Page 161 of Wolf Blood

"Let's end this,"I said.

When we reached the old, shitty warehouse, Mav and I were at the head of the group, leading our team in quietly through a side door.

Neve had given us the code, but we had the gear to break the damn thing down if we needed to.

Half of us had shifted, including me. The other half, including Maverick, wore clothing that was stretchy enough for them to shift at any time.

The warehouse's interior was wide and open, with random pieces of machinery covered in tarps seemingly at random. Light streamed in through gothic windows a long way above our heads. It danced over the group of newly turned vampires who were lounging on camping mattresses throughout part of the space, chatting lazily.

They wouldn't be feeling the effects of their transformation the way Harper did. Not yet.

That would come, though.

As soon as we were in position, Maverick hit the button to blast the bullhorn.

Every vampire in the room flinched and covered their ears. They were so fucking new, and so fucking stupid.

They'd offered themselves up on a fucking platter, according to Neve. They'd chosen this.

Statistically, all of them would regret it, and pay with their lives.

"Hands in the air," Maverick barked through the megaphone.

Twenty sets of hands rose.

"Where's Holly?"

A few of the vampires exchanged uncertain looks.

"If you want to survive this, someone had better speak right fucking now," Mav said bluntly.

"There's an apartment in the loft," one of the men called out, gesturing over his shoulder to a set of metal stairs. When he pointed them out, they were obvious.

There was a single metal door a few yards to the side of them. The large, roll-up doors stretched off a few feet to the other side.

"She should be?—"

There was a quiet creak as a rusty door opened, and a disheveled blonde woman appeared on the small platform at the top of the stairs. She was too far for me to gauge her expression, but her face was red like she'd been crying.

I'd fought more than enough vampires to know exactly what her move would be.

I launched toward her, covering the distance between me and the stairs at a sprint.

Some of the turned vamps shouted or screamed, but I'd disassociated too deeply to give a shit.

I was there to end a threat.Nothing else.

I reached the door when Holly did, and slammed her into it. The vampire and the metal both went flying, the door crashing loudly against a wall and the woman rolling smoothly as she hit the ground.

She didn't have time to get to her feet before I reached her, shifting back to pin her to the cement beneath me.

She didn't fight.

Her cold, red eyes were swollen and dark.

"Is this everyone you turned?" I demanded, though I knew she wouldn't tell me the answer.

Neve had no way of being sure. None of us would. Not until a few weeks had gone by and there were either devolved vampires on the loose or the city was finally at peace again.