Page 17 of Snowed in with the Vampire Prince

I doubted I would like the answer.

Pierce shot to his feet. He did that blurry vampire-speed thing again, putting himself between me and the door. He dropped into a deep crouch. The tension coiled through him in an instant. Like he was ready to defend me with his life.

No.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Pierce now. It was a mixture of frustration and annoyance, but there was very clearly something else there now too. No way he was getting hurt because of me.

I got to my feet. Warily, I scanned the room for anything I might be able to use as a weapon. No luck.

Then my eyes landed on the fireplace. The logs were cheerfully engulfed in flames. An awful idea bloomed in my mind.

Another crash at the front door shook the entire cabin. It was accompanied by the sound of splintering wood.

The door slammed open. In the doorway was the largest wolf I’d ever seen. The same one that had bitten me. He looked even bigger and more deadly in the soft orange light of the fire.

The wolf didn’t even hesitate.

He jumped on Pierce.

Five other wolves piled into the cabin. Each of them grabbed onto bits of Pierce’s clothing and flesh.

Pierce kicked off the two wolves that pinned his legs. They went flying into the doorframe. They crashed into it with high-pitched yelps. Then they landed in a tangle of limbs and fur.

I flinched. Vampire strength was no joke.

There was still a wolf on each of his arms. Pierce struck them one after the other. His movements were almost faster than I could follow. One wolf went flying across the room. It landed on the kitchen table. It collapsed with a crash of splintered wood. The other wolf sailed into the far wall. The blow was hard enough to shake the entire cabin.

While Pierce was distracted, the Alpha went for his throat. The wolf locked his jaws around the vampire’s neck.

Pierce let out a strangled cry. Dark blood spilled onto the floor.

No.

Conviction burned through me, even hotter than my fear.

I turned, and without even thinking about what I was going to do, I reached into the fireplace. I yanked out the biggest burning log I could find, grabbing it barehanded.

I almost dropped it.

I couldn’t stop the strangled cry of agony that tore out of my throat. The skin of my hands sizzled where it touched the log. Hot tears stung my eyes. I gritted my teeth against the pain. I forced myself to be okay with it.

The smell of burning flesh—my burning flesh—filled the room. It turned my stomach.

A wolf growled from behind me.

Still holding the flaming log, I turned.

I darted forward, rushing the gray wolf that hadn’t attacked Pierce.

It backed up with a surprised yelp.

It practically fell over itself to get away from me. Or, rather, from the fire in my hands.

I swung at it with the burning log.

It ducked, whimpering as the flames brushed the edges of its fur.

It took another step back.

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