Saved at Sunrise

rogue’s invitation wasn’t an option. It was go, or
     have some hand-to-blade combat right now.
    “Let’s go, then,” Della said, hoping whatever came next would provide a better escape.
    Steve glanced at her and in his gaze she read his mind. I don’t like this.
    Well, neither did she, but she didn’t see any other choice. She’d done a quick head
     count and there were twelve of them. She could probably take on five or six, but she
     couldn’t take on twelve. Not with knives.
    *   *   *
    They were led to an old abandoned warehouse. Steve transformed into a black crow and
     moved slower. The rogues muttered curses that they had to slow down.
    Della couldn’t help but wonder if his choice of form hadn’t been on purpose. Did shifting
     into a faster bird require more energy? And was he preserving it? Or was his ability
     to shift into certain kinds of animals a sign of power, and he was downplaying his
     abilities to the rogues? It occurred to Della that if she was going to work for the
     FRU, she needed to educate herself on all species.
    It would have been helpful to know exactly what Steve was up to.
    When they landed, she also noted Steve took several minutes to change. A hell of a
     lot slower than before. That’s when she knew for sure he was downplaying his power
     to the rogues.
    One of the vamps stepped close and said something about wringing the crow’s neck.
     Della moved between him and Steve.
    With Steve now in human form, they walked inside a dark building. Della could smell
     old blood and vampire sweat. While she couldn’t see for shit, she could also smell
     the bloodthirsty crowd. No longer just twelve rogues to deal with, but more than fifty.
     Her chest clutched with fear and the realization that maybe she should have taken
     her chances back at the park.
    The lights suddenly flashed on and the crowd hiding in the shadows appeared. In the
     middle of the room was a boxing ring. Steve looked at her, concern tightening his
     gaze.
    The crowd cheered and Della looked back up. A girl was pushed into the ring. She looked
     scared, but also determined. Della tightened her brows and saw she was half werewolf,
     half vampire. Were being her dominant species. She was obviously an extra. And from
     her stance, Della also assessed she was a willing victim.
    “And here I thought I was just going to get to kill a human or two,” Della said, praying
     her voice didn’t shake.
    “Oh, we do that, too. But we change it up to keep it interesting.”
    Bingo, Della thought. They could leave now. Unfortunately, she didn’t see that happening.
    The girl turned and looked at Della with something akin to hatred. Della knew this
     was the girl she was supposed to fight.
    The smell of dried blood in the air warned Della just how far this fight was supposed
     to go.
    She looked at the leader of the rogues who had met them. “It’s hard to fight someone
     I have nothing against.”
    “When she takes her first punch, you’ll have something against her. She’s not nearly
     as weak as she looks. Sort of like you, I’ll bet.” He pulled out his knife again.
     “Go fight her, Miss Sass, and let’s see how good you really are.”
    Della swallowed a knot of fear, but she forced herself to ask. “Where does this end?”
    “What do you mean?” he asked, but his smirk told her he knew exactly what she meant.
    “I knock her out, it’s over, right?” She was hoping.
    His eyes brightened with plain ol’ evilness. “What fun would that be?” He brought
     the knife up and stared at the blade. “It ends when one of you stops breathing and
     becomes a willing blood donor, that’s when it’s over. So the question is, will we
     be drinking your blood at sunrise or hers?”
    “Hmm,” Della said, and worked at keeping the horror from showing on her face. She
     glanced at Steve. He cut his eyes up to the ceiling. She didn’t know what the hell
     the message was, but she hoped it meant he had a plan. Because, God help her, she
     couldn’t think of one right now. And she was either about to kill someone, or be killed.
     
    Chapter Five
    Della got into the ring thinking there would be a bell, thinking she’d come up with
     a way out of this crap, but nope—on both counts. Before she had a chance to catch
     her breath, the girl attacked.
    Della still didn’t have a clue what to do. But when she took a fist to the cheek and
     it hurt like hell, she decided letting this girl beat the crap out of her