Sinister Pretty (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 11)

by Trina M. Lee

  Werewolves healed fast, not vampire fast but fast. But they were still mortal, which meant healing could begin with bones out of place. And that could be quite the problem.

  “It’s your lucky night, Briggs. You get to see all my tricks in action.” I’d healed Briggs himself once, although he’d been pretty out of it due to some serious vampire thrall. To Owen, I said, “Is it ok if I heal you? I’ll have to touch you.”

  He groaned and nodded. “Yeah, do whatever it takes to make this stop.”

  I didn’t need to tell Shaz to stay close. He stood ready to grab me if things got out of hand. With both hands on Owen’s side, I closed my eyes and concentrated on his pained energy. His wolf reached out to mine, touching metaphysical noses. For just a moment, my mind filled with the heady essence of him, and the bloodlust threatened. My wolf beat it back down, taking full control.

  Pushing healing energy into Owen took me to a place I didn’t often go, a place dominated by the light. A small yelp escaped him as shattered ribs moved back into place, reforming into strong, whole bone. His damaged lung tissue regenerated, knitting back together. Various other wounds and injuries healed as my power swept through him.

  The evil entity hated what I was doing. I stepped back, satisfied with its silence. There was so much more than darkness here.

  Dazed but otherwise fine, Owen stood up. He took a few steps, pausing to stretch. Wonder lit up his face. “I know you didn’t have to do that.” He stuck out a hand so big mine was lost within it. “No matter what happens from here on out with Dayne, you have an ally in me.”

  I graced Owen with a smile, which became a frown when Briggs nagged me to get moving. “You should take off,” I told Owen. “Get out of here while you can. We’re going to find the others, but we’re short on time.”

  “Can’t.” He shook his dark head of matted hair. “I have to stay for Dayne and the rest.”

  No point arguing with a werewolf dedicated to his pack, Owen joined us, and we left the room, headed for the lockup wing.

  “You know, O’Brien, if you did more of that healing shit and less of the killing, I might be able to change my mind about you.” With long, determined strides, Briggs led the way through the maze of halls.

  “I get the feeling you somehow mean that as a compliment. You need to work on your people skills, Briggs.”

  As we hurried down hall after hall, around corners, and through awkward passageways, Owen filled us in on his time inside FPA HQ. The wolves had been separated into small groups upon arrival and forced to share small lockup rooms. They were taken to the lab where blood was drawn and injections given. Owen didn’t know much about that. He’d fought hard to keep from being used as a test subject. When he proved to be more trouble than he was worth, the guards stopped bringing him to the lab. They didn’t stop beating his ass on a regular basis though.

  “They haven’t been feeding us much either,” Owen went on. “It’s like they want us hungry and distressed.”

  I glanced at Briggs who stared straight ahead, leading the way. He’d had nothing to say while Owen shared. None of this was news to him.

  “What’s happening in the lab?” I demanded, elbowing Briggs when he didn’t reply. “I know the FPA is trying to find a way to use supernatural DNA to enhance human soldiers. But there has to be more to it than that.”

  Briggs nodded. “There is.”

  I waited, losing my temper when he gave me nothing more. A body check from the side slammed him against the wall. With a hand on his throat, I snarled into his face. “Tell me what you know.”

  He maintained a level head despite my fangs snapping inches from his face. “We really don’t have time for that discussion right now. Do you want to find the wolves or not?”

  Though Owen and Shaz watched in silence, I could feel their urgency. Releasing Briggs, I pointed a finger in his face. “This is a conversation that will be had if you ever want your freedom back.”

  “Fine, whatever. Can we keep moving?”

  When we turned a corner into the hall where Briggs had kept me prisoner, I tensed. One foot in front of the other, I forced myself to keep moving. My gaze locked on the door of the room he’d thrown me in. The room where Falon and I had first crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.

  Dropping my gaze, I swallowed hard and busied myself peering into rooms. Nothing had changed much since my last visit. The little girl that had tea parties with demons was still there, as was the precog man who willingly stayed.

  “There’s no vacancies here. Where the hell are they?” I hurried to the end of the hall where the vampires were often kept. Where Kale had once been.

