Vengeance (Night Roamers) Book Three

by Middleton, Kristen

  With a burst of adrenaline that surprised even me, I tore off into the desert, putting what I thought was a considerable amount of distance between us. But I’d underestimated the speed of the Lycans. Just when I thought things were going my way, one of them slammed into me from behind, and I went flying face-first into the sand. When I looked up, however, I was alone.

  Asshole.

  I brushed the sand from my palms and stood on shaky legs, wondering when they were going to strike next. It was obvious that they were toying with me and to them, it was all a game.

  Wary and exhausted, I turned and began moving towards the city lights, wishing that I had enough strength to launch myself into the sky, like Celeste. But as it was, especially after that initial burst of speed, I was having problems even running. Eventually, I lost all energy and was reduced to a slow trot.

  This is it, I thought. I’m a goner.

  As if to reiterate that depressing fact, howls erupted all around me in the darkness.

  They’d circled me.

  Trembling, I crouched down, and scurried over to a nestle of tall shrubs for coverage. It was then that I noticed a group of large sandstones about two hundred yards away, and felt a new flicker of hope.

  If I could just make it to the safety of the rocks, maybe I could somehow lose them?

  I looked around warily. As silent as it was, I knew they were out there somewhere, watching and waiting. Taking a deep breath, I decided to make a run for it. Crouching down, I moved across the desert, waiting for one of them to pounce at any second. When I made it to the cover of the large rocks without incident, I sighed in relief. At least I wasn’t out in the open anymore. I had a chance.

  Licking my lips, I moved around the rocks until miraculously, I found a suitable shelter, where I could hide and rest. It was tucked away and small, but almost totally obscure in the darkness. Getting down on my knees, I crawled into the small crevice, which was between two large sandstones, and brought my knees to my chest.

  Silence.

  Closing my eyes, I released a shaky sigh, grateful for finding a place to catch my breath. Within seconds, however, I nodded off.

  “Looky here! I caught myself a little rabbit,” chuckled Jordan, reaching for me through the crevice.

  My eyes popped open and I found him staring at me through the opening, a triumphant smile plastered across his face.

  I backed up as far as I could. “No.”

  “Yes.”

  “Please, don’t do this.”

  His long arm reached in further, and grabbed my wrist, digging his nails into my skin. “Let’s get you out of your hole, little bunny.”

  “Please, just leave me alone!” I begged as he jerked me through the opening, scraping my skin.

  “I love it when you beg,” he said. “It’s like music to my ears.”

  “You’re crazy.”

  “Like a fox,” he giggled eerily, shoving me towards the ground. “Or a wolf.”

  When I saw that he wasn’t wearing any clothing, my jaw dropped.

  He looked down at his pelvis and smiled lewdly. “What did you expect? We lose our clothing as soon as we change.”

  “Stay the hell away from me!” I replied, trying to crawl away from him.

  He grabbed my ankles, pulled me back, and flipped me over. “Time to do some collecting.”

  “No, we had no deal!” I cried as he got on his knees and straddled me with his legs.

  “Oh, but we did,” he said, grabbing my wrists. “You think Celeste got out of there because she’s quicker than us? She’s fast, but not that fast.”

  I paused. “So, he’s safe?”

  “Safe? Well, from us.” His eyes stared at my chest. “I’ve often wondered what the blood of a vampire tasted like. I guess I’ll get the chance to find out now.”

  Talk of blood made my own stomach rumble in hunger. I stared at Jordan’s neck, wondering what would happen if I drank from it. Although, at this point, I almost didn’t care, as the hollowness in my stomach was killing me. “Wait… how can I trust you?”

  His hand slid around the base of my throat and he applied pressure. “Who said anything about trust?”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but he tightened his fingers, smirking at my discomfort. “Now, I’ve sent the others away and it’s just you and me, kitten. If you play nicely, I might let you live. If you resist and give me a hard time, death will seem merciful. Got that?”

