The blond vampire sniffed the air. “Mohiri children out walking their pets. I wonder if your blood is as sweet as they say it is.”

I loaded another arrow into the crossbow. At the same time, I opened my power, relishing the comforting heat spreading through me. The way they moved told me they weren’t mature vampires, but they weren’t new, either. My eyes went to the blue-haired girl who was crouched in a defensive stance between her demon friend and the vampires.

“You guys need some new material,” Jordan quipped. “Sara, what was the name of the last sucker who thought you smelled good? You know the one you killed in Albuquerque?”

“Stefan Price.”

Both vampires stared at me. “You killed Stefan Price? Impossible,” declared the redhead.

Jordan brandished her sword. “Why don’t you come over here and find out for yourself?”

Trevor, who had finally managed to extricate the arrow from his back, strutted over to stand beside his friends. He looked a lot cockier when he wasn’t jumping around and screeching his head off. “What are we standing around for? Let’s take care of these bitches and their pups.” He pointed a clawed finger at me. “That one is mine.”

“Sorry, I’m already taken.” I swung the crossbow up and aimed it, earning a laugh from him.

He bared his fangs at me. “You took me by surprise the first time. Do you really think you can hit me in the heart with that thing before I get to –?”

Trevor let out an earsplitting shriek and doubled over, clutching at the arrow protruding from his smoking crotch.

“I wasn’t aiming for your heart.”

Jordan whistled. “Damn, girl, you do have an evil streak after all.”

“If he can’t walk, he can’t attack.”

Roland growled impatiently. The other two vampires took a step back.

“Right, let’s get this over with. Jordan and I will take the redhead, and you guys handle the other two.” It seemed like a fair fight since Trevor was now trying to crawl away. The alley was a dead end, so I wasn’t sure where he thought he was going.

I couldn’t help but compare this to the first time I ended up in an alley with a vampire. I had been so terrified of Eli I could barely move. Back then, I could never imagine me willingly going after a vampire, let alone three of them. So much had changed since that night in Portland. The irony of it all was that vampires were responsible for a lot of it.

The vampires realized playtime was over when the four of us split into pairs. They crouched side-by-side and bared their fangs and claws at us. Tendrils of fear curled in my stomach and adrenaline spiked through me even though we had them outnumbered. I welcomed it. Fear keeps you alive.

Roland and Peter moved first. Snarling, they ran toward the blond vampire. I saw the vampire’s face contort in fear a second before he spun and fled deeper into the alley with the werewolves on his heels. I heard growls and screams, but the dumpster was blocking my view.

The redhead’s lips curled as Jordan and I advanced on him. “You shouldn’t have let your guard dogs run off. Now it’s just us.”

I reloaded the crossbow and pulled out the dagger I had stuck in the waistband of my pants. “Can you take him?” I asked Jordan, knowing she was itching for a vampire kill. But he wasn’t as young as most of the vampires she had killed.

“Probably,” she replied without her usual cockiness.

“Go for it. I’ve got your back.”

She smiled and started forward. “I know you do.”

The vampire didn’t wait for her to reach him. He rushed at her, claws outstretched. He was fast, but Jordan was faster. She leapt to one side and whirled in a lithe movement to slice the sword across his back. He screamed and spun, lashing out at her. I heard a soft grunt as his claws scored her bare arm, but she didn’t falter. The sword came up again and this time it severed the hand that had injured her. Blood splattered across the front of the new top she’d bought for tonight. She was going to be pissed about that.

He let out a screech and ran at her again. One thing I’d learned over the last few months was that immortality did not equal intelligence. No person in their right mind would attack someone who looked as fierce as Jordan did in that moment, especially if that someone was holding a big ass sword. Her movements when she met his attack were easy and graceful like the steps in a deadly dance. She reminded me of Nikolas.

Jordan’s sword opened a gaping gash in the vampire’s stomach. He stumbled back in shock and grabbed his gut. Like a predator, she advanced. Metal glinted. The vampire’s next scream was cut off as his head separated from his body.

We looked at each other over the vampire’s body. Her chest rose and fell sharply, but I knew it was from excitement, not exertion. She lifted the bloody sword and smiled. “I told you this sword was made for me.”

I started to reply but stopped when I realized I no longer heard any sounds of fighting from the end of the alley. My stomach twisted in fear. “Roland? Peter?”

Their big wolf forms appeared around the dumpster, bloody in places but otherwise looking okay. Roland looked at the dead vampire at Jordan’s feet then nodded to let us know the other two were dead as well.

A whimper drew my attention to the blue-haired girl and her friend, and I rushed over to help them. I couldn’t touch the vrell demon, so I laid a hand on the girl’s bare arm to comfort her. I’m not sure which of us was more shocked when my power flared and lashed out at her. I’d gotten pretty good at keeping it under control, but I was a bit worked up and not expecting her to be a demon. I yanked my hand away. “Shit, you’re a demon.”