Read Online Embracing The Lion (Gray Bears 6) by Natalie Kristen - Free Book Online

Vampire.” He laughed. “And you've
brought your entire coven with you.”
    “You attacked and
drained a human. You forced her to take a drop of your blood to turn
her against her will,” Rosalina said. “That is a crime
punishable by death under all coven laws.”
    “I don't belong to any
coven. Neither do my friends. The coven laws only came into effect
a hundred years ago. The laws don't have retrospective effect. They
only apply to vampires who were turned after the laws came into
effect. They are meant to govern young, new, immature vampires like
yourself. And why would you fight us? You are one of us. We look
out for our own.”
    Rosalina smiled but her eyes
were hard. “No you don't. You killed Hugo, without reason,
without provocation. It wasn't in self-defense. You killed him in
cold blood.” She gestured at Tara and Gareth and said, “And
we do look out for our own.”
    Rosalina's eyes glowed red
suddenly and she flew forward with what Tara thought was the speed of
light. Tara only saw a blur and she felt herself being pried free
from Phillip's vice-like grip and shoved away.
    Phillip let out a
blood-curdling screech and his human features contorted as his fangs
and nails elongated. His skin became gray and shriveled, and his
hair turned white. His cronies all dropped their polished,
aristocratic facade and revealed their ghastly non-human faces.
Their eyes glowed red and they became gnarled, skeletal versions of
themselves. They hissed and bared their long, yellowed fangs as they
advanced towards the townspeople with hate and hunger in their eyes.
    “Ooh, they're really
showing their age,” Rosalina tsked and turned to her coven
members. “This is what drinking too much blood does to you.
Remember, consume everything in moderation,” she advised.
    Phillip shrieked an order or
a mantra in an ancient language, and his vampires took up the chant.
With one unifying scream, they charged at the townsfolk, their eyes
glowing with blood lust.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

    Tara instinctively reached
for the jeweled dagger that she had hidden in her boot. Gareth had
taken that beautiful, magnificent dagger from The Round Table and
handed it to her just a few nights ago.
    “This dagger was used
by my brother and sis-in-law to slay a rogue wolf,” Gareth had
declared proudly as he unlocked the glass display on the wall of the
pub. “They saved Lorni Jones's life. I want you to keep this
with you. The blade is pure silver. You can destroy any paranormal
with silver. Just stab the blade cleanly through the heart.”
    She had protested but Gareth
insisted that she keep the dagger so she could defend herself if she
was attacked. “Phillip Lancastle might be hunting you down.
You have to be prepared,” he said, pressing her fingers around
the bejeweled hilt.
    Tara gripped the dagger
tightly as violence erupted all around her. The townspeople banded
together and fought bravely, looking out for one another and working
together to take down Phillip and his horde of savage vamps.
    The ancient vampires were
powerful and brutal, but they were outnumbered and they didn't know
anything about teamwork. Their attack was violent but messy and
uncoordinated, and the wily townsfolk quickly formed groups to
isolate each vampire from the horde.
    One by one, Phillip's
vampires were surrounded and defeated. Once they fell, their heads
were swiftly separated from their bodies and their hearts pierced
with silver. Their bodies disintegrated into ashes with nothing more
than a sigh.
    Tara saw Gareth tackling two
snarling vampires to the ground. From the corner of her eye, she saw
Phillip flying towards Gareth. He leaped onto Gareth's back and
slashed his nails across Gareth's face.
    Tara ran towards them and
raised her dagger high. With all her might, she plunged the blade
into Phillip's back before he could take a big bite out of her mate.
    Phillip screamed and loosened
his hold on Gareth. Gareth spun round and advanced towards the
vampire