I felt a sudden, nearly unstoppable urge to rush to him and sink my teeth in where I could see his vein pulsing softly against his skin. It was like spending all day at the beach and coming home to find a cold glass of ice water on the counter, tempting little bubbles of condensation dripping from the sides.
Kyla took me by the shoulders and led me slowly to him. “Your body is going to try to grab control once you start. It’ll be like the first time you fed, but much worse. You’re starving right now for blood and you’ll want to drink too much. So you’ve got to do everything you can to stay present. Listen to me when I tell you to stop, and don’t take even one more sip than I allow. Drink too much, and you can lose control completely. Okay?”
I looked at Riggs, who was watching me with a mask of concern. I wanted to blush for how hideous he probably thought I looked, but it felt like there wasn’t even enough spare blood in my body for embarrassment. “You’re sure this is okay?” I asked him. “Kyla said it’s really taboo.”
“I’d do anything for you,” he said simply.
His words swirled around in me like hot cocoa after a cold walk in the snow. I wanted to clutch onto them and never let go of that feeling of warmth they provided.
I opened my mouth, feeling my teeth elongate. When I bit into his skin, it was harder to puncture by several orders of magnitude than the human man’s had been. It was like Riggs’ skin was woven through with steel. But my vampire fangs were apparently strong enough and eventually punched through with an audible pop.
Hot blood rushed into my mouth. I swallowed, gasping against his skin with the impossible deliciousness of it. I felt myself clutching him hard with both hands and drinking greedily. Something like sexual pleasure started to pulse between my legs and I had to press my thighs together to stop from succumbing to it.
What the hell?
I could feel the blood spreading through me like air into a deflated balloon. I could feel my body returning to normal, my cheeks filling back out. I felt the intoxicating strength swell in me with each swallow, too. More strength than I’d felt before. More by far.
Strangest still, vivid images flashed in my mind as I drank. I saw myself, but through someone else’s eyes. I saw me sleeping on the bed at The Wet Flea beside Maisey and I felt a pounding, harsh kind of feeling. It was foreign, but I thought I understood it as resistance. Like I was drawn to myself but was fighting it with tooth and nail.
I saw me getting sicker and felt an urge to protect more powerful than anything I’d ever experienced. It was like I would’ve literally thrown myself in front of a train if it meant saving her. Saving me.
It was all a confused rush of images and emotions—too quick for me to process it all. My smile when the sunlight was hitting my eyes in the truck and how beautiful I looked to him. My body beneath him as he plunged into me, his mind split in two between himself and the wolf within. My face when I’d walked into the room and the devastation and disappointment he’d felt at letting me get so bad.
Sylvie. Sylvie. Sylvie!
I blinked and realized I was still drinking. With immense effort, I yanked myself away from Riggs, having to literally throw myself to the ground to stop. Riggs slumped over as soon as I was done, eyes closed.
Oh, God, I thought. I went to him, shaking him by his big shoulders. “Riggs?”
I looked to Kyla, panic all over my face. “How long was I feeding?”
She was checking over Riggs too, looking just as worried as I felt. “Too long. I tried to get through to you but you were in a trance. Riggs refused to push you off because he said you needed all you could get. He didn’t even care when I said he was going to die if he let you keep going. I tried to pull you away but he pushed me back, the big fucking idiot,” she said, pressing on his cheeks and lifting one of his eyelids.
His eye was rolled back, pulsing slowly with yellow.
“Fuck!” she screamed. “This is all my fault.”
A hot tear rolled down my cheek. “He’s not dead, though. I can feel his heart.”
“Let’s hope he stays not dead,” she said.
Gravy Boat emerged from under the bed, did a weird, whispering sort of meow, and curled up next to Riggs neck, where I could see the two puncture wounds from my fangs.
“I didn’t even realize I was drinking after the first second or two,” I said. “It was like his memories were mine and I wasn’t in my body, I-”
“It’s not your fault,” Kyla said. “Letting you feed on someone so strong was a risk I shouldn’t have let you take. All we can do is wait and hope he recovers. I’m going to go get him something to eat. It’ll help him replenish the blood if we can get him to hold it down.”
We spent the next hour force feeding soup and bread to Riggs, who was aware enough to chew and swallow, thank God.
Little by little, his strength seemed to return. Kyla let out an audible sigh of relief when the puncture wounds on his neck healed up before our eyes. “I think we’re in the clear,” she said.
I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for an hour. “What happens with the plan? Riggs made it sound like it was all in motion already.”
“It was. The Pack will be getting to Westwick ahead of us. If we’re not there to lure Lazarus out like Riggs wanted, he’ll be there to fight them off. We’ve got to go now. With or without Riggs.”
“With,” Riggs said gruffly. “Fucking with.”
I jumped on him, hugging his neck, which drew out a groan of pain. “Sorry,” I said. Then I slapped him on the chest harder than I intended. “You should’ve pushed me off, you big idiot.”