  Shaz and Owen glanced into room windows, making comments that revealed their disgust. Briggs didn’t bother to look. He knew who occupied each room. Keeping a quick pace, he continued on, expecting us to follow.

  The vampire room was not vacant. Echo sat on the edge of the bed, staring at a body on the floor. A body with a Doghead tattoo. Shit.

  Feeling my gaze, Echo looked up. Her expression went from disbelief to hope as she lunged for the door. Voice muffled by the glass, she shouted, “Alexa, please. Get me out of here.”

  “Briggs, get your ass over here with that keycard,” I commanded.

  Searching Echo’s face for signs of vampire madness, I found more panic than anything else. This place could strip a vampire’s sanity in short order, but she’d only been here a couple days. Kale had been here for weeks and managed to come back from it. Well… kind of.

  “She killed Glenn.” Accusation tinged Owen’s words.

  “It wasn’t her fault.” Quick to jump to her defense, I whirled to face him. “You don’t understand what this place is like for us. They call this room the execution chamber. They put him in there with her for a reason. It could’ve just as easily been you.”

  Briggs scrutinized Echo. “She’s not a risk worth taking. She’s dangerous.”

  Echo slapped a hand against the window, begging for release. The vampires resented me. Most of them outright refused to accept me as capable and deserving of leading them. Leaving Echo here would only serve to prove them right.

  “So am I. And I’m far more likely to kill you. Let her out, Briggs. Now.”

  I didn’t think anyone could hate me more than Briggs did then. After slamming me with a sour glare, he swiped the card to set Echo free.

  She threw the door open and embraced freedom. Her clothes were dirty and torn. Makeup smears and blood tears rimmed her eyes. Grabbing hold of my arm, she repeated, “Thank you, thank you,” until I had to gently disentangle myself.

  Briggs fixed me with his steely dark stare. “Now if we can avoid further distraction, I’ll take you to the overflow hall. That’s where the wolves will be.”

  Reluctant to accept the death of his friend, Owen bared teeth in a silent snarl at Echo. In a low, gentle tone, Shaz repeated what I’d said about it not being her fault and steered the angry wolf along as we followed Briggs.

  “Did they hurt you?” I asked Echo, scanning our surroundings as Briggs led us into a hall I’d never been down before.

  “They took my blood,” she said. “A lot of it. Then they threw me in that room and told me to get comfortable.” She snuck a glance at Owen. “They put that wolf in there with me after he bit a lab tech. I tried so hard not to hurt him, Alexa, I swear. But this fucking place, it just gets in your head.”

  “Literally.” I nodded. “I know.”

  It unnerved me that they’d taken blood from her. Briggs had taken mine as well, though I suspected his reason had been different. The man had gone somewhat rogue, running his own experiments down here. Regardless, vampire blood in the hands of mad scientists smacked of unsavory things. And they thought we were the dangerous ones.

  He might be my sister’s lover, boss, whatever, but I was going to get details from him about all of this if I had to beat them out of him.

  This hallway had a much different vibe than the main lockup we’d jus
t left. The lighting was dimmer. The walls and floor were in a greater state of disrepair. It reeked of neglect and misery.

  Right away, I felt the wild energy of so many caged wolves. There was a stink to the air that reminded me of the medical room where Briggs had taken my blood. “Let me guess,” I said. “This wing is where the lab animals are kept.”

  Shaz and Owen rushed to the first door, peering through the tiny window. It was smaller than the windows on the prison doors in the previous wing. A small slot beneath the window added to the jailhouse vibe.

  “Hurry up and see what you need to see. We’ve only got a few minutes left before the cameras grab us.” Affecting his best federal agent poker face, Briggs crossed his arms, waiting for us to take it all in.

  Owen erupted in a violent outburst. “What the hell did you sick fucks do to them?” He pounded fists on the door before attempting to beat it down.

  The Feds didn’t half-ass this shit though. That door wasn’t budging.

