Dark Wolf

19

Fen, Zev and Dimitri stepped outside to scan the area around them. Both still had an uneasy feeling that signaled danger—and it was much stronger in the open air—yet neither could get a direction or a scent.

Fen swore softly. “We seem to go from one bad situation into another,” he said. “I have a really bad feeling.”

Zev took a slow, careful look around. “What do you want to do? Keep them all inside while we scout around?”

Dimitri’s first impulse was to say yes, but something made him hesitate. His gut churned and knots formed in his belly.

“We’re sitting ducks out here if they have sniper rifles,” Zev pointed out.

“Dimitri?” Fen said. His brother knew him and waited for Dimitri’s assessment.

“That’s exactly what they would expect us to do,” Dimitri said. “Every hair on my body is raised. I think we’ve got snipers staring at us through scopes right now, but they’re waiting to pull the trigger. Why?”

“Why haven’t you thrown up a shield?” Zev asked. “I don’t like the idea of being shot in the head.”

“The moment we do something like that, it will tip them off that we’re on to them,” Fen explained.

Even as Fen uttered the words, a voice burst through their minds. Mikhail. Gabriel and Lucian are under attack. Lycans are pouring into the village. All warriors are needed. Every woman who can fight must do so. Defend the humans in the village and keep our children safe.

A chill went down Dimitri’s spine. This was a serious, coordinated attack on both Carpathians and the council. “Fen, put up the shield. If they shoot us, for certain, Mikhail and Gregori will keep the council in that room in order to protect them, but I think the trap is there.”

A bullet whined through the air even as he spoke. It crashed into a transparent wall, so that a crack appeared first and then spiderwebbed out, revealing the shield Fen had raised instantly. Two more bullets were fired in rapid succession, both hitting in the exact spot the first had. A third bullet fired almost simultaneously hit a quarter inch from the hole.

“He’s good,” Fen commented. “And he must have been waiting for the Lycans to attack the village.”

“There’re two of them,” Zev said. “One, for certain, is Hemming. He’s been in the military all his life as a sniper. The council uses him when necessary. No one can shoot like he can. He’s also a member of the Sacred Circle.”

Dimitri swore as a fourth slug hit the small hole precisely where the other two bullets had. This time, the bullet nearly penetrated the shield. “Inside. There has to be a traitor inside, one of the elite guards.” He turned to race back inside.

Fen swore as well. “He’s right, otherwise they would have shot us the moment we stepped outside. The snipers gave him time to get close to the council members as everyone stood up to say their good-byes.” He followed his brother. “They were just waiting for the Lycans to attack as well.”

Zev took off after them, just as another bullet whined past his ear. He ducked as he ran for the shelter of the building.

Dimitri burst into the room, his gaze going to Skyler like a magnet. She was talking to Rolf and Daciana, laughing at something the elite hunter had said. Her eyes jumped to his face, the smile fading immediately as she recognized something was wrong. Daciana did as well, quickly catching Rolf’s arm and thrusting him back against the wall. Her partner, Makoce, was there, using his body as a shield.

Dimitri hastily scanned the room, looking for a betraying “tell” that might give him a hint where the danger would come from. Gregori, get the prince out of here. I don’t care how much he protests, but go to vapor and leave fast. He isn’t safe here. Above all else, their prince had to survive.

Gregori didn’t hesitate or argue with Mikhail. He shifted, his hand on Mikhail’s arm, shoving the image of mist into his mind so that his body began to shift almost before he was aware.

We’re leaving now, Gregori informed his charge.

Mikhail completed the shift, although the look on his face told Dimitri that Gregori was in for a rough ride once they were alone. Gregori could handle it; he’d been the prince’s primary guardian almost from the moment the two of them were born.

Just as Dimitri took to the air to get to Skyler’s side, one of Arno’s elite guards stepped into her so that she stumbled back with a small cry, her hands going up to protect herself from the dagger in his palm. Before the guard could shove the blade deep, something caught his wrist.

