Vampires Never Cry Wolf

by Sara Humphreys

  “Holy shit,” Killian said under his breath.

  To the right of the club, dangling from the balcony level, were Christina’s two friends. Linda’s and Diana’s naked bodies were hanging by their ankles from silver chains. Their flesh looked singed in some spots; their long hair hung in messy tendrils and drifted against their lifeless, blood-covered arms. The two women had been totally drained, and their open eyes stared vacantly out at the world, making them look like macabre dolls.

  Oh my God, Killian. Sadie’s quivering voice touched his mind. Vamps definitely killed those women, but I smell… Killian was about to go over to them when Sadie grabbed his arm and whispered into his mind. Wolves.

  “Drop your weapons.” A deep, familiar voice resonated through the club from the upper left corner, an order immediately followed by the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking. “Put them on the floor now. Unless you want your old man to get a bullet to the brain.”

  Pure unadulterated fury fired through Killian as he realized who had betrayed him. Turning slowly, the prince lifted his burning gaze to the opposite side of the room. Killian’s father was bound with silver ropes, making him weak. Killian could sense his father was breathing and his heart still beat, but he was completely unconscious—probably drugged. His bound body was draped over the side of the balcony at the waist and his captor held a gun to the back of the king’s head.

  “Ivan.” A growl rumbled deep in Killian’s chest and his eyes burned orange. “I should have fucking known.”

  “Weapons on the ground.” Ivan jutted his chin toward them while he held the gun to the king’s temple. “Now. Knives too. Lay them down on the floor, then step back.”

  While they did as he asked, Killian touched Sadie’s mind with his. The son of a bitch is up there so I can’t fight him in my wolf pelt. We have to get him down here. I can’t risk calling in the others while he’s got a gun to my father’s head.

  “What’s your endgame with this? You’re looking to start the war again?” Sadie asked while removing her weapons harness and the two knives. Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice the one sheathed in the back pocket of her jeans. She tossed the harness on the floor and positioned herself next to Killian. “Where’s that bitch? I don’t see her strung up next to the others, and it’s unlikely you pulled this off by yourself.”

  “If you’re referring to Christina,” Ivan said with a widening grin, “she’s…around.”

  Shit. Sadie’s voice shot into his mind on a hiss. She’s either dead or in on it.

  “Okay, Ivan.” Killian opened his arms wide and stepped in front of Sadie, knowing that if a shot was fired, he could block it and keep her safe. “We’re here. You’ve got my father and killed Christina’s ladies-in-waiting. I imagine the pilot is dead too. Now what?”

  “Nope. You’re only part right.” Ivan shook his head and inched closer to the railing, pressing the gun harder against the king’s head. “I didn’t kill those annoying twits. That vamp Darius and those two Dracula rejects took care of that for me. I had them pegged. I guess the lure of werewolf blood is just too strong for some bloodsuckers to resist.” He sighed. “Those three prejudiced assholes are like the preachers who talk about fidelity and then bang hookers behind closed doors. Anyway, Darius and his boys got so fuckin’ hopped up, they couldn’t stop.”

  “They combusted, didn’t they?” Sadie’s voice was flat and hard, matching the expression on her face.

  “Yup,” Ivan said through a laugh. “They were fucking and sucking and then…well…let’s just say they went out with a bang. The girls were already dead by the time the fangers went all Firestarter.”

  “You sick fuck,” Sadie growled. “You let them drain those girls.”

  “They were annoying anyway. As for the pilot, he’s drugged like your old man. I drugged their asses. Poor bastards won’t remember a thing. Except, of course, that I came to their rescue. Then the pilot can fly us all home. Well, not all.” An evil grin curved his lips. “Not you and your vampire slut. No. You’ll be dead. The slut and her coven of bloodsuckers will be blamed for your death and the king’s abduction. We may not get an all-out war, but you can bet your fucking ass we won’t have a vampire whore on the throne.”

  “Really? That’s all ya got?” Sadie arched one eyebrow. “Calling me a slut? Dude. That’s so lame.”

  “I have to agree,” Killian scoffed, while slowly moving toward that side of the room. “And using a gun to kill me is about the most chickenshit way to do it.”