  I shoved my way between Owen and Shaz so I could peer through the small window. Echo looked in over my shoulder. Blood covered the barren room. The walls, the floor, the shitty cot in the corner. I expected to see bodies, but instead I saw four werewolves engaged in a bloody battle. Fangs bared and claws out, they went at it like rabid beasts with no awareness of anything other than shedding blood. As I watched, it became increasingly clear that was exactly what was happening. With strength that exceeded that of the average shifter, these werewolves fought hard for each other’s throats.

  Like they were driven by bloodlust.

  They were bleeding, wounded, and yet not weary. One she-wolf slashed claws across the throat of a snarling male, a well-executed blow. The guy’s throat split open, and a river of red rushed forth. The she-wolf was on him in a heartbeat, pressing her face to the scarlet fount. The other two took notice and redirected their focus, fighting for a taste.

  Mouth open in aghast wonder, I turned on Briggs. Grabbing him by the back of the neck, I mashed his face up against the glass. “What the fuck, Briggs?”

  Eyes wide, Briggs took in the scene. Shock raised his brows and dropped his jaw. Anger took its place. Clenching his teeth together, he pounded a fist on the door. “That bitch. Winston has been in my lab. There’s no way this kind of experimentation would have gone forward without me otherwise.” Briggs jerked out of my grasp. “I need to go to the lab.”

  Shaz grabbed him when he turned on a heel to walk away. Then Shaz shook him until his teeth rattled. “You planned this? What kind of sick game are you playing?”

  “I never plan for bad results, but sometimes shit happens. If you don’t let me go to the lab, we’ll never get any answers, and we’re running out of time.” The forced calm in Briggs’s tone was deceitful. Shaz made him uneasy in a way that I didn’t. I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or proud.

  A glance in adjoining rooms revealed more of the same: blood-crazed werewolves ready to tear each other apart for a taste. What I didn’t see was Dayne.

  “Fine,” I broke in, wary of the predator lurking in Shaz’s eyes. “Take us to the lab but explain on the way.”

  Owen clenched both fists and teeth, wound up tight with the desire to tear Briggs’s throat out. I kept an eye on him as we followed Briggs. Nobody was killing the Fed until I decided it was time.

  We turned a corner into a wing that was well maintained, stinking of sterile cleaning fluids. The labs seemed to be divvied up into sections rather than one large whole. We passed a sign on the wall that read: Surgical Unit. A sick feeling opened up in the pit of my stomach.

  “Is that what my blood was used for?” Echo asked.

  Briggs gave a sharp nod. “Possibly. Among other things, I’m sure. As O’Brien knows, we’ve been investigating ways to grant supernatural abilities to humans without turning them. Winston must’ve found my notes on giving a shapeshifter a transfusion of vampire blood.”

  The growl that rumbled in Owen’s throat was so guttural and vicious, it made even my skin crawl. “Vampire blood did that to them? My God, you people are sick.”

  “I assume it was vampire blood. Only one way to find out.” Briggs shoved through a set of swinging double doors into a large lab equipped with various medical tools and machines.

  Three people in lab coats looked up from their work at our sudden arrival: two men and a woman, each holding a test tube, microscope slide, or syringe of some sort.

  The oldest of the bunch approached. On the short side, stocky with thinning hair, the man shoved his glasses up on his nose before addressing Briggs. “You’re back? We were told you’d transferred to Las Vegas.” He shook his head in disgust. “Agent Winston has ordered extensive tests, pushing our time frame; although between you and me, she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing.” The mad scientist glanced at the rest of us and stiffened. “Does Winston even know you’re here, Agent Briggs?”

  “Dr. Collins, I can assure you I’d never abandon ongoing projects without informing you. Agent Winston lied. This is still my lab, and I am the only one you take orders from.” Anger caused little beads of sweat to pop out on Briggs’s forehead. He thrust a hand toward the way we’d come. “Please inform me what the hell has been done to the wolves out there.”

  As I battled back the urge to throttle the doctor, the evil entity whispered in my ear again. It wanted me to kill the doctor, to paint the white walls and floor with his blood. Oh, how I wanted to. But he had yet to give the answers I needed.

