They pulled up at the end of the drive. Outside lighting bathed the front of the home in soft yellow light. There was no telling how many more of them were inside the house. She leaned into Riley and whispered as inaudibly as possible, “Run if you get the chance.”
He gave a single nod and reached for the door handle. It made a soft noise as he pulled on it, but it didn’t open. From the front seat of the car, his father laughed. “Where will you go? I’m tempted to let you run free just to see what you do.”
Ramsay let himself out of the car first and reached for Quinn’s door. Aerilyn looked at Riley again and muttered, “Don’t worry about me.”
She took a deep breath, preparing herself to shift. As soon as the door opened, she would brush past Ramsay’s lackey and bare her teeth. They wouldn’t be expecting it. She would have the upper hand.
But as she imagined the possibility of escape, Quinn lifted her hand to his mouth. Her wrist was held an inch from his lips. His warm breath touched her skin, and he said in warning, “Try anything, and I’ll bite, beautiful.”
She thought of Garren’s bite-induced paralysis and second-guessed her plan. It wouldn’t help anything getting nipped by the blood-sucker.
The door swung open. The smell of evergreens filled the car. It was her favorite aroma. It signified freedom to her, but in that moment, it couldn’t have been further from the truth. Defeated, she slid out after Quinn and looked over her shoulder at Riley, who was helped from the backseat by his father.
Both of them were led up the front walkway to the carved mahogany door which swung open before they reached the threshold. A young man and woman stared at them with a smile on their lips.
The woman stepped outside with her arms out. “Father! You’ve returned.”
Twenty-Two
Aerilyn tilted her head back to look into the natural-hewn rafters. An antler chandelier hung above them, illuminating the living room. Leather couches were arranged before a stone fireplace, and rustic wood flooring was covered by geometric patterned rugs.
The young woman gave Ramsay a hug while her brother went to flop onto one of the couches. He stared at Riley with a blank expression and asked, “Is that him?”
Ramsay moved away from his daughter and led Riley to an overstuffed lounge chair so he could sit down. “Marika, Dustin, this is Riley, your brother.”
Marika swept her black hair over her shoulder and directed her green eyes in Riley’s direction. The young woman was dressed in a black tank and jean shorts. Clearly, she was channeling a different season than winter. She gazed at her new sibling without much interest and frowned. “He looks like crap. You sure he’s a vamp?”
Ramsay sighed, “You never looked like this because you weren’t as stubborn as Riley. He won’t touch a drop.”
“Wow, impressive,” Dustin muttered. At least he was dressed for the season. His long sleeves and jeans fit the environment better than his sister’s spring break attire. His pale blue eyes were a similar shade to his father’s, but his bone structure was very different from his sister’s, longer and more angular, more like Ramsay’s. He couldn’t hide the curiosity from his voice. “Aren’t you hungry?”
Riley didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Aerilyn. Quinn still had a tight hold on her wrist and was keeping her securely by his side. Her fingers were beginning to go numb.
“Who’s that?” Ramsay pointed at a man lying on the floor underneath a wall of windows. “I left you with food.”
Dustin rolled his eyes and looked at his sister. “Somebody got bored.”
Aerilyn stared at the body, feeling her stomach twist in horror. The man couldn’t have been alive. His skin was pale, almost gray, and had lost all pigment. She noticed his hiking shoes and it dawned on her. This was the missing hiker they’d been looking for a few weeks back.
“Did you bring us a snack?” Marika glanced at Aerilyn and licked her lips. “I’ve been getting tired of Mr. and Mrs. Rogers over there. They taste like that leather couch.”
It was then Aerilyn noticed an elderly couple hooked up to IV’s and sitting propped at a small game table at the back of the room. The man’s head was resting on his hands, and a deck of cards were dealt on the glass surface. The woman was sprawled back in her seat. Her eyes were open, but unseeing. Heavy makeup covered her face, and bite marks traced her neck and arms. It was a disturbing sight that caught Aerilyn’s breath in her throat.
