The main part of the church looked like Christianity's idea of the apocalypse. Vampire bodies were strewn across the pews, children and older vampires alike. Their blood created pools in the white carpet. I walked down the aisle and toward the scene at the altar.

The Count of Counts stood by his throne in an old-fashioned suit of blue crushed velvet. Black lace blossomed at his neck and wrists. Vanessa knelt in front of the small stage. A blood-soaked sword lay idly on the floor, like she'd dropped it. The muscles in her arms twitched as if she braced herself against some unseen force.

"You think you can defeat me?" The Count's laugh unnerved me because it was not the laugh of someone in his right mind.

I started to ask Maddox why Vanessa was kneeling, but then I looked past my shields. I didn't see anything, but I sensed it. The energy and power in the air was unmistakable.

The Count of Counts wasn't just any old vampire. He was a psychic vampire and he was feeding off Vanessa.

Without thinking I strolled forward. "You're fucking pathetic," I said loudly, forcing my voice to carry across the entire church. His power wavered, interrupted. Good, I wanted to spoil his party. The Count of Counts gazed at me with clear blue eyes. Most of his face was hidden behind thick black brows and a lush black goatee.

"Look at that," he said joyously. "Another toy to play with. I must thank you, Lauren, for bringing your most powerful assets to my party."

Maddox stepped up beside me, drawing the Count's attention to himself. The Count's eyes widened a fraction. "You traitorous—"

The Count staggered, bringing a hand up to his cheek. His fingers came away with blood.

He turned like a raging lion on Lauren. "You will pay for that!"

Lauren did not give the Count the satisfaction of a reply.

"Traitor?" Maddox's voice was thick with scorn. "You call me traitor? You murdered my Countess. You unsettled our people and placed your puppet to rule in her stead. You came here thinking to do the same and there would be no consequences. You are the traitor."

I drew the Pro.40, sighting down the barrel at the bridge between the Count's eyes. His attention shifted back to me.

"You would not da—"

Yeah, actually, I would. I pulled the trigger and chaos erupted.

Maddox rushed the Count, hitting him like a battering ram, sending both of their bodies to the stage floor.

The Count sprang to his feet, blood flowing from the bullet wound. "I'd kill her again just to hear her sweet pleading."

Maddox threw a right hook that sent the Count's head whipping back at an awkward angle.

The two began fighting in earnest. The Count blocked Maddox's next punch, using his forearm to sweep it aside. He dealt a blow to Maddox's midsection, hard enough I heard something crack.

I cursed, trying to get a good shot, but the fight was speeding up. The sound of blows fell faster, heavier. Maddox and the Count moved across the stage like angry blurs. Fucking vampires, they moved too Goddess-damned fast.

Lauren helped Vanessa to her feet and they turned, focusing on the fight in front of them with expressions of utter calm. The Count stumbled dramatically as Maddox landed another blow on the side of his face.

The Count's entourage had probably been the only thing that had kept Maddox from kicking his ass sooner. Watching Maddox fight like some pissed-off vampiric elephant, I was happy I wasn't the Count.

The warning howl of Dinah's wolf made every one of my senses rock to high alert. I spun around.

"Camila!" Jacob cried.

Crippling pain shot up my right leg, searing like fire. Hands like steel clawed at me. My right leg gave out from under me, taking me to my knees. The child vampire reared like a snake about to strike again. Blood swelled under my newly torn khakis. I hit her with the back of my hand, sending her small frame colliding into one of the pews.

She sprang back like a jack-in-the-box, a river of my blood spilling down her chin, and hissed ferally.

The wolf didn't like that. She pushed against the surface and snarled. The vampire lunged and I dodged, grabbing a handful of her coppery curls.

There was drying blood on the front of her apricot gown. Whatever wound had been dealt, her body had healed.

The vampire child swung at me, trying to tear at my body with her nails as if she thought they were claws. The wolf's growl built deep in my chest.

Her body went completely slack. "You would hurt me?" she asked in a small voice.

The world slipped out from under me. She was just a child. How could I hurt her?

The gun in my hand felt heavy, so heavy. The wolf's anger sailed through me, igniting the blood in my veins, pushing the vampire's mind-fog back. One predator knows another's tricks.

"Oh, please," I growled, and shoved the barrel into the soft skin of her neck.

Beyond the sound of something crashing, I heard the bullet hit stone.

The child vampire fell to the floor in an apricot heap.

I scanned the church, right and left, sighting down the barrel and each pew as I made my way back toward the head.

Maddox hit one of the pews, toppling it over as he tried to get back to his feet.

Lauren and Vanessa, holding bloody swords, stood at opposite sides of the stage with the Count between them. Surrounded by death and violence, Lauren was still calm, as if she had all the patience in the world. Power turned her gray eyes the color of liquid mercury.

I steadied the gun on the Count of Counts.

"You think your little gun can hurt me?" he asked, voice strained.

Blood pumped from the wounds they had dealt him. Somewhere in his fight with Maddox, Lauren and Vanessa had managed to catch the Count off guard.

