8. Natalia

The men dwarf us,in an overwhelming stampede of dark-haired males with dark eyes. They are intent on one thing—hunting vampires and keeping everyone safe. An admirable goal, but still my heart beats with the enormity of being part of this war. I watch them gear up for battle, snugging swords and daggers into this loophole and that. They pay close attention to their mates, ensuring they're prepared with not only weapons but stakes as well. When Oradea finishes passing items out to the others from a wall-length closet that seems to double as an arsenal storage, he turns to me, assessing me for a moment. "Have you ever wielded a sword, tossed a dagger, a star?"

I try not to grin at the situation. "None of the above. I'm a hopeless warrior." He opens the other door to the closet and pulls out a box, opening it while balancing it in the ginormous palm of his hand. "This belongs to me. I assume your brothers taught you how to shoot?"

Now you're talking. "Yep, if it has a trigger and a barrel, I know how to use it. My brothers drilled that stuff into me from the time I was little, shooting at coffee cans and watermelons. There is no one on the face of the earth that is a better shot than my brothers Antonio and Frankie."

He pulls the gray gun from the crushed red velvet interior of the box and hands it to me. I turn it over in my hand. "Very nice. Good weight. This, I can use without any problem. He puts the box away and retrieves a gun holster and places it around my waist. His lips twists. "A few sizes too big, clearly." I watch as he uses the tip of a stake to create another hole. "There, now it should fit."

My cheeks heat as he folds the leather around me and cinches the strap around my waist, buckling and adjusting it to where he wants it to fall. When he's done, I ready my gun and slide it into its new home. "Thank you." I gesture to the four stakes he has clipped to the holster that hangs from his waist. "Do I need stakes too? Those keep vampires from coming alive again, right?"

He shakes his head. "They won't get you alone, Natalia. I'll be right by your side, as long as you do what you're told. If you need to, shoot; I'll take care of the rest."

I nod. "Got it. This I can do. This is what my brothers have trained me to do all my life in the event someone from a rival family accosts us in the street." I suck in a deep breath. They don't have fangs and don't want my virgin blood. This is so different.

He growls low under his breath. They won't get near you, enchantress.

I swallow, still trying to comprehend why I can understand him when he hasn't said a word. Clearly, he knows what I'm thinking. I sure hope he doesn't know everything, though, because I would fall through the floor in sheer embarrassment if he knew the half of it.

He smirks. I know far more than you would like me to.

My heart beats faster. You can't possibly know.

He places a hand on the small of my back and leans down to whisper in my ear. "I'll save you from another bout of embarrassment. We need to hurry. When the shifters we took don't make it back to the base of the mountain tonight, the others in their pack and Lucas may get suspicious. We want the element of surprise on our side when we find the mangy shifters." I nod, taking it all in, getting in step with him and the others as we head out the door for the night.

When we're outside, Overmaster Descallia and Lucianna hold hands, and the masters all pair with their mates, holding them tightly. Master Oradea draws me closer to his side. "It takes less energy for two to travel as one than to travel alone. In our case, I'll be able to sustain us both."

I suck in a deep breath and hold it. He laughs. "We're not going underwater. You can breathe normally. Close your eyes, and try not to worry. You won't feel a thing, except weightlessness and darkness. Picture yourself floating in the night right under the light of the full moon and try to see the beauty in that. We'll be there before you know it."

I nod, probably portraying more bravery than I have. No one told me when I agreed to be safeguarded by the vampire master that I would be hunting rogue vampires or that I would be flying through the night with weapons at the ready.

He squeezes my waist. "You never asked. Close your eyes. Do it now, enchantress." I don't know why trusting him with my safety is easy. Maybe it's his six-foot-five stature and the way he carries himself, or maybe it's because he didn't have to insist that I come with him. He could have left me with my brothers, left me on my own to fend for beasts he knew would come for me and didn't. Or maybe it's that damnable connection that sends electrical pulses right to my center every time he's near. Regardless the reason, when we take flight, and his arm wraps me close, I have no fear.

I open my eyes as my feet touch solid ground again to the sound of birds scattering in the trees above and small animals scrambling in the night, making themselves scarce. Master Oradea points to the base of the mountain in the distance where smoke and flickering of a fire can be seen. I take a step away from him, trying to gain a little distance from the handsome beast.

He smirks at me, and that dimple deepens, but still, he keeps talking to the group.

I narrow my eyes at the handsome devil, before catching Raven's grin as her gaze shifts between me and the beast. I give her wide eyes. Mind your own business. She laughs. Why? It's so much more fun to stick my nose in yours and Master Oradea's. My mouth gapes. You too? How in the world can I communicate with you both like this? She shrugs. Bewitched? Cursed? Are you sure you're not an enchantress, a witch?

I scowl. I would know if I were a witch or had been cursed or any other such nonsense. No, I'm just a normal human being who's found herself smack in the middle of apparently the bloodiest vampire wars in centuries and can talk to them without saying a word. I give Raven a shrug because it honestly beats the hell out of me.

She takes my hands and pulls me along with the ladies who don't seem to have any trouble keeping up with the mammoth and tall beasts. I manage to keep in step, but it feels like I'm running just to keep pace with them all. Raven touches my arm, and with a blink of her head, my feet feel as though I'm floating instead of walking, even though my feet continue touching the ground with every step I take. She laughs and whispers, "Ladies' secret. Do not tell them, or we will put a curse on you. Probably turn you into a frog or something just as ugly."

I won't tell a soul. I could absolutely kiss her when I'm able to keep step with Oradea and the others over the rough terrain without once gasping for breath. All of a sudden, Oradea's cape comes up, enclosing me in its folds, and he tucks me protectively underneath his arm, next to the warmth of his body as my feet leave the ground again. This time when we land, and the cape comes up, we are in the cover of bushes, but much closer to the fire. The sound of voices in the distance reaches my ears, but I can't for the life of me make out what they are saying.

Overmaster Descallia turns to the group, his face grim. "We've found them. Lucas is with the rogue bastards who all should be rotting in an eternal hell. We move in slow and surround them to make sure none of them get away. We have the power of vampires and witches on our side, and we will use it to our advantage." Raven and Willow rub the stones around their necks, and they begin to glow. Madria does the same with the one hanging around her neck and it begins to glow, and soon they are all the same amber color, swirling with gold.

Magical…

Raven nods. The power of the stones will let the vampires get to Lucas.

Overmaster Descallia does not send his men or women to a heated battled that he will not face himself; he leads the way with Lucianna right on his heels as we follow him toward the light of the fire and toward the bottom of the mountain base.

Loud voices, crashing branches, and crunching leaves cause animals to hoot, howl, and scatter in the night as we give chase to the rogue shifters who've been caught unprepared as we descend upon their refuge. "The rogue purebloods are in the caverns," Descallia bellows, all of us giving chase at once with Oradea's arm tightly around me as we fly through the night.