by J. C. Diem
“Sorry,” he said insincerely. “You were so focused on Connor’s ass that you didn’t even notice I was there.”
“He has a really great butt,” I said defensively.
Jonah met my eyes, then we both broke into sniggers. “Quin frowns on fraternization between her team members,” he said after we’d regained control. “Connor used to date someone on the team a long time ago. Their relationship apparently didn’t end well.”
Instantly jealous, I shook my head. I barely knew Connor and I had no claim to him. “Who was she?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Another shifter. She was fired after something happened on a mission.”
“Do you know what happened?”
“They’ve never mentioned it directly,” he said with an apologetic shrug. “That’s all I know. Oh, and that her name was Lilly.”
“I bet she’s a delicate flower, just like her name,” I said with a hint of a sneer. I’d never met Lilly and probably never would, but I already knew I didn’t like her. Any girl lucky enough to share Connor’s bed would automatically be on my hate list. He’d told me I wasn’t his type, but he was definitely mine. So far, I’d managed to hide my growing lust from him. His superior attitude helped. Mainly because it brought out my inner snark, which was a proven man deterrent.
Jonah was the only one who knew about my crush so far and I wanted to keep it that way. I could only imagine how painful Mirra would make my life if she knew how I felt about the Scottish shifter.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Consuming blood always energized me. I was too restless to sit in the library and read to Jonah. He could tell how I felt and bade me goodnight before vanishing. For a while, I walked the halls, but the exercise wasn’t enough. I’d never get to sleep if I didn’t burn off some of the excess energy.
Quin trusted me enough to let me leave the house, but not to leave the property. A tall fence topped with razor wire kept me imprisoned as I slipped outside and broke into a sprint. The old mansion was surrounded by trees that grew denser towards the back of the property.
I didn’t even realize it was the first night of the full moon until I was deep into the woods. Hearing a pained groan, I stumbled to a stop and cocked my head to the side. Creeping towards the noise when it sounded again, I peered around a tree to see Quin crouched on the ground. She held her head in her hands as if she was in pain.
When she let out a shout of agony, I almost stepped out from behind my cover and went to her. An arm came around my waist, pulling me back against a hard chest as a hand covered my mouth. I recognized Connor’s scent and didn’t try to fight him. He dropped his hand to my shoulder and held me still as we watched our boss suffer beneath the pull of the moon. Only half-werewolf, she couldn’t change into the beast that desperately wanted out of her.
Falling to her hands and knees, she tilted her head back and howled at the bright silver moon. She might not be able to turn into an animal, but she sounded like a real wolf. Howls sounded in the distance. Either West Virginia wasn’t completely wolf free, or other werewolves were lamenting her failure to join them on their hunt.
Connor drew me backwards and we melted into the shadows before Quin became aware that she wasn’t alone. I was silent as I walked beside the shapeshifter. He might turn into a panther rather than a wolf, but it was obvious he felt for Quin. His face was drawn and pale and his expression didn’t invite conversation. There really wasn’t anything I could say anyway.
When we reached the mansion, I touched him on the arm to stop him before he could leave. “I didn’t mean to spy on Quin,” I said. “I was just trying to burn off some of my energy from drinking the blood.”
“I know,” he said wearily. “I didn’t think to warn you to stay away from the woods.” Running a hand through his messy dark blond hair, he seemed distracted. “Don’t mention this to Quin,” he said. “She wouldn’t be happy if she knew you’d witnessed that.”
Quin was the least vulnerable woman I’d ever met, but everyone had their weaknesses. She seemed ashamed that she couldn’t become a full werewolf, but I thought it was more of an advantage not to be reduced to a mindless animal for three nights and days. Then again, I wasn’t a shifter and I didn’t have their instincts. “I won’t say anything,” I promised, then brushed past him and entered the house.
Jonah was in my room when I trudged upstairs. He’d made himself at home on my bed. “You saw Quin?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah. She looked like she was in agony.” I spoke just as quietly so Connor wouldn’t hear me.
