A sad thought occurred to her as the trees swayed in the breeze and tendrils of sun slipped through to dance across the forest floor. “The other humans who escaped with us, they’re probably starving, aren’t they?”
“I’m sure they’ve found some way to eat. The survival instinct can make us do things we never believed possible.”
“True,” she agreed. “But I doubt they have a vampire catching food for them, and I don’t think they had any weapons.”
“They could have teamed up to work with a vampire.”
“Hmm,” she murmured. “I wish we could find some of them.”
Mike preferred to be on their own unless they located Jack and Doug. He’d set the others free, but he didn’t trust any of them, not even the humans. “We should go.”
Chapter Nineteen
A few hours later, a crashing sound ahead of them halted Mike. Grasping Mollie’s elbow, he drew her behind the trunk of a large maple. The cliffs were only fifty feet away on their right. The woods continued to go to the edge of the cliffs in this area of the forest, but he did not want to retreat toward them. He would survive if he were forced over the edge; Mollie would not.
Mollie swung the rifle from her back and lifted it to her shoulder. They stood at the top of a small hill, and the sound came from the thick underbrush below.
“Don’t fire unless necessary,” Mike whispered in her ear.
Mollie nodded and kept the barrel aimed at where the noise was coming from. Then a man burst from the underbrush. With his hair in tousled disarray, his chest heaving, and his eyes rolling in his head, he looked as if the end of the world was nipping at his heels.
Mike rested his hand on the barrel of Mollie’s gun and pushed it down while he studied the man. “Human,” he told her.
The man looked left and right before turning to his left and running in that direction. He only made it ten feet before something leapt from the underbrush and pounced on his back. Mollie’s breath sucked in, and she tried to jerk the rifle back up, but Mike kept it down as the man started screaming.
The vampire, perched on his back like a vulture on carrion, had eyes the color of rubies, and blood trickled from its mouth. Mollie didn’t know if the blood was from some other unsuspecting victim or because the vamp’s fangs had sliced open its bottom lip.
“We have to help him!” Mollie whispered as the man howled.
Mike had been preparing to lift her and run from here. The man’s screams would only attract more Savages, and he couldn’t have Mollie anywhere near them. If Mollie weren’t involved, he would intervene, but he wasn’t about to put her life at risk for some stranger.
The sun hadn’t set yet, but the shadows of the woods offered some protection from its rays, and he suspected this was a newer Savage, one more tolerant of the sun. It might even be one of the vampires they turned loose, which meant there could be other, newer Savages out there too.
“No, please!” the man pleaded.
Mollie tried to jerk the rifle away from Mike, but he wouldn’t release it. Giving up on trying to get it free, she shoved the gun at him and released it. Then she ran toward the man. Mollie only made it five feet before Mike’s arm slid around her waist and he jerked her back against his chest. Before she could voice her protest, another vampire burst from the woods and raced toward the man.
Mike clapped his hand over Mollie’s mouth when she gasped. The second Savage fell on the human and tore into his wrist. The man wailed as the first Savage bashed his fist into the cheek of the other and knocked vampire off.
“Mine,” the first snarled in a voice more animal than human.
The second one launched at the first, and they tumbled onto the man’s legs. Sensing a chance to get away, the man clawed at the dirt. He tried to pull himself free of the creatures scrambling to kill each other over which one of them got to eat him.
Mike held Mollie tight as she struggled to get free. He eased his hand away from her mouth, and she turned her head to glower at him. “We have to help.”
She lifted her chin defiantly as her striking eyes blazed with fury. And in those eyes, he saw the truth; if he carried her away from here, she would never look at him the same again. She would forever see him as a monster.
“Stay here!” Mike hissed in her ear.
Mollie relaxed against him when he set her down. Mike pushed the rifle back into her hands and strode away. Her relief over his willingness to help the man vanished when she realized he’d be going down there with two of those things. She’d witnessed his strength numerous times, but two on one wasn’t good odds.
