“Well, that can be arranged.”

I spin around on my feet just as Rhain jumps up and pushes me back towards Ezra. Devin moves so quickly I can barely see him. He is by my side in an instant, Ezra flanking me.

Devin’s worry filters in to my thoughts. Stay right by me, he says.

I look at him but his eyes remain fixed on the man who has just entered. A man that seems so familiar to me that it takes my brain a second to catch up.

“You’re Jacob Bealing, one of the board of directors at the hospital I work at,” I say, confusion, anxiety and a rising fear pooling in my chest. The fact that all three vampires appear to be ready to fight isn’t helping either.

“That’s right, pretty. I am also Roland’s father.”

“What are you doing here?” I stutter, knowing full well why he is standing in my living room.

“Don’t play the innocent with me, bitch. I smelt you and these three all over his body. I know exactly what you and these bastards did to my son and you’re going to pay for it.”

“Get the fuck out of this house. This is your only warning,” Rhain says, taking a step towards Jacob. Ezra roughly pulls me behind him so I have to peer around his broad shoulders to see what is going on.

“I’m not going anywhere until all four of you are dead,” Jacob seethes.

“Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?” Ezra laughs, his voice calm and controlled. I notice him pull out a long thin blade from a pocket in his jeans. It flashes silver in the light.

“Do you?” Jacob says, flicking his arms. In an instant, his hands are replaced with huge hairy monstrosities. Long sharp nails erupt from the tips of his fingers and out of his mouth drops a set of long, jagged teeth. I place a hand over my own mouth to stifle a scream. Is this what a wolf-shifter looks like changed? He’s terrifying. As Jacob’s eyes glow a luminous orange, the touch of a memory feathers into my thoughts. Those eyes, I remember those eyes. “You were in the alley. You saw Roland take me,” I say, stuttering.

“I saw my son help a drunken colleague get into his car. Now my son is DEAD!” he roars, launching himself at Rhain.

I am lifted off my feet by Devin as Ezra and Rhain tangle with Jacob. “I’m getting you out of here,” he says, running with me to the front door. He pulls it open, only to find two more men approaching my house, their eyes gleaming orange like Jacob’s. “Shit,” Devin shouts, before dragging me upstairs and into my bedroom. “Stay here, lock the door. I will come back for you.” I don’t even get to respond before he is running back downstairs.

I do as Devin asks, but I don’t feel any safer. One hard shove and the lock would break. Grabbing my chest-of-drawers, I pull it across the floor and push it in front of the door. Mr Tickle crawls out from under my bed and pounces into my arms. He is shaking and wide-eyed. “I’m scared too,” I say, whispering into his fur.

Backing up into the corner of the room with Mr Tickle pressed against my chest, I slide to the floor, feeling completely and utterly helpless. If I get out of this situation alive, the first thing I need to do is learn how to defend myself. There is no way I am going to feel like this again.

Through the floor, I can hear the sound of my things breaking, glass shattering and the cries of my vampires fighting the halflings. My vampires? I almost laugh out loud at the inappropriate thought. Since when had they become my vampires? The sound of my house being torn to pieces goes on for what seems like hours, until I hear a loud howl followed by a sudden, eerie quiet.

Devin? Devin are you okay? Are Ezra and Rhain okay? What’s happened?

But there’s no answer, nothing but deafening silence.

My heart thunders in my chest when a minute later the door to my room rattles. There’s no voice accompanying the attempt to get in so I know, without a doubt, that whoever’s on the other side, they aren’t here to save me. I get up, clutching Mr Tickle in my arms, and run towards the window. It’s my only means of escape. Just as I wedge the window open, a loud crash sounds behind me as the door and chest-of-drawers are thrown inwards. I turn to face my attacker and in walks the biggest wolf I have ever seen.

I scream, a loud shrill sound that doesn’t sound like it has come from me. Mr Tickle hisses in my arms, his fur standing on end. I wince at the pain of the deep scratch across my chest that he has inflicted in his fear.

“Please,” I say, putting a hand up.

The wolf walks into the centre of my room, its piercing ice-blue eyes considering me for a moment. It sniffs the air, the end of its black nose twitching. The colouring of its fur is not dissimilar to Mr Tickle, white with grey and black markings that merge around its head. It is both beautiful and deadly. The wolf bares its teeth as a low growl rumbles up its throat. I close my eyes, turning my body away.

“Cia, you’re okay. Lights be thankful.”

I open my eyes to the sound of Rhain’s voice and stumble backwards as he throws his arms around me. Mr Tickle mewls in discomfort, leaping out of my arms as soon as Rhain steps back.

“Rhain, I thought…” my voice trails off as I become aware of a fully naked man with bronzed skin, rippling muscles and a full-length beard standing in my bedroom. His eyes are the same ice-cold blue as those of the wolf.

“Who are you?” I stutter, unable to comprehend what is going on.

“I am Blake from Clan Spiritus,” he says, his voice low and rasping.

I turn in confusion to Rhain. “Why aren’t we dead?” I whisper. Rhain pulls me closer to him and I feel the familiar pool of desire igniting. Devin? I reach out, but there is only silence. “Where are Devin and Ezra?” I ask, worry making my words wobble.

Blake steps forward. He is huge, larger than Ezra even. He must be at least 6’6”, and he’s as wide as a tree. “Ezra is looking after Devin. He’s been knocked unconscious. He will recover.”

“The others?” I say, referring to Jacob Bealing and his henchmen.

“Those abominations are dead,” Blake says, his eyes flashing angrily. “I killed them.”

“Abominations?”

