Page 18 of Wolf Bitten

My blood was humming, and Warin and the other male vampire gnashed their teeth and barreled toward me. The humming circulated through my body and pushed outward, causing the entire place to shake.

Heat hit my left arm moments before the flames burned my skin. The throbbing pain took my breath away. Another spout of water shot past my other side, dousing the fire.

Slade.

“Get behind me so I can hold them off,” Slade gritted out. “And open the damn door.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

Dust blew into my face as a few chunks of cement fell from the ceiling.

I was out of control.

I ducked under Slade’s arm and went for the door.

As soon as I saw it, I realized we were screwed. It was a heavy-duty, metal, double-key door, where you had to have the key to unlock it from either side.

Fuck.

“Sky, you need to calm down and open that door before you bury us alive,” Slade said breathlessly.

Between his injured ribs and using his magic, he wouldn’t last long. If I didn’t figure out a way out of this hellhole, we would be trapped here for the foreseeable future. They wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating Slade again. And if I didn’t calm down, the vampires would drain me dry.

Unsure what to do, I stared at the lock. Glaring at it wouldn’t hurt its feelings and get us out of here.

The walls cracked under the pressure, and the floor and ceiling shook and creaked in tune with my blood.

“I can’t hold on much longer, and if you don’t get your power under control, we’re all going to die!” Slade shouted.

Die. No. That couldn’t happen. I couldn’t die without seeing Raffe one more time and giving him a proper goodbye.

Not sure what to do, I placed my hands over the lock and pulled up Raffe’s image in my head, focusing on the one person I needed to see before I died. The only thing standing in my way was this lock, and I needed it to fucking open.

The hum channeled through my body and centered itself in my palms. The ceiling, floor, and walls stopped shaking, and the door took the brunt of the force.

“Sky,” Slade rasped.

My pulse raced faster, and the metal warped in front of my eyes. The section of the door that held the lock was pulled away from the jamb, and the door began to collapse in on itself. I grabbed the handle and yanked hard while holding my breath.

Something miraculous happened.

The door gave way and opened, and my back slammed into Slade’s.

He jerked forward and landed on his knees, halting his magic, and the world roared. I spun around to help him to his feet, but the vampires were on us. Teeth sank into my neck, and I gripped the back of the vampire’s head. I wasn’t sure who was on top of me, but another set of teeth sank into the other side of my neck. I fell onto my back as Slade screamed, “Skylar!”

The vampires sucked small gulps of my blood as a third bit into my wrist. They grunted as if they didn’t want to drink but were compelled to. If I didn’t get them off me, they would drain me.

My blood hummed stronger than ever before, and rocks clattered all around.

“No!” Glinda yelled.

“Run!” I cried, wanting Slade to get out of here while the vampires were distracted.

He must have realized that my death was imminent because he stood and ran past me.

At least one of us had gotten free, and I’d take my captors out with me.

I closed my eyes and focused on Raffe—his ice-blue eyes that warmed only for me. With each sip the vampires took, their fangs dug in deeper to get straight to my blood and not taste my skin. The coppery scent of my blood nearly made me vomit. The pain was all-consuming.

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