The ghost. Andre was there before Dimitri, dropping down out of sight, shifting at the last moment to emerge between Skyler and the guard, his fist circling the guard’s wrist. He turned the silver dagger back on the guard, shoving it deep just below the Lycan’s heart.

Dimitri caught Skyler and yanked her back away from the Lycans. There was nowhere he felt she was safe, not inside that room, or outside of it.

“They have snipers outside,” Zev informed his hunters. “At least two, and one of them is Hemming.”

Fen inhaled sharply. Dimitri followed suit. If it was possible for a mixed blood to go pale, they both did. The distinct odor of C-4 drifted to them.

Fen waved his hand and opened the ground, tearing easily through the floor to the dirt below them. “Get in, all of you.” Zev, there’s a bomb. He used the Carpathian common path, warning all the warriors to get out quickly or use the ground for shelter.

“Daciana, move it,” Zev called. He rushed to Lyall, gripping his arm, dragging him way from his guards. “Get underground now.”

Daciana and Makoce both caught Rolf between them and dove for the opening. Zev managed to shove Lyall down as well. Randall took matters into his own hands while his guards debated whether or not it was a Carpathian trap. He jumped inside the hole as well. Zev went back for Arno.

Dimitri all but threw Skyler down, his body over hers as the world above them exploded. He covered her head, murmuring soothing words as the ground shook. She felt small and vulnerable beneath him, causing every protective instinct he had to rage. He’d had enough of playing politics. More than enough. He was an ancient Carpathian hunter, and it was time to hunt.

He raised his head. Several of the elite hunters had followed the council members into the ground. Fen had raised a protective shield over their heads and debris from the room, dirt and rocks covered that shield above their heads. In the meeting room, dust swirled in the air, so dense it was impossible to see much else over their heads.

He sensed movement and spun around, coming to his feet, a raging tornado, ready to do battle. The second Lycan who had guarded Arno was in the shelter, although his partner wasn’t. He had climbed to his feet, his hand slipping inside his jacket. He pulled out a gun and in one smooth motion, turned and aimed it at Lyall’s head.

The council member’s eyes went wide with shock. The guard took another step forward, lifting his aim just past Lyall’s head to center on Rolf. Daciana threw herself in front of the council member as the guard squeezed the trigger. Dimitri was on the guard even as he fired, leaping over everyone to tackle him, taking him down hard.

The guard shoved his gun into Dimitri’s stomach and pulled the trigger rapidly, but nothing happened, only the sound of the wolf desperately attempting to fire off a volley of rounds.

Dimitri had jammed the weapon. He let his wolf surge to the surface, Lycan against Lycan. They rolled together, a twister of thrashing bodies, teeth, claws, snarls and growls. Dimitri was enormously strong, and each time the Lycan tried to bring up the gun, Dimitri slammed his wrist over and over into the ground.

The Lycan howled as his bones snapped, then fragmented and then pulverized. Dimitri was relentless, determined not to kill him, but keep him alive for questioning. If he had been sentenced to death by silver, he couldn’t imagine what fate a traitor attempting to assassinate council members might receive.

Makoce and Rolf both bent over Daciana, attempting to stop the flow of blood.

“I wouldn’t advise moving,” Fen warned the other Lycan guards. “I’m certain most of you genuinely are here to protect your council members, but at this point, any one of you who makes a sudden move is going to be dealt with harshly. Just sit down slowly and keep your hands away from your weapons.”

Most obeyed, but Lyall’s elite guards looked as if they might challenge him.

“In case you believe that you’re faster than me, I’ll warn you right now, you aren’t and I’m not in a mood to play games. I’ll put you down hard and fast.”

Lyall glared at his guards. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you want to get yourselves killed? Sit down and do what he says.”

A little reluctantly, the remaining guards sank to the ground. Fen trusted Andre to watch them. He had the reputation for being fast and as merciless as any Carpathian could get.

“We need to aid those caught in the explosion,” Rolf said, looking at Fen over his shoulder. “And Daciana needs help. This wound is . . . severe.”