  Nervously Dr. Collins cleared his throat. His gaze kept straying to Owen, the beefiest, angriest looking one of us all. “Since human subjects were unable to handle a vampire blood transfusion, Agent Winston insisted we move forward with werewolf test subjects. The result was the same, an adverse reaction to the vampire cells resulting in severe system rejection.”

  Briggs frowned. “The human test subjects died. Those wolves are in a state of complete psychosis, but they aren’t dead.”

  “Right.” Dr. Collins took his glasses off and fumbled to clean them on the hem of his coat. “The original test group died, just like the human group. However, the hybrid blood you managed to secure shared some genetic markers with the wolves. When added to the vampire serum, it acted as a stabilizer. They didn’t die. It does make them harder to kill, but unfortunately, the vampire markers in the hybrid blood seems to have caused a bloodlust psychosis worse than rabies. It does eventually work its way out of their system. However, they remain uncontrollable.”

  Stunned, I tried to process what I heard. Did he not realize the hybrid in question stood right in front of him?

  Shaz reached out to take my hand. He didn’t need to ask. He just knew. Had he not done so, I might have succumbed to the sinister voice prodding me to slaughter everyone in a white coat.

  When we all stared at him with varying degrees of hatred and pending violence, Dr. Collins slid his glasses back on and continued, his voice hopeful. “We tried the hybrid blood on humans as well, but without shared genetic markers, they died as they had before. This is all quite promising. Clearly it needs some further testing, but the hybrid blood may be the key to creating creatures with the strengths and healing ability of vampires without the weaknesses. If we can find a way to cancel out the pesky psychosis aspect.”

  Briggs mulled this over. I replayed the doctor’s words in my head while a venomous rage built within me. He’d killed wolves to come to this conclusion. Had Dayne been one of them? And Briggs had, in his own way, been part of this.

  I snapped.

  Jerking free of Shaz, I grabbed the doctor and bounced his face off the closest table. Petri dishes and test tubes crashed to the floor. The other two lab techs rushed to salvage what they could of their precious samples. I smashed his face down one more time before jerking him close.

  Blood poured from Dr. Collins’s nose. Briggs shouted at me not to kill him, but I had no intention of that. He could kill himself with his own experiment.

  “I think it’s time
you learned what it feels like to be the guinea pig,” I snarled, baring wolf fangs. Pointing to the harried woman frantically trying to save spilled petri dishes, I used a shot of power to get her attention. “Transfuse Dr. Collins with the hybrid blood. Right. Now. Or you all die.”

  Briggs erupted in a panic, going so far as to try to break my hold on Collins. I flung him off with a thought. Shaz stood back, seeming to approve. Understandably, neither Echo nor Owen protested.

  “Dammit, O’Brien, we still need him,” Briggs shouted. “You can get your petty revenge later.”

  “We?” I repeated.

  “You want the Alpha wolf, don’t you?”

  That changed Owen’s mind fast. “Alexa, wait,” he pleaded. “We need to find Dayne.”

  Snarling into the doctor’s face, I grinned when he trembled so hard I was sure he’d pissed himself. “This isn’t over. My face will be the last one you see when you die.” I released Collins.

  He grabbed onto the table to steady himself. “For Christ’s sake, Briggs, what’s going on?”

  “Agent Winston seems to have taken it upon herself to take over my labs and ensure I never come back. I won’t let her get away with that.”

  Arys broke into my thoughts, making Briggs’s hurried explanation a rumble in the background. The sense of urgency he conveyed worried me. ‘We seem to have a bit of a problem. The dark spirit here is relentless. I’ve got to admit, it’s getting harder to resist. Best hurry before Gabriel and I slaughter them all.’

  My mind raced as I recalled how fast and far Arys had fallen under the evil entity’s spell before. ‘Do not give in. We’re coming out.’

  ‘Oh and one other thing. Agent Winston has just arrived.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “It’s your lucky night, Dr. Collins,” I announced, harried by Arys’s update. “We have to go, but I promise you I’ll be back. And I will kill you. But it’s up to you how fast that happens. If you continue this warped line of testing, you’ll die slowly.”