Muller attacked from behind and Lorn roared in pain as claws dug into his back and lower, barely missing his spine. The bastard was attempting to paralyze him. He knew death would come if his spine was severed but he managed to kick Amos away as the elder tried to go for his heart again.

“Fucking bastard!” Lavos snarled.

Muller screamed in pain, tearing away from Lorn and releasing him. Lorn didn’t have time to look back but he heard his brother and Muller fighting. Lavos had come to his aid to even the odds.

Amos recovered from being kicked in the stomach and came at Lorn again.

They slashed at each other, their claws clashing with enough force that agony shot up both of Lorn’s arms. He waited for the right opportunity and drove forward, slamming his chest into Amos. It threw his opponent back, making him stumble.

It gave Lorn a chance to glance at Lavos. They had trained together since they were small, he knew Lavos could fight well, but elders were hard to take down. His brother had slashed the side of Muller’s face wide open, blinding the elder in one eye, and had taken only a few minor hits in exchange.

Lorn’s relief turned into pain as Amos caught him with a clawed fist to his stomach.

Lorn instantly grabbed Amos’s wrist, jerking those claws out, and drove his own into the elder’s chin. His claws tore through soft flesh and he yanked hard, bone snapping as he ripped open the lower part of the man’s face.

Amos made a choking sound and froze, seemingly stunned by either the pain or the blood that filled his extremely damaged mouth.

Lorn went in for the kill. He punched into Amos’s chest with his other hand, breaking ribs in the process of piercing his heart. He lifted the elder off his feet, ripped his claws free of his jaw, and grabbed him by his throat.

“Rest well, elder.”

Lorn slammed him to the ground, pinning him down by sitting on Amos’s chest and using his knees to trap the VampLycan’s arms at his side. He tore into his chest with both claws until he’d removed the heart and dropped it on the ground. He showed the same mercy as they had given others. None.

Lorn lifted his head and found Lavos watching him with a grim expression. Muller lay on the ground. Lavos had torn open his throat. A small amount of movement from Muller’s chest proved he still breathed.

“End it,” Lorn rasped. “We have no room in our clan for the dishonorable.”

Lavos nodded. “Agreed. He’d just heal and keep coming at us any way he could.”

Lorn stared down at Amos and shook his head. “Decker’s ways are as dead as you.” He climbed to his feet.

Lavos finished off Muller by removing his head, and then joined Lorn. “You’re hurt.”

Lorn gripped his stomach. It hurt but the bleeding had slowed. “He didn’t disembowel me. That’s what he tried to do but I reacted too quickly to allow him to rip me wide open. I’ll heal.”

“We should let Vasilla look at you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Lavos bent to examine Lorn’s stomach closer and visibly winced. “Seriously. It might be a good idea to go to our healer to make certain he didn’t puncture anything vital. You won’t die but you could get sick for a day if he ripped open your intestines. She could use dissolvable stitches to sew you up. You’d heal faster.”

“Kira hates Vasilla. I won’t allow her to touch me. The pain isn’t bad and it won’t kill me.”

“Kira doesn’t like our healer so you refuse to be checked out?” Lavos gaped at him.

“She got hurt once and I carried her to Vasilla for treatment. She snubbed her nose and refused to touch someone ‘not worthy’ of her time.”

“She’s our clan healer. The bitch went to medical school on clan money and everything! What the hell was her problem? Because Kira was so human?”

Lorn nodded and walked over to Kar. He assessed his injuries. “You good?”

“I’ll live.” Kar rolled his shoulder. “It got dislocated but I managed to pop it back in.”

“Thank you. You fought well.”

Kar grinned at Lorn. “That was actually fun. Did you see that? Five against two and we killed their asses. I’m so going to brag about this. It’s going to get me laid.”

Lavos looked amused. “It’s all about impressing the women with you.”

“A guy has to have a hobby.” Kar winked. “Wait until Garson hears. He’s going to be pissed he missed out on this action.”

“First we need to take care of the bodies, Kar.” Lorn didn’t need to look at the carnage again. “Notify their families. They can either bury or burn them when someone comes to retrieve what’s left.”

“Don’t you want me to take the bodies to their families?”

Lorn held Kar’s gaze. “No. That will be the first change in our clan. VampLycans who show no honor, deserve none in return. You may relay that to whoever you notify of their deaths. I want word to spread of what happened here, and seeing is believing. I don’t want anyone with Decker loyalties to spread false rumors that we slaughtered them in their beds or something. I wouldn’t put it past them. It’s clear they attacked us en masse. Leave everything just as it is.”

“Got it.” Kar glanced around. “That’ll definitely send a message and prevent anyone from twisting the truth.”

“Yes, it will.” Lorn jerked his head. “Come with me, Lavos. We’re going to the lodge.”

They began to walk but Lavos stopped before they got too far. “Damn it. Let’s go see Vasilla. You’re still clutching your stomach. Does it hurt that much?”

“It’s getting better. I’m just applying pressure to totally stop the bleeding. I’d hate to address my new clan with my crotch soaked red. They’d wonder if I got damaged in that area…”

“Ah.” Lavos smirked. “You don’t want any of the unmated women trying to get your pants off to make sure everything’s in working order. I know some who would. But that’s another reason you should visit our healer. She always carries spare clothing in her home.”

Lorn exasperation rose. “I won’t do that to Kira.”

“I get that Vasilla was a bitch to her when she was a kid but you got claw-punched in the gut, for fuck’s sake. Kira will get over it.”