Eli’s arms wrapped around me as he pulled me away from the window. I struggled to catch my breath while my fingers dug into his forearm and crushed the files to my chest. I wanted to shout at him. I wanted to slap him silly for having scared me. I did none of those things because even though the basement window was closed, I could still hear movement from inside. This meant any noise I made they would be able to hear. Vampires had just as good of hearing as we did.
“Did your brother piss someone off?” I heard one of the vampires ask.
I wiggled out of Eli’s grip and peeked through the window inside the basement.
“I don’t think so,” Peter said as he moved around the room, clicking on the lights.
Surprisingly, the vampires didn’t seem bothered by the bright florescent lights. I didn’t know much about vampires, but I had always thought they had a sensitivity to light.
“Drew wasn’t much of a people person. There’s a good chance quite a few people in town were pissed at him. But, like I said, his death was ruled an accident. He was drunk and fell down the stairs to his basement.” Peter’s voice still wavered when he spoke. It caused him to fumble on a couple of words.
“Really?” the vampire with the deep, rough voice asked. He had a wide scar that ran along the small section of skin between the base of his nose and his upper lip, disfiguring it. “Because the same little birdie we spoke to earlier said Drew was trying to double-cross Regina.”
My grip on the files tightened as I continued to stare into the window. Who was Regina?
“Drew wasn’t trying to double-cross anyone,” Peter insisted.
“Are you saying he didn’t have any plans to snag another werewolf? One that happened to be female for someone else?” the vampire with the scar asked as he reached inside the drawer on the stainless-steel counter Eli had left open.
“Not that I know of.” There was hesitation in Peter’s voice. Obviously, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure Drew wouldn’t do such a thing. He also knew if Drew had attempted such a feat, he was going to be in trouble for it.
Would Peter pay the consequences for his brother’s actions?
“You’re saying you had absolutely no idea your brother was working with someone else?” the vampire pressed farther. A wild look flared in his dark eyes, as if he enjoyed seeing Peter on edge and having the upper hand.
My stomach rolled because he looked like the type of guy who got off on inflicting pain on others.
“No,” Peter said with a firm voice. Through the distance, I could see his eye twitch. He was lying.
The vampire with the scar who seemed to be running the show must have noticed as well, because he chuckled. I watched as he took a step back and handed the other vampire a scalpel.
“You had better be glad your brother is already dead, and it happened to be a quick death,” the other vampire said as he pressed the tip of the sharp scalpel to his index finger, slicing it open. Drops of dark blood dripped onto the stainless-steel counter in front of him. “Because if we had taken him in and passed him over to Regina, she would’ve tortured the poor soul until he begged for death for his betrayal.”
Peter swallowed hard, but he didn’t speak. He did, however, take a step back, placing more space between him and the vampires.
“Now, I’m only going to ask you this once,” the vampire holding the scalpel said. “Who was your brother working with?”
“He wasn’t working with anyone,” Peter insisted.
The vampire with the scar across his upper lip laughed, drawing my attention back to him. “Benny, let him know how wrong of an answer that was.”
It happened in seconds. The vampire with the scalpel, Benny, lunged toward Peter. He stabbed him in the hand. The scalpel went so deep it pinned his hand to the stainless-steel counter. Peter screamed. It echoed through the basement, sending a shiver along my spine.
“You should’ve told the truth,” Benny said. “Now, you know there are consequences for lying.”
Peter grabbed the scalpel and pulled it from his hand. Blood splattered across the counter as another scream propelled past his clamped lips. The sight of the blood pooling across the counter had me looking to both of the vampires. A sick sense of excitement twisted the vampire with the scars features.
Who the hell was this guy?
“Let’s try this again,” the vampire with the scar said as he stepped forward and took another scalpel from in the drawer. I was beginning to feel as though he was the boss of the other. Maybe even this Regina chick’s right-hand man. “We know your brother was working with someone and we need a name. Regina does not like to be double-crossed, in case you haven’t figured that out by now.”
