Page 2

Carter

The human barring the door sneered at Carter and refused to step aside. “You weren’t invited.”

“If Gio’s in there, then I need to be in there,” Carter insisted, completely unintimidated by the human or the ten perfect duplicate durmins behind him.

Even though he knew the durmin copies of the human were indestructible unless you knew what kind of spell put them together, he refused to feel threatened.

“I know you feel big and important because you’re part of a vampire’s flock,” the human responded, still not moving. “But that doesn’t mean shit here. McConnell is just as powerful as your master.”

Carter ignored the use of “master” and smiled menacingly to show off some lengthened canines. Most wolf shifters couldn’t do partial shifts or the highly coveted “werewolf” shift. He’d mastered both as a teenager and didn’t use either often, but they were effective when he did.

The human’s mocking smile disappeared, and he jerked back a little, but didn’t step out of the way.

“Move or I’ll take pleasure ripping you and all your copies apart,” Carter threatened.

His words didn’t make the human allow him entrance. Instead, it seemed to make the man even more determined to obstruct Carter. With a wave of his hand, the durmin all crowded into the doorway and the human slid backwards until he was behind them.

The human opened his mouth, probably to say something taunting, but he didn’t get a chance. Carter’s patience was done. With a growl of rage, he launched himself at the durmins.

He ripped through the first five easily. The magic holding them together wasn’t powerful enough to make them indestructible. In fact, it was the kind of spell that made them almost as easy to tear apart as a regular human.

Pushing into the house, he literally pulled the first few apart limb from limb and tossed their pieces as far apart as he could within the confines of the house’s foyer.

The magic on these durmin was quick to pull the limbs back to the torso and reassemble so their numbers never really diminished.

This was the real issue with fighting these things, they just kept coming.

Unless you could get away or figure out what would destroy the magic holding them together, they eventually wore you down and killed you.

One of them managed to get a solid blow to a kidney from behind, driving Carter to a knee. He gasped and tried to get back up, but the durmin piled on top of him.

As an alpha wolf shifter, he was one of the most powerful of his kind.

Sucking in a deep breath, he gathered his power and shifted into his werewolf form.

It was a half-shift, blending his wolf and human form into something stronger than either.

It was a rare skill, and he’d only ever met two other shifters who could do it.

Standing up with a roar, he tossed the durmin off and started ripping them apart again. For now, he was able to ignore his pain, but that wouldn’t last forever. His werewolf form took far more energy than a regular wolf shift.

He needed to find Gio and get him out before he was exhausted and incapacitated by these creatures.

Running half up a nearby staircase, he took a moment to sniff for Gio’s distinct scent.

He caught a whiff of him and jumped off the stairs as the durmin rushed after him.

He sprinted down a hallway, the durmin running after him.

Thankfully, the human they were modeled after wasn’t very athletic, or they’d be faster and more agile.

He shoved open doors as he passed them only to find each room empty. He was almost at the end of the hall when he opened a door to a set of stairs and the scent of Gio hit him full in the face.

His vampire was down there!

Relief hit him hard as he rushed down the stairs and Gio’s scent got stronger. He burst into a massive living room like area, breathing hard and ready to murder.

Gio was sitting calmly in a mid-century chair across from McConnell. Both vampires were already looking his way. They’d probably heard him thundering down the stairs.

“Whatever is a werewolf doing here?” McConnell asked.

He sounded more intrigued than alarmed. “Are you for hire? The durmin work well for what they are, but having a werewolf would make me the envy of many. Obviously, you’re an alpha.

Do you have a pack? I’ve been thinking of adopting another pack after my last one left. ”

Carter expected to find his mate trapped, tortured, and maybe unconscious. Carter wasn’t prepared to find Gio perfectly safe and to have another vampire offer him a job.

He snarled at McConnell, then loped over to Gio. He intended to pick up his mate and carry him away, but Gio was quick to stand and point at Carter’s side.

“Carter, you’re bleeding!” Gio exclaimed.

Looking down, Carter found that there was a knife protruding from his side. Oh, that explained a lot.

“Should I assume this is your wolf?” McConnell asked, sounding impatient. Before Gio could answer, the durmin copies and human original were all finally in the room with them and heading for Carter.

