I’m a little envious of how she simply lands in a crouch. But running and quick escapes are the only tricks in her wheelhouse.

“I thought you were dead for sure,” Leiza adds, as I fumble my way down the side of the house.

I lose my footing at one point, and I spin into the side of the house, groaning when my forehead slams into the wall. My life sucks so hard sometimes.

Leiza hisses out a sympathetic sound, as though she’s cringing in pain with me.

I try to drop the rest of the way, but two feet short, the threading runs out of length, and I’m jolted around as it cuts into me. I slam into the wall again, bouncing off it painfully hard this time. Before I can be swung back into it, I let the threading unravel, and I roll my ankle when I land, which sends me crashing to the ground with another long groan.

“No wonder you survived. You probably test your survival skills with every move you make,” Leiza says so seriously, somehow making that very insulting sentence sound endearingly genuine.

I don’t know whether to glare at her or thank her, so I opt to ignore her and circle back to it when I’m not suffering a possible concussion—or two.

“Do you know where they’re meeting?” I ask her as I push to my feet and stagger my way toward the nearest vehicle that she’ll have to drive. “I really need to talk to Emit.”

And offer him all I have in the world for the promise of keeping a secret before he tells the other three.

“I know where they’re meeting,” comes a voice that startles both of us, and our gazes swing to our rights to see Shera perched against her car.

“Is your nose broken or something?” I ask Leiza on an annoyed sigh as Shera smirks at us. “Aren’t vampires supposed to offend your senses or something?”

“I’m omega,” she reminds me flatly. “My nose works better in closed spaces.”

“You could have just told me you needed to go somewhere. I’m here to protect. Not to confine,” Shera says too helpfully, making me suspicious. “All I want to know is how a Portocale gypsy freak put me on my ass with an electrified hand.”

Leiza steps in front of me, eyes on me like she wants the answer to that too.

“I attached a cable I had hidden in my boot,” I lie easily.

Shera doesn’t look convinced, and I decide to risk driving with a concussion as I bypass her.

“You don’t know where you’re going,” she reminds me to my back.

“I’ll call Damien or something,” I grumble, lifting my hand to my aching head.

She’s in front of me in the next instant, and she rolls her eyes. “Get in my car. Don’t make me carry you. We’ll both look ridiculous and we won’t feel pretty for the rest of the day.”

That’s not the first time she’s told me that. I give her an incredulous look, and she huffs as she bends quickly.

In the next instant, I’m bridal style in her arms, awkwardly throwing my arms around her shoulders so, as she carries me to the car door that swings open on its own.

She drops me to the seat, and the door slams and locks, sealing me in as she shudders in the seat next to me, all of it happening so fast I somehow missed her getting in.

“Told you,” she says with another shudder. “I always feel less feminine when I have to be that strong.”

I have no idea what to say, so I just buckle up and look over at Leiza’s wide eyes, since she’s too scared to join us. She gives me a timid little farewell wave.

“Excellent wolves they make,” Shera says with sharp sarcasm as she cranks the car and slings us around without ever touching the steering wheel.

Both of my hands clutch whatever I can as the car zips down the driveway and fishtails out onto the road, cutting off another car that blares its horn.

Shera is putting on lip gloss as the steering wheel guides itself.

“Can you at least watch the road while doing…that?!” I shout, really regretting that shock therapy treatment toward her now.

“What is it about you that just keeps bringing about unusual attacks? No one has touched anyone under House protection in ages. Then you’re here and boom. Ian must want to start a war. It may happen if Emit defends him the way he usually does.”

The car takes a sharp turn, and I suck in a painful breath as she moves on to pushing up her bra like that’s more important than driving the car with two hands instead of whatever it is she’s doing.

“You look like death, by the way,” she says while looking directly at me, as the car takes yet another sharp curve.

My eyes screw shut, and I silently pray for this car ride to be over.

It takes a while before my prayers get answered, but an eternity later, the car skids to a halt, and my door creaks like it’s opening, seconds before cool air wafts in.

I crack an eye open and peer around with it, seeing us at the edge of the woods.

“Is this where you try to kill me?”

She snorts. “Arion would waste me without a thought. I consider us even for the shock. Next time, fight me like a girl.”

“You’re a vampire.”

She narrows her eyes. “I’m still a girl.”

“Get some fabric around us, and I’ll fight you like a girl.”

Her lips twitch. “Careful. Wolves galore are down there right now. We may have just beaten Damien and Vance here. You should start walking before they get here.”

I give her a dubious look.

“No questions?”

