Gypsy Origins (Page 24)

Eyes swing toward me like they’ve tracked the sound, as Damien cracks his neck to the side.

“When I say drop, you drop,” he tells me just as slushy sleet begins to patter in an off-beat rhythm.

In the next instant, all the wolves rushing him tumble to the ground, stumbling over themselves and howling in pain, with no discernable reason as to why.

“Drop!” he shouts like I’ve already missed one command to do so.

I swing myself forward, clumsily flipping over the branch, and land hard in his arms. It all happens so fast, and everything is so disorienting, that I don’t even realize he’s running with me for a few seconds.

He makes a hiss of pain before he trips, and I fall from his arms, slamming into the snowy surface. The cold bites and nips at my cheeks and scrapes across my bare middle, as I blink, trying to find Damien.

He collapses to the ground, shock on his face, as my stomach tightens even more. As if my monster is itching to save him, my heartbeat starts lowering on its own…that panic slowly rising to the surface.

It stalls when Damien quickly jumps back to his feet, and then I see what took him down. There’s an arrow through his heart that has him cursing, as all the many pairs of eyes swing to us at once.

There’s a heady pause, like they’re getting their first visual and are surprised by it. I’m panting heavily, as Damien yanks the arrow out of his heart, glaring at Abby, as she smirks and lowers her bow.

“I have no idea which Morpheous he is, but kill him,” she says before her eyes flick to me. “And kill the girl in the hideous bra too.”

Wolves snarl as they start pressing forward, no longer running around in frenzy and searching for what they can’t see.

A chill spreads up my spine like there’s a warning in the air. The front row of wolves whimper and fall back when the wind whispers and the slush falls harder, chilling the air all the more.

A few wolves even whine and stumble over themselves like they’re trying to move back, as Damien grabs my hand and yanks me to his side.

“For once, I’m happy to fucking see you,” Damien says in cold relief, just as he glances up.

Following his gaze, I look up to see shadow dropping from the top of a massive tree, and I track the rapid descent, as the form becomes really clear.

Snow sprays into the air as the scary vampire lands in a hard crouch in front of me, and he casually straightens, while rolling his shoulders back. Some wolves turn and bolt; others snap at him from a safe distance.

Arion turns and smirks over his shoulder at me. Barely, I notice Abby’s eyes widen while she pales.

Arion blocks her from view when he turns around and pulls his jacket off. I keep expecting them to attack his back as he bends and puts his jacket on me, but I’m frozen stiff, overwhelmed by everything.

“I got you a nice coat for your birthday, love. You’ve just failed to come see me about your present,” he tells me before he taps my chin, taking his time to chat with me like there aren’t rabid wolves foaming at the mouth just behind him.

When I simply gape at him like he’s an idiot, he turns, and the darkest smile spreads over his lips. “Come on, charmer,” he says as he pulls out a dagger of some sort and tosses it to Damien. “It’s been a while since we had some fun together.”

“I still fucking hate you,” Damien says as he catches the weapon at the handle and turns, slicing through wolves that decide to attack who they feel is the lesser threat. “But a psychotic vampire is better than a horde of stupid fucking werewolves.”

Armed with actual help and a weapon that doesn’t run out of ammunition, Damien starts cutting through wolves all around, staying out in front of me, as I back against the tree Arion dropped out of.

Arion moves so fast that I can’t track him, but I’m more concerned about Damien. He’s been shot with a bullet and an arrow, and he’s bleeding profusely. The arrow through the heart seems to have ended his illusion, which is his greatest weapon.

A thought presses to the front of my mind that I don’t want to think about yet: Damien knows I’m a monster who shouldn’t panic.

In Damien’s hands, that could very easily be blackmail information. What the hell was Emit thinking? It had to be him who told, because dead men can’t talk. Well, they can, but Damien ignores them unless I’m around.

Arion is suddenly at my side, and his strong arm wraps around me, pulling me to his body before I can protest. We’re moving before I even realize I’ve been lifted, and he carefully puts me behind him as he lands in the center of a lot of really angry wolves.

