13. Etienne

Iwatch in horror as the gunmen burst into the club, spraying bullets across the stage.

Simone drops to the floor, curling into a ball to protect herself. But then, in a move that makes my heart stutter, she retrieves a pistol from...somewhere...and starts firing back at the attackers.

Her face is set in a mask of fierce determination as she squeezes off round after round.

A profound realization hits me like a bolt of lightning - she”s our fated mate. I can feel it with every fiber of my being, an undeniable psychic shockwave ricocheting through the pack bonds. Lucien and Auguste feel it too in that same endless second, their heads whipping around to find her amidst the chaos.

I don”t hesitate. Leaping from the balcony, I shift in mid-air, hitting the floor on four paws. My wolf”s predatory focus zeroes in on reaching Simone”s side. I dodge bullets and trampled bodies, dodging and weaving with liquid grace, my only thought to protect what is ours.

She”s out of ammo now, her pistol clattering to the floor. A snarling vampire lunges for her throat, his eyes glowing crimson with feral hunger. With a powerful burst of muscle, I slam into his body, sending him flying across the room to smash through a table.

I stand over Simone, hackles raised in challenge as she scrambles back against the stage.

Her eyes are wide, breath coming in ragged pants. She stares up at me and I can see the flash of primal recognition there, the comprehension that I am hers and she is mine.

Lucien and Auguste wolf out and fight their way through the stampeding crowd towards us, the other wolves moving in lethal synchronicity around them. We form an unbreakable circle around our chosen, daring any of the vampires to try to reach her.

Finally, the vampires” leader - Vasile - calls a retreat and the gang flees, their parting taunts promising brutal retribution. In the sudden quiet, I pull Simone into my arms, breathing in her delicate jasmine scent to reassure myself she”s truly unharmed.

Lucien and Auguste drop to their knees, embracing her between the three of us in desperation. We need this visceral proof that she”s alive, that we haven”t lost her before we”ve even had the chance to claim her.

”You”re ours,” I rasp against her silky hair. ”My mate. Ours.”

And in that moment, when Simone melts against us with a shuddering sigh, I feel the burning cord of destiny sizzle and snap into place between us. She was forged for this destiny, for us, just as surely as we were made to possess her.

A fiery agony lances through my shoulder and I realize with a jolt that I”ve been hit, several slugs of buckshot burrowed deep. I try to shrug it off, not wanting to worry her further.

”I”m fine, petite. Just a flesh wound.”

The rest of our gang regroups now that the threat has been neutralized. Lucien waves us over and they lay me out on the bar, Sabina already rummaging in her witchy little satchel.

She emerges with a wicked looking sewing needle, a stub of candle, and various vials of tinctures and foul-smelling ointments. Heating the needle over the candle”s flame, she fixes me with a no-nonsense look.

I grit my teeth as she starts digging out the buckshot, my grip tightening on Simone”s hand. Lucien rolls his eyes at my discomfort, getting a bit jealous of the attention.

”Stop being such a baby. This will be over faster if you don”t squirm.”

Lucien rolls his eyes at the dramatics. ”Big deal, he got a little shot up. Look at this.” He holds up his hand, the tip of his index finger clearly missing down to the first knuckle. Dried blood cakes the wound.

”What?! When did that happen?” Simone”s eyes go wide with shock and concern.

I give a grunt of annoyance, drawing her focus back to me. I need those luminous eyes on me alone right now, her sweet floral scent wrapping around me. She”s ours...mine. And I”ll suffer a hell of a lot worse than this to keep her safe.