Chapter 10
Ava
I descended the stairs two at a time. I’d put on every piece of armor that Lawson had made for me, enjoying how it all fit me almost too perfectly.
I wore a thin cotton shirt and stretchy pants beneath the dark leather pieces, but the bulletproof vest was the most impressive part of the whole thing.
I could feel a thin layer of Kevlar inside it, but there was a layer of flexible steel spirals encased within it too.
I thought it would hinder my movement when I’d first picked it up, but when I’d slipped it over my head and strapped it around my waist, it did anything but.
It was so well contoured to my shape and it moved with me; I felt all the more powerful in it.
When I walked down the stairs though, the mansion had erupted into a flurry of activity that could only mean one thing.
The Venuti were on their way.
Lawson strode through the foyer toward me with purpose.
He held a black leather case in his hands, and I looked at him with interest. He cocked his head toward the kitchen and by the time I made it to his side, he had it spread open on the table.
He picked up a belt and lashed it around my waist without a word.
When it was firmly in place, he picked up a gun.
“This is for you. I had one of the best gun makers in the States put it together for you. It won’t jam, not even once.
It’s single fire, so make every shot count,” he said as he slid in a fully loaded clip of sunfire bullets.
He picked up several more clips and placed them in holsters all along the belt for me, along with a second fully loaded gun.
“Slide your hands along the belt. Take note of the places where I put the clips for you. Do that now, little mate,” he instructed.
Slowly, I did as I was bidden, familiarizing myself with each clip along my belt. Next, he flipped a couple of wooden stakes into his grasp and started pushing them into place along my belt too.
“Take note of the stakes as well. Make sure you know where they are so when you need them, you’ll be ready,” he commanded.
I did as instructed, slowly feeling the smooth base of the sharpened stakes.
“I have one last gift for you. I discussed your sunfire bullets with Genzo, who has a mind like yours that is geared toward innovation. He created something just for you,” Lawson explained.
He lifted his arm, holding a thick, very sharp knife in his grasp.
“Using similar technology to that developed your sunfire bullets, he made you a sunfire blade. In order to use it, you must bury the blade in all the way to the hilt in your target. That alone will not kill them, but when you press on the release on the bottom here, it will activate and blast the unlucky vampire apart. This will only work once, so use it wisely.”
He passed the blade to me, and I looked at it in wonder. The button in question was on the bottom of the hilt, and I lightly passed my thumb over it. I nodded my head once, showing him that I understood.
“There is a hidden holster inside your vest for it, here,” he continued. Carefully, he took the knife from my fingers and slid it inside an opening just above my belt line. It fit perfectly, likely made to the knife’s exact specifications.
“I can’t believe you had this all made for me,” I sighed softly.
“I take care of my mate, no matter what she needs and today, she needs to take out her revenge on the pointy toothed fuckers that tarnished her family name,” he growled.
His words invoked the fire I’d put aside for weeks. I’d focused on building up the members of my pack, on teaching them how to make weapons that would give them an edge over the vampires they would fight against and just generally finding my way in my newfound family.
I lifted my eyes to his, finally allowing a small grin to edge at the corners of my lips.
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I answered, giving into every ounce of animosity I felt against the Venuti. It was their fault I’d lost my father and they were going to pay for that.
He shifted beside me, echoing my sentiments with a growl more vicious than I could have even imagined.
I was grateful it wasn’t directed at me because I wouldn’t want to face something like that.
Instead of fighting against him though, he was at my side.
The bond between us fluttered at the knowledge that we were going to battle against the Venuti as one.
“I’m proud of you, Ava. Fight hard and make them pay for what they did.”
Lawson’s voice echoed inside my head. I turned, studying the expression on his wolf face.
“I can hear you,” I whispered. His eyes darkened and I could have sworn he was smiling at me, the corners of his mouth lifting up in a toothy grin that looked more like a snarl than anything else.
“We’re bonded, my beautiful mate. You bear my mark now and that means that even as a wolf, we are never truly apart. I will hear you wherever you are. Don’t be afraid to call for me if you need me.”
