Danaus and I still had a long way to go, but at least I knew that he hadn’t abandoned me for a human. The giant black chasm that still separated us needed to be closed, and I had my doubts as to whether that was even possible. But I was willing to try. He had not left me for a human. It was a start.

For now, I had to put thoughts of my rocky and fragile relationship with the hunter aside. I had to hunt down some lycanthropes, and I was sure that Danaus was going to see a side of me I preferred to keep hidden from him. I didn’t want him to discover that I was struggling to hide the smile of excitement pulling at the corners of my mouth. I didn’t want him to know I was eager to be in the woods, chasing them down, hearing their screams of pain. They had attacked Danaus, tried to kill me. I was ready to make them pay.

The woods were thick. An oppressive silence weighed on us as we trudged through the blanket of snow. The crunch of our footsteps echoed through the cold, crystalline night. Ducking under low branches, I was grateful Valerio had acquired a pair of black leather pants, sturdy boots, and a black turtleneck for me. My new, long black coat flaired behind me as I walked.

There was no doubt that the lycans were gathered up ahead, and there was no sneaking up on them as we crunched through the snow. By my count, we were faced with sixteen lycanthropes of varying ages and strength. There was one in particular that was rather strong, which I could only guess was Ferko—alpha of the Budapest pack. I smiled, causing my fangs to brush against my lower lip. Ferko and I needed to have a nice little chat about who was truly the ruling power in Budapest.

After walking more than a mile in the bitter cold, we came to a clearing in the middle of the woods. Some of the shifters had already changed into wolf form. Their thick coats protected them from the wind that was starting to kick up, pulling the snowflakes from the trees above us and swirling them through the air. A low growl rumbled through the circle, but there was no other noise to be heard. Opposite me stood a man with long, shaggy brown hair and eyes that seemed to be their own void of darkness. He stood bare-chested in snow, his shirt and coat dropped carelessly behind him.

“Ferko, I presume.”

“Fire Starter.” His voice rumbled within his chest like a roll of thunder.

“I believe we have something to discuss.”

“And what would that be? Your new position as nightwalker keeper of Budapest?” he said in a mocking tone that left me clenching my teeth, but my smile never wavered.

“I’m more concerned about the lycans that you sent to kill me during the day,” I replied casually, as if we weren’t discussing the assassination attempt on my life.

He shrugged his massive shoulders, holding his hands open and empty out toward me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I didn’t think you would, but if you’re kind enough to give me the name of the warlock that accompanied your men, I might let some of your people limp away from the forest tonight.” An eerie lavender light glowed from my eyes, matching the rising glow coming from both Valerio and Stefan. We stood on the edge of battle, and there was no way of avoiding it. I was simply giving Ferko the chance to save the lives of some of his people. A good leader would have considered my offer. Ferko didn’t.

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” If he wasn’t still smiling at me, I would have considered that he might have been telling the truth. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter. His people had to die for the attack that was launched on Danaus.

“Danaus?” I asked, turning my head toward the hunter.

“The blond over there.” Danaus directed my gaze to the shifter that stood near the edge of the ring with a gray wolf on either side of him. One of the wolves flattened its ears against its head and growled at me, returning my smile to my lips. We might have spotted two of the culprits behind the day’s battle. “I don’t see the other two. They may have already shifted.”

“Kill the blond and anyone who has already shifted into wolf form,” I announced, locking eyes with Ferko. Only he had the power to stop the slaughter of his people. Of course, he thought his people actually had an edge in this battle because they outnumbered us. Not a chance. I had two Ancients with me. They were older, faster, and stronger than all the lycans combined. I was the Fire Starter. And Danaus, well, he was a monster from nightmares that left a scream lodged in your throat when you woke with a start.

“I don’t think you want to do this,” Ferko said with a smug smile.

“No, you don’t get it. I’ve been looking forward to this.” I lowered my voice slightly, directing my attention back to my companions. “Leave Ferko alive. There’s information that I need. Kill all the others.”

“You’re an angel,” Valerio purred as he shed his heavy coat. Folding it neatly, he laid it over a nearby tree branch so it wouldn’t get dirty. I looked to my left to find Stefan doing the same thing. I suppressed a wild laugh at their delicate sensibilities and priorities before a bloodbath.

Stefan and Valerio took a step forward toward the shifters, and they immediately scattered into the darkness. Both the men and women that were in human form were throwing off clothes as they ran through the forest, so it would be easier for them to shift into wolf form. Ferko winked at me once before he also darted into the black wall of darkness that enveloped the woods surrounding us.

“Have fun!” I laughed just before Stefan and Valerio darted after them. It was only a few seconds later that I heard my first wounded whimper rise up in the night. A young nightwalker was fairly matched with an experienced werewolf, but an older, experienced nightwalker held the edge in a fight against a shifter. We were stronger, faster, and generally more brutal. However, a lycanthrope was not without its own edge, since they tended to hunt in packs. It was rare for three powerful nightwalkers to come into the woods and hunt shifters. Of course, if any lycans escaped us tonight, there was still a chance they could hunt us down during the daylight hours and eliminate us as retribution. It was how this game was played.

I glanced over my shoulder at Danaus, who held a knife in his right hand. He was waiting for me to move. “Are you going to be all right on your own?”

“I survived many centuries without your watchful eye. I think I can manage this minor scuffle.”

My laugh echoed through the night as I ran across the clearing and instantly became washed in the darkness of the forest. I dodged low tree limbs and moved almost silently across the snow-covered ground. My powers bounced back to me like sonar, revealing the locations of the werewolves. Four were ahead of me at different spots, waiting for me to blindly pass by so that they could all jump on me.

Palming the knife that was sheathed on my right leg, I darted to my left and leapt on the back of a wolf that wasn’t expecting me to attack from that angle. He jerked his head around, clamping his teeth down on my left forearm as I buried my blade into his rib cage. The wolf yelped in pain, releasing me. Blood poured from my arm, but I ignored it as I wrapped it around his throat and pulled him over on me as I fell to my back in the snow. Yanking the knife from his ribs, I plunged it into the creature’s stomach and twisted it, causing another cry to go ringing out into the night. A bubble of laughter rose up in my chest and some of the tension from earlier in the evening eased from my shoulders. I was back in my natural element and it was great.

My only warning was a low growl from a second wolf just before it attacked me. A set of sharp fangs bit into my throat, causing a gush of blood to spray across the white snow. I released the half-dead wolf I had been holding, pushing its limp body off me as I yanked my knife free. With a grunt of pain, I swung the blade at the wolf, but I missed when it leapt away from me before I could carve into its hide. A third wolf launched its heavy frame at me, aiming to land on my chest. I caught it with my foot in its tender underbelly, kicking it away from me.