  Crap.

  He squeezed harder. “Just blink twice.”

  Tears slipped out of my eyes as I did just that.

  He snorted and released my throat. “You know, you’re not very powerful for a vampire, are you?”

  Coughing, I turned my head away to catch my breath.

  “Now, we’re going to play a little game,” he said. “It’s called ‘Jordan Says’. It’s similar to a game you probably played growing up, so I’m sure you already know the rules. But, in case you’ve forgotten, we’re going to have a practice round. Sound like fun?”

  I turned and glared up at him.

  He reached over and slapped my cheek with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t say ‘Jordan Says give me a dirty look’, now did I?”

  “No,” I mumbled.

  He slapped my other cheek. “I didn’t say ‘Jordan Says speak’, did I?”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond so I just stared at him, both of my cheeks on fire.

  He grinned. “See, you’re already learning.”

  I remained silent.

  “Now,” he said, getting off of me. “Stand up.”

  I didn’t move.

  “I said, stand the fuck up!” he growled.

  I got up quickly and stood before him.

  With a maniacal smile on his face, his closed fist met with my cheekbone.

  I screamed in pain and doubled over.

  “Jordan Says stand up straight!”

  Vowing to drain him of all his blood as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I stood up straight.

  He nodded. “Good. Now you’re catching on. This is fun, isn’t it?”

  I stared at him, trying to hide my disgust. “Having the time of my life…”

  He smirked. “You’d never make it gambling in this town, kitten.”

  As I fought to hold back a retort, I saw a something out of the corner of my eye. A whirlwind of movement.

  Ethan?

  “Okay, practice is over. Let’s get this show on the road! Jordan Says run for your life.”

  I stared past him, looking for more signs of movement, hoping that I was finally catching a break.

  Jordan growled in the back of his throat, and I thought for a second he was going to stomp his foot like a petulant child. “JORDAN SAYS RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!”

  I turned and started running. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it ten steps before he had me by the hair and was yanking me backwards.

  “Hell, you’re either a pathetic excuse for a vampire, or your kind isn’t as powerful as I thought.”

  I winced as his fingers tightened on my hair.

  He brought my face close to his and smiled evilly. “Jordan Says kiss me.”

  I stared at him incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  He punched me in the face and when his knuckles connected with my nose, I could hear a crunching sound.

  “Stupid bitch,” he growled. “Can’t even follow the simplest of directions?”

  Blood gushed from my nose and down my chin. “Fuck you,” I cried, trying to break free from his grasp.

  “We’ll get to that,” he said with a sneer. He then lowered his mouth to mine and I recoiled in horror.

  “Jordan Says kiss me back,” he whispered against my lips.

  Instead, I bit down on his lower lip. Hard.

  “Dammit!” he hollered, pulling his red mouth from mine.

  I licked the blood from my lips. “Not bad.”

  The next thing I knew I was flying backwards from the force of his fist connectin
g with my stomach. I landed on the ground and began coughing up my own blood.

  “How did that feel?” he snarled, jumping on top of me. He grabbed my tank top in his fist and ripped it away.

  “I’m going to kill you,” I said, glaring at him.

  “Damn, you’re a cold bitch,” he growled, touching me.

  I tried wiggling away from his heavy weight, but it did nothing but excite him further. When his erection brushed against me, I wanted rip it off.

  “Hell, why keep prolonging the inevitable. I certainly can’t wait any longer,” he said, and then raised his hand to show that his Lycan claws were indeed out. “I’ll bet you want to skip foreplay this time though, huh?”

  I opened my mouth and hissed, surprising both of us.

  He reached down and ripped the buttons from my shorts. “Never been with a Lycan, you say? Let’s pop that cherry of yours, kitten.” He licked his lips. “Has anyone ever told you that your breasts are perfect? I think we need to do something about that.”

  I cried as he grazed my nipple with his teeth, drawing more blood.

