His mate shrugged. “No one really knows at this point. Miguel is hanging in there, but he’s talking crazy and saying things no one can understand. I think the poison is fucking his head up.”

  “Damn,” Pappy said. “Let me go see what’s going on.” The older human left them as Remus moved closer. His warm body felt good and comforting as he pulled Marco into his arms. Marco cursed himself when he felt a fine tremble slide over him as his brain wondered what he had gotten himself into.

  This was a war. Seeing the tanks and men chasing them had driven that point home. He wasn’t a fighter. Why hadn’t he argued to go back to his hiding place? It may have been nothing more than a hovel, but it had kept him safe for the past year and a half.

  “Stop shaking, baby. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “You must think I’m nothing more than extra baggage,” Marco said into Remus’s neck as he held on to his mate with tight arms. “I can’t fight and I don’t have any skills that could help.”

  “You’re helping me keep my sanity,” Remus replied. “I would have been distracted if you had stayed behind, worrying if you were safe and eating.”

  That so did not help Marco feel any better. He needed a purpose, to feel needed in this group. He refused to be a hindrance. But what could he do with men, on the run, and nothing but a small bag of clothing to his name?

  He wasn’t sure, but he was going to find some way to be useful.

  He was a quick learner and knew that if he could just find something to help with, he would feel more valuable.

  “We need to get into the truck,” Remus said as he pulled back.

  “They are loading Miguel in Nate’s truck and we’re heading out.

  Staying in one spot too long isn’t a wise move.”

  Marco climbed inside, scooting over for Remus. “Thank you.”

  Remus closed the door once he was settled. “For what?”

  “Being you.” Marco leaned over and gave Remus a quick peck on the lips. “For loving me despite my shortcomings.”

  Remus gave a low growl as he pulled Marco closer. “Enough with the self-doubt crap, Marco. I’ve told you a hundred times to never listen to other people’s bullshit. Especially your dad’s.” Remus added the last part on a whispered breath, but Marco caught the words.

  He was stunned that Remus knew his father had talked crap to him. He had never told his best friend. “Thanks,” he whispered. It seemed Remus really was the only one who understood and loved him.

  Bryson got into the driver’s seat and then they were off once more. Marco settled back, letting his mind wander, still trying to figure out how he could be useful within this Rebellion group.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rick was worried sick about Miguel. The enforcer was hallucinating and babbling incoherently. But what really concerned him was the line of silver poison that damn near reached his heart before Bryson had taken the bullet out.

  As a changeling, the only thing Miguel could do at this point was let the silver ride his system and pray it didn’t either leave him dead or damaged. They had no real medical supplies or anything that could counteract the effects. It was all up to fate and Miguel’s unique changeling DNA.

  “Damn it,” Dorian said as he struck his fist into the dashboard. “I’ve known Miguel since he was a nervous immigrant working at the store. How in the hell could anyone hurt him?”

  Dorian had come a long way from thinking Miguel a pest to loving the man like a brother. As Rick glanced at Dorian’s pinched face, seeing the worry and anger marring his handsomeness, he thought to himself just how far Dorian had come since this started. It still took his breath away sometimes when he thought about how much he loved the guy.

  “Miguel is a fighter,” Rick said. “We have to trust that he’ll fight his way through this.”

  “Maybe, but that won’t stop me from worrying about—watch out!” Dorian shouted as Rick saw a shadow pass by his window too late. He cut the wheel, trying to avoid whatever it was. The move sent his truck careening out of control. It hit something and then began to roll over and over.

  In that moment, Rick could feel the heart-wrenching fear slam into him. Dorian hadn’t been buckled in. His mate was thrown around the interior of the truck like a rag doll. The only thing he could do was hold on tight until the truck settled.

  When it did, Rick was upside down. He tried to get the seat belt off, but the pressure of his body was too heavy, straining the strap and making it impossible to release it. Using a claw, he ripped it away from his body. He fell to the roof with a crash.