“You’re welcome,” Riggs said. “How did I taste?” he asked, grinning. “It sounded like you enjoyed that quite a bit.”
Kyla rolled her eyes. “I’m going to go start the truck. Are you good enough to drive?”
Riggs looked at his hand, turning it over and forming a fist. “I feel weak as hell, but I can drive. Let me get on a shirt.” He threw on a black shirt, then his jacket, and we all headed out to his truck.
46
Sylvie
Westwick was in the middle of nowhere, just like Blackridge had been. It struck me while we drove through the darkened streets that the world was so much bigger than I’d realized. I’d seen maps, obviously. But once you picked a random road and followed it out past the well-traveled paths of normal civilization, the world stretched on and on. There were so many hidden places in the world for this secret world to exist.
I’d been one of the people who believed modern humanity knew too much and had too much science to miss something like this. If monsters were real, we’d have found them. If the supernatural was possible, someone would have proof.
But then I thought of how we haven’t even explored more than eighty percent of the oceans. Or how we’re still discovering new species of animals and insects every year. I thought of all the forgotten corners of the world we assumed weren’t worth looking in. How many other secrets lay there?
Gravy Boat had refused to be left at Silverback, so he was currently yowling for his life on the floor of Riggs’ truck with wide, terrified cat eyes. I tried to scratch him to comfort him, but he went into the cat death roll and tried to kick and bite me. Sometimes I thought Riggs’ initial assessment of the cat had been correct. Little bastard.
Kyla sat to my right and Riggs was behind the wheel. The truck bounced like it was about to fall apart every time we hit a small bump and it smelled like diesel fuel. I’d already begun to think of the smell as oddly nostalgic. It was the smell of adventure. Every time my life took a new, unexpected turn, it was preceded by that harsh chemical smell that I found weirdly pleasant.
“How do you feel?” Riggs asked.
“Like I could punch a hole through a steel wall,” I said. “The better question is how you feel. Now that I’m not afraid you’re going to die because I sucked you dry I can transition to the part where I call you a stubborn idiot for not pushing me off.”
“Cal
l me crazy, but when you’re sucking on me, the last thing I want is to push you off.”
“You could’ve died,” I said.
“Nothing good comes without its risks.”
Kyla and I both sighed at the same time. Clearly, he was refusing to take the issue seriously, and that was all there was to it.
“Are you at full strength, though?” I asked.
“Close enough,” Riggs said.
That wasn’t super comforting. I still didn’t know the full extent of his plan, but I imagined it would always be better to have Riggs at full strength.”
“And are you sure this is the best idea?” I asked.
Riggs nodded. “When your enemy knows you will come, the best response is to come in a way they didn’t expect.”
I fidgeted with my hands. “I guess that does make some sense.”
Riggs saw me squirming and reached over, enclosing my hand with his. I felt myself calm down immediately at his touch. This was Riggs, I told myself. Riggs had yet to fail me, and I was starting to wonder if there wasn’t anything beyond his ability to fix.
“Trust me,” he said. “This way, we’ll get Lazarus to leave Westwick. By the time he knows something’s wrong, the pack will hopefully have everyone out of that hellhole and all we’ll need to do is run.”
“Run from an ancient, scary vampire who can turn into shadows?”
“Right. All we need to do is survive a month, remember? We don’t have to kill Lazarus to win. If you and Maisey are alive when the month ends, you become officially sanctioned vampires in the eyes of the Coven—rebels or not. You’ll be protected by the truces.”
I’d honestly forgotten about the original terms Lazarus had set. Part of me never believed he’d honor the deal, so it felt like the only way out of this was him or us. Still, I wondered if the fact that I’d only been turned less than a week meant I still had three weeks until I was clear from the Coven’s wrath, or if I was contractually lumped in with Maisey’s timeline since he was pursuing both of us.
I took a shuddering breath, trying to force myself to be as calm as he sounded.
We stopped the truck in a graveyard, of all places. Riggs said it was about a mile from Westwick, where The Pack was hopefully still standing by until they sensed Riggs get close enough.
“So what is the pack going to do in there? Start a bloodbath?” I asked.
“Not if they can help it. The plan is to sweep the building as quietly as possible, extract the hostages, and leave. That’s all. The fewer bodies, the better.”
“And our job is what? Just keep Lazarus talking long enough to give them time?”
“Mostly. The more vampires he brings to this meeting, the better.”
“What did you tell him to get him to agree to meet us like this, anyway?”
Riggs grinned. “That I’d discovered the vampire who killed one of his former cleaners.”
“Wait, what?” I asked, looking between him and Kyla.
Kyla shrugged a little shyly. “Long story. But one of Lazarus’ former colleagues and I had a bit of a disagreement a few years back. He has wanted my head ever since.”