  “Sure looks that way to me, Ivan,” Sadie taunted. “It looks like you’re afraid to fight his vampire-loving ass.”

  “No. This is just far more efficient,” Ivan said in a deadly tone. He raised the gun and smirked. “Bye-bye, Killian.”

  Chapter 17

  “I always knew you were a coward.” Killian’s quiet, taunting voice echoed through the club. “I guess you’re not wolf enough to take me on. Are you, Ivan? If you’ve gone to all of these lengths in the name of keeping our race secure, then I would think you would at least fight me the way nature intended. You know the rules of the society. If you challenge an alpha, it’s a fight to the death.”

  Killian. Sadie knew Killian could handle Ivan one on one, but he couldn’t outrun a bullet. Be careful.

  “You know what?” Ivan lowered the gun and pointed it back at the king’s head. “You’re right. If I’m going to take you down, then I should do it the right way.” A sick smile covered his face as he shouted, “Christina, get your pretty little ass out here!”

  I fucking knew it. Sadie touched his mind just as Christina emerged from the shadows of the doorway by Killian’s office. That bitch was involved all along. Sadie stilled when Christina’s bruised and battered face came into view. Her right eye was swollen shut and the flesh had turned an ugly shade of purple. She had a fat lip and looked like she’d been crying. In that instant, Sadie’s entire opinion of the woman changed. She might have been a snotty bitch, but nobody deserved a beating like that. She held a gun in her shaking hand that was pointed right at Sadie. Or not. Jesus, look at what he’d done to her.

  “Hey, baby. Just stay right there. I know Killian will behave himself because he doesn’t want his little vamp to get a belly full of silver.” Ivan grabbed the king as though he weighed nothing at all and tossed him over his shoulder. He leaped over the balcony and landed squarely on both feet. The sound echoed through the space, sending tremors through Sadie right to her bones. Based on Ivan’s strength, Sadie knew this would not be an easy fight for Killian. A moment later, Ivan dropped the king on the ground like a sack of potatoes, keeping his weapon pointed at Sadie the entire time. “Get over here, Christina.”

  Christina didn’t move but kept her frightened stare, to say nothing of the gun, directed at Sadie. She looked totally terrified.

  What the hell? Sadie whispered into Killian’s mind. I’ve heard of Stockholm syndrome, but she hasn’t been with him that long. Why wouldn’t she use the gun on him?

  “Now,” Ivan barked. Christina flinched and quickly scurried over to Ivan. “Good girl.” He grabbed her by the arm and pushed her to her knees. “You keep that gun on the king. If either of them come near you, you blow his head off. Remember what I told you. There’s no going back now, and if everyone finds out that you were the one leaving those notes, you’re fucked. No refunds or returns, baby. You’re in this for the long haul. If I go down, you’re coming with me.”

  “I know,” Christina whimpered. Kneeling behind King Heinrich, she held the gun to his head as her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

  “Shut up!” Ivan shouted. “You are such a whiny bitch.”

  “Let her go,” Killian said evenly.

  “What? You suddenly give a shit about her?” Ivan scoffed. “Please. All you’ve been thinking about ever since we go to this shithole city is her.” He glowered at Sadie and kicked the king
with his booted foot. King Heinrich groaned but didn’t wake up, and Sadie could feel the rage oozing from Killian. “Your old man is so fucking weak, he was willing to look the other way while you wasted your time with a damn vampire.”

  Sadie flicked her gaze to Killian. That was probably why she didn’t see Ivan turn the gun her way. Sadie heard the shot a second too late. The silencer made it sound like a whistle. When the silver bullet punctured her shoulder and emerged through her back, it felt like her blood turned to liquid fire. Killian’s outraged scream filled her head.

  She dropped to the floor in a heap and a blinding flash of light erupted as Killian and Ivan shifted into their wolves. Hackles raised and with teeth gnashing, the two massive wolves tangled with each other in a flurry of fur and claws at the center of the room. They were about the same size in their wolf pelts, but Ivan was a bit bulkier than Killian, giving him a slight advantage. Snarls ripped through the room as they rose on their hind legs and tore at each other ferociously with snapping jaws.