  “Dorian!” Rick shouted as he righted himself and moved to his mate. Blood was everywhere. The side window was busted out and it looked like the glass had used Dorian like a pincushion.

  Tires screeched and men began to shout, but all Rick could see was Dorian’s prone body lying lifeless in a pile of debris from the truck. Rick curled his lips into a fierce snarl as he moved to get out of the truck so he could go around to the other side and pull Dorian free.

  Before he knew what was happening, Rick flew from the truck, his feet dangling a few inches from the ground.

  “Did you honestly think Salvador was going to capture me?”

  Kraven stood there in the middle of the road, his Soul Reapers behind him. His eyes were vivid black fire, the color of death as his fingers began to twitch. Rick was thrown to the ground and then lifted back into the air. Pain exploded through his head and he could feel blood trickling from his nose.

  “I’ve grown more powerful than that ancient, useless vampire. No one can stop me, Enrique Marcelo, nor can they defeat me.” Kraven looked triumphant, and mad. His features were twisted, his contorted smile gleeful.

  Rick fought against the unseen force holding him in the air, but as hard as he tried, he couldn’t get free. “I’m going to kill you.”

  Kraven walked closer, the cruel smile still on his lips. “I highly doubt you can make good on that threat. As you can see”—he waved a hand at the Rebellions, who were trapped in their own bodies, unable to move, their eyes glaring murderously at Kraven—“You have no one to help you.”

  Rick thought about Dorian bleeding out in the wreckage of their truck. He had to get to his mate. He had to save him.

  “I’ve won,” Kraven said.

  “Not yet,” Rick replied, feeling his gums burning as he forced his canines to descend. “Not as long as I’m still breathing.”

  “We can take care of that little detail.” Kraven crushed his hand into a fist, and Rick shouted as his heart felt the pressure of the vampire’s stunning abilities. He twisted and fought in midair, reaching deep down inside to his core, calling to his werewolf in desperation.

  His werewolf howled, fighting against Kraven’s suppression, and then Rick’s wolf burst free. He fell to the ground at the same time Kraven did. Rick didn’t understand what just happened, but in that second, the other Rebellions were freed from the master vampire’s hold. Breeds burst from the men all around him. Jaguars, leopards, bears, coyotes, and other creatures shouted, howled, yowled, and hissed. Rick stumbled to his feet, as did Kraven.

  “You are going to pay for that!” Kraven shouted as he raised his hands up in the air and then threw them forward. The Soul Reapers attacked.

  Rick stumbled backward as he was hit hard in his chest. He fought to get the creature off of him, but soon realized he was losing the battle. There was no way to win against these things, just as there had been no way to win against the Mãos da Morte.

  But he didn’t give up. What made him fight harder was when he felt the bond between him and Dorian weakening. His mate was dying and Rick couldn’t get to him. That thought made Rick want to cry out to the fates as he fought the creature. He could feel the gashes and deeply embedded wounds that were being inflicted upon him, but all he could think about was Dorian.

  His gatito.

  His life.

  His mate.

  If Dorian died, then so did Rick. They were tied together, their heartbeats as one. He had to keep fighting. He had to win and save Dorian.

  From the corner of his eye, Rick saw something that gave him a glimmer of hope. Salvador appeared, the Shadow at his side, his coven behind him. The man must have used his paranormal abilities to get here from Canada and Rick was grateful as hell.

  He knew the ancient vampire couldn’t fight the Soul Reapers. To do so would inflict pain on himself. Kraven had created them from Salvador’s stolen blood. The ancient vampire was connected to them on a DNA level. To harm them, Salvador would in turn be harming himself.

  Kraven spun around just as Salvador attacked the vampire. The Shadow swirled around the fighting pair, his black cloud blocking out anyone trying to interfere. The creature Rick had been fighting left him to aid Kraven.

  Giving a brief glance at the fight, Rick saw Salvador’s coven engage in battle. Rick turned, heading straight for his truck. He dropped to his knees, pulling Dorian’s body from the wreckage.

  “Shift, gatito. You have to shift to heal.”

