Fuck. Morgan couldn’t tell if the girl was sincere or lying, but let her desire to get the hell out take precedence. “Okay, but I’m not leaving without Thane, and he’s going to need help.”
“I’m stronger now. You are too, right?” When she nodded, the girl continued. “We can carry him then, but we really have to hurry. I don’t know how long it’ll be before Vitus will want you brought to him.”
“He’s conscious. We’ll have to keep him on his feet and moving.” Morgan turned to the bathroom door. “Or he was.”
The girl appeared beside her. “I’m Hailee. Let’s get out of here, please.”
Stealth or balls to the walls attack? Cal regarded the bush-shrouded maw in the earth, aware of time passing and his people’s restlessness. “What do you think?”
“There’s a chance we could get in and out without running into many vamps, but under the circumstances, I’d personally switch to guns blazing and fangs bared the minute we encounter more than one,” Laney replied. “We have the element of surprise on our side. Let’s add confusion to it.”
He looked at Lucas next, who grinned. “She’s good at this stuff. I’m with her.”
When Cal looked around, Herman was the only other one to speak up. “I fancy a good John Wayne kind of entrance myself.”
Balls to the walls it is. Cal nodded. “All right, start blazing when we hit a group of vampires. Volunteers for point?”
Laney and Herman stepped forward at the same time, and she raised an eyebrow at the Texan. He smiled back, touching the brim of his cap. “Ladies first.”
“What, no Old West chivalry speech about protecting the womenfolk?”
“From what I’ve heard, you’re a woman smart folks duck and cover from when she’s on the warpath. But I’d be honored, ma’am, if you’d consider allowing me to watch your back.”
Watching a smile appear on Laney’s face as she nodded, Cal wondered if she’d finally found someone worthy of her interest. But only for a second. “Jerome, Lucas, and me will be right behind you two. The rest behind us. Let’s try not to shoot each other if it’s tight going.”
He changed back to wolf and trailed Laney and Herman to the opening. The musty odor of vampire was thick enough to trigger an urge to sneeze, but Cal repressed it. Laney looked down and murmured, “Ladder.”
Which she ignored in favor of taking a step forward, arms close to her body, and dropping straight down the shaft. Herman grinned and shook his head before doing the same.
By the time Cal joined them, Laney was wiping blood from the blade of a knife on her pants leg. Herman was crouched down a few feet beyond her, both guns out. No one spoke as the rest came down the shaft.
As the last Were arrived, Laney and her new shadow began moving forward. The tunnel was roughly hewn, but its proportions allowed everyone to stand upright and walk three abreast. When they reached an intersection, Lucas signaled a halt and set a team of four to guard and hold the tunnel.
Laney sniffed her way down each side of the new tunnel and waved for them to follow her down the left side. Cal approved her choice when he caught the somewhat faded scents of Thane and Morgan. They’re here!
He moved to her side, taking over tracking so she and Herman could focus on spotting movement ahead. There was blood in the mix of scents, mostly Morgan’s. A thrill of anger coursed through him, though the sensible part of him acknowledged there was little chance of her being held by vampires without blood getting spilled.
But knowing and getting a snoot full of confirmation were two different things. He snapped at Laney when she touched his ear. She jerked her hand clear and immediately retaliated by thumping her fist down on his skull. Hard.
“Stop growling, or you’re going to crater the element of surprise part of the plan,” she said in a low voice. “If I get shot, I’m shooting you to share the joy.”
She’ll do it. Cal nodded, regretting once more that she wasn’t his Chimaera. Got to stop doing that too. Can’t change it.
They continued on, only to halt a few moments later when the sound of voices reached them. “The Viking wasn’t happy when he left.”
“Master decided to keep his pet,” another responded.
“The woman?”
“No, the man.”
“Vitus doesn’t like men.”
A soft snort echoed down the tunnel to the listening Weres. “He kept him because of the woman.”
“He doesn’t like to share either.”
“Do you pay attention at all? The woman’s a Chimaera.”
Cal’s breath caught. How do they know that?
“Which is what?”
