by Kim Faulks
Panic rose as I scanned the corners. Alpha bent and wrenched a body aside and a small feeble sound slipped into the air.
The Marine jerked his head upwards. “We’ve got one alive over here.”
The room was filled with the flurry of movement.
“Michael, closer,” barked Alpha, motioning me forward. “I need to see.”
I stepped around splayed legs and moved deeper into the cabin. Bodies piled on top of each other where the Marine stood. Arms draped around a body underneath, as though he held on to life itself.
The sickening stench of Vampire crammed every inch of this space, filling my mouth with the taste of old blood. The sudden draw of breath dragged me back to the heap. The light from my hands pulsed, revealing more the closer I leaned.
The undead’s shirt was torn open, revealing the mess underneath. Deep gashes raked along his spine, crusted skin curled at the edges, bloody bone peeked through. But the savage cuts didn’t end there. Slashes opened his side from one side of his back to the other. The glint of a claw sat embedded into flesh.
This was no battle.
This was a slaughter.
A rasp of breath echoed. The Vampire slowly blinked and moved his lips, but the word was lost. Blond hair fell over his face and covered his mouth. Alpha knelt at his side and leaned close, reaching out with trembling fingers to brush the strands aside.
“Wait,” X growled. “Friend from foe, remember?”
There was a second of silence where the thunder of heartbeats stole the space, until I took a step. “I’ll do it.”
Alpha’s head snapped toward me as I took a step.
“Wait, Michael,” Marcus growled behind me. “We don’t know…”
His words fell on deaf ears as I dropped to my knees beside the undead and spoke. “Say that again.”
The surface of his eyes were dull and opaque. The undead barely alive. Dried blood matted his hair and covered his face. His lips parted and the snarl came again. “Protect her.”
I flinched as his hand slipped along the floor, fingers curled, tracing another’s underneath. Long tapered fingers were revealed as a baby’s tiny mewl tore free. Still I couldn’t look away. The woman’s hands splayed flat against the floor, nails torn and bloody, pale skin with the faint blush of life.
Alpha lunged across the Vampire and chaos followed.
“Is that them?” Joslyn cried. “Is that my babies?”
The thunder of steps rocked the floor. The mother was a frantic blur, dragging limbs aside, yanking, pulling, and Zadoc was behind her. Alpha lifted, and dragged a blanket free. Black fur stuck out from the opening. One tiny foot kicked as the Marine peeled open the covering revealing the little wolf.
“Oh God! Jesus…Jesus…” Joslyn grabbed the bundle with trembling hands and smashed him against her chest. Tears slipped down her cheeks. “My boy…my boy…my baby.”
A feeble cry slipped free, two wet spots bloomed at her breasts. She speared her hand under her shirt and turned from the rest of us. “It’s okay…it’s okay.”
“My daughter?” Zadoc dropped to his knees and searched the blanket. “Where is she?”
But the blanket was empty. Zadoc dragged the Vampire from the pile, red eyes blazed with fire. “Where the fuck is my daughter?”
Pale fingers moved underneath the undead. Torn nails scratched the wood, clawing…searching. Strands of dark brown hair stuck to her cheek, covering her face.
I knelt and brushed her hair aside, revealing Doc’s face.
“Start again.” Gunny barked, bending to yank bodies aside. “We’re gonna find her. We’re gonna fucking find her.”
“Go with Victor and Odessa.” Zadoc brushed Joslyn’s arm. “They’ll take care of you.”
His mate flinched from the touch and turned. The little one’s head was under her shirt, soft sucking sounds slipped free as she fumbled with her breast. But she was neither vulnerable nor afraid. In this moment, Joslyn was a mother protecting her young and there was nothing more deadly. Her lips curled, haunted eyes sparkled like shattered glass. “Don’t tell me what to do. I’m not leaving…I’m not leaving this place without her.”
Red bloomed on the dressing around her throat. Zadoc dropped a tortured gaze to the wound and then slowly nodded. “Okay, but please let me take care of you.”
