Wolf Games: Severed Fates (The Vampire Games Book 6)

by Caroline Peckham

He shook his head, perching on the edge of the bed. “No, she was a good mum. She left after Emma died...blamed me I guess. I probably would have too.”

  “It wasn't your fault,” I breathed, gazing at his pained expression.

  He sighed heavily. “Yes it was. I was planning to start this company before she died. I could have got my hands on some V blood in time...” He glanced up at me, his eyes glistening. “She died in my arms, Cass. She was so small. She'd always seemed to be growing before, and I'd wished that she would stop sometimes, to keep her as my little baby.” He released a bitter laugh. “Guess I got my wish, huh?”

  I slid out of bed, moving toward him, the pain in his eyes burrowing a hole in my chest. “Oh Silas. I'm so sorry.” I sat beside him, resting a hand on his back.

  He glanced away. “It's fine. I mean, it's not, but maybe I can bring her back one day, maybe there's still hope.”

  I nodded, rubbing his spine, leaning my head against his shoulder. I remained like that and he soon dropped his arm around me, pulling me closer. I wondered how many people in Silas's life he could confide in. Perhaps none.

  “Where are your parents?” I asked softly.

  “They died a long time ago.” He gave me a sad smile. “I tried to get them involved in my company. I wanted them to become Immortal, but they chose not to.” His brow furrowed. “They had a good life. Sometimes I wonder...maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. That's all I want for Emma really. A good life. A full one. She got taken too soon. It wasn't fair,” he spat the last word.

  I rubbed his arm softly.

  “My mum was in the V Games, you know? My father saved her from it. They ran away to Italy together. That's where they had me.”

  I raised my brows in surprise. “Really?”

  “Yeah, hence why I hate the games. Well that and the fact they're abhorrent anyway. Makes my skin crawl what Rockley does here.” He shuddered, flattening his trousers on his lap. “I should get dressed.”

  I frowned as he walked away, snatching some more clothes before heading back into the bathroom, the lock on the door clicking through the air.

  My thoughts slid to my own family. I wondered where Curt and Dad were being kept. I hoped Rockley wasn't hurting them. Perhaps he wouldn't bother unless I was there to watch...

  How was I ever going to get access to them? And unless I knew if or when my friends were coming, how would I know when to act anyway?

  It hit me in a moment of swelling hope, that if Selena had gotten Silas's message, she was definitely on her way. She was just too damn noble not to come.

  Hope to see you soon, little killer.

  Varick

  I stole a car. We hadn't had much choice in the matter. We needed to get into the depths of Wales undetected and journeying on foot from a train station wasn't worth the delay. The Helsings had taught me how to drive their SUVs so I could ferry them around Raskdød when the games weren't running. Funny how things worked out sometimes. Without them, I would never have met Selena either. And that just wasn't a life worth dwelling on.

  Selena called Brendan as we sailed down the M40 in a stolen Land Rover. I'd pinched the keys out of a guy's pocket whilst he'd been queuing up in a cafe.

  Selena put the phone on speaker as Brendan answered.

  “We got the cure to Werewolf obedience,” Selena told him after a round of hellos.

  “Thank the Lord. Are you on your way there now?” Brendan's voice sounded through the car's speakers. Selena had hooked it up to the dashboard with Bluetooth.

  “Yes, how are things? Any progress with the Vampire cure?” Selena asked.

  “Well...we've had a bit of a blip I'm afraid. Darrell took the cure this morning...” He cleared his throat. “We euthanised him, but he hasn't woken up since.”

  “Shit,” I swore. I didn't know Darrell that well, so I couldn't say I cared exactly. I was more frustrated about the fact the Vampire cure was so damn impossible to decipher. “How the hell does it work?”

  “I have a theory,” Brendan said. “But I'll need to move Darrell's body from Raskdød to test it out.”

  “What is it?” Selena asked.

  “The sun. I've been thinking on it for some time. I believe it may be the catalyst to the reaction. You laid Varick in the sun before he woke up. And Selena, you wouldn't have been in the sun until we returned to The Sanctuary, perhaps sparking the change in you also. It's the only variable that I can come up with.”

