Claimed, a vampire romance (Lost) by Lori Devoti

had lost her gun, but the knife was too close, too dangerous.
    He called to her. Her neck twisted, but she didn't look at him.
    “Rachel,” he called again.
    Nothing. No response at all.
    The wolf let go of his leg and leapt forward so it was standing over him. Then it laughed. Not a human laugh, but still, the gurgling sound and the glint in its eyes made the emotion clear.
    The werewolf was laughing at him.
    Why?
    His focus shot back to Rachel. Her finger touched the tip of the blade. She pulled back as if stung.
    The wolf growled. A warning or command?
    And then Cameron got it. His gaze dropped, down Rachel’s body to her calf, her bloody calf.
    She had been bitten.
    “No!” Adrenaline surged through him. He rose up, taking the werewolf by surprise. His fangs sank through fur and flesh, tearing both free from the creature’s neck. His hands tightened on its ribcage, tighter and tighter until bones cracked.
    The animal pulled and wrenched its body side to side, but Cameron's rage was too strong. His vision had gone blank, and a low hum filled his ears.
    He knew and felt nothing but rage and the need to destroy the werewolf that had done the undoable, had changed Rachel into an abomination like itself... and like him.
    The wolf whimpered and went limp in his grasp, but he didn't stop. He couldn't bring himself to stop, not until a hand grabbed him by the back of the neck and tossed him to the side.
    He rolled and came back up in a crouch, ready to fling himself on whatever this new threat might be.
    Bryce, the werewolf, back in his human form and naked, stared him down. At his feet, lying on the ground and curled into a ball, was Rachel.
    His muscles taut, Cameron prepared to launch himself onto this wolf too.
    Bryce held Cameron's blade by its leather-covered handle. “You won't kill her that way.”
    His mind still fogged, Cameron blinked.
    “The alpha,” Bryce added, then walked toward the fallen wolf. At its side, he kneeled and plunged the silver tip of the blade into the creature's heart.
    The animal Cameron had ravaged didn't make a sound, but six feet away, Rachel did. She exhaled loudly, as if she'd been holding a breath inside but aching to release it.
    He forgot the wolves and scrambled to her.
    Her breathing was shallow, and when he reached out to pull her into his arms, she flinched.
    “The magic is working its way through her bloodstream.” Bryce walked past him to the bodies of the three other wolves. He stabbed each as quickly and coolly through the heart as he had the alpha, wiped the bloody blade on the grass, and then tossed the thing so it slammed, tip first, into the safe house's front door.
    He raised a brow at Cameron. “Just so you don't get any ideas.”
    Cameron narrowed his eyes, but he didn't reply. If he wanted the wolf dead, he'd figure out a way.
    “I'll need to take her with me. That is if you want her to survive.”
    A growl rose in Cameron's throat. Rachel pulled her knees closer to her chest.
    Bryce moved closer, until he stood over them. “You can't help her, vampire.”
    “And you can?” Even as Cameron voiced the question, his father's demand echoed through his head. Destroy the werewolves. All the werewolves . If Rachel stayed in Crystal City, she would be hunted. Cameron could try to protect her, and perhaps with Dorian and Nancy's help, he could for a while, but vampires had patience unrivaled. They wouldn't give up, not once his father learned one wolf still survived.
    And his father would learn. His spies were everywhere.
    “Yes, I can.” The male werewolf started to kneel.
    Cameron raised his lip, revealing his fangs.
    Bryce angled one brow. “You want her to suffer?”
    Cameron, unsure for one of the few times in his life, lowered his lip.
    His gaze on the vampire, Bryce knelt and placed his open hand on Rachel's back. Immediately, she relaxed.
    “It's the pack,” the werewolf explained. “She can feel them, calling to her, accepting her. They're taking some