I’d never heard my brother so somber and so utterly terrified. But he wasn’t scared of her, only for her. “We’ve got our son.” His voice broke; lips trembled as he looked at the wolf in her arms. “We’ve got our son.”
Joslyn leaned forward and spittle flew as she screamed. “I’m not leaving without my daughter!”
Zadoc swallowed hard, and the room fell silent, and out of the emptiness came a whisper, filled with desperation. “Thorn.”
I dropped my gaze to the floor. The doc blinked, and tried once more. “My baby.”
Joslyn flinched and wrenched her head toward the woman. She clutched her baby with one hand and shoved the ground with the other, treading on hands and feet to get to her.
“My baby,” she snapped and flicked a savage gaze toward me. “Where is she? Where is my baby?”
The walls to this house of horrors seemed to close in as the doc whispered. “Demons…demons took my Thorn.”
8
Michael
“No.” The tortured word slipped free.
Joslyn’s eyes widened as she shook her head. She cast a panicked gaze to X and then to Zadoc and whispered, “She has my baby…that bitch has my baby.”
Zadoc’s brow furrowed. He dropped his gaze to the floor and stared at the filthy blanket.
“She’s never going to stop, is she?” Joslyn took a slow step. “She’s never going to leave us alone. She’s never…” Her voice broke. “She’s never going to give us our daughter back.”
“Yes she will—when she has what she wants.”
I turned my head as the small seer slipped in through the shattered wall. Those all-seeing eyes scanned the room and lingered on the Vampire. “You fought bravely, thank you.”
She lifted her gaze, meeting Joslyn’s. “If the Vampire doesn’t feed soon, he’ll die.”
“My daughter,” the mother snarled. “My daughter will die. Do you care about that? Do you even…do you even…?”
The seer moved around the dead to stop at Joslyn’s side and glanced at the wolf in the young mother’s arms. “Yes, we all do, that’s why we’re here. But that being put his life on the line to protect your son, does that not account for something?”
Odessa’s words stilled the room. Joslyn gave a nervous glance to the undead and then slowly nodded.
“Give him mine,” Zadoc growled, slow fingers reached for the buttons of his shirt.
“No!” Marcus strode forward. “You can’t give a Vampire a Guardian’s blood. We have no idea how he’ll—”
Joslyn clawed the bandage on her throat with one arm clenched around the little wolf at her breast. “Then give him mine! I don’t care. I don’t care!”
“No.” The quiet demand cut through the pain.
Alpha took one nervous glance at the Vampire then reached over his shoulder and dragged his shirt free. Muscles rippled, scars across his bare chest shone white. “This one’s on me. I’m stronger.”
I could see the panic rising as he stared at the barely conscious immortal. His hands twitched. He licked his lips and let out a shuddering breath. “I’m gonna need someone to…”
“Not from the neck.” X slipped to his side and gripped his arm.
The Marine’s shoulders sagged with her words.
“Your wrist.” She trailed her fingers down his forearm and then cupped his hand. “That way we can control how much he takes. Close your eyes,” she whispered. “Trust in me.”
She turned to Joslyn. “Hold the Vampire’s hand.”
The soft words were more than a request and for a second Joslyn was silent as though she weighed up all the reasons she should care.
“This is
the way of the pack,” X whispered. “When one saves one of our own we feed them, care for them. We treat them as our own.”
Joslyn cut her gaze to the floor at my feet, as the slow gasping breaths of the doctor filled the room.
“Just like we cared for each other,” X finished and waited for the young mother to move. “It’s up to you, Joslyn. It’s all up to you, but make your decision now.”
The little wolf gave a weak kick and nuzzled harder. This wasn’t about comfort—not for the Vampire and not for us. X could see what we were all seeing. Joslyn was shutting down minute by minute until there was nothing more than a shell of hate left.
Trauma and blood loss accounted for most of it, but it was more than that—it was the last straw, the last body, the last ounce of pain—the last cry of a child.
