~

 

Tom Deaton felt the pain in his gums as his fangs elongated and he embraced the animal side of him. He could scent the blonde’s fear in the air, see the disbelief in her eyes, the cold horror and the repulsion for what he was written all over her face, and hear her heart hammering inside her chest…

That made him feel like a God.

He wasn’t doing this to get off on it – well, maybe a little – but he was also doing it to teach them a lesson before he lured them into his net and sealed their fate forever.

Nathaniel thought he was a damn God. Vampires weren’t Gods they were an abomination. The dead that wouldn’t lie down and die.

But his own kind – werewolves – were classed as the lowest on the supernatural food chain – called mutts and hunted to their deaths, and nobody blinked an eye…

Nathaniel had murdered his brother at the bequest of his witch, and he would pay the ultimate price … but then, so would she.

“It’s alright…” Joseph turned towards Claudia inside the metal cage where they’d been held since they were dragged their kicking and screaming – more Claudia then him, but…

“No, it’s not…” Claudia shook her head.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the man that had grown fangs and was stalking towards their cage…

“He’s going to bite – not kill…” Joseph said in a low whisper that was almost against her ear.

“H-how is that better?” Claudia bit out.

“The bite will change you, but you’ll be alive…” For now…

“Change me into what…?” Claudia was shaking from head to toe and she was sure that she was about to either lose her lunch – again, or pee her pants – not that she really gave a damn…

“A werewolf…” Joseph said, and she did drag her eyes from Tom then, and snapped them towards Joseph, noting instant recognition for the man…

“Your…”

“Shop next to Morgana’s … yeah…” Joseph spoke fast as the sound of the key in the lock of the door clanged inside his mind and echoed through his body like a death nail in his own coffin.

He was scared.

Hell, he’d never been more scared of anything in his damn life before, but for her it was worse – she was a human who didn’t know about the underworld, the supernatural, apart from Tarot cards and runes – he couldn’t imagine what was going through her head.

“Why are we…?” Claudia started to ask, but the sound of the creaky hinges grated on her nerves and made her turn her head towards the opening and the man who stood there…

“Blondie – up…” Tom pointed one clawed finger in her direction and she shied away, tried to make herself look smaller in the confines of the cage.

“Oh God…” Claudia shook her head and looked away from him … it was a stupid idea – like if she didn’t see him then he couldn’t see her – a childhood understanding of the real world.

“Now…” Tom stalked inside the cage, and Joseph pushed up to his feet, a challenge of sorts that made the werewolf grin.

His razor sharp fangs practically glinted in the uncovered bulb that hung in the dankness of the warehouse…

“Leave…” Joseph managed one word before the man’s hand circled his throat and squeezed – threatening to choke the life out of him…

“You first then…” Tom growled and then he struck without warning.

His fangs cut into the skin of Joseph’s shoulder, tore through the flesh, almost down to the bone … the werewolf venom was quick to enter the human’s bloodstream, and the sound of Claudia’s screams echoed through Joseph’s mind and bounced off the walls…

 

~

~

~

 

“I don’t like this…”

Daniella nodded her head towards the two new vampires that had joined the group inside the library. Harold had a permanent frown upon his forehead, and yet, he also knew the wisdom behind having backup should things go wrong. 

“An unfortunate evil, I’m afraid,” he offered back to the young witch and watched her back straighten as she drew back her shoulders.

“I can handle the dark witch…” Daniella informed him. “I’d rather not be watching my back from my own side…”

“Do we have a problem?” Julian asked as he eyed Daniella and she sneered back at him.

“Are you serious?” Daniella shot back, eyeing the man from head to toe and back up again.

“No.” Harold assured him.

“Speak for yourself, Professor.” Daniella ground out.

Working with Nathaniel had been bad enough, but she’d barely had to interface with him on anything much, but now she was expected to go into a possible trap with three vampires as backup … it was insane.

‘Daniella can you hear me?’ Harold said through the link that the witch had provided to him via the amulet that he wore around his neck.

‘I can…’

‘You have to trust me and not them. I believe you’ll be safe, otherwise I would never ask you to do this…’

‘You didn’t ask…’

‘You know what I mean…’

‘I do. And you know how I feel about bloodsuckers.’

‘I understand, and I’ll be right there with you – watching your back…’

“No!” Daniella said as she turned her eyes on the Professor…

Julian had been paying attention. He’d thought that there was something going on between the witch and the professor.

They’d looked almost as if they were talking to each other without speaking a word, and now he knew it. The damn problem was that Morgana must have shared that spell that kept vampires from reading the minds of those beneath them in the food chain … he’d tried to connect, but it felt like a damn brick wall with a zinger of a punch to his brain…

‘Careful, Daniella…’

‘I don’t want you there…’

‘I’ll be carrying my gun and I have all the silver bullets that I could ever need…’

‘Still … I can’t protect you if something goes wrong…’

‘Good, don’t try – protect yourself and any humans that might be there … I’ll be perfectly fine…’

‘We have magic. The vampires have claws, speed, and fangs, and you have a gun … do the math…’

‘I’m a professor. The first thing I do is the math, Daniella.’

Harold assured her and brought her eyes back to his once more.

“Ready?” He asked and she nodded.

“Ready.” She assured him.

“Then let’s do this…” Nathaniel said.

The fact that the two of them had been having a conversation didn’t go unnoticed by Nathaniel either. He’d need to ask Morgana how that was possible – he was almost certain that the professor was fully human – but that could wait for another time.

Tonight they were on the hunt.

Tonight they would kill the werewolves, rescue the human, maybe more than one – and find and kill the dark witch.

And all before the sun came up and the bitten had turned into werewolves.

He hoped.