by Katie Reus
“Okay.” She shrugged as if what she was offering was no big deal. In that moment Larissa could see how very human this female had once been. Because a shifter offering blood to a vampire was just not done. At least not in Larissa’s world. Or the world she’d come from. Her parents and coven had hated being under Aiden’s pack’s roof all those years ago and had done it only because they’d wanted something. Shifters and vamps hadn’t intermixed much in general and definitely not from such strong lines. It humbled her that a shifter was being so kind to her when she had no reason to be, when Larissa could find one of those clubs the shifter male had mentioned. Something told Larissa she was going to like this new world very much.
Larissa struck as gently as she could into the slender wrist. The female’s blood was sweet, strong, and as it coated Larissa’s tongue, almost immediately she felt her strength returning. With her new strength, another barrage of memories assaulted her at once, as if they were all fighting for dominance.
Sucking in a sharp breath, she pulled back from Kat’s wrist. Quickly she licked the tiny wounds even though they would heal on their own. No one else seemed aware of the emotions running through her, but she wanted to tell Aiden what she’d remembered.
Before she could speak, Ryan let out a whoop of joy. “I am a fucking genius!”
Aiden snorted, his grip around Larissa’s waist tightening. “That’s up for debate.”
The other male gave him a good-natured grin. “I might know where to find that witch’s master.”
Chapter 23
“I don’t understand how he located this place,” Larissa murmured to Aiden as they drove down the winding road deeper and higher into the mountains. They’d been driving for almost an hour and a half and, according to Ryan’s recent mumbled announcement, should be there soon. Ryan had given a brief explanation of why they should check out this place, but she hadn’t understood much of his terminology.
“No one knows how he does this stuff.” Kat snorted and glanced at them in the rearview mirror from the driver’s seat. “He’s magic on a computer. It’s very cool and a little scary, what he can do.”
On the other side of Aiden in the backseat, the male named Jayce grunted, as if he wasn’t impressed.
“You got something to say?” Ryan asked without turning around from the passenger seat where he stared at that small computer screen.
It seemed to be a source of contention that the bald shifter with the scars on his face and the blades strapped across his chest wasn’t sitting with his mate. Or maybe he was angry he wasn’t the one driving. Larissa had watched in fascination earlier as Kat had teased her mate about the females driving tonight. Because Erin, the redheaded female, had been driving another SUV.
“It’s not that impressive,” Jayce said, annoyance in his deep voice.
Aiden buried his face in Larissa’s hair and she could feel his chest shake as he smothered a chuckle. He’s in a mood tonight.
Why?
I think because Kat offered her vein to you without telling him. He’s very proprietary and gets nervous about pretty much anything that could potentially put Kat in danger. Since he’d never take his anger out on her, he’s going to take it out on any available male.
After Larissa had fed from Kat they’d joined the rest of the pack inside Magda’s house and it had been impossible not to notice the way the male had gone still at Kat’s announcement that they should all feed Larissa a little so she could regain her strength. Kat had told her packmates that she’d already done it and that Jayce should go next. He hadn’t. Not that Larissa had expected any of the mated males to feed her. Or any of the shifters at all. She didn’t care how many decades had passed. Shifters offering their veins, making themselves essentially vulnerable to a vampire—it would take some getting used to for Larissa. Kat hadn’t seemed to understand what a big deal it was, which only showed her youth and human origins.
And you’re not? she asked wryly. Aiden had flat-out refused to let any of the males feed her, baring his teeth at them like the wolf he was.
Fair enough.
It was very kind of Erin to feed me. I feel balanced again. Maybe not at complete strength, but even better than I did before I used my gift. That in itself wasn’t very surprising though. The two females she’d fed from clearly had strong blood, especially Erin. Drinking from her had been like receiving a shot of pure adrenaline. And to feed so much at once was invigorating.
Good. If you want to feed from . . . anyone else, I won’t fight you. Even in her head his voice was strained as he sent the words to her.
