by Laken Cane
Blood and Bite
By Laken Cane
Copyright © 2013 Laken Cane
All rights reserved.
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, association with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Dedication
To my readers
Table of Contents
Part One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Part Two
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
About Laken
Part One
DEVASTATION
Chapter One
There would always be monsters.
Pretty monsters, sad monsters, bad monsters.
And Rune.
She stayed in the exclusive shrink clinic for eight weeks. They would have kept her forever if she’d have allowed it. She wouldn’t.
Shiv Crew needed her and she’d been well enough to get the hell out of New York and back to Ohio. God, she’d missed River County.
As soon as she entered Spiritgrove she called her best friend and assistant, Ellis. He’d want to know she was back.
“Hi baby,” she said, when he answered.
“Rune! Why are you calling so early?”
Ellis worried a lot—at least about her. “I’m in town.”
Silence.
“Ellie?”
“You left the clinic?”
“It was time. No lectures, please.”
“Actually…”
“What?”
“Since you’re already in town…”
“Ellis, spit it the fuck out. What’s wrong?”
He sighed. “The crew is in trouble.”
She shifted the phone to her other ear, her heart beginning to race. “Tell me.”
“They’re in the graveyard. Rock County wolves decided to take them over—give them an official alpha. One of your wolves called for help.”
Rock County was a backward, rough county run by a skewed justice system, dirty cops, and a scary-ass mayor who had the Governor in his pocket.
She slammed on her brakes, then made a U-turn that nearly put her SUV on its side. “I’m headed to Wormwood now. Shiv Crew can’t handle a few trespassing wolves?”
“Raze is still in jail, Strad is in Pennsylvania, and Z is in court. It’s just Jack and the twins and they could use the help.”
She grinned. “Happy to be of service.” Ecstatic.
“They’ll be glad to see you. As will I. Come to the office as soon as you’ve kicked the wolves into shape, okay?”
“Where is Lex?”
He hesitated. “She’s here with me.”
“Ellis. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Later. When you’re here.”
Fuck. “Okay. Where in Wormwood?”
“East entrance, third gate.”
“See you in a few, baby.” She tossed her cell into the passenger seat and broke every speed limit posted to get to Wormwood. Her monster was screaming for a fight. It’d been too long since she’d gotten to kick some ass. Eagerness nipped at her heels like a dog, urging her along.
Fucking clinic was as tame as a kindergarten class.
Physically, anyway. Mentally, they’d worn her out.
She stopped outside the gates of the vast graveyard, almost putting herself through the windshield with her abrupt halt. She grabbed her gun and a shiv and was inside Wormwood ten seconds later.
She heard the fight before she saw it. Jack roared his fury and she sprinted toward the sound.
Fucking Others.
The twins fought back to back, slashing any wolf stupid enough to get near them, and obviously these were some stupid wolves. The Others showed no fear as they leaped and twisted and hurled their huge furry bodies at her men.
An enormous black wolf flew at Jack, hitting him in the chest and sending the big man reeling backward into a crumbly old tombstone.
Rune’s wolves fought as well, but there were only eleven of them and not all of the eleven had shown up for the fight. They weren’t the toughest wolves she’d ever met. Abused by their former alpha, they were, for the most part, timid and afraid.
Some of them had already hit the ground, too injured to continue fighting. They’d heal but it could take a while, depending on the damage.
She saw everything in an instant—right before her monster came and turned her into a bloodthirsty killer.
Dropping her fangs she threw herself into the fight, keeping her claws inside. They got in the way when she was fighting with shivs and guns.
She really didn’t want to shoot any of the bastards but when a few dozen trespassing wolves came to steal her pack and attack three of her men, fair went out the window.
She shot four of them before anyone realized she was there. She didn’t shoot to kill, but with explosions of silver wreaking havoc on their bodies, they’d wish she had.
Getting shot full of silver was fucking agony. She knew from personal experience.
Levi and Denim—the twins—caught sight of her first. “Rune!” Levi yelled.
Jack whooped with joy and slung the black wolf halfway across Wormwood.
Rune immediately recognized the alpha. The huge wolf had been watching the fight, sitting on a large rock as though it were his throne.
When he saw Rune watching he stood, dropped his head low between his massive shoulder blades, and roared.
She wasn’t afraid of a fucking alpha. She’d killed the last one that had messed with River County wolves, and she’d kill this one just as happily.
But the more logical part of her was cautious. Do you want to be responsible for more wolves?
Not so much.
After all, killing the last alpha was why she was now the reluctant leader of the River County pack.
