"I want to come," I say, as Hunter buckles her guns into her belt. Tommy is next to her, loading a pistol, along with a few other Wolves who look armed for battle.

Hunter slings a rifle over her shoulder, and for a moment, she looks more like the god of war than a twenty-year-old girl.

"No," she says.

Tommy suddenly finds somewhere else to be.

"What?" I seethe. "You don't think I can handle it?"

She steps closer to me, cocking her gun. "I know you can handle it, Jude. But this isn't your fight."

"It sure as hell is my fight! They killed my mom!"

"Which is exactly why you can't go. Your judgement is clouded with anger. You're reckless. You're irrational."

My fists clench, even though I know she's right.

"I don't care," I snap. "If you let me out there, I'll be the best damn fighter you have."

Another Wolf whistles. "That's some pride right there! And I thought Hunter had the biggest ego around━"

Hunter shoots him a single raised eyebrow. He closes his mouth, still grinning, and I see a flicker of amusement cross her face. If they weren't friends, I'm sure he'd already be pinned to the wall.

I cross my arms. "You can't stop me."

Her dark stare turns hard. "Watch me."

She signals to the other Wolves to get going, and as they begin to file through the stairs, she gives me a piercing look.

"I want to fight," I say softly. Pleading.

Her lips curve. "I know. But trust me. This isn't your fight."

"But the fact that they attacked . . ."

Hunter's eyes harden. "They killed two of our Wolves. We don't know who yet. But it was on our territory, and this means they just began a full-fledged war."

I know her enough not to ask just yet what this means.

She gives me a final look and as she turns to follow the other gang lords up the stairs, I reach out. Surprising even myself.

When she looks back, I hold my breath. There is tension in the air, bristling between us━all the things I've left unspoken. Be safe.

But I know better. Hunter doesn't need to be safe. She is deadly, and that's worse.

"A kiss for good luck?" I ask, trying to crack a smile.

Her grin becomes arrogant, and in two steps, she crushes her mouth to mine. A claiming. There is fire and fear and fury in this kiss, everything I can't say, everything I want to do.

It is over too soon, and as she disappears up the stairwell, I am left with a burning determination.

She was right. I am angry, and irrational, and reckless right now.

But this is my fight, too.

As soon as I go back to my room, I grab Hunter's key card from her room. I probably shouldn't know where it is, but that comes with the territory of spending so much time with her.

Then I head to a place I shouldn't know about.

The Vault.

Eleventh floor. Where weapons and other illegal items are stored━things confiscated from the streets. And from me.

I want my guns back. And my knives.

But as I unlock the door to the Vault and the heavy, silver metal swings open, I find something I didn't expect. Cade.

She turns around, and her eyes widen.

"Professor?" I say, confused. "What . . ."

And I realize she's doing exactly what I am.

"You're going to fight," I accuse.

Her cornflower blue eyes narrow. "So are you."

We stare at each other, locked in a battle of wills. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that this art teacher, this kind, sweet, small woman . . . is heading towards the scene of a battle.

Ex-Mafia boss . . .

I definitely shouldn't have underestimated her.

But then she turns, and I see someone kneeling, stacking a rifle full of bullets. Someone with tattoos lining her lean, muscular arms. An ink-black wave of hair cascades down her back, her hazel eyes fiery and full of quiet ferocity.

Jesus. That is someone I don't want to mess with.

An aura surrounds her, a tense, dark energy that reminds me of Hunter. The understated confidence in their walk, the coil of their muscle, as though they have power lining their bones. Terrifying. And beautiful.

It makes me want to both back away and move closer.

Her voice has the edge of an Italian accent, heavy and lush. To me, she says, "Are you coming, then?"

Cade blushes, and quickly she says, "Jude, this is Angel, my fiancée. Angel, this is Jude, one of my students."

For a moment, I can only stare blankly. Stunned.

Why on earth had I assumed Cade's fiancé would be a man? Because, by God, if Cade has this woman, then there is no way any man can compare.

"I'm coming," I say firmly. "And . . . nice to meet you, Angel."

She nods, and something passes between us━a gesture of respect. She can see how badly I want to fight, and I think she admires that.

Quickly, I grab my guns from the stash, sheathing my knives.

"One thing," I say. "Meet me at the exit? I'll be there in five minutes."

Cade nods, and before the elevator doors close, I notice that Angel presses a soft kiss beneath her jaw. Brushing back her hair and whispering something.

Cade turns pink.

As I run down the stairs, weighed down by my weapons, I think of what I'm going to say. I don't know how to prepare myself━I'm either going to get myself killed or get myself permission.

Anise is walking through the corridor when I skitter towards her.

For the Alpha, I think she should be out on the battlefield. Helping her Wolves slaughter the Saints. And hiding down here . . . staying in the Underground when it's her gang's lives at stake . . . I can't help the thought that comes to mind. Cowardly.

But then she smiles at me, a smile so sharp and cunning I think maybe there is a different reason. Something she isn't saying.

"Jude," she says. "What a pleasant surprise."

"I want to fight," I say breathlessly.

I know Hunter will be furious. But if I get the Alpha's permission, that won't matter.

"You want to fight," she says, and her words drip down my spine like oil. Slithering. "How . . . interesting."

"Yes," I say. "I can fight good. And the attack on the Saints . . . I want to help."

"Kill one," she says softly, still smiling. "And you may fight."

"Okay," I agree, and I start to back away.

"Oh, and Jude?" A predatory grin. Slowly, seductively, she says, "I'll know if you don't. I have people watching at all times. I promise, there is nothing I don't know."