“I’ve watched her go through that too many times to count,” the ghost said glumly. He couldn’t leave the house, so he must have seen her through the windows. “Her wolf is strong and it wants out,” he added. “But she doesn’t have the genetic makeup to let the beast run loose.”
“I can see why she gets extra cranky at this time of the month,” I said.
He instantly smirked at my poor choice of wording. “All women have that problem. Usually, it isn’t because of their inner beasts.”
“Ugh, you’re such a guy sometimes,” I complained. Only a man would think that was funny. If they had to suffer through the same afflictions that women did, they’d curl into a weeping ball, unable to cope. “I’m going to take a shower and turn in.” It was a hint for him to leave and I was thankful when he took it.
After my shower, I climbed into bed, but my mind was still buzzing. While I wasn’t a shifter, I now wondered if we were so different after all. I’d seen what happened when I didn’t feed my vampire. Going without blood made me weak and it would eventually kill me.
Quin wouldn’t die if she didn’t turn into a wolf, but it made me wonder about her mental state. She had a creature inside her that longed to be free and never could be. I couldn’t ask her outright if there was a way to make her transform. If there was, she probably would have tried it long ago. Her case seemed hopeless and she was destined to be half of her true self forever.
I eventually fell asleep and my dreams were plagued with scenes of death and violence. This had happened every time I’d consumed blood so far. It momentarily made my tentative link to Alakay stronger and gave me glimpses into his memories. He’d killed thousands of innocent and not so innocent humans over the centuries. He didn’t discriminate and killed anyone who took his fancy.
The master vampire didn’t just kill humans. I’d witnessed him slaughtering an entire village of shapeshifters. This dream showed him targeting another supernatural creature. I wasn’t sure what it was at first. He raced through dense trees after something. Hooves thundered on the ground and I caught glimpses of a horse-like animal. He launched himself at it and his arms wrapped around a strong, humanoid waist.
Tackling the beast, he wrestled it to the ground and buried his fangs in its throat. Only after he drank his fill and sat back did I see what he’d just hunted. It was a centaur; half horse and half man. Or half teenage boy in this instance. His human torso and face were decidedly young. Terror and pain were etched on his face.
An enraged roar sounded and I heard the whistle of an arrow racing towards Alakay. He laughed and ducked before it could hit him. Energized by the blood, he sprinted away far too quickly for the adult centaurs to catch him. They shouted at him in a foreign language that I couldn’t understand, sending more arrows after him. A female wailed when they found the body of her slain child. I mourned for her loss even as I felt Alakay’s triumph swell inside him. I had a feeling the blood of supernatural creatures was far more powerful than human blood.
When I woke at six the next morning, I was glad to claw my way out of sleep. Being linked to Alakay in my dreams always left me feeling soiled and unsettled. He was a monster and he was the reason why I was a half-vampire. He hadn’t just murdered my family, he’d ruined my life. I would never be normal again and there was no way to undo what he’d done to me.
He didn’t even know that he’d created a hybrid. As far as he was aware, I’d died from m
y internal injuries. He still believed my rotting bones lay in the shallow grave that he’d dug for me. It was my personal mission to hunt him down again. I couldn’t wait to see the surprise on his face when he realized I was still alive. He wasn’t going to escape from my form of justice again. The next time we met, I was going to chop his head off. Maybe then the dreams that haunted me would end.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Apart from the dark hollows beneath her eyes, Quin showed no signs of her torment from last night. If she’d been a full werewolf, she would have remained in her bestial form until the full moon ended.
Conner sent me a warning look as we sat down for breakfast. Taking the hint, I pretended that I hadn’t witnessed her anguish as I ate my disgustingly healthy cereal. Mirra was almost bouncing in her seat in excitement, reminding me that she would be in charge of this mission at some point. Knowing she would get to boss me around almost soured my anticipation of the hunt. I’d been cooped up in the house for over a week now and I was itching to get out and kill some monsters.