I was better off with just a tree at my back. Now I’m in the arms of a murderous vampire in the center of a bunch of murderous werewolves, who, quite literally, are out for blood.

My mind changes when just a blur of motion surrounds me, and wolves fall to a bloody heap before they can even push off from the ground. Arion is really good at killing things and making it look easy.

The murderous vampire can stay close by.

The circle becomes lined with dead wolves that don’t even have time to make a sound before they drop, and the rest whimper, whine, and start to retreat.

It’s now that I realize Arion is having to chase wolves that are running in fear from him—omegas feeling the alpha vampire threat in full.

He grabs me again, keeping me with him, and I hold onto his neck this time, looking back to see Damien holding his own now that he isn’t worrying about me. That means I’m safe with Arion, right?

Everything is so confusing. Emit said Arion would stab my back, and Damien is happy he’s here, content to leave me with him.

I’m dropped back to my feet as the vampire continues his joyful killing spree, laughing here and there like this is the best night of his life.

Wolves are coming from all sides of us, even now. Arion is mostly intercepting the ones going after Damien.

A naked man runs through the wolves, shouting as he fires a gun over and over and over at Arion.

Arion smirks, dodging each bullet effortlessly, but the man reloads as Arion toys with him, killing wolves here and there right in front of him. The man’s hands shake to get the new clip pushed in, eyes fearfully trained to the really enthused vampire.

That’s when his eyes turn to me and narrow, and he points the gun right at me. My breath hitches when I hear the bullets fire, but Arion appears in front of me before anything hits.

I hear him make a slightly pained sound as he tenses, and the bullets continue to fire and fire. The second the sound stops, Arion is gone, and I watch as the man falls in a headless heap to the ground.

Arion’s claws are extended as his eyes burn red and his chest bleeds from the multiple bullet wounds surrounding his heart. Seriously, I’m not sure how they die, but clearly they’re hard as hell to kill.

“Pity the fool who thought he could kill the vampire with a gun,” he chirps before he spits on the body.

He turns back into his killing-machine self, laughing once again, enjoying the bloodshed, as he works the circle around me.

Damien backs his way toward me, and I resist the urge to go to him.

Another chill creeps up my spine when I hear the howl in the far distance. This howl is different from all the others. It’s dark, hauntingly familiar, furious, and oh so close.

All the wolves tremble, scattering out from us, and turn to dart in that direction like they’re determined to keep fighting.

Just as a wolf launches itself at me from the back of the circle, a silver glint catches my eye, and a sword lands in the wolf’s chest, pinning it to the ground.

Vance Van Helsing lands in front of me in the next instant, yanking the sword out of the wolf, as he breathes heavily, eyes bright and pupils small like he’s someone else entirely.

Wolves scramble back from him just like they did Arion.

“Well, this brings back memories,” Arion chimes, as he carelessly and effortlessly rips out a couple of hearts like it’s his night job.

I can’t watch Arion fight. It’s too bloody, and his sounds of enjoyment are slightly terrifying.

Vance doesn’t acknowledge Arion. The Van Helsing starts slicing through the wolves that keep charging us.

“They want her,” Arion says close to my ear, breathing me in as his arm goes around my waist. “It’s like her blood drives them insane, and they want a taste. They think her to be our weakness they can exploit. Perfect lure,” he murmurs, dragging his lips up my throat and to my ear. “I’ll kill them all for making you bleed,” he adds in a quiet whisper just for me.

I’m not sure what anyone is supposed to say to that.

His idea of romantic gestures is really, really disturbing, and I never find the appropriate fear I should have in his presence.

I hold my silence, as he resumes enjoying the violence, while he pretends it’s some sort of vengeance for me. Whirling around, I spot Emit’s dark wolf as he boulders through a thick line of the wolves.

He backs his way to us, completing the circle around me. His tail is swishing in obvious agitation, and another vicious growl rumbles from his chest.

“San Rio Passage?” Damien asks, twirling his bloody sword as he glances over at Arion.

Arion smirks.

“This is a little bigger than San Rio passage,” Vance calls out absently. “And these are fucking pureblood omegas instead of human soldiers.”