Page 112 of Bite of Vengeance

“Move.” One of them came up behind me, shoving the gun into my spine.

It wouldn’t take much to turn around and rip his throat out, but I let him shove me forward because it brought me closer to Pax. The crowd of PARA soldiers was large, but they were all uneasy, I could feel it. There were no more vampires or Shadows. The vampires had fled when Amaros fell. The Shadows had followed Kali and Keeva into that building.

As I was pushed forward, my eyes widened when I spotted my father. Amaros Kane had been the most feared vampire in this world. But now? He was beaten so bloody that the only reason I knew it was him was from his scent. Though it wasn’t the same since he was human. Which was still a mind fuck.

One soldier was behind him, holding him under the arms to keep him upright. Others were taking turns hitting him,their laughs mocking. I swallowed thickly, my emotions warring inside me. My father deserved every bit of what was happening to him. But seeing PARA doing it had my blood boiling. They’d do the same to me and my brothers. They were already doing it to Pax, and I had no idea where Viggo was.

Amaros was barely conscious, and from what I could tell with all the blood covering his face, at least one of his eyes was swollen shut. His heart was beating erratically, but it wasn’t very strong. If they didn’t stop beating him, he wouldn’t last much longer.

“Zan.” Pax’s strained voice cut through the air, making my fury grow.

I met his eyes as he swiped a hand over his mouth to wipe blood away. His wounds were healing quickly, but that would only last so long if he didn’t feed.

I forced myself to stay still when they hit him again. “Where’s Viggo?”

“Shut up,” the soldier behind me snarled, shoving the gun harder into my spine.

Before I could do anything else, the air was filled with a sharp whistling noise. Even the soldiers halted, looking up to the sky where bright lights were now shooting through the darkness and rain.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

The ground shook with the explosion when the missile hit one of the buildings in the city. Faint screams from the humans reached my ears just before another explosion took out a row of vehicles near us. The soldiers surrounding us looked at each other, fear glinting in the eyes of the ones who weren’t wearing the goggles.

“We need to get out of here,” one of them yelled.

“That wasn’t the order.”

“Who fucking cares? They aren’t waiting.”

“We’re supposed to wait until they come to get him.” The soldier who was standing in front of Pax jerked a nod at Amaros.

“I think they’re worried about those sisters,” another one whispered. “I heard Roman earlier. He specifically stated that this place will burn before either of them get away.”

“Shadows. They’re coming.”

Yells of panic combined with shots filled the air as the thick group of bodies began to disperse. I spotted Rya through the smoke that was beginning to filter in the air from the explosions. More Shadows were behind her, and they were easily making their way through the soldiers to get closer to us.

“Take him. We’re leaving.”

Two of them grabbed Amaros, dragging him away. I spun around, knocking the gun out of the man’s hold before gripping his throat and pulling off his goggles with my other hand. His eyes flared with terror as I locked gazes with him, getting him under my control.

“What is PARA planning?” I growled. “With Kali.”

“They want to take her,” he said blankly.

“And if that’s not possible?”

“Kill her. Along with all the Shadows who follow her.”

“Why?”

“She’s too much of a risk.”

I broke the connection when there was another deafening explosion. Fear clawed at my chest when I looked at the building that Keeva and Kali had disappeared into. Part of it was on fire and crumbling. The broken metal was sliding off the cliff and into the ocean. Since the guy was no longer under entrancement, he began fighting in my hold, and I grabbed the sides of his face, twisting until his neck snapped.

My chest grew tight as I heaved in breaths. I was close to fucking losing it. I needed to find Kali. She was in danger, I couldfeel it. A suffocating weight crushed my body, making panic cling to me.

“Good, you’re alive.” Rya came into sight, staring at me. “Kali sent us to help you.”