She chuckled under her breath. Yeah right. Aiden had been fine with Erin feeding her, but when the male named Aldric had offered, Aiden had looked as if he might rip off the other male’s head. Literally. She guessed it was part of the reason he was riding in the other SUV behind them.
Larissa was pretty good at reading people and his offer had seemed sincere, but of all the people with them tonight, Aldric was the only one she couldn’t figure out how he fit in. He was Jayce’s brother but they hadn’t seen each other in decades, according to Aiden. He was there only because Connor didn’t want the male out of his sight and had refused to leave him at their ranch. That was more drama than she cared to think about when she was struggling to keep everyone’s names and relationships straight. All Larissa was really concerned about was finding out who Magda’s master was and why he wanted her blood.
“Don’t be jealous,” Ryan continued. “All I did was ping the locations of all the incoming and outgoing calls to the nearest cell towers at the time of each call—from all of Magda’s cell phones. Then I just used the timeline Larissa gave me from her time with Magda to cross-reference when the witch might have received calls from her so-called master. And then all I did was hack into a couple of satellites—one currently being manned by the government, I might add—and create a detailed map of all the places anyone using one of the phones has been in the last month. From there—”
“Are you done?” Jayce growled.
Ryan continued as if the intimidating-looking shifter hadn’t spoken. “I managed to pinpoint—within a mile—where two of the calls Magda placed were answered, one right before that crazy bank robbery. Since it’s a rural, out-of-the-way cabin I also found satellite footage of multiple vehicles—”
“All right, you’re a fucking genius. Is that good enough?” Larissa was certain she heard laughter in Jayce’s voice as he turned to look out the window.
“It’ll do for now. All right . . . pull in anywhere over there.” Ryan straightened and pointed out his window into a small opening of trees.
Larissa glanced behind them to see the other vehicle pulling off too. Connor, Liam, Aldric, Erin, and Noah were in there. Angelo and Brianna had stayed behind to dispose of Magda’s body—she was pretty sure Brianna was going to burn it—and keep watch over the house in case anyone showed up. That left ten of them to infiltrate the place Ryan had found using his computer.
Larissa didn’t care what anyone said—seeing the image of that cabin from a satellite in space with such clarity was very impressive. The technology today had grown so much from before she’d gone into stasis.
After they parked and filed out into the snow, Larissa felt more at ease. On a primal level, it didn’t matter how nice Aiden’s pack had been so far, being surrounded by so many shifters—deadly ones at that—had all of her instincts going on alert. It was definitely a vampire thing.
“How far are we?” Connor asked, his attention on Ryan.
“Five miles on foot. Haven’t seen any movement in or out of the place in the past couple of hours and that’s all live.”
The Alpha nodded, then looked at Erin and her mate, Noah. “You two know what to do. Leave your earpieces on.”
They both nodded and disappeared into the woods. To Larissa’s surprise, Connor nodded at Kat. “You’re coming with me an
d Liam.”
She’d assumed the female would go with her mate, and could tell Kat wanted to argue, but she snapped her mouth shut when Jayce shot her a sharp look. It was clear he was communicating telepathically and that he wanted her with Connor and Liam too. Or maybe not there at all.
“You’re coming with me,” Jayce said to Aldric, not seeming too happy about it.
That was probably why Jayce didn’t want his mate with him. Clearly he didn’t trust his own brother. Interesting. As Aldric cautiously moved to stand next to his brother, Ryan passed out earpieces to everyone, including Larissa.
As Ryan, Aldric, and Jayce started to leave, Connor came up to her and Aiden. Aiden instinctively stepped forward, half blocking her body with his. Connor didn’t seem surprised by it. She inwardly smiled at the display of possessive behavior. After feeding from Kat and Erin, Larissa remembered so much more about her past with Aiden and wanted to tell him. But she needed to do it when they were alone.
