Page 58 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

She jutted out her lower lip. “Master, do not be cross with me. Baba Koreneva said she had to make you rest—make you sleep the sleep of the dead so that he could not sense you. This is not a night you can stand against him and win. She was protecting you, as you once tried to protect her.”

Teya thought the forest witch had something to do with why he’d fallen asleep and hadn’t heard Mina leaving? He didn’t have time for her crazy ramblings. He sniffed the air, trying to find his mate’s scent as he put his shoes on. He caught the faint notes of night jasmine and honeysuckle. He shifted into black mist and left Teya in the woods. He’d worry about her and what she might do unattended later. For now, he had to get to his mate.

He flew by the chapel and around the science building. As he rounded the corner there, he struck something massive. A force that left his mist form changing quickly to bats and then tothat of a man. He stumbled back and looked up to find himself staring up into the face of a man who was just shy of seven feet tall and very muscular.

The man had golden eyes that were anything but human. He had black hair that hung to his shoulders and a scar that ran across his right cheek. He snarled at Vlad, showing off teeth that weren’t human but weren’t vampire or any shifter Vlad could easily identify.

The man lunged for Vlad who stepped aside quickly, lifting a brow. He didn’t have time to deal with this thing.

“Hyde!” shouted a man from across the way. The newcomer was a demon of some sort. Vlad could sense it in him. He was familiar. Vlad could have sworn he’d seen the man’s face plastered on a billboard for a restaurant in Grimm Cove called Devil Dave’s. “You are supposed to be chained. Jekyll swore he’d see to it.”

“Jekyll’s soft,” said the tall hulk of a male, his Cockney accent evident. “Lets some bird lead ’im by the bloody bollocks.”

The demon whistled. “Focus on me, you big brute.”

Vlad didn’t have time for this. He caught Mina’s scent again. He looked between the men and shifted into black mist again, unconcerned with who might see. He flew across the quad, and through neighborhoods filled with student housing. His demon pushed at him frantically, sensing their mate's distress.

Dark power radiated from ahead—demon magik. More than one demon, and they were converging on the same location as Mina.

Faster!his demon demanded.

Vlad shifted forms, becoming a cauldron of bats. He swept through the night air as one entity, racing toward an old Victorian home that practically vibrated with supernatural energy. Thunder cracked overhead as he reformed on the front porch, his clothing materializing with him.

The sounds of chaos came from within—breaking furniture, screaming, and growling. He heard someone shout Mina’s name, sounding frantic. He took the form of a man again on the steps of the old Victorian home and was to the door in less than a second. He didn’t bother with knocking. He struck the door with one hand, sending it crashing inward.

He saw it then—a demon. It had Mina by the throat. She wasn’t moving.

Vlad made a move to enter the home but encountered resistance. The threshold barred him—he needed an invitation to enter.

His mate was being attacked, and he was stopped by something as simple as a threshold.

Unacceptable!shouted his demon.

“Invite me in!” he roared, his voice carrying power that could bend armies to his will. A young woman inside met his gaze, and he pushed his will onto her.

“No, don’t!” shouted a different young woman—this one with purple hair.

“Come in,” the first woman whispered as Vlad held her gaze with his power.

The force that was barring him from entering the home dropped, and he rushed in, going right for the demon who had Mina in a chokehold. Vlad freed his mate from the demon’s grasp, and she slid to the floor, unmoving and unconscious. She was breathing and had a steady heartbeat. That meant she was alive.

Rage the likes of which he had not felt in centuries bubbled up in him. He and his demon merged fully; their sights set on the demon who had dared to harm Mina.

Vlad tackled the demon, knocking it through the stained-glass window. They landed on the porch and rolled, taking out the banister before falling into the yard. Vlad came up with aroar and slammed his fist through the demon’s face, killing it instantly.

Vlad twisted around in time to see men charging in from all angles at him. They were dressed as medieval monks, complete with cowls, frocks and scapulars—all of which could easily be seen as robes by the youth of today. They had symbols carved or branded into their foreheads. It didn’t matter how the symbols got there; they meant the same thing.

Vlad’s demon hissed.The Order of the Dragon’s foot soldiers.

They were mindless killing machines, trained to be deadly and obedient. It wasn’t their first time being sent after him, and he highly doubted it would be their last. Not when The Order had sworn revenge against Vlad’s family line after his father had gone against their orders. And not when The Order seemed to have an endless supply of men willing to do their bidding. With them were more demons as well as vampires, shifters, and something Vlad had not seen in years—creatures that had been stitched together, resembling zombies at first glance.

Vlad’s demon was even taken aback by what it was seeing. Never before had Vlad seen so many various factions of the seedy side of the supernatural world working together in unison, and all of them were converging on the home.

He readied himself to attack as many as he could at once. The ground began to shake in a way that left him wondering if South Carolina had earthquakes. He put his arms out, steadying himself as the rumbling grew. Suddenly, it made sense as huge stone men came slamming through the attacking horde of evil, bowling a large portion of them over like they were pins. One of the newcomers moved toward Vlad far faster than anything made of stone should.

His demon seemed shocked.Gargoyles.

Vlad had heard of them but had never in all his centuries seen one in action. They were impressive. He expected to be attacked as well, knowing they were guardians against evil—and he was, at his core, a demon.

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