by Cecilia Lane
“You want to change us? Turn us into humans? Like we’re the problem here?” He pointed to his phone. “Rylee Garland, geneticist. Ph.D. with top honors. Gene manipulation and study, with a focus on communicable diseases. I’m surprised they let you keep a job profile.”
“There is nothing wrong with you. You’re utterly fascinating.” She snapped her mouth shut and ignored her burning cheeks. She raised her chin, daring him to speak, but he only smirked at her. “An entirely new species, right under our noses. But there have been cases in our world of disturbed individuals spreading sickness like the AIDS virus deliberately.”
His smirk didn’t last long before turning into a deep frown. “You’re saying what I have makes me sick?”
“No!” Dang it. She really stuck her foot in her mouth with that one. She couldn’t help it. He made her flustered. “Maybe AIDS is the wrong—A gun! Yes. A gun is not a problem when used responsibly. Wielded by the wrong individual, and many can suffer.
“If something were to happen, somehow a bite was made when it shouldn’t have, wouldn’t it be better to give someone the choice than sentence them to an entirely new life? From what I’ve read, the little that we know, the first few months can be hazardous to those around a newly bitten shifter. And we haven’t even begun looking into the vampire population. They have been resistant.”
“Biting someone against their will is against our laws.”
“Ours as well, but it still happens. In the case of spreading a disease, sometimes a person doesn’t know, and then it’s just negligence. Sometimes they’re just a… a—”
“A real asshole.”
She pressed her lips together to stop her smile from forming. “A real a-hole, yes, and do it on purpose. I want to know if there is anything I can do to help in a situation like that. There’s your healing ability, too. That can be applied to those who need to undergo surgery and possibly cut down on recovery time and even the cost of treatment.
“But that all comes later. First is collecting stories, learning about you, taking samples to analyze. We need to know just how little we know before we identify the questions that need to be answered. I was trusted enough by your mayor and my bosses to come here. I’m not a threat to you.”
Cole cocked his head and scent the air. “Truth. At least, that’s what you believe. I don’t buy it for a minute, though. There was a reason why the Broken sacrificed themselves to make enclaves hidden from humans. I don’t think it’s smart to bring them down.”
“I hope I can prove that wrong.” Rylee set her pen down and folded her hands in her lap. “I was right, wasn’t I?”
His eyebrows shot together. “About what?”
“You’re a bear. I thought it was too obvious, but you didn’t correct me. Are there mostly bears here? Do other animals live in the other enclaves that you won’t confirm exist?”
Cole blinked at the onslaught of questions. “I’m a bear. And that’s all you’re getting out of me.” He raised a hand when she opened her mouth to object. “Welcome to Bearden, little bit. The diseased and the deranged are here for you to study.”
Chapter 5
Cole glanced at the first name on the list of interviews and struck it out with a single, hard line. “No.”
Rylee approached slowly. Carefully. Like a little mouse sidling up to the water dish next to a cat. His bear almost purred at her nearness, then wanted to roar with fury when he caught the scent of her nerves.
He’d hoped those would have settled after two days of being locked in the same room together, but she still exploded into acrid unease anytime she approached him. They’d spent two, long days in an awkward dance. She worked around him, while he struggled to keep still. He wanted to watch her, make her comfortable, and still, she shivered when she neared him and that nervous almost-fear filled the air.
She didn’t call him names or look at him with disgust like he’d expect if she hated him for what he had under his skin. He had no earthly idea why he made her so nervous, or why that scent faded as quickly as it entered the air.
She was a mystery. And the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to solve the puzzle. And the more time he wanted to spend with her, the more he wanted to run. She was an outsider, she worked for the government sitting on the territory borders, and she wanted to study him. She was incredibly dangerous and giving into the desire to get close to her was akin to setting himself on fire.
But that stupid fucking bear in his core, that monster that brought her there in the first place, that idiot beast, wanted nothing more than to let the little woman dig her fingers into his fur. His inner animal was obsessed with her blonde hair and wanted to see how it looked draped across his black fur. He’d dug his claws in the moment she teased answers from him.
