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Riggs slung him to the ground, then put one paw on his chest and ripped out his throat with a sickening sound I was afraid I’d never quite wipe from my memory.
The woman we were wrestling with and the one on the ground looked toward the sound, then seemed to wordlessly agree to run. They both took off, and Riggs made no show of wanting to stop them. He flashed with more light and the sizzling sound filled the air as he walked back to retrieve his clothes and put them on. His face was covered in blood still and Lazarus’ body was on the ground with his dismembered head lying a few nauseating feet from the rest of him.
“I didn’t want to say in front of them,” Kyla said. “But I may have asked the rebels for help before we left. I made sure they all knew the fuckers who killed their prince are here. I sense them nearby. I don’t think Lazarus’ ambush will go as well as he was hoping.”
I sensed relief from Riggs through the strange blood bond, but he ignored her and went to me, clutching my shoulders and looking me over. “Are you hurt?”
“I was,” I said, tapping my head. “But I apparently heal really fast. We should go, right? To Westwick?”
Riggs shook his head, pointing toward the trees. “No need, it appears.”
I saw them all coming. It looked like the entire pack of Silverbacks along with a small army of maybe fifty vampires in the rebel uniforms of gray and red. I noticed Vladimir and Ana among them. Some of them were bloodied slightly, but none wore as much of it as Riggs.
Ana and Vladimir approached us ahead of the rest of the group.
Ana dipped her chin slightly to Kyla, then again to Riggs and I. Even though she said I wouldn’t feel much of a bond, I felt a strange connection to her then—like being close helped me to understand how she was feeling. I felt triumphant but sad, too. Deeply sad. Like having my insides clawed out.
“Thank you,” Ana said. “Revenge won’t bring our son back, but now we know he can rest. That will have to be enough for us.”
Vladimir looked over his shoulder toward Westwick, then spit on the ground. “Clean that, fuckers,” he muttered to himself, then pulled Ana along with him as he walked past us.
At the back of the approaching group, I saw the people I was looking for. Maisey, Felix, and Fang. They all looked dirty, but otherwise healthy. I rushed toward Maisey, ignoring the vampires and werewolves I had to run past to reach her. I slammed into her with a tight hug, surprising myself as tears came along with the laughter.
“I can’t believe you’re okay,” I said into her hair.
“I don’t understand how you managed to get all these people to come rescue us.”
“It was a whole thing,” I said, pulling back from the hug to get a look at her as I laughed and wiped my eyes. “There was a battle in the forest for Alpha status. A betrayal. Last minute alliances. It was wild, and I can’t believe any of it worked.”
Maisey’s eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “Sylvie… Did you?”
I grinned, then titled my head as I curtseyed. “That’s Vampire Sylvie, to you.”
She hugged me again, even tighter this time. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you did it. I’m so happy you did.”
I smiled when she pulled back. “Except that you didn’t really need to make yourself a vampire after all, did you? Sorry about that.”
“And grow old while my sister with her young, flawless vampire skin outlives me? Hell, no. I would’ve still wanted this.” She softened her expression. “Nothing can split us up, now.”
Riggs came up beside me, sliding his arm around my waist. That earned a raised eyebrow from Maisey.
“Is this what it looks like?”
Felix was by Riggs’ side and he shook his head. “If you knew Riggs, you’d know just how strange it is to see him trying to legitimately mark a mate.”
“Excuse me?” Maisey snapped. “That’s my sister you’re talking about. Mate,” she muttered. She looked to me, speaking as if neither of the men were present. “I’ve learned way more about werewolf vulgarity and brashness than I ever wanted to know while I was trapped here, by the way. Disgusting creatures.”
Felix grinned, but didn’t correct her.
“It’s what it looks like,” Riggs said. “And more.” He planted a kiss on my neck, drawing a heavy blush from me.
“Where is Lazarus?” Maisey asked.
Riggs stood a little taller. “He’s dead. You two are still technically marked by the Cleaners, even with his death. But we can wait at Silverback or Blackridge. Whichever you prefer. They won’t dare come for you there, and in a few weeks you’ll both be fully protected by the treaties. Assuming they still stand,” he added with a little less certainty.