She tossed the gun to Jack and thumped her chest with the hand that held the shiv. “Come on!” Her scream echoed through Wormwood, drawing some new arrivals.
That was okay. She could fight in front of an audience.
The alpha, shaggy, brown, and huge, jumped off the rock. With an almost lazy stride, he went for Rune.
Rune grinned and dropped her shiv, then sent her claws bursting through the tips of her fingers. She had fucking built-in shivs. Not silver—which would mess with an
Other in ways her claws couldn’t—but she could take the alpha down without silver.
Mutant vampire against wolf alpha.
It was a good day.
The alpha’s pack continued occupying Jack and the twins, but she knew her men would toss worried glances her way when they could. She’d been out of commission for a while—they were bound to wonder if she was up to speed.
She and the alpha ran at each other. Thanks to the Other within her, Rune had speeds to rival those of a master vampire. The alpha wolf’s expression suddenly changed—and Rune had a millisecond to enjoy the dawning realization in his eyes.
Yeah bitch, I’m that Other.
She sidestepped at the last second, dragging her claws across the alpha’s chest then spinning around to kick him in the back before he could so much as blink.
She’d fought a lot worse than a pissy alpha and had come out on top. The wolf didn’t have a chance.
Enjoying herself a little too much, Rune darted away from the enraged wolf, laughing. Since the Hawthorne Ridge battle, she’d grown in power.
Sometimes she thought she could do anything. She was invincible.
But in the next second she found herself flat out on the ground, staring up at the angry wolf. Someone had ambushed her—had dealt her a solid blow to the back of her head while she’d been playing with the alpha.
Okay, so maybe not invincible.
Still, she might have been down but she was most definitely not out.
The alpha took over, shoving the bushwhacker out of the way and opening his mouth as he went for her throat.
She heard Jack yell as she rolled out of the way and jumped with wobbly determination to her feet. She could take a little spanking, but now she was mad. And she was done playing.
The alpha hesitated.
Rune smiled.
She went for the wolf who’d attacked her from behind first, driving her claws into his chest and dropping him where he stood.
The alpha could have run, but he didn’t. He stood his ground and prepared to fight to the death. His death.
She could see it in his eyes, and that was the only thing that stopped her from ripping him to pieces. She respected courage.
Panting, she stared at him. “Call off your fucking wolves and end this now, dude. I’ll let you walk away.”
He did nothing for a long moment, but finally slid into a shift as seamless and quick as any she’d seen.
He was a smart wolf.
She fought to keep her stare off his body. When she caught a gleam of mockery deep inside his brown eyes, she lifted an eyebrow and let her interested gaze take a leisurely trip over his bare skin.
The man was hot. Pretty much perfect, if one liked long, lean lines, defined abs, and muscled chests.
He crossed his arms, ignoring the deep slashes left by her claws. “Pack, over here. Behind me.”
The fight had slowed down considerably. The ground was littered with dead and injured wolves. The ones who belonged to him wasted no time in doing as he’d commanded.
“What’s your name?” she asked him.
“I’m Darius Elliot.”
“I am—”
“I know who you are.”
At a touch on her shoulder she turned her head, giving a quick smile of hello to Jack and the twins. “That was a nice welcome home, boys.”
Jack grinned, adjusting his black eye patch. He’d lost his eye in the Hawthorne fight, and though a quick thought of guilt and regret streaked through her it was just that—a quick thought which she acknowledged and then released.
It wasn’t something for which she should blame herself.
The shrinks really had helped.
Was she cured? No. But she was a lot less likely to pick up strange men and have them back to her house for a little slash and tickle.
Of course, she hadn’t been tested yet. Time would tell how well she really was.
The beautiful twins looked a little different, somehow. More…adult. She winked at them and then turned her attention back to the strange wolves.
“Why the fuck are you in our territory?” she asked. She nodded at the River County wolves—her wolves—who’d spread in a semi-circle around Rune and the men. “These wolves aren’t up for grabs.”
The alpha stared down his nose. “Any pack with no leader is weak. I will take them.” But despite his arrogance, there was a spark of something a little more desperate inside his eyes.
“Dude. They have an alpha.”
He frowned, and glanced at his pack. “I was told otherwise.”
“You were misinformed.”
He stared at the River County wolves. “I see no alpha.”
“Look at me,” she told him. “Dude. Look at me.”
He stopped his study of the River County wolves and put his sharp stare back on her. “I’m looking at you. Now what?”
“Now, you see an alpha.”
“You don’t mean—”
“Yeah. I do mean.”
And finally, he understood. “They need a wolf to lead them, not a…” he gestured at her. “Whatever you are.”
