Page 86 of Bound By Blood

Zack muttered an oath at the sound of the familiar voice.

Sherrad put Kaitlyn behind him, then slowly turned around.

“How very clever of you to find her,” Nadiya said. “I am afraid I underestimated your resourcefulness.”

“We’re not leaving without her,” Zack said. “So you can move aside and let us pass, or I’ll rip your heart out. And believe me, I know how to do that.”

“I did not come alone,” she said imperiously.

Zack crossed his arms over his chest. “Bring ‘em on, witch!”

He had no sooner said the words than Nadiya vanished from sight and a dozen men—both vampires and drones—swarmed into the room.

Chapter Thirty-Three

There was instant pandemonium as Zack and Drake were surrounded by a dozen men intent on destroying them.

Zack summoned his power, felt it flow through him, making everything seem sharper, brighter, as he changed into his wolf form. Fangs bared, he sprang at the nearest vampire, felt a rush of exhilaration as he tore out the man’s throat. The smell of blood and death rose in the air, exciting the beast within him. Returning to his human form, he ripped out another vampire’s heart and tossed it aside. A split second later, he resumed his wolf form and attacked another man. This one was human. Easily killed.

He had no idea how Drake was doing, didn’t have time to check on Kaitlyn, but he knew she was alive. He could hear the rapid beating of her heart, smell her fear above that of the men trying to kill him.

He turned to confront another man, felt his foot slip on the bloody floor, heard Kaitlyn’s scream as he went down. Snarling and snapping, he sank his fangs into the man’s ankle and jerked him off his feet. Before the man could recover, Zack crushed his windpipe.

Caught up in the lust for blood, Zack killed another man and destroyed another vampire.

In a momentary lull, he glanced around the room, noting that there were only three vampires still standing. He looked for Sherrad and saw him standing amid a pile of bodies at the other end of the room. Kaitlyn’s father was splattered with blood from head to foot, his eyes wild, his lips drawn back over his fangs.

Zack grinned. Kaitlyn was right. Her father could be scary.

The three remaining vampires pulled back. They glanced at each other, their expressions uncertain.

Zack resumed his human form. “Come on,” he said, motioning them forward. “Let’s finish it.”

“She can fight her own bloody battles,” the tallest of the three said, and vanished from sight.

Zack grinned at Sherrad. One for you. One for me.” He lunged at the nearest vampire, his hand penetrating the man’s chest, ripping out his heart, before the vampire knew what hit him.

The last vampire glanced from Sherrad to Zack and vanished from the room.

Zack took a deep breath, the urge to kill fading. He glanced at Sherrad, but the vampire was looking at his daughter.

Zack swore under his breath. Dammit! What must Kaitlyn be thinking? How would she ever think of him the same way after what she had just seen? The fighting had been brutal and bloody and he had gloried in it, would have killed a dozen more to protect the woman he loved.

Fearing what he might see, Zack turned around.

Kaitlyn stood with her back pressed to the wall, her face fish-belly white. Drops of bright crimson glistened wetly in her hair, on her face and her clothing. A drone lay at her feet, his neck broken. Had she killed him? Lord, he hoped not.

Sherrad approached his daughter. Taking hold of the iron bolt in the wall, he jerked it free, then, ignoring the chain dangling from her ankle, he pulled Kaitlyn into his arms. She sagged against him, her face buried against his chest, her shoulders shaking with the force of her tears.

Were they tears of relief, Zack wondered, or regret for killing a man? He shook his head. Whether she wanted any more to do with him or not, she was safe and that was all that mattered.

Sherrad looked at Zack. “Let us go.”

“You go on. I’ll take care of the bodies.”

Sherrad nodded.

A moment later, Zack was alone in the basement. He picked up two of the bodies and carried them up the stairs, came to an abrupt halt when he reached the living room.

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