  Selena bit her lip, glancing at me. “And what if it doesn't work? Or even if it does? We don't have time to waste, we could use the support here if it comes to a fight.”

  “Which it will,” I supplied dryly.

  Selena frowned.

  “Sorry sweetheart, but it's true. We're walking into an ant's nest. We're not going to get out of there without crushing some ants.” And since I'd had my Vampire strength returned to me, I was rather looking forward to getting some revenge on those bastards.

  “Leave it to me,” Brendan said. “Call me when you're there. I'll start heading your way soon. When you get to Wales, find the nearest town to Rockley's resort and lay low. I'll need a couple of days to get to you with the others.”

  “A couple of days?” Selena gasped. “What if we don't have that long?”

  “You can't walk in there alone,” Brendan growled.

  Selena pursed her lips and I laid my hand on her knee. “He's right. We'll have to wait for backup.” Much as I longed to storm in there and take our friends back, I knew it would be a foolish move. I'd conducted more raids in my pirate days than I could count. Of course, the prize had been jewels back then, not people. Which made the stakes a lot higher this time.

  “Fine,” she gave in. “I'll call you when we're there.”

  “Alright, stay safe.” Brendan hung up and Selena dropped the phone into her lap.

  She wore a dark expression and I reached over, placing a hand on her leg.

  “I don't want to wait,” Selena said.

  I frowned. “I know how hard this is, but we have to be smart. We can't go barreling in there alone.”

  “But what if we wait too long and we're too late to help them?” Selena looked to me, her eyes watering.

  I squeezed her knee, my heart twitching. “They'll be okay. Rockley likes to play with his food.”

  Selena winced.

  “Sorry, but it's true. He's not going to kill them until he's had his fun.” It pained me to say it, but Jameson and Cass were tough as hell. Another day or two wouldn't make a difference to their resolve.

  Selena glared at me. “We don't know how long they've been there, Varick. What if it's already been a month? Rockley could be bored already!”

  “I cannot lose you,” I snapped. She was my world. My everything. I would not lose her.

  I placed my hand back on the wheel, shaking my head, fear spilling through me like a dam had broken in my chest. “Not again, Selena. I cannot risk you, for anything. Or anybody. I love our friends, I do. But I am not going to sacrifice you to the hands of Rockley Jones. You know what he's capable of. The thought of him even touching you makes me want to- argh.” I slammed my palm against the wheel, my rage reaching boiling point.

  Selena gently touched my arm. “Alright,” she sighed. “We'll wait for the others.”

  “Okay,” I said through my teeth. “Promise me.”

  She sighed. “I promise. But I think we should scout out the quarry tonight, before it gets dark. See what we're dealing with.”

  I resigned myself to that idea. She was right. The more information we had, the better. “Agreed.”

  “Are we compromising?” Selena teased, breaking the tension between us.

  I eyed her grin in my periphery and my own smile grew. “I think we are.”

  I thought of the question I'd hoped to ask her on our trip to Greece. That time seemed a world away already. I didn't know when I was ever going to get another chance like that. This trip was the exact opposite of romantic, peaceful mornings and gl
orious sunsets. We were on the road to hell. And there was a small chance we wouldn't come back. I snuffed that thought out like a candle.

  No one had to die. We could handle this. We were Immortal now.

  *★*

  A few more hours passed before we arrived in Wales, heading north into the countryside, using the sat-nav in the dashboard to guide our way toward the address Silas Madigan had given us. We wound through rolling hills and steep valleys, eventually nearing an old lead mine. Rusted metal signs pointed in its direction and I decided to park up a mile or so from where I guessed the entrance was, not wanting to be spotted by Rockley's men.

  It was getting dark, but we probably had half an hour before dusk descended. I was glad for the heavy clouds hanging overhead to give us some cover.

  Exiting the car, I moved to the boot, popping it open and taking a couple of black jumpers from our bags. Most of what we'd brought with us was black. I guessed we'd both surmised this task was going to need some incognito clothing. I took out a pair of binoculars that Brendan had given me, hanging them around my neck.