Skyler slipped past Andre’s restraining hand, although he paced beside her, keeping his body between her and the rest of the sitting guards. She crouched down beside Rolf. “Let me see.” Very gently she lifted Rolf’s hand. At once blood spurted. “Keep your hand there, press hard. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I will watch over you, little sister,” Andre assured.

Skyler shed her body and became white-hot healing energy. She had to stop the flow of blood or there would be no regeneration for Daciana.

“I don’t want to move too fast until we know exactly what is happening above us,” Fen told the council members. “We’ve got two snipers, both skilled and trained in the military. Zev, Dimitri and I believe they are Sange rau. You and I both know any hunter, elite or ancient, going up against them will not win the battle.”

The Lycan guard fighting with Dimitri attempted to shift to his half man, half wolf form, but Dimitri was too fast, using the speed of the Hän ku pesäk kaikak. He slammed his elbow repeatedly into the Lycan’s face. The wolf’s head fell back, eyes rolling in his head.

“Catch,” Makoce tossed a pair of handcuffs through the air.

Dimitri remembered to coat his hands at the last moment, realizing the cuffs were silver. Uncaring that the traitor’s arm and wrist were broken, he held him down with one knee pressed tightly into the small of his back.

The Lycan snarled and raged, howled in pain and fought to free himself. Dimitri pulled both arms behind him, slamming the handcuffs tightly around the wolf’s wrist. The assassin let out a high-pitched scream.

Fen reached for Zev, afraid they had lost him in the explosion. Are you alive? Come on, man, give me something.

There was a moment of silence. Fen counted his own heartbeats, waiting for Zev to answer. He felt a faint stirring in his mind and relief flooded him.

I’m in a little trouble, Fen, Zev admitted. I’ve got a piece of table through me and I’m not going to lie, it hurts like hell. If I pull it out, I’ll bleed out before you can get to me.

Well, I guess you’d better not be foolish enough to pull it out then, because I’d be royally pissed off if you died. What were you doing? Fen cautiously moved part of the shield above their heads. Debris fell into the hole. Playing hero again? Did you fling your body over the council member while his bodyguards were down here trying to kill us?

Something like that. I can’t tell if Arno’s alive or not. He isn’t moving. I can’t even feel him breathing. But then I can’t exactly get off of him either. I’m probably smothering him. There was a faint note of humor in Zev’s voice in spite of the pain.

“Skyler, I’m going to need your skills as a healer,” Fen announced. “It might be ugly up there, but I have no choice. Zev’s in trouble.”

Skyler came back into her own body, swaying with weakness, answering the urgent call in Fen’s voice. She had managed to repair most of the damage to Daciana’s body. “She needs blood,” she announced.

Andre helped her to stand. You need blood, too, little sister, he said. Allow me to shield you while you take what you need.

Skyler knew she would never be able to help Zev if she wasn’t strong enough. Healing took a tremendous amount of energy, but she’d never fed by herself before, not unless it was from Dimitri, and he’d reacted very strongly to her taking blood from another male.

He’s right, sívamet, he has asked my permission and I gave it. I will need all my energy to battle the Sange rau, Dimitri encouraged. If you feel you cannot, I’ll help you.

Skyler was well past being reluctant to feed, especially under the circumstances. She felt the urgency of Fen’s request. He would never put her in harm’s way unless the situation was dire. Worse, she actually liked Zev. She might still be a little angry with him, but it was impossible not to respect him.

It is given freely. Andre shielded her from the sight of the Lycans as he offered his wrist.

Thank you, Andre. I accept your offering. She took his hand and sank her teeth into his vein.

Fen looked across the small shelter to his brother. “You’ll have to keep them off our backs. I’ll join you as fast as I can. They’ll be coming to inspect the damage.”

“By them,” Randall said, “you mean the snipers, the Sange rau.” He made it a statement.

“I’ll go with you,” Makoce volunteered. “You can’t face two of them alone.”

Dimitri shook his head. “You’re one of few we trust. We need you here, protecting the rest of the council members.”

“Are you ready, Skyler?” Fen demanded.

She closed the small wound in Andre’s wrist. “Yes.”