“I can’t,” Peter whimpered as he cradled his hand to his chest and shook his head back and forth.
Oh shit, these guys were going to kill him if he didn’t say who Drew had been working with.
“Wrong answer,” the vampire with the scar said before his arm lifted with the scalpel. His wrist flicked, and the thing flew through the air like a throwing knife until it landed in Peter’s shoulder.
Peter cried out. My stomach somersaulted, but I still continued to stare. I needed to pay attention. It was the only way I was going to find out who Regina was. And Glenn, I needed to make sure he was going to be okay. These guys seemed hell-bent on finding out who Drew had been working with. I prayed they weren’t also here to get Glenn.
“I’m starting to lose my patience,” the vampire with the scar muttered as he rummaged through the other drawers of the table. Apparently, scalpels weren’t doing the trick anymore. “You need to tell me who your brother was working for and you need to tell me now. Regina does not value your life anymore. If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re wrong. She doesn’t take kindly to those who double-cross her. Nor does she like their family. Wouldn’t it be a pity if your poor mother had to bury two more sons days after she buried the first?”
“Already have a couple of guys scoping out that younger brother of yours.” The other vampire smirked. “Looks like he’d be easy prey.”
Shane. They were talking about Shane.
While I didn’t like him, it didn’t mean I wanted him to die at the hands of some pissed off vampires. Nobody deserved to go out that way.
“Leave my brother alone,” Peter begged. He backed himself up against a wall and closed his eyes. “Please.”
“Tell me what I want to know, and maybe I’ll consider it,” the vampire with the scar said as he swirled around a pair of pliers in his hand. I didn’t want to think of what he planned to do to Peter with them.
“It’s a friend of our family. Drew was working with a family friend,” Peter said.
“Vague answer. I don’t like vague answers,” the vampire with the scar snarled.
“Better give him a name,” Benny insisted.
Peter opened his eyes, but he didn’t speak. Not until the vampire with the scar took a step toward him.
“David,” Peter shouted. “David Thomas.”
I knew that name. It was Alec’s uncle.
That must be why Eli’s dad had seen him talking with vampires. He was planning to double-cross Regina.
“See, that wasn’t so hard. Now that I have a name, I’ll be taking what we came for,” the vampire with the scar said as he set the pliers down on the counter. I watched as he made his way to Glenn’s cage.
No!
They were going to take him. This was it. The moment where we lost Glenn for good.
Eli grabbed my arm, and I knew he was trying to hold me at bay. I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at Dorian. All I could do was watch as Glenn slipped away.
“Open it,” the vampire with the scar insisted.
Peter made his way to the cage. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket, and with shaky hands opened the door.
Anger thrashed through my insides. Glenn was going to be taken by these goons right in front of me. A small gasp escaped me when the vampire with th
e scar over his lip nodded for Benny to retrieve Glenn. He stepped inside the cage and jerked Glenn to his feet. Eli’s grip on me tightened. My wolf howled inside my head, detesting the sight of a pack member being taken to who knew where by vampires. I clamped my mouth shut and squeezed the files tighter against my chest. Surely Dorian and Eli weren’t going to sit here and continue to watch this. Surely Eli was telling me to be quiet and remain calm because he had a plan to stop them, and it involved the element of surprise.
“Oh, and Peter,” the vampire with the scar said as Benny started toward the stairs with Glenn. “We want what Drew got for the other guy.”
Peter shook his head wildly. “He didn’t get anything for them.”
“We know he did.”
“I don’t know anything about that order. I wasn’t a part of it,” Peter insisted.
“Do you think I give a shit?” the vampire with the scar asked. He reached in the open drawer beside him and grabbed out another scalpel. Mischief flashed through his dark eyes as he stalked toward Peter. “Word is, he had his hands on a female wolf. We want one too. Now that your brother is dead, the task falls to you.”