The increasing violence between the Savages covered any noise Mike might have made while descending the hill. He adjusted his grip on the stick he’d honed to cook Mollie’s food as the Savages rolled off the man’s feet.
The man gawked at the Savages as if he couldn’t believe his luck and squealed when he spotted Mike approaching. The man scrambled to his feet, but though they were determined to kill each other, the Savages remained aware of their prey as both vamps seized his ankles and yanked him back. With a broken scream, the man slammed into the ground.
Giving up on destroying each other, the Savages pounced on him again. One sank its fangs into the man’s throat while the other claimed his arm. Mike stopped behind them, but they were too focused on their meal to realize he was there. Shaking his head over the obliviousness to their impending deaths, Mike lifted the stick over his head and plunged it into the back and through the heart of the Savage feasting on the man’s throat.
The Savage reeled back; its fingers clawed at the wood piercing its body before Mike yanked the stick free. He ignored the dying creature as he turned to the other one, who was no longer oblivious to his presence.
Blood streaked the Savage’s chin and teeth as its red-stained lips curved into a sneer. Then it leapt at him with fangs extended and fingers hooked to gouge out his eyes. Mike swung the stick around and battered it against the side of the Savage’s face. The blow shattered the creature’s cheekbone, knocked it off course, and sent it tumbling across the ground.
Spitting, the vampire righted itself and turned to face Mike before glancing over its shoulder toward the woods. Mike read its intention to flee in the subtle shifting of its body. He could not let it escape.
Racing forward, Mike was almost on it when the Savage leapt up and spun toward the woods. He grasped the vamp’s neck and jerked it off its feet. Turning in his grasp, the creature lashed out with a fist and spat blood in Mike’s face as it screeched. Mike dodged the punch and swung his fist into the creature’s chest. Flesh and bone gave way beneath the force of the blow.
The Savage’s heart beat against Mike’s hand before he enclosed it around the organ and tore it free. The creature’s fingers ripped the skin from his forearms before the Savage toppled away from him. Mike gazed at the heart in disgust before releasing it and stomping it into the debris littering the forest floor.
He inhaled a ragged breath as he strained to rein in his baser instincts. The demon in him relished a good fight and blood, and he craved more of it. He could not let Mollie see that part of him.
Feeling in control of himself enough to face Mollie, he turned to discover she’d descended the hill and was kneeling at the man’s side.
“I told you to stay where you were!” Mike snarled.
The bloodlust roused from his kills, his concern for her, and the fact she was touching the man’s shoulder caused his newly regained control to unravel.
Mollie’s eyes widened when Mike stalked toward her. Red started to bleed through the blue of his eyes as his gaze latched onto her hand on the man. The man released a gurgled cry and tried to scramble away, but Mollie held him in place.
“It’s okay!” she assured him. “We’re here to help you!”
Even as she said the words, she wasn’t sure they were true; Mike looked ready to level everything in his way.
“Mike?” she croaked.
The distress in
her voice stopped Mike in his tracks; not only had the man recoiled, but so had she. The last thing he wanted was to scare Mollie, but she looked more afraid of him than any of the Savages. Get yourself together!
Closing his eyes, he distracted himself from the jealousy shredding his insides by kneeling to wipe his bloody hand on the dirt. Lifting a handful of leaves, he also scrubbed the blood from the gashes the Savage left on his arms. He’d already stopped bleeding, and his skin was knitting itself back together.
He didn’t look at the others as he worked; he was afraid the sight of Mollie might set something off in him again. For the first time in years, he recalled the night in their friend Kathleen’s cabin when vampires attacked Sera. When Liam saw what happened, he’d been more Savage than man and nearly turned Sera right then. It took hours before Liam was stable enough to go anywhere near Sera again.
