Page 17 of Kingly Bitten

Texan, I recognized, familiar with voice patterns and origins from the pre-revolution time period.

I ran through the known list of vampires in the bunker and couldn’t recall a single one from that region of the world.

Frowning, I returned, “Who are you?”

“Depends on your choice, sweetheart,” he murmured, drawing out the words as though we had all the time in the world to discuss it. “I could be your savior or your executioner. Which do you prefer?”

“I don’t believe in saviors,” I admitted as the elevator released a protesting bell, stating it wanted to close to travel to another floor.Shit.

“Pity,” the vampire replied. “I was hoping to make a new acquaintance.”

The elevator emitted a secondary sound, the warning clear. We either hopped off onto this floor, or we faced our fate on another level.

And considering all the other groups were together, I had a pretty good idea of who’d called for the transport.

Which meant we either confronted these unknown vampires up here or got dragged into hell again to face the research subjects who hated us.

The vocal vampire up here didn’t sound angry so much as amused.

Meanwhile, the ones downstairs would absolutely be furious and kill us on sight.

The odds were also better up here with the potential exit.

All of that made my odds marginally better with option number one—face the unknown vampires.

“We’re coming out,” I said, tossing my weapons into the open space as a sign of defeat. “Unarmed.”

James grunted, obviously not approving of my plan, but I had a grenade in my pocket, and he had another pistol in a holster. It only took a second for him to follow suit, his actions confirming that he was letting me take the lead again.

It was this or go back downstairs.

I preferred the talkative vamp.

“We have a child,” I added, hoping that would earn us a little reprieve from whatever they intended to do to us.

Swallowing, I took the first step.

Gretchen stepped out next, taking a position behind me, and James took up the rear of our small party.

The elevator blared a final warning just as we finished clearing the metal slats. Then the doors slammed behind us, leaving us in a dusty lobby area with a single vampire.

James’s earlier use of the plural had told me there were more, but I could only see the one standing off to the side of the elevator with his pistol aimed right at my head.

“Hello, sweetheart,” he calmly greeted with his Southern drawl, his golden-brown eyes glowing beneath the flickering overhead lighting. The inconsistent illumination gave his striking features a feral appeal, one I didn’t recognize.

He definitely wasn’t one of our subjects, which meant he’d come in fromoutside.

His eyes tracked over my attire, his gun pointed and unwavering. Gretchen and James said nothing, both of them waiting for me to decide our next move.

“Dr. Calina,” the vampire mused, reading the name on my lab coat. “Otherwise known as Dr. C., I assume.”

Dr. C.That was the name I used on all my transmissions. Was this male from another lab? Did he work for Lilith?

I cleared my throat, deciding it didn’t matter. Because if he knew who I was, then he knew the protocol here hadn’t been followed. Therefore, I needed to prove that we possessed information that made us valuable—information that would keep us alive.

“Yes, I’m Dr. Calina, lead researcher of Bunker 47.” I squared my shoulders, giving my best haughty air—just like Lilith would. “And these are my two primary scientists, Gretchen and James.”

The male’s dark brow inched upward into his thick brown hair. The long length of his strands reminded me more of a lycan, which only seemed to add to his animalistic appearance.