“It’s okay.” He rubbed his hands up and down my back. “Take as long as you need. We’ll focus on our immediate needs for right now.”
“Which are?”
“Food and sex.”
“Ah.” I laughed at his bluntness. I couldn’t help myself. “Which one do you want to tackle first?”
“Food. You need to power up. I have plans for you tonight.”
“I can live with that.”
WE WERE IN BED LONG BEFORE MIDNIGHT, the dregs of the day dragging us under. I was convinced I would sleep until dawn I was so exhausted, but ferocious noises behind the cabin woke me when the moon was still high in the sky.
“What is it?” I asked, instantly alert. Gunner was already up and standing at the window.
“I’m not sure.” It was hard to make out his expression in the limited light but, even shirtless, he looked coiled and ready for action. “Stay here. I’ll check it out.”
I snorted. “You can’t be serious.” I tossed off the covers and started rooting around for clothes on the floor. “There’s no way you’re going out there without me.”
Gunner made a growling sound deep in his throat but didn’t argue, as if he knew better than taking me on, even if my mind was dulled from heavy sleep. “Just wait for me.”
We left through the back door after dressing. I’d tucked my blonde hair up in a knit cap so it wouldn’t betray our location and we were both in black as we crept into the wilderness. As a shifter, Gunner had a tremendous sense of smell. I watched him now for direction.
He pointed toward the east and I immediately ducked my head to scan the area. It was dark, ridiculously so, and given the way the trees crowded one another on that side, it was impossible to figure out what was happening.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, taking the lead.
Gunner reached out to snag the back of my shirt, his intention to shove me behind him so he would be the first to race into the thick of the battle written all over his face, but I easily sidestepped him. I had no intention of letting him cut me out of the action.
The moment we stepped into the woods we were transported to an ugly scene. A young girl, a teenager, stood in the center of what looked to be a vampire melee. She was young, fifteen at the most, and she looked absolutely terrified. Her long black hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and there was some sort of boyband on her T-shirt, one I didn’t recognize. Despite the fear that was practically radiating off her, she also looked determined.
Gunner took a purposeful step in her direction and then pulled up short, tilting his head. “Shifter,” he muttered under his breath.
I widened my eyes. “The girl is a shifter?”
He nodded, lifting his nose. “Yes, but ... she’s not a pure blood.”
I honestly didn’t care about that. I was more worried about the vampires surrounding her. Five of them looked to be on the attack, snapping teeth and feral growls filling the air, and a sixth seemed to be positioning himself between the girl and the other five. His back was to the teenager and she didn’t appear particularly fearful of him.
“What’s going on?” I called out, ignoring the incredulous look on Gunner’s face and stepping into the small clearing.
Surprised by the sound of my voice, the encroaching vampires jerked their heads in my direction. They obviously weren’t expecting intruders.
“Stay out of this,” one of the vampires rasped, warning lighting his dark eyes. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Probably not,” I agreed, my eyes darting to the girl. She looked to be at the end of her rope. “I’m making it my business, so now it does concern me.”
“Stay out of this!” the vampire hissed, extending a finger in my direction. “The girl is mine.”
“You’re not taking her.” The other vampire sounded tired, as if he’d been fighting for longer than we realized, and he was favoring his right side. His hair was long and black and, surprisingly, he appeared to boast a ridiculous tan. How did a vampire get a tan? I couldn’t even fathom how that worked. “I won’t let you touch her.”
“We should go,” the girl insisted, tugging on the tanned vampire’s arm. “We can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”
“You should go,” the tanned vampire insisted. “Run back the way we came. Hide. I will find you.”
I was dumbfounded by the interaction. Apparently, so was Gunner.
“Little girl, I don’t know what’s going on here, but you don’t have to go with any of them,” he insisted, flashing a smile for the teenager’s benefit. “Come with us. We’ll protect you, help figure out where you’re supposed to be.”
Instead of melting under Gunner’s friendly smile, the girl shot him a dirty look. “I’m not going with you.”
“We’ll protect you,” Gunner said.
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re probably a gross pervert. My dad has warned me about guys like you. By the way, he’s going to rip your throat out if you touch me.”
Her response made me grin. It was a fluid state of affairs and yet she couldn’t stop herself from making threats. She reminded me of myself at her age. Still, her circumstances were precarious.
“I’m not a gross pervert,” I promised. “We’ll take care of you, find where you’re supposed to be.”
“I don’t know you. You might be very nice. And you could be evil. I don’t like evil people.”
The tanned vampire slid his gaze to us. “They look evil,” he said. “Don’t trust them, Sami. Go to the woods, back the way we came. You know what to do when you get there.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Sami said, unconvinced. “We have to go together.”
The vampire looked pained. “I can’t. You have to make this trip alone. You know what to do. You promised your parents. You must do as they say.”
Tears sprang to Sami’s eyes. “But—”
“No.” The tan vampire’s gaze tracked back to the other