“I agree, but until one of them fights his or her way to the top or I find someone suitable, I’m it.”
He scoffed. “Raggedy bunch of weak pups, they’re not dominant enough to fight for alpha. I made an offer for them. Give them to me.”
“No. They belong here, not in Rock County. You planning on moving here?”
He actually hesitated, as though thinking it over. Then, “No. Rock County needs me.”
“Then what you’re doing right now is wasting my time.” She glanced around at the wolves on the ground. “And you wasted a lot of lives. Pick up your dead and injured and get the fuck out of my city.”
He inclined his head. “As you wish.”
She turned away from him and faced her wolves and her men. It was going to take half the morning to get everything sorted.
Fucking Others.
It was good to be home.
Chapter Two
Rune strode into the RISC building, eager to see Ellis and, though part of her dreaded it, to meet the new Regional Investigations of Supernatural Crimes boss.
She’d lived through the horror that had been Jeremy Cross, the former captain of RISC. It was no surprise that there was some anxiety about the person taking his place.
Right before she’d gone away, RISC and her old department, Spiritgrove’s Criminal Recovery Unit—SCRU—had been merged. Now there was only RISC.
“This place was not the same without you,” Ellis said, finally letting her out of one of his famous hugs. He handed them out like cigars at a birth, and she liked them about as much.
Lex stood by the window of Ellis’s new office, looking out at the world as though she weren’t blind. Rune sent Ellis a questioning look—which he answered with a shrug—and walked to stand beside the girl.
“Hello, Lex.”
Lex was an Other, one of the most unusual Rune knew. She turned toward Rune, her eyes shaking, her body vibrating. But only a little. “Welcome home, Rune.”
She shot out a hand and grabbed Rune’s arm, then slid her fingers down to grasp Rune’s wrist.
Rune withdrew, gently. “You know I don’t like you to read me.”
“Or touch you,” Lex replied, and there was a hint of smile at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes picked up speed and her body vibrated with a little more zeal.
Rune watched the little Other, waiting for some hint about what was bothering her. “Why weren’t you at Wormwood helping the crew kick hairy wolf ass?”
“Your head hurts,” Lex said.
“You’re a fast reader.”
Ellis sighed. “You were hurt in the fight?”
Rune smiled, fingering the still-sore spot on the back of her head. She’d showered away the blood that had made her long hair a sticky mess, and the wound had closed up. That’s what being half Other did for her. Still, a bit of a headache lingered. “One of the fuckers hi
t me from behind while I was fighting the alpha.”
“You weren’t paying attention,” Z said from the doorway. “You were busy playing with the alpha—at least that’s what I heard.”
Rune grinned. “Hi, baby.”
He walked toward her. “You’re getting a hug.”
“Fuck me,” she said, groaning. “Shiv Crew is full of huggers.”
They all laughed and Z pulled her into a bear hug almost fierce enough to break her ribs. “You look great, Rune.”
“What, you were thinking I’d come back with my hair in my face, drooling? Wearing a straitjacket, maybe?”
He snorted. “Anyone heard from Strad?”
Rune stiffened at once. Too casually, she picked some imaginary lint off her shirt sleeve. “Not me. What’s he doing in fucking Pennsylvania?”
“I don’t know,” Ellis answered. “He just said he was going and told the crew to look after your wolves. He said he wasn’t sure when he’d return.”
Or if.
She deliberately ignored Z’s considering look and changed the subject. “How much longer is Raze in jail?”
“Two days,” Z said. “He’s having a rough time.”
Rune nodded. “Put a man like Raze inside a cell for a month…”
“He’s lucky he only got a month,” Ellis said. “APRO wanted him in prison for a couple years.”
American Protection and Rights of Others had gotten involved when Raze had been sent to oust some trespassing rat shifters and one of them had bitten him. Raze suffered from musophobia—an extreme fear of rats—and had julienned the poor son of a bitch. If the rat had shifted back to his human form Raze would have maintained control, but all he could see were little red eyes and long front teeth.
Scared the fuck out of him.
Because it was self-defense, kind of, and because it was only an Other he’d killed—and a rat, at that—Raze had gotten off lightly. Still, APRO had needed placating and times were changing.
In the last month a law had passed in Ohio allowing humans to feed vampires if they so wished. Tools, they were called. Bite junkies.
It was a tricky situation. If a human became pissed at a vampire he or she could report the vampire bite as an attack and the vampire was likely to be destroyed.
The masters had taken to requiring notarized signatures from the humans, proving the vampire in question had the human’s permission.
