Page 64 of Vipers and Vendettas

‘Vamp attack.’

‘Does that happen a lot?’

‘No. Never.’ I glance at her. ‘Get dressed. I’ll return.’

I don’t wait for her answer; going back out the way I came to find five vamps dead on the ground and four more attacking Maddox. I take the nearest one, slamming him headfirst into Maddox’s four-poster bed. He goes down with a yowl, and I grab a chair, breaking off a leg to stab the fucker in the heart.

But there are already more coming through the door.

‘How many of these fuckers are there?’ I snarl, driving my stake through another one.

‘Too many,’ Maddox yells. ‘These are low-level soldiers. They’re here to overrun us.’

‘They’re succeeding,’ I growl.

I grab one by the collar and fling him away, and then I see one I recognize. I’ve seen him in the club before. I lunge for him, hitting him hard in the face.

I know you,’ I snarl. ‘What the fuck do you assholes want?’

He struggles in my grasp, and I headbutt him in the nose as I snatch his balls in my hand, squeezing them hard.

‘Fuck!’ he shrieks, his body freezing almost comically.

‘What the fuck do you want?’ I ask again, twisting his nads hard.

‘The human girl!’ he screams. ‘Shit! My balls! You fucking incubus nutcase!’

‘Better an incubus nutcase than a dead vamp,’ I snarl.

His eyes widen. ‘Wai?—’

But I drive the stake through his heart and let him drop to the floor.

‘They’re here for Jules,’ I yell as I run for the fold.

Maddox throws me a link key as he stamps on a vamp’s head. ‘Get her out of here!’

I leap through Maddox’s closet door and find Jules dressed and pacing the floor.

‘What’s going on?’

‘We need to leave,’ I say.

I put the link key on the closed bathroom door, and she shakes her head. ‘We can’t just go. The others?—’

‘Listen to me,’ I snarl. ‘They will be fine. We’re fucking incubi, and you’re a pregnant human. They’re here foryou, Jules!’

‘Me?’ she gasps as my words get through to her, and she clutches her stomach. ‘Where are we going?’

I don’t answer her, but I have an idea. I open the door, grab the key, and pull her through with me just as I see a vamp somehow entering the fold.

He looks around for a second, and when he sees Jules, his lips twist into a gleeful, self-satisfied smile that shows his elongated canines. He throws something that whizzes past her as he leaps forward to grab her.

I try to pull her to me, but half my body is already gone. There’s nothing I can do but follow the portal to the end or risk being torn apart.

I hear Jules scream, and my stomach bottoms out.

We emerge a second later in a spartan bedroom, floorboards creaking under our weight, and I’m finally able to turn. The vamp has Jules by the throat. His eyes meet mine, and he smirks, kicking the door closed with his foot and breaking the link. He pulls Jules closer to him, clearly relishing the thought of burying his teeth into her jugular. He whirls her around in his arms, grabs her by the hair, and yanks her head back.