The second voice sounded less certain. “I don’t really know, other than it means she’s important. Our Master knows, and he’s the one who tasted her blood and said she was a Chimaera.”
“Well, I hope she’s useful enough to make pissing off the Viking worth it. Hey, do you smell...” He didn’t finish, thanks to Laney’s highly illegal flechette-style bullet destroying his heart. Herman’s right gun roared at the same time, taking a chunk out of the second vamp’s head while the first disintegrated. The Texan strode forward, holstering his gun and whipping a Bowie knife out from under the back of his jacket. Grabbing a handful of the collapsing vamp’s hair, he sliced the blade deep into its neck before twisting the head and breaking the spine. “Ashes to ashes.”
Cal crossed the room to look out the other doorway as the second vamp turned to ash. It connected to a hall that had been finished. There were fresher traces of Morgan’s and Thane’s scents over older ones. The fresh ones were blood-free.
“Let’s go. They’d have to be deaf not to know someone’s here.” Laney and Herman stepped out, guns leveled, to take the lead. Three steps, and a trio of vampires stepped out of a side room farther down and began firing.
Chapter Twenty-eight
“What’s that?” Morgan couldn’t turn to look behind them when the faint sounds reached her ears. Not that she would’ve seen the cause anyway, as it sounded far away. Thane had passed out several minutes before and they were bearing his full weight, their shoulders wedged under his. Her right arm was around his back, in contact with Hailee’s bare, cold skin.
“I-I don’t know. Maybe the Viking came back. He wasn’t exactly happy about leaving your boyfriend.”
Vampzilla was a Viking? “Eluf’s an honest-to-God Viking?”
“I guess so. Everyone but Vitus calls him the Viking. Come on, it’s not much farther.”
It wasn’t. Morgan could smell fresh, cool air coming from ahead, or rather, around the bend of the tunnel they were in. She noticed that Hailee’s musty odor had gotten stronger too. Do vampires sweat?
Then they were around the bend and she could see the moonlit tops of trees through the tunnel’s exit. Hailee muttered something about a slope as they dragged Thane toward the exit.
Morgan didn’t even feel an instant of surprise when they reached it and the vampire abruptly freed herself to step back and shove them. Out and down they went, Thane tumbling like a rag doll when she lost her hold on him. I’m going to kill that bitch.
The slope was littered with rocks, some of which joined their descent. Morgan tried to control her trip down, only lose some nails and twist her ankle before momentum started her rolling. She caught glimpses of Thane between the whirl of sky and ground. A helpful tree showered her with pine needles after stopping her roll by the direct method of being in the way.
Stunned and out of breath, Morgan lay there for a moment. It gave her a great view of Hailee skipping down the steep slope, the skirts of her gown gathered high and close. Gonna kick her right in vag soon as I catch my breath, she decided while slowly sitting up.
Where was Thane? She carefully turned her head and winced. He was folded around another tree trunk not far away. Bone gleamed through a rent in his black pants. At least he can’t feel that right now.
Turning her head back, she saw a flash before something thudded into her face, knocking her head ba
ck against the trunk. Pain exploded like a bomb, resulting in a private fireworks show of multicolored sparks.
“For a whore, you sure are a dumb bitch,” Hailee said. “I wouldn’t have fallen for my act.”
Blinking, Morgan tested her front teeth with her tongue before licking blood from her lips. “I didn’t. Just wanted out of there more than I was worried about when you’d drive the knife into my back.”
“That’s only one. The other will be here in a minute.” Hailee grinned, releasing her handfuls of dress to cross her arms. “Eluf’s going to make me his queen for delivering you to him.”
Morgan laughed, drawing her legs up and resting her forearms on her knees. “Men’ll promise anything to get women to do what they want, dumb fuck.”
“He swore an oath, but I wouldn’t expect a hooker to understand anything about stuff like that.”
“Did he swear it in English?” When Hailee’s brow furrowed, she laughed again. “He didn’t. You have no idea what he actually said, do you?”
“I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”
Dropping one hand to the ground, Morgan laughed again. “Right. You’re too smart.”
“I am. I fooled Vitus.”
