Page 64 of Donovan

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

DECLAN

After Lena’s appearance,Donovan and I immediately made our way to the village.

The sparrow shifters moved around us in near silence, their footsteps light, their hands steady as they prepared.

Weapons were distributed. Some knives, some makeshift spears, anything that could slow down a rabid vampire.

Donovan stood a few feet away, phone in hand, his fingers moving quickly over the screen.

He was texting Kit, setting the trap.

I hated that he was willingly putting himself in the crosshairs of the Guild again, hated that we had to deal with Kit and his team at all when the real threat was coming for us.

But I understood the necessity.

I exhaled sharply and rolled my shoulders, adjusting the grip on my knife. The sparrow shifters weren’t ready for this fight, not really, but there was no running now.

The rabid vampires were coming, and they had a leader. One we knew nothing about.

I turned to Donovan just as he slipped his phone into his pocket. His eyes met mine, steady despite the storm brewing behind them.

“It’s done,” he said. “Kit agreed to meet.”

I nodded. No backing out now.

Donovan asked me to trust him, and I did. Without hesitation, without doubt. He had a plan, and I’d follow him through fire.

Besides, our initial plan to run from the Guild, from Kit, from the sparrow shifters and their fight, felt like the coward’s way out. And I wasn’t a coward.

I didn’t want to die, but if it came down to it, I’d rather go down fighting than spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, wondering if today was the day the Guild finally caught up to us.

If we died here, then so be it. We died choosing our fate, not running from it.

But my biggest regret was time.

The time I could’ve spent with Donovan, without fear, without knives pressed against our throats.

Time getting to know each other better. I clenched my fists, pushing back the ache in my chest.

Not yet. We still had time, I told myself.

The woods were deathly quiet when we arrived at the meeting point, too quiet for comfort.

The moon hung high above the treetops, casting pale beams through the dense canopy, illuminating the small clearing where Kit and his hunters stood waiting.

Weapons were already in their hands.

I stepped slightly ahead of Donovan, angling my body just enough to shield him if things went south.

Kit’s sharp eyes flicked to me before settling on Donovan, suspicion darkening his features.

“What the hell is this?” Kit demanded, his fingers twitching near the grip of his gun.

His team stood tense, their postures coiled tight, watching us like they expected an ambush.

Donovan’s voice was calm, steady. “We need to talk.”