Page 97 of The Fated Hunter Wolf
My wolf snarled, and I felt Sable’s hand on my arm, steadying me before I did something stupid.
“Strategic approach,” she whispered. “We save them all.”
Right. Think like a beta, not a wolf ready to rip throats out.
The chamber was well laid out—multiple entry points, clear sight lines, designated zones for different types of prisoners. But the vampires had made one crucial mistake.
They’d designed their operation around containing captured supernatural beings, not fighting free ones.
I caught Eve’s eye and gestured toward the left side of the chamber where most of the children were caged. Shenodded, understanding immediately. Astrid would maintain our concealment while Eve worked on the locks.
That left Sable and me to handle the guards.
The dwarves would be easy under the circumstances. But six vampires, armed and experienced, in a space designed to amplify their advantages while minimizing ours… Under normal circumstances, I’d call those shitty odds and look for a different approach.
These weren’t normal circumstances.
Sable’s vampire nature rose to the surface—she was ready to unleash the full power she’d inherited from centuries-old bloodlines. Her scent changed, and even my wolf acknowledged her as a superior predator. He looked at her with awe, while I looked at her as my partner.
“On my mark.”
Her fangs extended in her anticipation. “Ready.”
“Now.”
What happened next would’ve been beautiful if it weren’t so fucking terrifying.
Sable moved first, her vampire speed turning her into a silver-edged blur that crossed the chamber before the guards could process the threat. She hit the nearest vampire with enough force to send him flying into a rocky wall, his tactical armor crumpling like paper.
My wolf exploded into action a heartbeat later. Not shifting—that would have taken too long and made me a bigger target. Instead, I found a new speed I hadn’t had before.
It seemed being bonded to a hybrid had its upsides.Awesome.
A second guard turned toward Sable just as I reached him. My fist connected with his jaw hard enough to dislocate it, followed immediately by my elbow to his solar plexus. He dropped onto the stone floor.
“Intruders!” The shout came from across the chamber as the other guards processed what was happening.
Silver magic erupted from Sable’s hands, creating a barrier of crackling energy that sent two more vampires stumbling backward, smoke rising where the power had touched them. Instead of the wild magic she’d unleashed during our early encounters, this was precise, strikes designed to incapacitate.
My brain noted the improvement while my wolf reveled in watching her fight. She’d learned to channel her abilities with deadly efficiency.
A crossbow bolt whistled past my ear, close enough that I felt the rush of air. I rolled to the left, coming up behind another guard as he tried to reload. I caught the subtle click of the mechanism, giving me enough warning to grab his wrist and twist until bones snapped.
“The cages!” I shouted. Eve was already on the first row of locks, still cloaked.
Through the bond, Sable’s attention split in about twelve different ways. She was tracking every guard, every prisoner, every potential threat. My head spun just thinking about it. Her vampire side handled the immediate “who needs their face rearranged” calculations while her wolf coordinated with mine in ways that shouldn’t have been possible after knowing each other for, what, a few weeks?
We were fighting like we’d been doing this shit for years instead of figuring it out as we went. Her abilities filled in gaps I didn’t even know I had, and it looked like I was doing the same for her.
The remaining guards were adapting faster than I’d hoped. Instead of engaging us directly, they were falling back to defensive positions that put the prisoners they’d been moving into the crossfire.
Smart. Also completely fucked up.
Silver darts, Sable warned through the bond as a guards raised a tranq gun.Careful.
The weapon fired with a sound like breaking glass. The projectile passed close enough to my shoulder that silver particles burned against my skin, but it wasn’t aimed at me.
It was aimed at a cage full of children who’d been huddling together since the fighting started.
