Devon’s brow furrowed. So there was some sort of underground cavern that quite possibly held even more vampires, and they had electricity down there, too.
He didn’t have long to dwell on that, as Chloe’s sharp cry drew his attention to the center of the camp. His heart jumped to his throat as he saw her tied to a large pole sunk deep into the earth. The ropes wound around her waist, her hands tied behind her back. Tears streaked down her face, and it took a great deal of strength for him not to leap out from hiding and tear through the vampires to get to her.
“Untie me and I’ll show you,” a familiar voice growled.
Relief washed over Devon as he located Sly, alive. Sly’s face was a mass of bruises and he was likewise tied to a pole. His arm hung at a weird angle but that could be fixed. Sly and Chloe were both alive, though, and that was all he had to think about right now. Devon sucked on his teeth, focusing on the vampire who strutted before them. Rodger, he presumed.
“Do you really think that you can defeat all my vampires?” Rodger mocked Sly. “If I untied you, you’d kill what? Another dozen? But I have hundreds waiting on my command.”
“Then it seems to me that all I have to do is kill you.”
“Or maybe I should kill you.” Rodger grabbed a knife and strode toward Sly.
Devon nearly burst out of the trees right then but held himself back; the vampire wouldn’t have tied up Sly like this if he was just planning to kill him. The vampire pressed his knife to Sly’s neck, scrapping against Sly’s skin. The bruises on Sly’s face contorted. He threw himself forward, and Rodger pulled the knife away before it could cut Sly’s throat.
“You would make an excellent serf, wolf,” Rodger said. “I do get tired of having nothing but empty minds about me. And I know you hate vampires. So why not join me and I can point you and your men toward all the vampires you wish to kill. My vampires here,” he gestured around him, “don’t require blood to survive. So you can either kill my enemies or bring them back and I can kill their minds while putting their bodies to use—and for every one of those vampires that I am able to complete the procedure on, another five humans will survive. That’s how many it takes to have a successful transformation, you know.”
Sly snarled at him. “Go fuck yourself.”
Rodger laughed. “If I had the physical dexterity to do that, I would.”
Devon wrinkled his nose in disgust. He didn’t know what Rodger was up to, but one thing was certain, he was tired of listening to his ugly mouth. He shifted and gave the call of a screech owl; Rodger didn’t even notice, too busy monologuing at Sly.
Calls replied. Each one of them stating they were ready.
Rodger sighed. He sliced Chloe’s bonds and dragged her toward a table.
“NO!” Sly shouted, straining against his ropes. “DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!”
Devon burst from the trees. He caught the first vampire by surprise, tossing it over his shoulder as he made a beeline for Rodger. The dozen others moved to make a silent wall of rotting flesh between Rodger and the wolves charging in on every side. Rodger gave a shout and vampires started streaming from the various tents; far more than could have been held in them.
We need to plug the earth, Devon thought as rage started to creep up on him.
He tore into a vampire as Rodger lifted a knife above Chloe. It came down and red burst through Devon’s vision. Rage bubbled over, and he could think of nothing besides destroying everything in his path.
Chapter Sixteen
A scream burst from her throat as the knife came toward her. Chloe lifted her hands, striking it aside instinctively. Or at least, she tried to.
Before the knife could get anywhere near her, an enraged howl filled the air and a huge wolf knocked Rodger over. Three vampires rammed into the wolf, pushing him back, but when Rodger scrambled to his feet, he wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to her. Chloe crawled beneath the table, huddled in on herself with her arms wrapped around her waist.
The smell was what she would remember forever. Stinking of rotting flesh, blood and trampled earth. Her eyes roved over the fighting but couldn’t focus on one battle long enough to know who was involved. A wolf ripped off one of the vampire’s heads and threw it toward her. The vampire’s mouth continued to open and close, blank eyes staring straight at her.
Her chest heaved with horror. Blackness swirled at the edges of her vision as she pressed her hands over her mouth, holding in a scream. As though that would make this nightmare end.
“Just kill them already!” Rodger roared. He clanged a bell, calling even more to burst from the pits under the ground.
