Shadow Hunt

by L. L. Raand

  “It might well be,” Sylvan said. “But every trap can be sprung, and if we spring it, we’ll learn something about our opponent.”

  Niki grumbled but didn’t argue.

  “So far, he’s been careful,” Drake said. “That makes sense if he’s legitimate. He fears for his life, and rightly so. If exposed, he’s expendable. He’ll have to trust Becca not to reveal his identity.”

  Sylvan said, “And he doesn’t know where he’s going or who will be taking them there. Maybe he thinks he’ll be able to recognize his destination and give Becca more information. He might be right, but I’d rather follow him and find the place on our own.”

  Sylvan paused, cocked her head, and smiled. “We have visitors.”

  The doors opened and Lara and Raina strode inside. The cat Alpha wore tawny form-fitting leathers, shirtless beneath the vest despite the cold. She was a mountain lion, and the winter weather bothered her as little as it bothered the wolves. The Vampire physiology was less vigorous unless just after a feeding, but Lara seemed as unconcerned as Raina in just a leather shirt and pants. Her amber eyes glittered with shards of fire as she tipped her head to Sylvan. “Alpha.”

  “Warlord.” Sylvan held out an arm, and Lara stepped into her embrace.

  Lara murmured, “It’s good to see you, Alpha.”

  “And you.” Sylvan released her and nodded to Raina. “Alpha Carras. I take it you received our delivery.”

  Raina hissed in disgust. “What a sorry crew. They’ve been dealt with and hopefully have learned a lesson. Time will tell.”

  Drake eased up beside Sylvan and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Somehow I don’t think this visit is a coincidence.”

  Raina smiled and Lara shrugged the elegant shrug of a Vampire.

  “My Liege called me back from the mountains,” Lara said. “It seems we are about to go hunting a renegade Vampire.”

  “And a renegade cat,” Raina said darkly.

  “Francesca and Dru.” Sylvan nodded. “Jody would want her warlord. And the cat Alpha wants her due.”

  “We’re on our way to my Liege’s lair,” Lara said. “We can take a strike squad with us.”

  Sylvan looked to Niki. “Prepare our wolves to aid our allies.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” Niki strode out.

  “Torren has left to track Dru,” Sylvan said. “We have centuri watching for the human who will lead us to Standish’s laboratory.”

  Lara hissed. “If we don’t hear something tonight, we’ll have to wait until the next dawn. Francesca will be distracted then and her Vampires weak or somnolent.”

  “Your Vampires will be weaker too,” Sylvan said.

  Lara’s canines gleamed. “Not all of us.”

  “Then I’m very glad Liege Gates called you back.” Sylvan’s cell rang and everyone stilled.

  “Mir.”

  She listened.

  “How many?”

  Sylvan’s face was as smooth and unreadable as a river-washed stone.

  “Lara and Raina are here. I’ll inform them.”

  Sylvan hung up. “Torren has found Francesca’s lair, an old mansion by the river. She says Francesca has assembled a formidable seethe—at least two dozen vampires and mercenaries. There’s no way to tell how many humans might be inside.”

  “It’s too near dawn now,” Lara said. “But tomorrow…”

  Sylvan nodded. “Tomorrow we strike.”

  *

  “Do you think we’ve waited long enough to bait the trap?” Francesca said when Dru and Luce joined her at dawn.

  “I am certain the reporter has contacted Sylvan Mir,” Dru said. “Mir is almost certainly waiting for some evidence that proves the informant can be trusted. We don’t want to be obvious, but forty-eight hours should be enough time for Simon’s story to be credible.”

  “Can we have our forces in place in time?” Francesca unlaced the bodice of her gown and let it fall to the floor in a crimson pool.

