Page 39 of The Wayward Sons & The Vampires of Fortune (The Wayward Sons #4)

H ere.” Sam handed us two earpieces. “To keep in touch.”

“Okay,” I said as I shoved one in my ear, and Ryder did the same.

“I need you two to go down to the next hangar door,” he instructed.

“Why—”

“Don’t open it until Andrea tells you to,” he continued over me. Behind him, Nash and Cole moved in the opposite direction.

“Yeah, because that don’t sound shady as fuck,” I retorted.

“Do you want to kill some vampires or not?” he demanded.

“Fucker,” I shot back, making him smirk. Unwilling to let him get too far, I slipped my fingers through Ryder’s. As I did, I dipped in my power, wrapping him up in it—feeling every little bit of him. Keeping him close.

Now that I had him, I wasn’t letting him go.

“ Nobody moves until I say so, ” Andrea said loud and clear in my ear.

“Why ain’t we done this whole Bluetooth thing before?” I asked over my shoulder to Ryder. How many times had we relied on yelling or crappy hand signals to get our messages across to one another?

“ Shut up, ” she snapped.

I debated a sarcastic remark, but in the end, I kept it to myself. I focused on Ryder and getting to the next hangar door. I damn near walked backward to keep an eye on him as well as watch for whatever the hell it was that they had planned.

Flood lights turned on, and I immediately wished they hadn’t. Down the runway, the four vampires stood there—stoic and ugly as fuck with their skull heads and fangs too long for their mouths.

My hunter instincts went into overdrive, buzzing erratically at the back of my skull while my heart rate kicked up. Jesus Christ. They were utterly terrifying.

My hand tightened around Ryder’s as if that’d do anything.

Winston’s growl grew steadily louder as Andrea walked him out toward the vampires.

“I swear to fuck, I’m raisin’ hell if y’all try to feed your dog to the fuckin’ vampires,” I snarled. It wasn’t an empty threat, even if Winston didn’t like me.

“ There are only two things in the world that can kill a vampire, ” Sam said, his voice quiet even through the Bluetooth. “ The first is vampire-killing bullets. ”

“We knew that one,” I reminded him. We didn’t need a demon lesson while we stared down death.

I watched as Andrea ran her hands through Winston’s scruff, but his attention never wavered from the vampires. My stomach sank. She grabbed hold of his collar and unclipped it.

A blast of magic hit me hard, knocking the wind out of me.

Green light swirled around Winston. His body bulked out, muscles bulging and bones cracking.

His fur rippled in rapid waves while his body doubled in size.

A long snout, massive paws, and body armor made of blood red metal plates.

Flames sparked off his fur, and his tail erupted in a cascade of fire.

I’d seen Hellhounds before but not like this.

Winston snarled, the sound echoing loudly in my ears.

“ And the other thing is— ”

“Another demon,” Ryder finished for him, his voice laced with awe.

Holy shit.

“Did you weaponize a fuckin’ Hellhound?” I demanded.

“ No, she weaponized a Hellhound alpha, ” Sam replied.

“ Open the gates, ” Andrea ordered, her voice nearly drowning out his. Without question, Ryder pulled open the hangar gate door. The deep growl that came from inside the darkness was intense in a way I felt down in my very bones.

Winston howled, but I didn’t dare turn my back.

From the shadows, another Hellhound stepped out, snout parted and fangs bared. That massive head swung in our direction, and we froze. Its dark gaze honed in on us. I’d fought Hellhounds before, but nothing could prepare me for this—not one decked out in heavy metal armor.

It stalked past us, its attention refocusing on Winston as it responded to his call.

“You have a Hellhound army…” Ryder whispered.

“ We have a Hellhound army, ” Sam confirmed.

And then all hell broke loose.