Nathan dodged the punch a Savage threw at him before plunging his stake into its heart and tearing the weapon free. Vampires and hunters poured over the wall together and into the newly established stronghold.

The entire drive here, he’d worried they’d be too late to save his fellow hunters, but they’d arrived in the middle of the attack. Too late to save many, but in time to save some. Hundreds of Savages swarmed the place, but the Alliance was already pushing the Savages back and freeing hunters from them.

Savages raced toward him, their red eyes glistening with murderous intent. Screams from the hunters they pulled from the stronghold echoed throughout the compound. Gunfire peppered the air. The rotten stench of the Savages’ twisted souls and the coppery tang of blood permeating the air was enough to gag a zombie.

The scent of blood tickling Nathan’s nostrils flared his need to kill. Vicky had worried he was too new to handle this; Nathan had insisted he could, but he hadn’t expected the thirst searing his veins.

Nathan grabbed the next Savage and, driven by his hunger, sank his fangs into its throat without thinking about it. He simply needed to quench his craving to feed and for death. Putrid blood filled his mouth; he wanted to spit it out but found himself gulping it down as it soothed his thirst while infusing him with strength.

The rush of adrenaline and blood coursing through him coalesced into a potent drug that could become addicting. For one brief second, he understood why vampires turned Savage.

Then, Vicky’s mind brushed against his and her hand was on his arm, soothing him in a way the blood never could. He’d tried to convince her not to come here, that it was better if she stayed out of danger, but keeping her away was impossible.

It was a good thing she still refused to listen to him, as he didn’t think he could handle this without her. He now understood how vampires fell victim to the thrill of killing, but with her by his side, it would never happen to him.

Releasing the Savage, Nathan shoved the creature away and drove his fist through the thing’s chest. He gripped its heart and tore it out. The organ gave one final beat in his hand before he released it.

“Can you handle this?” Vicky asked as she nervously searched his face. His eyes were that feral, arctic snow color, but she sensed the easing of his bloodlust through their bond.

“Yes,” he assured her before turning to face the battle.

A female Savage lunged at Vicky; she flipped the woman over her head before slamming a high kick into the throat of the next vamp coming at her. Vicky bent and plunged her stake into the woman’s heart before lowering her shoulder and ramming it into the chest of the monster whose windpipe she’d crushed.

The Savage staggered back, and Nathan jerked its head to the side before tearing it off. For a moment, he stood and gawked at the head in his hands before dropping it. That was something he couldn’t have done before becoming a mated vampire.

From somewhere in the distance, smoke coiled into the air.

“The smoke will attract humans,” Aiden said from beside Vicky.

“It will,” Vicky agreed. Which meant their time here had just been shortened.

Abby, Brian, and Duncan moved forward to flank Aiden and Maggie. Sister June had stayed behind with the children, but every available vampire and hunter capable of fighting were here.

On the other side of Brian, she spotted Kadence and Ronan slicing their way through the Savages with Declan and Saxon. Declan had the stick of a lollipop between his lips as he smashed the heads of two Savages together. Killean and Lucien were on the far end, hacking their way through more of the monsters with some of the trainees.

Hunters filled in the gaps between the vampires, giving Vicky a glimpse of what their future with each other could be. A future of coexistence that would allow more of them to flourish—if they survived to end the terror Joseph was working to unleash on the world.

And then there was Joseph. She had no idea what the man looked like, but she knew if Nathan saw him, there would be no holding him back from going after the bastard. They’d already gone through so much to be together; she couldn’t lose him now. She kept her mind acutely attuned to Nathan’s, searching for the murderous storm she knew would encompass him if he spotted Joseph in this chaos.

Another Savage leapt at her, rising high into the air and coming down with hands curved and fangs bared. Vicky caught the beast in midair and flipped it over her back. Behind her, Asher released his crossbow, sending a bolt straight through the creature’s heart.

More smoke filled the clearing as the fire spread to one of the homes. Nathan blinked away the smoke burning his eyes as, across the way, he spotted Joseph gliding through the crowd.

Joseph’s golden-brown hair was disheveled from battle, but he grabbed a hunter by his shirt collar, lifted the hunter off the ground, and with a sharp thrust of his thumb under the man’s chin, Joseph snapped his neck before tearing off his head. The vamp lifted the head over his mouth and opened his lips to let the blood slide down his throat.

