Page 117 of Wind with a Chance of Wolfsbane

He fell to one knee, and I drew my hand back, preparing to take the killing blow.

A sharp whistle pierced the air.

I paused and turned my head toward the direction I’d only just come from. My blood ran cold as I saw my aunt standing there, holding my daughter by the throat. She, like Lester, hadn’t aged a day in over twenty years.

“If you value her, you’ll step away from him this instant,” Helen said, her eyes the same black pools that Lester’s were.

I sensed others around me before I saw them.

More vampires.

I recognized a few of the faces as people who used to run with Helen. Rogue slayers who were now like she was—vampires. More came walking in from the woods, and I lost count of just how many there were.

They surrounded the area as Lester pushed to his feet, his chest still bleeding. He laughed wickedly. “Bitch.”

Helen held her sharp-clawed fingers to my daughter’s neck as she licked a fang, her gaze on me. “Willa, you’ve been hard to find. So glad you answered the call I sent.”

I didn’t know what calls she was talking about. “Let my daughter go. She’s not part of whatever this is.”

Helen laughed. “I don’t think so. She’s fine where she’s at.”

“Mom?” Hannah didn’t sound afraid. She sounded heartbroken.

I teared up. “It will be all right.”

She glanced at the men surrounding me, doubt showing on her face.

“What in the hell do you want, Helen?” I demanded. “Have another demon you need to free in hopes of igniting a war between good and evil? Speaking of demons, have a little something extra going on there?”

She hissed. “You did this to me! To us!”

“Me?” I asked, paying attention to the fact that the men around me were closing in. “I didn’t make you a vampire.”

She narrowed her gaze. “Lester and I were turned because you and your sister screwed up everything!”

A laugh tore free from me. “Sorry for screwing up your attempted murder plot. Gee, whatever were we thinking.”

Hannah locked gazes with me and opened her hands, which were down by her sides. Sharp claws emerged ever so slowly from the tips of her fingers.

I didn’t want Lester or the others to notice, so I made sure their focus was on me, not my daughter. I curled my lip and sniffed in Lester’s direction. “Man, did you spend the last twenty years locked in that cave in Romania? You reek, dude. I think that Dragos guy smelled better.”

Lester snarled and tried to come at me.

“Don’t,” Helen ordered.

He stopped but didn’t look thrilled. “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

“Heard that before,” I said with a shrug. “I’m not worried. My aunt would need to let you off your leash first. Good luck with that. You’re her pet.”

He came at me fast and made a move to backhand me with his good arm.

I sliced it open before he got the chance.

Lester scrambled back, holding his arm close to him like he was doing with the other one.

My brows met. “Did your maker leave a little something out of the conversion cocktail? Shouldn’t you have healed that broken arm and the claw marks on your chest by now?”

He glanced away quickly, and I knew I’d struck a nerve.

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