“Andre, I’ll need you here to make certain no one else decides to kill off the council members while we’re out of the way,” Fen said. “I can send a couple of others down to help you.”

Andre raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reply.

Dimitri stepped over the handcuffed assassin and followed Fen and Skyler up to the ground above them. The meeting hall was mostly rubble. Two bodies lay ripped apart a few feet from the entrance to the shelter, as if they’d been running for safety. Skyler coughed and covered her mouth and nose. Floating particles of wood, dirt and stone turned the air in what was left of the room to a thick, gray ash.

Fen rushed around the bodies toward the far wall where he spotted Zev’s leg sticking out from under what appeared to be scrap wood. The table was shredded, great jagged splinters of wood as thick as a man’s arm pointed to the ceiling like spears.

Skyler’s heart accelerated, slamming hard against her chest when she saw Fen stop, his hands around one of the spears. Breaking into a run, she flashed by the dead bodies without looking at them and found herself kneeling beside Zev, shoving one fist into her mouth to keep from sobbing.

She was a healer and all they had, but she was no miracle worker. Zev’s body lay sprawled over Arno. The elite hunter had wrapped his arms around the council member, protecting him from the flying wood. He must have tried to use the tables as a shield, knocking them over to their sides, both men diving behind them.

Arno turned his head cautiously toward them as Skyler knelt beside him. “Is he alive? I can’t tell but I’ve been afraid to move, afraid I’d make it worse.”

Blood from Zev’s wound coated Arno’s back, but otherwise, he appeared unhurt. Skyler glanced up at Fen’s grim face. “Barely,” she answered.

“I’m going to slip you out from under him,” Fen told Arno. “Slide sideways and try not to bump him.”

I can’t do this alone. I’ll need help, Skyler said. I’m calling Tatijana and Branislava. I’ve warned them about the danger of the two snipers. They know to come in without form.

She glanced around the room. Fen would have to help Dimitri. He couldn’t possibly fight two Sange rau alone. The prince had to be guarded, and someone had to get the remaining council members and Daciana to safety. Still . . .

“I know you need the warriors, Fen, but I’ll need a couple for blood. Can you pull back Lucian and Gabriel from what they’re doing?”

“I doubt it, but I’ll try.”

“I can give him blood,” Arno volunteered. “What the hell is going on?”

“Lycans have attacked us from nearly every direction,” Fen told him. “With them are the snipers we believe are Sange rau. Both of your elite guards tried to kill council members.”

“Fen, hurry,” Skyler hissed. They couldn’t worry about what was going on politically or outside the shredded walls of the building, not if they were going to save Zev’s life.

Fen nodded curtly and sent a cushion of air between Zev and Arno, lifting the body away from the council member without jarring it. Arno shifted his weight carefully, easing out from under the floating, wounded, elite hunter. As soon as he was clear, he scrambled back on all fours, his face a mask of concern.

The moment he saw the large stake going through Zev’s body, he turned white, his eyes going wide with shock. “He can’t possibly be alive,” he said.

Zev’s eyelashes fluttered but didn’t lift. “I’m alive,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with pain. “I’m just not certain I want to be.”

Tatijana and Branislava materialized on either side of Skyler. Tatijana gently touched Skyler in sympathy as they assessed the situation.

“One of us will have to hold him to us,” Tatijana said.

“I can try,” Skyler agreed reluctantly. “I’ve got a connection with him.”

“I’ll do it,” Branislava announced. She leaned over Zev and took his hand gently. You remember me, right, Zev? We danced together. It was a beautiful moment in my life and I’ll treasure it always. We shared blood to bond and to be able to speak telepathically. Allow me to bind your spirit to mine. I’ll keep you safe while my sister and Skyler heal you.

I remember you. Zev’s spirit was already fading, slipping away from them, as his life’s blood drained out on the floor. The shock to his body was tremendous. My beautiful dream lady.

Branislava reached for his spirit, that fading light, and surrounded it with her own. Her spirit was strong and bright and she corralled the flickering insubstantial spirit that remained of Zev so that the two spirits melded together. She wove her light through his to bind him to her.