Mike recalled how helpless he felt while watching the incident unfold. He’d wanted to intervene and pull Sera away, but he couldn’t risk setting Liam off further. Liam had already reached a point where anyone touching Sera made him half-crazed. If Mike had tried to pull Sera away, Liam wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him, and with the way Liam was that night, he would have succeeded.
It was the only time in his life Mike feared his best friend and what Liam would do if Sera didn’t become a vampire. Mike walked on eggshells around Liam until Sera successfully made the transition.
At the time, and over the years, Mike convinced himself nothing like that could ever happen to him. Even if he did find his mate, he would never lose control like Liam. He’d never unravel in such a way, but the reminder of Mollie’s hands on that man caused his fangs to lengthen with the need to tear the man’s throat out.
He ground his teeth together as he scrubbed more vigorously at his arms. He hadn’t done anything more than kiss her. Even if Mollie was his mate, he shouldn’t feel this out of control already. Their bond hadn’t progressed enough for this level of possessive and irrational behavior to take hold.
Mike lifted his head and glanced around the woods. Maybe their bond hadn’t progressed, but he already suspected what she was to him, and her life had been in danger since the second they met. The knowledge monsters hunted his possible mate had most likely accelerated his need to keep her safe and make her immortal.
A rustling behind him snapped his head around. He clamped his lips together to keep from sneering as Mollie helped the man into a seated position against the trunk of a tree. The man was deathly pale, blood trickled from the gash in his neck, and his arm looked like someone tried to flay it.
“You’re going to be okay,” Mollie said as she turned the man’s arm over. She tried not to wince as she inspected the injuries. “We’ll get you bandaged, and you’ll be fine.”
She had no idea what they would use to bandage him, and then her eyes went to the quilt she released when she first lifted her rifle. They could use pieces of the blanket to bind the gashes. Reluctantly, she looked at Mike. After the barely leashed brutality she saw in his eyes earlier, she was frightened of what she would see there now, but when he met her gaze, the red vanished from his irises.
“We can use the quilt to bandage him,” she said. “I dropped it at the top of the hill.”
Rising, Mike kept one eye on them as he raced to retrieve the blanket. When he returned, he strode over to the man’s side and knelt there.
The man recoiled from him, but Mike ignored him. “I’ll do it,” he said when Mollie reached for the blanket.
“If you tear the strips, I can bandage him,” she offered.
He could be around the man’s blood, but he couldn’t watch her touching him again. “I will do it.”
“Mike—”
Mollie’s protest died off when he lifted his head to meet her gaze. She didn’t understand the turbulence in his eyes, but she suspected pushing him on this might send him over the edge. His gaze latched onto her fingers when she rested her hand in a comforting gesture on the man’s arm.
When a muscle twitched in Mike’s cheek, Mollie released the man’s arm and Mike visibly relaxed. She had no idea what was going on with him, but she wasn’t going to aggravate a vampire, her only ally, and a man she was beginning to consider a friend with some additional kissing benefits.
Mike tore two small pieces of cloth from the quilt and set the blanket aside.
“You’re a vampire,” the man stated.
Mike would have to change the man’s memories before this was over, but there was no point in doing it now. It would only weaken him, and he was sure something else would happen to reveal his vampiric nature again to the man before they were out of this mess.
“You’re observant,” Mike replied as he reached for the man’s arm.
The man recoiled from him. “You’ll drink from me!”
Mike tried to keep his patience as he met the man’s troubled, hazel eyes. He understood the man’s apprehension, and he had every right to be scared as Mike had contemplated killing him, but they didn’t have time for this.
“No, I won’t,” Mike said. “Now give me your arm so we can get out of here before more of them come.” When the man kept his arm away from him, Mike continued. “Or you can sit here and ring the dinner bell by continuing to bleed all over the place, and we’ll leave.”
The man paled further and glanced at Mollie. “It’s okay,” she assured him. “We really are just trying to help, but you have to let us.”
The man’s eyes bounced between the two of them before he held his arm out to Mike. “Are you a vampire?” he demanded of Mollie.
