Conrad stood still as the pair listened for any sign of trouble. Another pair of sentries, James and Tristan, had seen a vampire moving a little too close to the protected wood, but Tristan had lost sight of him an hour before. When Tristan and James had come in to change shifts with Sterling and Conrad, Tristan was still angry at letting the vampire slip through his fingers.
A branch snapped softly several yards to their left. Sterling crouched down further under the overhanging brush, keeping completely still in the darkness. The two wolves watched the path ahead of them, waiting to see who – or what – was coming their way before attacking. Bradenton had a curfew, but occasionally a youth would sneak into the woods after being dared by his friends. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if two of the werewolf sentries killed a young human. Accidental or not, such a death would likely cause the bond that the Lycan clan and the villagers had formed over the generations to break. Even if it were a foolish youth.
A single man stepped into sight, and Sterling had to steel himself against acting too hastily. The vampire stood in path, scanning the ground before him, his nostrils flaring slightly. A second vampire came up behind him, surveying the forest beyond briefly before speaking.
“Can you smell her?”
“I can, but this forest reeks of Lycans, and it’s hard to tell where her scent is strongest under the mangy dog stench.”
Conrad rolled his eyes. The vampires were less than ten feet from them, but somehow completely unaware that the overwhelming scent was because they were right there. Conrad wondered to himself for the millionth time how this clan of vampires had survived this long. Aside from their leader, Dallin, they were quite literally a band of fools.
“I smell her too. Do you think they have her?”
“Dallin thinks they do. He tracked her to the edge of this forest and almost immediately, the smell of dog covered up hers. He doesn’t think she could have gotten to the village before he discovered her missing without help. It is much too far a distance for a human on foot.”
The men kept walking, moving closer and closer to where the men waited to ambush them.
Suddenly, the man in the lead stopped, holding his arm back to stop his companion from moving forward.
“Do you smell that? They’ve been here recently.”
“It smells the same to me.”
“No, it’s thicker here. It’s almost nauseating how they smell.”
Sterling motioned to Conrad and the two leapt out of their hiding places; there was no use hiding any longer, and the vampires were almost on top of Sterling and Conrad. Better to grab them now when they were distracted by their conversation.
Sterling tackled the first vampire fiercely, taking him down hard on the ground. Conrad passed over them as he ran after the second one, who had spun on his heel and fled like a coward the instant he saw Sterling appear in the darkness.
Growling, Conrad sailed into the air, catching the man and taking him down in a flurry of fur, tail, and flailing vampire.
Sterling fought the one beneath him, teeth bared, trying to get his mouth on his throat. There weren’t many ways to kill a vampire in wolf-form; ripping their heads off was pretty much their only death dealing blow available. But the vampire under him knew this, and was protecting his throat all the while trying to bite Sterling with the sharp points of his fangs.
The vampire pulled his legs up to his chest, working his feet beneath Sterling, and kicked him as hard as he could. Sterling yelped and flew through the air. His body hit a large, old oak tree. With a thud, he landed at the base of the tree, out cold and completely vulnerable.
Conrad, still holding his pinned vampire beneath him, turned in time to see Sterling slam into the tree and fall to the ground with a sickening thud. His friend lay in a heap on the ground as the vampire advanced on him, but he didn’t move a muscle.
Conrad looked to his friend, weighing his options for a moment before turning to protect his friend. Unconscious, he was at the mercy of the approaching vampire, and Conrad wasn’t about to let that undead beast kill his friend.
With an angry growl, he jumped onto Sterling’s assailant’s back, teeth sinking into his flesh. The vampire turned, slamming his back against the tree and crushing Conrad between himself and the mighty oak. Conrad held on, shaking his head and burying his teeth further, pulling with all his might as the vampire slammed him against the tree repeatedly.