There were too many of them. The wolves were going to die. Chloe wished she was strong enough, brave enough, to leap out of here and attack Rodger. But even as she thought about it, a pack of the vampires closed in around him, circling him protectively. Three wolves went after him all at once and they were rebuffed.
The snap of bone and a howl of pain burst through the air, making her shudder. One of the vampires was stumbling around headless like something out of a horror movie. Grasping hands found the empty pole next to Sly and squeezed, yanking back and forth until the thick beam started to creak.
The wolves aren’t killing them, Chloe thought numbly. Rodger killed them long ago.
And this is what he wanted for her. For her to join his mindless horde of the dead.
The vampires around him thinned as they chased back the wolves that kept trying to attack. There were so many of them. But even more vampires. Bodies littered the ground. Some lay still, others continued to move and attempt to attack. Rodger started moving toward her. A bite mark in his shoulder bled heavily, but his grin was wild, determined. Perfectly at ease.
“Ethan,” he called over his shoulder. “Help me get our little Chloe below ground so we can leave the wolves to their slaughter.”
Ethan? Chloe’s head came up. That was the name of the morgue attendant… And she spotted him. Huddled beneath another table just as she was, eyes wide, terror written all over his face. But how was he here? Why?
Rodger called him again and the truth hit her in the stomach. Never had she had such a strong need to run away. Her head spun and she couldn’t make her body obey. Ethan had been working with Rodger all along. Wasn’t he the one who suggested she move out here in the first place? Wasn’t he the one who got her the job at the diner, who found her a place to live, who told her she wouldn’t have to worry about blood because he would be able to get her everything she needed?
It had all been a setup. Rodger hadn’t just happened to find her. He hadn’t been tracking her. He lured her out here.
“Ethan!” Rodger shouted again.
Ethan made a terrified squeaking noise. A wolf and one of the zombie-vampires battled past, blocking Chloe’s view of the other table. Then a shriek of pain filled the air, only to be cut off abruptly. The vampires closed around Rodger again protectively. Chloe caught sight of a dismembered hand bleeding at its stump—Ethan.
Her head spun and a shriek rose up her chest. She slammed both her hands over her mouth. In this fight the wolves wouldn’t care who she was. They’d see another vampire and they’d tear her to pieces.
The back half of a torso landed before her, and she struggled to hold in another scream.
A mottled brown and black wolf lunged at the knot of vampires protecting Rodger. The wolf moved with all the grace of a dancer, flipping and pouncing in a way that was more cat-like than wolf-like. He tore the vampires apart like they were tissue paper. Blood soaked his fur, his tail held at a crooked angle and bone showing at his shoulder, but he didn’t stop.
Rodger slipped out the back of the knot, still coming for her. Another of the wolves jumped at him, but he ducked under the attack. He grasped the wolf around the neck, spinning himself over the wolf; his teeth sank into the wolf’s face and then he was off again, a new knot of vampires protecting him.
The wolf he’d bitten convulsed, shaking hard as he sl
ipped back into human form.
Three more wolves jumped over the table and drove Rodger back several meters. Chloe didn’t know which one was Devon.
“Chloe!” A voice roared over the din, cutting through her shock and horror.
Her eyes traveled to the shout. Sly strained against the ropes that held him tightly. No, not ropes. Wire. Barbed wire was wrapped around him tightly. The barbs dug into his skin. Trickles of blood ran down all his limbs. Chloe blinked several times, trying to understand what she was seeing. Even in the midst of this battle, she never thought Sly could be contained like this. Never thought he could actually bleed.
“Chloe,” he shouted again, more urgently this time. He’d seen that he caught her attention. “Get your ass over here this instant!”
Didn’t he see the fighting? Didn’t he know how the wolves had torn Ethan apart? Didn’t he know she had no fighting experience? If the zombies got her, it was all over. She couldn’t leave the table; it’d be exposing her to death!
“I SAID GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!”
She jumped. The order in Sly’s voice was unmistakable—and unarguable. Even though she still trembled, even though the noises around her made her want to curl into a ball and scream with fear, she crept out from under the table. A set of legs stumbled by her, nearly making her retreat again, but when she met Sly’s eye, she couldn’t.