We can make our own dream right here, together, while they work on your body. You won’t have to feel it or think of what they’re doing, only stay here with me. Stay with me.

Skyler looked at Fen, her heart pounding nearly out of control, her mouth dry. She had Tatijana beside her and that gave her courage, but she knew they all believed she was a great healer. She didn’t have the experience, or the training. They were on their own. A coordinated attack on the Carpathians required every warrior and woman to defend their homeland.

She took one breath and nodded her head. “Do it,” she said.

Fen pulled the stake from Zev’s body. Blood gushed. Tatijana was ready with her hands, pressing them deeply into the wound, light bursting out from under her palms. Skyler shed her body and entered Zev’s, working fast to repair the damage.

The stake had torn through layers of muscle and organ. There were splinters throughout the wound and the tip had actually penetrated through Zev’s abdomen, as well as crashing through two ribs. How he managed to stay alive, she had no idea. For a moment she hesitated, not knowing where to start. His body was a mess.

Dimitri. He had been with her all along, merged deep, so much a part of her. His belief in her always gave her confidence and she needed that now.

Save his life, Dimitri said. It’s what you were born to do. Save him, csitri. He is needed in this world.

Just the sound of his voice soothed her, righted her world, and she began, choosing the edges of the great hole to start closing that terrible gap.

Dimitri let go of the merge he’d been holding with his lifemate. She had her work to do and he had his. He couldn’t think of anything else but finding and destroying the two snipers with their long list of targets to assassinate. It wouldn’t be intelligent to divide himself when he was hunting anything as deadly as the Sange rau.

Staying in the form of dust particles, he started his search at the bullet hole in the shattered shield Fen had thrown up to protect them. Taking his time, using the patience of a Carpathian hunter, he traced the trajectory of the bullet across a fifty-foot open space back toward the village.

He was unhappy with the direction. The thought of the Sange rau loose in the village with unsuspecting humans was frightening. Lycan soldiers attacked the Carpathians where they found them, but they seemed to be avoiding killing the humans in the village as far as he could tell.

It was obvious to him that the Carpathians had learned from their earlier encounter with a rogue pack that fighting one-on-one would do no good with Lycans. The warriors had formed their own packs, Lucian and Gabriel directing them, and they were meeting the wolves on equal terms.

The skies roiled with clouds. Thunder rolled and boomed. Bolts of lightning flashed from ground to sky and back down. The sound of gunfire and screams of pain filled the night. The scent of blood was heavy in the air. War.

Dimitri felt an overwhelming sadness steal over him. He had seen too much death. Too many shattered lives. Over what? The blood that ran in his veins? This kind of violence, the treachery involved in conspiring to murder the council members who had come to try to form an alliance with another species, was abhorrent to him.

He kept moving through the houses and shops, until he came to the rooftop of the church. There was a kind of irony in the fact that the sniper had chosen a place of peace, of worship, to attempt to commit murder.

There were no casings left on the roof, but Dimitri was Hän ku pesäk kaikak, and even though the sniper was Sange rau, he was newly made. The wolf in their assailant was very strong and Dimitri caught the scent stamped into the roof. Once he had the actual scent markers of the sniper, he could follow the trail much easier.

This one had slipped down the side of the building and had mingled with the people running to barricade themselves in their homes or shops. He avoided the Lycans as well as the Carpathians, using buildings for cover. That alone told Dimitri the Sange rau was newly made. He didn’t have the first clue about what a Carpathian could or couldn’t do. He was using his Lycan senses and military training to get him through the village without being seen.

He had another target. That was the only answer as to why the sniper was circling back around toward the rubble of a building. He didn’t attempt to join in the fighting, or help the other Lycans out in any way. They probably didn’t even know he was there.

Fen, he’s coming back around toward you. I think this is the one Zev called Hemming. He’s very good, but he has no clue what a Carpathian is or what he can do. All of his training is military or Lycan. If he is a true mixed blood, how can that be?