Turning to face them, Carter braced himself for a fight but then Gio stepped in front of him.

“Walk away,” he ordered.

McConnell frowned. “I agreed to a meeting with you, but not to have this wolf invade my home unprovoked. The least you could do is let me watch the wolf fight a little.”

“This is Carter,” Gio said, his voice quiet but powerful. It was the voice he got before he turned deadly. “He is my flock, not your entertainment.”

Those words had a powerful effect on McConnell. Vampires knew better than to mess with each other's flocks, even if those flock members were acting dumb.

“Sampson, go to the kitchen,” he ordered without looking at the human or durmin.

One of them stepped forward. “But sir, this wolf deserves death for his insult!”

He was so whiny, Carter wanted to bite him on principle!

“Sampson!” McConnell barked. The human flinched and hurried away. All the durmin turned to follow at the same pace.

Gio didn’t relax until they’d all disappeared upstairs. Once they were all gone, he turned his full attention back to Carter.

“Can you shift back to your human form?” he asked. “It would be easier for your magic to keep you alive in that body.”

Instead of answering, Carter focused on pulling his partial shift back. His inner wolf was disappointed that they never fully shifted, but didn’t like that they were wounded. Soon his human form came forward, and the pain dropped him to his knees.

Gasping, he went for the knife, but Gio grabbed his wrists.

“Don’t pull it out until I’ve called the knitter,” Gio ordered. The vampire’s voice sent all kinds of feelings through him including obedience because Gio was the only member of his pack. If not pulling the knife out would make his pack happy, then Carter wouldn’t do it.

True alphas would do almost anything to make their pack happy.

Carter relaxed and let Gio pull his hands away from the knife.

“That’s a good wolf,” Gio cooed. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you to the car. It would make me happy if you could sink into semi-consciousness, so your pain isn’t as bad.”

“What good is it to have an alpha wolf this powerful in your flock if you’re going to coddle him like this?” McConnell asked.

“If you had a flock, you’d understand,” Gio said without looking at the other vampire.

Like many vampires, McConnell was a cold, heartless bastard who probably didn’t have anyone who was a soul match to him. Without at least one soul bound flock member, McConnell would eventually go insane and feral. When that happened, the other vampires would hunt him down and execute him.

Carter wished they would act preemptively on McConnell.

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” McConnell said. “But you and several others seem determined to deny me.”

Gio spared a moment to cast McConnell a pitying look. “There is nothing so beautiful as a willing soul bond. That nymph isn’t willing.”

McConnell's smile was distinctly predatory. “She doesn’t need to be.”

Gio’s expression turned disgusted. “And that’s why she can’t be yours.”

The other vampire looked confused, which made two of them. Carter had no idea what they were talking about. Whatever the cause, Gio had put himself in danger so it must be important. That made it important to Carter.

“What are you talking about?” Carter asked, surprised at how much it hurt to talk.

“Shhh,” Gio admonished. “I’ll explain it all later.”

Gio reached out to pick him up, but Carter couldn’t allow it. “No, I can walk.”

Gio looked dubious. “You know I can carry you. I’ve done it before.”

It was true Gio had picked him up a few times, but only during sex. That was different. Carter’s inner alpha wouldn’t let him show weakness in front of a potential threat to his mate.

It took a lot, but he managed to get to his feet. His magic might be able to sustain his human body easier, but it also meant he hurt more.

“At least lean on me,” Gio begged, pressing close to his side. Gio’s smaller stature made it easy for Carter to drape an arm over his shoulders. Gio might have a lean build, but he had the typical strength of a vampire, so it wasn’t hard for him to support Carter’s six-foot, four-inch bulk.

“This wasn’t a pleasant visit,” McConnell said as they made their way to the stairs. “I don’t want to repeat it.”

Carter wanted to growl at the vampire’s tone. No one talked to his mate in that kind of dismissive way! It was too bad he was busy keeping himself standing to do anything more threatening than growl.

Gio looked over his shoulder at McConnell. “I’ve delivered my message, stay away from the nymph.”

“I won’t be threatened,” McConnell responded. “I’m just as powerful as you.”