by Lane, Terri
“I need to speak with you,” I said. Joseph was all too eager to head back to the control room.
“What's up?” he asked. I stepped into his room and tested the air for Nia's scent. It only smelled like Kai.
“Nia heard us…having sex,” I said.
“Yes, and we aren't the only ones. Apparently, she and Joseph…you know,” Kai said. “That's why he was in here, he was worried about you finding out and possibly making a big deal about it,” he said.
“Joseph? She had sex with Joseph?” I asked. Kai laughed at my incredulous expression.
“Of all people, right?” he chuckled.
“That…that is interesting,” I said.
“So were you worried about Nia saying something?” he asked.
“No, she won't…I just—it was silly—I didn't know what was going on with her is all,” I said, stuttering over my own words. Kai studied me for a moment, then a small smile touched the corner of his lips. He didn't say anything, he simply cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. It was brief and soft, though his lips did linger for a moment.
“With wolves…loyalty is hardly an issue,” he murmured.
“Isn't it? Aren't you going against your values doing whatever it is we're doing?” I asked.
“I'm going against convention and prejudice. There's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with this…whatever this is,” he said.
“What will happen when we get out of this place? Both go back to our lives?” I said.
“We can figure something out. This doesn't have to be some outer dimensional experience only allowed to happen once,” he joked.
I smiled and laced my fingers with his. “Okay then…”
* * *
Instead of going back into the common room to read, I followed Kai to the control room. We figured we should help in decoding the Hunters' patrol schedule. I noted how dedicated Damien and Nick were to watching the screens, Joseph as well. He had a notebook and scribbled onto it every time a Hunter passed by one of the cameras.
“Any progress?” I asked.
“With every passing hour. Though it seems our only window is at dawn. They are relentless during daylight hours,” Damien said.
“Where's Roland…?” I asked.
“He went to stretch his legs. He's been stuck to a chair watching monitors too,” Nick said.
“Well, I'd like to help,” I said. I took a seat in front of a vacant monitor. It displayed the rear of the cabin.
“Anytime you see a Hunter, just tell me,” Joseph said. Kai sat down next to me and looked at all the video feeds.
“So did you decide on how we're going to make a break for it once we pinpoint a window?” Nick asked us.
“We'll use the pair-and-split tactic. It will give us more of a chance if we spread out,” Kai said.
“Maybe we should all pick partners now,” I said. Nick glanced at Damien and Joseph sighed.
“We have to be prepared for the possibility of not making it out of these woods alive. The Hunters are all over the place,” Joseph said.
“Let's not invite failure with our words,” Kai said.
“He's always negative,” Nick said dismissively.
“But the gap at dawn, you said it was only ten minutes?” I asked.
“Yes, that's plenty of time for us to sprint out of here,” Damien said.
“Should we all be at our peaks,” Joseph said. Damien shot me a brief glance, I noted the darkening bags under his eyes.
“Right…” I sighed. Something would have to be figured out. I couldn't feed from Damien and he couldn't feed from me or I'd be back to how I was before. Nia and Roland were in the same situation.
“Hey…I know this will sound weird, but. Technically we're human while in human forms. It's not like you can't feed from us,” Nick said. Joseph and Kai stared at me, waiting for my response. Damien looked to me as well.
“It is a unique situation…if either you, Roland, or Nia would like to feed from them and they're willing, by all means,” I said.
“Really?” Nia said eagerly. She and Roland walked in just as I spoke.
“Yes, really. But know that the wolves have to be at their peak just as much as we do,” I said. I noted that Nia looked fine, Roland resembled Damien in lack of energy. There was an awkward beat of silence. Then there was an unspoken agreement to get back to the monitors.
After two hours of watching Hunters walk to and fro, I'd had enough of control room duty. I was beginning to get cabin fever. I didn't know how the others did it. But I needed to get out of the bunker. I strode quickly to the common area and paced around the room.
“You look like a caged panther,” Kai's voice wasn't a surprise to hear.
“We're all caged animals down here…” I murmured.