Rage tore through Nathan, but Vicky’s mind brushing against his kept him from rushing heedlessly into the crush of Savages surrounding their leader. No matter how badly he wanted to feel Joseph’s life slipping away in his hands, with Vicky’s survival depending on his, he wouldn’t do anything to risk her life.

More would die if Joseph escaped here, more innocents would be turned into monsters against their will, but far more would be lost if rage got the best of him. The hunter factions would fall further apart. The Alliance might crumble. Not only did Vicky’s life rely on his, but so did the lives of his people, and he wouldn’t let any of them down.

Vicky seized Nathan’s arm when she felt his blistering fury. “Where is he?”

“There!” Asher shouted and pointed over her shoulder.

Vicky’s stomach somersaulted when she spotted the Savage pouring blood down his gullet. Bile surged up her throat, and for a second, she thought she might throw up. Before she could react, a Savage snatched a handful of her hair and yanked her head back.

Vicky didn’t make a sound, but a stab of pain emanated through their bond and into him. Nathan clutched the Savage’s hand and jerked it to the side, causing the bone to pierce through flesh before he punched the monster square in the face, knocking it back.

Before Nathan could finish the kill, two more Savages pounced on him. One of them locked their arm around his neck and jerked his head back while the other grabbed his waist and tried to drag him down. Nathan tore at the arm around his neck as the creature sank its fangs into his throat.

Agony unlike anything he’d ever experienced tore through him when the Savage pulled his blood from his body against his will. His limbs stiffened as his body became paralyzed. This was what Vicky experienced in that warehouse, he realized. This was what she’d been talking about, but there was no describing this kind of pain.

Vicky appeared before him. Red filled her eyes, and her skin was turning a mottled red and black color that reminded him of Hellfire. He’d seen the skin color change happen to a vampire only once before; Ronan’s skin had done the same thing when Kadence was threatened. Ronan later told him it was a trait of purebreds and that he’d probably never see it again.

But now, his purebred was furious as she drove her palm straight into the face of the Savage feeding on him. The Savage screeched as it was knocked away so forcefully that one of its fangs remained embedded in his shoulder.

Nathan gulped air into his burning lungs, for the first time realizing he’d stopped breathing when the Savage bit him. He didn’t have a chance to recover before Vicky pounced on the Savage and took it down.

Nathan knocked the fang from his shoulder, seized the arm of the creature still dangling from his waist, and tore it away. Tossing the arm aside, he swung his hand down, backhanding the vamp across the face. Nathan pulled a stake free and drove it into the Savage’s heart.

Vicky tore the head from the Savage who’d bit him and tossed it aside. When she lifted her head to look at him, blood splattered her face, but beneath the blood more Hellfire spread across her face, causing her eyes to burn brighter and the aura of her power to crackle against his skin when she leapt to her feet and returned to his side.

Glancing down the line of vampires and hunters, Nathan saw Abby, Aiden, and Ronan all had that same red-black color mottling their skin as they slaughtered their enemies.

Because their mates are in danger, he realized.

Flames leapt higher into the sky as the trees a hundred feet away from them caught fire. Sparks filled the air, and some landed on the roofs of the closest homes. Smoke started spiraling up from the shingles when some of the embers caught there.

They had to get out of here soon. In a matter of minutes, humans would be crawling all over this place. Nathan staked the next Savage before pulling out his crossbow and taking out three more.

Suddenly, the wave of Savages cleared, and a pathway toward Joseph opened. The Savage strolled across the smoke-choked grounds and toward the back half of the property.

Some of the Savages fell back to follow their leader, but the spreading fire split some of them off, exposing Joseph more. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kadence and Ronan running toward Joseph.

He didn’t have to look at Vicky before they were racing forward in unison. Joseph glanced at them over his shoulder; amusement flickered across his face before he vanished into the thickening smoke.

Vicky ducked and spun away from a Savage who leapt at her. Turning, Nathan battered the Savage’s cheek, knocking him off balance before the monster could grab her. The Savage hit the ground, rolling away and vanishing into the smoke.

Nathan moved closer to Vicky as they closed the distance to where he’d last seen Joseph. Kadence and Ronan merged with them, and the four of them homed in on their prey as Joseph emerged once more. Through the smoke, Nathan saw the shadows of more Savages coming forth, and he realized Joseph had lured them into a trap.