Conrad released his jaw and opened wide, going in for the kill. The vampire dropped to his knees, nearly severed neck holding his head on with a narrow strip of flesh and connective tissue. He collapsed, breathing heavily and in agony. Conrad was on top of him in a moment, pinning him down so he could deliver the final bite that would destroy him once and for all.
“You’ll never stop us.” The vampire’s words were labored because of his wounds. “Dallin won’t stop until he has her back. Is every life in the village worth less than a single, useless girl?”
Conrad sunk his teeth into the vampire’s throat once more, ripping his head off and flinging it to the side. The vampire’s body dissolved into a pile of ashes almost instantly. Its head hit the ground, exploding into a burst of powdered ashes on impact.
The other vampire was long gone, having fled towards the safe-zone without bothering to look back to see if his comrade was alive.
Conrad shifted back to human form quickly, running towards Sterling. He ran his hands over Sterling’s shaggy fur, looking for signs that his friend was still alive. A faint heartbeat pulsed beneath his skin and he was breathing. Groaning under the weight of his friend, he threw the heavy werewolf over his shoulder and began walking back to their cabin. Muttering about vampires as he went.
***
Lizette sat on the thick rug in front of the blazing fire. The evening was chilly, and without Conrad and Sterling to keep her warm, Lizette had been shivering on the makeshift bed across the room.
Maeve was the only female Lycan working as a sentry. The rest preferred to live inside the village proper, running various shops and businesses. They were all trained and willing to fight, but tended to prefer life in the village.
A few years older than twenty-year-old Lizette, she was energetic and quick-witted, but Lizette knew the woman was suspicious of her. Brought to Maeve’s cabin along the village wall under the guise of keeping her safe while Sterling and Conrad were away, it didn’t take Lizette long to figure out that the rest of the Lycans did not trust her.
Maeve had spent more than an hour asking Lizette question after question before she finally went to bed. Leaving the room, she let Lizette know that she had a bell in her room that rang when the door was opened, and she would know if Lizette tried to run away.
“I’ll be pretty angry if I have to chase you down in the middle of the night on my one night off-duty.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I have no intention of putting myself at risk of becoming a vampire slave.” Or worse, she thought.
Maeve hadn’t been happy with her answer, but she didn’t have much of a choice.
In truth, Lizette was too exhausted to run away anyway. The day before, when Sterling and Conrad had first captured her, had been a blur. She’d been running on pure adrenaline.
After a long day running for her life, followed by a night of passion with two men she’d just met, Lizette was feeling every scratch and every pulled muscle in her entire body. Each and every step was painful, though she hadn’t let on how much pain she was in before Conrad and Sterling had left for the evening. Nothing besides rest would heal her pain, so whining about it wouldn’t help anyone.
So she’d kept her mouth shut and suffered in silence.
Back chilled and face hot from the fire, Lizette gingerly turned over onto her other side. The thick fabric of the clothing that Maeve had loaned her had no give, making turning over difficult without injury. Her skin slid against the fabric, causing her to itch all over.
She snuggled as far into the rug as she could, wishing that
Maeve had saw fit to loan her a blanket, or at least a thin towel with which to cover herself. Eyes closed, she focused on trying to sleep so she could get the night over with.
A loud knock jarred her out of her thoughts. Someone on the other side of the door pounded rapidly, shaking the heavy door on its hinges. Lizette sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, watching the door with dread as the pounding continued.
Maeve strode to the door, her face broadcasting her annoyance as clearly as if she’d spoken aloud.
“You’re going to just open the door? You don’t know who’s out there.”
“Enemies don’t knock.”
“Oh.” Lizette had to admit, it made sense.
Maeve unlocked the door and it swung inward. Conrad walked in, and a limping, bleeding Sterling hobbling along beside him.
“What happened?” said Maeve. Lizette rushed to Sterling as Conrad and Maeve helped him to the chair by the door.
“Vampires,” Conrad answered.
“Within the protected forest?” Maeve’s face was angry. She didn’t even wait to hear his answer before she started gathering up her cross-bow and arrows made of carved wooden stakes.