Joslyn stepped closer, and then crumpled to her knees. Her hand shook as she reached for the Vampire’s blood coated fingers, brushed cold skin, and then wrenched her hand away.
“He fought valiantly,” Odessa murmured. “And wears the blood of our enemies.”
X lifted the Vampire’s head with one hand and eased the Marine’s wrist closer.
“Go on now,” she urged Joslyn and waited until the human took the undead’s hand in hers.
Icy lips kissed warm skin. Reflex took over as the Vampire opened wide and then bit.
The Marine flinched, his skin turned a sickly shade of yellow as Gunny spoke.
“We can track them, now that we know who they are.” She took one nervous look at Alpha and started to pace. “We’ll split up. Evander and I will follow the trail; we can jump ahead, find points where we think they’re headed. There's enough of us here.”
“Not all,” Zadoc growled, standing over Joslyn and watching the Vampire feed from Alpha’s wrist.
“I need you to take care of our son. He might be immortal, but he still has other needs, something only a mother can give.”
Joslyn gripped the undead’s hand and spoke. “Like what? What can I give him that he can’t find with another?” She turned her head to stare at the woman at my feet. “He’s not even hungry. Not really.” She dragged the tiny wolf from under her shirt and looked into his bright eyes. Her voice was cold and distant. “Look at him. Does he look malnourished to you? Look at him…and tell me what can I give him now?”
She was right. The babe was dirty, blood stuck to his fur, but there were no wounds, no dull stare, not even a dried nose. It was as though he’d come out unscathed while the rest…I glanced around the room—while the rest lay dying all around him.
“Stop it!” Zadoc snapped. Flames lashed in his eyes. He turned his head. “He needs you. I need you.”
The Vampire’s hand hit the floor with a thud. She shoved from the floor, climbing to unsteady feet. “You need me? You need me?” Fresh tears shone against her cheeks. She reached out, touching his hand like a stranger. “Then bring her back to me. I’m begging you. Bring her back.”
“That’s enough, Vampire.” X gave the command. “You’ve taken enough.”
Soft sucking sounds made my gut churn as the Vampire lifted his head.
The undead was already healing. Sunken cheeks filled out as I stared. There was life in those dark eyes now…life and a dark carnal need. He looked at Alpha’s wrist and licked pale lips. “Thank you.”
The words were small and quiet.
Nails scratched wood at my feet. Light splashed against the doctor’s skin as I brushed her hair. She was barely conscious. Her body rose and fell in jerking movements that made my pulse speed. I grabbed her arm with one hand and slid the other under her belly. A chain rattled. I looked to the shackle at her foot and the clamp embedded in the floor. This human woman had been chained like a dog and left to die. “She needs a hospital. She needs one now.”
Her lips were cracked, shirt shredded. I eased her over with careful movements. Her chest was clawed with deep scratches. Her neck—I winced, looked away. Acid rose in the back of my throat. Her neck was savaged. I clenched my stomach and turned back…savaged more than once.
Tiny bite marks covered her neck. The wounds were cracked and dry. Bits of bloodied shirt stuck into the wounds melding her flesh and clothing.
Goddess above. I lifted my head to the newborn wolf and knew in my heart what she’d done. “He’s not hungry because he’s been fed.”
Joslyn jerked her gaze to me, and then to the babe in her arms. “There’s no milk, how could he have?”
The answer was so brutally simple. “Because she fed him her blood.”
The sudden catch of breath echoed around the room. All eyes fell to the woman in my arms.
“She’s dying,” whispered Odessa. “I can feel it…can’t catch my breath…can’t…”
The seer grabbed her breast. Her eyes widened, skin shone white. She lifted those amber eyes to me and my world shifted. The seer’s words came to life.
She’ll need you. Don’t leave her behind.
“Gunny and the others can take her,” Marcus moved forward. “She’s human. She’ll need—”
“No.” My answer was final.
I reached for her leg, skimming my fingers along torn trousers to her ankle. The flesh under the steel was red, swollen, and hot under my touch. She flinched as I strangled the chain and any other time I’d be gentle—any other day we had time.
