Then, in a blur, shapes formed behind him.
An army of vampires.
And lumbering up the rear, the vampires were backed by huge, hairless, scary-as-shit giants.
Slowly, even by human standards, they started moving toward me.
I lifted my hand, hoping like fuck my blue light would come out.
Then I screamed, “No!”
* * * * *
Gregor
Gregor, Jian-Li, and those around them watched the interplay between Etienne and Delilah.
Somehow, they also heard it.
“I talked to Control,” the man with the headphones said. “They don’t understand how this is happening. But they say their satellites have been hacked and they can’t stop it.”
Gregor said nothing, because the instant Etienne announced that Abel would sacrifice himself for Delilah, Jian-Li ran from the room.
Gregor turned to one of The Council’s humans.
“Alert The Three. Contact Gastineau. Bring weapons to this room, as many as you can. Find out where the fuck that is.” He pointed to the screens. “And bring me Josefa.” He leaned forward and finished on a roar, “Now!”
On a quick nod, the human female dashed out the door.
* * * * *
Abel
“Delilah, baby, wake up,” Abel called, hand to his mate’s hip, shaking hard.
She continued moaning and moving with agitation.
“Lilah, bao bei, wake the fuck up.” He shook her harder.
“No!” she screamed, but she did it in her sleep.
And after she did it, she didn’t wake up.
“Goddammit,” he growled, rolling her to her back and looming over her before he curled his hand under her jaw. “Delilah, wake up.” He bent close, digging his fingers in as hard as he could without harming her as she stopped shifting and started writhing. “Wake up,” he repeated. When she didn’t, he barked, “Wake up!”
The door to the bedroom flew open and he looked over his shoulder to see Jian-Li rushing in.
“My Abel—” she began.
“They got her,” he cut her off. “I can’t get her out. I have to go in.”
She skidded to a halt by the bed. “But—”
“Go get Lucien,” Abel ordered.
“Abel, you don’t—”
“Go get him!” he bellowed, turned back to Delilah and concentrated solely on his mate. Let me in, he ordered. Let me in, Delilah. He dipped his face so close that his nose brushed hers. Fucking let me in!
With that, he collapsed on top of her, his chest to hers, his forehead sliding down her cheek, his eyes closed, for all appearances asleep.
Jian-Li hesitated not a second before she turned and rushed from the room.
* * * * *
In a Pub Somewhere in London
“What’s that?” the bartender asked, his eyes to the telly.
The football game was gone.
Instead, they had some bird standing in a street, facing a ton of tall men and women and…
He peered closer.
“What are those things?” he asked the screen.
Doing so, as well as when they heard the scream, the attention of a couple of blokes sitting at the bar went to the TV.
* * * * *
Delilah
At my scream, no blue light.
Shit.
I started backing up as they kept advancing.
Okay, this was not good.
I kept backing up as they kept coming and Etienne started talking to me.
“No mate?” he smirked. “Why doesn’t he come for you, Delilah?” He threw out a hand. “Perhaps he understands one human is just like the next. He can easily find another. He can find hundreds, thousands, and enjoy them after you’re gone.”
“You’ve obviously never been in love, asshole,” I muttered.
Let me in.
I heard Abel’s voice in my head and I blinked.
“I tire of this,” Etienne stated, suddenly stopping, and when he did, his army did the same.
Let me in, Delilah.
Uh-oh.
I was in a dream.
But I wasn’t in a dream. I was in a dream.
I stared at the sea of supernaturals before me.
With only one of Abel and my puny efforts, against all of them, neither of us would survive.
I did what I could (not knowing what the hell I was doing but still hoping) to hold him back.
“We need to give them incentive,” Etienne said to a vampire at his side. “Bring me a human.”
Fucking let me in!
In a flash, a vamp was gone.
Then he was right back, shoving a young woman who cried out in terror toward Etienne.
A teenager.
She was in her pajamas. A tight pink cami and cute pink bottoms with white and blue polka-dots on them.
She was sobbing, struggling, her fear reaching out, clawing at my flesh.
Etienne yanked her in front of him and put his hands on either side of her head.
He was going to break her neck or tear her head clean off. He was moving with a human’s speed and doing it so I could watch.
I knew it.
I knew.
I prepared to rush him, hoping Xun, Wei, and Chen gave me something that would allow me to stop this. To save one.
Just one.
Before they ended me.
Etienne’s lips curved in a sick smile.
But in the blink of an eye, faster than the girl could scream, she was no longer in his hands.
I felt a presence behind me, chanced turning, and stared at Abel, who was pushing the girl.
“Run!” he roared.
She ran.
* * * * *
In a Home Somewhere in Idaho
“Good God, honey, what is this?”
“Shh.”
“Oh my God, is that the man we saw earlier on Susannah—?”
“Shh!”
The woman sank down on the arm of the chair her husband was sitting in.