Page 20

chapter nineteen

Michaela

I glance in on Marley. She’s fast asleep. Closing her bedroom door, I make my way to the front of the cabin.

My head swims, causing me to stop and lean against the back of the couch. Saving the wolf was not exactly my best idea. Because of my low blood intake lately, my body couldn't handle blood-linking with anyone. However, looking at the devastation on his mother’s face as she cried over his body was all the motivation I needed.

Taking deep breaths, I push away from the couch. I should be resting. With the lack of blood, my body needs sufficient time to recover. But I don’t have that option. Thinking back on the bite mark on my sister’s shoulder has my rage boiling. For the next seventy-two hours, that vampire will be able to find and track Marley. That isn’t acceptable.

I swing the door open and startle.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I say to the burly Beta on my doorstep.

He smiles, showing off his perfectly aligned teeth. “I don’t think I’ve ever got the drop on you before.”

“Yeah,” I say shrugging. “I’m not really on my A game at the moment.”

His brows dip, etching a concerned look over his face. “I uh… got you this.”

He holds out a blood bag in front of me. I swear, of all the things I could have guessed he was bringing me, this would never have crossed my mind.

“The hospital in Jonesville isn’t big, but they have a small supply of blood that isn’t well guarded.”

I smile. “Yeah, they rarely plan on people stealing blood.”

He nods. “I don’t know much about the different types. I hope this one is okay.”

I quickly cover up the smile that’s trying to lift my cheeks. Taking the bag out of his hands, I read the label.

“A positive,” I say. “Not bad. I prefer type O personally.”

His face falls. I chuckle.

“I’m kidding. This is fine.”

The smile reappears on his face. I bring the bag up to my mouth and sink my fangs into the pack. The Beta turns away with a grimace. Funny, he supplied me with the blood but still can’t stomach seeing me feed.

“How is Torak?” I ask with my mouth still wrapped around the bag.

I didn’t really need to ask about the young wolf. I can feel his presence. I know he’s sleep now.

“He’s good,” the Beta says, still without turning to me. “I checked on him when I got back. You were right. He ate nearly a month's rations of meat when he woke up.”

“It will pass. He will be his old self in the morning.” I finish the bag and lick my lips, cleaning any remnants of blood from my face. My body feels ten times better. My head is clearer, and my energy is restored. I drop the empty bag onto the side table near the door.

“Thanks again for that. I really needed it.” I step out onto the porch, causing him to move back. Closing up the door, I turn back to face a confused Beta.

“You were leaving?”

“Yes.”

“Where are you going?”

I pause in my descent down the stairs. It still chafes to have anybody question my movements, especially these wolves. But he just went out of his way to bring me food. I owed him to at least be cordial.

“The vampire that attacked Torak bit Marley.”

“Okay?”

“He has her blood on his tongue, which means he can track her. At least for the next 72 hours.”

The Beta takes a step toward me. “Which means he could come back here?”

“Yes,” I admit. “I need to find him and kill him before he comes looking for my sister.”

“I’m going with you.”

Shaking my head, I reply. “I don’t need a babysitter, Beta.”

He steps down the stairs ahead of me. “Good. Because I don’t have time to baby you. I hope all your knowledge of fighting translates well into an actual fight.”

Rolling my eyes at the back of his head, I say. “Just keep up.”

The Beta follows me back through the woods. I had Marley describe to me in great detail where the attack happened. As soon as I got near, the different mix of blood hit me. I hold up a hand to stop him.

Squatting down, I take in the dark stains against the forest floor.

“This is where Torak fell,” I explain. Looking to my left, my sister’s scent hits me hard. “Marley was bitten over there.” I point toward the spot I knew I’d find her blood.

A foreign scent hits my senses. Standing, I make my way over to another spot on the ground. There are a few droplets of dark blood. Having the sight of a vampire really comes in handy with things like this.

“What is it?” the Beta asks from behind me.