  “Well, not so perfect. I prefer more heat.”

  “Go to hell then!”

  He snorted. “Good one. I think you’re going to enjoy this. I’m a real animal in bed,” he laughed at his own joke. “And you know what they say, once you go Lycan…” he said, tearing off my shorts. “You never go back. In fact, you never go anywhere. You just… die.”

  Before I could respond, my shorts were gone and his body was convulsing on top of me. I watched in horror as his face contorted grotesquely while his body erupted with coarse fur.

  “No!” I screamed, beating his chest frantically. “Somebody help me!”

  He opened his mouth and roared into my face so loud, I blacked out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Max

  Rena was frustrated. After trying to search for Max for the last hour, she found herself in a place she never wanted to be – lost and alone in the desert without her cell phone or a flashlight. An image of her on a reality show describing how she’d barely survived all night in the Mojave made her cringe. Not only would it be humiliating, but she’d never hear the end of it from her coworkers. She’d be a laughing stock of the entire LVMPD.

  “Idiot,” she mumbled, chastising herself again for the twentieth time. She should have turned heel and ran back to her car after seeing that wolf-like creature. But not her, she was as stupid as the women in those “B” movies. The ones who were eventually caught and murdered savagely by deranged lunatics.

  Max, when I see you again, I’m going to kick your ass, she thought angrily. Who in the hell went wandering in the desert in the middle of the night without clothing?

  And now, she was far away from her vehicle and probably lost, when she could have been home enjoying a cold beer and the leftover chicken Lo Mein from the night before. Her mouth watered just thinking about the cool beer sliding down her throat. One thing was for certain; there was no way in hell she was going to survive drinking her own urine or forcing down any creepy crawlies. She’d rather die than try to swallow something that lived in the dirt or under a rock. The thought of feeling a bug fluttering in the back of her throat made her stomach roll.

  “Dammit, Max,” she hollered, kicking a mound of sand with the tip of her shoe. “Where in the hell did you go?”

  The truth was, she wasn’t even sure if what she’d seen was real or if it had been the result of too much coffee and lack of sleep. The thought of Max taking off all of his clothes, and then turning into some kind of werewolf had been her initial thought, but now that sounded so ludicrous, she was ashamed to call herself a member of law enforcement. She needed to quit worrying about her partner, and get her ass home before she ended up really lost.

  She stopped walking and did a three-sixty, trying to figure out exactly where she was. Like an idiot, she’d started walking without paying much attention to where she was headed. Now there was only darkness, and a large expanse of desert that looked the same in every angle. As she tried to gauge where she was, several howls in the distance sent a chill down her spine.

  Wolves?

  As far as she knew, coyotes were the largest canine predators in the Mojave.

  “You lost?”

  Shocked, she whipped her head around and found herself staring at two young men moving towards her in the darkness.

  She lowered the gun, her hand trembling. “Oh, my God, you scared the hell out of me!”

  The dark-haired guy, who was stunningly attractive, stepped closer and smiled. “Sorry. We weren’t expecting you either.”

  She smirked. “I bet. Have you seen a man running around out here? He, um, he has light brown hair, a goatee, tall with broad shoulders?”

  Naked.

  “No,” replied the other one, staring at her warily. He had dark unruly hair, a five o’clock shadow, and a deeply troubled look in his silvery blue eyes. “Is that why you’re out here, looking for this guy?”

  She paused. “Maybe. What about you two?”

  “Duncan and I are also trying to locate a friend,” replied the other one with the disarming smile. He stepped closer until they were face-to-face. “Have you seen anything unusual out here tonight?”

  She chuckled. “Besides you two?”

  His eyes burned into hers and she felt her stomach flutter. “Yes, besides us.”

  What the hell was that about? God, she was a pathetic loser. Getting worked up over some guy who was probably fifteen years her junior.

  “Not really,” she replied. “I’m looking for a good friend. I think he might be out here somewhere.”

