Warrior Fae Trapped (Warrior Fae #1)(76)

All she could do was nod gratefully. She didn’t have a sword, after all. Tearing through campus, chopping off vampires’ heads, wouldn’t be possible without a sword.

Of all the times to crack up, she was okay with doing it now.

Devon released her hand and drifted further back with Andy. Yasmine and Macy closed ranks, too, the four of them boxing her in. At the bottom of the next set of steps, a beautiful woman stepped out of the trees flanking the path. Her eyes and smile were hungry.

“Why so fast, little puppy?” she asked in a sexy purr. She was talking to Devon.

If only Charity had that sword…

“Mid-level,” Devon murmured.

“Left, eleven o’clock,” Yasmine said in a brittle voice.

A man lounged against a tree, ignoring the furtive stares of two ladies passing him. He only had eyes for Charity.

“Greetings,” he said as she neared. “Nice night, isn’t it? Mmm, you smell fantastic.”

“Mid-level,” Devon muttered.

“Are they going to attack?” Charity asked, electricity crackling from her fingertips.

“Not here,” Andy said quietly. “One waited for me outside my classroom. Followed me to you. They know we’re young and inexperienced—compared to Roger or Jeffry.”

“Who’s Jeffry?” Charity asked.

“Jeffry is alpha of the Hunting pack, which goes after higher-level vamps throughout the region,” Devon answered.

“Calling everyone alpha is confusing,” Charity murmured.

“Leaders like to be called alpha, especially men,” Macy said, her words strangely muffled, like she was talking out of the corner of her mouth for secrecy.

It didn’t matter. Their admirers heard.

“I agree,” a woman said just off to the side, her voice familiar.

One glance was all Charity needed to place her. There was no mistaking that red lace corset paired with the leather duster and spiked heeled boots. She sat on a park bench, looking ludicrously out of place.

“She was at the turning party,” Charity whispered back to Devon.

The woman’s ruby-red lips stretched into a smile. “I long to sample you, my sweet. The pleasure I will give you will turn you off that young pup, I assure you.”

“I don’t swing that way,” Charity replied, fire burning her alive from the inside out, fueling her courage. She opened and closed her fist.

“Hmm, that smell. You will, my sweet. You will.”

“Vampires are really bad at pick-up lines.” Charity shivered.

“Upper mid-level,” Devon said in a growl.

“The lovely thing about wolf pups…” The vampire stood slowly from the bench as they passed, her movements languid. She lifted her heel to take a step, and suddenly she was standing in front of them, blocking their way. Someone behind them gasped. “…is that they love the secluded wilderness. Tell me, little pup—how well can you drive those windy roads to your protective ward? Can you maintain speed?”

They planned to ambush the pack where no one could witness the fight.

“Move, or I will move you,” Charity said, doing everything she could not to push to the front of the pack. Devon would flip out if she did, and it would jeopardize their whole setup. But man, she wanted to. She wanted to wrangle this fire and direct it at that vamp standing in their way, threatening them. She wanted to light up the sky and burn that creature alive.

“Hold,” Devon commanded her, clearly sensing the electricity stretching her skin, begging to be released.

With a lovely laugh, the woman sauntered out of the way, her hips swaying erotically. A younger man off to the side shivered and then bent at the waist before shuffling away in embarrassment. She’d provoked climax without even touching him.

“There’s our ride, bro,” Andy said, taking a knife out of his belt as they approached the road.

Dillon stood beside the open rear door of a black Suburban in a handicap zone, the only space he could have pulled into that wouldn’t block traffic. The front passenger door was open, too, Rod at the wheel with the engine running.

Twenty feet away, lying across a bench like it was a chaise longue, was Charity’s BFF.

Cars slowed down as they passed. People around him gawked.

They’d probably never seen anyone so handsome. They had no idea that a monster lurked on the inside.

When he caught her eye, he smirked and winked.

Electricity rolled through her fingertips. Light fizzled along her palms. Fire boiled her blood.

“My own personal stalker,” Charity said. The pack pushed in closer. Her butt had gone numb. She had no idea why. “I had such a quiet life. You have no idea how much I miss it.”

“I don’t mean to take any chances until daylight,” Devon said in a rough voice. “We’ll go to Rod’s. It’s well warded and still within town.”

“Where’s Roger?” Andy asked, helping Charity into the back seat next to Dillon, his eyes never leaving her BFF.

Devon waited until they were all in and the doors closed to answer. “He’s getting people together,” he murmured, clearly taking no chances with the vampires’ hearing. “He’s going to try to take down the mid-levelers so the elder doesn’t have as many minions in the Brink.”