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Got it.

The Hunters fired off another shot before Marek closed the distance to within striking range. His claws extended, he slashed at the human. The Hunter leaped back lightning-fast and avoided Marek’s attack.

Marek ground his teeth with frustration. Fucking Hunters and their enhancements. The Organization had been experimenting on humans using vampire blood to make their Hunters stronger and faster like vampires. Another reason the CDI prioritized rescuing any missing vampires.

The Hunter yanked out a wicked-looking knife and stabbed. Marek caught it and hissed as his skin blistered. Silver again.

But the pain from such a small burn was a joke compared to other injuries he’d sustained in his long life. Marek twisted the knife to the side, his strength overpowering the Hunters. Even enhanced with vampire blood, they were still only human.

Weak.

The Hunter let go, but he wasn’t fast enough to evade Marek’s claws. Blood soaked his shirt. He stumbled. Marek stabbed him in the neck with his own knife.

As the Hunter crumpled to the ground, Marek looked to his right. Rowan had just snapped his opponent’s neck.

I’m in,Sascha announced.Man, that was a close one.

Marek expanded his senses and located no Hunters nearby. He and Rowan returned to Sascha, who waited with a wide, proud smile beside the open door.

Stay here and keep your guard up,Marek ordered before scanning the room.

Empty. He stalked inside with Rowan two steps behind. Black metal desks lined the three walls of the room with monitors, keyboards, and various office supplies spread out on top. A slow beeping from an EKG machine came from one room over.

Marek’s gaze snatched to the large window looking into the next area. A sense of déjà vu swept through him as he stared at the three desiccated vampires strapped to gurneys. The vampires’ skin was dry and tight over their muscles and bones. Their dark veins stood out sharply against the pale skin. An IV bag hung over one side, the tube filled with red liquid going into the vampire, keeping them alive, while a needle was stuck in their other arm, drawing their blood to use for the Organization’s experiments.

He’d seen this exact same scene two weeks ago, from another Organization facility much like this one.

Hot anger exploded inside him, and red haze covered his vision. His claws, half extended, dug into the metal table, leaving behind thick scratch marks.

The urge to storm out and destroy every Hunter was overwhelming. His kind weren’t animals to be strapped down and experimented upon.

Hunters incoming.Rowan’s warning snapped him out of his blind rage.

Let’s get them and get out,Marek growled.Destroy everything here.

They tore the room apart in less than ten seconds. The Organization might have backups of everything, but if Marek could even throw a slight wrench in their plans, it wasn’t wasted effort.

Marek and Rowan unplugged the unconscious vampires from the machines. Up close, Marek noted they weren’t as far gone as the ones from the other facility. These vampires had been caught less than a week ago. They would come out of this fine with their minds still intact. When they woke, they would be able to defeat the bloodlust and not succumb to insanity.

Or he hoped.

Rowan carried one vampire slung over each shoulder while Marek carried the third.

Package secured. Time to leave,Marek relayed to everyone else.

Finally,Darren said.

Marek took the lead as they sprinted back the way they came. When they rounded a corner, a Hunter at the other end turned tail and ran.

Leave him,Marek ordered, suppressing his urge to chase and seek revenge.

There’d be plenty of time to destroy the Organization. They needed to escape before the police or more Hunter backup arrived. Hunter backup he wasn’t as worried about, but the human police were a problem. It was essential for vampires to keep their law-abiding citizen image to maintain the peace between vampires and humans.

Vampires infiltrating an outwardly human science company and killing its guards? Not a good look for their image if they were caught. The last thing he needed was to gift the Organization more material to inflame human hatred against his kind.

They rushed into the darkened lobby. Marek had already turned toward the front doors when that same vanilla floral scent bombarded his senses. A tantalizing and irresistible smell that called out to him.

He stopped. He needed to leave. To get out with the rest of his team, but his vampire yanked his control away.