My hands shook as I continued evaluating her, soaking in her frail condition, memorizing every new wound or bruise on her body. I carefully straightened her top, then stepped into the middle of the room, exhaling the ragged breath I’d been holding. The first pangs of the change had begun at least seven minutes ago, but I’d fought them. I had to make sure Heather slept, because changing whilst she tried to fight me...I would end up hurting her, or maybe killing her; easy in her current state.
Shudders coursed through me as the tingle of my growing claws sent sharp jolts shooting up my arms. My skin tightened over my bones as I quickly removed my clothing and pulled off the bandages that clung to my abdomen and back, growling as the tape yanked at my healing wounds. The monkshood had poisoned my system, weakening me enough to make the change difficult, as well as stopping my ability to heal. These new wounds would leave me with a fresh set of scars and another set of unwanted memories.
I continued to draw from the growing strength of my Pack, using their energy to fight the remainder of the toxin in my system and help make the change possible.
The pain sliced through my limbs as the wound-up tension in my muscles rippled, then burst. I clamped my teeth together and took sharp breaths as my bones shifted beneath my tight flesh. I fell to my knees, pressing my palms to the floor and trying hard not to growl. My fingertips dug into the dirty concrete as my spine stretched, extended; the vertebrae clicked, one after the other. Screams threatened to rip from my throat as blistering fire pierced through my lower back as my tail grew out. My body still ached from the monkshood and silver, but I kept pulling on my Pack’s strength. Their anger, and fear, and adrenalin; I pulled it in. Made it my own.
The pain stretched along my calves and thighs as my limbs grew. My muscles exploded under my skin. The growl rose in my throat as copper-blond fur sprouted all over my body, then grew at a rapid pace. The pain split through my skull as the bones of my face shifted. My muzzle stretched before my eyes as my ears grew upward.
Footfalls sounded in the corridor. The smell of old, damp earth, and monkshood swamped my sensitive nose.
So they are coming to sedate me again? Lance must have thought he’d put enough into my system. He obviously forgot about the advantages of Werewolves who live in Packs.
The lock clicked. Kane and Jackson burst in. Hisses escaped between their long, bloodstained fangs as I met their blackened gazes. Heather groaned restlessly from the noise, but I didn’t pick up on any movement as I advanced toward our two guests.
Kane lifted his left hand. I caught sight of the silver dagger just in time to duck as he aimed his throw toward my skull. With a wail, he prepared to hurl a second one. I grabbed his right wrist and twisted, listening to the bones as they broke. Kane lost his grip on the dagger, but I caught it and rammed it down Jackson’s throat. He dropped the two syringes of monkshood and began clawing at his neck. Kane’s talons punched through my upper right arm. Growls broke from my lips as I pulled away. The scent of my blood filled my nostrils, and I could sense Heather stirring behind me. I lunged at Kane, shoving my claws through his broad chest until I gripped his spinal cord. His black eyes widened as I yanked his spine and snapped it in half. His head fell forward and his body dropped to the floor, decomposing next to the space where Jackson writhed in agony. Bending down, I grasped his head in my hand and twisted. A distinct crack met my ears. His body began to decompose.
I turned my attention to Heather. She sat on the sleeping platform. I could hear the sharp intakes of air as she pulled the scent of blood into her lungs. The rapid flutter of her heartbeat invaded my ears. I could already feel my skin knitting together as the wounds Kane delivered began to heal, but the scent of the open cuts had been enough to stir her. I couldn’t have her running around the facility; I had smelled humans as I’d accompanied Lance down one of the corridors.
I walked over before she had a chance to react and lightly pressed on her neck’s pulse point. Her body went limp. I froze, listening. Her heartbeat slowed as she fell into a deep sleep. I laid her on the bed, then left the room, breaking the door lock and trapping her inside. She would be safer out of the way.
Footfalls echoed in the distance. I needed to get to the surface and find Carter and the Pack. They were close; I could feel them. I pulled the scent of the facility into my lungs: blood, chemicals, venom, humans, food, earth, grass, oak, and pine. I headed right down the corridor. The smell of nature grew with each step I took; there was a way out somewhere. I just needed to....
Brendan! Carter’s thick Scottish accent thundered in my mind. Where the hell are you, laddie?
Miss me? I asked, turning to my right and picking up pace.
Like a hole in the head, Owen replied, the slightest hint of relief tickling his tone.
You say the sweetest things.
You’re near, but we can’t find you, Carter said.
We’re in some sort of a facility. I pushed open two metal doors and stepped into another long corridor.
There are no buildings in sight.
That wasn’t good. I inhaled. The smell of water hit me.
I can smell water. Faintly. Can you see water anywhere? I headed left down the dim hallway.
Aye, I can. I think we’re near the creek that cuts through the forest.
Forest? That might explain why I could smell pine and oak, as well. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that these bastards have brought us to...Farr? Onto Pack territory?
Fury burned through me. Yes. Carter’s reply growled low and deadly in my mind.
Fuckers. Well, if there is no building, perhaps we are—
I stopped at the sight of ten Leeches standing in front of me. Their mouths hung wide as their snake-like tongues flicked wildly between their long fangs. Their gloved hands held the bizarre silver daggers.
