Nobody was going to get hurt over her. Sly and Devon weren’t going to fight any more about her. She knew Sly would assume the worst of her from this, but what could she do about that?
She closed her eyes as she grasped the blanket. I hope you find peace, Sly. I hope you find someone who you can dominate and care for, someone who will be able to give you everything you need. I just wish it could have been me.
Chapter Fourteen
Sly didn’t exactly feel bad for how he had spoken to Chloe. It wasn’t like it had been completely unprovoked, right? He didn’t owe her anything. They all knew what his feelings about vampires were—it was stupid of Devon to think that his attitude would change just because he decided to fuck one.
Still, there was something uncomfortable in his gut when he thought of the tears he’d caused Chloe to cry.
Even more uncomfortable was Devon’s declaration of challenging him. He and Devon had been through so much together. They’d known one another since before they ended up in the military together. Both of them had been in the same poverty-riddled background. Both of them signed up for some way to escape the hopelessness of their situation. They’d moved through the ranks together, took that undercover assignment together, been through hell together, left the military behind together.
Devon had never been one to hold back from telling Sly when he was being an idiot. It was one of the reasons why Sly valued him so much as second-in-command.
So for Devon to outright say that he didn’t trust Sly to lead them anymore? It was a heavy blow. Sly didn’t know how—or if—he could recover from that. The betrayal stung, made his simmering rage want to blow up into full-fledged anger again, but he held that back—his anger was the problem here.
More than anything, he didn’t want to feel this fear of losing Devon. His second-in-command. His best friend. The person who was always there for him. For Devon to even think about challenging him for the leadership meant things were far past the breaking point. It wasn’t just about Chloe… but she was the first step in making this right again.
Sly pulled his truck into a lot across the street from Sandra’s apartment. What was he even meant to say? She was a vampire. That meant he couldn’t trust her.
His wolf growled, angry at something—probably at Sly himself—and urged him to just go in there. It wanted him to find Chloe again. Wanted to breed her, wanted to see her swelling with its pups. Could vampires get pregnant? His wolf didn’t care. It wanted her in their home, in their bed, the three of them. Him, Chloe and Devon. Being in his empty house after he’d sent Chloe and Devon away didn’t seem right.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, glaring at the two-story apartment building; the only one in Deville. Why should he even care if Chloe and Devon were gone?
His wolf snarled and snapped at his ribs. As he rolled his eyes and started to climb from his truck, though, a blanket started making its way around the corner of the building. His eyes widened as he recognized Chloe’s gait. Her face barely peeked out from inside the blanket, her steps rapid as she made her way to a car.
Surely she didn’t have the keys… but that was Theron’s car. And he always left the keys in it. Found it amusing to see how often it got stolen.
Sly cursed up a storm as Chloe climbed in, started the car and headed away. What the hell was she doing? It was clever, though, leaving during the day. Nobody would expect this. Had she hurt Ian and Theron to get away? But no… Even a vampire couldn’t take on those two. If she’d grabbed Angela or Sandra to try to force them into anything, they’d have torn her apart.
He stripped off his clothes and shifted as he jumped from the truck, leaving it behind as he followed after Chloe in wolf form. He kept within yards and behind fences, slinking after her so he wouldn’t catch her attention.
She took the back roads out of town, heading right up the mountain and into the trees. As soon as they hit the forest, he abandoned following so closely after her and wound his way deeper into the trees. Instead of following the curves of the road, he cut through the trees, coming only close enough to make sure he still had her. She was driving so slowly that twice he thought she’d turned around, but she always came into view before it was time to turn back himself.
It was easy to keep up with Chloe this way since he knew this forest better than she did. There was only one service road for the next half-hour and so he waited there for her. Sure enough, she turned off it. Her pace went even slower and twice she stopped entirely to wrap herself tighter in the blanket. At one point she even crawled into the trunk of the car. Trying to escape the sunlight.
