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The vampire was relentless. He seemed to be in multiple places at the same time. Rowan saw an opening and lashed out with an attack of his own, but all he felt was air.
He was sure the vampire had just been there. Instinctively he swiped backward in the opposite direction, trying to blindside the vampire. The vampire ducked under the blow and threw a vicious punch into Rowan’s ribs, driving all the air out of him.
He flew backward and cringed from the pain of the blow. Distantly, he heard the shattering of windows and the blaring of car horns. How much was the vampire hitting him with?
He slammed into a roof and felt his spine shift from the impact. He hung on the roof for a moment before falling into the building to the ground in a heap. He shifted back into human form involuntarily. It was better that way. He was too big a target in his wolf form. He decided his human form might serve him better in this fight.
He tried to heave, but he choked on his own blood. Thick, sticky blood poured out of his open mouth and the pain seared into his mind. His body tried furiously to stitch him back together as fast as it could, but there were just too many injuries.
He felt his spine snap back in place and immediately drew in a long, painful, satisfying breath. The air filled him with healing as his broken body fixed itself. He looked around, finding that he was inside a store. On autopilot, he grabbed onto the first item of clothing he could find. Some cargo shorts.
He knew if he kept taking damage like this, he would die. The realization struck him suddenly, terrifying him. He couldn’t afford to die. He couldn’t die because Juniper—
Wait… Juniper. The vampire had returned, but there was still no sign of her.
Anger bubbled in his belly and his pain became a distant memory. The red haze returned, filling his vision. What if…
Rowan stumbled out of the store, back into the open. He didn’t want to think the worst, but in the moment, it was hard not to.
“Oh, you’re still alive. I had hoped that last hit got rid of you for good…” the cocky vampire’s voice grated his ears. Thinking he was still weak, the vampire floated to the ground, reaching for him. Rowan met his gaze then, enraged.
The vampire saw Rowan’s red eyes and the grin disappeared from his face. He tried to flee in shock but Rowan shot a hand out and grabbed the front of his shirt. He cocked his right arm backward, and smashed it into the vampire’s nose, sending him flying.
Rowan heard the satisfying crunch of bones breaking and followed the vampire. He had only one desire. He was going to kill this thing. He was going to rip its head off of its body.
He launched an uppercut into the soft underjaw of the vampire and sent him flying upward. He leaped into the air after his target, but the vampire floated higher, out of Rowan’s reach.
Rowan fell back to the earth with a sound like a meteor crashing. He looked up at the bloodied vampire and grinned in satisfaction. He was not untouchable. He was strong, but he wasn’t indestructible.
He was calculating his next point of attack when a movement to his side caught his attention. He glanced quickly to the side and almost fell to his knees. Running out of the forest was none other than Juniper.
His knees buckled with relief to see her safe and sound. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her, and he felt hope building in his chest. Too late, he remembered he was in the middle of a brutal fight.
The vampire swooped down in the blink of an eye and sent him flying backward with a powerful backhanded blow. Rowan tasted copper and salt as he crashed into the ground. More blood filled his mouth.
He had been thrown closer to the crowd, who the alphas were still pushing into shelters and away from the fighting. He scanned the crowd and found Articus.
“Articus!” he screamed, ignoring the pain in his chest. He called him again before Articus turned to see him. Rowan looked toward Juniper and Articus followed his gaze.
He looked back at Rowan and nodded in understanding. Without wasting another second, Articus raced away toward Juniper. He grabbed her and whisked her quickly toward the evacuating townsfolk.
Rowan lay back on the ground, taking his time as he caught his breath. Juniper was safe. He knew that his friends would sacrifice their lives to the last man to keep her safe. He could concentrate on fighting the vampire.
He saw the vampire hovering high in the sky, watching the people. Rowan had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched the still vampire.
The vampire spread his arms to the side. At first, nothing happened. And then, the air around him shimmered. Thin, red objects appeared in the sky. Thousands of them, pointed like needles.
Rowan let out a wordless cry when he recognized the pointed objects floating in the sky. Blood spears. This was why the vampire had spent his time killing and discarding of so many animals.
This was blood magic on an unprecedented scale. Cold realization washed over him. The vampire was going to wipe out the entire pack in one attack, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
Rowan clambered up to his feet, feeling defeated. How many of those could he block? How many people could he have saved today? He arrived at one inevitable answer. Not enough.
As he had feared, the spears were turned toward the pack. His mouth ran dry and he watched wordlessly, awaiting the brutal, bloody massacre.
He saw a purple light in the midst of the crowd. His brain worked slowly and he didn’t understand what was happening at first. And then he saw Juniper floating upward from the midst of the crowd.
Her eyes and hands glowed a bright purple, and her mouth moved quietly. Rowan felt a spark of hope in his chest, but he also felt fear. He didn’t want Juniper so exposed against such a powerful foe. At the same time, he prayed fervently that her plan worked, whatever she was planning.
