“Bears,” I said facetiously.
Christian chuckled warmly, still hiking through the snow. “Good thing you’re armed. Though I’d be more concerned about the unsanitary conditions of his lavatory. Better gather up some frozen leaves while you’re at it.”
“I bet you’re just loving this.” I kicked snow at him and steered away toward the cabin. “I want that fire hot!”
His laughter faded, and I relied on my better-than-average vision to walk the path.
I glanced upward at the dark sky, remembering the magnificent colors of the northern lights. The trees now obscured them, or maybe it had all been a lovely dream. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in all my life—not even the meteor showers I’d watched from the top of my father’s trailer. As I kept walking, I wondered if I’d be better off just peeing by a tree. But that civilized voice inside my head decided that I needed to separate myself from the animals.
I knew I was getting close when I could smell the outhouse. It was a violation against nature, and I pinched my nose as the wooden structure came into view. When I opened the door and stared into the darkness, my lungs begged me to stop. A flashlight hung inside the door right next to one of those car deodorizers shaped like a pine tree.
“Hell no.”
I grabbed the flashlight and slammed the door. How long had it been since he relocated? Wasn’t there a cap on usage? I flipped on the light and located an acceptable bush behind the outhouse to do my business.
“So much for dignity.”
I unzipped my pants, and the cold air on my ass made me hurry. Moments like these were the only times I envied men.
Just as I finished, a twig snapped in the woods.
“Christian, don’t you dare come back here.” I quickly zipped up and kicked snow over my puddle.
When I climbed back up to the path, my light beamed on two grey wolves. They were flanking Diesel, and his standing there took me by complete surprise. I thought after dropping off the girl they would have flown back to New Brunswick.
The wolves bared their teeth and snarled.
Diesel stroked his thick beard. Why would a grizzly run with wolves? “Think you can mess with a man’s livelihood and walk away scot-free? I didn’t like Temple, but he paid my bills.”
I kicked snow away from my feet like a horse pawing the ground. “All that time, I thought you were a nice guy.”
He laughed haughtily. “I was. But now you’re gonna see another side.”
I reached in my coat for a dagger and bared my fangs.
No fear.
No mercy.
The bigger wolf lunged, and I slashed his throat with the blade. He collapsed in the snow, shifting immediately to human form. Before he could heal. I blasted him with energy and then turned on the second wolf. His jaws savagely went for my neck, and when the sharp points of his canines touched my flesh, I sank my own fangs deep into his back. He thrashed and scuttled away, allowing me to get on my feet again.
Without missing a beat, I drove my dagger into the first man’s heart, killing him instantly. “Lights out.”
Crimson red stained the snow, spreading out from a fresh kill. The second wolf barked ferociously, but I could sense his fear now that he knew I was a Vampire.
I grinned at Diesel’s bemused expression. “What’s the matter?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re a Mage… and a Vampire?”
I flung my coat off, another dagger in hand. When the second wolf no longer posed a threat, I faced Diesel. “Come get me. In human form, if you’re man enough.”
The last thing I needed was to have a showdown with a grizzly, so I went for a weakness that all men shared: ego.
His eyes narrowed before he moved on me in a flash.
I pivoted around and wrenched out of his grasp before driving my dagger into his back. Diesel bellowed so loudly that snow shook off an overhead branch. The speed of his recoil caused me to lose my grip on the blade.
Left with no weapons, I charged my hands with so much energy that blue light dripped from my fingertips. The fallen flashlight illuminated the blood in the snow, casting long shadows as we circled each other.
Diesel came at me and ducked, knocking my arm away before hitting me in the head. I went down in the snow, and the second wolf exploded into action. I rolled him over, blasting him with enough energy to kill a moose.
Diesel hooked his hands beneath my arms and hauled me back up. The next thing I knew, his thick bicep was around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. I kicked his legs and clawed at his face. If I could just find his eyes, I’d pop those suckers right out of their sockets.
Feeling dizzy, I twisted my neck to the side and dropped to my knees, slipping out of his grasp. Before he could grab my hair, I blasted him right in the groin.
The big bad grizzly fell down as if Thor himself had struck him with his mighty hammer.
In the balls.
I staggered over to Diesel and sat on his chest.
“Mercy,” he gasped.
I leaned forward, my hands on his chest. “Did you just ask for mercy? What about all those women who begged for it when you delivered them to Temple? What about their mercy? What about that woman locked in your trunk for hours with a stake in her chest while you ate chili and guzzled down beer? You don’t get mercy.”
My fangs throbbed, aching for blood, and my Vampire instincts took control like a beast within. I stripped his coat open and delivered a powerful energy blast so he couldn’t buck me off or fight.
As he lay there defenseless, I descended on him like a monster. My fangs ripped through his jugular, and I drank the life right out of him. It didn’t taste as dark as some of the men I’d taken down in the past. Diesel wasn’t a saint, but he also wasn’t a sinner. He straddled the line between.
When someone gripped my shoulders, I swiftly turned and nearly lunged at Christian.
“He’s already expired. Never drink from a dead man.” Christian surveyed the bloody scene. “I didn’t hear anything until he shouted. Why didn’t you yell for help?”
“I didn’t need help.”
The cold look I gave him told the story. Temple going away in cuffs wasn’t enough for me—not this time. Not after Fletcher. I thirsted for justice, and I drank my fill.
Christian collected my coat and weapons. “Let me have a look at you.”
I stood up and took my coat while he swept my hair back and frowned at a lump on my head.
“Jaysus. You’re covered in blood.”
The way he said it surprised me. He sounded aroused, and his breath hitched when I licked my lips. Christian bent down and lifted my legs off the ground. The next thing I knew, he was carrying me back to the cabin.
I’d had every right to defend myself against those men, but had I gone too far? Reality hit that Viktor was going to have to report the incident, and more men would come out to question us. Men who already didn’t like our presence.