do enough damage while I was short a knife.
In that same second I pushed forward to finish this, Orion veered in our direction and thrust himself at the transforming bear. The explosion of growls, arms and legs boomed, and I sighed that he stole that from me.
The sounds of war encased me, vampire against vampire against bear. Goddammit, how many of them were there.
Orion climbed to his feet, the two bears at his feet, bleeding all over the place. "Now where were we," he said, eyes locked on me, smiling deliciously.
"You were leaving me the hell alone," I answered, despite the fire he ignited in me when he stared at me that way.
In two long strides, he reached my side and scooped an arm around my waist, dragging me against his side. The movement took me by surprise, and my stake slipped out of my hand, cluttering to the floorboards.
Fury surged through me, and I bucked against him. "Get off me, or I'll drive my stake so deep in your heart, it'll—"
"Not happening." He kicked my weapon into the tangle of legs where others fought.
The reality was painfully embarrassing to say the least that he treated me like a doll.
I drove my fist into his side, but he didn't so much as flinch, his grip squeezing me to his side, his fingers like iron digging into my ribcage.
"You know you're pissing me off even more by pulling this caveman shit!"
“I adore you too sweetheart, but this is our battle, not yours. Now, where the fuck is Seth?”
SETH
I pulled out the chair leg from one nearby and spun around with it outstretched. The vamps who’d advanced upon me drew back, hissing. The fire oozing from my palm ate lazily away at the dry wood. A thin reed of smoke curled up from my grip.
I grinned. “Didn’t like that, did you?” If the angry silence was any indication, I had the vamps all out of action. Furious eyes flicked from the blunt end of the stake to my face, as if weighing the pros and cons of another direct attack.
“Intruder!” The biggest vampire snatched for the stake.
I jerked it away and jabbed it at him, playfully.
He glowered. “Infidel! How dare you trespass on our ground!”
“Well, from the sounds of it,” I replied, “I’m not the only trespasser here, am I?”
“Seth.” Orion laid his hand on my shoulder, subtly easing me backward.
I looked at him at the same time that I shrugged his hand away. “What?” The first time I’d gotten the opportunity to have a little fun, and he was already ruining it. Then I noticed he had the girl with the pink hair tucked under his arm. She was clearly pissed about the arrangement. I snorted.
Orion pushed her firmly at me. “Take her out of here. I’ll deal with these cretins.” Over his shoulder, I spotted what appeared to be the dead carcasses of several bear-hybrids in an ever-expanding pool of blood. Evidently, the boss had put on a horror show while I was busy.
But now I resented being yanked out of the midst of a good time. He was the one who liked her so much, so why couldn’t he escort her himself? Better yet, she could simply be killed on the spot or left at the mercy of the enemy.
“Are you serious?” My temper got the best of me before anything else. “I’m the best fighter you’ve got and you’re going to sideline me to be her bodyguard?”
“Hey!” Mortal danger hadn’t dampened the girl’s natural spice. She glared at me. “I’m perfectly capable of holding my own, thank you very much. Now release me.” She swung her gaze up to Orion then at me. That was when I saw she too was splattered in blood. A streak of it crested her cheekbone like a stripe of rusty warpaint.
I had to admit, blood looked good on her. Next thing I knew, dual desires fought for dominance within me. The stubborn, authority-despising part of me wanted Orion to fuck off forever and let me do my thing in peace. But I also knew I could make good use of a little time alone with this girl. And that made playing the role of a dutiful lackey seem not so bad.
“Do as I say,” Orion warned. “Or else.” The guy could be so damn dramatic.
I shrugged. “If you’re sure, fine. I just figured you might want to take care of her yourself.” I wasn’t wrong about that—his disdain for handing her over