“I am his mistress. I warned you,” I repeated. My words were low and even, deceiving in their calm, but Gwen was not fooled.

“You’re nothing!” she screamed, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

I chuckled, my voice sinking into lower, sultry depths. The sound stretched strangely across the room, echoing off the walls as I darted toward her. My fist collided with her jaw before I even stopped moving. She tried to dodge it but her reactions were a hair slower. I felt bone breaking beneath my hand as her head snapped back, the force of the blow throwing her backward into the wall.

Gwen tried to quickly push back to her feet, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, but I was already there. Grabbing her by the throat, I lifted her off her feet. It was easy considering that she was several inches shorter than me. Her long nails clawed at my hand and down my arms as she struggled to get loose. Little rivers of blood rose to the surface and briefly streaked down my white skin. I smiled at her, pulling back my lips enough to expose my fangs before tossing her across the large room.

With a bone-crunching thud, she landed not far from the center of the room, near the foot of the dais. The sound of her collarbone shattering when she landed split the air, followed by the low squeal of her skin sliding a couple feet across the shiny marble floor.

I paused and looked down the line of vampires who stood watching the struggle. They had risen from their chairs and were eyeing me intently, trying to decide whether I would jump at them next or finish off my current prey. I growled low in the back of my throat, warning them to stay back. A couple hissed in return but backed off a few steps, giving me ample room. Valerio watched me with intent questioning eyes from his chair.

“Elizabeth will destroy you!” Gwen shrieked hysterically. Her jaw had healed enough for her to curse me.

“Where is she, Gwen?” I inquired, strolling back toward her as she struggled to sit up. The pain in her left shoulder from where she had hit the floor slowed her movements. Nightwalkers had the ability to heal with amazing speed, but that didn’t mean we didn’t feel excruciating pain just like every other creature. “She must know by now that you’re in pain. I’ll wait while you call to her.”

I stood over her and pretended to inspect my nails. With a howl of pure rage, she pushed off the floor with her right hand, launching herself into me. She moved faster than I’d anticipated, knocking me to the floor with her on top. Her long nails raked down my face and tore a large hunk of flesh from my throat. I backhanded her with my right fist, throwing her off so I could roll to my knees.

“She’s abandoned you to your fate,” I taunted, easily rising to my feet as she struggled. She had fed on Tristan, but his blood wasn’t strong enough to heal her. She should have fed on a human or two before facing me, not wasted her night with him. Broken bones slowed her down, and I’d dislocated her jaw when I backhanded her.

I kept my left hand pressed to my neck as I walked back to her side. The blood seeped through my fingers and trickled down my chest to soak into my shirt. “I warned you.”

With no hesitation, I knelt before her and punched her in the chest. My hand tore through skin and muscle, shattering her sternum. It took only a second to open my hand in her chest and wrap my fingers around her motionless heart. She had enough time to mouth the word No before I yanked it from her chest. Her body slumped lifeless to the floor, the remnants of her soul brushing against me as it floated into the ether.

Clutching her heart tightly in my right hand, her blood ran down my arm and dripped from my elbow. The lukewarm muscle squished in my fist, pushing between my fingers. A wide smile split my pale face as I laid the heart on Elizabeth’s chair, a gift from me to the Coven.

The monster roared in my chest, the sound causing my soul to tremble in the frail casing of my body. The same feeling that gripped me in the London alley tightened the muscles in my slim frame, screaming for release. I wasn’t hungry, but the air was thick with the scent of blood. My limbs were splattered with it and the only sound in the vast room was the soft patter of blood dripping from my fingertips to the shining black marble floor.

But it was more than that. Killing Gwen awakened something within me, and it wanted more. An unexpected warmth rushed through me as if I were still alive and basking naked in the summer sun. My fangs throbbed, needing to be embedded in soft, tender flesh.

My head fell back and a laugh bubbled up from my chest. When it hit the air, the sound was frosted with ice and completely void of all humor. The world slipped away and time eased to a crippled limp. There were only the nightwalkers left within the hall and myself. My eyes lazily fell on the scattering off to my left. Several pairs of glowing eyes met mine and smiled. They were swept up in the same primal wave of blood and violence. I was more than happy to oblige. Tonight, the monster was unleashed.

We were in motion at the same time. Three nightwalkers lunged forward from the far wall as I took my first steps toward them. I was only vaguely aware of the others as they slipped off toward the exits. The wave had washed through these younger nightwalkers, and now they wisely backed off, willing to get their blood and violence from a safer source than me.

The dance was graceful, full of fluid movements, but a blur to any human who would have seen us. There was no thought anymore. Just the need to kill. Or be killed. The first was young, barely through his first century. His wide green eyes glowed at me like sparkling emeralds a second before I ripped his heart from his chest. The second followed in much the same manner, but I earned a set of claw marks across my stomach for my trouble.

I turned to locate the remaining third when I was slammed to the hard floor, stars exploding before my eyes. Wincing and clenching my teeth against the pain that threatened to steal consciousness away from me, I rolled to the right. Half a breath later a heavy oak chair crashed to the exact spot I’d been, cracking the marble floor. The high-backed chair shattered, sending shards darting through the air under the force of it being thrown to the floor. Instinctively, I shielded my heart from the flying debris, though none of it had enough force to penetrate my sternum.

Rolling onto my back, I gazed up at my attacker. Standing barely over five feet, the nightwalker with the sandy blond hair and glowing blue eyes was holding one of the broken legs of the chair. I smiled up at her and the wooden leg burst into flames. All the wood from the chair scattered about the floor was instantly consumed with dancing flames. The nightwalker yelped in surprise, dropping the leg and stumbling a couple steps away from me.

The fire and pain cleansed me, washing away the blood lust and the need to kill. The monster had grown silent, pleased with my offering. My vision was blurred and my back protested any movement, begging me to lie still, but I couldn’t. One remained. Pushing off the ground with my left hand, I bonelessly rose to my feet. The nightwalker paused, watching me, waiting for my next move.

Slowly, I waved my right hand, swallowing back the whimper of pain that slashed through my back. Chest-high flames sprung up around the nightwalker, completely encircling her. Her blue eyes widened, losing their unnatural glow. Frowning, I easily stepped through the flames and grabbed her by the throat, but she barely noticed me despite the fact that my long nails were digging into her cool flesh. Her eyes were locked on the fire that danced less than a foot away from her body. It was only after I gave her a rough shake that she finally met my hard gaze.