One year later.
Callie kept her attention on the lamb she was tending. The small animal had gotten entangled in some fencing and required a few stitches to close the gash it received.
Since first arriving at the compound, she’d set up a small veterinary clinic to nurse the growing number of animals living there. Not only were there dogs, cats, sheep, and chickens, but they’d started bringing in cows and horses to help them with plowing the growing fields the hunters planted for food.
The stomp of a foot drew her attention to Doc Holliday, or Doc as she called him. Her horse stood outside the fence, nibbling on the lush grass there. Lucien gave him to her on their six-month anniversary.
The gelding was a beautiful palomino she rode wherever she went in the compound. She couldn’t get enough of the animal who’d become her constant companion, along with her German Shepherd, Ricochet.
Not only had Lucien made sure she had a place to work with animals, but last month he’d taken her to a music festival in Virginia. He’d looked as happy to be there as a cat dunked in water, but he stayed through both days, and a few times she caught him tapping his foot along to the music. The grouchy look on his face only made her love him more.
Ricochet sat outside the fence with his ears pricked and his attention riveted on the compound. She’d heard the main gate open seconds ago and detected the crunch of tires as vehicles sped toward the mansion.
That can’t be good.
No one sped around here. There were too many children and animals now, but the vehicles were moving far faster than normal. Thankfully, it was night, and no kids roamed the grounds at this hour.
Uneasiness spread through her as she finished stitching the lamb and handed it over to the young hunter who often helped her tend the animals. Justine embraced the lamb against her chest as shouts filled the air. Callie rose when lights blazed on around the compound.
An uneasy chill ran down her spine, and her heart hammered. Lucien was safe inside the mansion; they had tonight off from patrolling, but some of the friends she now considered family had gone on patrol tonight.
Doors opened and closed as hunters emerged from some of the homes. They sprinted across the lawn toward the shouts. Something was really wrong.
“Justine, get inside,” she said.
“What about the lamb?”
“Take it with you. Just get inside and don’t open your door until you know it’s safe to come out.”
Justine nodded, and keeping the lamb against her chest, she sprinted toward the gate, opened it, and slipped outside. Callie ran to the fence, leapt over it, and landed beside Doc as he lifted his head from the grass.
She didn’t bother to put his bridle back on as she grasped his mane, pulled herself onto his back, and turned him toward the chaos. When she nudged him in the side, he broke into a trot that progressed into a smooth gallop. The wind whistled past her as they pounded across the land toward the three SUVs in front of the mansion.
Shouts continued to come from the SUVs as doors slammed. Her growing unease was turning into full-blown panic as she closed in on the vehicles. Things had been bad out there lately as the number of Savages increased. They’d lost too many of their own over the year.
As she reached the chaos, she slowed Doc and swung herself off his back before he came to a complete stop. She sprinted across the earth and spotted Lucien amongst the group of hunters and vampires gathered around an SUV.
“What happened?” she demanded as she arrived at Lucien’s side.
He crushed her against his chest. “We’ve lost another.”
“Oh no,” she whispered as they removed the body of a hunter from the back of the SUV.
The young man was so severely beaten she couldn’t make out his features, but the sobs of his mother filled the night. Callie closed her eyes against the woman’s anguish and worked to suppress her tears.
“This has to stop,” she whispered.
Lucien’s arms clenched around her. “It will.”
“I hope Logan and Asher are having better luck than us.”
“So do I.”
• • •
Logan gazed down at the broken and battered body sprawled across the floor of the office. The pool of blood beneath it had already coagulated on the wooden floor. Overturned chairs and tables surrounded the body. Papers spilled from the large, oak desk in the center of the room.
Alejandro, the leader of the hunter compound, had moved his hunters from Nogales, Mexico, to Arizona a couple of months ago. They moved after three of their hunters failed to return from a mission.
Concerned the hunters had fallen into the wrong hands, Alejandro moved his compound to a backup location. The move was meant to ensure the safety of its occupants, but it failed to ensure Alejandro’s safety.
