Amethyst Flame (The Flame Series Book 2) by Caris Roane

something Brannick had been forced to witness.
    He’d pulled in his vengeance, but he’d had a lot of grief to deal with afterward. The truth was, they all did. No one came to Five Bridges without having suffered severe losses. Every pregnant woman who went through the alter lost her baby, no exceptions. Fetuses and children couldn’t survive the horrendous changes the alter metamorphosis created, no matter which of the five species the human became, whether vampire or spellcaster, shifter, fae, or dead-talker.
    A loud explosion hit the air, though probably a good mile away. Vaughn turned in the direction from which the blast had come. “What the hell was that?”
    Brannick gestured toward the west. “Five Bridges is expanding. According to the latest stats, we’ve added five thousand alters in the past ten months. Unprecedented numbers. The U.S. finally agreed to give us another square mile off Crescent and Revel Territories then another square mile off Elegance in the east and Savage to the south.”
    As if on cue, a second but even more distant explosion sounded toward Savage Territory. “That’ll make the shifters happy. They’ve wanted to plant more trees. Now they can.”
    “Speaking of Savage, we’ve got to get going. Did you bring what I asked for?”
    “Not exactly.”
    Vaughn scowled. “What does that mean? We’ve only got a few minutes to get over there.” Going into Savage Territory, they had to have weapons. Wolves were vicious fighters and probably the best-equipped with illegal firearms. But they protected their supply.
    Brannick’s nostrils flared. “It means I’m coming with. Simple as that. No argument. I’ve sat on the sidelines way too long and after the stunt Loghry pulled in the Graveyard, well, let’s just say my patience has finally worn thin. If I can help save some teenage girls tonight, I’m going to do just that.”
    There were barely a handful of moments since Vaughn’s alter when he experienced a profound gratitude. Right now, knowing Brannick would throw in with them when he knew damn well he and Emma had a price on their heads, meant everything to Vaughn.
    He extended his hand to Brannick who gripped him at the forearm in a solid hold. Vaughn returned the favor.
    Vaughn nodded. “All right then. We’re headed deep into Savage.” He checked his internal clock, that critical biological timepiece all vampires had which ensured they stayed well away from the rising sun. But it also told him the exact time no matter the hour, day or night.
    It was eleven-thirty and they needed to move out now.
    Brannick opened the duffel and handed him an AR-15. Knowing Emma couldn’t levitate, Brannick shouldered the duffel and rose slowly into the air.
    He hit Vaughn’s telepathy. Let me see what’s up here before you pass the roofline.
    Good plan.
    With Emma once more glued to his side and both her relatively small feet planted on his right boot, he began to levitate in Brannick’s direction, but stayed just below the roofs of the adjacent buildings.
    As soon as Brannick waved him up, Vaughn hit the sky fast, speeding straight up then swinging southwest toward Savage.
    Brannick took up a wing position on Vaughn’s left. From Vaughn’s peripheral, he could see the triplets, each keeping pace a little ahead of him and to the right. Not exactly the kind of black ops force needed to rescue half a dozen teens but it would do. Being armed helped. He had his AR-15 looped over his left shoulder.
    Emma guided them into the central forest of Savage and soon enough he spotted the delivery truck. It was almost at its destination. Is that the one?
    Yep. That’s it. I recognize the logo on the back. Willow Creek Office Furniture.
    Seeing that the forest line stopped, Vaughn veered to the right away from the truck. The shifters were waiting for them at the point where the pines gave way to a broad vacant lot, which in turn led to the storage units. Fortunately, there were few other buildings