“Yes,” Rylee said with a firm nod. Determination entered her scent and forced the nervous air to subside. “The vampires are a mystery. You shifters have been willing to speak, but there has been nothing from the vampires. I can’t waste this opportunity.”
Cole hated every moment he had to spend in the clinic and had been looking forward to starting her interviews and sample collections of other Bearden residents. Rylee’s lab was a thing he dreaded entering each morning. The clinic itself stank of disinfectant that made his nose itch, but the lab held the scent of her.
Outside, among others of his kind, he hoped he could keep his bear under control. He needed to keep himself busy, which he wasn’t in the lab. Sitting quietly in the corner wasn’t his style. He was fresh off working in the firehouse where there was always gear to be tinkered with or the engine to clean. Every second of idle hands translated into a temptation to pull her delicate curves against him. While he wanted to put space between them, his bear roared, Mine!
The first whisper of the word settled over him when he barged into the lab. That sense of belonging grew louder with every passing second. Need to claim her and soothe her flighty nature filled him with every roar of his bear.
As much as he wanted to get her sweet scent of wildflowers and fresh rain out of his nose, his bear rebelled against letting anyone get near her. She belonged in their den, alone. Nowhere else would do. Cole fought a battle with himself. Push her away, pull her close. Push, pull, and find out why she smelled like she fought the same fight.
It was a disaster waiting to happen. Outsiders like her, smart girls like her, didn’t stay in places like Bearden. She’d be gone before he knew it, taking her fresh scent with her and leaving him utterly alone. There was nothing lasting to be built with a human. His father tried it, and his mother had run and left her shifter sons behind. Humans weren’t meant for enclave life.
“No,” he denied her again. “I’m here to make sure you’re kept safe. Going into a nest of vampires is not safe.”
She sniffed and adjusted her glasses. Fuck, that was hot. He wondered if she kept them on when she slept with someone. His bear raked claws through his mind. No one else should touch her skin. He bet it was the softest he’d ever feel, if she would let him close enough. If he would let himself close enough.
“Victor has personally extended this invitation and assured me there will be no problems. I’ll go alone if you’re too scared to enter the nest of vampires.”
“You’re not going down there alone,” he grumbled.
“Then you better hurry. I’m asking Victor how to get to him as soon as my bag is packed.” She shot him a testing look. Seeing if he’d move or seeing how he’d take her assertiveness?
His bear liked that little dose of attitude. Cole wanted to maul himself. He passed a hand over his face and stood. There was no missing her jerk of shock, or her sudden shrinking away before she remembered herself and stood still. He wanted to kill whoever instilled that automatic fear into her.
“No need for that. There’s a door here,” he said. “Most of the big buildings have an entrance to the tunnels.”
He led her through the clinic as soon as she snapped her shiny black bag closed a
nd looped the handles over her elbow. Far at the back, in a windowless part of the building, was an unmarked door that he opened. A set of stairs led into the darkened tunnels, like a stairwell into a basement. Rylee glanced at him, then into the dark. “This has been here the whole time?”
“The whole, entire time, little bit,” he confirmed, then took the first clunking step toward the bottom. Another door waited there. “They were expecting us, you said?”
Before she could answer, the door swung open into flickering darkness. No one stood on the other side. “They want to impress you.” Cole stepped through the doorway and waited for her to follow. “They’re using their tricks.”
“Tricks?”
“Speed, most likely. I can smell that one was recently here.”
Her bag swung at her side, whistling ever so slightly through the air coated with her scent. Excitement was there, with only a tiny bit of lingering nervousness. Her heart thudded in her chest, but again, not with fear. She was thrilled to be out of the lab.
“They’re faster than shifters? How do they compare in strength? You’ve mentioned that your inner animal gives you a boost of senses and physical abilities. What do they smell like? Do they all smell the same, or are there variations between individuals?”
