Alec’s eyes never wavered from his uncle. It was clear from the hard-set look on his face he didn’t believe a word he was saying.

“After you,” Alec insisted through gritted teeth.

David chuckled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m not leaving until you do. You and Shane both,” Alec said. “So, if you plan on taking Shane home, you’re going to leave before I do.”

“I don’t think you understand what’s going on here. Do you realize who these people truly are? Especially her, the girl you’ve been crushing on for so long now. Do you know what she is?” David asked as he pointed in my direction. Disgust dripped from his words.

“I’m well aware. Have been for a while. Yet, I don’t want to kill her. I don’t want her blood. Their blood. I don’t want to make money off them. All I want is for you to leave them alone. Shane and Peter, too.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” David said.

“Damn straight,” Shane agreed in a slur.

Alec folded his arms over his solid chest. “Then I’m afraid I can’t leave.”

“Look, while I enjoy a good showdown as much as the next guy, I don’t think now is the time. Maybe y’all can take this somewhere else,” Dorian suggested, his tone forceful.

“Why would we do that?” David asked. He flashed Dorian a go-to-hell look.

“We’re expecting company, and I don’t think you want to run into them,” Eli chimed in. “Not after what we heard. Did you double-cross someone, David?”

“What? Double-cross?” David scoffed. “Who’ve you been talking to?” His eyes shifted to Peter as though he’d give him an answer.

“Regina’s goons,” Peter said. His voice was low as though he was afraid of what David might say next. Did he think David would accuse him of ratting him out? “They know what you were trying to do. They know about Drew and how he was involved in it too.”

David’s head cocked to the side. “How?”

“I’m not sure.” Peter licked his lips and shrugged.

“Did you tell them something?” David asked, his eyes narrowing.

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but he never got the chance.

Regina’s goons came up the driveway in their sleek SUV, engine revving.

My mind jolted with panic. Alec was still here.

“Run!” I shouted as I shoved him hard. My only hope was Regina’s vampires hadn’t seen him yet. If they had, running now only made him bigger prey for them to hunt.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Alec insisted. “I’ve already told you I’m here to help.”

I shook my head. “You don’t understand. You can’t help. Not with this. You need to get out of here, Alec. You need to listen to me and run,” I insisted as I shoved him again.

“She’s right,” David surprised me by saying. “Get out of here, Alec. Now!”

“I said I’m not leaving, and I meant it. Whatever’s about to go down, I plan on being here for it,” Alec said. “I’m helping Mina and her pack. She’s my friend.”

Friend. His voice wavered when he said the word, making it clear he still thought of me as more than a friend. While his feelings for me were sweet, they were going to get him killed.

“If you want to help me, if you want to protect me, then you need to get out of here. I can’t be thinking of you while I’m dealing with them,” I insisted, trying my hardest to get him to see reason.

“Alec, I’m serious. Listen to her, if you won’t listen to me. Just get out of here. These guys are nothing to mess with,” David said as he grabbed him by the shoulder. He pulled him around to the other side of his truck, but Alec resisted. He dug his feet into the gravel. When David tugged at him harder, Alec took a swing at him.

“Who’s coming for a visit now?” Shane asked as he wobbled on his feet. Whatever he’d been drinking had fully kicked in. He could barely stand. “Did you ask for backup? Fucking pansies,” Shane slurred as his bloodshot eyes attempted to soak in what was happening around him.

“That’s not back up,” Peter muttered. “It’s Regina’s vampires come to collect.”

We were out of time. Or at least I was.

Shit.

Everyone froze as the SUV rolled to a stop behind the trucks already present in the driveway. Its headlights lingered on us longer than I liked. What were they doing? Counting how many of us there were? Strategizing over how they’d efficiently take us out? It made me nervous.

Once the engine was cut, the headlights kicked off. The doors opened and out stepped the same vampires from the other night. Both of them were as tall and menacing as I remembered. They looked as hateful as I remembered too, but the one with the scar seemed more venomous than my memories recalled. Obviously he enjoyed a challenge, which was how he seemed to view the current situation. He wasn’t as surprised to see us in the driveway as I thought he would be. And the other guy, Benny, looked as excited as the boss man.

Had they known we would all be here?

“What do we have here?” the vampire with the scar asked as he appraised us each with dark, cold eyes.

“Who the hell are you?” Shane asked louder than necessary. Apparently, he hadn’t heard Peter when they pulled up.

