Page 126 of Blood So Brutal

Voiler flashed me a smile.

“Good, because we have a busy day ahead of us.”

And he wasn’t wrong. Within the hour, everyone was awake, working their asses off to prepare for what we all knew deep in our bones was coming.

First, we prepared a bunker for the untrained vampyres and the children. Keeping them safe would be a priority if Scarlata was attacked. It wasn’t hard to find a partially underground room with enough space for all of them. We secured it with a few large stones at the entrance then moved our spare water and supplies into the back.

Then, we gathered weapons, preparing for the fight. Wolf acquainted himself with the other soldiers, got to know their history and their expertise while I took Rummy and Voiler withme to help distribute the extra weapons. We didn’t have much, but a welder had been living with the surviving vampyres here in Scarlata, and he managed to build a decent supply of swords and daggers.

The angels would have more—much, much more—but thinking about that was a waste of our time.

Around midday, Wolf sent two scouts into the forest to track the movement of our enemies. It all started to feel very real, like we were all sitting around, waiting for doom to strike.

But when I glanced around the fire later that night, I didn’t see scared faces. I didn’t see doom or terror or death.

The fire in the center of the ruins blazed bright enough to light up everyone’s faces. Children ran around the perimeter, laughing and screaming as they chased each other. A group of males—Wolf included—exchanged war stories to my right. They stood around, sharing cooked meat and listening intently to one another as the light flickered among their features. It didn’t matter that they weren’t all vampyres. Nathan was fae, Wolf part angel, but they accepted each other fully, understanding that we all fought for the same thing here.

And then, there was Rummy and Voiler, who sat on the ground beside me, whispering to each other about the atrocities of The Golden City.

The two of them had a lot in common. I barely knew Voiler in Moira, but I was glad she was here now. I felt safe around her. Calm. Neither of them left my side for two days, almost as if they knew I would crumble entirely without them.

I started to actually feel at peace here, like this was all supposed to happen. Like we all belonged here, just like this.

That peace stayed with me until the scouts returned from the forest.

The entire group fell silent as the two men stumbled toward the fire, catching their breaths.

“Two days,” one on the right muttered. “We have two days until they’re here.”

Chapter 48

Huntyr

The next day was quiet. Most of the vampyres were gone by the time we woke up. I didn’t miss the way Jessiah slept extra close to Rummy that night—the same way Wolf slept extra close to me.

The vampyres were fueling up for the fight.

The thought should have scared me, especially considering we were some of the few people here with blood to feed from, but it didn’t. I trusted the others completely, even the ones I hadn’t met yet.

Wolf took me to the edge of the ruins to let me feed. I argued with him and insisted I was fine, but he could feel my hunger. He knew my magic needed this if we were going to put up a fight.

And because of our bond, we both needed it.

“The others are feeding off animals nearby, aren’t they?” I asked.

Wolf shrugged, rolling up the sleeve of his black shirt. “The others aren’t you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Wolf stopped messing with his shirt and looked up at me. “It means you’re my wife now, Huntress. You’ll drink my blood. I don’t care if you grow to hate me. I don’t care if you travelthousands of miles away. It will be my blood and my bloodonlythat feeds you, understand?”

The fierceness in his voice made me freeze. He was completely serious, completely unhinged.

I swallowed then nodded. “Fine.”

He stared me down with his darkening eyes for a second longer before breaking into a smile. “Good. Now, drink.”

My own vampyre fangs protruded from my teeth, but I resisted. “That hardly seems fair.”

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