She shakes her head. “I live long and prosper because I’m not a very curious girl. And sometimes I just don’t give a shit. Arion will smell you once you step out of this car, so step away so I can drive fast and be sure to tell him you were coming with or without me,” she chirps as I step out, feeling the biting-cold slice of wind as it tosses my hair around.

I hop to the side when the door slams, and Shera speeds off to go do whatever it is Shera does after leaving me—

A wiggling bush sends me darting off into the woods, unsure which direction I’m even supposed to be going.

Two growls startle me, and I whirl around, spotting a pair of glowing amber eyes.

I take a wary step back. “Are you really going to try to kill me right now?” I ask on a shaky breath.

The growl quickly ends, and a man shifts in front of me. It’s a slow shift, and he’s thinner than most male wolves.

“You really shouldn’t be here right now,” he says quietly as he stands up, really naked. “Go. Wolves are meet—”

Seeing as he’s not a murderous fella just yet, I interrupt with, “I have to find Emit. He’s—”

“Emit Morrigan?” he asks me incredulously.

At my nod, he shakes his head.

“They’ll never let someone who smells like vampire near the alpha.”

“I’m supposed to have his protection. I’m Violet Car—”

A whisper of wind is all the warning I get before I feel the familiar presence at my back. A possessive, firm hand comes around my waist in the next instant.

The man in front of me drops to the ground with a whimper that is so sad it hurts my chest.

“Arion, I really need to see Emit,” I say on a quiet, hopeful breath, shutting my eyes as he leans over to sniff my skin.

“Why does it smell like you’ve lost a lot of blood if there was barely a scratch on you?” he asks instead of answering.

Barely a scratch on me? That means Emit hasn’t said anything yet.

“Why are you so cold?” he goes on, bringing my hands up to his mouth as he steps in front of me.

The guy on the ground remains in fetal position, but I can only see a portion of him now.

“Are you doing something to him?” I ask instead.

“I’m too close. He’s too young to be in such close proximity to an alpha vampire. It’s terrifying his crippling instincts,” Arion says with a casual shrug. “Now answer me. Why are—”

I tug at his hand, but he lifts me, walking in the wrong direction…or maybe it’s the right direction.

“Sorry,” I say to the guy over Arion’s shoulder, even as he continues to tremble.

“You were attacked by wolves tonight,” Arion grinds out.

“Not that wolf,” I say distractedly when I see a candle light somewhere ahead.

“Let me see your neck,” he tells me just before he puts me down.

My head is tilted back before I can argue, and his finger runs over the mark as his brow furrows. “I thought there was a scratch here.”

“Healing potions,” I state without missing a beat.

“Works that well on mortal skin?” he asks.

“I have to find Emit,” I say again. “I need to see that he’s alright and tell him something important.”

“I’m afraid this is as close as we get, love,” he says, easily holding me to him as I struggle in vain.

“The hell is she doing here?” I hear Damien snap. “She was in bed when I left.”

Arion releases me when Damien glares at him, but before I can even attempt to go find Emit, Damien becomes the new man holding me still.

Several bursts of fire all explode in unison, and Vance narrows his eyes on us as he approaches.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he tells Arion, and then gestures to me. “And she really shouldn’t be here.”

“I didn’t bring her here,” Arion tells him, eyes cold and assessing. “And I’m sticking around to see what happens to Ian. Try to stop me, Van Helsing. Let’s see how it goes this time around.”

The trees out here are so thick, despite the cold, that the slight canopy they provide the forest has blocked a large portion of the snowfall. Still, the few inches of it are burning against my bare feet.

It’s now that I realize I’m just wearing one of Damien’s shirts that hits me mid-thigh, and nothing else at all. That means the blood flow has finally restarted and I’m feeling more and more.

Awesome timing.

I just need to get to Emit, convince him not to tell anyone else about me, and then prove to him I’m not a real threat. Maybe he’ll be understanding, and then it’ll all be worth it.

A sinking sensation fills in my chest as the impossible task becomes all the more impossible when I hear it play out in my mind.

Movement to the right draws my attention and brings me out of my tragic reverie. Three men are dragging a gagged Ian toward a very familiar barn that becomes visible when more fires light all around the clearing just below.

Arion moves closer, putting his jacket over me, and Damien’s grip tightens on me as I move to stand on top of his shoes, hissing out a breath of pain when the cold starts to finally sting my feet.

“Do not do anything stupid,” Vance says threateningly to Arion, as he moves his body to cut off his view from Ian.

Arion’s dark grin spreads. “Careful, Van Helsing. Tonight’s not the night to push me more than I’ve already been pushed.”