“But that’s not something I do. I’m not a hunter,” Peter blubbered.
“Again, do you think I give a shit?” the vampire asked. He pressed the scalpel into Peter’s neck. A thin line of blood trickled down from the wound. The vampire flicked his tongue out and licked the area clean. “Like I said, now that he’s gone, the task falls to you. Regina wants a female wolf. And she’s giving you one week to obtain one, which is fairly generous, considering.”
“Fine, fine!” Peter shouted as he held up his hands. His head was angled to the side, exposing his neck, and his eyes were squeezed shut. His body trembled with fear. The guy was petrified. I guess I didn’t blame him. After all, he was only human.
A commotion came from the front of the house. Eli released in his grip on me and tapped my knee to get my attention. When I glanced at him, he nodded toward the woods and motioned for me to follow. Dorian was already halfway there. I hadn’t realized he’d left my side. The three of us barely made it to the thicket of the woods before Benny rushed down the porch steps with Glenn.
I held my breath as I waited for Eli and Dorian to do something in order to stop Glenn from being taken.
They did nothing except watch, which was exactly what I did.
“Aren’t you going to do something?” I whispered to Eli.
He placed a finger to his lips as his eyes locked with mine and shook his head. My entire body deflated.
“We have to do something. We can’t just let Glenn be taken,” I insisted as my stomach rolled and my heart thundered against my rib cage. “There are three of us and two of them.”
“Keep your voice down,” Dorian scolded. “I know this looks bad, but the main guy running this is older than he looks, which means he’s stronger than you’re giving him credit for. If we attack, not only is there a risk we might not make it out alive, but there’s also a chance Glenn might not either.”
“So, what are we supposed to do, then? Hide in the woods and watch?” I asked.
Neither Dorian nor Eli spoke. I guess that was answer enough.
My gaze drifted back to Benny. I watched as he lugged Glenn toward a dark vehicle in the driveway. He shoved him in the backseat and then climbed behind the steering wheel. My heart stopped when I heard the engine start. The vampire with the scar came out of the house and situated himself in the passenger seat. All the breath left my lungs as I watched the vehicle turn around and disappear down Peter’s driveway.
The vampires were gone, and so was Glenn.
14
I stood frozen, while staring into the space the vampires’ vehicle had previously occupied. Glenn had been in our sight, and we’d let him be taken.
“He’s gone. We let them take him.” My voice shook as I spoke.
“It was the only thing we could do,” Dorian insisted.
“No. It wasn’t.” I shook my head. My gaze shifted between Eli and Dorian as disappointment built within me. “We could have done so much more than stand here in the shadows. We could’ve fought. We could’ve gotten Glenn out of here earlier when Peter was occupied and the coast was clear. There was a hell of a lot more we could’ve done, but we didn’t do anything,” I said through gritted teeth.
Rage burned through me, but it was nothing compared to the guilt I felt. Three times I could have helped Glenn but didn’t. Instead I’d done nothing. What kind of a pack member did that make me? Not a good one, that was for damn sure.
Unless…
“Peter is supposed to get a female wolf for them like Drew did,” I said, staring at the front of the house. “I’m going to be that wolf.”
“What?” Eli snapped. “That’s insane. No, you’re not.”
I shifted to glance at him and looked in his eyes. “I am. It’s the right thing to do.” My words cracked with emotion, but I kept going. “I just stood by and watched Glenn be taken. It’s the third time I could’ve done something to help him, and I didn’t.”
“It wasn’t your responsibility,” Dorian insisted. “You weren’t even supposed to be here tonight. You were supposed to be handling the Caraway witches, helping them find something that might help Violet.”
I ignored Dorian. My focus was on Eli. Convincing him this was the right thing to do wasn’t going to be easy. There was no way he would let me walk into danger without putting up a fight.