  Edward was at Rick’s side in seconds, but there was nothing his brother-in-law could do. There was nothing anyone could do if Dorian didn’t shift. Bryson and Freedman came over next. Freedman rifled through his bag as Bryson injected something into Dorian’s arm.

  Rick just knelt there, numb, watching the two men work.

  Freedman put a tourniquet around Dorian’s upper arm, slid something into his vein, and then waved Rick over. “You both share the same lycanthropic DNA, werewolf. I need to give him an infusion of blood.”

  Rick quickly rolled back his sleeve. Freedman worked to attach a slim device to Rick’s arm and then Dorian’s. He watched as his blood slipped down the tube and into his mate.

  “We need to get him stable,” Bryson said. “If we can get enough blood back into him, then maybe we can rouse him enough to make him shift.”

  “How’s Miguel?” Rick asked Bryson. The medic’s face was grim as he shook his head. “Not so good. Nate and Benito have donated blood. I’m trying to flush the poison out with an infusion of fresh blood, but I’m fearing the worst. I think there is some damage that has already been done to his body. I don’t have the necessary medical supplies to give him proper treatment.”

  Rick sat on his ass as he listened to the fighting, watched his blood leave his body to save Dorian, and thought about his enforcer, Miguel. They hadn’t even made it to their destination, and already they were losing the battle. If Salvador didn’t kill Kraven, they were all doomed.

  Marco had no idea what he was doing, but some human named Brooke had him on his laptop, sending out a distress call to any and all Rebellions in the area.

  “Just give them our coordinates and tell them to haul ass,” Brooke said as he moved away from Marco to help some wounded changelings. Marco’s fingers trembled as he did what Brooke asked, but his mind was still reeling from witnessing what Remus had referred to as Soul Reapers.

  How in the hell could something like those creatures exist? Their existence was incomprehensible. He fought against the wave of nausea as he typed as quickly as his fingers would move. And here he thought his life was fucked up. It was nothing compared to what he could see all around him.

  A few of the changelings were dead. Marco could see the heartbreaking proof in their lifeless eyes. He tried not to look, but his eyes were drawn back to their pale features. He also knew some of the Rebellions with them were fighting to save Miguel. Remus had told him Rick’s mate was dying. And there was a fight of unbelievable epic proportions a half a mile down the road.

  It was all so surreal.

  He hit send and set the laptop aside. Marco climbed from the truck and walked among the carnage in a detached sense of reality.

  His gums tingled and his skin prickled at the scent, but nothing more than that. Marco dropped to his knees and vomited when he saw a changeling lying dead, his insides lying on the ground beside him.

  He rocked on his hands and knees, sobbing at such a tragic waste.

  How could anyone be so cruel, so fucking evil that he killed a stranger for no other reason than because he could? He had felt the power of the vampire who had shown up when Marco became trapped inside his own body, unable to move. It was the scariest feeling in his life.

  It had even trumped Jayson trying to kill him.

  “Come on, buddy.” Deluca, Brooke’s mate, pulled Marco to his feet. “War is an ugly mess. It kills the ones we love and leaves us wondering at our sanity. But you have to be strong or the bad guys will win.”

  Marco wiped at his mouth and nodded, letting Deluca guide him back to the truck. “Is this how it has been all along?” Marco asked.

  Deluca gave him a grim nod. “This is minor compared to what we have been through. Just rest in the back. If Salvador doesn’t win against Kraven, we are all going to need our strength.”

  Marco swallowed hard at Deluca’s words. He had seen the fighting. The creatures who had attacked were like nothing he had ever witnessed before. They had overtaken the changelings and beaten them down before the other vampire had shown up. Marco knew in the pit of his gut that if this Salvador guy didn’t win, they were all going to die.

  He scanned the war zone for Remus and saw him helping another with the wounded. His mate’s features were stoic as he helped a human sympathizer. He had learned that some humans had joined the werecoyotes who had joined up with Rick’s group.

  What amazed him was the fact that they outnumbered the evil vampire by five to one, but they still couldn’t defeat him. How were they going to win against the humans in Washington?

