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I back hand the vampire and send him flying back into a tree. I then run toward the feral as he races for Liz and Miko. Leaping over their heads, I crash into the feral, sending me and him into the lake.

We both go under the murky water. I lose sight of the creature. But I don’t have time to look for him. That vampire is up there with Liz and Miko. I kick my feet to fight to get to the surface. My head pops out of the water. I spot Miko squaring off with the vampire. I go to swim for shore when searing pain lockson my shoulder. The fucking feral sunk his teeth into me. I groan as he drags me back to the bottom of the lake with him. His teeth are so deeply embedded into my shoulder that no matter how much I thrash, he won’t let me go.

Placing my arm over my uninjured shoulder, I release my blades. The sharp blades explode out of the cuffs. The wolf’s release of my shoulder and gurgled howl let me know I hit something. Spinning around, I slice through his neck, cutting off his head. Quickly, I kick my feet to make it to the surface. As soon as my head breaks the water, I gulp in air.

Miko has done a good job so far keeping the vampire away from his mother. I swim to the shore and climb out. The blood loss has me a little weak, but I have enough energy to kill this vampire.

Running toward them, I leap across the field and tackle the vampire. This time. I don’t hesitate. As soon as I land on top of him, I slice through his neck.

Feeling completely drained, I turn to Liz and Miko.

“Are you two okay? Are you hurt?”

Liz is crying, but she’s remaining strong.

“No. We’re fine—” her words are cut off when a large black and brown mass tackles me from the side. I roll across the ground a few times before my head smacks into a tree. I fight the urge to black out as I try with the last of my energy to keep this feral from snapping at my neck. Thankfully, the blood Enzo brought me from that bank has lasted for a while. We’ve been using it scarcely. Because of that, the injuries I’ve sustained have healed. However, all the energy it requires healing those injuries has sapped some of my strength. I’m struggling to keep this one from taking a chunk out of my neck.

I spot Miko trying to approach.“No,”I say, pushing the thought through his head.“Stay with your mother.”

His soft,“Okay,”tightens my chest.

I shove at the snout of the feral, but his heavy weight and my low energy have my attempts at keeping him away, getting harder and harder.

My arms burn with exhaustion. I can feel his hot breath getting closer and closer to my neck.

Another bite might render me completely vulnerable. If this is how I go out, I guess I couldn’t be angry. I think of my sister who is here safe with Liz. I think of my best friend who is happily mated and taken care of. I think about Tech, but I never doubted he would be okay. And last, I think of Enzo. I can finally set him free.

“Not going to fucking happen,”he growls in my head.

Suddenly, the massive weight that was just on top of me was gone. Growling and snarling come from the distance.

“Michaela,” Liz shouts my name as she waddles over to me.

Chayton is here with her. He comes over to my side.

“Are you alright?” he asks.

“Get her out of here,” I tell him. “They are after your family.”

His face pales as he looks at his mate and then back at me.

“Go,” I rush.

He stands and grabs her arm. “Climb on my back,” he says right before he turns into a gorgeous silvery gray wolf. Liz gets on his back, and he races her out of the forest back toward pack grounds. Miko is right behind him.

I try to roll to my side, but it’s a slow process. Standing, I get a little woozy. But something catches my eye. Moving through the trees after Chayton is a tall, thin figure. Another got damn vampire.

“They’re going after Liz and Miko,”I tell Enzo through our link.

He’s busy fighting the other feral.

“Don’t you move,”he snarls in reply. But he won’t be done in time. So, I do what I know how to do. I race through the trees after the vampire.

The vamp tries to come up on the right side of Chayton. He would catch him off guard and knock Liz completely off his back. Before he could make his move, I’m on him. We both go crashing through the trees. I land on the ground across from him. Quickly, I get back up on my feet, releasing my blades from my cuffs, I snarl at the vampire.

“You’re in my way, legion,” He snarls in reply.

“Then move me, pest,” I tell him.