“It’s the only way. Peter is supposed to get a female werewolf. Who else would you rather him take?” I held Eli’s gaze, waiting for him to name someone else, anyone besides me.
Eli worked his jaw back and forth as he held my gaze. “No one. No one else gets taken. Enough damage has already been done to our pack. I’ll be damned if I let another pack member be handed over, especially you,” Eli insisted.
I squeezed the files I’d been holding tighter against my chest and let out a long sigh. “That’s not going to work. The only way we’re going to find Glenn now is if we have someone on the inside. Someone like me.”
He had to see how right I was. He had to see how this was the only way.
“I hate to say it, but she might be right,” Dorian surprised me by saying. I shifted to look at him, searching to see if he was serious. He seemed to be. “There’s more at stake here than rescuing Glenn, though. We need to figure out who Regina is and what it is she wants with us.”
“Right,” I agreed. “And we need to figure out where she’s running this operation from.”
Eli shook his head. If looks could kill, both Dorian and I would be dead.
“I don’t like it. It’s too risky,” he said.
I reached for his hand and intertwined my fingers through his. “Maybe, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take if it helps our pack. If it helps bring Glenn home where he belongs. If it puts an end to all of this.”
“I’m not willing to let you take this risk, though.” His voice was raw and emotional. It cracked when he spoke.
“I don’t think she’s going to give you a say in the matter,” Dorian insisted, and for a second time in the span of a few minutes, I agreed with him.
“He’s right. I’m not.” I lifted to the tips of my toes and placed a kiss on Eli’s cheek. “Let’s head inside and talk to Peter. There’s still information we can get out of him, and it would probably be best if we let him know what we’re doing before anyone else in the pack gets hurt.”
Dorian chuckled. “I didn’t think I would ever say this, but I agree with everything you said.”
“You better because there isn’t a chance in hell you’d be able to talk me out of this now.” My gaze drifted to Eli as I turned to face him. “Sorry, but neither can you.”
A frown pulled at the corners of his lips. “I know.” Eli squeezed my hand in his, but he didn’t look at me. Part of me thought maybe he couldn’t. “Let’s talk to Peter.”
Finally, something was going the way I w
anted it to. I was calling the shots, and they were good enough shots for the guys to listen. It felt good.
We started toward the house.
“We should head back through the basement window,” I said. “It will save us time and give us an element of surprise.”
I made it to the window first. The lights were still on. I could see Peter sitting on the floor, assessing each area he was bleeding from with his good hand. I placed the files I’d been holding on the ground beside me and knocked on the window. Peter flinched. Fear shifted across his face, but it disappeared when his gaze landed on me. I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t seem threatening enough or if it was because I was naked. Either way, it was safe to say he had no idea how much of a threat I could be.
When Peter stood, I pushed the window open and a slipped inside. He didn’t say a word to stop me. Was he in shock?
Eli and Dorian entered the basement behind me, but still Peter displayed no reaction.
“I know who you are,” Peter said. His voice sounded flat and weighed down by exhaustion. “I know who you’re looking for, too. He’s no longer here.” He held up his good hand in an effort to keep us where we were.
I imagined his mind going crazy with thoughts of how scary his night had already been. Was it hard for him to process that once the vampires left, a group of werewolves came in search of their stolen pack member? I bet he was thinking how bad his luck was.
“We know. We saw everything.” I took a tentative step forward. “We’ve come to offer you a deal.”
“A deal? What kind of deal?” He seemed flabbergasted we would even suggest such a thing, considering.
I paused in my forward motion once I reached the stainless-steel counter separating us. His blood still coated a small section of the counter, serving as a reminder of how horrible his night had been.
The tiniest ping of sympathy shifted through me. It was short-lived.
“I want to know everything you know,” I said as I leaned against the counter, hoping I looked more intimidating than I felt. “Who is Regina? What does she want with the members of my pack? Where she’s keeping them? I want to know it all.”
Moon Severed (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 3) Page 12