Third of the Winterset Coven

and still…he stalked slowly toward her. He was so close to her now, so close. As he extended his hand, his claws grew longer, sharper. He rested the point of one against her cheek, then slid it down, cutting into her skin. And still, she couldn’t move. Her cheek hurt so bad, and now warmth was drip, drip, dripping down her jaw.
When a whimper scratched its way up her throat, the creature canted his head like an animal and stared at her lips with a faraway smile possessing his. “Good girl. Now…” He took one step back. “Run to the elevator. Push the button over and over and pray it’s fast enough to save you. Don’t forget your job, Nicole Leanne Rider. Don’t forget to scream for me.”
Nicole inhaled a shaky breath, not bothering with pointless wishes for the elevator. She wished she could spit in his face instead.
Air exploded from her lungs, and her body was released from the monster’s grasp so fast, she stumbled backward and her shoulder blades hit the wall behind her. Swallowing down a scream, she bolted for the elevator. Tanya wasn’t in the hallway anymore. Tanya wasn’t here! She hadn’t seen Nicole’s distress signal!
Behind her, an awful screeching sounded, and a swarm of bats followed her. Fifteen yards to the elevator. Fourteen.
Stupid heels, stupid victim shoes! As they slammed onto the floors, she hoped to God she didn’t roll an ankle as she pushed her legs faster. Thirteen.
Oh God, oh God! The bats were right behind her. She could feel them at her back!
Don’t scream!
A hand reached out as she passed Tanya’s door and yanked her inside. Nicole slammed into the doorframe and fell inside.
Tanya screamed as one of the bats made it inside, and she slammed the door closed so hard it rattled the floor. The bat was crawling along the floor, scrabbling for the door. Part of that vampire was in here!
“Noooooo!” the monster roared outside.
Terror in her eyes, Tanya slammed a wooden stake down on the bat that was trying to escape under the door. It disappeared into a poof of purple smoke just before the sharpened point pierced it.
“Oh, my God!” Tanya shrieked, scrambling to Nicole. She was crying, tears just streaming down her face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Nicole asked, clutching the woman to her.
Tanya was shaking just as hard as Nicole was. “Because,” she uttered thickly, “I was the one who let him in the building.”
Tanya’s tear-filled eyes searched Nicole’s, pleading for understanding, but Nicole didn’t. Why would Tanya do such a thing?
“He’s in our minds,” she whispered.
When the door blasted inward, splintering the wooden doorframe, Nicole shielded Tanya on instinct.
The creature was standing there, hands braced on either side of the doorframe, eyes black as night and overflowing with fury. His skin was slick and gray, and he had two tattered wings outstretched from his back. His face was monstrous, and his fangs were so long.
“Invite me in, Tanya Amelia Darcy.”
Tanya’s face scrunched up in pain, and she shoved the stake into Nicole’s hand. “Kill me!” she shrieked. “Kill me, or he’ll take us both! I’m the only one who can let him in here.”
She didn’t understand. Was it because Tanya owned this apartment? Then how had he gotten into hers without her permission?
“Invite me in!” he roared. The walls and floor cracked and splintered, and plaster rained down from the ceiling.
In Nicole’s arms, Tanya seized, and her pupils blew so big the blue in her eyes disappeared completely. Her lips parted as if she were about to speak.
Nicole couldn’t take a life to save her own. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
So, she threw that stake as hard as she could. As it flew end over end toward the vampire, he roared an inhuman bellow and lurched out of the way. It clattered harmlessly against the wall on the other side of the hallway, but that was okay. It’s what she’d expected. It wasn’t a kill shot. It was a diversion because the second he disappeared from that doorway, she slapped her hand over Tanya’s mouth and dragged her to the entryway table, yanked the lamp off it, and slammed it against her head.
“You’re going to be okay!” she screamed as Tanya’s eyes closed and her body went limp.
She didn’t know how, but they were both going to be okay.

Chapter One
“Look, we’re telling you all the information we have,” Aric Teague, the King of the Winterset Coven told the police officer. “We have nothing to hide. You heard the woman’s description. You know every one of my coven members, and none of them match the vampire who attacked those women.”
Evan hated this interrogation. He didn’t like humans in general, and the police had been breathing down their undead necks lately. The three officers kept circling back to the deaths of the Winterset Coven’s feeders last year. They were predictable.
“I find it funny that if anything bad happens in this town, the only place you look is in this coven,” Evan said.
“Because it all revolves around you,” Officer Gerald growled. He was a big, barrel-chested cop standing quietly in the corner of the room while the other two were sitting around the dining table with the coven.
“This one has nothing to do with us—”
“Evan,” Aric warned.
“But he’s right,” said Aric’s mate, Sadey. “Aric, you are so patient to answer all these questions.” She addressed the officers. “Surely, you can see we are being understanding and patient with your process, but when it comes down to it, the real killer is out there, but you keep aiming at us when we have nothing to do with any of this.”
“Is it true you still haven’t hired on steady feeders after your others were killed?”
“Jesus,