That’s a good question. Do you have any idea where the second sniper is?

I traced a bullet path to the rooftop of the church, but only one had been there. You’ll have to use the same method I did. This one must have a target or targets still inside the building. He’s absolutely relentless and determined. Nothing is slowing him down or deterring him, Dimitri replied.

Fen swore. Zev is in bad shape. We haven’t moved the council members because we have no idea if any of the other guards are planning to make a move against them. Skyler, Tatijana and Branislava can’t leave, not until they lose the battle for Zev’s life, or heal him enough to put him in the ground. That leaves the second sniper anywhere, capable of doing damage to anyone.

Dimitri hissed out his irritation. We’ll have to trust that Gregori can do his job, if the prince is a primary target. We have to go after this one. He’s too close to our women and the council.

I’ll warn those here. Keep closing in on him.

I am. Fen, is it even possible for Zev to go to ground?

There was a long silence. Fen sighed. I don’t know, Dimitri. At this point, I don’t think any of us know what’s really possible or what isn’t.

Dimitri increased his speed, following the scent of the Sange rau. He doubted the vapor trail speeding through the air would draw attention, not when those on the ground were trying to save themselves. The fighting was more sporadic now. Bodies lay on the ground, most with severed heads and stakes through the heart. If there were any dead or dying Carpathian warriors, Dimitri didn’t see them.

Lucian and Gabriel were skilled at warfare. They had engaged in a thousand battles over the centuries and few were better strategists. The moment they knew Lycans had taken Dimitri and then later, when Skyler was thought to have died, they had acquired every bit of information possible on how Lycans conducted warfare, from early centuries to modern times. They were more than prepared to meet them in battle.

Telepathy helped as well. The Carpathians were able to speak to one another mind to mind. They kept in constant communication, relaying information from one part of the village to another. So far, Dimitri hadn’t heard that the prince’s home had been attacked.

Dimitri slipped around the corner of the building closest to the meeting hall that had been destroyed. The sniper was just ahead of him, creeping stealthily through the rubble to gain the wall that was partially down. The wall had holes blown out of it. The roof had collapsed and a good portion of the wall itself had crumbled from the force of the blast.

Hemming didn’t go to one of the holes to peer through as Dimitri expected him to do. Instead, the sniper leapt up to one of the remaining larger pieces of the wall itself. He crouched low, his case with his equipment in his hand. The smooth jump onto such a precarious structure warned Dimitri not to underestimate the wolf.

The low murmur of voices chanting the Carpathian healing ritual reached him. He could hear even the warriors in the midst of battle, chanting with the women and children. They had banded together to try to save Zev, a warrior all of them respected. They considered him one of them, and losing a single Carpathian, whether mixed blood or no, was unacceptable.

Those inside were busy attempting to save a life, while the sniper outside was setting up to murder them. Hemming crouched low and leapt once again, landing nimbly on the roof. For a moment it looked as if the roof might collapse under his weight, but the rubble held together in spite of the damage.

Dimitri slipped up behind the sniper as he bent to open his case. When he materialized directly behind the Sange rau, he set one foot down for an anchor as he caught the wolf’s head in his hands, whirling around to pull the head over his shoulder in an impossible position.

The roof shifted out from under him, throwing him off balance just as a shot rang out. Dimitri’s heart jerked in his chest. This man was not Hemming. He should have known the newly made Sange rau was bait to draw him out. It had been far too easy to track him.

Dimitri leapt into the air, still holding the wolf in an unbreakable lock, deliberately hitting the roof hard as he landed, snapping the sniper’s neck and going straight through the flimsy roof. He landed on the floor in the middle of debris and rubble, the sniper cushioning his fall. Palming a silver stake, he slammed it through the chest of the assassin and leapt away from the body.

As he did so, a second bullet whined passed his ear and lodged in the far wall. “Stay down,” he cautioned.

The three women and Arno paid no attention to him, their entire concentration on the man lying in front of them.

Fen, he’s on me and the women are in here with Zev. I’m going to get out of here, show myself for a moment to make certain he targets me and not them. This has to be the real Hemming, the one Zev spoke of who was such a tremendous marksman. The other was bait.