Brendan, what’s wrong?
I’ve got company.
Is Heather with you?
No, but she’s in real bad shape. I locked her in her room. A sharp jolt of anger ran through me. Carter?
Owen has found a small bunker.
This place is a lot bigger than a bunker.
“Well, I have to say I am impressed,” Lance said as he walked out of the small group. “I didn’t think you would be able to change just yet. Clearly, I made an error in the amount of monkshood we have been giving you.”
I growled
His lips turned upward, and he just smiled.
Dante cracked the lock, we’re in, and there is an old elevator at the end.
I looked at the state of the metal double doors behind the leeches. We’re underneath the bunker.
The bunker is the front door, it would seem.
Got a little bit of an issue here. Ten Leeches with silver, and if I’m not mistaken, the two large double doors that they are in front of might be—
“. . . and I have all I need from you.”
Lance’s voice broke through my trail of thought.
“So now, it is time for you to die.”
I sucked in a deep breath.
“Kill him,” Lance ordered.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I braced myself for the attack.
Four Leeches advanced, the unusual daggers locked in their hands.
I threw back my head as a howl tore from my throat.
The nearest Vamp flew at me with his hand raised, trying to catch me on the left shoulder. I moved against the right wall, missing his blow as I caught my claws in the left side of his neck. Black blood scattered across my face as he fell to the floor. I had only wounded him. I swung my right hand into the head of the female on my left. She smashed into the concrete wall and her dagger slipped from her grip; she followed it to the floor. I punched the claws of my left hand through the eyes of the nearest Vampire and snatched his dagger from his hand. He wailed as his talons clawed my chest. I swung the dagger into the last of the first four. The special hooks popped open. The dagger embedded itself in the back of the male’s throat. He screeched a
nd dropped to the floor, kicking and clawing at his face. I pulled my claws from the male’s eyes, then ripped a chunk out of his throat. He slumped next to the wall, his vocal muscles contracting. I wiped his black blood on his shirt and looked at the remaining Vamps. Lance’s smile widened, not something I expected to see.
“Very impressive, but what do you plan on doing now?”
Footfalls sounded behind me. I turned to see another fifteen Vampires a few yards away from me.
For fuck’s sake.
A heavy clunk echoed down the corridor. Confusion washed over Lance’s face. I straightened up and gave him a toothy smile. The metal doors behind him rolled open, the liquid silver gaze of a dark, chocolate-brown Werewolf fixed on me.
My Alpha. Carter, a broad and tall man—built like a brick shithouse. He emanated power and pride; a great leader, fair and honourable. All the qualities he shared with his Wolf. And Carter in Wolf form outweighed us all.
Took you long enough. I smirked as I switched my gaze back to the Leeches.
We would have been here quicker if we’d jumped down the elevator shaft, Dante said.
I looked up and acknowledged the chestnut-coloured Wolf on Carter’s left. Dante was slightly shorter and thinner than his older brother; the Pack’s third in command and diplomat. His silver eyes beamed brighter than Carter’s as he locked his gaze on the Vamps before him.
“Impossible.” Lance turned to see five of my Pack before him. “How did you know?”
Stupid Leech. He must think our bonds are the same as theirs, Owen’s voice laughed in my mind.
Owen stood on Carter’s right; his eyes reflected his father’s in colour, even though his fur was a muddy shade of brown. Second in command, he took after his father in every way...except he had a wilder sense of humour.
His mistake, Carter roared. He lunged forward, bowling into Lance and his group of Vamps.
Easy, tiger. Owen laughed as he jumped over his father.
Do me a favour, boss, and save the long-haired male for me? I asked.
I will try. Carter growled, tearing the head off one of the females.
I caught sight of rusty auburn fur and a set of crimson eyes as Solomon leapt past me and joined Owen. They started on the fifteen Vamps behind me.
Jesus! How do you get yourself into these messes? Dabria’s Italian accent tumbled through my head as her white eyes stared out from thick black fur.
You know me, Dee; I’m just a magnet for trouble.
Sì. I noticed. She laughed.
Brendan, go get Heather, we need to go, Carter ordered.
I ran back down the corridor, leaping past flashes of fur and fangs. The corridor echoed with crunching bones, snarls, and hisses as my nose filled with the familiar scents of the facility.
There must be more Vamps here.
That isn’t our concern. Our concern is getting you and my— Carter’s voice cracked. Getting you and Heather out.
I stopped in front of Heather’s door. My ears picked up on movement farther down the corridor, a mixed scent of venom and humans. I turned to my side and threw my body into the door, denting it, then smashed my fist against the lock and heard a crack. One more hit from my shoulder and the door swung open.
Heather slept on the platform where I had left her. Relief flooded through me when I picked up on the sound of her steadily beating heart and deep breathing. I scooped her up in my arms and pulled her close to my chest. She felt lighter than she had the last time I carried her. My gut twisted at how fragile she had become.
I ran as fast as I could down the corridor, keeping track of her heartbeat as it echoed in my ears.
