Half of the shifters erupted into their animal forms—a blur of fur and teeth—and charged across the battlefield toward us. The vampires, their eyes gleaming with predatory intent, surged forward to meet them, their movements like shadows coming alive. The two forces collided with a deafening roar, an unstoppable clash of power and fury, like waves battering against cliffs during a violent storm.

White and Faerry closed ranks around me, their movements fluid and precise as they formed a ...