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Three.

“Really?” Logan grabbed the bottle as it began to roll away. He lifted it to his nose. “Blessed by the pope himself, I bet.”

Mack let out a snort and turned, wrapping Ella in his arms. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Are they dead?” she asked, her voice a high pitch as he opened the Jeep door.

Yeah, they were.

They weren’t in the business of killing humans. They’d never had the remit from the king to do it without cause. But they had it now. These humans were hunting vampires.

Unfortunately for the three idiots, they’d chosen a king’s warrior who had permission to eliminate any threats to the race. Three of them.

Everyday vampires didn’t necessarily have the fighting skills or the courage to defend themselves despite their strength.

Take Ella. She’d been terrified.

They were at war.

Humans against vampires.

Men like those would rally others and only grow their movement and be a risk to their kind if not stopped.

“We’ll clean up. Take Ella home.” Callan nodded at the Jeep.

“Thanks, man.”

The drive home was quiet, and it took all his effort not to reach out and take her hand. He parked out on the road and went around, opening her door.

Quietly, she got out and walked beside him up the path to the four-bedroom house he’d rented for her. He’d only looked at it once. It was five years old, tidy, and big enough to accommodate his family if they did want to come out.

“How is it?” Mack asked.

“It’s nice,” Ella replied, then turned. “You don’t have to come in.”

She looked pale, and he didn’t want to leave her. His wolf pressed to hold her and comfort her, to make sure she felt safe.

That’s a lie.

Mack wanted to scoop her up and bring her home. To his bed. To wake up with her underneath him and fill her with his needy, thick cock.

To feel her tighten around his shaft as the mating bond flared to life and connected them forever.

Then what?

Would she go through the change and become a wolf?

Would she reject him when she learned what he was now?

Or did they not have long before their world imploded and their race either vanished or went underground, no longer free to be who they were?

Nikolay had a serum which incapacitated vampires and hybrids. Sooner or later—his money was on sooner—he’d sharethat with the world and unless they killed him before he did that, they were all in very serious danger.

Craig was right.

They had to kill the Russian.

The prince had invited them all to volunteer for the team going to St. Petersburg to assassinate him. Mack had put his hand up. There was a strong chance, if he went, he wouldn’t return.