  As much as Marco wanted to lie down, he disregarded Deluca’s advice and wandered over to his mate. “What can I do to help?”

  Remus glanced up at him, and Marco could see the pride in the leopard’s green eyes. “Check on the changelings who are down. Make sure they are healing and don’t need any additional help.”

  Marco nodded as he leaned in and gave Remus a quick kiss before leaving. He was determined to stay strong. He wasn’t going to get sick again, and he wasn’t going to run away. There was a bear on the ground, his breathing labored.

  Kneeling by the changeling’s head, Marco leaned in. “Are you okay?” He really wasn’t sure what to ask or how to check. Marco hadn’t ever dealt with a bear before. The breed was immense in size, making Marco feel even smaller than he was. “Do you need any help?”

  The bear lifted his head enough to pin Marco with a doubtful glare and then gave a grunt.

  “Okay, then,” he backed away. “I’ll just leave you to your healing.”

  Marco felt compelled to help in some sort of way, but after his third rejection, he was starting to wonder if anyone would need him.

  “Over here.”

  Marco glanced over his shoulder to see Pappy waving him over.

  There was a large jaguar at his side, and Deluca was there as well.

  Making his way over, Marco looked around, but didn’t see anything they needed help with.

  The winds began to pick up, tossing Marco’s hair around. He saw the two vampires were throwing death blows at one another. The black cloud that had been surrounding them was thinning, and the Soul Reapers were fighting the vampires who had come with Salvador.

  He stood there riveted to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away from the battle. So much power and force was being exerted that Marco could feel a fine tremor along his skin. It was eerie to watch, to feel.

  Salvador delivered a blow that knocked Kraven off of his feet, but the vampire didn’t stay down. He was up and charging after Salvador.

  The impact shook the ground under Marco’s feet.

  “Holy shit,” Deluca said as he stood next to Marco.

  “Never seen anything like it,” Pappy added.

  Marco gazed over to where Remus was to see his mate staring at the fight as well. They all were. No one moved or made a sound.

  The two vampires threw their arms forward at the same time and they both went flying backward. Marco flinched, telling Salvador to kill Kraven under his breath. He didn’t know either of them, but he knew Salvador winning was a damn good thing.

  He just hoped the guy won.

  “Rick ordered us to move out while the fight is still taking place,” Deluca said. “Get as many wounded as you can into the back of your truck. If Salvador loses, we don’t want to be standing here.”

  It took a second for the words to sink in. “But I can’t lift any of them on my own,” he said to Deluca. “Those bears are huge.”

  “Mason and I will be helping you.”

  Marco assumed the jaguar was Mason because he followed behind them. In the blink of an eye, the black cat shifted into a very strong-looking human. Marco hurried toward the truck he shared with Bryson and Remus, letting the tailgate down.

  They worked quickly, loading the changelings and humans into various trucks. Marco saw Rick lifting his mate and gently putting him into the back of the red Yukon, next to Miguel. But Rick’s mate was no longer human. He was a werewolf.

  Remus grabbed his arm and pulled Marco along with him.

  “Bryson is riding with Nate just in case Dorian or Miguel need him.”

  Marco climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in as Remus’s vehicle, along with the others, backed up and took a road away from the fight. “I feel bad leaving them.” Marco looked out of the window behind them to see the two vampires still going at each other.

  “There is absolutely nothing we can do, baby. We are actually in the way. We can’t defeat the Soul Reapers or Kraven. Our best course of action is to get away.”

  Marco settled back in his seat, chewing at his bottom lip. “Deluca says the war has been worse than this.”

  A tic started in Remus’s jaw. “I was in the detention center when it first started and then was taken to Edward’s. I haven’t seen much of what’s been going on. As soon as I could, I came back for you. I’ll have to take Deluca’s words about what has been going on.”

  Marco wasn’t sure if he should ask about Remus’s time in the detention center. His mate hadn’t spoken about it. “What did they do to you in that awful place?”