Chloe scrambled over to him, her heart pounding as bile choked her. She crouched behind the pole, as though that would protect her.
“Untie me,” Sly ordered. “The end of the wire is right there. I need you to get it off me.”
“Wire cutters,” Chloe mumbled.
“There aren’t any.”
She grasped the loose end. It had been woven in among the other wires and she struggled to get it free. The barbs cut into her palms, turning her hands slick with blood, but she pushed aside the pain. Cries of pain were increasing around her, and she could hear Rodger’s laughter drawing ever nearer. She wanted to run. Hide. Beg for mercy.
Taking a deep breath, she kept working. Finally, the wire sprang free. Grasping it in her hand, she jumped to her feet and started racing in circles around him, tearing the binding free.
With a roar, he shed he last of the wires holding him in place. He grabbed her, throwing her to one side. Chloe yelped—and then saw why. Rodger was right there, his knife stabbing into Sly’s shoulder. Sly shouted again and threw his head forward, his skull cracking against Rodger’s.
Chloe scrambled back to her table, but even as she did so, it was overturned. She skidded to a stop, exposed, vulnerable. One of the vampires stumbled toward her with arms outstretched. She ducked under its clumsy movements, rushing to the fire. If nothing else… She grabbed one of the logs and used it to jab into the belly of the vampire still stumbling after her. It fell over, arms and legs kicking slowly before it stilled.
Tents are flammable, right?
She hurled the flaming log into one of the tents. It landed in a patch of dry grass beside the tent and it lit up. The tent wasn’t immediately affected but the grass gave Chloe an idea. Her mouth went dry, but she grabbed another long and hurled it into more dry grass. She took a stick and knocked the coals from the fire, spreading them around as the grass lit up like nobody’s business.
It wasn’t until the wolves were stomping out the grass and Sly grabbed her by the wrists, stopping her, that she realized Rodger lay on the ground with his throat torn out and the rest of the vampires had fled or were killed.
Bodies were strewn everywhere. Her vision was blurred as her whole body started to shake. Her breath came in quick gasps as she leaned into Sly. He wrapped his arms around her, silently comforting her. She buried her face into his chest, fighting the sobs that threatened to choke her.
“You’re alright,” Sly whispered to her. “You’re okay, nobody is going to hurt you.”
She clutched at him tighter even as she lifted her face and looked around. “Devon?”
Sly looked grim and her heart dropped to her stomach.
“He went into berserker mode,” Sly said softly. He gestured to where several wolves pinned down another one. He was snarling and snapping as blood ran everywhere. “It’s going to take him some time to get out—”
Devon’s jaws clamped around the arm of one of the wolves pinning him. With a howl, the wolf jerked back. Devon kicked and clawed his way free, howling out a challenge that had the other wolves drawing back. Sly growled as he lunged forward, grabbing Devon around the neck. But he couldn’t shift. Vampire venom prevented it and Rodger had been sure to bite him.
Chloe stood there in horror as Devon’s bit into Sly’s side. A scream of pain. Blood running everywhere. She could smell it. All her senses burst into high alert. Devon threw Sly several feet and then bounded at him.
She didn’t even realize what she was doing until she was between Sly and Devon, facing those sharp teeth and furious eyes. Chloe stopped dead, her hands out to Devon. He skidded to a stop, snarling fiercely as Sly scrambled to his feet behind Chloe.
“Get out of the way,” he growled, but Chloe knew it wasn’t anger so much as fear.
Every instinct in her told her to run. To put distance between her and the furious wolf. To cower behind Sly, to let him protect her. But she could smell his blood in the air. Saw Devon’s matting his fur. And despite everything, her heart lurched. She moved forward slowly, her hands outstretched. Devon growled a warning to her, but he backed away rather than attacking.
“It’s okay,” she murmured as the other wolves stood around, stock still with wide eyes. “Devon, it’s okay. It’s me, Chloe. It’s Sly and the others. It’s us. You’re okay, the vampires are gone. Come back to us, Devon. Okay? Come back to us.”