“Your worst nightmare if you don’t watch yourself,” Benny said. His eyes narrowed on Shane.

“My worst nightmare? What kind of bullshit line is that?” Shane chuckled. He was the only one of us able to find amusement in the situation.

“Shane,” Peter scolded.

“What? I don’t give a shit who these guys are. I came here for one thing and one thing only,” Shane slurred as he took an unsteady step forward.

David put an arm out, forcing him to a standstill. “Chill.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Shane asked as he pushed David’s arm away, nearly falling in the process. “Who are these guys, and why does everyone look like they’re about to shit their pants because they showed up?”

“Already told you, we’re your worst nightmare. Why don’t listen to your friend and chill,” Benny said as he licked his lips. “Or don’t. I’d be glad to show you who I am.”

My stomach revolted. These guys were seriously scary.

“I see you got what we asked for,” the vampire with the scar said to Peter. His eyes skimmed over me before shifting to Eli and Dorian. “And then some. Exactly like you said. Well done, Peter.”

Exactly like he’d said? Had Peter somehow sold us out?

“Thank you,” Peter said, his words sounding more like a question than a statement. “Things didn’t go as planned.” He cleared his throat as his eyes bounced from me to Eli and Dorian. I could smell his anxiety in the air.

Could the vampires?

“Doesn’t matter. You did as you were supposed to.”

“You burned us!” Dorian shouted. He reached for Peter, jerking him up by the scruff of his collar. “You tipped them off that we’d be here.”

“I had no choice,” Peter said. His voice was small. His face sweaty. It was clear he truly feared for his life. “I had to.”

Dorian released his grip on Peter. Something shifted across his face that made me think he realized going for Peter wasn’t worth it. “They’ll probably kill you anyway right before they leave with what they came for no matter what deal you’ve worked out with them.” He spat.

Peter’s face paled. “No. They wouldn’t. We had a deal.”

“Relax. She’s what we came for. She’s what we’re leaving with,” the vampire with the scar said. His gaze narrowed on Dorian and Eli, knowing they were members of my pack and the main thing standing in his way when it came to taking me as planned. “That is all Regina wants. Nothing more. Nothing less. Not right now anyway.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Alec said. He stepped in front of me, blocking me from the vampire’s view. “You’re not taking anyone. Least of all her.”

“The hell we aren’t,” Benny hissed. He flashed Alec a challenging grin that revealed his sharp fangs.

David nudged Alec in the ribs. “You need to shut your mouth,” he whispered.

Laughter erupted through the night air.

“Not taking anyone says the human boy.” The vampire with the scar chuckled. Alec’s words had amused him. This scared me because it made him even more unpredictable.

I knew nothing about him. About either of them. For all I knew, they could be psychotic. Hell, they had to be to work closely with Regina.

“You do realize your girlfriend is a werewolf, right? So is he and him too,” the vampire with the scar said as he pointed to Eli and Dorian.

Tension rippled through the air, making it hard to breathe. There were too many hotheaded guys around me.

“I know and I don’t care,” Alec said without removing his gaze from the vampire. No fear. Alec showed no damn fear whatsoever. “She’s not going with you. Neither are they,” he said as he nodded to Eli and Dorian.

The vampire stared at Alec, his eyes growing darker and more demonic by the second. “She goes where I say she does. You can have them, but she is mine.”

My heart beat triple time. I waited for the vampire to launch at Alec, rip out his throat, and cram me in his SUV. He’d made it clear he wasn’t leaving without me. Even if he had to kill everyone here tonight to make it happen.

“It’s okay,” I whispered as I grabbed hold of Alec’s arm. “This is what was supposed to happen tonight. I’m supposed to go with them.”

Maybe they were the wrong words to say because of the risk of skepticism that might arise from the vampires, but in that moment, they felt right. Like they were the only way to get through to Alec. The only way to make him stand down.

Instead my words sparked a war.

“Is this a set up?” the vampire with the scar asked no one in particular. “It reeks of a damn set up. Peter, what are you trying to pull here? She shouldn’t want to go with us.”

“Nothing. I’m not trying to pull anything,” Peter insisted. His words ran together, and he took a step back, putting as much distance between himself and the vampires as possible.

“Why don’t I believe you?” the boss vampire asked, his head cocking to the side. “What are these others doing here?

