Technically, as a lowly wolf shifter in their eyes, I should be well beneath their notice. They had no use for other Sects.
I had no idea what they wanted with me, and the fact that they’d obviously hired Rourke, and already knew of my change, was nothing short of terrifying.
“Ah, ah, Rourke, our agreement”—Valdov steepled his fingertips together in front of his icy visage—”was for you to gather information for us by whatever means necessary. Of course, necessary clearly implied bringing the girl to us if you were … shall we say … unsuccessful in your quest.” Valdov peered over his pointy nails at us, his steady mercurial stare completely unnerving. “And it seems … your quest has indeed been waylaid … by what is this …” He lifted his perfectly chiseled face, stonelike and eerie in its careful definition, into the air and inhaled an exaggerated breath. “Ahh,” he exhaled as he leveled his gaze fully back on us. “… Lust, is it?”
Rourke vibrated with power. It licked at me, wrapping me in its tendrils.
“I’m doing my job just fine, Valdov,” Rourke said. “I’m doing exactly what you paid me to do, and nothing more. You’ll have all the information you need as soon as I have it. And make no mistake, I will get it. So you can go ahead and scurry back to your Queen like the lapdog you are, and you can tell her to go fuck herself if she tries to change the rules on me halfway through a valid contract.”
Valdov hissed at Rourke, a deep visceral sound that made my skin itch. Then, right before our eyes, Valdov’s features began to shift and change. I watched in horror as his lips slowly peeled away from his mouth and his canines grew longer and sharper, dropping well past his bottom lip. His face elongated, impossibly stretching, his cheeks receding inward as his chin dipped downward.
It looked like his skin was going to slide completely off his face.
Holy horror show.
Then, as the final gruesome capper, his eyes bled to full black, leaving no trace of white showing at all. Then a wave of his anger hit me. I shrank against it as it pummeled me with a taste of magic I’d never experienced before. This vampire was ancient, and his powers were completely off the charts.
My wolf sprang at him inside my head, snarling and gnashing her teeth. My muscles started to jump and twist as the adrenaline she fed me charged its way through my bloodstream. I had to rein her in quickly or we’d be dead before this fight started. Hey, I know you’re itching to fight Creepy here, and I want to too, but we can’t take him and all his cronies at once, so you’re going to have to cool it down. She snarled at me, her teeth flashing, showing me an image of us sinking our teeth into his bone-white neck. Even if we managed to take out the vampires with Rourke’s help, we still have the Southern wolves to deal with, remember? If we attack now we lose. Get it? We need a better plan, one that doesn’t include going balls out on a horde of powerful supernaturals. Just give me a minute. She barked loudly but backed off, her frustration echoing around me in angry waves.
Rourke squeezed my hand in warning, acknowledging my sudden influx of power. I took it to heart. We were going to have to wait this out as long as we could. If anything, I hoped we’d be able to outrun them somewhere in the mountains. Angry Southern wolves mixed with scary vampires did not tip the odds in our favor.
Valdov gained control of himself with effort, obviously having a change of heart about tearing Rourke’s neck out. As he organized his features back into place, he flashed us a wretched smile. Locking his gaze on Rourke, he managed, “It looks as though we will no longer be needing your … assistance after all.” He drew out his esses like a serpent. “You may consider your contract with us null and void from this moment on. You will be paid in full, of course, but we will take the girl now and you can go back to your den, or wherever it is you slink off to.” He gestured breezily with his dead hand, like he was flicking away an irritant. “Now run along before I change my mind and decide to kill you just because I can.”
“That’s not going to work for me, Valdov,” Rourke said. “I’ll tear your head off your shoulders if you take so much as one step closer. You don’t have the authority to dismiss me that easily, and you know it.” Rourke’s voice went eerily calm then, dangerous and cutting in its intent. “If you lay one dead finger on her you will be begging me to end your life. Do you understand? You will beg me.”
The energy in the clearing jumped at Rourke’s words. The wolves had slunk in closer, forming a ring around us. They chattered and growled, riled at the prospect of a good fight.