Page 57 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

“Nope. But they seem more interested in you than me.”

I take another look and it’s hard to say which of us they’re more interested in. It’s irrelevant either way. “Ah, yes. This is the ever famous ‘outsider stare down’. Welcome to Vampire Posturing 101. Today’s lesson focuses on the welcoming committee, or, in this case, theunwelcoming committee. Those who don’t carry true-blood or even hybrid-blood are considered inferior and therefore less than.”

Tucker chuckles. “It doesn’t seem to bother you.”

“Why would it?” I send the onlookers a wide smile and waggle my fingers at them. “Francesco loved me as a daughter, and I loved him as a second father. It had nothing to do with true-blood or vampire status. We were family.”

The two vampires race at me in a blur of aggression and I don’t even have time to react before Tucker lashes out and knocks them both flying backward.

If I hadn’t grown up with possessive, dominant men my whole life, something like that might seem overbearing. But Tucker—whatever brand of supernatural he is—is obviously as alpha as the vampires I grew up with.

His protective instinct is more about him than me—and the fact that Jack told him to watch over me likely added responsibility to that as well.

Any other time, I might bristle at a man thinking he needs to take care of me, but today, it feels nice to have someone genuinely concerned about my wellbeing. Because I’m not feeling tough enough to fend off the world myself right now.

Today, I’m happy to let someone else take up the mantle.

The two vampires don’t seem to get the message though and come at me again. I drop into a crouch and widen my stance.“You boys are new around here, so I’ll forgive the aggression. For your information, I’m Scotland McCullough, Bran’s daughter, and the Sacred Squire to your king.”

“Oh, we know who you are,” the goatee guy says.

“You’re a little girl who will get Zane killed.” Dreads is looking for a way past Tucker, so I tap his arm and signal for him to stand down.

“If these boys are stupid enough to think that Bran McCullough would put Zane at risk, or that he would raise his daughter in a world of vampires and not teach her how to fight, then they should be set straight. They think I’m the weakest link, so let them come.”

Tucker frowns. “You can’t be serious.”

I grin. “I’ve got so much pent-up anger and emotion right now, it’ll be good to vent it. This will be fun.”

Tucker hesitates but dips his chin. “Well, who am I to deprive a lovely lady of a little fun?”

I blow him a kiss, then step over into an open area away from the couches and sleeping area. As I walk, I stretch my neck and shake out my arms. “All right, boys. If you think you’re all that and I’m a detriment, have at it. This is your chance to prove your point.”

Zane

The moment the canvas of the hockey bag moves, my reign of vengeance begins. I carry the oversized bag holding Benoit past the witch’s warding into the old subway tunnel, unzipping it so fast the metal tab snaps free and embeds into the tile of the wall.

“Wakey, wakey, you fucking traitor!”

My father accepted this French fuck into our home, and Benoit repaid that trust by bringing death and chaos into our community.

As human as we appear, vampires have a beastly side that craves blood, carnage, and slaughter. It’s overwhelming at first, but as long as we give into it now and then and set it free, the beast can coexist.

There’s no restraining that side of me now.

It would be like tethering a rabid hell hound with a tissue paper chain.

The moment he climbs out of the bag, I launch into the air and come down on him like a meteor crashing to the earth. No human throat can make the sound that tears from my vocal cords.

It is that of a vampire possessed by the urge to kill and it’s terrifyingly unmistakable.

It is a snarling threat that rattles inside the mind of our prey and speaks of the horrors to come.

And there will be many.

I grab the man who let the enemy into my home and slam him against the wall of the subway tunnel. “I hope it was worth it.”

His eyes widen, but he doesn’t have time to plead. I grip his throat with one hand, pinning him against the wall, reach into his mouth, and yank. Blood spray hits my face, and it’s warm and sweet. I hold his tongue up for him to see and lean in. “Talk to any new friends lately, Benoit?”

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