A Crown of Blood [18+]

Chapter 20

How?

That was my first thought.

My second was, why?

And then, with nearly soul-crushing defeat, why me?

I ripped out Richard's throat. I threw him off a skyscraper, for fuck's sake! Vampires were parasites, but they weren't as indestructible as the damn city rats.

It was twilight now, and the shadows were deep enough to shield the vampires from the last rays of sunlight. Damon placed a possessive hand on my waist as if the simple gesture would deter the leech, but instead, the creature grinned as though excited by the prospect of fighting us both.

"They've got some fucking nerve," Damon snarled. Acting on instinct, he angled himself even closer as he assessed the impending danger, his body thrumming with heat and power. I was sure he didn't expect the vampires to pick a fight with the control the Caine's had on the city. And to do it out in the open?

Our options were limited: fight or... fight.

"You'll wish you died that night," the vampire hissed. This was not Richard; this vampire was an heir created by him. The glamour over the vampire wavered—not as strong as a faerie's, but still convincing from afar—and a green-haired male watched me with pure hatred on his pallid face. "You'll be begging for death when I'm done with you. For what you did to my sire."

"Fuck," I said between gritted teeth. "I was hoping he wouldn't say that."

Vampires didn't take kindly to the death of their sires. Revenge upon those responsible for a sire's death was not only an act of love but a move for power in the clan. Through some fucked up twist of fate, not only did the wolves and Natalia's gang have a target on my back, but I had a vampire problem, too.

For once, I'd love a fucking break.

"You need to get out of here," Damon ground out. Fangs elongated in his mouth, and his muscles ripped beneath his skin with the Change and its raw power. "I need to make an example."

"Can't you call for backup or something?" I shot back. "Don't you have cronies all over the place?"

"I told them to hang back tonight." His eyes glowed. "I need to buy some time before they get here, and you need to fucking leave."

My wolf perked her ears, and I looked outward at the bodies passing by.

Where there was one vampire, there were more.

"Where would I go without running into more trouble?"

The vampire's nose wrinkled in a snarl that revealed rows of sharp teeth, and a tremor of the Change wracked my body, setting my irises blazing gold in the reflection of the windows beside us. The likelihood that other vampires hid in the crowd was high, but so was the potential for innocent casualties. For exposure to humans and other supernatural creatures in the city, including the Goodwin Pack.

There was no fucking way Mr. Goodwin could find out for a third party of my whereabouts. And with whom?

We needed to lure the vampires out of the busy mess around us. But where the hell could we go?

Thoughts racing, my magic and the wolf responded to my brewing panic. Tomorrow, the moon was full—for the first time since Damon trapped me—and the wolf was in her greatest control. With a forceful lash of power, the wolf shoved against my bones, fangs rupturing from my gums and claws from my fingertips. She wanted to take down a vampire the old-fashioned way with teeth and claws.