Page 214 of Halfblood Deceived

“I don’t belong to either of you, you idiots!” the woman screamed as Vaz gently led her to Carina, the blonde, tall werewolf who had recently joined the security team. Carina escorted the women toward the exit.

“I’m going to kill you,” the massive blond werewolf promised the vampire.

“No, you are not,” Vaz said, placing a hand on the male’s shoulder.

The werewolf shuddered, the amber in his eyes melting into light blue. He gave Vaz a horrified look.

The half-demon smiled. “You are going to calm the fuck down.” He swiped his dark eyes over the entire group. “You all are.”

Aella felt the icy blast of Vaz’s intimidating aura even several feet away. She realized then she had unconsciously drawn closer to the fight instead of staying far away, as usual.

The giant werewolf looked down at Vaz, his previous apprehension morphing into blazing anger. “Get your hands off me, you repugnant mongrel!”

“Watch your fucking mouth,” Rod growled, and the fight started again.

The giant werewolf tried to hit Vaz, but the demon was faster and despite his leaner size, stronger. He had the werewolf against the wall, one arm behind his back in all of two seconds.

“Get your hands off him, demon!” cried the lean male Reese had tossed to the floor. He extracted something from his jacket.

A gun.

A silver gun that he aimed at Reese’s back.

Reese was too distracted trying to subdue a flailing, hissing vampire. They wouldn’t be able to dodge.

The werewolf put his finger on the trigger.

He was too far away for Aella to tackle him.

But Reese wasn’t.

Aella’s body was moving before the thought was fully formed. She gripped Reese’s strong shoulders, intending to drag them away from the line of fire… just as a loud banging sound rang in the air. Aella’s body jerked. Pain exploded in her left shoulder blade, leaving her breathless.

Another bang sound came.

Aella’s body shook as pain detonated in her side.

She felt herself fall. The back of her head bounced on the polished concrete. Her ears rang. Her head lolled to the side, and she saw flashing lights and feet rushing toward her. Then everything turned black.

CHAPTER 44

Beep, beep, beep.

Awareness slammed into Aella like a bucket full of cold water.

Two gunshots, a sharp scream, intense pain. All of it swirled in her mind like a cyclone, but her body remained still.

The beeping sound picked up speed. Distorted, blurry, as if she were underwater.

“She’s waking up,” said a female voice that sounded familiar even through the muffling in Aella’s ears.

“Are you sure? She’s not moving,” another familiar voice commented.

“I’m sure,” said the first person.

Diana, Aella thought. Her panic receded somewhat, replaced by worry.

“Aella, honey, can you hear me?” her sister asked.

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