Looking past her, Morgan said, “Sure you did.”
Hailee spun around, and Morgan lunged to her feet and forward, planting her shoulder into the small of the girl’s back. They went down hard, the vampire’s surprised scream becoming a breathless squeak. Grabbing handfuls of Hailee’s hair, Morgan began pounding her head against the ground.
She got in three good thumps before a large hand closed around her throat. Lifted clear of Hailee, Morgan clawed at Eluf’s massive forearm. He sneered. “Pathetic.”
He tossed her away. Landing on her side, Morgan winced and wheezed as he helped Hailee to her feet. The girl’s face was scraped, her nose broken, and blood dripped from a split in her forehead. “Can you walk?”
“Yes, Eluf.” Hailee stared up, her eyes shining in her dusty, messed up face.
“Go until you reach the road. I’ve a vehicle waiting there.”
“What about...”
“Go.”
Casting a glare Morgan’s way, the girl did as ordered, disappearing among the trees within seconds.
“Now what?”
Eluf studied her. “You’re of no use to me.”
“I’m a Chimaera,” she reminded him, positive she was about to die. “Calhoun will...”
“Crawl back to Vitus.” His eyes left her for Thane, and he walked right past her in favor of collecting his former prisoner.
What the actual fuck? Morgan rolled and sat up, watching him. It took a breath for her to realize that now she was the only one who could do anything about the situation. But not like this.
She took a deep breath and changed.
Lucas tapped Cal’s shoulder. “Go on, we’ll clear the place.”
The place was a rabbit warren of tunnels past the hallway, but they’d all scented Morgan and Thane down the one Cal was facing. It hadn’t been too long since they’d gone through it. He glanced at Lucas before barking at Jerome to follow.
The two wolves raced down the tunnel, sporadic shots from the clearing process echoing. A bend appeared, fresh air flowing, and rounding it both heard the roar of a tiger. It wasn’t Thane, and the only feline with them was Dougie, who didn’t roar.
An opening loomed ahead, moon-lit treetops visible beyond it. They slowed before reaching it, expecting a drop-off. Instead, there was a steep slope and at the bottom, a tiger was latched onto the back of one of the largest men Cal had ever seen.
The man was staggering away from something lying at the base of a tree, reaching behind his head to try and grab the tiger’s. Jerome whined, nudging Cal’s shoulder with his nose, and Cal realized the “something” was Thane, who was trying to change.
Which meant the tiger was Morgan, and removed the last smidge of doubt he had about her being his Chimaera.
Cal tore down the slope with a howl of rage as the man spun around, slinging the tiger—tigress, rather—loose. She landed on all fours, tail lashing, and immediately leaped for him again. The man was a vampire, because a human wouldn’t have caught her, but gone crashing to ground beneath her weight.
Her back paws raked at his thighs, stripping cloth and flesh. Her front paws were locked into the muscles of his shoulders as she hissed and yowled in frustration, because the vampire had tucked his head under her chin.
Cal hit him low from behind, forcing the vampire’s knees to bend. Down they went, a muffled squall of pain escaping Morgan when her muzzle struck. Sorry, darlin’.
The vampire didn’t let go of her, kicking at Jerome when the other wolf darted forward to grab his leg. Cal spun and sank his teeth into the vamp’s thick forearm, throwing his weight backward. Realizing what he was doing, Jerome darted around to the other side, grabbing the vampire’s other arm.
Between the two of them, and using every ounce of weight and leverage they had, they were able to force the vampire to release his hold on Morgan. She backed away, shaking her head, and turned toward Thane. The were-liger had only managed to half-complete his change, signaling that he was either sick as hell or badly injured. Maybe both.
First things first, and this guy, Cal snarled, shaking his head and trying to rip the vampire’s arm loose, is first on the agenda.
The vampire was laughing. The absurdity of that struck Cal right before the son of a bitch flung his legs up and over, rolling all three of them. Cal lost his grip, and before he could acquire a new one, the vampire had grabbed Jerome. Then he used him as a club, beating Cal down into the dirt while Jerome snarled and flailed until something cracked.