  We walked up the road, veering off of it when I caught sight of floodlights up ahead. We curved around a hill that must have overlooked the mine. At its peak, we dropped down to an army crawl, moving through the damp grass to look over the edge.

  The first thing I saw was a large area of scaffolding high up on one side of the quarry, then my eyes were drawn to the road, leading all the way down a steep path toward a large iron door. I placed the binoculars to my eyes, getting a closer look. There were no guards, but I didn't imagine that was true beyond those doors.

  I passed the binoculars to Selena so she could see and she angled them toward the large building site on the hill.

  “What do you think that is?” she asked.

  “Nothing fun,” I muttered, gazing down at the door again.

  It seemed to be the only entrance. But perhaps I was wrong. There had to be old mines leading underground all over this hill.

  “Perhaps we can find another way in,” I said.

  “We need a map,” Selena said, her eyes brightening.

  “I doubt Rockley's handing them out at the door.”

  She slapped my arm. “There must be a map of this site. It will have been used once. Maybe online, or there could be an old library record, I don't know.”

  I realised she was right and I stole a quick kiss to tell her that. “Sorry, sweetheart. I forgot that my girlfriend is a genius.”

  She grinned triumphantly, before returning her gaze to the large door. “Do you think we should hang around? See if anyone comes out?”

  “I doubt there's any point. That door is as good as ten guards standing in our way. I don't think that will be our entrance point.”

  “Okay, let's go back.” She started edging down the hill and I followed.

  When we were out of sight of the resort, we stood up, heading back in the direction of the car. Headlights flared further along the road.

  “Shit,” I hissed, grabbing Selena's arm and darting toward a large boulder, pulling her down behind it.

  “What if they check the car?” Selena gasped. “The guns!”

  I gripped her hand. “They won't,” I growled, praying I was right.

  I glanced around the rock, spying the SUV slowing as it drew up parallel to our Land Rover. A squeal of brakes followed.

  Selena squeezed my fingers, her knuckles turning white.

  I chanced another look around the rock, spying the SUV heading up the road in our direction.

  I released a heavy sigh, ducking back out of sight. “They drove past it.”

  “What if they come back?” Selena asked.

  “We'll be long gone by then.”

  We shimmied around the rock as the vehicle drove by. When it had disappeared into the quarry, I stood, dragging Selena up after me. We started sprinting as fast as we could toward the car. The ground was boggy in parts, but we traipsed over it as fast as humanely possible, hurrying to rejoin the road. When solid ground met my feet, I ran flat out toward the car, keeping Selena at my side.

  We hurried to get in and I kicked the engine into gear, turning and driving off down the narrow lane. I kept the headlights off in case we were being watched. Dusk was nearly upon us, the sunlight dying in a flare of deepest red on the horizon. My keen eyesight picked out the way forward. I didn't dare turn the lights back on until we met the main road, hurtling toward the town we'd passed through earlier.

  “Do you think we're safe?” Selena glanced over her shoulder.

  “Yes,” I said firmly. “No lights followed us.”

  “Let's find a hotel,” she suggested and I couldn't think of anything better.

  However, when we reached the small town, it was obvious it wasn't big enough to support a hotel. The closest thing to it was a small inn above a pub called the Drunken Duck.

  I parked the car around the back of it, off of the road, just in case someone came looking for us. Grabbing our bags, we headed inside the old stone building.

  A wave of warmth washed over me from a roaring fire. There was one man in the pub, looking slightly drunk already. Little trinkets lined a shelf above the bar, an array of mugs, bottles and jars, all covered in a thick layer of dust.

  A portly woman stood behind the counter, raising her brows at us. We probably didn't look like the usual type to come here.

  “Can I help you, loves?” she asked in a Welsh accent.

  Selena stepped forward. “We'd like a room for the night, if you have one? There was a sign for an inn outside...”

  The woman nodded, the motion folding the excessive skin on her neck. “I do. But for a price, like.”

