“Yes.” He turned to face her. “I have to feed.”
Elyse paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Oh.”
She plopped the spoon back into the can. Her gaze darted around the cabin, but it wasn’t like someone was going to appear and give him blood. She was the only source in this place.
Chapter Seventeen
“I can go outside and hunt,” he said, though he hoped she would offer herself.
If he tasted her blood without turning her, it would intensify his need to change her and claim her as his mate, but having sex with her had already accelerated that. She was his, and he wanted everyone to know it, including her. But it would probably be better if he got her out of here before telling her he craved her blood so bad he could taste it.
“I’d prefer not to leave you alone,” he said.
“I’ll be fine; I’ve been mostly alone here for months.”
She smiled at him as she returned to her cans. What would it be like to have him feeding on her? If it were anything like sex with him, it would be amazing. Then she recalled the agony of the Savage feeding on her. Saxon said it wouldn’t hurt if she were willing, but she wasn’t ready to find out.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” he asked.
She didn’t want him to go; she could be the one who nourished him, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Having sex with this man had left her more attached than she’d anticipated; giving him her blood might end her. Getting away from him would help her get herself together.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
Saxon buried his disappointment before striding around the table to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll be back soon, and there should be enough wood in the hearth to keep the fire going until I return.”
“No rush.” She sounded casual, but inside, she was fighting against grabbing him and telling him to stay.
Saxon went to the back door to put on his boots and jacket. “If you need me for anything, yell. I’m not going far.”
“I will,” she said.
He hesitated in the doorway as she sat immobile at the table. It took everything he had to turn away from her and walk out the door, but if he didn’t feed soon, he would put her at risk.
Turning away, he opened the door and plunged into the cold.
* * *
Saxon finished feeding on the deer he’d caught and released it. The animal staggered a little when it walked away but quickly recovered as it bounded away. It was the second deer he’d captured, and between them and the squirrels, he felt sated enough to trust himself around Elyse again.
Until the mate bond was complete, he would be more volatile, and his thirst for her blood would only increase, but he still had time before he unraveled completely—at least he hoped he did.
He had a mate. The loneliness and driving impulse to go out and find women who would only give him a small amount of peace was over. The relief that came with such a realization nearly knocked him to his knees.
If he could convince Elyse to complete the bond, he would only experience peace from here on out. He would only know the touch and feel of his mate; it was such a fantastic realization. He smiled as he inhaled the scent of her on him. She was feisty, beautiful, and had a strength of spirit he admired.
But she also had her secrets, and she was not willing to part with them. His smile faded as he surveyed his surroundings. If he couldn’t get her to tell him what was going on here, how could he convince her to spend an eternity with him? And what was going on here?
For whatever reason, Elyse was valuable to the Savages, and they would come after her. He had to know why they imprisoned her if he was going to keep her safe.
Getting her to open up to him and having her become his mate were things he would have to work on with her when he returned to the cabin.
Making his way back through the woods, he stopped at the edge of the clearing to take in the cabin nestled in the center. The glow of a flashlight illuminated two of the front windows as the sun set behind the mountains. The clouds had parted an hour ago to let the sun through before it set.
He should go back inside; snow caked the insides of his boots, his sweatpants were drenched, and his skin felt like ice, but he needed to find where the Savages had slept before night descended.
Turning away from the cabin, he trudged through the thigh-high snow as he searched the woods while circling the cabin. If their sleeping quarters were belowground, he’d never uncover it under all this snow, but maybe her guards had stayed somewhere aboveground.
He almost made a complete circle of the cabin before he spotted a shack nestled between the trees fifty feet from the edge of the clearing. Saxon cursed the snow as he slogged through it to the tiny shed.
He didn’t have to look inside to know it wasn’t big enough for them to stay in, but he still kicked the snow out of the way so he could pull open the door. When the door stuck in the snow, he gripped the edge and tore it from the building before flinging it away.
The potent aroma of mildew hit him when he ducked under the door to enter the eight by eight structure. It amazed him that the rickety structure had survived this storm, never mind the numerous others it must have withstood. Nothing hung on the walls, and the howling wind had blown a coating of snow over the concrete floor.
“Well now,” he muttered as he kicked snow off the floor.
He’d expected a dirt floor, maybe wood, but not concrete. It made no sense to pour a concrete floor for this ramshackle structure. He kicked more snow aside while he inspected the floor and the trees creaked ominously overhead. If a branch broke off, it would come straight through the building.
He tilted his head when he spotted a faint line near the left wall. A human never would have seen it, and most vamps would have missed it if they weren’t aware Joseph and his flunkies slithered beneath the ground.
Saxon knelt near the line to run his frozen fingers over the floor and stopped when he felt a subtle mound in the floor. Fumbling with the mound, he figured out how to push it back and revealed a small, clear button beneath.
He pulled out one of his stakes before pushing the button. He jumped to the side when the floor vibrated beneath his feet before sliding back to reveal a set of stairs.