“Why didn’t you leave them in the bedroom?” Ramsay shook his head, referring to the couple. “I don’t want to look at my food while I’m trying to relax after such a long day.”
Dustin remarked in a monotone, “You’re telling me. It’s creepy.”
“What?” Marika answered in defense, batting her eyelashes. “It’s boring as hell here. You left us alone with nothing to do, so I entertained myself—practiced my smoky eye. Look at her—she looks way younger now.”
Ramsay stared open mouthed at the elderly woman in the corner and muttered, “She looks like she has the plague.”
Marika edged closer to Aerilyn and cocked her head. “She’ll be much more fun to put makeup on.”
Aerilyn tried to step back, but Quinn held her in place. Shooting pains went up her arm, and she tried to remember all of the self-defense moves Emery had taught her. She doubted there was any way out of this now; she was surrounded by four blood-suckers, and Riley seemed to have given up. That, or he’d passed out. He’d closed his eyes and had leaned his head against the back of his chair.
“Leave her,” Ramsay ordered.
Though his daughter seemed to be the rebellious type, she stopped and looked at him. Ramsay joined Quinn and Aerilyn and held his hand out. His nephew passed her over to him. Ramsay held her hand as if she were royalty. “I will have the first taste,” he muttered. “It seems I have made an interesting discovery. Her friend has been following me. But it wasn’t until the other day when I discovered he was something quite unique. A man and a canine in one. And when I sent Quinn out to collect him, he said—how did you put it?”
Quinn went to sit on the back of the couch Dustin was sprawled on. The blond thug inhaled deeply. “There was more life force in a mouthful than draining a man whole.”
Ramsay lifted Aerilyn’s hand to his nose and smelled her skin. He rubbed her fingers against his cheek with his eyes closed. Aerilyn was afraid to move. She couldn’t tear her focus from his mouth. What if he bit her?
Ramsay whispered, “Are you special like your friend?”
Her mind raced. Not only did she want to live to see Jax again, she felt responsible for Riley. He needed protecting. She sensed her time was running out. As soon as their venom was injected into her bloodstream, she’d be paralyzed. Then she would truly have no hope.
Ramsay knew about Garren’s abilities. It didn’t matter about keeping their existence secret anymore. It was now or never.
Aerilyn called to the power crackling at her core. It spread throughout her body, carried like a wave. Her pores tingled and stung as she felt the change take over. A carpet of white fur grew from her skin. Her bone structure morphed. Ramsay’s eyes widened when he no longer held her hand but gripped a wolf’s paw. Her pants dropped from her waist, and her shirt pulled across her chest.
She wrenched free from him and returned her front legs to the floor. Aerilyn backed up, wanting to keep all of the blood-suckers where she could see them. She scanned the room, noting Riley no longer appeared unconscious. His eyes were open wide, and his jaw had dropped open. He wasn’t the only one. Marika and Dustin seemed frozen in place, their stunned expressions displaying their sheer surprise.
Aerilyn knew there was no way out of there. The doors were closed and she no longer had the use of her hands to open them and escape. She bared her teeth and raised her hackles. If they wanted to bite her, they’d have to get past her own sharp canines. She didn’t have venom, but her teeth were longer than theirs, and her jaw was far more powerful. At least, she hoped so.
Dusti
n pushed himself upright and looked at Ramsay with a startled expression. “Father?”
“Stay put.” Ramsay turned to face her with his hands out to his sides. “Quinn, give me a hand?”
The thug slid off the back of the couch and took a step toward her. She reacted by snarling at him and feigning an attack. Quinn stopped moving and pulled a knife from his belt. He pointed its shiny blade at her and grinned.
The tendons in Ramsay’s neck were pulled tight. “Don’t kill her. She’s more valuable to us alive.”
Ramsay’s gaze settled on a tall ceramic vase sitting against the wall. An array of long bamboo rods fanned out from inside it. Ramsay moved back and pulled one free. He flexed and bent it in his grasp. Aerilyn noticed Marika and Dustin move back to the edge of the room just as Ramsay began to spin the wooden rod at its center. He picked up speed, whirling it so fast, she could barely see it anymore.