I heard Lance’s empty promises and pleas for his life as I burst through the double metal doors and turned onto the corridor. He shook his head frantically, his gaze shifting among the Werewolves crowding him. “I only follow the orders given to me,” he said.
Carter’s grip tightened on his neck as he pushed him against the wall. I could feel his restraint in my own right hand, as if I were the one holding him by the throat.
A present for me? I stopped in front of them.
Carter’s liquid eyes dropped to Heather, who lay limply in my arms. The growl in his gut vibrated through my entire being.
Good God, she looks like Alexis, Owen said.
Give her to me, Dante said calmly.
I placed Heather gently in his open arms and turned my attention to Lance.
What has he done to her? Carter growled; his grip tightened on Lance’s neck.
They broke and fractured some ribs, the swelling and bruising—I took a ragged breath—she is in real bad shape. I also think he fed her blood, and then left her to starve.
You haven’t been missing long enough for her to be in this condition, Dante said.
Thirst is different from malnutrition. The need grabs hold of them quicker. If the thirst isn’t satisfied immediately, it’s a short fall to the bottom, I informed him bitterly.
You mean she is one of them? Solomon asked.
My body tensed at the sound of disgust in his voice. I had forgotten that only Carter, his family, and I knew Heather’s history.
Her mother was bitten while pregnant with her. Heather became infected, and is the first born Infected. She can control her cravings and has been fighting these Leeches since the age of eight, I replied.
How many days has he starved her? Dante asked.
I’m not sure. I woke up only this morning. He sedated me with monkshood for the entire time, said I’d been out like a light for six days.
That’s about how long you haven’t called in, Dante said.
Monkshood? Carter growled. That would explain a few things.
We felt it, Owen said. Knocked the three of us on our arses for a day or so, but luckily, we were on the eve of the full moon.
I’d missed the moon. Great. My Wolf was going to put up a fight when I needed to shift again. That’s the last thing I needed.
We’ve been waiting for you to wake, so we could find you, Owen finished.
The rest of us suffered for a good few hours, Solomon grunted. His southern Irish accent rolled like a wave around my head. We had severe headaches.
I’m sorry.
It wasn’t your fault, Owen said. His gaze met mine.
I nodded and looked at Lance.
Carter let go of his neck, then stepped aside. You have the right to execute this bloodsucking bastard, Brendan.
I dipped my head in acknowledgement and walked over to Lance, who looked up at me from the floor.
He threw me in the room with Heather, wanted her to feed on me. Either that or he wanted me to kill her.
“I followed my orders,” Lance said confidently. “You have no idea what we can achieve.”
He injected my blood into some Infecteds. They died.
I guess that means our gene cancelled out their virus, Dante said. Meaning our two conditions fight on a genetic level, also.
I nodded and bent down, picking Lance up by his shirt collar and placing him on his feet so that he stood straight against the wall.
“She is unharmed.” The words spilt from Lance’s lips.
Unharmed? I stabbed my claws into his arms.
He hissed. “She is still breathing. Still alive.”
I sent my fist into his right ribcage. I felt his bones break on impact.
“All you have to do is feed her some blood.” He gasped between ragged breaths. “She just needs blood and she will heal. She will be fine.”
I placed my hands on either side of his head and pushed.
It is just that simple for them. Drink blood and all is fine. Well, it’s not fine. Nowhere fucking close.
Lance’s screams flooded the corridor along with the unmistakable crunch of his bones as his skull broke between my hands.
~ Heather ~
He talked and talked, never shutting up. Growling and grunting, arguing with the other voices, promising them there would be hell to pay if I didn’t wake
up. The never-ending stream of cold liquid poured down my throat; I devoured it. It didn’t taste right, though. I needed blood, and although I tasted blood in the liquid, there was also another substance mixed with it, a familiar bitterness that hit my tongue, covering the sweet iron taste that hid beneath.
The liquid kept flowing and flowing, so I kept drinking, and after a while, the burning fire slowly eased. The feed began to soothe the raging thirst. So I drank and drank until the fire died.
Until I didn’t want to drink anymore.
Chapter Fourteen
My eyes hurt. My eyelids felt like they had been punched over and over again. So the fact that I could actually open them came as a shock, even though I needed a few tries.
The smell of pine, fur, and cologne hit my senses in the cool, dim, completely unfamiliar room. My rapid heart rate slowed. My body felt unbelievably weighty, so heavy and numb I was surprised I hadn’t sunk into the mattress. I looked slowly around the huge room, plainly decorated, and completely impersonal. The cream-coloured curtains and bedding blended with the white walls. Old, matching oak furniture filled the setting. The sun tried to cut around closed blinds and completely flood in. And there, at my left, in a cream-coloured chair with his arms folded across his broad chest, sat the strange man from my kitchen. His eyelids twitched and his chest rose and fell steadily as he slept. His usually golden skin looked a little duller, and his copper stubble had thickly taken over the lower half of his face.
Brendan. My heart flipped.
We weren’t in the facility. Somehow, he got us out. What the hell happened to me?
I pushed my hands against the mattress and sat up. Pain shot around my wrists and straight through my arms, pulsing through my abdomen and waist, as something held tightly to my skin. I couldn’t stop the yelp that burst from my lips.
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