Is she talking about Hunter and I?

There is no time to wonder.

I swallow, ducking my chin into a nod.

As long as she lets me out, as long as I have permission, I'll be fine. Although the thought of Hunter's wrath, once she realizes I undermined her, is enough to make me wince as I turn around.

Angel and Cade are waiting for me once I reach the top floor, and all we have to do is exchange glances. Ready━we're ready.

For the first time in three weeks, I leave the Underground.

I probably have a Vitamin D deficiency.

But standing outside of the apartment, staring at the blinding evening sky, I can't help but marvel at the world.

Was it really just three weeks ago that I followed Hunter down here?

In that time, I found out my mother was dead. That she was once the Alpha. I've had the best sex in my life. I learned there are a few bloodthirsty gang members who would gladly see me dead.

At that thought, I'm reminded of Emilie.

She tried to stab me . . . and Hunter defended her.

And of course, I forgot about that. In light of the friends with benefits deal.

Damn it. But at least I can be mad━because when Hunter finds out that I went to Anise, there will be hell to pay.

Fine. She was right. I am reckless. Angry. Irrational.

I don't care. I want to fight, even if the price for being here is killing a Saint.

From next to me, Angel's lush, dark Italian accent pierces my thought. "The attack was on Pierre Street. By now, they'll try and work their way through the blocks, trying to get a feel for a heavily protected area, which is how they'll know the location of the Underground."

"How do you know that?" I ask.

Angel and Cade exchange a glance━something heavy with meaning.

In a clear, commanding voice, Cade says, "We should wait on Verde Avenue. That's where they'll go next, if they're looking for the Underground. It's an abandoned shop street."

Angel nods, as though she trusts her fiancée's opinion without a doubt. And if she trusts it, then so do I━Cade has an understated aura of authority, and I can't believe I never noticed it.

"Okay," I agree. "Let's go."

My heart begins to pound as we make our way through the old, maze-like streets of New Orleans. The sun is setting fast, and night will be upon us. The other Wolves had a half-hour headstart, but Angel seems to be able to predict exactly where they're going.

As we walk, a sense of tension falls over me. Angel and Cade are still murmuring in low, hushed whispers, talking in both Italian and English, and as curious as I am about them, I'm still thinking of Hunter.

What if she gets hurt? What if the Saints ambush them?

Once we reach Verde Avenue, there is nothing to do but wait. I pace the shadows of the empty storefronts, listening for any sound of a fight, or gunshots, or screaming.

Nothing. It might as well be a ghost town.

But as I pace, a slow, deliberate anger fills me. A defence mechanism━but also a little righteous.

Hunter shouldn't have told me to stay.

She shouldn't have told me this wasn't my fight.

She knows what the Saints did to me by killing my mother, and she left me behind.

I have a right to be mad, too. I have a right to fight.

My mother was once the Alpha, and if anyone knew, I would have respect from the other gang members. But more than that━the Wolves are in my blood.

My mom was once their leader. And I may not want this heritage, but it is mine.

There's a reason my mom taught me to fight, and it wasn't so I could sit back on the sidelines.

"Hey!" I call out to Cade and Angel, who are nothing more than silhouettes at the end of the road.

The sun has fallen, and pitch-black night covers the sky like ink.

But the moment my voice echoes through the abandoned street, someone claps a hand over my mouth.

A rough, strong hand. And a rough voice in my ear.

"Got one," he says, and there must be another man close by, because someone responds, "Are there more?"

I shake my head desperately. I can't let them get Angel and Cade━

"Let them come to us," says the man with the hand over my mouth. A dark rasp trickles through my hair. He is uncomfortably close to me. "They'll realize something is wrong."

The Saints.

I paced myself right into an ambush.

Before I can question myself, I bite down. Hard.

I taste blood and bile. Nausea climbs up my throat as skin breaks beneath my teeth. The man's hand lashes back, an instinctual jerk, and in a voice that makes my heart race, he says, "Damn bitch bit me."

"What'd you expect from some damn Wolves?" the other spits, lunging for me. "They're no better than dogs, I tell you."

"And what?" I hiss, because I can't resist. "Slaughtering a woman in her sleep is on a better level than dogs? At least I'd give you a chance." And then, because I really am not intelligent, I add, "Cowards."

Then I run. I can't see Cade and her fiancée anymore━it's too dark━and I can't call attention to myself by shouting.

I run blindly through the empty downtown streets of old New Orleans, glancing behind me. My thoughts become a stream of feverish haziness━I can't think. Can't focus.

All I can see is the road ahead of me.

But I don't know where I'm going. The street names blur. The road signs become illegible.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Where am I?

I fumble for the gun in my waistband, as the cool metal becomes a source of comfort as I slow down. Scanning the shadows.

I am not defenseless, and I had better start acting like it.

My mother didn't teach me to fight so I could sit on the sidelines━and she didn't teach me to fight so I could run away from my opponents.

I come to a stop in the middle of the road, surrounded by the misty streetlamps. Breathing in the chill air of autumn in the city.

I don't know where I am.

But I clutch the gun tight in my hand. It doesn't matter.

I wanted a fight, and I will have a fight.

Even as every rational bone in my body screams no, a deadly cold calm sinks into me.

All I have to do is kill a Saint before the end of the night.

And this city, this maze of abandoned streets, has become my hunting ground.

>>>

Alright, time for some battle scenes.

If you're reading this, I love you.

From the moon and back,
Sarai