“The vampire.” I dip my hand into the blood. My fingertips come away with the dark fluid. I place the blood on my tongue. The taste is horrible, but that’s not why I’m doing it.

“You know that’s disgusting, right?” he asks.

I turn to glare at him. “Says the person who licks his own balls when in wolf form.”

He glares back at me before a slow smile spread across his face. “Do you often think about my balls?”

Rolling my eyes, I stand to my feet. “He’s west of here.” I point, not even entertaining his last statement.

“Let’s go. He transforms into his majestic black wolf and takes off in the direction I pointed. I follow him.

We travel about forty-five minutes before I stop. The Beta must have heard my footfall decrease, because he too stops. His enormous wolf head turns toward me. Those golden eyes watching me.

I don’t have to be a member of his pack to read his mind. He wants to know why I stopped.

I place a finger to my lips and then point down to the ground. His large eyes narrow. Kneeling on the ground, I push away the debris beneath my feet. The wolf walks back over to me. His enormous nose sniffing the ground where my hands are busy uncovering a trap door.

I didn’t notice him transform. But his whispered voice tells me he has.

“Do you—” I place my hand out over his, stopping whatever he was going to say.

Looking up, his golden eyes stare into mine.

“Don’t speak,” I say inside his head. “He might can hear you.”

The way his face pinches in confusion makes me want to burst out laughing.

“How the hell are you doing that?”

“I have my own tricks.” I wink at him.

I can tell he wants to say more. A bunch of things fly across his thoughts so rapidly I can’t track them all. However, he pushes his thoughts away.

“Do you smell that?”

“No,” I say.

“I smell feral and vampire.”

I can only sense the vampire because I’m tracking his blood.

“ How many?” I ask.

“Only two. The vamp and the feral.”

Why the hell would a vampire and a feral be together? Vampires would never work with wolves. I’m an exception at the moment. All that I know about ferals tells me they don’t work well with anybody.

“I’ll go in first. You come in after.”

“No, I’ll go first. You follow.”

Although we play out this entire conversation in our heads, our faces still speak. For instance, right now, he's pinching his brow and thinning his lips.

I roll my eyes.

“I’m the distraction,” I explain. “I need them to think I’m alone. You can come in and surprise them.”

He looks as if he’s going to refuse again, but finally, he nods his head.

“Two minutes,” he snarls in a deeper tone. I’m sure that’s his wolf speaking.

“Five.”

“Two,” he repeats. Realizing I don’t have the time to bargain, I toss my hands up, relenting.

“Whatever.” Letting go of his arm, I pull the latch off the trapdoor, lifting the heavy piece of wood.

I drop into the dark pit, landing on the balls of my feet, keeping my landing silent. Ahead of me is darkness, but my eyesight can see clearly. It looks as if I’m in an old mining tunnel. The iron tracks for the old carts are still intact. Looking behind me there is more darkness and tunnels. I turn back to the front and head in that direction. I know the vampire is up ahead.

Slowly, I make my way through the old passage. Noise up ahead stops me in my tracks.

“Stupid fucking vampire bitch,” a deep voice says. “She nearly took my head off. Tomorrow night I’m tracking that cunt down and slitting her throat.”

There is no reply, but I’m assuming he’s talking to the feral. I’m guessing they don’t talk.

I head toward the voice.

“I take offense to you calling my little sister out of her name,” I say as I turn the corner.

Off the side of the tunnel is a small room. I’m not sure what it was once used for, but right now it contains a small table and chairs. A few filthy blankets are in the corner, along with empty blood bags and old food wrappers. A half-eaten deer is in the middle of the floor as well. Looks as if they’ve been living here for a while.

The vampire stands from his chair. For Marley to be new to fighting, she did a number on him. All the bright red scratch marks on his face and neck let me know she cut him pretty deep. Good job, Marley. Human-turned have slower healing abilities than full blood vampires. The feral growls low. His head is down and his ears are up.

“Not a smart move,” the vampire sneers. “Coming down here. How did you find me?”

