The Tribemaster stampeded toward me like a speeding bus. He may have been blind, but my groans of anguish led him to me. I thought I was dead until invisible arms slammed into him and shoved him back. Emme had found us. She used her force to propel him back. She whimpered and screamed as he collided against her power. She skidded backward, unable to hold him. I lurched to my feet as a horde of Misha’s vampires stormed in, followed by Chang and Ying-Ying. They plowed onto the Tribemaster, but they were no match for him.

He needed to die.

I sprinted toward them, roaring with the might of my beast. “Move!”

My jumping, spinning back kick decapitated him. I landed hard, but leapt up instantly and crushed his head with the heel of my foot. I fell back to the floor next to his skull and ripped out his brain. His body buckled at once. Around me, the vamps holding him collapsed into a bloody, sweaty pile.

We all lay there, panting and wheezing heavily until Virginia screamed. Blood dripped onto her face from the deep laceration across her scalp. She ran at me wielding an ax. Maria yanked it out of her hands and knocked her unconscious before she could strike.

I blinked back at her limp form. “I don’t think she likes me,” I muttered.

“Celia. I can’t heal Misha—he’s dying!” Emme cried out.

My eyes widened at Misha’s graying form. I crawled toward him. Oh, my God. His heart shuddered, no longer beating.

“He’s lost too much blood,” Hank sputtered.

Misha’s fingertips traced down my cheek, causing the huge lump in my throat to crack. I couldn’t let him die, and only one thing could save him.

I cradled him against me and pushed my hair away, leaning my neck against his lips. “Bite me!” Misha didn’t respond. I shook him fiercely. “Damn it, Misha—this is no time to be a gentleman. Bite me!”

At first when his fangs grazed my neck nothing happened. Suddenly he let loose. The initial stabbing pain was temporary, but the pleasure was not. Images of Aric on top of me overtook my reality. I moaned loud and strong, my body arching and surging with each orgasm he brought me. I fell back to feel a hand caress my face, neck, and shoulders. Deep within my mind I heard Misha, his groans hungry and lustful. My lids fought to open as my conscious broke through the fog. This wasn’t Aric and me making love. It was Misha, feasting.

Jesus.

I no longer held him. He held me. My limbs draped against the wood floor like wet socks. I couldn’t move and could barely breathe. I was . . . dying.

Someone shook him. “Master, stop!” Maria pleaded. She shrieked and something hard hit the wall.

“You’re taking too much, Master!” Liz yelled.

Our bodies shuddered aggressively as more and more vamps begged him to release me and struggled to pry him off me.

Emme screamed, “Misha, you’re killing her—you’re killing Celia!”

Strong arms abruptly released me. My eyes blinked open. Misha’s sickly pallor had deepened to gold and his lower body was crawling to him. The room tilted and everything blurred. I remember Emme’s healing light surrounding me as Misha shouted orders over the dimness claiming my sight.

Aric . . . Aric, I need you . . .

CHAPTER 23

“She’s waking up,” Shayna whispered.

Bren growled. “It’s about damn time. She scared the shit out of me.”

“I better call Aric,” Danny said.

“Let me do it,” Emme offered. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with the Elders.”

“Nah, that ass**le Anara doesn’t recognize us as part of his pack. He’s got no hold over us.”

I pushed up on my elbows, stiff but surprisingly all in one piece. In fact, I felt exhilarated . . . and hungry. It took me a moment to realize I was in the upstairs apartment of the guesthouse. The bedroom was smaller and decorated with white, silver, and rust accents. My mouth had the worst taste, despite the IV running in my left wrist.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” Emme asked.

I rubbed my eyes. “Hungry. How long have I been out?”

“Three goddamn days!” Taran snapped. She hit the button for the main house and ordered me food.

Chef answered with a resounding “Merde!”

It was strangely comforting to know Chef was still alive. I tugged at the IV in my wrist. “Was this just for hydration?”

Shayna helped me remove it. “No, Ceel. We had to give you Emme’s and Taran’s blood. We weren’t sure how my furry side would affect you, but it looks like you didn’t need it anyway.”

I started to remember the details of the fight. “Is everyone okay?”

Shayna placed gauze over where my IV had been and held pressure. “For the most part. But some of Misha’s vampires didn’t make it. The weaker ones were taken out before we arrived.”

“We?”

Bren sat on the bed next to me. “Aric sensed you were in trouble and called us. We got here almost at the same time everyone else did since he let Shayna drive.”

I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. My sisters followed me in. “Tell me what happened.”

Taran watched me brush my teeth, as if she expected me to pass out. “The attack was sloppy, just like when the other ass**le Tribemaster invaded the area. What Misha’s vamps didn’t kill, we slaughtered when we arrived.”

Emme stared at her hands when I slipped into the shower. “I don’t think as many of Misha’s vampires would have died had the stronger ones not been fighting to protect him.”

Taran rolled her eyes. “Or trying to save you from him. Aric flipped when he found out Misha fed from you.”

“It was my idea,” I mumbled.

Shayna watched me thoughtfully. “That’s what Martin said, too. Which is why he ordered Aric not to fight him.”

I stepped out of the shower and dried off. “Why was Martin here?”

Taran shrugged. “Misha is an Alliance leader. I guess he felt obliged to help. He also knew you were here and that Aric would lose his shit if something happened to you. Poor sap.”

I yanked on a pair of sweats, pausing when I slipped a tank top over my head. “Poor sap? You can’t mean Aric.”

I stepped out into the bedroom to find Bren laughing. “No, she means Martin. The old bastard never had the . . . pleasure of riding in a car with Shayna. It took him a few moments to gather himself before he could climb out of the car and take on evil.”