Cole stared at her for a long moment, but she didn’t give him a moment to speak. It was like she entered some scientific fugue state and lost all filter between brain and gorgeous lips.
He led them further into the tunnels. Doors dotted the path, some labeled with numbers and others with words. Town Hall. Police Station. Unit 104. Vampires needed homes, too, and apartments were built off the tunnels designed specifically for the night creatures.
Lights turned on as they moved. Rylee glanced behind them at the ones dimming back down to nothing. “It’s like some of the bases I’ve been on.” Cole raised an eyebrow, and she continued. “Underground facilities, so there were no windows. Lights connected to sensors. Hardly any noise.”
“You’re just visiting at the wrong time of day,” he told her. “They’re the sleeping dead right now.”
The door at the end of the long tunnel opened as soon as they triggered the nearest light, revealing the tall, stately figure of Bearden’s self-titled Vampire King.
“Doctor Rylee Garland, a pleasure to meet you,” Victor greeted softly. He bent over her hand and pressed his lips to her skin.
Cole dragged his eyes away and stuffed his fist against his lips, fighting the growl that rose in his throat. She wasn’t his. Victor had old-school ideas of chivalry.
A nervous giggle bubbled out of Rylee and his growl spilled out of his lips. He spun toward Victor. The vampire raised his eyes slowly, straightened even slower, and dropped Rylee’s hand. Only when Victor broke that connection did Cole’s inner bear stop snarling.
“Please, step into our sanctum, and we will begin.” Victor bowed again and gestured for them to enter.
The space was built under the town square and located close to an entrance near the Broken. Extra protection, should the town above be breached. The vampires could smuggle the town’s magical guardians to temporary safety.
It was as stately a room as the man who commanded it. Rugs were piled from corner to corner, overlapping along the edges. Low sofas and wide lounge chairs sporadically dotted the space. Only a few were occupied at the moment, and the vampires present to witness the first human stepping into their underground territory studiously focused on everything but Rylee.
Victor swept past them and took a seat in a single, ornate chair on a raised platform. The dais was only a few inches taller than the rest of the floor but emphasized Victor’s subdued power over his domain.
The vampire passed eyes over his subjects, then addressed Rylee directly. “I will allow you four questions.”
Rylee took a seat at the chair nearest to Victor and pulled a pad of paper from her bag. “Please, tell me about yourself.”
Victor gave her a rueful smile. “Not a formal question, Doctor Garland, but I will treat it as such. Three remaining. Be careful with them.
“We vampires are creatures of the night. Our skin will burn in direct sunlight, and render us into dust and ash. We feed on blood. Human, animal, blood is life. Nourishment. Legacy. Power. Though we can eat and drink like normal, none of it provides sustenance. It helps to blend in when we go out amongst humans.
“The act of sharing blood forms a bond between vampire and their chosen. I could give you a bit of my blood. You’d heal faster. Any headaches or cuts you had would disappear. Given too much, in too short a time, however, opens you up to danger. This you must explain to your military watching our town. Vampires will not be their shortcut to super soldiers. You’d lose some of your will to function. You’d cease to have any other drive than tasting my blood again. Revenant, we call them. Blood addicts. A living, dead thing.”
Rylee nodded like Victor’s words weren’t alarming in the slightest. Hell, he didn’t know half of how a blood bond between vampires worked. Cole thought it was a simple transfer and revival.
“And do any revenants currently live in Bearden?” Rylee’s fingers tightened around her pen and frustration entered her scent. She hadn’t meant to let that question slip out.
Victor smiled, eyes laughing at her. “No, my dear. We do everything possible to keep such a creature from forming. We rarely share our blood. One must be drained entirely, then feed from a vampire to turn into one of us.”
She glanced his way and fixed her glasses on her face. He wondered if she realized she did it when she felt nervous or fell into a deep thought. Cole tested the air. No acrid nerves from her.
“Cole tells me that all groups have different stories of how they came to be, but the one agreed upon factor is a rip in the veil between worlds. Do you mind sharing what the vampires believe happened?”
