And now, she was trying to kill me. I screamed her name in my mind, hoping she’d hear me, that we had some kind of vampire bond, even as meager as the one I had with the wolves. But she didn’t stop coming. She slammed into me, sending my body crashing to the ground, rolling across the dry, yellow grass and slamming into the side of the lighthouse. I could feel the old building shudder and crack somewhere deep inside, but it had stood solid for so long that it wouldn’t fall from one blow. I leapt up, darting aside as Amy came at me again.
I didn’t know what to do. If I tried to shift back to human to show her who I was, she’d kill me. The shift took a minute, and that minute left me too vulnerable to risk it. She obviously didn’t know who I was in wolf form, because she came flying at me, slamming into me again. Her legs wrapped around me, squeezing like iron bars tightening every second. I twisted my head around, grabbing her shoulder and trying to wrench her free without hurting her, but there was no way.
Suddenly, Brooklyn appeared at my side, limping with one leg, her muzzle smeared with blood. Relief washed through me. She knew Amy, had known her before I did. She’d get her off me, throw her far into the woods, where she’d be safe from this. She saw my struggle, that I couldn’t grip Amy well from this angle, that Amy was squeezing the life from me with her crushing legs that made my ribs crack and pain grind through me with every breath.
Brooklyn leapt forward, bit down on Amy’s neck, and ripped her head off. Her body fell limply to the ground beside me. Brooklyn charged off without a second look, plowing down another vampire. I stood there, too shocked to move. Amy’s head lay in the grass, her lifeless eyes staring up at me. I remembered those eyes so differently, filled with laughter and happiness, overflowing with life. Her beautiful face was slack; blood drained from her body into the dead grass at my feet. I couldn’t move.
All that we’d been through was gone. We’d been willing to die to save her from the wolves. But in the end, I hadn’t. A wolf had killed her after all, and I couldn’t save her. There was nothing to do, no way to save her, no way to bring her back. Vampires could heal from everything but a beheading or a wooden stake in the heart.
Suddenly, I didn’t want to fight anymore.
But all around, vampires and wolves tore each other limb from limb. Somewhere along the way, shifters had arrived, and all manner of animals were attacking the vampires. I spotted Alarick fending off two vampires while a third one hung onto his back. Adolf and Donovan stood side to side, with their heads facing opposite directions, taking down every vampire who came at them. But other wolves lay broken on the ground, holes in their hides, limbs missing, and worse. We were bigger and stronger, but they had hundreds of vampires. Even with the addition of the shifters, it was impossible to tell who would win. And no matter who came out on top, too many casualties would be paid by both sides.
I had to stop them. But how?
How could I stop a fight when the vampires’ only goal was to kill the wolves? They couldn’t be negotiated with. They wanted nothing but death.
And then I saw a small crowd of people emerging from the north side of the mountain, the one we’d come from last. The handful of redheads gave them away—my sisters. The witches and faeries and other supernaturals had come. In a moment, my birth mother was at the front of the crowd, throwing up some kind of glimmering bubbles over injured wolves and vampires alike. Fox leapt into the fight like a kid on Christmas morning, and a handful of others who looked as slender and small as him joined. Others started blasting fireballs at the vampires, heaving stones from the earth at them, and otherwise kicking ass.
I took a moment to breathe, to test my injuries. But I didn’t have long. Suddenly, a vampire flew through the air and crashed into the lighthouse, blasting straight through the wall. Pieces of siding topples from the gaping hole. I turned back in time to see another vampire clear a handful of fighters and fly at me, her silky black hair streaming behind her. She landed in front of me in a crouch, her eyes fixed on me with burning intensity.
Svana.
Fuck.
I did not want to do this. I strained to send her some telepathic communication, to let her know it was me. But apparently that was not among my powers.
I stepped aside, so I was practically guarding Amy’s body, and growled, hoping Svana would understand. When her gaze landed on Amy, she hesitated. Turning back to me, murderous rage filled her pretty lavender eyes, and she shrieked as she leapt at me. I darted aside, pain lancing through my ribs where Amy’s grip had cracked them. A glint of triumph lit Svana’s eyes,