"No," I said, my voice sounding unnaturally calm, "but they can."

Lauren and Vanessa rushed him in a blur of supernatural speed and strength. I kept the gun sighted on him. Vanessa drove her sword high through his chest, piercing his heart, tearing a ragged, pain-soaked scream from his mouth. Their movements perfectly in tune, Vanessa dropped to her knees to stay out of Lauren's way, allowing her Countess to deal the final blow. Lauren's slimly muscled arms drew back and, like a beautiful, deadly Goddess, she effortlessly sliced through the Count's neck with the bloodied blade.

He collapsed and, as his body swayed forward, his head fell to the floor like a rejected ball.

Lauren strode toward me, the bloody sword swinging at her side, drops falling behind her like vampiric breadcrumbs leading to death. One side of her face was smeared with blood, clumping in the curls that fell against her cheek. I waited for her to say something, but she didn't. She placed her empty hand on my back and pulled me against her, her lips meeting mine in a kiss so hard I nearly lost my balance.

I slid my hands up the sides of her torso, careful of the Pro.40 still in my right hand. My hands followed the base of her ribcage, curling around her back. As soon as my hands brushed over her spine, I felt the sheath there. The nylon protection created a slight interruption in her clothing, but if I hadn't been touching her, I would've never known it was there. No wonder she and Vanessa had turned down our offer of weapons.

She drew away from the kiss. "I understand it is not quite the time and the place..."

I put a finger over her mouth. "I know. I'm just glad you're alive." I hadn't realized until then how much of the worry I'd managed to push aside in order to fight. I cupped her face in my hands, carefully pointing the gun away from her as I guided her mouth back toward mine.

"Alive," she murmured, amused, and bowed her head to kiss me again.

Something heavy bumped my healing leg. "Hug?" Dinah's wolfish voice made Lauren and me both pause.

"You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" I asked, but used my gun hand to pull Dinah against me. Her furry head bobbed in answer to my question. Whether I had meant to do it or not, I had claimed her as my wolf, and I needed her as much as she needed me. The amount of blood in the room was making my wolf pace, but my shields were strong enough to keep her at bay for the moment. I wanted to change, to let her run and hunt the way she needed to. But she'd have to wait a bit longer. If I decided to howl before the full moon...maybe, just maybe, I'd ask Dinah to go with me. It actually sounded kind of fun. Strange that.

I scanned the room, looking for Shawn and Normani, and a tide of fear caused my stomach to turn. I was about to ask where they were when Lauren answered my thoughts. "After we broke through most of the Count's people, I sent Normani and your friend to rescue the children."

"They're okay?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Vanessa came to us, rubbing her temples.

I gave her a quizzical look. "Are you okay?"

"Let us just say I am glad the Count is dead," she said sourly, obviously unhappy. "I never thought I would experience another headache."

I couldn't help it. The corner of my mouth twitched into a grin. "I've got some Excedrin in the car if you need it."

Her sea-green eyes peered out at me through a mask of the Count's blood. "I truly hope you are being sarcastic."

"Gee, aren't you grumpy?"

She wiped the sword she carried off on her shirt. "You would be too, had you been prey to his power."

"Bea!" Jacob exclaimed, suddenly bursting through our little group and running toward the two double doors at the corner of the room. Shawn and Normani held the doors open, as a group of children and teenagers walked through.

Jacob pulled the small blond girl to him, hugging her gently.

"These are not harmed," Shawn said. "The Count was keeping them locked in a basement. None of them had been changed yet."

"For that," Lauren said, "we are lucky."

"Indeed," Vanessa added.

Normani stood off to the side, grave and quiet.

"You did well," I told her. "Thank you."

She didn't say anything, only gave a cryptic smile and a slow bow of her head.

Such was Normani.

"Call your little police friend," Lauren said, "so we may go and clean up. We still have a party to attend."

"Do I have to go?" I resisted the urge to pout. The last thing I wanted was to play dress-up with a room full of vampires. I'd had just about my fill of them tonight.

"Oh yes," Vanessa said, "Lauren had an outfit made especially for you."

"How do you do it?" I asked her. "You wait until the last minute, yet everything still goes as planned."

"I have my ways."

I shook my head and reached into my pocket. It was empty. I'd left my cell phone in my other pants. I usually carried it everywhere. Yes, even when I had to go hunting down the bad guys. The world doesn't stop just because there are bad guys. I had, however, learned the hard way to remember to turn the ringer off. A ringing phone often draws a lot of unwanted attention when you're trying to be sneaky.

Shawn held his cell out to me. "Use mine."

I dialed Dylan's number, walking away from the group, ready to get an earful about how I never told him what was going on, how I was just another human, and how I had to stop taking the police cases into my own hands. Even if I managed to save the day, they still weren't happy. One of these days, I feared Dylan would uncover my secret. You can only wear a disguise for so long. Eventually, the mask comes off and the truth is revealed. Until then, I'd just pretend I'd forgotten all about calling him.

Hey, it was partly true.