However, she and the pack had clearly done a piss poor job of protecting the girl. He would have to take matters into his own hands, and that meant there would be nothing but blood and carnage when he was finished. Things were about to get very messy… the dozen or so vampires between him and the child had no idea of the death that was about to come their way.
Agony took a step closer to the vampires… his talons out, his blood a cold fire in his veins. Deep within, he could feel his inner most monster rising, the approaching surge of power reaching dangerous levels with his increasing rage. They had no idea what was about rain down on them and he gloried at the knowledge that he could release his fury with no need to hide it. They were all about to witness what he truly was… and by the end of this fight, anyone left still alive would forever be terrified of him… as they should be.
*****
“Mila!” Dante pushed away Louis’ helping hand, and staggered to his feet, already half running, half-staggering towards the open doorway. He had to get to her, had to help her. The need to reach his love’s side was all that he could think of! He stumbled and screamed in fury as he fell, his body still trying to heal itself, even as his mind registered the fact that he had no idea where she was, and Agony was long gone so he couldn’t follow him.
“Dante, you need to heal first,” Louis said, coming to his side, his expression troubled. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here but you’re also not going anywhere until you tell me all you know.”
“There’s no time!” Dante yelled, fear for Mila suffusing his soul. “If the vampires don’t kill Mila, there’s no telling what Agony will do to her. He’s fucking insane as it is.” Dark eyes met equally dark eyes, a hint of a plea in Dante’s. “You have to help me, Louis. Please… you have to help me save her.”
The coven leader’s expression turned deadly, fury blazing from his eyes. “I don’t have to help you do anything, Castillo. My allegiance is to my coven, the very coven that you brought a maniac into with your secrets and lies. You should be thanking me for not completing the job that lunatic started. It is only because I need answers from you that your head is still attached to your body.”
In normal circumstances, they would have been evenly matched, but Louis had only had to recover from some broken bones. Dante knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against his friend right now, not when his neck wound was taking so long to heal and he’d lost so much blood.
“How about everyone calms down and takes a deep breath?” A cool female voice said from the doorway, causing both of them to turn in that direction. The stunning blonde standing before them appeared relaxed and unconcerned, and Dante quickly guessed that this could only be Joshua’s Dara Romanov as neither of them had detected her approach.
“Who the fuck are you?” Louis growled, though some of Agony’s parting words appeared to have seeped into his furious mind, as he didn’t immediately attack the stranger.
“I am what will ensure Kothari doesn’t return here to your coven and massacre the lot of you without breaking a sweat,” Dara replied with a small smile, completely unfazed by the venom in the coven leader’s tone. There was so much confidence oozing from her neither of the two vampires were under any illusion that she was as deadly as the other Vârcolac.
“I am not your enemy, and I will do what I can to mitigate Kothari’s bloodlust, however, to do that, I need to know exactly what has transpired since he’s been here. It really would be in the best interest of your coven not to detach Dante’s head, Louis. I find myself in need of his assistance at the moment.”
Louis watched her with narrowed eyes for a long moment, as if mentally calculating the odds of a battle with another Vârcolac. He appeared to reach a conclusion pretty quickly, his stance turning less belligerent though he didn’t leave Dante’s side. When the coven leader nodded his head once in acknowledgement, Dara walked over to them, and crouched down in front of the wounded vampire.
“I can heal your wounds with my blood in less than a second. I can also track Kothari’s path to help you find your friend Mila. I presume this was the reason for Joshua’s reticence to reveal everything? That he gave his word to you to hide her existence to keep her safe?”
She paused for a moment waiting for him to answer, however he remained silent and her gaze narrowed slightly. “I understand that need to protect those you love, Dante. However, you must understand mine too. Kothari is mine to protect and he will always come first, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t work together to assist each other. I need to know what I’m walking into, and in return for your help, I will do my utmost to protect your friend. This can work out to both of our advantage. Please don’t waste precious time being stubborn about things.”
Time was ticking away, endless seconds speeding past where Mila was alone and unprotected. Dante had to make a decision and quickly. He had to decide whether to trust this woman when trust was almost impossible to him. He did have faith in Joshua though, and his friend had spoken up for Dara Romanov. Add in the fact she could also heal him in an instant, and track Agony’s movements, there really was no decision to make, not when Mila’s life hung in the balance.