“No. I’m human, and Mike has helped keep me alive through this. You can trust him.”
Can he? Mike wondered as their conversation with each other grated on his already irritated nerves. If she were his mate, his need to protect her and his jealousy would escalate until she became a vampire.
If she agreed to become one. She barely knew him, and what she’d seen of vampires so far wasn’t promising. Plus, her sister was in the hands of Savages and probably dead. Before all this was over, Mollie might grow to despise him and his kind.
“What’s your name?” Mollie asked the man.
The guy didn’t tear his attention away from Mike while he replied, “Holden.”
“I’m Mollie.”
Holden grunted and blew a strand of his shoulder-length, brown hair from his eye. He had a brown goatee, lean build, and the look of a guy who spent more time on a skateboard than his feet. Mollie guessed him to be in his early thirties.
Mike finished tying the bandage on Holden’s wrist. “We have to cover your neck too, or they’ll track the scent of your blood.”
Holden nodded, and Mike set to work wrapping the cloth around his neck.
“How did you come to be here?” Mollie asked Holden.
“Some buddies and I were at the skate park the other night. One second I was on my board, and the next I was in a cage,” Holden replied. “I’m not sure how it all happened or where my friends are now. We ran in different directions when we were freed from the cages. How did you end up here?”
“I pulled over because my car had a flat tire. Someone stopped to help us, but they wanted more than to change our tire,” Mollie replied.
“And you?” Holden asked Mike.
“I was in a bar with some friends. The bar was attacked, and we were taken.”
“Why are they attacking their own kind?” Holden asked.
“I don’t know,” Mike replied gruffly. He wasn’t about to get into the intricacies of vampire life with a man who would never remember any of this.
Finished tying the bandage, Mike sat back on his heels before rising. He held his hand out to Mollie; he needed to get her away from Holden. His breath caught in his chest when Mollie hesitated before taking it. He inhaled a ragged breath when her hand enclosed around his, and she rose to her feet.
“We have to leave here, now,” Mike said crisply as Mollie bent to retrieve the quilt.
> Holden glanced between the two of them before rising unsteadily to his feet.
Chapter Twenty
The cliffs had started to dwindle in size, and the sun was nearly gone by the time they stopped again an hour later. The same eerie howls reverberating through last night had already started, but this time, they were closer.
Mollie’s skin crawled as she scanned the growing shadows. She would give anything to be sheltered somewhere, but there was nowhere to hide. Holden looked about ready to collapse, and the incessant rumbling of his stomach sounded louder than a car engine.
Mike walked over to the edge of the cliffs and gazed down; they were only a forty-foot drop now. Instead of crashing against the rocks, the waves rolled onto a ten-foot strip of sand lining the cliff walls. The fall was still lethal to humans, but he could land on the beach without harm.
However, he had to find shelter soon. The only problem was, he’d been searching for somewhere ever since they acquired Holden and discovered nothing. If he went down there, he might be able to find a way to get Mollie down there and, hopefully, locate a cave or someplace they could hide for the night, but he didn’t want to leave Mollie with Holden. His instincts when it came to her, and other men, were skewed right now, but something about the guy bugged Mike; probably the fact he was still breathing.
Stepping away from the cliffs, Mike glanced at Mollie as she surveyed the woods with the rifle against her shoulder. Holden stood far too close to her for Mike’s liking. Striding forward, he clasped Mollie’s elbow and drew her close against his side when someone screamed just as the sun was vanishing behind the horizon. Mike’s gaze lifted to the upper limbs of the trees; if they didn’t find something soon, their only hope might be to climb one and try to remain hidden for the night.
“Hurry,” he urged, leading Mollie onward.
Lowering the rifle, she practically jogged alongside him to keep up with his long legs. She glanced back to discover Holden struggling to follow them. “We have to slow down,” she whispered.
Consumed: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 8 Page 12