Blake grimaces. “Yes, they are not true wolf-shifters, they are halflings made into what they are by Edrin, a rogue member of Clan Spiritus, who wanted to amass an army against the rest of the Clans in Ever Vale. He came through the portal with myself and two others just before Queen Adrielle sealed it shut twenty-seven years ago. During that time, he has changed several men, who now worship him like he is some kind of god.”

“How? I mean, how does he change them?” I ask. My eyes keep flicking to his manhood. It is incredibly distracting. I wish he’d put some clothes on. He seems completely unfazed by his nakedness.

“With a bite. They change at the next full moon. They absorb all the worst traits of their master. Edrin changed irrevocably when the curse was cast. His cruelty and masochistic tendencies were passed on to these halflings, though they can never fully shift. I’ve spent the last two decades cleaning up his mess.”

“Why are you so different? Ezra said that all your clan are the same. Why are you not like Edrin?” I ask, feeling braver now that Rhain is by my side.

Blake grinds his teeth at my remark. “I cannot tell you the answer to that. I haven’t seen Seb and Finch for some years now, but they too are nothing like Edrin or the Clan we left behind. Or at least they weren’t the last time we crossed paths. Who knows what they are like now.” Blake shrugs.

I glance up at Rhain, who looks as astounded as I am at the revelation. I wonder what thoughts are going through his head right now.

“Well, I can tell you from experience that the wolf-shifters I have come face to face with are more like the Edrin you describe than your good self. The common folk of Ever Vale have experienced much suffering at the hands of your people.”

“Don’t forget Clan Lux,” I add.

“Indeed,” he says, not denying it.

“I have not been able to get home to Ever Vale since we arrived. The portal closed not long after the curse was cast. I have been living hand to mouth ever since. Queen Adrielle has made herself at home, I take it?”

“You could say that. Her power has increased with time. It has been one thousand years since you left.”

Blake laughs. It is a deep laugh that vibrates through his chest. “I think you must be mistaken.”

“No, it is you who is mistaken. Time runs differently here, friend,” Rhain says.

“Damn,” Blake says. “And the rest of the clans? They are still alive, like you?”

“Yes, every clan member affected by the curse is as old as I am. It is part of the Queen’s punishment to make us suffer the curse in perpetuity.”

“I see.”

Accacia? Are you okay?

I jump, startled by Devin’s voice inside my head once again. Are you? I respond, half listening to Rhain explain to Blake the brief history of what’s been happening in Ever Vale since the wolf had escaped.

Nasty knock to my head. I’m fine now. Where’s the wolf?

He’s up here. Can we trust him, Devin?

He helped destroy the half-breeds. I hope we can… Accacia.

Yes?

I’m glad you’re alright.

I’m glad you’re okay too, I say and smile.

“You need to leave. There will be more of Edrin’s men to follow. He does not like to lose pack members.”

“There are more coming?” I ask, fear rippling over my skin.

“Yes, there is little doubt more will arrive. I will hold them off until you are a safe distance away.”

“But I don’t want to leave, this is my home.” I pull free from Rhain’s hold and cross my arms as tears prick my eyes.

“Don’t be foolish,” Blake says, approaching me. The length of his dirty blonde hair falls well past his shoulders. I peer up at his face, at the thin scar that runs along his cheek. “You have a target on your back, whether you like it or not. Edrin will not rest until the lives of his halflings are avenged.”

“But I didn’t kill them!”

“No, but then Edrin has never really cared about the details, only about the outcome. He will kill you if you stay.”

“Then we won’t give him the chance,” Ezra says, walking into the bedroom with Devin following behind. In his arms is a rather content looking Mr Tickle. Ezra attempts to stroke the cat. Mr Tickle hisses at him and Devin chuckles.

“Be quiet, beast, or I’ll have you for dinner,” Ezra says.

“You’re not his favourite,” Blake observes, smiling. Or at least I think it’s a smile and not a baring of teeth.

“He’s not anyone’s favourite,” I say under my breath.

Ezra strides over to me and pulls on my arm. “We leave now. Blake is right. We need to get you to safety.”

I shake my arm free. “Don’t touch me,” I seethe. “I’ve had just about enough of men thinking they can grab me whenever the hell they feel like it. So, unless you want another knife buried in your chest, I suggest you back the fuck off!” I don’t know where this temper has come from suddenly or why Ezra rubs me up the wrong way, but he does.

“Ezra, leave her be,” Rhain says. His voice is soft, but I can see the warning in his eyes. He turns back to Blake. “We are grateful for your assistance this night. We owe you a debt and we will return it whenever it is called for.”

“I will take your word as your vow,” Blake says, taking Rhain’s proffered hand. He nods farewell to Ezra and Devin, who file out of my bedroom. Rhain and I follow behind. I turn to look back at Blake, who is watching me leave. His piercing blue eyes are the last thing I notice before he transforms into his wolf form. It happens instantaneously, and I am shocked by the magic of it. There’s no agony of transformation here. The wolf considers me a moment before dipping his head. A moment later he jumps through my open bedroom window and out into the garden below.

As we make our way downstairs, I don’t look at the devastation of my living room, or the bodies of the halflings strewn across my house. I ignore the dead eyes of Jacob Bealing and the blood splattering the walls, and step out into the night. In the distance I can hear the loud peal of police sirens. I live in a quiet cul-de-sac, so the commotion won’t have gone unnoticed.

“We should leave,” Ezra says, pointing at a twitching curtain in the upstairs window of number thirty-eight.

My eyes flick to my neighbour, and I almost wave. Instead I get into the car, feeling strangely detached, as though I am on automaton. As I pull out of the drive I glance at the only house I’ve ever known and know, deep down, that I will never see it again.