  Writhing in pain, liquid fire coursing through her body from the effects of the silver, Sadie fought through the dizziness and pushed herself to a sitting position. She’d been hit by silver before, and luckily this time the bullet had passed right through. Her vision blurred and she felt like she was in the middle of a nightmare. Everything spun as she tried to focus. Christina had dropped the gun and lay on the floor next to King Heinrich. The woman was curled up in a fetal position like a terrified child, shaking and whimpering and no threat to anyone.

  Sadie didn’t have to say the safe word to bring her friends to their aid. Having heard the gunfire and Christina’s screams, they were already there. Blinking, trying to clear her vision as she rose to her feet, Sadie saw Olivia’s red hair fly by in a blur as she went directly to the king. The heavily armed group swiftly entered the room and surrounded the battling wolves, who were seemingly unaware of the latest arrivals.

  Muzzles bloodied and circling one another, both Killian and Ivan were wounded and breathing heavily. Sadie could tell that neither would give an inch for fear the other would take the advantage. The sound of Dakota’s gun cocking echoed through the room and was immediately followed by loud rumbling growls from Killian and Ivan. Ivan snapped his jaws and the hackles on his brown-and-beige fur-covered body rose higher.

  “No!” David shouted and put one hand on Dakota’s weapon, stopping him from going any further. “Killian has to finish this himself. If you interfere, it will do him more harm than good. If he’s ever going to be king, he has to finish this on his own.”

  Dakota looked at the czars, currently in the process of trying to revive King Heinrich. Olivia sat on the ground with the king’s head in her lap. She exchanged a knowing look with Doug and nodded her agreement. Dakota reluctantly lowered his weapon with a sound of disappointment. A split second later, Ivan lunged toward Killian and the sight of his sharp mouthful of teeth lunging toward her lover was almost too much for Sadie to bear.

  Ivan knocked Killian to the ground and his jaws sank into Killian’s shoulder while fear swirled inside Sadie like a tornado. Amid that rush of energy and intense emotion, her heart began to beat again.

  A cool wave of air filled her lungs as her heart pounded in her chest. Sweat dripped into her eyes while she watched Killian fight for his life. The fire in her blood seeped out to her skin, and it felt like flames flickered over her sweaty flesh, making the effects of the silver seem like child’s play. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought the change that she knew was coming, but it was too late. In a brilliant explosion of light and a painful rush of heat, Sadie’s body erupted into the sleek, furred body of her wolf.

  A growl rolled in her chest and her hackles rose as she got her feet under her, stalking closer to the center of the room. The look on Ivan’s furry face when he saw her shift into her wolf pelt was nothing short of pure shock, and that was exactly the distraction that Killian needed. He was pinned beneath Ivan’s larger frame, and now with a rumbling snarl, Killian latched his jaws around the traitor’s neck.

  In one fluid motion, Killian leveraged his body weight and swiftly flipped Ivan onto his back before biting down and crushing his neck. Snarling, Killian bit down further and shook his opponent brutally. Ivan’s body went limp. In an instant, the traitor shifted back to his human form and lay motionless on the floor. Killian—breathless, weakened, and bloody from battle—released Ivan’s neck and stumbled away from his naked, lifeless form.

  Without waiting for Killian to shift back, Sadie ran to the center of the room and nuzzled the warm, damp fur along his neck in the closest thing she could muster to a hug. Killian whined and immediately returned her affection as he touched her mind with his. Now, you did that just to prove me wrong, didn’t you?

  Yup. Sadie sat on her haunches next to him and licked his nose playfully. I told you I could handle myself.

  “Well, that’s new,” Trixie murmured. She was squatting on the ground next to Christina, who looked equally shocked. “Shit. This bloodmate legend sure has some freaky side effects. You can count me out for that one, and the pregnant thing too. No thanks.”

  “Like I said, y’all.” Dakota put his gun in his holster and shook his head. “This is one weird fuckin’ family.” He hooked his thumbs in the waist of his leather pants and shot a glance at David. “Is it crazy like this back in Alaska?”

