Page 24 of Blood Pack Beginning (Pack #5)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The warehouse appeared innocuous. No light. No sound. Nothing out of the sorts.

It immediately triggered Diego’s wolfy sense. These days, with the number of homeless in America, an abandoned area such as this should have been a prime squatting ground. Yet, he’d not seen a single vagrant, or signs of any—AKA tent, shopping cart, discarded needle.

Were the police in this area more vigilant? Or could there be another reason nothing living appeared to be in the environs?

He couldn’t ask, as they approached with stealth, a line of predators once more trying to save the world—or at least the people from Woolly Pillars.

As they reached the warehouse’s small side door, Pierrot put an unnecessary finger to his lips. As if they needed a reminder to be quiet.

The knob didn’t turn. Locked. They could have probably kicked it in, but the noise would totally give them away.

Sasha waved Pierrot off and stared at the door. Stared long and hard. The click, barely audible, had her relaxing tense shoulders.

Interesting. She had a telekinetic power. He’d heard mention of it as a vampire ability, but seeing it? Kind of cool.

Pierrot once more gripped the knob and slowly turned it, easing open the door and wincing when it squeaked.

They all stood still and ready.

Nothing emerged but a smell. One they all knew.

Ghouls.

And a shit-ton of them.

Sasha put a hand on Pierrot’s arm and shook her head.

They wouldn’t be going in. A wise move.

Only as Pierrot went to pull close the door, several filthy hands reached out to snag the vampire and yanked him before slamming the door shut.

And locking it!

Well fuck.

There was no question they would go in after him. Rather than be subtle, Sasha kicked her foot into the door, which, given it was bare, didn’t make a dent.

Amir snorted. “Move aside, Shorty.” The bigger man moved into position and used his shoulder to snap the lock and pop it open. Sasha darted inside, Anabel on her heels. Cyrus, Amir, and Diego followed, despite the fact it was probably a really bad idea.

The inside smelled abominable. As a wolf, the stench overwhelmed his enhanced sense of smell, the odor a dozen times stronger than that they’d experienced in the sewer. All the more reason to act now, not only to save Pierrot but also anyone who might be a future victim to these monsters.

Time to be a hero.

The darkness in the room they entered wasn’t complete, and Diego could see enough to notice another door on the far side closing.

Sasha hissed, “It’s taken Pierrot into the warehouse.” And of course, she didn’t hesitate to follow.

None of them did. They dashed through the next doorway and then halted abruptly. Blame the hundreds of ghouls clustered.

“Jeezus,” breathed Amir, who could still speak since he’d not shifted.

Actually, it should have been more like, “holy fucking Christ in hell,” because they were fucked. And it was too late to change their minds now. Pierrot needed rescuing from several ghouls dragging him. Big, strapping Lycans, who had enough muscle—and monster adrenaline—to ensure Pierrot couldn’t escape.

Before they could start chewing on the man, Diego darted forward, a blur of fur that lunged and latched onto a ghoul. He chomped hard enough the monster’s hand spasmed and loosened. It was enough for Pierrot to yank an arm free. The vampire then began punching, the force of his fist smashing the faces of those slavering for a bite. While he pummeled, Diego went for the ankles. The rest of the group formed a semi-circle to protect while Pierrot shed his ambushers and killed them.

But forget an easy escape. The ghouls scented fresh meat and, judging by the red glint in their eyes, wanted dinner now!

A wave of monsters came for them, and a battle ensued, a chaotic and terrifying melee. For each monster taken down, another—nay, a pair—took its place. It was nonstop. Bite, swipe, squirm, and, yes, howl when one of the monsters managed to hurt. The only reason they weren’t completely overrun was because they formed a tight fighting square that only allowed a single row of ghouls to attack. However, the number behind them, the monsters that took the place of each one that fell, proved daunting.

Diego and the others did their utmost to remain close to each other and struggled inch by inch to the exit. He lost count of how many he killed. Couldn’t think beyond surviving.

Sasha yelled, and he swiveled to see her taken down to the floor. Immediately, ghouls savagely tore at her. Diego lunged to the rescue, he and Cyrus chomping, the nasty taste of rancid blood gag-worthy, while Amir swung his machete, yelling the entire time.

A sudden glaring light, illuminating the space, brought a sudden stillness to the fight.

In that reprieve, a deep male voice boomed, “Nobody move!”

Diego didn’t need to look to recognize Thaddeus had arrived. Just ask his frozen body as it obeyed the alpha command.

Thaddeus strode forward, and to everyone’s surprise, the ghouls remained frozen in place. Obeying. A welcome surprise.

A soft command from Thaddeus allowed Amir and the other Lycans to move. Amir dragged Sasha free of the gaggle of ghouls and scooped her limp body into his arms. He began to retreat, along with Diego and Cyrus. The other vampires joined them, all except for Thaddeus and the pair of wolves flanking him. Marc and someone else. Not Toni, which didn’t surprise given her ripe condition.

