His Lost Queen by Annie Whipple

GRAYSON

“I’m so sorry, Alpha,” Elijah continued. “I followed her scent as far as I could. It stopped at a bus stop.”

“F uck,” Kyle said. “F uck, that means she could be anywhere.”

I looked to the h orizon where the Clan of Azazel was approaching quickly, hundreds of vampires looking for blood.

I was torn part of me wanted to protect my pack, to go fight with them and lead them, but the

find other part-perhaps the bigger part-wanted, needed, to go

my mate.

I wasn’t anything without her.

“Alpha?” Elijah asked. “What do you want me to do?”

I knew I didn’t have an option. My voice came out gruff and deep-more wolf than man. “Shift. We have some vampires to fight.”

We didn’t approach the army of Azazel. Instead, we let them come to us.

It felt like they were moving in slow motion even though they were sprinting toward us, looking rabid and bloodthirsty, snarling and baring their fangs.

I was sure it was meant to look intimidating, but it only made them look messy and untrained. Azazel didn’t know how to lead an army-not in the same way his brother did.

My pack, along with Casimir’s army of vampires, stood in the field, their stance stiff and prepared for the violence we knew was to come.

I stood at the front of the pack, in wolf form, Kyle at my side. A chorus of low growls rang behind

me.

My wolf was the most furious of all. He wanted revenge-revenge in the form of broken bones, spilled blood, and torn flesh.

Emergency calls only M

101090% 15:33

All of his instincts were telling him to take out his fury and worry for his mate on Azazel, determined that he would not live to see the morning.

My vampire was at the surface as well, ready for a fight. I had no doubt my eyes were a dark red with the presence of both creatures.

I was still getting used to having both inside of me and the new strength that came with them.

I was by far the biggest wolf here-the only other one who could even somewhat compare being Kyle, who was still significantly smaller.

I was confident in my new skills and knew that when it came down to a fight between Azazel and me, I would win without any difficulty.

But Azazel was known for his cowardice. Even now, he wasn’t at the front of his army like you would expect a leader to be.

He was hiding behind his army, just as I predicted he would be. But that wouldn’t stop me from finding him. He was nearby; his scent was in the air.

His blood would be on my hands by the end of the night. Of that, I was sure.

Azazel’s army was close now, so close that their scent of blood and sweat was nearly suffocating. My pack started stepping forward. We wouldn’t wait any longer.

And then the fight began.

Everything happened so fast. We clashed together-wolves and vampires slamming into one another with such intensity that I was sure it could have been heard from across the large field.

It didn’t take long for people to start falling.

I took vampires down one by one easily and with efficiency. One bite to their neck was all it took for their heads to be off their shoulders and rolling on the ground.

I had no mercy for these creatures that were only created to kill and wreak havoc, who were standing between Azazel and me.

I worked my way through the crowd, knowing I would find Azazel at the back of it, looking over the destruction and mayhem he created.

I was a man possessed, fueled by anger and the need for revenge. The death of Azazel’s clan meant nothing to me.

Emergency calls only M

XUD90% 15:33

Howling sounded behind me. I knew immediately what it meant. Kyle was trying to get my attention. It was the only thing that was able to interrupt my concentration.

I looked behind me, trying to locate Kyle, when a vampire threw himself at me, clamping its teeth into my neck. I growled and threw him off me just as another vampire bit into my leg.

I kicked her off with case, my fury only growing. I was outside of the throng now, no one around

me.

Kyle howled again in the distance. My eyes found him fighting directly in the middle of the battle.

As if he could sense my attention on me, I heard him speak into my mind. “Are you seeing what I um?” he asked me.

I looked around, my eyes scanning the crowd. “What?”

He jerked his head toward the pack grounds. “There’s something stopping Azazel’s clun from entering pack territory.”

I looked behind him, suddenly noticing exactly what he was talking about, although it was hard to pick out. It seemed as though a giant, glimmering dome was spanning over pack lands.

Several wolves and vampires were standing on one side of it, snarling at the vampires on the other side. I narrowed my eyes at them, frowning.

Were they hiding behind the protective field instead of fighting?

Then one of Azazel’s vampires-a younger boy, no older than seventeen or eighteen-raced toward them, obviously looking for a fight, but as soon as he came in contact with the barely visible wall, he fell to the ground.

He screamed in agony and rolled around for a few seconds, twitching as if he had been electrocuted and fighting what seemed to be an intense pain before he eventually stopped.

Dead. He was dead.

“What the hell is that?” I asked Kyle.

There was a protective field around the pack for keeping outsiders out, but this was much different than that. That field didn’t kill-it only stopped unwanted guests.

Several more vampires raced toward the field without thinking, focused on attacking the few that were standing on the other side, only to meet the same fate as their friend.

COL

Emergency calls only M

*02090% 15:34

Their screaming was louder than anyone else’s, ringing in my cars with its intensity as soon as they touched the field. Then it suddenly made sense.

The pack members standing on the other side weren’t hiding or being cowards; they were using the deadly field as a way to kill Azazel’s clan. They were pouring them into the force field like bugs to a

moth catcher.

Little by little, more of my pack began to notice what was happening and took action. They entered the shimmering dome with ease-some dragging themselves and others to get to the other side.

Azazel’s clan didn’t catch on so quickly. The new vampires were young, untrained, and starving for

blood.

They were desperate for a fight and willing to do anything to sink their fangs into something with blood, whether a wolf or another vampire. Some were attacking each other.

I knew this bloodlust was meant to work to Azazel’s advantage. It didn’t matter who they were killing as long as they were rabid enough to take down my army in the process.

But as more and more of my army started to retreat behind the deadly force field, Azazel’s vampires started to attack each other.

They were killing each other-ripping each other’s throats out, running into the force field. Azazel’s army wasn’t going to last much longer.

Kyle knew what to do without me telling him. His voice filled my mind, yelling at the pack members to go behind the force field.

It didn’t take long for Casimir to catch on or start yelling at his army members to get behind the

force field.

We were going to win this battle. But I hadn’t gotten what I wanted.

I looked back at the trees, scanning them for any sign of Azazel. I knew he was out there, hiding in the shadows. I also knew he wasn’t going to come out.

He was losing. There was no way around it. His army was dwindling with every passing second. Azazel knew it, too—he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent his defeat.

He was panicking, cowering in the shadows.

It didn’t matter, though. I was going to find him. I was going to hunt him down and make him pay

for what he did.

“Alpha?” Kyle spoke in my mind. “What are you doing?”

I growled, sprinting to the tree line. I knew Azazel was out there. I could sense him nearby, could practically smell his fear.

My bloodlust grew to an all-time high as my wolf took over, my instincts telling me to avenge my

matc.

“I’m going to find that motherfucker, and I’m gonna rip him to shreds,” I said.