And now you’re making yourself bait.

It’s a decent plan. Are you on him yet?

Not until he fires again.

Dimitri hissed a curse out between clenched teeth. He risked another run, streaking past the fallen sniper, slashing down with his silver sword to sever the head from the body as he ran. He made it to the hole in the wall, and instead of going through it, as the assassin would expect, he leapt back through the hole in the roof and sprinted for the other side.

A succession of bullets followed him, one smacking into the tree trunk on the other side of the meeting hall, head level. He zigzagged, and then dropped low, shifting as he did so. If Fen couldn’t find the bastard after that, he was going to do it himself.

Fighting had died down in the streets. He saw a few bodies as he sped away from the meeting hall, trying to trace back the last bullet that had been fired. He didn’t use vapor—the Sange rau would be expecting it.

He isn’t vampire, Dimitri informed Fen. How can he be Sange rau basically committing murder, if he isn’t rogue or vampire?

Whoever is behind this has built himself an army and they’re fanatical. Hemming is either a mercenary, or he believes what he’s doing is right. I’m coming around downwind of him. He’s packing up his rifle to make a run for it. I’m not close enough to stop him yet.

Deliberately, Dimitri shifted, moving stealthily through the buildings, giving the sniper just a glimpse or two of him, enough to make him hesitate leaving. If he had a mission to fulfill and he had been trained in the military, he wouldn’t stop until he’d managed to kill his target.

He’s buying into it, Dimitri, be careful. He’s intelligent. If you overplay your hand, he’ll know we’re on to him.

I’m going to give him a shadow to fixate on and then I’ll swing around and come in from the other side.

Dimitri projected his shadow on the shop closest to where he had revealed himself to the sniper. The shadow crouched low, keeping within darker shadows as much as possible as it wove in and out of the buildings, moving toward the church. Once he knew his shadow clone appeared realistic, but stayed where the sniper could only catch glimpses of it, he began to circle around to close in on Hemming from the side opposite Fen.

He’s settled back on the roof and is hunting you, Fen reported. I’m in position and staying still. I don’t want to spook him.

Pack hunting was new to most Carpathians, but Dimitri and Fen had used the tactics of the Lycans often over the last few centuries. They worked well together. There was little difference between hunting the vampire and hunting the Sange rau—not now when they were evenly matched in speed, intelligence and skill.

Dimitri closed in from the other side and signaled that he was ready. They had to be fast, stripping Hemming of his rifle and any other gun quickly. He, no doubt, was deadly with them.

Fen struck from the left, streaking fast, keeping his energy contained, slamming into Hemming, rolling him out of the tree and riding his body down, so that when they hit the ground he could slam the stake into the assassin’s heart.

Hemming was struck so hard he dropped the rifle, but as they fell and Fen’s legs clamped around him, he drew his own dagger and stabbed Fen’s thigh. He was fast, piercing flesh and muscle three times before they hit the ground. Fen didn’t flinch, ignoring the wounds, waiting his moment. He slammed the stake into Hemming’s chest as they landed in the dirt, using the momentum from the fall and the unforgiving ground to ensure he struck deep enough. Hemming had been thrashing so much, the stake cut through the edge of his heart, but failed to pierce the center.

The breath was driven from their lungs, but Hemming retained possession of his dagger. He rolled, slicing at Fen’s chest and throat in desperation, trying to pull the silver stake from his body as he did so. Before he could rise, Dimitri was there, silver sword flashing. He severed the head and Fen jerked the stake free and slammed it home again, this time penetrating the heart all the way through.

The two of them sat in the dirt beside the body, trying to get their breathing under control. “We’re getting better at this,” Fen said.

Dimitri surveyed the damage to his brother. “I can see that.” He pushed his hand through his hair before kneeling up to stop the flow of blood leaking from the wounds on Fen’s thigh. “He had military training, Fen, but wasn’t like us. He didn’t have centuries of growing as a mixed blood. Where are they coming from?”