“You sure she’s okay?” Connor asked quietly.
Larissa gritted her teeth. No matter how well meaning the Alpha was, she wasn’t a child. “She is right here and I’m fine. If this vampire is even here, I want to know why the hell he wants my blood.” And she was going to make this bastard pay for dragging her into this shit, and more important, for dragging Aiden into it. She didn’t care how powerful this vamp was, she was too.
Connor had the decency to look chastised but she didn’t believe it for a second. “I just need to know my packmate has the backup he needs.”
Her fangs descended on instinct and Aiden snagged an arm around her waist as if he thought she’d strike. No, she wasn’t that angry, just annoyed. “Your packmate is my fucking bondmate. I wouldn’t do anything to put him in danger. If I thought I wasn’t strong enough, I’d say so.”
To her utter surprise, the Alpha smiled, a real one. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” He turned to Liam and Kat. “Let’s go.”
As the others disappeared into the woods, Aiden looked at her, eyebrows raised. Ready?
She nodded and they headed east for about fifty yards before moving inland toward their final destination. They’d already gone over what everyone should do in the vehicles so they didn’t need to discuss it again.
I like it when you get all feisty. Aiden’s voice was light.
Despite the situation they were in she smiled. I probably shouldn’t have snapped at your Alpha.
Aiden shrugged. He’d better get used to it.
She blinked in surprise, but didn’t stop scanning their surroundings as she and Aiden silently crept through the woods. Why do you say that? she asked as she swept her gaze over a thick cluster of rustling bushes. When a rabbit the same color as the snow peeked its head out, some of her tension eased.
I don’t expect you’ll be changing who you are, ever. And if you live at the ranch . . . He trailed off and she looked at him.
You want me to live there?
His expression darkened. Where the hell do you think I want you to live?
I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant . . . I haven’t even thought that far ahead, that’s all. The truth was, she was just living one moment to the next. She knew without a doubt she wanted to be in Aiden’s life permanently, but actual details about the future hadn’t even entered her mind.
You still never answered my question. He looked away, his gaze vigilant as he took in the quiet forest. A wolf howled in the distance, but when he didn’t react she figured it was an actual wolf, not one of his packmates. She knew shifters could tell the difference.
What question?
Do you believe what Magda said before she killed herself? That I killed your parents? Now that you’re not about to pass out I want to know.
His question could have knocked her over for how out of the blue it was. Clearly it wasn’t to him though. He must have been sitting on it since Winston-Salem. She gritted her teeth. First of all, I did answer. I told you no. Twice. Do you really think I’d be here with you if I believed her?
He turned to look at her then, his dark eyes vulnerable. That was when it hit her that he had been sitting on this since before she’d passed out. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers and linked their fingers together.
Truthfully, Aiden, even if you had killed them . . . I’d still be here. That knowledge scared the holy hell out of her. She’d been very close to her parents. As a bloodborn vampire, they’d spoiled her from the time she was born—and slightly smothered her. She’d been everything to them. Both her parents had been typical of what one might expect of a vampire in terms of brutality, but they’d been fair and had treated their coven with respect. Much of her father’s reputation had been embellished, though not all of it. Even with how much she’d loved them, after everything she’d recently remembered she knew she’d never walk away from Aiden. He was hers and if he had killed them, it would have been because he didn’t have a choice.
The sharp sensation of shock rippled through their link, but he didn’t respond. Just tightened his fingers around hers and continued their trek. They moved at a pace slightly faster than a human would, gliding over the snowy ground with their supernatural grace and speed, but they were still wary of potential traps. For all they knew, this lead wouldn’t pan out. But Ryan had seemed very sure that something was going on here.
“We’re on the north side of the property. Something is very wrong about this cabin. Six vehicles visible, the scent of vampires, humans, blood and . . . something else is here. It’s very faint, but we can smell it,” Erin whispered, her distinctive voice streaming through their earpieces.
