Van

Van jumped to her feet, eyes locked on the snarling werewolf and Luca. Glass shattered nearby and something wet sprayed across her face, but she didn't spare a second to wipe her cheek. Every fiber of her being was taut and quivering, waiting for her to unleash her power against the man who dared put his hands on Luca.

"Let him go!" she shouted.

Tank only squeezed Luca's throat tighter, making the shifter's face turn purple. Van didn't understand why he hadn't shifted to escape. She'd like to see the werewolf try to hold on to a snarling panther like that.

"Kurt, grab the girl."

Luca came alive. He dug his fingers into Tank's wrists, drawing blood as his nails ripped through skin. His grip weakened enough for Luca to draw a deep breath, and his face returned to a more normal color. But the reprieve was short-lived. Tank spun him around and pinned Luca against his chest, his arm locked around his throat.

"You're making a big mistake," Van said, edging away as Kurt moved toward her. The sounds of fighting died down, allowing her to hear the werewolf's ragged breathing as he approached.

"The only mistake is that you're making this harder than it has to be."

He lunged, moving far faster than she expected. But not fast enough. As easily as breathing, she willed the change to her form. She allowed him to get close, bracing herself for the pain of his attack. They fell backward together, her head bouncing off the floorboards so hard she bit her tongue.

As his fingers curled around her throat, he whispered in her ear, "I think I owe you for the wound in my shoulder."

The ability to breathe vanished as he squeezed hard. Tears filled her eyes, and she bucked against him as her windpipe threatened to give way. For a moment, she forgot what she was supposed to be doing, but Luca's pained shout broke through her stupor. With her remaining strength, Van raised her arms and wrapped them around Kurt.

The smell reached her first. An acrid stench so strong she would have gagged if she could have. Kurt cursed, releasing her throat, but she held on, even as darkness crowded the edge of her vision. The werewolf howled, thrashing, and moaning. Desperation made him stronger, and when she thought he might overpower her and escape, she sank her nails into his back. Almost at once, he stilled.

"Van!"

Hailey's voice sounded from her left. Incapable of turning her head, Van rolled to her side. She saw her friend straddling a petite, thrashing woman. Two quick punches to her face ended the struggle. Hailey rolled off the unconscious woman and crawled to Van's side.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Van croaked, her Protean powers already repairing the damage to her throat. She would need some time to be completely healed, but at least she could speak. "We have to get to Luca."

Hailey helped Van stand. Together, they scanned the crowd and spied Tank dragging Luca toward the back exit. Her heart skipped when she saw how limp he hung in the werewolf's grasp. Before she could move, Livy and Bane slipped up behind Tank, their sinister intentions obvious in their expressions.

"Come on," Hailey said, taking Van's hand and tugging her through the fray. "We have to help them."

A familiar young man appeared on Van's other side. She gave him a passing glance, and then snapped her eyes back to him when she registered his identity. "Axl?"

"Hey, Van," he replied with a slight grin that reopened a wound on his lip. He wiped at the blood. "Met your friends."

"He paid that pixie, Tinsley, five hundred dollars to start the fight."

"No, I paid her for a distraction," Axl muttered. "She's the one who decided to do it by starting a fight."

"Thanks, I think?"

"You're welcome. If I can figure out how to save my Alpha and you can save your guy, then we both get what we want."

At that moment, Livy and Baine both shifted into their panther forms. Tank snarled, his face morphing into a grotesque combination of man and wolf. Luca yelped as claws and fur sprouted. Still, he did not shift. Not even when Tank threw him aside to defend himself from Livy's gnashing teeth. He hit the floor hard, rolled to his side, and did not get up.

"Is he hurt?" Van croaked.

Something was wrong with his healing abilities. What if his body couldn't fix the extent of his injuries? She wanted to scream. Why were there so many people in between them?

Hailey sped up, throwing her elbow into the throat of a man who tried to punch her. "He'll be okay. Just as soon as I get that collar off him."

Van dodged the now choking man's buddy, and Axl made sure he didn't return for a second attempt. Livy and Baine chased Tank into a back room. A dozen yards separated her from Luca, and finally, there was nothing but empty space between them. Hailey surged ahead, determination hardening her angelic features.

She silently cheered. They were going to do it. Luca would be free of that collar. In just a few seconds, he–

"No!" Van shouted as Gabriella materialized at his side.

The vampire pressed a heeled foot against his throat and arched a slim black brown. Her red painted lips turned down. "My, my, my. I am very disappointed in you, Luca."

Eyelids fluttering, Luca came to enough to look up at the woman. "Go to hell, Gabby."

Gabriella hissed and pressed her foot down harder as she swung her eyes around the room until they landed on Van. "I'm done playing, girl. I've tried to be nice, letting you roam about until I needed you, but you're proving to be too much trouble. You'll rot in a cell until I'm done with you. Maybe I'll put this one in the one next to you, or maybe I'll kill him now."

"Or maybe I'll kill you," Van snapped back.

"Oh, darling. That's cute. You could never."

"Oh, I don't know," Van said, her teeth elongating into threatening fangs. "I think I like my odds."

Gabriella's smirk dropped. With her attention fixed solely on Van, she hadn't noticed Hailey sneaking up. She was so close. So–

Van lurched sideways. A familiar ghostly echo clung to everything and everyone in the room. Phantom Hailey bumped into a table, sending it clanging to the floor and drawing Phantom Gabriella's attention. She should have turned back then; instead, she sped up, dropping to her knees at Luca's side and reaching for the collar around his neck. Her pale, translucent fingers fumbled for the latch, and the metal band clicked open. Gabriella's hand plunged right through the center of her chest.

A painful scream exploded out of Van as blood frothed around her friend's echo just before everything snapped back in place. She bolted toward her, hoping her sudden movement would keep Gabriella focused on her. For a moment, she thought it worked. Until Hailey glanced over at her and hit the table, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Stop, Hailey," Van pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears. She watched in horror as her friend dropped to her knees at Luca's side.

She knew then she was too late.