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But they wouldn’t be out for long.
Which meant I needed to run.
Lars danced forward, swinging the knife with an expert hand, stomping the ground like he was dancing to a flamenco beat instead of fighting a massive wolf. I bit his arm and circled right, trying to get the path leading to my cabin at my back. If I didn’t get out of here, then worse things would happen.
Like the poison in those blades reaching my heart.
Lars put some space between us. “As much as I loathe to admit it, we need you.”
“Mangy mutt,” one of the others muttered while rising from the ground. “Just come along. It’ll be so much easier.”
“We’ll feed you, clothe you, even grant you conjugal visits,” Lars teased with a sneer. “Domingo said he needs you in one piece, so don’t make me slash you again.”
I roared at them as I inched my way toward the trees.
That explained why they stuck to outer limbs instead of trying to stab my chest or gut. But what the hell would Domingo want with the likes of me?
It wasn’t something I wanted to find out.
The vampires huddled in a circle around me. My escape window was closing fast. While turning about, I searched for the weakest link, locating it in a rather muscular vampire who seemed to be teetering. It looked like the knock to the noggin did more damage than it had to the others.
Perfect.
As soon as Lars gave the orders, the vampires charged me. I bowed toward the ground to protect my face from their blades, cringing at the way they pinched my back. I pictured my family, our home ablaze, the face of my mother as her lips turned a berry blue and then bloomed a pale pink.
Rage surfaced. It infected my limbs, inspiring me to break through the group of vampires by sheer will. I lunged from the circle and darted toward the path, my paws ceaselessly beating the earth with my fury. Nothing could stop me now. Nothing could prevent me from reaching safety.
No one could halt me from getting to Rose.
Chapter 8 - Rose
The tip of my pencil left charcoal dust in its wake as I dragged it along the sketchbook page. Swirling charcoal clouds rose above a massive mountain with smoke billowing around the top. It was almost silly to think of it as a volcano preparing to erupt, but I couldn’t help myself, couldn’t contain the ideas that were spilling all over the page.
Scenes flourished in this book rather than on the blank pages I had set aside for the new marketing campaign.
Gods, what was I thinking trying to dive into a new marketing campaign?
Every bone in my body was screaming to get back to Matéo. He was up in the mountains doing thisthing, isolating himself, keeping his gorgeous physique as far away from me as possible.
And who could blame him? It was probably nicer up there. Maybe even safer. But I doubted it could be any better than a place of true neutrality.
My mind drifted back to the tavern fight that happened a couple of weeks ago.
Is it even still truly safe? I scrubbed my forehead, transferring charcoal to the worry lines sprouting there. Sasha said it was fine. Charlotte assured me nothing would get past her. But…
A rustling sound came from the alley. The blinds were still drawn up, exposing halos of pale white and red brick embedded with shadows. A dark blob came into view. The sight of it roused my heart and yanked me out of my chair.
“Who the hell is stumbling back there?”
When the blob groaned, I rolled my eyes and sighed.
“Must be somebody from the tavern.”
My phone was low on battery, inspiring me to pick up the office phone. Considering I used my cell for everything, it was odd pushing the button for Sasha’s office, but it was necessary, especially if we had a drunk supernatural creature on the loose.
The line rang once and clicked. Sasha said, “Emergency?”
“Yep, code—” My eyes widened when the blob dropped into an orb of light. “Jesus Christ, that’s Matéo.”