Jonah looked forlorn sitting at the end of the table. He hated being left behind, but he was tied to the house and he couldn’t leave. He watched us as we discussed the mission and our plans. Being new, I mainly remained quiet and listened in. They might be the elite, but they weren’t much different from every other group of hunters I’d worked with.
“Since we don’t know what we’ll be up against, I’ve loaded a variety of weapons into the SUV,” Quin said. It didn’t surprise me that she’d risen early to prepare. She probably hadn’t slept at all.
“The water will be murky and almost impossible to see in if I have to enter it,” Mirra mused. “I will have to use my senses to investigate the area first. This means all men will have to be cleared from the property.”
Connor tensed and Jonah’s morose expression lifted as he smirked. “What will happen if they don’t leave?” I asked.
Mirra’s exquisite dark eyes became even more arrogant and she tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “They will become my mindless slaves and will be forced to do my every bidding.”
“So, nothing much will change,” Jonah said and I snorted out a laugh.
The siren looked at me, affronted by my laughter. “Jonah,” I said in self-defense.
She glared at his seat where they knew he always sat and huffed. “If he were alive, he would be just as susceptible to me as any human,” she said haughtily.
“Tell her she has nice breasts, but I’ve seen better,” he said facetiously. “It would take an utterly perfect body for me to become any woman’s slave.”
Choking on my bite of cereal, I almost coughed it out, but forced it down, then burst out laughing. Everyone stared at me until I got myself under control.
“I want to know what he said,” Mirra demanded, face red with anger.
“You really don’t,” I replied, spooning more cereal into my mouth.
“You’re not in charge yet,” Quin reminded the beautiful siren. “If you can’t ignore Jonah’s and Arienna’s childishness, then perhaps you aren’t ready to take point after all.”
“I’m ready,” Mirra said with a cold glance at me. “I will not let the bloodsucker affect me.”
Instead of being insulted by her jab, I shared a look with Jonah. He often made jokes about my unholy other half. “I vant to suck your blood,” he intoned in a terrible Romanian accent, holding his hands out towards my neck mock threateningly.
Shaking my head at his antics, I finished off my cereal. The others had grown used to me talking to the invisible spirit that haunted the mansion, but it still disconcerted them at times. Jonah was the only one who was really comfortable with it. I still wasn’t sure why I could see and speak to him. Normal vampires couldn’t, but we’d already established that I was far from normal.
As Quin had instructed, I’d packed a bag with a few changes of clothes just in case we would be gone for a few days. My holster was strapped to my belt and the Ruger was hidden by my dark green jacket. Only someone with training would be able to tell I was packing. Quin and Connor wore similar holsters, but Mirra carried her gun in her backpack. It would be interesting to see her in action, but I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. She was already far too perfect. Having a chance to show off would make her even more insufferable.
We retrieved our gear from our rooms, then met up at the door that led to the garage. We bypassed the concrete cell where Quin had initially tested me to see how dangerous I was. Nestled among the black vehicles, my car looked like a disheveled white dove sitting among a murder of crows. Mirra looked at it and sniffed in disdain. I shot a glower at her back and Connor sent me a warning glance not to start an argument.
Quin walked over to an SUV and unlocked it. The garage door rolled upwards as we climbed inside. Connor took the front passenger seat, leaving me to sit as far away from Mirra in the back as I could get.
Turning around, I saw Jonah waving forlornly as we drove out of the garage. I waved back, then he was cut off from my sight when the door rolled back down. He would be even lonelier with us gone now that he finally had someone to talk to.
Mirra put in earbuds and listened to what sounded like classical music on her cell phone. Quin turned the radio on and I was subjected to golden oldies that had been hits long before my birth. Our boring ride lasted for four hours before we finally reached the sewage treatment facility.