  Luce’s eyes tracked every move, her hunger surpassed by her desire. Francesca had been allowing her to feed from her, just small sips, just enough to taste the power and know she was growing stronger. Soon, she would truly be Francesca’s second, more powerful than any other Vampire in the Western Hemisphere, possibly in the entire world. Power was an aphrodisiac all by itself, and every Vampire knew the pull. Sex was an offshoot of the quest for power, the orgasm a side effect registered with pleasure but secondary to the main goal. Not so any longer. Francesca’s body had become her obsession, and Dru her rival for Francesca’s attentions. “The mercenaries can be placed before sunfall, and our guards shortly after. Sylvan will not strike during the day—there’s too much risk of being observed. She will come at night, and we will be waiting.”

  “Then it’s time we gave her a destination.” Francesca ran her hands over her breasts and cupped them, rubbing her nipples, still pale rose, until they peaked. When she’d fed, they would blush scarlet.

  Beside Luce, Dru growled and a cloud of pheromones drifted from her, stirring Luce’s feeding hormones. She wanted them both, but she would have to wait on Francesca’s pleasure. Francesca held out her hand.

  “Dru, come join me.”

  Dru quickly shed her clothes, her skin already dusted with golden pelt. Francesca reclined on the bed, and Dru moved between her thighs.

  Francesca laughed. “You seek to mount me, my eager lion?”

  “I seek to fuck you.” Dru braced herself above Francesca on both arms, her caramel hair falling around her face, a lacy curtain obscuring all but Francesca’s fiery eyes. Her ass clenched rhythmically, and Luce hissed.

  Francesca raked her nails down Dru’s back, drawing lines of blood that trickled down the cat’s sides.

  “Move over,” Francesca said, her voice like ice.

  Dru’s entire body trembled, and she growled. Luce took a step forward, ready to rip the cat from Francesca’s body, but she didn’t need to. Francesca thrust a palm to Dru’s chest and the cat tumbled over on her back.

  “My Vampire needs to feed first,” Francesca said, her gaze caressing Luce’s trembling body. “Come, darling. Take what you need. Before long we will have all the blood we desire.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Rapid footsteps on the porch outside headquarters ended with a sharp rap on the door.

  “Come in,” Sylvan said abruptly, her gaze narrowing.

  Gray strode in, dressed for battle in black camo. “Alpha, I—”

  “Why aren’t you in the infirmary?”

  “I am healed, Alpha.” Gray straightened her shoulders and raised her head as much as she could under Sylvan’s glare. “I heard about the lab. Callan is organizing squads. I want to go with you.”

  Sylvan studied her. She looked strong enough. Her eyes had lost the haunted look that had colored them since she’d been freed. And if anyone deserved a chance to strike back at those in the labs, it was her and Katya. Although she knew the answer, she asked, “Can you control your wolf?”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  “And follow orders?”

  “Yes, Alpha!”

  “Niki will tell you where she wants you. Wait outside.”

  Gray ducked her head. “Thank you, Alpha.”

  “Niki,” Sylvan said after Gray left, “keep a watch on her. I don’t want her hurt.”

  “She won’t be easy to handle.”

  Sylvan grinned. “Neither are you, but I manage.”

  Drake laughed and Niki joined in, and then they went back to waiting. At three thirty in the afternoon, Jace called with an update.

  “We followed the informant to an abandoned factory on the river,” Jace said.

  “You are sure about who they are?” Sylvan asked.

  “Yes, Alpha. The description of the human matched what he told the Consort. We saw him come out and get into a limo at the specified time. The windows were shaded, so we couldn’t identify the driver.”

  “Tell me about the location,” Sylvan said.

/>   “It’s several blocks long, six stories,” Jace said. “The parking lot surrounding it is mostly empty, with the river directly behind it and the highway probably three hundred yards away.”

  “No evidence of occupants?”

  “It looks abandoned, but we don’t think so. The vehicle pulled around behind the building, and when we checked it out, it was gone.”

  “Underground garage?” Sylvan asked.

  “We think so. Plus, there are at least a dozen storage containers on the wharf side that look new. Someone could have brought in a lot of equipment, or other things, in them. And there’s a renovated docking platform in the rear too.”

  “Is there somewhere you can station yourselves to watch the building?”

