Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Sixteen years,” Ethan said evenly.
“I’ve let you age like a fine wine. And then I had your friend bring you to me.” She raised her hand and Carl shambled over to her side. Ethan’s heart gave a little jerk, but he immediately pulled his eyes back to Minerva. She was the target. He didn’t give a shit about Carl or whatever mess he got himself into.
“I can’t wait to taste you,” she continued with a little moan as if she were imagining Ethan as the most delicious dessert.
“Never gonna happen.”
She laughed again, the sound going higher and little more hysterical. Minerva definitely wasn’t all there. “You really think you can escape. That your little clan has any chance after I’ve already—”
Ethan swung the hand holding the gun up and started firing, emptying the magazine as quickly as he could. Some of the bullets went wild, but luckily her followers were grouped close enough that any stray bullets hammered them. He watched as her body jerked three times as the bullets hit her, but she remained standing, still smiling at him.
Without taking his eyes off her, he popped the empty magazine from the gun and slapped in the spare. Lifting the gun to eye level, he held it in both hands and waited.
Minerva threw her head back and laughed. “Was that supposed to stop me? I’m not human, little boy. I’m a vampire.”
“Yep. That’s what I’m counting on.”
“Bullets don’t…bullets…don’t…” Her voice drifted off as the same surprised look crossed her face that he’d seen on the other vampires’ all night. She lifted her hand and rubbed at the places where the bullets had hit. Behind her, three other vampires screamed and writhed as the green acidic goo that was now their blood started to bubble through their skin. She tried to jump away from them like the other observers, but she stumbled and fell to her knees.
“Interesting,” Bel murmured. “Apparently it takes longer for the formula to work on older vampires. Minerva was what? Three centuries at least?”
“Four hundred and thirty-seven,” Winter answered.
Ethan’s gaze never wavered as he watched her die before his eyes. Her greenish blood bubbled through her flesh, eating away at it while dissolving her bones. She tried several times to scream, but her vocal chords were already gone. Her mouth simply opened and closed like a landed fish with a soft gurgling sound.
There had been no reason for a long speech about how he wanted her to pay for her crimes or that this was justice for his family. She wouldn’t care. Probably wouldn’t even understand his hatred. He was just food, and food didn’t deserve pretty things like justice and respect.
No, in the end, he simply wanted her dead so she couldn’t hurt anyone else, especially his new family.
“We’ve destroyed Minerva, the head of the Black Wolf clan,” Marcus said, lifting his voice so that it echoed in the large room. “As a member of the Varik clan, we declare that the Black Wolf clan is dissolved. We will grant you mercy this one time if you leave peacefully now.”
“He’s a human. You can’t—”
Ethan swung the gun around, pointing it at the chest of the speaker. “You really want to argue that technicality? I’m a Varik. That’s all you need to know.”
The vamp immediately backpedaled a couple of steps and held up his hands in surrender. No one else spoke as they quickly hurried out the other doors of the massive room, seeking a quick escape. Ethan kept his gun up, pointing at anyone that was relatively close to his family.
After less than a minute, he found only Carl standing beside Minerva’s partially dissolved corpse. His face was completely expressionless. He stared at nothing, as if he wasn’t really there. Winter took the machete from Marcus and walked over to the human…or sort of human. He reminded Ethan more of a zombie than anything.
Marcus carefully pulled the gun from Ethan’s hand and drew him against his chest. Ethan closed his eyes as he rested his head against Marcus’s chest, but he could still hear the wet, fleshy sound of the blade going through Carl. There was soft thud followed by a louder one. Ethan flinched, his brain instantly conjuring up the image of Winter cutting the man’s head off and it bouncing away from the body.
Strong, familiar arms wrapped around him. “He was already dead. His body just didn’t realize it yet.”
“Can we go home, please?” Ethan asked, his voice muffled against Marcus’s chest.
“Yes, let’s get the little Varik home,” Bel said.
“Oh, I like that,” Rafe chimed in, and Ethan found himself smiling against Marcus despite the stress and fatigue that were causing his body to shake. There was something about the sound of wicked playfulness in Rafe’s voice that always made Ethan want to laugh.
“Does that mean you’ll stop calling me ‘Wee One’?” Winter demanded.