“None of them was supposed to be here except them. Her and her pack. But my drunk kid brother showed up with his friend. My brother called that guy—”

“David. We know who he is,” the vampire with the scar said as his gaze drifted to David. His fangs descended, and his tongue trailed over them in a frightening way. “Hello, David. Long time no see. We heard all about how you double-crossed us. Regina sent some others to look for you, but it looks as though we found you first. Guess that means we get to deliver her message.”

The tension in the air grew thicker. It had my wolf begging me to set her free. She wanted to protect me. Protect us all. What she wanted most was to tear into the vampires that had caused so much heartache for our pack.

I wanted to let her loose but knew I couldn’t. Not yet. I needed to get to the city first. I needed to get to the others.

Rescuing them was my top priority, right behind figuring out how to get through this moment without anyone getting hurt.

The vampire with the scar stood inches from David. He’d moved so fast it was hard for my eyes to follow. I could smell stale blood on his breath as he came closer. David didn’t back down like I thought he would. He didn’t shrink away. Instead he stood stock-still while holding the vampire’s gaze.

“What message might that be?” David asked.

“You didn’t get away with it,” the vampire with the scar hissed.

His sidekick, Benny, cracked his knuckles, and Shane, for whatever reason, burst into a fit of laughter.

“This is rich, real fucking rich. I feel like I’m on one of those hidden camera TV shows. There’s no way any of this can be real.” Shane laughed as he reached out and touched one of the vampire’s long fangs.

It had to be the dumbest thing Shane had ever done in his life.

The vampire stared at Shane. Seconds ticked away; my rapid heartbeat counted them out with its erratic rhythm. Without warning, the vampire reached out and grabbed Shane’s hand. He snapped it in half as though it were nothing besides a twig. Shane’s bloodcurdling scream echoed through the night. When the vampire let go, Shane’s hand dangled unnaturally. Blood oozed from his wrist, dripping to the ground. A puddle formed in the dirt, and I swore I saw bones sticking through his skin before he cradled it against his chest.

“Oh, shit!” Alec shouted. He grabbed my shoulder and spun me away from the scene, placing me behind him. “We need to get out of here,” he whispered.

All hell broke loose around us before I could speak.

Shane sobbed. Peter darted toward him. And David took a swing at the vampire with the scar. When he connected with his jaw, it looked as though David’s hand had smashed against stone. Bones popped and I knew he’d broken something.

The vampire smiled.

Time seemed to stand still. Until he spoke.

“Benny, get the girl,” he said.

Benny started toward me. He was fast. Before Alec could pull me away, he was in front of us, blocking our path. Alec came to a screeching halt, forcing me to stop with him. I should’ve told him we wouldn’t be able to run from them. I should’ve told him there was no point in trying.

Logic had lost all hold on me. I was in flight mode.

“Where do you think you’re running off to?” Benny asked. A wicked grin twisted the corners of his lips, making him seem certifiably insane.

There was no getting away from him. No way for me to fight against him either.

Unless I shifted.

My wolf agreed. She’d been waiting for me to come to that conclusion and finally give in to her. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Fighting against them wasn’t an option. Neither was running. I still needed to be taken to Regina and the rest of my pack.

I also needed to protect Alec, and shifting was the only way I could do that for sure. I slipped my ring and bracelet off and tossed them to the ground.

“I’m getting her away from you,” Alec insisted. “You’re goddamn monsters.”

Benny’s crazy eyes fixed on Alec. “I said we could be your worst nightmare. I wasn’t lying, kid.”

Benny lunged for Alec, but I stepped between them. The vampire’s hands wrapped around my throat instead of Alec’s, squeezing the life out of me. My heels dug into the ground as my hands slapped and shoved him away. Fighting him did me no good.

There was only one way I’d make it through a fight against him alive.

“No!” I heard Eli shout as the taste of moon magic touched my tongue.

The sensation of the moon goddess rippled through me as I allowed my wolf to take over. She knew her strength and stealth was the only way we were going to make it through this moment and the next. Letting her free was the only way to guarantee our heart would remain beating.

A low growl ripped through the night air before I could fully shift. I wasn’t the only one who’d decided their wolf needed to be released.

Eli had fully shifted and was stalking toward me. Dorian was right behind him, teeth bared and ready for a fight.

Heat raged through my body as my wolf forced herself to the surface. There wasn’t a slow building of blissful warmth this time around.

No, this time it was all heat and relief.

My wolf was ready to kick some ass. She knew we still needed at least one of the vampires alive to take us to Regina’s hideout in the city, and that was all she promised.

It looked like Eli’s plan was about to be put into action after all.