Page 62 of Wicked Fate

Silence filled the car once again as Reid and Ryker linked with the packs, informing them of the plan. Everyone agreed that it was the best possible option, outside of just not returning, but we couldn’t leave Reid’s pack surrounded by vampires without their alpha.

Soon, we passed the turnoff for the Sinclair lands, and I noticed shadows in the corner of my eye. “We’ve got company,” I said out loud and also linked to Briar. “Shadows are watching us and following us.”

I punched the gas harder, trying to gain more distance. They’d be alerting the others to where we were heading.

Of course they are,Briar replied.This couldn’t be easy.

The turnoff for Blackwood territory was up ahead. My heart thundered, knowing what we would eventually find.

When we reached the turnoff from the two-lane highway, the tree line exploded with visible vampires.

I slammed down on the gas pedal. “They’re here!”

Gunfire erupted from the Accord behind us. Briar and Bruce both fired through the cracked-open front windows, trying to keep them back.

I weaved the Mazda around a pothole just as one vampire lunged across the hood. Ryker opened fire without waiting for a clear shot. The windshield cracked, but the vampire fell off, screeching.

“Hang on!” I shouted, just as another set of claws scraped across the roof. My ruined window left me the most vulnerable to an attack.

The pack-land perimeter was maybe three hundred yards ahead now. The final stretch, but at this rate, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it.

A female vampire ran right in front of us like she expected us to stop, but I pressed harder on the gas.

The impact was sickening. A heavy, wetthudand a splinteringcrackthat shuddered up through the steering wheel and into my arms. I felt it in my teeth. The crunch of bone against metal echoed through my open window and into the car, unreal and too loud, like stepping on a branch magnified a hundredfold.

I gripped the wheel harder as the body slumped onto the hood, slid sideways, and then was gone—tossed aside like a rag doll by momentum we couldn’t afford to lose. There was no room to stop. No shoulder to pull over to. Just a sharp drop off the edge of the road and the brutal knowledge that swerving would kill us too. I kept going, the entire car shaken, silent, the scent of hot metal and blood filtering into the cabin, our hearts pounding to the rhythm of what we’d just done and couldn’t undo as vampires continued to attack.

Then Reid’s pack came into view.

Bullets hailed from their weapons. Vampires dropped, limbs twisting, shrieks of fury and pain echoing like some kind of nightmare chorus.

But they didn’t stop coming.

One leapt onto our hood, cracking the windshield even more. Another clawed at the back driver’s side window, and I cringed away from the open space next to me. Cassi screamed, and I heard a gunshot right behind me.

The vampire’s body hit the road, and I glanced back in time to see it crushed beneath the tires of Briar’s car.

My sister rode my tail. Luckily, I’d been taking the brunt of the forward attacks, and it looked like hers had been more focused on the sides. She and Bruce continued to fire through their cracked windows, keeping most of them away.

Vampires attacked all four corners of our car, blowing the tires. I didn’t stop, just kept going as the rims screeched onto the asphalt for a bumpier, skidding ride.

My heart hammered as we crossed the perimeter. A second line of bullets shredded the remaining vampires who’d dared to get close to us. The vampires turned and ran off, now that we were behind the protective magic.

I slammed on the brakes, the Mazda skidding to a stop just inside the boundary. The Accord followed seconds later, tires shrieking.

Reid’s pack poured from the houses.

Two men who’d been standing at the perimeter line rushed forward, guns slung over their shoulders. One came to the Mazda, and the other split off and opened the front passenger door of the Accord to help Bruce out. The taller one, who’d come to us, opened the trunk and carefully lifted the unconscious witch into his arms.

I turned to look at him through the open hatchback. “We want the witch to stay with us at the house since she’s linked with Ryker. We need her close.”

The tall man hesitated, glancing at Reid.

He nodded weakly from the backseat. “Do it. We’re short on people. If their pack wants to watch her, then I trust them to handle it.”

The tall man didn’t wait for another word. He tore down the dirt path toward the small house we’d claimed, the witch lying limp in his arms.

“I’m going too.” Cassi crossed her arms like she was ready to argue. “She’s a sister witch. And I want to be there for her to help her feel safe.”

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