“Well, most likely we'll be leaving in only a few more hours. When dawn comes around,” he said.
“I worry about that as well,” I said.
“Come on,” Kai took my hand and led me back to his room. “I want you to drink from me,” he said.
“No, I shouldn't do that until it's time,” I said. “Plus, I don't need it as much right now,” I added. When he didn't respond, I realized he wanted the experience more than anything else. “Of course, there's nothing wrong with having a little now,” I said. My sex swelled at the thought of tasting his blood; my mouth watered too.
Kai reached around me to shut and lock the door. I watched as he walked around to the side of the bed. He faced me, then began to undress. He pulled off his shirt, then kicked off his jeans. His sex was already stiffening as he waited for me.
“Lie down,” I whispered. Kai followed my direction and lay flat on his back. I quickly undressed, then crawled onto him slowly. I straddled his hips, his cock pressed right against my core. His chest was warm, his heart beating fast. I slid my hands up and down his sides as I leaned forward to kiss his neck. Kai growled, low in his throat. I felt his hands caressing circles on my backside. Before I bit him, I grazed his skin with my fangs. His hold tightened on me and his hips moved restlessly underneath mine.
When I sank my teeth in quick, his hands gripped me even tighter for a fraction of a second. The taste of his blood saturated me with warmth. He tasted like a spice and like chocolate, I was instantly addicted. Kai's moan echoed through my own body. He ground his hips against mine hard, and his sex slid against my folds. I forced myself to stop drinking from him, I'd been about to take my fourth pull. I felt infused with more energy than drinking from another vampire or a human would provide.
“Your eyes…they're really bright,” Kai said, his voice hoarse. I quickly licked his puncture wound then lifted my hips off him to guide his hard cock into me. I couldn't hide my moan as I slid up and down his length. He held onto my waist and met me with hard thrusts. It was nearly impossible for me to choke back my cries of pleasure. Kai's release preceded my own climax. I transported, yet again, with him.
“There's no way I'm giving you up,” Kai said with a chuckle.
“Your blood tasted like dessert…oddly enough,” I told him.
“That means you're not giving me up either?” he asked.
“I thought we'd established that before,” I teased.
“Now it's extra established,” he murmured. He nipped at my chin playfully. Eventually we got out of bed and regained a sense of reality.
* * *
“How do you feel?” I asked him.
“Good. Hungry…” he said, smiling.
“Let's get some food in you,” I said. As we were leaving Kai's room, Nick came rushing up to us.
“There's a break in the patrols at dusk and dawn. Their dusk break seems to be longer than the one at dawn. It's most likely they're sparing more fighters to hunt rather than protect their territory here. Damien predicts we have more of a shot to get out alive if we leave now,” he said, all on one breath.
“Everyone is ready?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. We followed Nick into the
common area. Everyone was there and waiting.
“Do you all have your earpieces?” I asked the vampires.
“Yes, we're ready,” Damien said.
Kai said, “Good we don't have time to play around. Each wolf find a vampire and vice versa. We leave the cabin heading east until Willard. We meet at the motel no matter how rough we might look.” Kai got everyone into gear. Nick opened the hatch, then one by one we all climbed out. We listened intently for what felt like hours, though it really was only a minute.
“Still no one,” I said. I looked at Kai, who met my gaze.
“Let's go,” he said. Joseph quietly opened the cabin's doors. Then we all quickly slid through the thicket of trees. The wolves shifted, then we silently sprinted into the woods. We separated by two mile intervals, then just kept going west. As usual, I didn't need to look to know that Kai was by my side. I did glance to my right to check on Damien. I wondered why he opted to come with Kai and me. I wanted to think he'd have favored Nick.
“We have to swing wide to Willard once we leave the forest,” I said. Kai glanced at me in acknowledgment and Damien nodded. Since we'd fanned out, our group had taken the widest path heading northwest.
“We're in trouble,” Nia's voice sounded in my ear then. “There are four Hunters on either side of Joe and me,” she said.
