door. Maya whimpered with relief at Doug’s arrival and crawled over to sit by Shane.
“She took my wolf, Killian,” Horace babbled from the other side of the roof. “That gypsy vampire bitch made me mortal.”
“You took his wolf,” Killian murmured, looking from Horace to Maya. “The magic wasn’t in the necklace at all…it’s you.”
“We can figure that out later,” Maya said quickly. “We have to help them.”
“Holy shit cakes,” Doug blurted out while running a hand over his short blond hair. Wasting no time, he went over to Sadie and, with gloved hands, yanked the silver off her wrists and ankles. “We’ve got to get her inside. The sun is coming up fast. Watch him, Killian.” Pointing at Horace, he said, “Better yet, just get him the fuck out of my city.”
“He’s no longer one of us,” Killian said with a voice edged in sadness. “But perhaps he never was.”
“What do you mean I’m not one of you?” Horace spat. “I’m your fucking brother.”
“You are an embarrassment,” Killian said tightly.
Maya cradled Shane’s head in her lap and encouraged him to drink from her. Killian stood by and watched the two of them, which was probably why he didn’t notice Horace had picked up the discarded gun. Screaming with blind fury, Horace squeezed off two rounds as he charged across the roof stark naked, but neither hit their marks.
The gun jammed and before Horace could shoot again, Killian shifted into an enormous black and brown wolf. With a rumbling growl, he leaped onto his brother’s chest. Horace flailed helplessly while Killian snapped his neck with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed through the air, and Killian lifted his head and let out a mournful howl that ricocheted around the Manhattan skyline.
“Fuckin’ A, Killian,” Dakota grunted. Stumbling through the door, he grimaced in pain before leaning against the wall and sliding down to the floor. “Remind me never to piss you off, man.”
“Come on, you gotta get up, kid,” Doug shouted to Dakota. He had Sadie, moaning in pain, draped over his shoulder and was pulling Dakota to his feet with his other hand. “I have to get them inside. Maya, I’ll be right back for you and Shane.” He gave a concerned glance toward the brightening sky. “Just sit tight.”
Still in his wolf form, Killian whined and lowered his blood-covered muzzle before trotting over to Shane and Maya. In a shimmer of light, he shifted back to his human form, snagged his ripped jeans, and pulled them on before kneeling next to Shane and Maya. He held his wrist out and nodded. “Here.”