Ramsay turned and swung the weapon around him. The wind whistled in her ears. She stepped back once more and swallowed. She would have to move faster than the stick. If it was at all possible.
Aerilyn stared across the room at Riley sitting in the armchair. His eyes were filled with confusion and fear. He shook his head and covered his face with his hands. Too much had happened over the course of the day for him to process. He was wasting away, and all she wanted to do was protect him.
She lunged toward Quinn and bit his leg. Her teeth sank in until she tasted blood through his slacks. It turned her stomach, but she held on until a heavy blow rang against her head. She let go with her teeth bared and snapped at the fist that pummeled down on her. Again, she bit into flesh. Her jaws clamped down even harder.
Quinn’s screams filled her ears, drowning out her growls. She had no plan, just to hurt him, to make him stop. Then she felt something on her neck. A pinch, a bite. She released Ramsay’s nephew to look for the cause of her discomfort but stumbled sideways and collapsed onto the wood floor. Her body grew light, and she took a deep breath. Before she could let it out, she slipped out of consciousness. But she no longer cared.
“We’re getting close,” Alaric said, looking down at his phone. Its light filled the back of the van with a blue glow.
Jax leaned over to look out the window at the unpaved road ahead. It felt like hours had passed while they chased down the dot that marked Alaric’s map, though only forty-five minutes had gone by. He could only think of Aerilyn. What if they hadn’t moved fast enough to find her? What if she was already dead?
He thought of Riley’s lifeless mother left to bleed out. He clenched his fists and ground his teeth together. Before they’d even returned to the van to chase after Aerilyn, Jax had concluded Ramsay’s life was forfeit.
From the driver’s seat, Deane looked in the rearview mirror and muttered, “There’s another car behind us. They’re back a ways. Probably nothing to worry about.”
“Slow down,” Alaric demanded. “She’s off to our right.”
The enforcer took his foot off the accelerator, and the van reduced speed. He frowned and pointed ahead. “There—a turn off.”
He turned off the road onto a bumpy, rutted drive. Deane went a short distance until Alaric spoke up once again. “Whoa. Pull off here. The dot on the map is just ahead. We don’t want them knowing we’re coming.”
Deane pulled the van under the canopy of some pines and parked. He turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition before climbing into the back with Jax and Alaric. The enforcer started unbuttoning his shirt.
“She’s my daughter, I’ll go,” Alaric said and stood up.
Deane ignored the man and continued to peel off his shirt and kick off his shoes. “Ye may be a flyer, but ye can’t see in the dark like I can. Let me do my job.”
Alaric frowned and nodded. He seemed distracted, distraught. Jax couldn’t blame him.
They watched as Deane opened the back doors and went outside. He slipped out of his pants and raised his arms above his head. Feathers coated his flesh, and he shrank in size. An owl flapped its wings in the place Deane had once stood and took to the skies.
Emery climbed into the back and followed Alaric and Jax out the double doors. Jax listened for the sound of tires on the main road but heard nothing. Only wind brushed against the tree tops and whistled through the boughs.
Alaric paced along the length of the van, looking up every time he stopped to change direction. Emery crossed her arms and muttered, “She better be okay.”
“She will be.” Jax couldn’t believe anything different in that moment. Aerilyn was all he had that was worth anything. He couldn’t lose her now that he’d opened his heart to her.
Emery turned to look down the darkened road and sighed.
“Maybe I should go see what the holdup is,” Alaric muttered and reached for his top button.
“Sir.” Emery moved toward him with her hand up. “Just give him another minute.”
Alaric seemed prepared to argue his point when they heard wings flapping overhead. They tilted their heads back to search for the owl. Its shadowy form flew down and perched on top of one of the open doors of the van.
“Well?” Alaric asked, his voice high and strained.
The owl hopped down out of sight into the vehicle, and moments later a naked Deane stepped out with his hands cupped over his groin. “There’s a home at the end of this drive. I could see a number of people inside—Ramsay, Riley, that guy who attacked ye, Emery, and a few others.”