Chapter Eighteen
A light was on in the bunker as Saxon stepped back to try and see beyond the stairs. Nothing moved, and no sounds came from below, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t down there. He’d be exposed and vulnerable the second he stepped onto those stairs. However, he couldn’t walk away without knowing what was inside; he’d be putting himself and Elyse at risk if he did.
If anyone was below, they probably expected him to creep down the stairs one at a time, but he couldn’t give them time to prepare for him. He didn’t think there would be booby traps; they wouldn’t expect anyone else to discover their hiding place.
Edging around the hole and closer to the door, he took a deep breath before running and leaping over the stairs to the pit below. His foot never touched a step before he hit the ground, dropped, and rolled across the floor.
Something stirred the air over his head and thudded against the wall before clattering to the floor. He sprang up again and kept moving so he didn’t give whoever was in the bunker time to track his movements. He leapt onto a cot and jumped across to another bed as he tried to locate his enemies.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted a Savage tracking him with a crossbow. Shit!
He hit the floor as the Savage fired the next shot and, rolling to the side, seized a cot. He flipped it over before he lifted it off the ground and used it as a shield while he charged at the bastard. The Savage released a shout and dropped to the ground before Saxon could hit him. Anticipating the move, he slammed the cot onto the vamp and pinned him to the ground before he could move.
Saxon pressed his weight into the cot, and something snapped. The asshole screamed, and a hand popped out from underneath the bed. Lifting his foot, Saxo
n stomped on it, and the bones crunched beneath his boot. Before he could finish the bastard off, he caught the movement of something coming at him and ducked in time to avoid the Savage with a stake aimed at his heart.
He swung up his arm, knocking the stake aside as he crushed the other Savage’s hand into the ground. Lifting his leg, he drove it into the chest of the second Savage. He felt the give of the creature’s chest as he shoved it back and knocked it to the floor.
Scanning the bunker, he saw it was just him and these two. He lifted the cot and tossed it aside before grabbing the Savage by the front of its shirt. He plunged the stake into its heart and turned to find the other one fleeing up the stairs.
Elyse!
He ripped the stake free and sprinted after his prey. Taking the steps three at a time, he burst out of the bunker and into the shed. Footprints marred the snow, but the Savage was nowhere in sight. No!
He plunged into the snow, but before he could track the Savage, a heavy weight crashed onto his back. Staggered by the impact, Saxon didn’t have time to recover before something smashed into his back.
His breath exploded out of him as he was driven to his knees. He rolled to the side, and snow exploded over him as something fell into the snow. Through the cloud of white, he saw the second Savage wielding a branch the size of his thigh. It must have climbed into one of the trees.
The vamp charged at him with a look of maniacal glee on his face and his fangs bared. Saxon rolled again and leapt to his feet; he darted to the side as the branch soared by his head. It bashed his ear and skimmed his cheek before crashing into his shoulder.
Saxon grunted from the impact; his dislocated shoulder sagged, and he lost the feeling in his fingers; the stake fell into the snow. Still, he managed to grasp the branch with his good hand, yank it away, and swing it around to batter the Savage’s chest. The creature staggered back before recovering and coming at him again.
The vamp went low, and when its arms enclosed around Saxon’s waist, he brought the branch down across its back. The Savage crumpled into the snow, but it clawed at his legs as it tried to pull Saxon down with it.
Tossing the branch aside, Saxon drew back his arm and slammed his fist into the Savage’s back, breaking it on impact. The vamp cried out as his arms and legs went limp, and he hit the ground. Saxon leaned back to examine the paralyzed vamp before walking over to a tree.
He clutched his limp arm and, leaning against a tree, shoved his shoulder back into place. Bending, he used the snow to wipe some of the blood away while he studied the shed and the Savage.
He’d prefer this thing dead, but he required some answers first. “How many of you were here?”
The vamp turned its head to look at him; its red eyes blazed with hatred as Saxon leaned against the tree again while he waited for his shoulder to heal more. “Fuck you.”
Saxon grinned at him. “Not today. Was it only the eight of you here?”
The vamp clamped its lips together as it glowered at him. Saxon rotated his arm as he tested his shoulder. Pinpricks of discomfort lanced through his body when he shrugged it up toward his ears, but it was almost healed.
Saxon prowled closer to the broken Savage and knelt beside the creature. “You’re going to tell me everything.”
“Why? You’re just going to kill me.”
“Yes, but I can make it easy or I can make you beg for me to put you out of your misery. The choice is yours.”
The Savage spit a gob of blood at him. Saxon stared at where it landed in the snow before lifting his eyes back to the vamp. “Good choice.”
Grabbing the Savage by his neck, Saxon dragged him into the shed and closed the door.