Devon’s head bowed. It seemed to take great effort, but he shifted back to his human form, dropping to his knees as he did so. He gulped in deep gasps of air, pressing his forehead to the ground.
Sly rushed to his side and grabbed his shoulders. “Hey, buddy. You back to yourself?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Devon weakly lifted his head and stared at Chloe with a wonderous expression. She quickly joined her two wolves, wrapping her arms around both of them. They embraced her back, although Devon leaned against her, clearly exhausted.
Chloe pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I want to go home,” she murmured in a subdued voice.
First Devon and then Sly kissed her. They got to their feet and headed toward the road, their arms wrapped around each other. Exhaustion overcame Chloe as the shock of the day penetrated deeper into her. By the time they got to the car, it was all she could do to climb into the backseat and fall asleep, still nestled between Sly and Devon.
Chapter Seventeen
Chloe only woke up long enough for the three of them to take a shower. As soon as they were dry and dressed in comfy PJs, she dragged them both to bed and made them lie down on either side of her. Sly was only too happy to oblige her as she drifted off to sleep once more. It seemed impossible for all of this to have happened in the space of twenty-four hours, but it had.
It was a lot for any of them to handle but especially Chloe. She wasn’t used to these sorts of situations and the adrenaline would have a huge effect on her.
Now, Sly wasn’t sure how he’d ever thought she was like the other vampires, just waiting to rip his throat out. He didn’t know how to explain what emotions were working through him, either. He knew he liked how it felt, though, to have her wrapped in his arms, with Devon pressed to her other side. To have her so utterly relaxed with the both of them.
It was strange. Sly never thought that he’d be the kind of guy who would ever be satisfied with a long-term arrangement like this. But right now, at this moment? He couldn’t imagine it any other way. How had he become so attached after such a short length of time.
Devon shifted, moving a little closer to Chloe. He didn’t look at all ready to fall asleep himself. He smirked when he met Sly’s eye. “I think I want this li
ttle vampire to stick around,” he murmured, soft enough not to wake Chloe. “Oh, and by the way, I’m moving in. We’re going to have to put an extra bedroom on the side. It’s not going to work for all three of us to be sleeping together all the time. I need my space.”
Rolling his eyes, Sly snorted. “So you’re just deciding what happens now, are you?”
“Yes.”
“You’re paying for it, not me.”
Devon shrugged. “Won’t cost that much, I can do most of the work myself.”
“Huh. Maybe I’ll make you pay me, then.”
“Sure, sure.” Devon laughed softly. “Like that will work out for you.”
Sly traced his finger up Chloe’s arm, smirking. “I’m sure I can make a lot of things work out for me… but I’m just glad that…” He trailed off, considering everything that had happened. “She gave herself up for us, you know. She wanted Deville to be safe and so she went to him. She was going to let him do anything he wanted with her, just so long as he left Deville alone. I was wrong about her.”
Devon’s brows rose. “Wow. I never thought I’d hear you say anything like that!”
“Being wrong nearly cost me everything. It nearly got her killed. It nearly ruined our friendship.” Sly met Devon’s eye, trying to convey without words just how sorry he was.
But the sober expression on Devon’s face, he understood. “Did you… Did you leave like that because of what I said? About challenging you?”
Sly sighed. He had been very angry over that. Hurt. Betrayed. And there had been a large part of him that had gone after Chloe to prove he was right and Devon was wrong to take her side. As though it was all about Chloe and not the hurt he’d felt in the pit of his stomach. The doubt. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, frowning.
“If you thought that I was no longer suitable to be the leader of the Howling Ops—”
“Alpha of the Devil Mountain pack,” Devon cut in.
Sly arched a brow at him. Alpha. He’d never really thought much about that title. They were all alphas in one way or another. There wasn’t a single wolf among them who wasn’t strong-willed, who would back away from a fight. He always had a hell of a time keeping them in line. But it was true, they weren’t the Howling Ops anymore. That was a military group put together by outsiders.
Kidnapped by the Wolves Page 10
