I crept back down Raeven’s Road with my tail between my legs, my shoulders hunched, my heart heavy.

Shane had been right about one thing. I was no hunter. A hunter wouldn’t have been willing to sacrifice herself—or her partner—to save a vampire. Especially not one who’d killed her entire family.

“Stupid,” I cried. “Stupid.”

I stopped walking and leaned forward, my hands on my knees, unable to keep my sobs from bursting free. I gave myself only a few seconds to wallow, and then I straightened, wiped my eyes, and walked on.

When the darkness of the hollow became too much, I brought out Silverlight. In the deep mystery of the hollow she brightened like a beacon, probing black shadows my flashlight couldn’t penetrate.

She lit up because there were vampires on Raeven’s Road. There were vampires in the woods. The hollow was full of them.

No wonder the area had felt so bad. It was bad.

I wasn’t sure why they weren’t all leaping out, trying to rip off my head, but I remained unmolested.

And I walked on, because I had to.

Gray’s scent teased my brain, and as I walked by the house of the hounds, they once again began barking and howling and straining at the chains that held them in the yard.

The man who lived in the house didn’t open his door but I saw the edge of a curtain slide back.

I followed Gray’s scent, acknowledging the trickles of excitement that began unfurling inside my belly. I was a mess, no doubt, but hunting and tracking was what I was meant to do. I just needed to get better at it.

Gray’s tracks wafted off into the woods, and after a moment of indecision, I crossed the road, jumped the ditch, and followed them on.

If I caught Gray, I could salvage something from the night. I refused to let myself think about Shane, or what he was going through, or where Amias had taken him. There’d be enough of that later.

I sheathed Silverlight because her light was becoming so bright I was spotlighted in it—the enemy would see me long before I saw him. I couldn’t hide in that light.

I drew a stake from my belt and held it instead, and a flashlight, which I would click on when I needed to. Right then, the moon was all I needed.

I thought I heard the rumble of a distant vehicle, roaring toward Raeven’s Road, and the sound made me feel less alone. There were people in the world. Angus would come. I was not alone.

A stick cracked beneath my boot, and I halted, listening intently as something rustled furtively behind me. I wanted to draw the sword, but I resisted her pull. It wasn’t safe in the light. Not there.

Wispy trails danced around my feet, Gray’s among them, trailing off as far as I could see. He’d been there, and recently. The tracks were vibrant and lively and really, if I wanted to admit it, they were beautiful.

They likely used the woods to hunt for food. Animals would sustain them, even if they didn’t love the blood. When they fed from a human, it was more because they craved the taste and the different energy than they had no other choice.

Animals might not give them the strength and vitality dining from humans would, but it wasn’t like they’d suffer overly much if they drank only animal blood. Good for the humans, not so good for the animals.

At least, that was what I’d heard. Who knew for sure but the vampires?

I followed Gray’s scent for ten more minutes before I spotted him. Not him, maybe, but them. A small group of vampires, sitting on logs and leaning against trees, sharing food. Human food. I couldn’t tell if Gray was among them.

There were two humans in the midst of the vampires. One had crumbled into a ball on the ground, and the other leaned weakly against the knees of a sitting vampire as he drank from her neck.

I lost my shit.

I released an unthinking scream of rage, and the next thing I knew, Silverlight was lighting up the night and I was charging the vampires, death in my heart.

The vampires scattered without making a sound—danger was a constant companion and they’d grown used to her—but the humans were a different matter.

The one who’d been in the middle of a feeding climbed drunkenly to her feet, a gun in her hand. “Stop,” she croaked, and pulled the trigger.

Lucky for me she was too smashed to focus, and the shot went wide. I heard a tree yelp when the bullet took off some bark, and then I concentrated on the vampires.

There were six of them, but I figured there were more in the area—the trails had been many and varied—and I was right. More of them came running at the commotion, but strangely enough, they didn’t attack me. They turned tail and ran.

