Page 72 of Voyage of Death and Desire

As he speaks, three vampires I don’t recognize step on the other side of Thorne. Two men who dwarf Thorne and a woman with coal black hair join our fight. “Elsie, this is Abram, Elias, and Samirah.”

“Hello,” they greet in unison.

“Thank you for coming.”

Samirah laughs. “Thorne wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

On cue, a symphony of howls echoes through the woods behind us. “Connor brought a few friends as well,” Thorne adds.

“Free the treasure!” I yell toward Kragen.

“I’m growing bored with this,” he answers. “It doesn’t matter how many dogs or weak vampires you brought, you don’t stand a chance.”

“Bertram is with Kragen,” I whisper to Thorne.

“Your brother, Bertram?”

“Aye. No one is to harm him.”

“Understood,” the vampires answer in unison again, making me wonder if they’re some strange sort of triplets.

“You’ll have to go through us to reach the treasure,” I issue a threat to Kragen and the French boys.

“That sounds like fun,” my French ex-future husband answers. “What do you think, Pierre?” he asks the taller of the two.

“Agreed, Jon Paul. It’s been a few centuries since we’ve participated in such doings.” The two men’s, along with the vampires they brought with them, eyes turn solid black, as their faces contort.

“Here they come,” Samirah whispers as the group begins moving.

Out of nowhere, a wolf appears on my other side. Without asking, I know that it’s Micah. Large greeneyes look into mine before he leaps on top of one of the younger French vampires, ripping its head from its torso without much effort.

A group of wolves moves from behind the wedding party. A smaller wolf makes the first move, jumping on Gordon, she copies Micah’s movement from earlier, tearing his head from his body.

Grabbing a small branch from one of the oak trees, I run toward several of Kragen’s younger vampires, piercing their hearts before they know what happened. Both collapse to the ground instantly.

The sounds of a war raging fill the air as lycan appear from seemingly nowhere, taking out the weaker vampires first. Kragen, Pierre, and Jon Paul watch in amusement as the fight ensues around them.

Setting my sights on the French guests first, I move vampire speed in front of them. Two younger vampires are standing in front of their makers, acting as their personal guards. I smirk at the irony. “You let your children protect you?”

“That’s what they’re for,” Pierre answers.

“They’re expendable,” Jon Paul adds.

I move faster than eyes can track, jumping behind the young vampire guarding Pierre and ripping his head from his body. “One down, one to go,” I tease. Pierre doesn’t look fazed that I just killed his guard.

Copying my moves from earlier, I do the same to the one guarding Jon Paul, leaving the two French aristocratsunguarded and alone. “Well done,” Jon Paul says with a yawn. “Now what?”

“Now, it’s your turn.”

Pierre steps in front of Jon Paul. “Dear girl, do you know how old we are? Even you with your pretentious puppy dog parade don’t stand a chance against the likes of us. My name is Pierre Dubois, and I am over five hundred years old.”

“Congratulations?”

“Imbecile,” Jon Paul continues. Faster than my eyes can track movement happens behind both of the ancient vampires. In the blink of an eye, their heads are severed from their bodies and lying on the ground at their feet. What the hell just happened?

It takes a few minutes to connect the dots. Kragen is standing near them, his face covered in dark blood. “Those two were annoying,” he says, wiping a dark stain on the crisp white shirt. “Besides, I offer no refunds.” He straightens his coat and cuffs. “It’s time for this to end. Call them off.”

“No.”

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