Victor made a tiny movement that was close to a shrug. “Who knows what has stepped through. Who knows if it was a singular incident or many, though I pity any vampires who were tossed into the daylight. Some say all your natural disasters are the result of rifts opening. Perhaps some volcanic monstrosity stepped through during the Krakatoa or Mt. St. Helens eruptions.”
Rylee opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again. She pursed her lips and Cole could almost see her mind working overtime. She wanted to know more but had already burned through three of her questions. She nodded to herself, then asked, “Fourth question. May I take a sample of your hair and blood?”
“Of course. Words were not the only reason you were invited here. We seek to form an understanding with those above.” Victor rolled up his sleeve and Rylee set to work. She wiped at his skin with a bottle of something she pulled from her bag.
Cole looked away, a growl rising in his chest. Stupid fucking bear. She wasn’t to be trusted. She wasn’t to be claimed. She was nothing.
His bear wouldn’t settle. His growl grew louder as the scent of blood hit the air. Sharp, not human. Rylee had inserted the needle to take a sample. Which meant her hands were on Victor.
The bear sent him images, one right after the other. Snarling over Victor’s mangled body, Rylee clinging to him, Rylee’s cheeks red from the things he could do to her.
Cole swallowed hard and steeled himself to fix his eyes on them. He needed to prove to himself that he could keep his bear under control. He needed the manic beast to see that she wasn’t theirs. She belonged to no one in their world. She was an outsider and the entirety of the Bearden enclave would be safer if she remained that way.
“This has been such a wonderful opportunity. Thank you very much for inviting me and agreeing to speak with me. And please know, I’ll talk to any of your people that are willing. I can make myself available at any time, day or night,” Rylee rambled.
Victor peered over her head and gave him a knowing smile. The vampire didn’t move a muscle, not even when Cole placed himself between Victor and Rylee when she turned to place the collected blood into her kit.
&nb
sp; And still, Rylee chattered on, not understanding the currents that swirled around her. Or maybe she did. Her tongue frequently got away from her when she felt uneasy. Cole tested the air. Still no nerves, only brisk excitement.
Victor dabbed at his elbow with the gauze she handed him. The tiny hole closed almost instantly and there wasn’t more than a drop to wipe away.
Cole stood when Rylee started packing away her things. Interview over. He needed her out of the coven’s tunnels before he started ripping everyone apart. Victor sensed it and even pushed her along with an end to the small talk. He adopted what Cole had dubbed his mysterious vampire persona. Long, slow blinks and single word answers were all she was given.
Cole was silent as he escorted her out of the tunnels and back to the lab, where she squirreled away Victor’s sample in a fridge specifically for that purpose. He wanted answers from his bear, but the creature had gone silent and still. He watched Rylee carefully. Waiting. Hunting.
Why her, Cole demanded. Why did she matter so much? Out of anyone in Bearden, why was it the tiny human with the ability to burn his world to the ground the one that called to and calmed his inner beast?
He’d watch her, sure. It was what he’d been assigned to do. He needed to make sure she wasn’t a threat to Bearden. He needed to lie low so Major Assface Delano wouldn’t throw a fit over him being back on duty in the firehouse. But that was where he drew the line. Rylee would be nothing more to him than a babysitting assignment.
“Your turn.”
Cole swiveled in the chair he hadn’t realized he’d taken in automatic need for her comfort. Disturbing, that. Almost more disturbing than the needle in her hands as she approached him.
Cole eyed the needle uneasily. He’d broken any number of bones throughout his life, he’d battled fires and taken burns, but fuck if he didn’t like needles. “What are you planning to do with these samples?”
“I want to sequence your genome and see the difference between yourself and humans. I want to study your cells and see if there is any disparity in structure between yours and mine. You can heal faster; I want to know if that is something that can be switched off and on and if it can be turned on in humans. And if that can be manipulated, can the change itself be controlled or suppressed?”