Sly waited in the trees, watching. Wondering if maybe he should just close the trunk—Chloe left it open a sliver—and drive off with her. He could take her anywhere he wanted. Interrogate her to find out where she was going and what she was up to.
A slow smirk crossed his face as he thought about marching her back to Devon, triumphantly declaring that he was right all along—and a sharp pain in his ribs made him wince. Even though he was holding his wolf’s form, it somehow managed to bite him all the same. It growled at him and he thought it might want to challenge him, too, just as Devon had.
Once dusk fell, Chloe climbed out of the trunk. She looked woozy and uncoordinated as she threw the blanket back in and leaned against the side of the car. Her cellphone was clutched tightly in her hand and Sly snorted. There was no cell service out here. If she wanted to call someone, she’d be in for a rude surprise.
Sly jumped to his feet as she started again. It became easier to track her since she kept the lights on the car on and he even left the trees to trot in the darkness after her.
It was an hour after sunset before she stopped. The service road ended at a large clearing where the local kids liked to build fires, shoot guns, drink and have sex. Several tents were set up in the clearing and Sly concealed himself in the trees again. These were thick, heavy-duty tents, almost like ice-fishing huts but designed to keep even more light out from inside of them.
How had he not known about a fucking vampire village right here? He cut off a growl before it could start. The events of the previous night had led the wolves in the opposite direction from this and it wasn’t as though they’d had a lot of time to familiarize themselves with the gossip of the town. The kids who came up here would have found another place for their entertainment.
Lights flickered on. Flashlights, torches, a campfire. Soon, the clearing was bright enough to see everything. Chloe stood in the middle of the camp, her arms wrapped around herself.
It was such a shame that it turned out he was right, he mused. Just this once, it would have been nice if he had been wrong. It would have made being around Devon fairly hellish, but at least Chloe would be there to shut him up—because his mouth would be busy with other things.
There was an uncomfortable twist in Sly’s stomach as he watched her standing there. Why did she have to be working with Rodger? Why did every time he started to find a good thing in his life, it got ruined? If Sly believed in God, he’d say that the divine hated him.
Soon, the man Sly assumed was Rodger came forward. He looked like a Rodger. Self-satisfied smirk, spiky hair, a definite swagger. He ignored Chloe as he set the dozen other vampires in the camp to various tasks. Half of them he sent out to confuse the wolves’ trails and keep them from getting closer to the camp.
“Now, what am I going to do with you?” Rodger turned to Chloe and touched her chin. She flinched back from him and Sly frowned. They didn’t know he was here, did they? “I’ve been waiting a long time to get you back, Chloe. All that hard work I put into making you one of my most perfect creations almost ruined.”
“I’m here,” Chloe replied, her voice wavering. “You said you’d leave the town alone if I came. So…”
Sly’s eyes went wide and his heart thudded to a stop. She was trying to protect the town? She was giving herself up… for Deville? A place she’d lived for one day before he took her away? A horrible, si
ck feeling twisted in his stomach and he could hardly breathe. Even though he tried to tell himself that they could be playing him, that they were setting it up for him to believe and trust Chloe… he knew that wasn’t the case.
And as Rodger laughed, his heart sank. He’d been so determined to prove that he was right and that Devon was wrong that he hadn’t called it in. If any of his men did this, they’d get severely punished for being idiots. Now, he was the idiot. He didn’t have any backup coming to help him. Now Chloe was in hostile hands and he was the only one who could help her.
Him against half a dozen vampires.
He hunkered down, observing the camp. The fire could be used to his advantage. There was a gasoline can nearby; if he threw that on the flames, things would be very distracting.
“Yes, I did say the town would be safe if you came,” Rodger agreed, circling her now. “And it will be. After I’m done with you here, we’ll pack up and head to a new little town. A place where there are plenty of bored kids and hopeless adults for me to slowly turn one by one. Building my army.”
Sly’s brow furrowed as he started edging around the trees.