The female and her mate hadn’t left long before they had, so Larissa guessed she and Aiden would reach the cabin soon . . . Oh. Shit. Larissa scented true darkness as they reached the edge of the trees that opened into a clearing where a seemingly innocuous cabin sat. There was no smoke coming from the chimney and there was no movement from any of the windows.
Is that death? Aiden slowed, tugging her closer to him, his canines descending as a low, almost imperceptible growl built in his throat.
Yes, but . . . “What you’re scenting is dark magic. A lot of it,” she said to the group as quietly as possible. There was no wind so her voice shouldn’t carry far. “I could be wrong, but I think the reason it’s so faint is because it’s coming from underground.” She knew because she’d scented it before in one of her father’s castle dungeons. She really wished she hadn’t but at well over five hundred years old she’d seen a lot of shit. Especially with a father like hers. With all the violent deaths her father had caused, it only made sense that the souls of the dead would eventually call forth darkness. It was inevitable. Whether someone had intentionally or unintentionally called the dead, a darkness was pushing at that unseen veil between this side and the next. It was the only explanation for the sulfuric, putrid scent just barely trickling out. This wasn’t just the scent of death, it was the scent of the dead.
And it wouldn’t be satisfied until it was released. Until it devoured all the innocent blood it could find.
Chapter 24
“You’re positive it’s the dead, not demons?” Connor asked Larissa quietly. Liam and Kat were nearby, listening via their earpieces, but hidden in the trees.
Aiden watched as Larissa shook her head. He hated that she was being thrust into potential danger again so soon after her fainting spell. More than anything he wanted to take her away from here, keep her safe. “I’m not sure of anything. I just know that scent. I guess it could be demons. Why?”
Connor shared a grim look with Liam before glancing back at them. “A vampire named Juhani mentioned demons in a conversation we had in regards to”—he spread his hands out—“all the crazy shit going on with vampires acting possessed.”
Larissa looked at Aiden. I know a vampire named Juhani. Is he from Finland?
Yes. He’s one of
the Brethren. When Larissa raised her eyebrows, he realized she didn’t know what that meant. They’re four ancient vamps who semi-rule the vampire race now that supernaturals have come out to the world. They’re not like shifters with our Councils. They don’t have a very good pulse on their people. He nearly snorted. Clearly.
Who are the others? she asked.
Their names are Narek, Andrei, and Luca. You know them?
Possibly. I know ancient vampires with those names. They were all leaders of powerful covens when my father ruled ours. They are likely the same vampires as only a few would be strong enough to lead all vampires. She looked back at Connor. “Your vampire contact might be correct. Either way, it does not matter. Something, whether demons or the dead, wants out and we need to stop it. I don’t care if the vampire we’re hunting is behind this, we have to do something now. Whatever that wretched scent is, we can’t allow it to gain even a little purchase into our world. It will feed on anything innocent it can find.”
Connor and Liam nodded simultaneously, their expressions grim. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to stop this, would you?”
Before answering she looked at Aiden and he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. My mother and I helped cleanse one of my father’s dungeons when something similar happened. Because of all the people my father killed one year, their blood acted like a sacrifice of sorts even though that wasn’t his intent. . . . None of that matters. I will need to use my gift. Depending on how far into our world this darkness has moved, I will need to be at top strength. For that to happen, I will need to feed.
She didn’t continue and Aiden realized what she wasn’t saying. Before answering Connor, Larissa was letting Aiden decide if he was okay with her feeding from his packmates. He was pretty sure she could feed from him and he’d be fine, but now wasn’t the time to test his strength. The first time she’d drunk from him she’d taken a lot.
Though he hated the thought of her lips on any other male, for any reason, he shoved his possessive, protective wolf back down and turned to his Alpha. “Larissa can do it but she needs to feed from everyone. Not a lot, but enough that she has the strength to do what’s necessary.” Because he would not lose her and if that meant she had to drink from other males, so be it.
