RJ peels out of the driveway.
I sit up in time to watch the hunter step into our path. Or close enough to it to get a clear shot at me through the windshield. He takes aim with his finger on the trigger.
Rather than slow, RJ steps harder on the gas and twists the wheel sharply to the left. I suck in a breath as we slam into the hunter.
His body thumps beneath the tires, sending us careening over the curb and onto the street.
“You ran him over!” Shock colors my voice. “Holy shit.”
“It’s the least we could do after he tried to put you down.”
I’ve never heard Aimee so angry. She glances at her sister as we roll to a stop. The six of us get out of the car at the same time to inspect the damage.
I expect a mangled body. I expect the guy to be our new hood ornament. But we’re not driving away. And he’s not actually down.
He pulls himself free from beneath the back bumper, dragging his leg behind him and already shaking off the hit like it was nothing.
My jaw drops as Colt launches himself at the hunter. We ran him over and the dude’s getting up.
It takes both vampires to subdue him.
Grayson and I lean heavily against each other, our twin fevers slicking us together with sweat, surprise, and pain.
“Such an asshole,” Lacey grinds out. “Will you stop moving?”
“You guys stay here. We’ll take care of this.”
Aimee’s assurance doesn’t stop me from limping toward the hunter as RJ pulls the mask off the man’s face.
The first thing I see is teeth. Blindingly white teeth with the canines sharp points and the wolf clear in his features. His jaw is slightly distended through his struggles like the change is coming on him despite his superior control.
Aimee pats down the man’s pockets, Colt and Lacey holding him still on either side. “Who sent you?”
I want to know. Ineedto understand who would do something like this to us.
A slim folded piece of paper glows underneath the thin moonlight.
“What kind of orders are you hiding in your bag? Hmm? Oh.” Aimee holds it out to me.
For a long second, I stare at it. The hunter’s hatred muddies the air between us. It’s heavy, uncomfortable, leaving a terrible taste in my mouth.
Grayson takes the paper and holds it out to me.
We were the targets. We, or me. I’ll find out in seconds.
With trembling hands, I pull open the edges of the orders. These are no typed instructions. The handwritten note is clear.
“What does it say?” RJ demands.
The night hasn’t changed but everything is different. The van’s engine hums behind us, waiting and useless. The rest of the street is already asleep, but my heart plows against my ribs.
I read the instructions three times before they make any sense to me.
“He’s…been contracted by the Ironwood pack,” I say. “By my father. He’s meant to hunt down every moon-mad wolf, and kill them all. Starting with Grayson.”
And by association, me.
Chapter