Page 80 of Rejected Exile

Because what would the undead bloodsuckers love more than dirt that grows nothing living and the smell of rotten garbage?

Well, they'd love to be able to live in the middle of human cities, but ancient guardian spells prevent that. So they make homes out of abandoned places and pick off those at the edge of society.

Vampires are truly evil, primordial creatures with no redeeming qualities.

Just my luck that I've been thrown to the middle of nowhere with about a hundred of them.

As they move around me, surging to their feet and exchanging curses, hisses and growls leaving their ashen lips, I gather my strength. Thankfully, when the wave of water threw us out of pack territory it scattered us far apart. Ambrosia is nowhere near me, and any other vampires must be at least a few yards away.

I have a few precious seconds to myself in which I might escape.

And while the pack territory's magic threw me out, I have to hope that it'll let me back in. My reassurance on that is fuzzy—normally the land only lets visitors in during the day on well-established roads like the one I drove up to get here—but it's about the only thing I have to cling to right now. Just because the earth rose long enough to throw me and these bloodsuckers out doesn't mean it's gotten strong enough to create a barrier around the land.

So I cautiously flip over onto my belly, get my legs under me, and take slow, even breaths. Studying the stretch of land between me and the trees that mark the edge of the territory, I feel a giddy hope within me.

It's not that far away. I can make it.

But I'm going to need a little superhuman strength.

Please.Closing my eyes, I reach within me for...something. I was taught growing up that the wolf is an instinctual thing, rising to the surface when needed, but there's no telling what years of the chip in my neck has done to her.I need you now. Webothneed your strength.

I don't feel an answering voice within me, and for a moment, I despair. Then, a breath later, strength surges through me. Fire races within my veins, and my muscles tense with coiled energy.

Just in time. I hear a murmur at my back, and I know with a sick lurch in my stomach that the vampires have figured out who, and what, is with them.

Pushing to my feet, I run towards the distant trees as fast as I can. Each step pumps my legs faster and faster as pure adrenaline pushes me. I hear the roar of vampires behind me, the hiss of anger and the race of their feet, so I pump my legs as fast as they'll take me.

Each step brings me flying across the earth.

Every stretch of my legs and breath of my lungs is invigorating.

Almost there.Tree trunks loom large in my vision. A wild grin blooms on my lips.Just a few more steps—

"Not so fast."

I gasp in pain as a hand coils around my hair and jerks me to a stop. As I thrash in the strong grip, another hand falls to my neck and squeezes out my air until I'm gasping for another reason.

Demetri.

I forgot that the leader of a coven of vampires is stronger and faster than the rest, just like an alpha wolf.

He also kept himself out of the fray enough to have apparently kept all his limbs. Too bad. I would pay good money to watch Finn's wolf sever a few fingers and a calf or two off this fucker.

Finn.I hope he's able to recover from his broken leg. Even if I don't make it, he should at least be safe. All the guys should be.Please. Let this have been worth it.

"You didn't think we'd let our precious get away, did you?" Demetri jerks me against his chest, and bile rises in my stomach as something veryodiouspokes against my ass. He grinds his hips forward and chuckles, loosening his hand at my neck enough for me to choke in air. "I thought I tasted you in the water as we were carried away. How lucky I am that we've managed to get everything we wanted... well, almost everything. I was hoping to eat wolf stew tonight, but no matter."

His mouth hovers near my ear as the hand on my hair slides down to cup my right breast, his long fingers digging in. "Thankfully that little wave carried us all far enough away that thosemaleswon't be able to come and get you. Especially in their current state. If they even survive, of course. So often it's hard to know if your kind will."

"Fuck you."

Demetri chuckles. "All in good time," he says, which is enough to make me jerk forward and snap at his hands. He gets them away before I can connect, his strong arms snaking around my waist and neck to hold me tight. "First, we want to confirm that you are what we think you are."

"I told you, she's the one." Ambrosia's voice, silken and pouty. "I tasted her while I was dragging her away from those males. A hard bit of work you never thanked me for."

"Yes, yes, you're welcome."

I fix hard eyes on Ambrosia as she moves into my line of sight, something she doesn't seem to notice.

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