Yelping and seeing double, Cal finally managed to slide clear and crawl away. The vampire tossed Jerome’s silent body at him, and the bastard was still laughing. Cal shook his head, preparing to charge, and hoping his body held together long enough to finish the fight.
Instead, a large, striped figure hit the vamp from the side, knocking him down, and immediately leaped away. Cal sat down, more than willing to take a moment to catch his breath. Not laughing now, are you?
Before the vampire could regain his feet, a much larger striped body landed on him. Cal cheered Thane on as the were-liger crunched and clawed, wondering where Morgan had gotten to. He couldn’t see her. Lowering his head, he sniffed Jerome’s muzzle. The bloody froth he found said the other had internal injuries. I’ll just sit here with you for a few minutes, unless Thane needs help.
Thane didn’t need help. He raised his blood-stained muzzle, uttering a hoarse roar, as the huge vampire turned to ash beneath him. As the sound faded, Thane fell over.
Well, shit. Cal sighed and painfully rose to his paws to limp to him.
Morgan hadn’t gotten very far before the change swept over her without warning. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”
She was naked in the woods, with no idea where she was headed, other than after Hailee. It only took a few steps to realize that bare human feet weren’t the best option for the terrain. An attempt to change failed, and she growled while continuing to pick her way across the rocky, pine needle littered ground. She’s not getting away.
Three more steps, and a low roar filtered through the trees behind her. Morgan stopped to listen. It had to be Thane, which meant... well, she hoped it meant he’d killed Eluf. There’d been two wolves. She was positive the larger wolf was Calhoun, and a little less certain the other had been Jerome.
“What the hell am I doing?” Morgan turned around and began carefully walking back. Screw Hailee. Eluf had said there was a vehicle waiting. He hadn’t said no one was waiting with it. You almost walked into more trouble, dumb ass.
The trip back took a little longer on two feet. She’d run a good quarter of a mile before changing. Morgan wondered why she’d changed. She hadn’t meant to. “Shit. Calhoun saw me.”
So much for her idea of asking Thane to keep the Chimaera busi
ness quiet for a while. Not that she’d expected him to agree to, considering how loyal he was to Calhoun. A few minutes later, she’d found her way to the edge of the slope and paused to take stock.
One of the wolves was upright, sitting next to Thane’s larger, prone figure. Beyond them lay the second wolf. She could see the were-liger’s side rising and falling, and briefly closed her eyes in relief. It took another moment to reach them. The conscious wolf was unmistakably Calhoun.
He whined softly, his tail scattering vampire ash and small pebbles. Morgan crouched on the other side of Thane, across from him. “You hurt?”
Calhoun nodded.
“I guess that means I need to find help. You did bring more than Jerome with you?”
He nodded again, and she mentally patted herself on the back for guessing the other wolf’s identity. “Okay. Guess I’m climbing up. Is it safe?”
Calhoun flicked his ears, glancing upward at the tunnel opening, and nodded after a few seconds.
Morgan stroked Thane’s shoulder and leaned to whisper in his rounded ear. “I’ll be back soon.”
Twenty minutes later, she’d made the opening and was officially not a fan of nude rock climbing. Her knees were skinned, her fingers sore, and her toes hurt. She had hand and foot cramps, the latter making her hobble. “This sucks.”
“I heard someone.” It was a female voice.
“I can hear you too, and if you’re a vampire, I’m going to rip you a new...”
“Morgan?”
A flashlight beam blinded her. “Hey!”
“Sorry. You’re taller than I thought.”
Blinking, Morgan managed to focus as the woman walked toward her, a tall man at her shoulder. “Who are you?”
“Laney. This is Tex. I mean, Herman. Where’s...”
“Outside, at the bottom of the hill. Slope. Friggin’ cliff.” Morgan crossed her arms. “Anyone have an extra shirt or pants?”
“Here, ma’am.” Tex, or Herman, hurriedly shrugged off his jacket. It was leather, and hung to mid-thigh once Morgan put it on.
“Thank you. Okay, Thane and Jerome are out. Cal’s hurt, but he’s conscious.”
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