“Varin wants you,” he corrected me. “I want her.”
That was it. I couldn’t take it any longer. I jumped toward Tyr, shifting in mid-air as I did. I landed in the snow right where Tyr’s footprints were. He had moved with impossible speed to put himself between Freya and myself. He grinned, gesturing toward Freya who was still trying to fight him but losing, constantly moving toward him.
He was distracted. That I could use.
I jumped again. This time, with his focus on Freya and trying to compel her, he didn’t move out of the way in time. My paws landed on his shoulders, forcing him to the ground. Freya blinked, the spell broken. I snarled at her to run.
Just as I was about to sink my teeth into Tyr’s throat and end his miserable existence, another vampire lunged on top of me, stabbing something into my shoulder. I yelped, staggering away from Tyr as I tried to shake the new attacker off me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Freya darting toward the woods, away from the fight. As long as she got away from Tyr, I would consider this a victory.
Tyr looked after her, but a snarl from Varin brought his attention back to me. Tyr shot Varin a dark look but didn’t argue. That was good. All I needed was to distract them long enough for her to flee.
The group of vampires encircled me, closing in. There were too many to fight them all. The most I could hope for was to distract them long enough for Freya to get away.
A howl pierced through the air, and everyone froze. Varin and Tyr’s heads both whipped toward the sound. Then more howls and snarls surrounded us, filling the air so that it seemed to run through the earth. Nine wolves emerged, each stalking toward the vampires with looks of hate and rage in their eyes.
The Silver Wolves had arrived.
Three of the vampires fled immediately, racing into the trees away from the newcomers. Varin snarled, then lunged for me. The rest of the Silver Wolves raced into the fray, and the fight began.
I kept my focus on Varin, not caring about any of the others. Kill the head, and the rest would scatter. And it was his fault any of this had happened in the first place. The rage was personal at this point, and I wanted him to pay for what he’d done and what he’d put Freya through.
I pounced on him, reaching him before he managed to dart away. He slammed onto his back, eyes wide. He snarled, his knife lashing toward me. My jaws clamped down on his wrist before he could stab me, and the blade clattered into the snow. Before he could do anything, my jaws clamped down on his throat.
I ripped Varin’s head from his body, throwing the head far away from the rest of his corpse. My wolf howled in savage pleasure and victory at killing the vampire.
But that wasn’t enough. I needed to get Tyr as well.
Spinning around, I searched for him, ready to tear him limb from limb for what he had nearly done to Freya. But when I turned around, I saw I was too late. Mark hovered over Tyr’s body, tossing the head into the snow. Looking around, I saw the rest of the vampires were either dead or had fled. It was over.
I snarled, looking at the two dead bodies. Tyr and Varin. The biggest threats. I might never know how they’d tricked us into their cabin, or how Varin had even found us, but it didn’t matter. They were dead now.
I shifted back, looking around, then turned to the other wolves, shifting into men before my eyes.
“Just in time,” I said.
“Eight on one, and you couldn’t take them all yourself?” Klyte called out, giving a lazy grin. “You’re getting old.”
I snarled. “I could still kick your ass if I need to,” I said, but with no real malice. Klyte cackled.
“It was luck we found you, actually,” Jameson said. “We were going to go to the safe house and see how we could help out, but we caught your scent and headed this way instead.”
“Lucky us.” I glanced around, suddenly tense. “We need to find Freya. She could still be in danger.”
Just as I said this, a massive figure emerged from the woods. Rand.
“You missed out on a good fight,” Mark said.
“Found someone along the way,” Rand said. “Figured she might want to come along with us. So I stuck back to make sure she was okay.”
Freya appeared from behind the large shifter, looking pale despite the cold, but otherwise okay.
I rushed over. “Are you all right?” I asked, looking her up and down.
“I’m fine,” she said.
That wasn’t good enough for me or my wolf. I searched her up and down, circling her, looking for any fresh cuts or any injuries she might have gotten. Deep down, I knew it was ridiculous. The thick coat she was wearing would have provided plenty of protection. And she was here. She was safe.
“Klyte, I want you to look at her arm,” I barked.