Doc guessed the mages had coerced him into helping, but that didn't mean the vampire wouldn't kill everyone else first.
The other's voice shifted with the winds and Doc couldn't get a fix on his location by sound.
Snow came down in earnest, big flakes reducing visibility to nothing.
Crouching, listening, watching, Doc waited for a clue.
The winds shifted. Acting on impulse, Doc lunged forward. His knife met resistance. The rank, cooper tinged reek of old vampire blood coated the air.
An iron grip clamped down on his wrist and shoved Doc forward, throwing him off balance.
He jerked away, managing to free himself, but losing the knife in the process.
Hissing, the vampire solidified out of a swirl of snow and stalked forward. Doc saw the knife, blade stuck in the dirt. He used all of his vampire speed to rush forward and grab it.
The other vampire came forward at the same time, and Doc got the knife up in time to sink it into the other's stomach, but it missed his heart and the full vampire didn't give a fuck if he had a knife stuck in him, even a spelled one like Doc's. It hurt but wouldn't be enough to take him down.
Doc tried to get away, but the other vampire trapped him close, wrenching his neck around and digging his fangs into Doc's neck.
His brain short circuited as pleasure so intense it hurt ripped through him.
Pain he could have fought right away, this undid him long enough that the vampire had a solid control over him before he managed to come back to himself.
The vampire drained his strength away as he tried to free the knife from the vampire's ribs, but his arm was trapped, and he couldn't get free. Grasping for Nikolai's magic from the blood he had taken from the mage earlier was like trying to catch the wind that swirled around them. It was there, but he'd already lost too much strength to manage it.
His legs gave out and blackness circled his vision, though he still fought.
Something slammed into them and the vampire lost his grip, tearing at Doc's neck as he was ripped away.
Not taking time to try and figure out what had happened, he leapt forward, falling on the vampire. This time he didn't miss the heart.
Doc got his first good look at his opponent. His blood covered the vampire's chin. Pale skin, dark hair, European features. It wasn't anyone he knew. He gathered his strength, jerked the knife out of the vampire's chest and slammed the blade down on his neck. He crumpled to dust as Doc's knife separated his head from his shoulders.
"Fuck," Doc gasped as he collapsed to the ground.
A blond wolf straddled Doc's chest and licked at his neck.
He didn't have the energy to push Ed away, and really, Ed could have his blood if he wanted it. The werewolf knew what he was doing.
Ed whined.
"I'm okay, Ed." He rolled over and struggled to his feet. They needed to rescue Sam and kill the others. "Thanks for the save."
Ed perked his ears and Doc dug his fingers into the werewolf's ruff for a moment.
Hunger flared through him, but he wasn't in as bad a shape as he had originally thought now that he wasn't under the other vampire's control. His strength returned quickly, and he wrapped the shadows around him again.
"Let's go."
Chapter 21
Ed
He slunk through the swirling snow at Doc's side. The vampire had wrapped the shadows around both of them since Sofia's invisibility spell had apparently worn off when the vampire had clawed the shit out of him. Doc's blood had helped his werewolf healing take care of most of it and he ignored the minor discomfort as they worked their way through the forest.
Snow obscured his vision, but his other senses compensated, and he knew this forest better than he knew anything. The energies of the land guided him until they were crouched not far from where the mages battled.
Sam lay forgotten in the snow, hands bound and apparently unable to perform any magic.
Sofia battered at Melinda's shields, while Alex cast offensive magic. Nikolai blocked the spells with his sword somehow, standing in front of Sofia so she could concentrate on battering away at the others.
Sofia blazed with her lavender magic. Ed had to tear his eyes away so he could focus on helping Doc. He wanted to watch his mate destroy the enemy. They were weakening. Sam's presence limited Sofia's options, and they needed to rescue her so his mate could finish this.
"I'm going to go after Melinda," Doc said. "See if you can drag Sam out of the way."
Ed nodded. He could grab the ropes that bound her and drag her away.
He followed as Doc rushed out of the shadows. Neither of the mages had time to react as his knife slid across Melinda's throat. Blood sprayed, and she spun, catching Doc with the edge of a spell and sending him flying into the trees. He disappeared into the shadows. Ed could still sense his pack mate through their bond, but Doc was probably out of the fight while he recovered.
Alex shouted as Melinda sank to her knees.
Sofia hit Alex hard with a blast that flung him backward. He lay still.
Ed used the distraction to dart forward and grab Sam's wrists, teeth locking down on the ropes that bound her. He dragged her away in the distraction.
Sam didn't struggle, eyes wide but seeming to recognize that Ed was helping her.
Once she was as safe as he could get her, he backed away, not trusting the mage as he hid himself in the underbrush and watched.
She looked around wildly, making it to her knees.
"Ed? Allan?" She stuttered, teeth clacking together as she shivered in the cold air.
Sam wore jeans soaked from the snow and a thin sweater, not at all
