Free Evans, Gabrielle - The Hunger [Fatefully Yours 7] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) by Gabrielle Evans

means there is probably double that in the coven. Vampires are fast, Echo. Yes, we have powers, but we usually need a moment to concentrate before we can use them. They won’t give us that time. It’s eight of us facing sixty or more of them.”
    “Nine,” Echo amended. “I’m not just here to look pretty.”
    No one argued with him, but he saw the way Eyce’s eyes tightened at the corners and knew his mates would do all they could to keep him out of the fray. Well, just let them try. He had no intentions of sitting on the sidelines while the men he loved put themselves in danger.
    Watcher , daemon, angel, or whatever they wanted to call it, he was now faster, stronger, and his power was easier to manipulate. If he had to kick his mates’ asses for their own good, well then so be it.
    They sped along the dirt road that would lead them into town. Well, Echo assumed that’s where they were going since he’d never actually been into the town before. No one said anything, and he was grateful that Syx had chosen to ride in the other vehicle. Hatching a plan would be damn near impossible with the demon listening in on his thoughts.
    Echo stared down at his hands, concentrating with everything he had. He didn’t know how he’d produced the bright light when he’d assaulted Gage in the kitchen that day. He did know it was powerful, though. He’d been trying to reproduce the glow ever since, but so far nothing. A crying shame, because he had an inkling it could be very useful against the vampires.
    It felt like no time at all had passed when brake lights in front of them drew Echo’s attention. The SUV pulled off the country road onto an even bumpier dirt trail and stopped completely. Hex pulled in behind Syx, pulled the emergency brake, and cut the engine.
    “Are we here?” Echo looked at the trees surrounding them. He was really coming to hate the forests surrounding their home. Nothing good ever came from trekking out into the woods. And what about the town? Had he been lost in thought and missed it?
    “You didn’t expect us to just drive up to the front door, did you?” Eyce winked at him, his smile big and eager as though he was looking forward to the battle.
    Echo guessed he probably was. His mates had been born for this. The last two thousand years of having nothing to fight had probably been wicked boring for them. He rolled his eyes and gave Mac a little shove to get him moving. “Let’s go before Eyce wets himself.”
    Mac looked at him with wide eyes but hurried to scramble out of the vehicle. “Echo, I can’t help,” he whispered when they were both standing beside the SUV. “I want to help, but look at me.” He spread his arms wide. “I’m just a human, and smaller than average at that. I can’t fight vampires and win.”
    “No one expects you to,” Echo said calmly. “Just stay behind the rest of us, and do exactly what we tell you. If someone tells you to run or hide, you do it. Okay?”
    Mac nodded firmly. “I don’t care about dying. I just want my mates back, and I don’t want to fuck anything up.”
    “You won’t.” Echo grabbed his friend’s wrist and pulled him toward Syx’s vehicle. “Just don’t say anything. They’re going to try to talk us into staying, but it’s not going to happen. Got it?”
    “I’m not staying here.” A rather impressive growl rumbled up from Mac’s thin chest.
    Echo had no intentions of being left behind. He wasn’t above using whatever weapons he had in his arsenal to get his way, either. So, when Onyx called his name, instead of groaning like he wanted to, he pasted a winsome smile on his face and turned to his mate.
    “Mac, would you please wait with the others? I need a word with Echo.”
    Mac looked at Echo for confirmation then nodded reluctantly when Echo waved him on. Stepping closer to the warrior, Echo kept the smile on his face. “Yes?”
    “You need to feed.”
    The smile slid right off of Echo’s face. He’d expected Onyx