Even before we approached the property, my nose wrinkled at the smell. Connor and Quin were just as affected as I was, but Mirra didn’t seem to notice. That meant her senses weren’t as highly tuned as ours were.
“I called Sheriff Robertson and warned him to get his people clear,” Quin said as we pulled up at the gate that barred our way. “He was reluctant, but I finally managed to convince him that it was necessary for the safety of his deputies.”
Mirra smirked smugly and preened proudly even though no one was paying any attention to her. Apparently, even females were affected by sirens to some extent. I’d apparently shrugged off her unnatural allure faster than normal, but I wondered how long it had taken Connor to adjust to her beauty. Even after ten years, he still avoided looking directly at her most of the time.
We climbed out, leaving the SUV behind and crossed to a much smaller gate. Quin took out a lock picking case and made short work of the padlock. She let us inside, then shut the gate, but didn’t lock it again.
I wanted to hold my nose shut with my fingers, but struggled not to succumb to the urge. Even Mirra was wrinkling her nose at the stench that permeated the area. I wasn’t sure if sewage plants were always this stinky, or if something had gone wrong somewhere in the bowels of the place.
The plant was nestled next to a large lake. Pipes jutted from the building, lancing deep into the water. “Split up and search the perimeter,” Quin said. “Arienna, you’re with Connor.”
I nodded, glad that Mirra wasn’t in charge yet. “Come on, newbie,” Connor said with a hint of a grin. “Stay behind me and try not to shoot me in the back.”
“Ha, ha,” I said sourly. He’d probably been dying to use my own words against me and had finally gotten the chance to do so.
The property was deserted and eerily silent as we headed towards the right side of the building. It was gigantic, made of concrete and was three stories high. I pulled my gun and kept it pointed at the ground. Connor did the same, searching the area for anything suspicious.
We circled around to the lake and found we couldn’t go any further. Seeing dozens of holes in the mud with strange gouge marks around the edges, I pointed at them. “I wonder what made those marks?”
He studied them carefully. “It looks like hands with long claws.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” I said with a sigh. Something was collecting mud, but we had no idea why. I suspected we would learn the answer once we entered the building.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sheriff Robertson had left the main door t
o the plant unlocked. Quin entered first, holding her gun ready. Her weapon of choice was a shiny silver Magnum .357 with the cool name of ‘Desert Eagle’. I’d tried shooting one once and had found the recoil to be too much for me to handle. Of course, I’d been human back then. I could handle much stronger guns now, but the Ruger was familiar and there was no real need for me to change it.
It was dark inside and we switched our flashlights on. The bright beams probed the gloom, searching for monsters. We strode through a deserted foyer, passing a reception desk and heading towards twin heavy metal doors that led to the main plant. A mug of coffee had been left behind on the reception desk. The liquid had turned to sludge, but the smell was drowned out by something far ranker.
Connor had to put his shoulder to the doors to force them open. The power had gone out and only a few emergency lights were scattered here and there. A metal balcony ran around the perimeter of several gigantic tanks that reared up from the ground. Massive pipes ran from one tank to the other, but they weren’t operational at the moment. I assumed they were used to send the water from tank to tank to be processed until it finally came out clean in the end.
The smell of sewage and something even worse was thick enough to coat my tongue. Breathing through my mouth was worse than taking the smell in through my nose. Now I could taste the earthy, sludgy odor.
Water splashed somewhere above in one of the tanks and I jumped a little. My light didn’t reach far enough to discern what had caused the noise. We were far too low to be able to see inside the tanks from here anyway.
At that thought, Quin motioned for us to climb upwards. She was still in charge, but that would soon change once she relinquished the reins to Mirra. “You two, take the right side,” she ordered. Connor guided me to the stairs and I started climbing. When I reached the top, I waited for him to go first. Our flashlights couldn’t pierce the water of the first tank, but it was still, so we kept going. Grates covered the tanks to prevent anyone from falling in and drowning.