Alejandro had put up a fight against his murderer, but in the end, he lost the battle to his attacker—an attacker who had been one of his followers.
Logan lifted his gaze to meet Asher’s over the top of the body. Asher was still staring at Alejandro but, sensing Logan’s stare, his head rose and their eyes met. On Asher’s face, Logan saw what he already knew… this was because they were here.
Alejandro had been on board with all the changes taking place ever since the Alliance formed. He’d helped the Alliance and been a part of it. They’d come here for help and were negotiating with Alejandro to bring more hunters back to their compound. However, not everyone in Alejandro’s compound was eager to be part of the Alliance.
Some of them wanted out, and others refused to give up any of their numbers. They didn’t want to risk leaving themselves unprotected against the growing Savage threat. However, Logan hadn’t expected them to kill Alejandro over it.
Whoever did this had chosen to kill him instead of Logan and Asher, but that was because Ronan sent them here. If something happened to them, the killer risked bringing the wrath of the Alliance down on them. They still risked that wrath when they destroyed Alejandro, but not with the same certainty that would have occurred if someone tried to slaughter Asher and Logan.
However, they’d brought Logan’s wrath down on them. Alejandro, a man he liked and admired, was dead because someone in this compound was a fucking coward.
He glanced at the hunters gathered within the room. They were all Alejandro’s men. They were the ones the fallen hunter trusted the most. They were also the ones who could get close enough to surprise him with an attack. That surprise had failed as Alejandro fought hard before losing his battle.
None of these men looked injured, but Alejandro had been dead for hours before his wife found him. Logan could hear the woman sobbing down the hallway as others sought to comfort her. However, she was beyond their comfort. Each of her sobs only enforced Logan’s growing anger.
These men didn’t look wounded, but enough time had passed that they could have healed. Their clothing could also hide any damage they might have sustained, but if he ordered them to strip, they wouldn’t do it. Instead, it would most likely guarantee their removal from the compound, and then he would never discover Alejandro’s killer.
However, he was aware he and Asher were most likely standing in the room with a killer—a killer he was determined to find and takedown. And then, he would take as many hunters as he could from here and return home to destroy the growing number of Savages and demons aligning against them.
When he met Asher’s gaze again, he saw the same steely determination in his eyes that he felt growing inside him. Before they left here, they would find Alejandro’s murderer.
He just hoped they didn’t get killed in the process.
A commotion from the end of the hall drew Logan's attention. He stepped back to discover a young woman embracing Alejandro's widow. They spoke for a minute before the woman pulled away and swept down the hall toward them.
The hunters gathered in the hall didn't try to stop her until she reached the end. Then, Juan held out a hand to stop her. "You don't want to see this, Elena."
Elena's black eyes shone with determination when she lifted her chin. The sun had turned her long, dark brown hair a lighter shade of chestnut at the ends.
"I have a right to see my father, Juan."
"Yes, but—"
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way," she bit the words out.
Juan hesitated before releasing her and stepping back. Logan didn't say a word as she entered the room. He'd never met Alejandro's daughter, never even knew she existed, until now.
The beautiful woman carried herself with an air of dignity and confidence, despite the crestfallen look on her face when she spotted her father's body. She hesitated and gulped before walking over to kneel at his side. Elena brushed aside her dark brown bangs before she tenderly touched her father's cheek.
"Who did this?" she demanded with a slight quiver in her voice.
"We don't know," Logan said. "But we will find out."
She lifted her head, and when her eyes met his, he swore his heart skipped a beat. Despite the horror of this place, he found himself entranced by the beauty of her heart-shaped face and golden skin.
"You're a vampire," she spat.
"I am," he confirmed.
Her upper lip curled into a sneer, and while he found her enchanting, he could clearly see that she despised him. There had been a time when he would have hated himself too, but that was years ago.
Then, she turned her attention back to her father, and he realized none of that mattered. All that mattered was finding Alejandro's killer and getting the help they needed to destroy the demons before they were all slaughtered.
THE END
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Read on for an excerpt from Shadows of Fire
the first book in the exciting new The Shadow Realms series!