My heart swelled.
People began to rush by. Men and women alike were loading clips and sliding them into place before they cocked their guns.
“Is there a safety on my gun?” I asked.
“No.”
“Good.”
“Come. I have the perfect place for you to rain down fire on our enemies.”
Without thinking, I swung myself up onto Lawson’s back.
He turned the corner and rushed up one staircase after the next until he burst out onto the roof.
Several members of his pack followed, remaining in human form as they did so.
We fanned out across the roof, with Lawson and me taking our place at the center.
By the time everyone had settled into their positions, I counted at least two dozen pack members spread out evenly along the roofline.
I looked out and a quiet squeak of momentary fear escaped me I saw just how many of them were coming for us.
There were at least two hundred. Maybe even two hundred and fifty.
“Don’t fret, mate. I have you by my side and that makes us far stronger than them.”
That single thread of fright withered away, and I gave it no more thought. My brave nature reared its head and with confidence, I pulled both loaded guns from my waist. I took aim and held for my alpha’s cue to fire.
“When you’re ready, give the command, Ava. Today, the Crescent Moon Pack follows you.”
My heart exploded in my chest. I’d fought against him so hard, but he’d conquered me in the end. I loved this man. I would love him to my last dying breath.
I leveled the guns, making sure to aim carefully and I pulled the triggers.
With smooth precision, the bullets tore out of the barrel and sailed straight into the skulls of the two unfortunate vampires caught in my sights.
In an explosion of light, their heads imploded.
If I had the time, I would have admired that small victory, but I quickly moved onto the next.
All around me, guns started to fire, and a significant number of the Venuti began to erupt into a fiery display of light, blood, and gore.
Gunfire popped all around me and when I’d unloaded the ten rounds in my clip, I released the empty ones and swiftly replaced them with the full ones on my belt.
Then the Venuti started firing back.
I watched in horror as men who I had befriended were shot beside me.
I knew that the vampires were shooting them with silver bullets and that they probably wouldn’t get back up.
With vicious intent, I leveled my gun on them and kept shooting, not willing to back down for even a second.
Every bullet counted and I took out as many as I could.
I was the best shot up here and soon enough, I ran out of bullets.
Someone else rushed to my side and handed me two fully loaded clips. I reloaded and took aim, but the vampires were getting so much closer, and it soon became clear that they were coming from all sides.
Fuck…
My first estimate had been far too low. Now I was certain that the Venuti had brought more than five hundred vampires with them.
The pack members on the roof continued to pick away at them and reinforcements continued to bring more clips up to them.
Quickly, I dismounted Lawson and rushed to the other side of the mansion, trying to pick off those that were scaling the walls.
I was able to stop a number of them, but we had been so focused on the incoming horde that we hadn’t remembered to check our backs.
They were starting to gain on us. From the perimeter of the property, a rush of wolves tore into the back of the vampires.
They caught them off guard, ripping a number of vampires’ heads from their torsos before they turned around and began firing into them.
Several wolves were hit, and I prayed that they wouldn’t be fatal.
If the bullets hit in places that weren’t vital, they could be removed and if the wolf was lucky, he or she would survive.
I kept firing and when I ran out of bullets, Lawson kicked a few more magazines in my direction.
When I finished those, I climbed onto his back, and he leapt off the roof and landed on his feet several stories below.
I wrapped my hands around the stakes at my waist and pulled them free, slamming the first into the vampire nearest to me as I leapt off Lawson’s back.
I sank that stake deep into the vampire heart and yanked it out as he fell to the ground in a heap.
I fought hard, twisting and turning and ignoring the sweat that was dripping down my brow from the southern heat.
Lawson stayed by my side, ripping into one vampire after the next with his teeth.
He moved so quickly that the vampires he fought against never stood a chance.
They couldn’t even get their guns up fast enough to take aim before he tore their heads off at the neck.
Had I not been fighting for my own life, I would have stopped to admire him.