  “There’s not much cover on the river side—we just took a quick run past to check it out. We can watch the front without much difficulty.”

  “Is the river side guarded?”

  “We didn’t see anyone. No cameras, but we could have missed them.” Jace rumbled softly. “We’re sorry, Alpha.”

  “Don’t be. You’ve done well. I don’t want you seen. Position yourselves as well as you can and send me the coordinates. Let us know if anything seems out of the ordinary. Niki will call you when we move.”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  Sylvan disconnected and waited until she got a text from Jace. She punched in the coordinates and pulled up the map on her GPS. She tapped the location with her finger. “We have them.”

  Niki and Drake crowded around to look.

  “Whatever security they have is well camouflaged,” Sylvan said. “There may be only a skeleton staff inside or there could be dozens. From the outside, not much is visible.”

  “Crossing that parking lot, even at night, would be risky,” Niki said.

  Drake grumbled uneasily. “It’s a perfect setup for an ambush. Anyone inside would be able to see us coming, and those upper floors make a great place to fire from.”

  “I agree,” Niki said. “The water would be the best approach.”

  “Can we arrange it in time?” Sylvan asked.

  “We’ll need to mobilize now. We need to get the squads and weapons into the city, and we can’t risk a convoy. Too obvious.”

  “Send the Rovers at irregular intervals and vary the routes,” Sylvan said. “Can you get us boats?”

  Niki grinned. “I have friends at the marina. I can get a few outboards without questions being asked. We should have plenty of time before a nighttime strike.”

  “Arrange it.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” Niki grinned and headed for the door.

  Sylvan called Jody. Becca answered on Jody’s line.

  “Hello, Consort,” Sylvan said. “When Jody awakens—”

  “Sylvan,” Becca said, “just a moment. She’s here.”

  Jody came on the line. “Good news?”

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in a coma or something?”

  Jody chuckled. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear about us.”

  “I’m glad you’re awake. We have a location.” Sylvan filled her in. “We’re going to strike tonight.”

  “As will we.”

  “An hour before dawn? Does that give you enough time to get your soldiers back to your lair before sunup?”

  “We will either have succeeded well before that or it won’t matter,” Jody said flatly.

  “Max and Dasha will bring a second squad to your lair now. Together with the squad Lara brought last night, you should have plenty of warriors to handle whatever mercenaries Francesca has gathered.”

  “We appreciate the Pack’s support.”

  “I’m assuming your Vampires can handle Francesca’s guards.”

  “I and my Warlord will deal with them.”

  “Just don’t lose your head,” Sylvan said. “I don’t want to have to deal with your father for the next hundred years or so.”

  “I’ll say the same to you. Although your Prima does tend to be more reasonable—”

  “And don’t let anything happen to my centuri.”

  “My Warlord,” Jody corrected.

  Sylvan grinned. “Rendezvous at your lair?”

  “Until sunrise, then.”

  “Niki,” Sylvan said when Niki returned, “send Dasha, Max, and a squad to Jody’s.”

  “I was hoping we could dispatch Francesca ourselves,” Niki said darkly. “She deserves retribution for kidnapping Katya.”

  “Our first obligation is to free our wolves. And Francesca is Vampire business.”

  “Francesca is everyone’s business,” Niki muttered.

  “Not for much longer.”

  *

  At three a.m., Sylvan and Drake met Niki and the squads at the marina south of the city. She called Jace for an update.

  “Perhaps a dozen cars left the facility at eleven p.m.,” Jace said. “We saw no vehicles entering.”

  “The night shift going home?” Sylvan mused.

  Jace was silent.

  “What about the limo that delivered the informant?”

  “A limo left at the same time,” Jace said. “We couldn’t be sure who it was and decided not to follow it.”

  “It’s possible he wasn’t in it and it doesn’t really matter where they took him. He’s not our quarry.”

  “If there is a substantial security force on site,” Jace said, “they’ve been here all day. We didn’t see anyone arriving since we’ve been here.”

  “Is it possible they could’ve brought a force in by water?”

  Sylvan heard her murmur to Jonathan.