“Roland, keep going with Nick. We'll meet Nia,” I said. Both Kai and Damien looked at me and I pointed to our right. We reached Nia and Joseph just as the four Hunters were closing in on them. A Hunter shot at Joseph with a handgun just as Kai plowed him down. I grabbed the Hunter nearest me and threw him to the ground. I didn't waste time knocking him out and couldn't waste energy to kill him.
I glanced around and saw that we were all okay for the moment. “Let's go, keep going!” I shouted. We kept heading towards Willard. I never thought of the small town to be such a heavenly destination. But it would be our only saving grace from the Hunters raining down on us. Our small groups split off yet again and we continued through the trees. They seemed never ending. I knew we only had twenty miles more to go. It wasn't that daunting of a distance for a supernatural.
I checked in with everyone. “Is everyone alright?” I asked. I only got a response from Nia.
“Where's Roland?” I asked. He'd been unresponsive when Nia said she was in trouble.
“He did remember his earpiece, right?” I asked. I glanced at Damien who shrugged.
“We're going to meet with them,” Nia said. I couldn't tell her not to. Roland was her brother and they'd always been as close as twins who shared the same womb.
“Be careful,” I said. Kai huffed and slowed his pace. Damien and I automatically followed suit. I heard the Hunters talking nearby to our left, they hadn't yet picked up on our presence. It appeared to be only two of them. I gestured to the right and we quietly moved away from them as swiftly as we could. It was fully dark then; no doubt all Hunters were on full alert patrolling the woods for our kind.
“We should've reached them by now,” Nia said. Damien looked over at me with wide eyes. “There's no sign of them. We should've reached them by now,” Nia repeated.
“Nia, keep your head. We can't afford to lose it right now,” I urged. I could tell from the note of hysteria in her voice that she would soon.
“I can't go back without Roland,” she said.
“Nia if you go after them, you're on your own,” Damien said. Kai growled and I knew it wasn't in a wolf's nature to abandon a pack mate. Kai switched direction to run and find the others. Damien cursed, we had no choice but to follow.
“Where are you Nia?” I asked. My tone was more of a hiss from annoyance than anything else.
“We're heading south west. I think Joseph picked up on Nick's scent,” she said. I rolled my eyes and continued following Kai. We were going to end up grouped together and that didn't bode well for our odds in the slightest.
* * *
We ended up severely backtracking. Our group had met Nia and Joseph. Joseph and Kai led us towards Nick and when we were close enough I picked up on Roland's scent as well. Nia was silent as we came to a stop. Their scents were so strong they should've been standing right next to us. Yet the forest floor was empty of any bodies and I couldn't hear any sort of activity.
“Where are they?” I murmured. At the sound of Nia's shriek, we all jumped. My murderous gaze shot to hers. “Do you want to get us all killed? I hissed. She didn't even hear me; she was looking up. I glanced up at the trees, then saw it. Nick and Roland's bodies were hanging from the same thick branch.
“We have to go,” I said while moving away. Damien took my hand, tugging me back. “Kai,” I called. He was staring up silently with Joseph. Their eyes were dark and even I could feel the pain of loss that permeated their chests. “Nia, Joseph, let's go,” I hissed. It was all a trap and we were stupid enough to have walked right into it.
“Let them come, I want to bleed whoever did this dry,” Nia said. Her eyes glowed bright with vengeance. Joseph backed up her words with an ominous growl.
“You won't get out of this alive,” I said. Nia simply jumped into the tree where they hung and went about cutting them down. As soon as their bodies hit the ground, I heard guns being handled nearby behind us. “Spread out!” I shouted. We all scrambled, Damien protected my body with his own as we took cover behind a thick fir. Bullets flew past us like deadly rain. The sound of Nia and the wolves fighting melded with the chorus of guns firing. I glanced at Damien and he gave me a sad smile.
“I'll have your back until the end Sophie,” he said. I kissed him lightly on the lips before we exploded into action. We left the cover of the tree to get our hands on the nearest Hunter. I spotted one who was about to shoot Kai in the thigh unawares. Kai was busy tearing apart another Hunter. I sprinted over and tore the gun out of the Hunter's hands. Then I used it to shoot down several more. I couldn't count how many there were. I didn't want to think about our odds. I went from fallen Hunter to fallen Hunter using their guns to mow down their incoming attackers. They seemed to be as numerous as the trees. The longer we stayed in the same spot, the more the Hunters would pour in and surround us.