  “How much?” Selena asked, taking out her father's credit card.

  The woman eyed it eagerly. We were probably about to be ripped off, but I'd rather the woman was kept happy. We didn't need more trouble than we were already walking in to.

  “A hundred,” she said, glancing at me as if I might protest.

  “Let's call it one-fifty.” I feigned a smile and the woman's brows raised.

  Selena glanced at me, thumbing the credit card. It wasn't exactly my money to spend, but still, I had an angle to play.

  I moved toward the bar, gesturing for the woman to come closer.

  “Sorry, I didn't catch your name?” I asked.

  “Mrs Merrick. But you can call me Doris, love.”

  “Well, Doris. We've come quite a long way. We actually took a turn up the wrong road on our way here. Came across a big mine. Looked like some renovation work was going on.”

  “Oh that.” Doris rolled her eyes. “Some big-shot bought the place a few years back. God only knows what he's doing with it. I've seen armed men walk through our village. Armed men, all the way out here? Can you imagine?”

  “That's terrible,” Selena caught on, moving to my side. “It must have been quite frightening.”

  “Oh yes. There were kiddies out in the streets too. Not that they cared one bit.”

  “Can't you call the police?” Selena asked.

  Doris shook her head. “It's private protection that guy's hired. Perfectly legal. Though I have no idea who he is, and I don't fancy finding out, either.”

  “Do they come up this way often?” I asked.

  Doris considered it. “Once or twice a week. Some of the men drink here sometimes.”

  “We'd appreciate it if you didn't mention we were here.” I gave her a small, apologetic smile. “We drove onto their land earlier. They weren't best pleased.”

  She beamed conspiratorially. “Consider it done. I never saw you, Mr and Mrs – ah?”

  “Grey,” I supplied, taking the credit card from Selena's hand. We couldn't use a fake name considering Brendan's name was etched across it. I handed it over and the woman processed the payment before passing it back. “Right. Here's your room key. There's only one room, through the hall, up the stairs and to the left. You can't miss it.”

  “Thank you,”
Selena said with a bright smile and we headed out into the hall and up the narrow staircase. I had to duck my head a few times so as not to hit the low beams running across the ceiling.

  Selena opened the door and we headed into a small room of antique furniture with a large bed dressed in green sheets and a fan-heater opposite it. Selena strode across the room to turn it on, sighing when it didn't work.

  I dumped my bag on the bed, unzipping it and eyeing the haul of weapons inside. “Better call your father,” I said. “Maybe he's made some progress with the cure.”

  My hopes were short-lived, however, as Selena had a brief conversation concluding that Brendan was now on a boat travelling in our direction. Twyla-Rae, Sakura, and Nirena all accompanied him alongside a host of other Immortals below the decks of one of the Helsings' vessels. Darrell lay atop the deck. They wouldn't reach sunlight until tomorrow, so we would have to wait. And if his theory didn't work, I had no idea if they could come at all. Transporting the Vampires in daylight hours wasn't worth the risk. And we couldn't wait for days on end whilst they travelled by night.

  I sighed, dropping down onto the bed and Selena sat next to me, searching the internet on her phone to find maps of the mine.

  By the time she found anything, I was laid back on the bed, reading an old copy of Treasure Island to occupy myself.

  One day I'm going to check if Melwick's gold is still where my father buried it.

  “Here – look!” Selena crawled up the bed, dropping down next to me and showing me the phone.

  Maps of the quarry's tunnels and entrances shone back at me from an old surveillance website.

  Hope swelled in my chest. “Brilliant,” I gasped, squeezing her leg. I searched the map for various entrance points. “They could be blocked off. We'd better check them out tomorrow.”

  Selena nodded firmly.

  My heart hammered. “But we'll have to be careful. If we're seen again-”

  “We won't be. Look there's an old track on the other side of the mine. We can approach it from that side this time. I doubt they use anything but the main road to get in and out.”

  It was a decent enough plan. If we could find a way in, we had a chance. Perhaps only a small one. But that was better than nothing.