* * *
Night had descended when he reemerged from the shed and bent to wipe the blood from his hands while he inhaled the fresh air. It hadn’t taken much to get the Savage talking, but his stomach churned as he tried not to recall the sound of breaking bones. There were many things he enjoyed about being a part of the Alliance, and there were some things he didn’t, but he would do whatever was necessary to protect others.
Rising, he surveyed the blood-splattered snow as he recalled the Savage’s words. The creature had revealed there were only eight of them here, and no one had fled the property when they saw him arrive. The two in the bunker retreated when they saw him kill the others and mistakenly believed they would be safe.
That was the most he got out of the Savage before the bastard’s spine healed, and it came at him again. With nothing to restrain the Savage in the bunker, it had leapt from the cot Saxon tossed it onto and attacked him. He hadn’t meant to kill it, he still had plenty of questions left for it, but the thing left him no choice.
Saxon studied the night and the stars overhead as he braced himself to return to the bunker and the carnage below. He’d prefer to return to Elyse; she was probably worried about him or convinced he’d abandoned her. He needed to see and hold her again, but he couldn’t leave here without searching the bunker first.
An owl hooted in the distance; the forlorn sound called to the battered wariness of his soul as he inhaled another lungful of fresh air. With a sigh, he returned to the shed and climbed into the bunker again. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped to take in the three cots lining the walls and the gap where he’d removed the fourth cot from its place. That fourth cot still lay in the middle of the aisle.
The narrow space was about twenty-five feet long and eight feet wide. He recalled Elyse’s words about different Savages spending the night in the cabin with her and suspected they slept in shifts on the cots as they rotated in and out of here while watching her.
His boots clicked against the concrete as he strode down the center aisle. He tore apart each bed in search of something helpful. He found a couple of cell phones and some skin magazines tucked beneath the cots, but nothing about who they worked for, what their goal was, or what they were doing with Elyse.
He refused to touch the magazines, but he searched through the calls and text messages on the phones. There was no reception and no names in the phones; the last call or text any of them sent was three days ago. They all always called the same number, which was the only one in their contact list.
Unsure what to do with them, or if anything could be done with them, he pocketed the phones. Technology wasn’t his thing, but maybe Declan could do something with them.
He returned to the first Savage he killed and knelt to search the creature’s pockets. When his fingers brushed against another phone, he pulled it out. He scrolled through the calls and texts, but this vamp hadn’t spoken to anyone since last week.
Removing one of the other phones from his pocket, Saxon compared the call history and saw this vamp had called the same number as all the others.
Their check-in? He wondered as he put the phones in his pockets. He finished going through the rest of the bunker, but he didn’t find anything else of use.
Climbing the stairs, Saxon took out all the phones as he trudged through the woods while circling the perimeter of the cabin. With the sun down and the storm over, the temperature had plummeted.
Wet from being in the snow and his fight with the Savage, his frozen clothes adhered to him. The sweatpants pulled the hairs on his legs with every step he took, and he’d long ago lost the feeling in his feet. He probably had frostbite, which would heal when his limbs defrosted, but until then, he was becoming a walking popsicle.
He traversed a lot of land, but the bars on the phones never increased. They must have left the property to report in. Feeling secure in the knowledge the Savages hadn’t warned anyone about his arrival, he turned the phones off and started back toward the cabin.
The creak of the back door opening caught his attention, and he hurried forward when Elyse poked her head out. She huddled deeper into the blanket around her shoulders as she flashed a light around the clearing.
“Saxon?” she called in a low whisper.
The distress in her voice propelled him faster
across the clearing. “I’m here.”
Elyse searched where the voice came from, but her flashlight only illuminated twenty feet or so in front of her. Then some of the shadows shifted, and Saxon emerged. He glided toward her as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but when he climbed the porch, her beam illuminated the blood splattering his clothes and face.
Her hand flew to her mouth as fear churned in her gut. “Are you okay?”
He started to reach for her, but she staggered away from him. “I’m fine.”
“There’s so much blood.”
“It’s not mine.”
She refrained from kissing and yelling at him for staying away for so long. His frozen clothes stuck to his body, snow and ice caked his hair, and he may not be aware of it, but icicles of blood and snow dangled from what he wore. She didn’t know how he was still standing, let alone walking and talking.
“That’s animal blood?” she asked.
“No. I discovered where your guards were spending their nights, and two survivors lurked within.”
She lowered her hand. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I was… I was worried about you.” She hated to admit it, but the longer he was gone, the more her concern for him grew until she was pacing the cabin while muttering to herself like a crazy woman.
He reached for her again, but she backed further away from him. She contemplated throwing herself into his arms before taking his hand and helping him to clean up but, even if those Savages were dead, she couldn’t risk touching him. There may be some of his blood mixed in with theirs.
Saxon frowned as he watched her. What little color she had was gone from her face as she gazed at him. In his head, he heard her petrified scream of “Don’t touch me” when they first met. Blood covered him then too.
“It’s the blood you don’t like,” he stated.
Bound by Passion: The Alliance Series, Book 4 Page 10