  Duncan stepped forward. “We’re looking for someone, too. A girl, her name is Nikki. Short, brunette, around eighteen?”

  “Sorry, I haven’t seen anyone but you two and,” she decided to warn them, “this strange wolf-like creature running around.”

  The two men looked at each other and then turned back to her.

  “Which way did it go?” asked Duncan.

  “I thought it went that way,” she replied, waving her gun north. “But to be honest, I think I’m lost.”

  “In the desert. That’s not good,” replied the other man. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Ethan, by the way.”

  When their fingers touched, she imagined them on other areas of her body, and shivered. “Rena,” she answered breathlessly. “My name is Rena.”

  His icy-blue eyes glittered in the moonlight. “Nice to meet you, Rena.”

  Duncan cleared his throat loudly. “I think it’s time we got back to looking for Nikki.”

  Ethan nodded and backed away. “Yes, of course.”

  “I’ll help you look for her, if you’d like,” she said.

  Ethan’s lips tilted up. “You want to join us?”

  “Her disappearance definitely trumps my partner’s.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” replied Duncan. “It’s not safe.”

  Ethan’s teeth grazed his lower lip. “It is pretty dangerous out here. He’s right. You should go back to where you came from.”

  “You’re not parked far from here, are you?” asked Duncan.

  “Probably, like I said, I’m sort of lost. Don’t worry about me, though, I’m in law enforcement,” she replied, raising her revolver. “And I have this.”

  Before anyone could reply, a chorus of howls erupted around them.

  Ethan turned to Duncan. “Yep, they’re definitely here. Let’s get to higher ground and figure out what to do next.”

  “What about her?”

  Ethan shrugged. “She said she has a gun.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “You know, it might not be a bad idea to have a quick snack before we face those things,” he replied, motioning towards Rena.

  Rena’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

  “Or not,” said Ethan, his eyes narrowing as he stared into the darkness. “Since there isn’t time.”

  “Asshole,” s
aid Duncan as Ethan shot up into the sky without a second glance.

  “Where in the hell did he just go?” cried Rena, looking up at the stars.

  More wolf howls echoed in the darkness, this time much closer.

  “Rena, you have to trust me,” said Duncan, advancing towards her.

  She turned to him. “What do you mean?”

  Two Lycans landed next to them with loud thuds.

  “Oh, my God!” gasped Rena, raising her gun towards the menacing wolf-like creatures. Before she could fire off a shot, one of them launched at her, but was intercepted by Duncan. They rolled to the ground in a flurry of bites and punches. Remembering the other animal, she quickly turned and aimed her gun at it.

  “Stay back!” she choked.

  The growling beast bared it fangs even further and then crouched, as if ready to spring.

  Shaking, she fired two shots, hitting it both times in the chest, without effect.

  It snarled and charged towards her.

  “No!” she screamed, turning to flee. As she took her first few steps, Rena pictured the creature landing on her back, its claws ripping at her flesh, its fangs sinking into the back of her head. Instead, mercifully, there was a loud yelp of pain from the animal.

  Startled, she turned around and noticed a third creature had joined the party. Instead of going after her or Duncan, however, it was actually attacking the one that’d been chasing her.

  Her eyes widened. “Max?”

  “Rena, watch out!” hollered Duncan, who was underneath the other creature, trying to hold back its jaws with his bare hands.

  She turned around and squealed in terror as two more of the creatures moved warily towards her in the darkness. These two were walking on their hind legs, and stood well over seven feet tall.

  Shaking violently, she held out her gun and fired at them, hitting one of the creatures in the face, the other in the stomach.

  Miraculously, the one shot in the face dropped to the ground.

  She raised her gun again and pulled the trigger, but the chamber was empty.

  “Ohmygod, no!” she screamed, trying to run as the creature leaped towards her. It landed on her back, bringing them both down. Closing her eyes, she waited for the pain, knowing it would be bad. Instead, the creature’s weight was lifted from her body.