Move quickly. I shan’t be able to hold them for long. Already some break free of my command. The soft murmur in Diego’s head startled, as it belonged to his new alpha but wasn’t spoken aloud.

In the fading brilliance, he saw the ghouls twitching. A few taking steps in their direction.

“You will obey,” Thaddeus thundered, the authority in his tone making Diego shiver.

A few of the ghouls halted, but several continued to push forward, the red in their eyes glinting ominously. And when one of them hissed, “Master says kill,” Diego knew they’d better flee.

So did Thaddeus, who yelled, “Run!”

Amir exited first, holding Sasha, with Anabel and Pierrot at his heels, then the four wolves. Last to come through the door before it slammed shut: Thaddeus.

He leaned against the portal, which heaved as ghouls thumped into it. “Get out of the warehouse. Now,” he barked.

No shit.

They exited into the parking lot, empty but for a luxury sedan with the engine running. Movement to the left had Diego swiveling to see Tim, another of Thaddeus’ vampires, attaching something to the gas line.

Thaddeus exited and shut the outer door. He held the knob, a temporary measure. The slams against it showing it wouldn’t remain closed for long.

“Everyone needs to move as far away as possible. Tim’s about to blow this place up,” Thaddeus declared, showing strain as he held the portal closed.

Bang , rattle .

The metal shipping doors began to dimple as the ghouls sought escape.

They ran for the SUV, Amir still carrying Sasha. Four-legged Diego and Cyrus blew past him and dove in the open trunk. Amir threw himself and Sasha into the back seat as Anabel slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.

When she put it into drive, Amir yelled, “Where’s Pierrot?”

“With Thaddeus, reporting. Hold on tight.”

She sped out there with a squeal of tires and almost wasn’t fast enough to beat the concussion blast from the bomb. The rear window shattered, spraying them with glass, but she kept going.

A glance behind showed an even bigger inferno than the one they’d caused only moments earlier. Smoke and flame billowed, hopefully cooking all of the ghouls.

On their tail, the sedan sped, catching and passing them, looking remarkably intact.

Anabel must have guessed their confusion because she said, “It was custom-made to withstand attack.”

Tired of being without a voice, Diego shifted and as he wiggled in their confined space to dress asked, “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere we can hide from the oncoming dawn.” Anabel peered upward through the windshield. “Thaddeus made arrangements. We just need to follow.”

“Sasha’s not waking up,” Amir stated morosely. “She’s injured pretty bad.”

“She’ll be fine once she gets some blood,” Anabel replied. “She’s pretty tough.”

“Do we have any bags?” Diego asked, scrounging around in the back.

“No. They need to be refrigerated to be any good, so we didn’t bring any.”

“Any idea where we can get some?” Diego questioned as Cyrus took his turn to shift and dress.

“Hospital, but we don’t have time before the sun rises to steal any.” Anabel didn’t have any good news.

Amir hugged the limp Sasha closer to his chest. “Any reason she can’t have mine?”

“No, but she’ll need more than you alone can give,” Anabel stated, swerving to follow the sedan when it took a sharp right.

“What if three of us donated?” Amir asked before Diego could.

“That actually would be more than enough,” Anabel agreed with a nod. “But be sure to take turns, even if she appears reluctant to switch off. With these kinds of wounds, her thirst will be grievous, and she won’t realize she’s taking too much.”

“How do I give it to her? Do I slit a wrist or something?” Amir questioned.

“If you have a wound on your arm, place it against her lips. Her primal instinct will kick in. The enzyme in her saliva will prevent clotting while she feeds.”

Amir didn’t hesitate to put a sluggishly bleeding gash against Sasha’s mouth. Diego and Cyrus leaned over the back seat to watch, the pair of them relaxing when Sasha began to suckle.

Amir leaned his head back and sighed.

“Does it hurt?” Cyrus asked.

“Nope. Feels good, real good,” Amir murmured.

The SUV turned again and pulled into an underground parking garage for a condo complex.

The sedan parked in a marked spot, and Anabel pulled in alongside. She exited but left the door open so they could hear the conversation.

“What now?” she said.

“I’ve acquired access to the penthouse, but there was no time to barricade the windows. There are heavy blinds already in place. Instruct Sasha’s wolves to drape a blanket over them. I’m having blood delivered. It should be here within the hour.”

“Sounds good.” Anabel glanced back at them. “You heard?”

“Yup.”

“Let’s go,” Thaddeus ordered. “We need to get her inside and hidden before dawn breaks. With her injuries, she can’t handle much more trauma.”

As if they needed that warning. Diego could feel her weakness through their bond.

