“Remy. He taught me a lot of stuff. I just never thought I’d have to use it.”

The waiting room had a few more occupants, and I knew immediately that at least one of them was a demon. It was either the short man with yellow skin and pointed ears or the young gray-skinned woman with long white hair. She glanced at us then looked away. Tucked against her side was a tiny version of her that had to be her child. I smiled at the little one, and she returned it shyly before burying her face in her mother’s sleeve.

I was halfway across the room when cold stabbed me in the chest. “Oh, no,” I uttered, looking around frantically. But the vampire wasn’t in the waiting room. He was outside and coming closer.

Jordan grabbed my arm. “What is it?”

“Trouble.” I met her eyes and said, “Radar.”

Her eyes widened and she cursed softly. “I told you it was a mistake to leave the weapons in the car. How many? Can you tell?”

“One, I think. I can’t be sure.”

Roland came to my side. “What’s wrong?”

“Vampire,” I whispered, and he let out a low growl. I’d never heard him do that in human form, and I had a suspicion he was very close to going furry.

“What should we do?” Peter asked in a low voice.

Before I could answer, the door opened and the vampire stepped into the room. He was medium height with black hair, and he wore a brown leather jacket. Fear stole my breath as his eyes passed over us on his way to the receptionist’s desk. A second later, he stopped and I saw him sniff the air. I wondered if he was picking up the werewolf scent in the room.

When I’d almost lost Nate I made a vow to destroy every vampire that crossed my path. But we were weaponless, and I had no idea how old the vampire was. The smartest thing to do right now was get out of there.

Roland’s fingers closed around my wrist. Come on, he mouthed.

Peter was the first one through the door with Jordan close at his heels, eager to retrieve her knives. I was about to follow them when there was a sudden breeze and the door slammed in my face. I found myself face-to-face with the vampire. My heart thrummed against my ribs and I let out a small scream. Someone pounded on the door, but the vampire held it shut with one hand.

The vampire let out a hiss. “A Mohiri child all alone without her protectors.” He reached for my face, and Roland growled. The vampire’s eyes flicked to him. “I am a lot older than you, pup. Stay out of this and I might not kill you.”

I tried to step in front of Roland, but he put an arm across my chest to stop me.

“Don’t touch her,” he snarled in a voice that was several octaves deeper than his normal one.

I looked down and saw dark wiry hair sprout from his arm as claws grew from his fingers. I flexed my own fingers, feeling power hum through them. Between us, we can handle this.

“Heel, dog,” the vampire spat, showing his fangs. He reached for me again.

Roland lunged at him. The vampire moved so fast he blurred, and Roland flew backward across the room to crash into a tall ceramic vase. Shards of pottery flew everywhere.

“Roland!” I turned to run to him but my arm was held in an iron grip.

“Now where were we?” The vampire stared at me with dark hungry eyes. “I had a young Mohiri once, but his blood smelled nothing like yours. It’s so sweet.”

Revulsion coiled in my stomach. I brought my free hand up between us, and it took the vampire several seconds to notice it was glowing.

“What –?”

My hand slammed into his chest and power exploded from me. His eyes widened in shock, and he let go of my arm. Before he could recover I laid my other hand on his chest and pushed another wave of power toward his heart. He didn’t go down as I’d hoped, but he wavered stiffly as if he was momentarily frozen. I’d never taken down a mature vampire, and I had a feeling this one was strong. I hit him with another blast, and he made a strange keening sound but stayed on his feet. Jesus, what did it take to kill one of these bastards?

The door crashed open, knocking us both off balance and severing my contact with him. I fell backward and landed on the two old hags, who shrieked indignantly. Mumbling an apology, I scrambled up just as the vampire gained his own footing. He wasn’t moving nearly as fast, and his confident sneer was gone as he crouched, facing Jordan, who was now armed with two long knives. Peter crowded the doorway in wolf form.

“You weren’t going to keep him all to yourself, were you?” Jordan quipped. “Friends share, Sara.”

“Help yourself.” I darted a glance at Roland, relieved to see him sitting up. He looked dazed but otherwise okay.

The vampire glared at me. “First, I’m going to take care of this little piece, and then you and I are going to get to know each other a lot better.”

“Ew! Dude, you look old enough to be her father.” Jordan twirled one of her knives. “And don’t call me a piece, you sexist pig.”

The vampire shifted his stance.

“Jordan, watch out!” I shouted.

A shriek split the air, and the vampire grabbed at the knife that had just missed his heart. His hand smoked as he ripped the blade out of his chest. He had to be very strong if he could withstand touching pure silver. He raised his hand, his intent clear. There was no way Jordan would survive a blow at such a close range.

I dove at him.

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder, but it faded as magic surged in me. Lightning bolts leapt from my hand before it even made contact with his chest. This time, instead of drawing back for another strike, I fed more power into him. I felt it surround the demon inside him as he sank to his knees, his face frozen in a silent scream.