Series: Shifter Ops Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
My animal knows what’s up. And he’s excited and relieved.
“It’s all right, Parker,” a familiar voice calls up to me. “I got this.”
A tall, lean figure strides out of the shadows. The moonlight glints off long, silvery blond hair bound into a ponytail.
It’s Selene, consort, enforcer, warrior, and queen to the vampire king. She swings her ponytail out of the way and raises a sleek black crossbow, aiming it at Jenkins. “Step away from the Irishman and put your fangs up.”
Chapter Eleven
Parker
Immediately, Jenkins releases Declan and blurs away. Declan staggers a bit, and Selene blurs to his side to steady him. “You all right?”
He clears his throat and gives her a thumbs up.
I don’t even notice when Allison sets me down. A chilling scent, masked somewhat by the rich tones of an ambergris cologne, clues me in. I startle and look up into the cold face of Lucius the Vampire king.
“Lovely night for a fight,” the king says in the accent of an ancient royal.
My animal recoils.
“No need to fear,” Lucius says and smiles, showing his fangs in a way that’s probably meant to be reassuring. “You’re on the winning side.”
Allison walks out of the shadows in human form again, her chest heaving. She’s naked from shifting back, so I shuck off my jacket and hand it to her.
“Thanks.” She swings it around her shoulders. “All good?”
“Was this what you were waiting for?” I whisper, looking wide-eyed from Selene with her crossbow to Lucius and back again.
“Yeah. Didn’t I say that?”
“You told us to stall. You didn’t say why.”
“I called for help,” Allison said.
Declan limps over to us. “I tot you called some backwater coyotes. Not…” he tilts his head at Lucius, his eyes bugging out. “The king of the vampires,” he mouths.
“Of course, I called Mr. F. Who else can deal with silly vampires?”
Declan and I stare at each other. Allison called the King of the Vampires. And he came.
And he brought back up.
“My God,” Lucius murmurs. Declan and I flinch, but he’s not talking to us. He’s watching Selene stalk after Charles and Jenkins, an intent look on her beautiful face. “She’s incredible.”
“Where’d she get the crossbow?” Allison asks.
Across the field, Selene hears and turns, patting the hilt. “A birthday present from Lucius,” she shouts. “It came with reusable stakes.” She gives us a thumbs up.
I gulp.
“Should we help her?”
“And spoil all her fun?” The king of vampires raises a brow. His voice is low and dry of inflection. Like wet silk over slate. He sounds a little amused, and maybe he is. I don’t dare study his expression too closely.
Charles is running around the hearse. Selene barely seems to move. She disappears, only to reappear in front of him, standing with a leg cocked and a smirk on her face, surprising him time and time again.
Jenkins runs the other direction, across the field to the truck Declan must have procured for us before the vampires nabbed him.
“He’s getting away,” Declan says.
“Wait for it,” Allison says.
Jenkins throws himself into the truck cab and shuts the door. I can hear him scrabbling for the key to the ignition. He ducks to see how to hotwire it, and behind him, red eyes blink on in the back.
The next thing I know, the truck is rocking side to side. Someone is screaming.
“I can’t look,” Declan ducks his face into my shoulder.
“I can’t look away,” I mutter, patting him. What sort of red-eyed monster can make a grown vampire squeal like that?
The ass-kicking ends when the windshield smashes open with a crunching sound. Jenkins flops to the ground, covered in cuts and glass. A tiny dark creature climbs out after him. It stands on the hood of the car, chittering and waves its tiny fists. With its grey fur, striped tail and dark mask around the eyes, it can only be—
“A raccoon? ‘Tat’s what Fiona is?” Declan asks.
“She prefers the term ‘trash panda’,” Allison says.
“She’s so little.” Her animal isn’t that much bigger than a normal one.
“All the better for sneaking around. But don’t underestimate her.”
“Oh I will nae,” Declan sounds smitten.
A sudden thwap thwap thwap has us turning. Selene shot the crossbow, and three bolts pin Charles to the side of the barn by his dressing gown. She sets down her weapon and pulls an extra stake from the top of her boot.
As she approaches, Charles tosses his head. “What is the meaning of this?” He calls to Lucius. “I demand that you call off your dog and let me go.”
“He won’t help you,” Selene says. She gets closer with the stake, and Charles grows frantic.
“You have no right to do this. Why have you assaulted me?”
“You are officially charged with kidnapping innocent shifters and agents of the king, deterring the king’s mission. Oh, and plotting a vampire coup.”
“What?” I gasp.
“Oh yes,” Lucius murmurs, sounding bored. “It always comes down to killing me.”