I smile, my arms down by my side. “You left a bloody mess. Any vampire could track you. But don’t worry. You won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

The sound of my metal blades leaving the cuffs echoes around the small room.

The vampires’ eyes widen. He knows what I am. But he doesn’t know who.

“Kill her,” he tells the feral that charges toward me. I dodge the large teeth of the feral, rolling underneath him. I pop up behind him and charge for the vampire. He tries to run, but my blade slices into his back. He goes down with a groan. A hard blow hits me from the back.

The wolf tackled me from behind. We both go rolling across the ground. He tries to snap at me, but I grab his snout, shoving his head back. We finally come to a stop, my back hitting the wall. The feral is on top of me. He tries to go for my neck again.

I punch him in the face, sending his head into the wall at my back. He whines. Using my feet, I toss the beast off me. I spot the vampire trying to run out of the cave.

Before he can get to the door, the Beta’s large wolf steps into the room. His wolf is gorgeous. Fur as black as a midnight sky. So black it looks nearly blue on the tips. There isn’t a speck of another color on him anywhere. Only the glowing gold of his eyes.

He takes a second, his gaze sweeping the room. His golden eyes land on me before they narrow. It’s then I remember my blades were out. He lets out a low growl.

Fuck.

“I can explain,” I say into his head.

He dives at me so quickly I don’t have time to react. I flinch, preparing for impact, but he leaps over my head, crashing into the feral that was apparently behind me.

“Get your head in the fucking game,” his deep voice growls into my head.

He’s pissed, but I guess we need to deal with the current issue at hand.

While the Beta deals with the feral, I go after the retreating vampire. He’s making a mad dash for the trapdoor. I run after him.

He looks over his shoulder at me.

“What the hell is a member of the legion doing out here?” he asks as he continues to run.

I leap up the side of the tunnel wall. Running along the length of it, I do a back flip over the vampire’s head and land in front of him. Holding my blades up in front of me, I bring them down in an x.

“That is none of your business.” I charge him.

He tries to block my attack, but with each swing of my blade, I slice into his arms. He backs up, trying to keep distance between us. Finally, he falls to the ground onto his back. Crossing my chest with the right blade, I prepare to bring it down and slice the vampire’s head off. However, I’m once again slammed by the feral. I land on the ground with my back against the wall. The feral is on my chest.

His teeth sink into my shoulder. I groan as I take the bite. While he’s shredding my shoulder, I get my arm from under him. Bringing the blades back into my cuffs, I place my fist at the wolf’s neck and then release the Katana. The blade pierces his neck, coming out at the top of his head. The feral stills. I toss his body to my side and off the end of my blade. Climbing to my feet, I stumble a little.

The tingling in my shoulder lets me know I’m healing perfectly. That’s what human blood does for me.

I turn to face the vampire. He snarls at me. I brace myself for his attack. However, it never happens. The Beta’s large wolf appears out of nowhere. His jaw locks on the vampire’s shoulder. He tosses his large black head back and forth. The vampire’s body flies through the air like a rag doll. Eventually, his body hits the wall, his head detached. The large black wolf drops the vampire’s head onto the ground before those gold eyes stare back at me.

I dismiss my blades, causing them to return to the cuffs.

“I haven’t been part of the legion for many years,” I quickly explain. “Over three hundred, to be exact.” I don’t tell him why I’m no longer part of the legion.

“Why are you here?” his voice appears in my head.

“Because this is the only place I can be safe. I promise I’m not here to hurt any of your pack members. I just need to hide.”

He doesn’t speak. His golden eyes watch me closely. I told him the truth. I had nowhere to go and being here kept me safe.

Finally, he dips his head. “If you betray my pack, I will spend my life hunting you down until I kill you.”

I don’t speak about my skills or how hard he would find it to kill me. I don’t boast about my abilities. Instead, I take the threat as what it is, a truce.

“I understand,” I say.

He walks over to me, stopping beside me. His enormous body towering over mine. He then walks past, heading back the way we entered. Finally, all my secrets are out. Well, most of them.