Page 75 of How to Stake a Vampire

I froze.

“A feral newborn vampire tearing through Amberford’s human population would have been perfect cover for my work,” Ludvik continued in a slightly bored voice. “Especially the best friend of Amberford’s new hero. Instead, I hear the girl’s been…domesticated. And by that Tremaine boy, no less.”

Fury surged through my veins, a hot feeling that electrified every cell in my body. The bastard had known exactly who Ellie was when he’d targeted Bean Me Up.

Barney took a step forward before I could leap for Ludvik’s throat.

“Stop this madness, Ludvik,” he said coldly. “Your plan will never work. You cannot take on the whole of Amberford, let alone the clans of New England.”

“Oh, I think you would be surprised at what I can do, Uncle,” Ludvik said in a brittle voice. “And I fully intend to putthings back the way they should be, this time around. Vampires ruling.” His gaze flitted to me and Samuel. “And lesser creatures knowing their place.”

I moved.

Abby!Samuel shouted. He cursed and bounded after me.

By then, I’d closed the distance to Ludvik. My belly clenched when he blurred out of view. I skidded through the space where he should have been and slammed side-first into a shelf.

Metal caved under the impact.

Samuel hunkered over me as boxes rained down on us.

We shook ourselves free and looked around.

Ludvik was nowhere to be seen.

There was movement out the corner of my wolf’s eye. My head snapped around.

Barney was moving in a way I’d never seen the vampire move before.

He practically levitated off the ground as he leapt, his face locked in a furious expression and his crimson gaze focused on something above us.

My blood ran cold when I followed his gaze.

Ludvik was upside down and clinging to the ceiling, the vampire’s face a rictus of rage.

He blurred again, his outline edged by thin dark trails. Barney snarled, his claws missing Ludvik by an inch.

A grunt suddenly left Samuel. A flash of pain echoed brightly across our bond. I realized he was bleeding and whimpered.

Ludvik had cut his leg.

The vampire flitted like a shadow around us as we regrouped in the middle of the room, his attacks faster than anything I’d ever faced. He punched Barney in the solar plexus and sent him smashing into a wall. Blood sprayed from the vampire’s lips as he dented the plasterwork with his back.

I barely managed to block Ludvik when he came for Samuel again. His blow caught my shoulder and sent me spinning me across the floor. Pain flared through my left rib cage when I crashed violently into a metal cabinet. My werewolf healing kicked in.

Samuel slipped out of the way of Ludvik’s claws with a snarl, feinted to one side, then struck on the other, his jaws finding a slim gap in the vampire’s defenses.

Ludvik hissed in pain when the black wolf caught his wrist with his fangs. He backhanded Samuel across the face.

I watched in horror as the force of the blow sent my alpha flying into a row of shelves. He landed hard on the floor. I was beside him in a single leap and kept him at my back as I turned to face his attacker, my hackles trembling and my wolf ready to shred the bastard to pieces.

There was movement behind Ludvik. I lunged, Barney coordinating his attack with mine.

He vanished before our eyes again.

Barney swore as we crashed into each other and plummeted to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

The double doors clattered open.