“What about Aerilyn?” Jax asked, holding his breath.
Deane sighed, “I couldn’t see her.”
Alaric’s jaw tightened. “Well, we know her phone’s there, so she must be, too.”
“What do ye think, Emery?” Deane asked his trainee.
She took a shaky breath. “Our first law is the most important. We must protect the secret of our existence from the world, but those blood-suckers have something to hide, too. I say it’s more important to rescue Aerilyn and Riley than it is to protect our secret from them. I say we go in on foot, then you and I take our animal forms and take care of business.”
“I can shift, too,” Jax said, imagining sinking his teeth into Ramsay.
“We know very little about these blood-suckers.” Alaric paced with his arms crossed. “We don’t know how many there are in the world, and we don’t know if they’re aware of Genus Society. But tonight will be the start of something because I’ll be damned if I let my little girl get drained of blood.”
Alaric looked at Deane.
The enforcer’s expression deepened into a grimace, and he whispered, “Very well.”
Alaric shook his head. “I know it brings bad memories, but isn’t she—”
“Worth it?” Deane answered. “Aye, she’s family.”
Emery’s eyes widened. She began to take off her coat, but Deane turned to her. “No, not ye. I don’t want ye shifting unless ye have to. We don’t know what’s happened to Aerilyn, and we’ll be needing as many hands free as possible to get her and Riley out of there.”
She looked crestfallen at his response and exhaled sharply. “Fine.”
“What about me?” Jax asked. He was ready to fight in any form. He didn’t care.
Deane glanced his way. “That goes for ye, too. We’re going in to get Riley and Aerilyn. Whatever it takes. Watch yerselves and don’t get bit.”
Jax didn’t understand how it was more helpful having Deane along in owl form, but then he remembered Aerilyn mentioning that Deane could shift into more than one animal form.
Jax waited, wondering what to expect. A cool breeze swept through the trees and rustled their clothes. Deane stared at the ground before closing his eyes. His body stretched and grew, and he tipped onto all fours. Sleek fur coated his muscles, and his head widened. A recognizable pattern of stripes appeared, and Jax couldn’t help but gape in response. He’d never expected this.
The enormous feline stretched, arching his rear and elongating his front legs to the ground. Deane straighte
ned, took a few steps ahead of them and looked over his muscular shoulder. Emery and Alaric followed after him.
Jax took another moment staring at the tiger sauntering down the moonlit road before starting off.
Twenty-Three
Alaric rested his hand on the doorknob, glanced back at the wild tiger standing between Jax and Emery and whispered, “I see at least three inside.”
Jax had gotten into a fistfight or two in his life. He knew how to land a punch, but he’d never fought anyone who was out to bite him. It was more unnerving imagining Aerilyn slumped in the corner bleeding out. Ramsay had attacked KT, drained Garren’s blood like he was a keg of beer and kidnapped Riley and killed his mother. On top of that, he’d assaulted Aerilyn and taken her to this home to do God knows what to her. The blood-sucker deserved to die.
He looked into Alaric’s eyes and saw the same conviction. They shared a silent moment, seemingly agreeing they were there for the same thing. The lodge leader grit his teeth and muttered, “Do whatever you can to save Aerilyn and the kid.”
He tried to turn the knob, but it was locked. His eyes widened and he shook his head.
That wasn’t about to stop Jax. He scanned the front of the mountain home. The carved wooden door was massive and solid. Two empty decorative planters sat on either side of it. They were too large and heavy to hide a key under, so he kept looking. Emery and Alaric seemed to understand what he was doing and joined in the search for a hide-a-key.
Even Deane in tiger form began sniffing along the front walk and stopped beside a ceramic statue of a maid holding a bucket that was surrounded by wilted, dormant plants. Emery went to his side and rested her hand on his striped back.
“What did you find?” she whispered.
His wet nose pointed at the bucket, so she leaned over to peer inside. A relieved grin perched on her lips as she lifted something shiny from within. She hurried back to hand the key to Alaric.
Half-Blood Descendant: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 1) Page 22