But not today.
I wrenched the steel; links snapped taut and then shook with the strain.
The snap of the tether ripped through the room, bits of metal skidded across the floor. I’d not leave her, not like this—never like this. I gouged the filthy floor and slipped my hand under her belly. Her lips parted, her eyes fluttered open and closed as I grasped her shoulders and lifted.
“Thorn.” The whisper slipped free.
She was broken and damaged, worth no less than the Vampire, and yet no one else seemed to move.
“Do you not care?” I whispered and turned to Joslyn.
There was a flash of hatred, something so dark and feral it looked out of place on her innocent face. It was a darkness born of time when the lashings of terror never heal—they just cut deeper, past bone, past your soul…until there’s nothing left.
“No,” she whispered and set those cold eyes on me. “She’s the reason my daughter is gone.”
9
Doc Angel
Shallow breaths stabbed my chest. A cough hacked free, hard, wet, burning all the way down. Dark drops flew through the glare to smack my face and the bitter taste of blood filled me.
It was okay. It was going to be okay.
Take my truck…X and I’ll team up with…dying…Jesus…Doc…
Snatches of conversations slipped through. But it was Joslyn’s words that lingered, along with the pain and the anger in her tone.
She’s the reason my daughter is gone…
My brain sparked, synapses fired.
There was nothing left now.
Nothing but the cold and the glare, and the fight for a breath.
I waited for death to come.
Twigs snapped, leaves rustled…boots slipped…a cry tore free, low, guttural, and a male’s face filled my view. The green in his eyes flared neon bright. “You’re going to make it, Doc.”
I tried to smile, tried to say the words. No, I won’t…
The heavy thunder of boots filled my ears. The bark of a woman followed. Ace…to your right…status report…on your way…Doc…Doc…
I flinched from the blast. Darkness shimmered in my mind, like a bottomless lake filled with all my hopes and dreams. Black scales glinted at the bottom of the lake.
Dark eyes opened as the perfect face of my daughter came to life. My fingers twitched. My lips curled. In my mind I reached for her. “Thorn.”
Her fierce cry cracked through the darkness of my mind calling me…needing me.
She wasn’t mine. I knew that—an icy trail slipped down my cheek—and yet in my heart…she was.
She was mine to love, m
ine to hold…mine to keep safe.
An ache flared down to the marrow of my bone. I’d failed her, just as I’d failed all the others.
Familiar faces filled my head. Millard’s round cheeks, Cath’s bright eyes. Cook’s bucked teeth that shone when he smiled. All the doctors and nurses who gave up everything to fight alongside me…
I’m so sorry…
Five years of mutating and recombining shifter genomes to separate the animal from the human. If I could’ve just cracked it…if I could’ve just found a way to harvest their immortal code, I could’ve saved the children.
I could’ve—a spear of pain shot through my chest—I could’ve saved them all…
Cold licked my body, stealing my pain…leaving me numb. The slipstream of air weakened, just a trickle now, seeping into my lungs with jagged breaths.
Soon now…soon I can stop fighting.
Soon I can rest.
The slam of a car door boomed, and that piercing glow softened.
“You’re okay, Doc. Do you hear me? You’re okay.”
I tried to answer that unfamiliar male voice. I tried to tell him I was okay, that I was floating in that midnight lake with my Dragon.
Sadness swallowed me. All my work. All my training…all the hope for nothing.
I rocked and rolled, jolting from one side to another. Gunfire echoed, pinging under my feet. Stones…the dirt road.
I never thought I’d hear that sound again, never thought I’d feel the warm touch of a hand…the Vampire.
Gabriel’s face shone like a neon light in my mind. Hold on…Hold on, Doctor.
“What? What did you say?” Green eyes blazed like spring leaves against the sun.
That light brightened, drowning out everything else.
I stole a breath…Vampire.
Those green eyes darkened, and the light dulled.
“He’s alive,” the male answered. “You, on the other hand won’t be if I don’t get you to a hospital.”