What the hell kind of vampires ran?

Ones that wanted to live.

I squeezed Silverlight and walked toward the humans. “Are you okay?” I called.

The woman waved the gun at me, a little stronger. “Go away!”

I kept walking, but sheathed Silverlight. The vampires had mesmerized her, and that wasn’t her fault. “I can help you,” I told her. “Put the gun down.”

She rubbed her face with her free hand, then stumbled backward and tripped over the log on which her attacker had sat, his fangs in her flesh. The gun flew from her grip.

“Shit,” she cried. “Shit.” Her voice was still thick, her words slurred, but she seemed to be recovering quickly. She sat up and lunged for the gun, but I reached it first.

I kicked it away. “Stop it,” I said. “Calm down. You’re all right.”

I knelt at the downed man’s side, but kept my stare on the woman. I felt for a pulse, relieved when I found it. “He’s alive,” I told her.

“Come on.” She wiped angrily at her eyes and began to cry. “Come on.”

I stood, digging for my cell phone. “I’ll call for help.”

“Leave us alone,” she screamed, suddenly, and turned to follow the vampires deeper into the woods.

I went after her and when I caught her, I grabbed her arm and spun her around. She was about eight inches shorter than me and when I took her arm, it was like holding a stick. I eased my grip. “Lady, you’ll be okay. Stay still. The effects of the bite will wear off soon.”

“Oh my God,” she said. “If you want a cause, go after the infected vampires. I don’t want you here. Can’t you understand?”

And finally, I did.

“You wanted to feed them.”

“I’m with my friends.” She dropped to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and sobbed. “He’ll stop seeing me.”

“Your vampire friend?” I couldn’t keep the disdain from my voice.

She swallowed her tears and looked up at me. “My boyfriend, not that it’s your business.” She wiped her nose on her sleeve and then stood, jerking away from me when I reached out to steady her. “Who the fuck are you, anyway?” She continued on before I could answer. “Whoever you are, you’re not better than me. And you’re not better than them.”

“Lady—”

She shoved me, but was still too weak and loopy to put any muscle behind it. “Go away. You don’t belong here.”

“Neither do you.”

She poked a stiff finger into my chest, and that hurt a little. “It’s not your business. I’m an adult.”

“Law says—” I began.

“Fuck the law. And fuck you.”

“I’m all for minding my own business when it comes to consenting adults,” I told her. “But the vampires mesmerize you. You don’t know any better. They make you think you want something you don’t.”

She sighed, and the fight went out of her. Her eyes were stark and hopeless in the bloodless pale of her face, and she seemed to shrink just a little. “Are you going to turn me in?”

I studied her. “I think you need to see a doctor.”

Her stare was unflinching. “Answer me.”

I looked heavenward, then finally, shook my head. “No, I won’t turn you in.”

“Then please,” she said gently, “leave us alone. We’re not hurting anybody.”

“Give me some information, and I’ll go.”

She frowned, then wiped her nose on the back of her hand. “Information about what?”

I pulled my phone from my pocket, then brought up the picture of Lucy’s killer. “Gordon Gray.” I turned the phone toward her and showed her the photo. “Do you know where he is?”

She pushed the phone away. “Lucy’s guy.”

“Yes. Where can I find him?”

“You can’t. He knows he’s being hunted. He comes out to feed—mostly from animals—and then goes back into hiding. Lucy didn’t like him feeding from other people, said he was cheating on her.” She laughed, then shrugged and continued when I said nothing. “You won’t find him.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I will.”

“Good luck.”

She didn’t sound like she meant that at all.

I gave the man another glance. “Do you want help, or are you happy offering yourself to the bloodsuckers as well?” I was full of contempt, and he wouldn’t look at me.

“Awesome,” I muttered and turned away from both of them.

But before I could leave them to their fates and head back to the road, where Angus would be waiting, the woman gave a horrified scream.

And suddenly, we were surrounded by something much, much worse than mere vampires.