The ride up the elevator proved cramped but not quiet, as Thaddeus muttered, “No need to recap events. Pierrot has filled me in.” Thad glanced at Amir. “I hear your brother fled.”

The big man nodded. “Yeah.”

“While the geas on his mind will keep him from speaking of us to the humans, he must be found. He is the only link we have to this Master, and more than ever, we must track them down before they can set in motion another diabolical plot.”

“I’ll find him,” Amir quietly promised.

“Ensure that you do because others might not be as gentle bringing him, especially after what occurred in the warehouse. Your fellow Lycans will be especially perturbed seeing as how there was more than one pack waiting to ambush.”

“Kind of figured that, seeing as how there was like three times the number of people that live in Woolly Pillars,” Cyrus stated.

“It was a fuck-ton of ghouls,” Diego agreed. “Was the master there?”

Thaddeus shook his head. “Not that I could sense. But more than ever we need to find this person. Anyone who can donate that much of themselves to create such an army must be strong.”

“Stronger than you?” Anabel exclaimed with surprise.

“Much. I have to wonder how many of my kind perished to feed them that much power.”

“Will we be safe here?” Diego wondered aloud.

“Given what we saw tonight, I think we should assume there is nowhere without peril. But the dawn is coming, and this building is fairly secure. Despite that, I recommend you stay on your guard at all times.” Thaddeus’ expression softened as he glanced at Sasha, still sucking on Amir’s arm. “Thank you for saving her.”

“Don’t worry, boss. We’ll protect her,” Diego promised.

“With our lives,” Cyrus added.

The elevator opened onto the penthouse floor, and Thaddeus punched in the door code to give them access. They entered into an opulent open space. Gleaming wood floors. Marble countertops. The biggest sectional couch he’d ever seen. The floor-to-ceiling windows would have been beautiful if the sight of pink tinging the night sky didn’t fill Diego with fear.

There was no talk but much scrambling as everyone scattered to find a room. Thaddeus took the master suite, but the bedchamber Diego stumbled into could have held the same title given its size and luxury. It held a king-sized bed, with nightstands on each side and room still to spare. It also had a pair of club chairs by the window.

Amir dropped heavily into one and grunted. “Feeling lightheaded, boys.”

“Hand her over. I’ll feed her next,” Diego offered.

Diego took her from Amir and cradled her in his lap in the opposite chair. He had the perfect gash on his neck to press her lips against, and he felt a jolt—in his dick—as she latched on and sucked.

A languorous, pleasurable feeling spread through him. Fuck yeah, it did feel good. He barely registered his friends dropping the blinds and covering the window, dragging the heavy comforter from the bed and managing to attach it in a way to prevent any daylight from streaking.

Once they were sure it would hold, and no sun peeked, Cyrus clicked on a lamp. He sat across from Diego and sighed. “That was quite the adventure.

“I think you meant clusterfuck,” Diego countered.

“We should have blown the place up right from the start,” Amir stated. “If we had, Sasha wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

“No, we did the right thing checking first. We had no way of knowing the folks from Woolly Pillars were already compromised.” Cyrus stated.

“Fuck, those poor people,” Amir murmured.

“From the smell of them, some had been there a while,” Cyrus remarked. “Thaddeus claims there was more than one pack. But how did that happen? Wouldn’t Nathan have known if one or more of them went missing?”

“Depends, I guess, on how often the alphas check in,” Amir offered. “Who knows how many others have been taken and turned into monsters.”

“Or how many ghouls escaped in the chaos at the warehouse,” Diego added.

“That was a pretty aggressive explosion,” Cyrus stated and then glanced at Diego cradling a suckling Sasha. “You doing okay there, bud? Need me to take over?”

“In a few minutes.” Diego found himself reluctant to give her over just yet.

“I’m going to shower,” Amir announced. “I reek.”

They all did. When Cyrus snared Sasha to give her a turn sucking on him, Diego sluiced off next, doing his best to ignore what washed down the drain. He’d killed people today. Some of them familiar. It chilled to think had he not been kidnapped by Sasha he might have been one of them.

By the time he emerged, clean and in a better frame of mind, Cyrus went next, bringing Sasha with him, rinsing her free of the grime coating her. They stripped her and dressed her in a clean T-shirt before nestling her in the middle of the bed.

Amir cleared his throat. “Given Thaddeus’ warning, are we taking turns sleeping?”

“Probably the best idea. I’ll take first watch while you get some rest. You’re a lot more busted than me and Cyrus.”

No argument from Amir, which just went to show how hard the day had been. He clambered into bed and spooned against Sasha on one side. Cyrus ended up taking the other spot with the understanding Diego would wake him in a few hours for his turn.

It turned out to be a quiet day—no ghouls, no Lycans, and, best of all, no cops knocking—and they all got a bit of sleep. A good thing they had a chance to recover because Sasha woke hungry.

And not for blood.