“Yes, in our forest. I killed one, but the other fled.”
“What were they doing here?”
“They were hunting for her.”
“What in the world is so important about her?” Maeve turned and looked her over, her once thinly-veiled dislike for Lizette no longer hidden.
“He wanted her for breeding. Dallin can’t afford to turn people into vampires when food is so scarce, so he’s doing the next best thing.”
“Isn’t breeding them the same thing though?”
“Not really. Vampire offspring gestate three times faster than humans. Each human woman could give birth to four vampires a year. I’ve never seen one first-hand, but my grandfather used to tell us stories about them. They’re like baby rattlesnakes; more deadly, more aggressive, and more vicious than adults. They mature within days of being born. With enough women, he could grow his army exponentially in a year.”
“So what’s so important about her? Why doesn’t he just get another breeder?”
Conrad looked at Lizette, “I can’t figure it out either. Maybe it’s just the fact that she escaped. That had to be a huge blow to his ego. That’s really the only thing I could think of.”
“Well, whatever it is, we need to tell the Captain immediately and warn the others. If Dallin is hell-bent on having this specific woman, tonight is just the beginning.”
Conrad nodded his agreement. Now that Dallin knew without a doubt she’d come this way and been picked up by Lycans, he wouldn’t stop until he had her.
***
Owen Wrigley sat in the wooden chair, growing impatient with Beth as she worked on him. After putting a final dressing on his healing wounds, she began the tedious process of changing his looks.
Beth was already slow, and her recent wounds were slowing her down even further. A large cut slashed across her face, still healing and an angry red color. She was missing one eye and the corner of her mouth, where the scar ended, turned down slightly when she spoke.
Beth took a paint brush, dipping it in foul-smelling liquid that looked like tar.
“What is that?”
“We can’t have you showing up to the village in that bright red hair of yours. They’ll spot you a mile away.”
Owen didn’t like it, but he knew she was right. Already, his thick beard had been shaved completely. He hadn’t even recognized his own face in the mirror, which was good. If he was going to sneak back into Bradenton to retrieve Dallin’s girl, he was going to have to appear to be a stranger selling his wares.
Beth moved closer, her sagging bosom shoved into his face as she leaned over him and parted his hair. She was careful, turning the brush over several times over the bowl so it didn’t drip on his skin or the floor. The stench was appalling and Owen wondered how long he had to leave the dye in his hair for it to set.
A male vampire burst into the room, long wavy brown hair flowing behind him. His boot heels clicked loudly on the stone floor.
“Where is Dallin?” he said. The man regarded Owen and Beth, his nostrils flaring as he stopped more than ten feet away to await their response. He looked right at Owen, licking his lips slowly before turning away.
“I’m right here.”
Owen nearly jumped out of his skin. Dallin had appeared out of nowhere, coming into the room silently. His bright blue eyes were stunning, and Owen found that he couldn’t look away from them, even though he tried. Dallin was a handsome man, with blond hair and a cherub’s face. He didn’t look like a monster, but Owen had seen enough over the last few days to know that he was the most vicious vampire that he’d ever heard of.
Dallin saw Owen looking his way and smiled at him. The effect was eerie, but Owen found that he suddenly had the urge to walk over to Dallin and offer up his own throat to please him.
“Did you find my woman, Simon?” Dallin asked the brown-haired vampire.
“Yes, Sir. And no.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She’s been captured by the Lycans. The filthy wolf-men killed Thomas, but I was able to get away.”
“How did you manage that?”
“Thomas threw his opponent, a light-colored wolf, at a tree and was about to kill him when his companion came to his aid. While they were distracted, I ran. But not before I found out where she is.”
Dallin sat regally on a large throne against the wall, crossing his legs unhurriedly as he waited for Simon to continue.