  “It’s possible, Alpha.”

  “Very well. We will be coming by water. Meet us at the landing dock in thirty minutes. If anything changes between now and the rendezvous time, call me.”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  Sylvan called Jody. “We’re leaving now. If you don’t hear from us, good hunting.”

  “And to you.”

  *

  Luce answered Francesca’s call while seated at the desk in Veronica Standish’s office. The good doctor lounged, semiconscious, on the sofa, recovering from their latest blood exchange. Veronica rarely went more than six hours without demanding Luce feed from her. The feedings were by necessity brief and unsatisfying for Luce, although Veronica’s orgasms seemed as epic as ever.

  “Well?” Francesca said. “Did they take the bait?”

  Luce shrugged. “It is difficult to tell, my Queen. We were obvious about picking up Simon from the hotel, so if they were watching, they would’ve been able to follow us to the laboratory.”

  “If—you don’t know?” Francesca’s tones flamed.

  “No, not for certain. We couldn’t ascertain that we were being followed.” Luce didn’t bother to disguise their conversation. Veronica was beyond awareness.

  Francesca’s sighed. She spoke to someone, presumably Dru. “Opinion?”

  Luce had no trouble hearing the conversation, and Francesca would know that. The Queen seemed to enjoy taunting her with the cat.

  “Sylvan will not wait if she thinks Weres are in danger,” Dru replied. “They will be coming tonight.”

  “Excellent.” Francesca’s smile was nearly visible and Luce hissed. “Our forces are in place?”

  “Our guards are in position,” Luce replied.

  “You’re sure we shouldn’t send Dru’s mercenaries,” Francesca said.

  “I would not leave you unprotected, my Queen, and the mercenaries might not be as motivated as our own.” Luce emphasized our own. She hadn’t been happy leaving Dru and the mercenaries to guard Francesca, but she was needed to keep Veronica satisfied. Besides, some of the Vampire guards and all of the blood servants remained at the lair, any of whom would die to protect Francesca. Her dozen Vampires and handful of Were guards could handle a few wolves, and then she could return to Francesca’s side victorious, having proved herself worthy of her place as senechal.

  “Just be sure Sylvan does not escape.”

  �
��Do not worry, my Queen. We will finish this tonight.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  The two outboards ran without lights beneath a shadowed moon. Sylvan tracked their course on her GPS and radioed the pilots to cut the engines close to shore, a hundred yards downriver from their target. They drifted to shore in silence and beached the crafts on the narrow strip of land between the black water and the sharp embankment.

  The two squads piled out, Sylvan at the head of the first, Niki with the second. Drake was by Sylvan’s side. She wouldn’t have been able to keep the Prima safe in the Compound even if she hadn’t needed a medic with the team, but she did. She could not send her warriors into battle without a medic, and she’d sent Sophia with Max and Dasha. Elena was needed at the Compound in case of another attack on their borders. So Drake had been needed, and despite Sylvan’s personal wishes, the need of the Pack came first.

  “Be careful,” she murmured as they climbed the steep, rocky bank.

  “You too.” Drake pressed a hand to Sylvan’s back for an instant.

  The ridge was overgrown with scrub and good cover from anyone watching from the buildings that squatted along the highway. At one time, this area had been a busy industrial zone, but the businesses had long left the city and the factories had fallen into disrepair. The largest, a square brick behemoth, was their destination. In the scant moonlight, Sylvan could make out the rows of windows, blank and black. But none broken.

  Closer now, skirting abandoned cars and rusted Dumpsters and a row of new-looking trailers, she could see the loading dock with the shiny double-wide steel security door Jace had described. No doubt the building had been recently rehabilitated and was likely occupied. A very good choice of location. The river was a perfect avenue to deliver equipment and personnel.

  When they reached the wharves directly below the building, Sylvan signaled for Niki. “There has to be an underground delivery area or garage somewhere back here. When you’ve located that entrance, post half your squad outside and take the others in. Enter on my command and wait for further orders before advancing.”