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Kane laughed and moved so fast, the largest shifter of the pack had no chance to react. The blond vampire jumped onto his shoulders and twisted his head off, tossing it over to Drew, who slapped it away, growling when he spotted blood coating his chest from Kane’s kill.

The vampire sighed as he tracked the other shifter run toward the trees to make his escape. He chased him, waiting until he was back in the clearing before he split the shifter in half, discarding the bottom, before he removed the head and tossing it through the trees.

Drew, keep him alive.

Hunter threw the shifter at the surprised ginger, who had to shift back. He stood naked in the clearing, a shifter positioned in front of him, and a bright blush on his cheeks.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Hunter. If you haven’t noticed, I’m fucking naked.”

“And who’s fault is that? If you stayed in human form to kill, then you’d be fine. Instead of thinking things through, you barreled into the fight by shifting into your tiger. Now, deal with the consequences.”

Hunter turned fight with the last two shifters. He leapt between the dumbasses who stuck around for their deaths. They snarled at him, reaching for him as soon as he landed, which he dodged.

“Who do you work for?”

“Fuck off—”

The guy froze the moment Hunter locked eyes with him. The other, thinking he had the jump on him, moved behind Hunter to pin his arms to his side. Without missing a beat, Hunter slammed his head back and heard the satisfying crack of the shifter’s nose breaking. Another snarl and the first shifter jumped onto Hunter’s shoulders, baring his teeth, ready to clamp onto Hunter’s throat and rip it out.

His hand shot out and wrapped around the shifter’s throat. With a tight squeeze around his neck, Hunter brought him face-to-face.

“Hey, no fucking biting,” Hunter growled.

Hunter hauled back and aimed for the jaw. He punched the other shifter hard enough for him to drop to the ground and lay there as he groaned at the pain. He turned his attention to the other who’s bleeding had slowed, but not stopped and instead of righting his nose, it was still off-kilter. For such a break, it should have healed within seconds. Instead a minute later, the injury was fresh. He made a note to tell Liv when he saw her next.

“Do you work for a company by the name of Nightfall?”

“I won’t tell you shit.”

Before Hunter could punch the fucker in the face or growl at the shifter, he sensed movement toward the west. He gripped the shifter’s throat tighter as he choked on his words, something about being a weak poser and turned his gaze west.

A gorgeous woman, dressed in a long-sleeved hoodie and worn jeans with white snow boots that matched the color of her hair stared at him with wide eyes. There was something familiar about her. Something tugged at his chest until he passed the shifter over to Kane and stepped forward.

“I need to…”

“Yeah, man. I know.” Kane laughed as he tugged the shifter under his arm and squeezed when he spoke.

Ignoring the scene behind him, he walked toward the woman, who had yet to move from the position she was in when she spotted them. After a few steps, Hunter froze when he scented her fear and he could see her body quaking as she stared at him.

In a quiet, non-threatening voice, Hunter spoke. “I would never hurt you, angel. I promise.”

His eyes caught inconsistencies that battled with his understanding of shifters and vampires. He wanted to rush over and comfort her while the overwhelming sensations screamed at him. She was important to him; she was his.

But his need for her warred with his knowledge that their relationship would be impossible when his bright green eyes landed on her silver ones. Familiar silver ones.

He had a half second of hesitation before he realized she called to him and those instincts were never wrong.

“I’m Hunter. I only want to talk to you.”

Her eyes darted over his shoulder to the scene playing out behind him. “The men; Kane, the tall blond, and Drew, the annoying ginger who’s naked, are my friends. Those other shifters are trying to kill us.”

Relief washed over him when Drew, aware of the delicate situation, stayed silent at the insult. Maybe because he called him a friend in the same category as Kane.

His words, instead of reassuring her, had her eyes widen as her pupils became blown. She clenched her fists against her chest. But his concern turned into worry when she dropped to her knees. Unable to keep his distance from her any longer, he rushed to her side and kneeled in front of her to match her stance. He didn’t touch her, afraid she would freak out if he did.

“I will never hurt you and will protect you with my life. I promise you with all I am.”

“Black… black… guns. Uniforms. I know them from somewhere. Where?” She kept mumbling the same words over-and-over.