The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Mina piped up, her gaze raking over the townsfolk. “There is no being rarer than the hamadryad, not even the Meliae.”

Parker cleared his throat. Mina winked at him. “Except vegetarian vampires.”

Parker made sure he had a good grip on Amara’s elbows. “So basically you’re telling me she’s a weretree.”

The dryads gaped. Amara rolled her eyes.

Greer threw his head back and laughed, nearly tipping his chair over.

“Uh. Yes. I suppose that’s one way to look at it.” Ash looked like he wanted to laugh too, but he didn’t.

“And you three are?”

The dryads exchanged a glance.

“Oak, Birch and Ash—we rule the forest and all its inhabitants,” Ash answered. “In the same way the alpha rules his pack, we rule the creatures who call the forest home.”

“And Oak rules them all.” Ash, Oak, Birch and Yew were the four sacred trees among the druids, with Oak reigning supreme. So where was Yew?

Mina nodded. “Very astute.” She raised her chin proudly. “And that means Amara is under my command.”

Parker stiffened at that but quickly let it go. It was no different than a ruling prince of a coven of vampires or a high priestess of the witches. “I’ll take good care of her.”

Amara snorted, but Mina looked delighted. “I know you will. But first we need to take care of your problem.”

Parker heard a gasp and a thud.

“Sorry,” Greer muttered, helping Kate to her feet. Somehow he’d managed to knock her chair over, with her in it. “Here, let me get that for you.” He brushed at Kate’s skirt, specifically her rear end.

“Greer.” Dragos took a step forward and reached for him.

Kate’s skirt hit the floor. She shrieked and covered her black lace panties with her hands.

“Oops. So, so sorry.” Greer bent over and tried to pick up the skirt. His backside collided with Dragos, knocking the vamp back. Greer pulled, and the sound of fabric tearing filled the air. “Uh-oh.”

“Greer!” Mina snapped. “Stop playing and pay attention.”

Greer handed the ripped skirt back to the half-naked woman. “It will only take a moment to repair it, Mina.”

“No, Greer.”

Dragos reached for Greer again, but the man danced aside.

“Dragos, do something!” Kate shrieked, holding the ruined skirt in front of her panties.

Parker’s eyes damn near crossed. The woman had a hell of a set of lungs on her.

“I take it back. I like this town.”

Greer leaped over the table and landed lightly next to Mina. “I say we take Parker and Amara into the woods, set them loose and let Amara deal with Terri. It should only take a couple of days, right?” Mina shot him an irritated look. “What?”

“That won’t do.” Parker tugged Amara close again, unwilling to go any longer without her sweet touch. “I’ve got a bit of a sunlight allergy, remember? A few minutes too long and whoosh, crispy Parker.”

“Right. Sorry.” Greer actually blushed, looking more embarrassed than when he’d accidentally ripped Kate’s skirt off. Parker wondered what the hell that was all about. “Ash?”

Ash was staring at something in the crowd, or possibly someone. His shoulders were tight, his hands loose. If Parker didn’t know better, he’d swear the man was hunting.

Ash’s head whipped to the left. His eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared and he placed himself firmly in front of Mina.

Fuck. He was hunting.

Parker immediately went on alert. He sniffed the air, hoping to sense whatever was making Ash so tense.

“Ash?”

Mina grumbled when Ash didn’t answer. He kept his focus on the crowd…or the wall behind the crowd. He grasped Mina’s wrist and kept her behind him when she tried to move past.

Something tickled the back of Parker’s throat. It tasted foul, fetid.

Rotten.

“Terri.” He started searching for that elusive stench, that horrible taste. She wouldn’t be in the crowd itself. There was no way she could blend in with so many supernaturals. But she was powerful enough to damage the building and everyone in it without ever having to come inside. “Can we get everyone out?”

“No! I’m half-naked!”

Parker turned to Kate, who was still struggling with her skirt. The zipper had apparently broken. “Bloody hell, woman. A witch with a vendetta is somewhere nearby, and you’re worried about your fucking togs?”

An ominous creak reverberated through the wooden floor. The lights flickered. A cracking noise was swiftly followed by the sound of pebbles hitting the ground.

“Oh shit.” Amara, eyes wide, stared at one of the walls. “She’s using the garden around the building to bring it down.”

“Parker,” Terri’s voice crooned, coming from everywhere at once. “Come to me, my love.”

“How the hell is she doing that?” Brian gagged. “Gods above, I can feel her in my head. It’s like my brain is coated in slime.”

“Everyone out!” Parker bellowed, using what power he had to force everyone to obey.

There was a stampede toward the front door, but when the first wave of people hit it, the door refused to open. It was jammed shut.

“I’m really beginning to dislike this witch-bitch of yours, Parker.” Dragos stepped off the platform into thin air. “We need to take her down before she kills the entire town to get to you.” He held out his hands, and a screeching noise, like branches being viciously scraped across a car, assaulted their ears. Dragos was trying to force the doors open telekinetically.

He was failing. And he looked utterly stunned by that fact.

Parker refrained from telling him he wasn’t the first person to underestimate the witch.

“Uh-uh, naughty, naughty.” Terri giggled. “I’ll tell you what—give me Parker and I’ll let you all live.” Plaster rained down on their heads; women screamed as a huge crack appeared in the ceiling.

“Out of my way, everyone.”

Parker turned to find Amara had assumed her hamadryad form. She lumbered toward the door, the townsfolk scattering away from her like sheep before a wolf. She placed her hands on the door and shoved, straining against the weight. Dragos resumed using his mind to help, but nothing happened. Whatever Terri was using to barricade the door was tough.

Plaster landed on Parker’s head. He looked up to find the ceiling riddled with cracks. A sharp snap had him cursing, but it was breaking glass that got him moving. He peered out one of the windows, using his enhanced night vision to see how bad things were.

All he saw was a sea of writhing green. He snapped his head back as a thorn poked through the window, damn near taking his eye out.

“Oh no, you don’t.” A tendril wiggled through the broken panes, wrapped around the lintel and snaked up the wall. Wherever it went, it left tiny cracks behind, which branched into more cracks. “You can save them from this. Just come outside. Join me, Parker.”

Soon the wall would be nothing but cracks and would fall, killing anyone in the way. Sprays of pollen formed and burst, drifting in the air. “We’re in deep trouble.” He bit his lip, thinking hard. The vampires could get out by misting, but that would leave everyone inside to face the fate Terri had in store for them. Knowing Terri, any vamp who demisted on the other side would be facing something horrific, and they’d be without protections of any kind. Enough puncture wounds would kill a vamp without ever touching his heart. She had to know that. She was crazy, but she’d never been stupid.

He couldn’t use fire. Burning the foliage would only enclose the victims in an oven, baking everything and everyone along with the vegetation. He had no way to freeze the plants, unless…

He grabbed the naiad who had stood up for her wolf mate. “Can you freeze water?”

She shook her head. “No. I can move water, but I can’t boil it or freeze it, not without help.”

“From what?”