Chapter 173

“Go,” I told him.

I’d sided with the shifters, since I considered Shade my new friend, and also I didn’t trust this lot of vampires. There was only one vampire I’d go with, and unless I saw his face, I wouldn’t go near any vampires.

“Promise me you won’t run unless we’re about to lose,” Shade said. “Even so, I’ll come back for you and get you to safety.”

 “Fine,” I said. “Just go help your pack.”

Shade leapt into the heated battle, his sword rising and falling as he beheaded a vampire that buried a blade into a gray wolf’s belly.

Sideburns was still crossing blades with the lead vampire. They were both excellent swordsmen. Sideburns swung his sword up to meet the vampire’s in another strike. With a snarl, he pushed the lead vampire back with his brutal strength. The vampire feigned a strike, wheeled away, and slashed a cut along the Alpha Heir’s thigh.

The vampire’s speed was amazing. His movements blurred as he brandished his long sword, yet my eyes could see all of his moves in every detail. It didn’t take me long to predict where his sword would land next. Sideburns was a bit slower compared to the vamp warrior, but his strength was admirable. Somehow, he didn’t let the vamp get the upper hand.

Their swords locked again. Sideburns found an opening and kicked the vampire in the middle, sending him flying into a tree.

I thought about jumping into the mayhem and helping the shifters, but I was worried that I might do the opposite. I was tired and hungry, and the lingering pain or drugs hadn’t completely left my body.

While I watched the battle, I had a sudden eerie feeling that I was being watched.

I wheeled around. A petite female vampire stared at me with a hungry grin.

Crap! Creep!

Then, everything about vampires slammed into the forefront of my brain, like a spark coming alive in my genetic map. In that instant, I knew she was only a halfling—half-vampire and half something else.

I pulled out my dagger and wielded it in front of me, but her grin only grew bigger and hungrier. I bared my teeth and hissed, as if that could scare her away.

Suddenly, a pair of blue wings whooshed out of her back.

That was wicked. If I had those wings, I wouldn’t be here, running and hiding like a fugitive. She might have read the undying envy on my face and winked at me.

I mimicked how Shade snarled and hacked my blade in front of me, kung fu style.

Just as I thought she was going to lunge for me and snatch me up, while I posed viciously for battle, the vampire girl shot into the air and whistled

 sharply.

Shade made a mad dash toward me, face paling. I didn’t blame him. No

one had seen the half-breed vampire girl get inside the shifters’ defensive ring, but it was too late. She was leaving.

The rest of the vampires suddenly disengaged from the battle and withdrew in the direction the petite vampire girl had gone, away from me. In an instant, they cleared, leaving their dead-again peers behind.