Fen sighed. “We’ve got one of them alive. The council members and Mikhail will question him. I did notice that he had a small tattoo on his wrist, an intricate kind of tribal design, in a circle. Arno has that same tattoo.”

Dimitri pulled back the sleeves of the sniper. “He’s got it as well. So do most of the dead Lycans I encountered in the street.”

“So if someone wants to kill all of the mixed bloods, why are they using them to aid their cause?” Fen asked. “The deeper we get into this puzzle, the less any of it makes sense.”

“I’m at a loss for an explanation,” Dimitri admitted. “But that symbol they all wear means something.”

“We’ll have to ask Zev what it means.” Fen took a deep breath. “If he lives. They’re still fighting for him.”

“Let’s go help,” Dimitri said. “I reached out to Gabriel and Lucian, and they have everything under control and we’re not needed right now. They’ll do cleanup and burn any bodies.”

Fen nodded and accepted his brother’s help rising. “Andre, Tomas, Lojos and Mataias took the remaining council members back to the inn. Mikhail and Gregori are sorting all that out. We just have to make certain Zev survives.”

Dimitri and Fen made their way back to the rubble that was the meeting hall. Skyler and Tatijana had taken turns working inside Zev’s body. Arno had given blood more than once and clearly was dizzy, lying down beside Zev’s body.

Skyler looked so pale Dimitri rushed to her side, wrapping his arm around her and immediately offering her blood. The energy it took to heal such a severe wound required a tremendous supply of life-giving blood.

Zev needs blood much worse than I do. Arno couldn’t keep up and both Tatijana and I have had to work to clean and close this terrible hole in his body. The stake went through numerous organs, Skyler reported to both of them.

Fen immediately dropped down beside his lifemate. “I can give him blood.”

Tatijana glanced at him, taking in the sight of his wounds. She sighed but said nothing as he tore a laceration in his wrist and held it over Zev’s lips to drip the ancient blood into his mouth. Zev didn’t respond and the drops ran down to his jaw.

Zev, you must take this offering of blood, Branislava called to him. Allow Fen, your brother-kin, to give to you what you need.

Zev heard that angelic voice, but he didn’t respond. He heard the call and answer chant, the swelling volume of voices, so many warriors and women and even children, attempting to draw him back.

Yes, come back.

That voice was a melody, a sweet, soft melody playing through his mind as elusive as the wind. He knew he should recognize it, but he was tired and trying to work puzzles out was too difficult. I am weary of this life. I have lived far too long. War and killing have become all that is left to me. Letting go would be so much easier than facing the pain of his horrendous wounds and the endless loneliness that would follow. He had done his duty a million times over. What was really left for a man such as him?

Stay. We are bound together, you and I. Our spirits are woven together. There was no other way to save your life. If you go, you take me with you.

That made no sense to him. He was bound to no one, forever alone. The blood dripping into his mouth became bothersome. He licked at the drops to remove them. The taste burst through his system, a rush of adrenaline. Fen. Fen was there. Of course.

The adrenaline allowed him to identify that soft melodic voice. Branislava, the woman he couldn’t get out of his mind. He didn’t ever get involved with a woman. His lifestyle forbade such a thing. No one had ever intrigued him or had drawn him the way she had. She was off-limits and yet, he couldn’t get her out of his head.

I’m dreaming. That was the only answer, and men like him didn’t dream of beautiful women weaving their spirit with his in order to fight for his life. No one would do that. No one. The risk was far too great.

Stay with me. Take the blood Fen offers. It is ancient Carpathian blood. It is the blood of the Lycan. We will go together to the ground, allowing the earth to heal you. You will not be alone. I have tied my fate to yours.

She made the revelation so simply as if what she had done was nothing. He knew better. Zev pushed aside weariness and forced his body to respond to Fen’s offer. He couldn’t do less for a woman who offered her life for his. He wasn’t a coward and he wasn’t afraid of pain. He would not allow an innocent to die simply because it was a difficult road to travel back to life.

His entire lifetime had been a fight. He wouldn’t lose this one.