“The two Lycans, the ones that we fought, they found her in the woods. They didn’t say it, but we could smell their scent all over her trail. Before the first wolf let me go to help his friend, I smelled human all over him.”
Simon glanced at Owen and Beth again, the need for human blood evident on his face. He was hungry, but he restrained himself.
“Did you get their names?” said Dallin. His voice was calm, but Simon fidgeted.
“I know who the light-colored werewolf is,” said Owen. “He’s the one that took me to the woods.” Owen couldn’t hide the smile in his voice when he spoke. He’d been planning on retrieving the girl for Dallin, but he also had a score to settle with the two Lycans who’d left him in the woods to die.
Dallin’s smile widened. He dismissed Simon with a sweep of his arm, releasing the man from the torture of standing so close to the humans when he was starving for blood.
“It looks like saving you turned out to be a good investment. You’ll leave at sunrise, and you’ll take Beth and her husband with you. The villagers will be suspicious of a man travelling alone. But an elderly couple won’t get a second glance. Eat your fill tonight and get some rest. I expect to have my prize returned to me by tomorrow night.”
Dallin stood, walking towards the hall that led to the outer door. He hesitated, turning back to address Owen.
“Once you have the girl tied and handed over to Beth, you’re free to seek your revenge against the filthy wolves. If you survive, you’re welcome here. I can always use more.”
Without another word, Dallin left to feed for the night.
Beth finished spreading the dye throughout his hair, and then left to fetch him dinner. Owen took his meal at the massive table alone, enjoying the silence and trying to ignore the smell of dye that hovered over his head.
***
Lizette awoke early the next morning, finding herself alone in bed. She rolled out of bed and pulled on the clothes that Maeve had loaned her, trying to ignore the constant itching of the rough fabric against her skin.
She made the bed before heading to the door, but stopped in her tracks when she heard Sterling and Conrad arguing in the common area.
“Conrad, there’s more to her story. There had to be. Why else would Dallin be so interested in one specific human?”
“Does it matter? We’re bound to protect humans at all costs. What makes he
r less worthy?”
“She’s not, but I worry that having her here is putting the village in danger.”
“So what do you propose, just turning her loose in the forest and hoping that Dallin stops sending his minions once he has her?”
Lizette’s hand flew to her mouth. She couldn’t go back, and there was no way she could survive on her own. Even if she ran past the village and into the surrounding forest until she came across another town, she would never be able to stop running. Dallin would move heaven and earth to find her.
“No. I’m not saying that,” said Sterling.
“Then what are you saying?” said Conrad.
“I don’t know. I just think we should look at this with an unbiased eye. Having her here is no good, but we can’t protect her if she’s not here. We can’t put her in the village; that would be a disaster.”
“So you don’t have a plan, you just have a problem with Lizette,” said Conrad.
“It’s not her, the problem is Dallin. But you cannot deny that as long as she’s here, no one is safe.”
The shouting ceased, and from her place in the bedroom, she could no longer make out their words. She left the door and sat on the bed, trying to figure out what she should do. They were right. As long as she, Lizette, was in their home, no one was safe. By saving her life, they’d brought danger onto themselves and the entire village they were sworn to protect.
Lizette was lost in thought when Conrad rapped softly on the bedroom door. She pulled the covers around her quickly, pretending to yawn wide as she muttered for him to come in.
Conrad came through the door and sat on the bed. He smiled at Lizette and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“I need to go into town. Sterling will be here with you. Is there anything particular that you would like me to bring back?”
Lizette shook her head no, not trusting herself to speak. Conrad leaned towards her, kissing her softly on the cheek before standing.
“I’ll be back soon. You get some rest. There’s food in the kitchen and Sterling will be just outside, cutting firewood.”
He strode to the door, leaving almost as quickly as he’d come in. Lizette sat under the blankets for a moment, making sure he was gone. She gathered her things and stuffed them into a satchel before walking out of the room and into the hall.
Pregnant to an Alien King Box Set Page 37