Chloe had the same question as him. “What army?”
“The one I need to destroy the current government of vampires, of course.” Rodger waved his hand. “I am the son of kings and nobility. I have a divine right to be king. Democracy is the result of weak minds and weak men. We vampires would rule the world if it wasn’t for the fear that cowered the populations. They need someone to lead them in glorious battle—”
“And what do I have to do with this?” Chloe interrupted. Her hands were fisted at her sides as she slowly backed away from him. “Why am I so important?”
He didn’t seem to mind, still circling to herd her toward one of the tents. “Important? You?” Rodger let out a harsh laugh that made Chloe flinch and Sly growl. “You are no more important than one ant in a hive. But I do need drones. Now. This would be easier on you if you had living blood in your system but no matter.”
Two vampires emerged from the shadows and grabbed her arms, Chloe yelped, trying to pull away but was unable to.
“We shall complete your transformation,” Rodger said, taking a bowl from another of the vampires. “This here is a special concoction made from a plant. It will keep you nice and subdued until I can destroy your mind and make you a perfect, obedient little slave.”
Not on my watch. Sly burst from his hiding place, a howl rising into the air as he charged Rodger. That’s my vampire you’ve got there, and you don’t get to touch her.
Chapter Fifteen
Anger bubbled beneath Devon’s skin as he turned off his motorcycle’s engine. Everywhere he had looked so far had revealed no clue as to where Sly and Chloe were. It had been hours since Theron had called him, telling him that she had snuck out while they thought she was in the shower. The thought of her braving the sunlight impressed Devon as much as it made his gut churn. Unless she had found shelter again, she’d be in a terrible state—and craving blood.
But there was also no sign of Sly, except for his empty truck in the parking lot across from the apartment building.
Devon didn’t want to think about the obvious conclusion; that Sly had abducted Chloe. That she didn’t sneak off at all but that he crept in and took her somehow. That his anger had been worse than Devon knew… or that the threat of a challenge had driven him over the edge after all. And if that was the case, then whatever was happening from here on out was his fault.
No, not my fault, Devon told himself. I am not responsible for Sly being an idiot.
But if Sly had done something stupid, Devon wasn’t sure if he’d ever be able to convince himself that he wasn’t at fault.
He let out a heavy sigh and erased the emotion from his face as he headed into Sly’s cabin. It was almost completely dark now. Where the fuck could they be? There was no sign in the cabin that either of them had been there for hours. It was so still and empty. Hollow.
Devon wasn’t certain if he could handle this emptiness. He slumped to the table, hiding his face in his hands since there was nobody around to see. If I hadn’t told him I planned to challenge him, all of this would be different. He never would have sent me away. I would know where he is, and we’d be working together to find Chloe. Although he’d be taking this as proof that she really is a wicked vampire.
The thought almost amused him—and it occurred to him that he hadn’t even considered if Chloe could have somehow abducted Sly. After all, it was Theron’s car that was missing and Sly’s truck was still there.
But that doesn’t make any sense. Even as strong as vampires were, Devon couldn’t imagine Chloe overpowering Sly, even if she wanted to.
His wolf sniffed and nudged him in the chest. He nodded as he stood—sitting around and wondering wasn’t helping anybody. He’d had enough of a breakdown here—not that it was much of a breakdown. But with Sly gone, he was in charge. The others were looking to him for reassurance, support and orders. He had to have a plan.
He grabbed his cellphone and sent a text blast to them all, telling them to gather at Sly’s cabin and then a separate one to the four guarding Sandra and Angela, telling them to stay where they were and keep the women safe.
A text appeared seconds later. Found his scent. Beauger’s road.
Devon’s heart jumped to his throat. He amended the previous text blast, telling them to meet at Beauger’s road. It would be faster to cut through the forest rather than the road, so he stripped off his clothes and shifted, grabbing only his pants as he took off through the trees.