  “Well, it wasn’t,” David said with a small laugh. “But something tells me things are about to change.”

  * * *

  It had only been a few days since the nightmare with Ivan and yet somehow it seemed far longer. Once King Heinrich regained consciousness and heard what had happened, everyone went into serious damage-control mode. Ruffled feathers had to be smoothed and bruised trusts were in need of repair.

  Sitting in the waiting room of the Presidium offices, Sadie had never been more nervous in her entire life. Her entire future was riding on whatever happened in that meeting—the one she wasn’t allowed to attend. All of the bigwigs were in there deciding her fate. Emperor Zhao had even flown in from Hong Kong. King Heinrich, General Wolcott, Olivia, Doug, and the emperor were all in that conference room listening to Xavier as he told them everything he knew about Sadie’s…situation.

  At least she wasn’t in Christina’s situation. Hell, she actually felt sorry for the girl. Her father and mother had arrived in the city within hours of hearing their daughter was safe. Naturally, the general wanted all the vamps in Manhattan strapped with silver and staked out for sunrise. The czars and King Heinrich thought there would be a hell of a fight getting him to believe what happened, but to everyone’s surprise, Christina confessed to it all. She’d sent the notes, and when Ivan found out, he’d used that information to blackmail her and help his cause.

  The woman was back in Alaska in a padded room, but the general kept referring to it as a vacation. Right. Sadie rolled her eyes.

  Wearing a simple black suit and the ruffled white shirt she loved so much, Sadie was terrified. Once again that feeling of uncertainty had crept back inside, threatening her sanity. Killian sat next to her, his hand secured safely around hers, and when she shot a glance at him, she didn’t miss the smirk on his handsome face.

  “What are you grinnin’ at?” Sadie elbowed him but didn’t miss the shy smile from Suzie, who was watching them less than discreetly from behind her computer. “Why aren’t you nervous? What if—”

  “What?” Killian released her hand and draped his arm over her shoulders before placing a warm kiss on her temple. “What are they going to do? Banish us? This meeting is just about sharing information and making sure we’re all on the same page. I bet Xavier has them eating out of the palm of his hand.”

  “You’re right. I know you are, but…what about you?” she asked quietly. “I mean…I kind of screwed you.”

  “Yes.” Killian wiggled his eyebrows. “You did. Several times.”

 
“Killian,” Sadie said through a giggle that she was unable to stop. “I’m being serious.”

  “So am I,” he said innocently.

  Sadie opened her mouth to argue with him and tell him he was being ridiculous, that he wasn’t taking their situation seriously, but he kissed it right out of her. His strong hand cradled the back of her head as he shifted her body and melded his lips with hers. Sadie sighed and opened to him, reveling in the spicy taste that had become so wonderfully familiar. His body pressed against hers, making her sink deeper into the buttery-soft leather couch. He softened the kiss and suckled her bottom lip before resting his forehead against hers.

  “Everything will work itself out,” he murmured.

  Sadie was about to answer him when a familiar, deep voice interrupted them.

  “Your mother says that to me all the time.”

  King Heinrich appeared and once again had Sadie scrambling to get out from under Killian. She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and quickly rose to her feet to find Olivia standing behind the king, rolling her eyes. Sadie felt like a teenager getting caught by her parents making out in a closet or something.

  “Father, your timing continues to be impeccable.” Killian stood next to Sadie and linked his arm around her waist. “I take it the meeting is over.”

  “Not quite.” King Heinrich glanced quickly at Sadie before looking back at his son. “We’d like to speak with the two of you before our decision is announced to the various communities.”

  Decision? Sadie touched Killian’s mind and grabbed his hand as they headed to the room. What the hell? They’re going to announce that I’m a freak and that you won’t be king. Wonderful.

  Killian and Sadie followed the king into the conference room and closed the door tightly behind them. Xavier stood on a stool by the large screen on the left side of the room. A colorful graph glared brightly from the projector, one that Sadie could only assume had to do with her condition. Xavier winked as she made her way toward the table, Killian’s hand linked tightly in hers. She gave him a strained smile.