AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You remember what I said last night?” Atlas says in a low voice as he flicks the blinker and turns off the main road onto the county highway. There are massive open fields on one side and a forest on the other.
I force my knee to stop moving. “Yes.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does—”
“I know,” I cut in, my voice level.
“Good.”
Gravel crunches under us as Atlas pulls onto another, far narrower road. It twists and turns for several miles before we slow to a stop in what appears to be a makeshift parking lot.
There’s another SUV with tinted windows parked across the gravel lot, and the second Atlas puts the vehicle in park, the doors to the other car open, and Fallon and Jase hop out, walking toward us.
Gabriel gets out, greeting them with hugs, while Kade and Lex linger a few feet away.
I stay in the vehicle a bit longer with Atlas before sighing. “Now or never, I guess.”
Atlas leans across the center console, gripping my chin and turning my face toward him. He kisses me hard and fast. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he says after pulling back, then lowers his voice. “Please.”
“Love you too,” I say back, getting out of the SUV and walking across the lot to meet up with the others. I give Fallon and Jase a quick smile and wave.
“Welcome to the fang family,” Jase says with a grin.
I laugh somewhat awkwardly. “Thanks.”
Another car pulls into the lot, and my heart beats faster before Gabriel leans over and says, “That’s Marcel.”
He parks next to us and gets out, followed by six other vampires—three men and three women—that I’ve never seen before.
Once we’re all together, Atlas nods toward a break in the trees. “There’s a clearing on the other side of those trees,” he says. “Scott will be waiting there with his second-in-command and a few members of the organization.”
My thoughts immediately go to Brighton and if she’ll be among them. We move quickly, passing through the thick forest, the smell of pine and damp soil heavy in the air as the sunset filters through the trees.
The moment our group steps into the clearing, I scan the faces of each person flanking Scott. A pang of relief flickers through me when I realize Brighton isn’t here.
We stop about twenty feet from them, and Atlas is the first to speak. “I think this meeting is long overdue.”
“That is debatable,” Scott answers.
“Well, you’re here,” Kade chimes in, “which means you’ve come to your senses and realized that the only way you survive this is to agree to our terms.”
Atlas shoots him a dark look, which Kade merely shrugs at.
Perfect. We’re off to a great start.
Scott’s brows lift as he glances at the hunter on his left, then his right, before addressing us once more. “Is that what it means?” He reaches around and pulls a dagger from a holder in his belt, and my pulse immediately jumps, my focus narrowing on the weapon—one of the only things that can kill me now.
“You are disappointedly predictable,” Atlas says to Scott, his jaw set tight before he sighs. His heart is beating slightly faster than normal, which immediately puts me on high alert, my sharp gaze scanning our surroundings.
Several more hunters inch into the clearing, keeping close to the tree line as they grip the weapons in their hands tightly, their faces filled mostly with anger and hatred. Some look as young, if not younger than me, and of them, fear is reflected in the faces of a few.
Scott’s expression remains stoic, impassive. “What you think you can offer is not enough.” His voice is gravelly and filled with utter hatred.
Pressure fills my chest and dizziness threatens to overtake me as I stand with the vampires I’ve come to love and realize the hunters under Scott’s leadership will never agree to our proposal. Which means we’ve walked into an ambush.
Everything happens in blurs of movement, though seemingly in slow motion. Chaos erupts in the clearing, and the hunters charge toward us. We are severely outnumbered, which was our second mistake. I suppose trusting the word of a man hellbent on killing us was the first.
The vampires fan out, and the blood starts flowing seconds later. We may be outnumbered by hunters but we have the speed and strength they lack.