“We need to move!” I shouted. Nia was still on her feet, as was Damien. Kai was fine, but Joseph was limping. Our group started to make a slow march west. We weren't giving up. As we moved we constantly had to watch our backs as the Hunters emerged. Damien, Kai, and I surrounded Nia and Joseph since they were at the disadvantage mentally and physically. Nia was more likely to run directly towards an armed Hunter and explode out of pure rage rather than use her fighting skill tactfully.
Thankfully Damien had opted for my strategy and picked up a couple dead Hunters' guns. We shot any attacker who approached on sight.
“These bullets are going to run out,” Damien said.
“We'll increase our chances the further we get to the edge of the forest,” I told him. Oddly enough, we didn't encounter another Hunter outside of where Nick and Roland had been hung.
“It's too quiet,” Nia whispered. Our group wasn't the fastest target as we made our way towards the town.
“They could be trying to cut us off…” I mumbled. I glanced down at the guns suspiciously. “Do you think they have trackers on these?” I asked. Damien grabbed the rifle from my hand and threw it, along with his guns, far away from us.
“We need to head south,” I said, “to throw them off.” We continued to make a zigzag towards the town. When the trees began to thin and hiking trails came into view, I couldn't have been more relieved.
“Only five miles until Willard,” I said. Of course, I gave into relief too soon. Regardless of the hiking trails, Hunters came roaring up in small off road vehicles. The kind forest rangers use. There were four vehicles full of at least four Hunters each. The skirted from the trails and plowed towards us. We were forced back, deeper into the cover of trees.
“We have to attack these from above,” I said in a low voice. Kai gave a low growl and Joseph hu
ffed. They'd be extremely vulnerable. But we had a better chance if at least us three vampires could land in those vehicles and wreak havoc. “We'll be quick. Seek cover as soon as we disappear,” I said. Kai's gaze swung over to me for a moment. He huffed, the sound was an acquiescence. Immediately after that Damien, Nia, and I jumped into the trees. The wolves darted behind thick trunks and the Hunters stopped their drive forward. We used the moment of confusion to jump to trees that hovered directly over their vehicles.
“Now,” I said. Damien, Nia, and I dropped down into the beds of the trucks. I was surrounded by three Hunters and took a stab to the side. I yanked the knife from the Hunter's grip then shoved it into his eye. The other two tried to grab me, but I moved too quickly. I grabbed a handgun from one of their belt holster, shot one and then the other. There were two more Hunters in the front of the truck. They'd both leaned out of the windows to shoot at me. I took a bullet in the arm. Quickly I shot the driver. Then dodged another shot before taking out the other Hunter. I quickly pulled the driver out onto the ground and used the truck to ram a few Hunters closing in on Kai and Joseph. I quickly lost control of the speeding truck though, and rammed right into a tree. My head hit the wheel and I was actually dazed for a moment.
I staggered out of the truck and was soon aware of a gun pressed to my temple. To my left I heard a sound like a branch snapping and a wolf's yelp. Dread spread through my chest, I didn't have to look to know it was Kai who'd gotten hurt. I acted before the Hunter had worked up the nerve to pull the trigger. I yanked the gun from his grasp, then hit him in the temple with it. He went down and I hit him again until there was a dent in his skull. I turned around with the gun just in time to shoot the Hunter closing in on Kai.
“Run Sophie!” Damien shouted at me from one of the trucks. He'd managed to take down all the Hunters in the one he landed on. Nia was struggling with hers. It didn't seem like she'd make it. I couldn't even see where Joseph was.
“Kai, come on!” I yelled. We both ran as fast as we could towards Damien's truck. But then two more trucks came roaring up behind us from the trails. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see one hunter take aim. He stood in the bed of the truck like a sniper, then took his shot.