Soon enough he was there. Tyler was already there, pacing in his human form and looking agitated. Relief broke across his face when he saw Devon. He growled an order and Tyler stripped off his boxers and shifted to wolf form. Soon, all the others were there. Those who’d thought to bring clothes dropped them into a pile and then they headed up the road, sniffing out Sly’s scent as they ran.
When they found a group of a half-dozen vampires digging at the roots of a huge cedar, Devon wasted no time. He tore right in, springing at the nearest one. Their movements were sluggish, more like zombies than vampires.
Devon seized the arm of one, whipping it around to bowl over several of the others. The arm ripped clean off, releasing a stench of rotting meat that had him stumbling back as the smell made his eyes water. Several of the others yelped in disgust as their quarries fell apart under their attacks.
One of the vampires got Adrian around the neck. It squeezed, its eyes blank. Two of the other wolves grabbed its legs and yanked; it fell apart at the waist and squeezed harder.
A foul taste filled Devon’s mouth as he jumped over Adrian, ripping off the vampire’s head. It tasted like a corpse. Bloated, rotting. He spat out the vampire’s head; the torso was still squeezing. Adrian spun and clawed, trying to free himself.
Devon shifted to human form and called Shawn to grab the torso’s arms with him. “Adrian, shift!”
With the two of them prying the arms apart, Adrian shifted and was just able to slip out of the arms’ grasp. The arms snapped together, crushing its own ribs.
Devon grabbed Adrian’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Adrian coughed. “Why are these vampires zombies?”
Devon glanced over the rest of his men. Lucas’ arm had been snapped but the rest of them seemed to still be in fighting order.
“Well, we know what that vampire meant by completing the transformation,” Shawn said grimly as he kicked the bloated corpse of one of the vampires. “I’ve never seen anything like this. They didn’t even make a noise.”
“Thank God shifters can’t be turned into vampires,” Tyler said fervently. He rubbed the back of his neck, a haunted look in his eye. “But this isn’t normal for vampires, either, is it? So, if this Rodger has figured out how to do this…”
“He might have figured out how to turn shifters into vampires,” Devon murmured. His heart slammed into his chest. Was that
why Sly was nowhere to be found?
He shook himself. There was no time to waste panicking over something that may or may not be happening. He barked off a few orders, sending half the pack to follow the vampires’ trail and kept the other half to stick with him to continue along Sly’s trail. His teeth sharpened in his mouth as he shifted back to his wolf form.
The two groups arrived at Theron’s abandoned car together. It smelled heavily of Chloe, but Sly’s scent still kept its distance. Had he been following her? What sort of bone-headed move was that? He should have called it in! He should have gotten backup!
Was he really that angry at me? Devon’s throat swelled, and his footsteps faltered.
Beside him, Tyler nudged his shoulder, looking concerned. Devon snapped at him, not because he looked worried but because he wasn’t focusing on the situation. Tyler rolled his eyes and moved a little further away before turning his eyes back to the task at hand.
Soon enough, lights peered through the forest. Devon cricked his tail and twitched his ears. Silently, he sent the wolves fanning out around the light. He crept toward it himself, keeping silent as the sounds of voices became clearer and clearer. He stopped just outside the ring of light, crouching low and staying hidden as he peered inward.
He knew this clearing. He’d brought plenty of women up here over the past five years. He liked to chase off the local kids who were getting into illegal drinking and drugs and then throw wild, two-person parties and have sex until dawn.
What he saw was no party.
Floodlights lit the area brilliantly, making it as clear as day. A full dozen vampires with the same blank looks and dead skin worked around a bunch of ice-fishing tents. Another good dozen corpses lay scattered about. From the bloat and look of them, they were also these zombie-vampires. A few of them moved one of the tents, revealing an open hole in the earth; several more climbed through the hole, pulling with them long, thick poles. Wires from the floodlights also dropped into the earth.
Kidnapped by the Wolves Page 9