“And he believed you’d give up your sister?” I asked.
“The three of us are the only ones who know Kyla and I have mended our relationship.”
We got out of the truck and waited by a large cross-shaped gravestone. “Did it really have to be a graveyard?” I asked.
“It was the only real landmark outside the grounds. Close enough that he won’t suspect something but far enough to give the pack time.”
I folded my arms. None of this sounded very concrete. It was a bunch of “this should work” and “probably won’t” type of ideas. But I guessed that was real life. You couldn’t perfectly predict what other people would do. You just layered your plan with failsafes like Riggs had and hoped for the best.
It was a windy night and a chilly breeze rustled through the oak trees hanging over the graveyard. Behind us, I saw the dusty dirt trail snaking away until it wound behind the trees. In every other direction there was just gentle hills, trees, and grass.
I found myself whirling around, expecting to see shadowy figures emerging from every tree at any moment.
“How long will it be till he comes?” I asked.
“I assume he knows we’re here by now,” Riggs said. “Any minute.”
“You assume correctly,” Lazarus said.
The three of us turned in unison. Lazarus had appeared seemingly from nowhere. He had two women beside him I hadn’t seen before. All three wore scarlet colored leather trench coats like some sort of dorky uniform. I tried to tell myself that, at least, but the truth was they looked intimidating. They looked like killers. Hunters. Like beings who you weren’t meant to survive seeing.
I noticed Gravy Boat in the cab of the truck standing on the front dash, hissing with his back arched.
“I’m happy to see you brought your sister, as promised,” Lazarus said.
“I did.”
“Clearly you didn’t bring her with any real intention of handing her over, though, did you?” Lazarus asked. “No,” he answered himself, clearly enjoying his little evil villain moment. “You wanted to lure me out here. But why? Was it so those silly little wolf friends of yours around Westwick could hope to infiltrate the grounds while I was gone?”
Riggs tensed, and I felt an odd dual emotion. It was like the shock in my own body was there, but somewhere in his direction I could also feel boiling anger and surprise. Was it his blood in me? Kyla hadn’t mentioned that the connection would go both ways like that. But she admitted she hadn’t known, too.
“Now,” Lazarus said, holding up a hand. “Before you run off to warn them, let me assure you it’s too late. I requested a little help from The Coven. They’ve sent some of their best vampires to surround your friends. I promise you this much, their deaths will be quick. So you can take solace in knowing your first and last act as the Alpha of the Silverbacks was leading them to a quick, mostly painless death.” He shrugged, as if this was a not-so-bad consolation prize.
“How did you know?” Riggs asked.
“Pax didn’t appear to appreciate being embarrassed by you. He came to us and told us the plan as soon as he knew. You should know better than to trust your former enemies, Riggs. The first rule of leadership is to learn which of your subordinates has eyes for your power. Who more obvious than the one you gave a taste to then stole it back from?”
“Was this part of the plan?” I whispered.
Riggs shook his head.
“Give both girls to me,” Lazarus said. “Do that, and we’ll give you the same relatively quick, mostly painless death we’re offering your pack.”
“Fuck you,” Riggs said.
“To be honest, I would’ve been disappointed if you came easily.” Lazarus gestured to the women at his side and everything happened faster than I could follow.
One of them was on top of me, pushing me backwards until I slid in the grass. I heard Kyla scream out and Riggs grunt as Lazarus rushed into him. The woman on top of me hit me so hard my vision flashed white and the next thing I knew Riggs was ripping her from me and tossing her into a gravestone, breaking the whole thing in half.
I glimpsed Kyla trying to choke one of the other women. Gunshots rang out, and I saw that Lazarus had pulled out a pistol and started shooting. Riggs picked me up and did a running slide to put us behind a gravestone.
Bits of rock were blasted away from the stone, blasting my eyes with dust that made me blink through tears. Suddenly, I wasn’t so grateful for my enhanced vampire hearing as it made each gunshot spike through my head like hammer blows.
My hand came away bloody when I touched it where the woman had hit me, but I couldn’t find a scratch. Fast healing, I thought dumbly, even as chaos was erupting around me.
The gunshots halted as Lazarus went to reload, and Kyla took the opportunity to pounce on him and try to wrestle the gun free. That was when Riggs let o
ut an inhuman roar beside me and the white flashes and sizzling sound filled the air. In moments, he was a terrifying, massive silver haired wolf charging straight for Lazarus, who was on his back and reaching for the gun Kyla had knocked away.
I had no idea what I was doing, but I ran after him like an idiot, screaming at the top of my lungs. I saw one of the women get to her feet and rush toward him, trying to intercept Riggs and protect Lazarus. It was almost like he could see what I saw, because he subtly wove to his right, narrowly missing her outstretched hands that would’ve otherwise caught his hind leg.
I took the woman’s momentary confusion as an opportunity to lower my shoulder and run it into her side as hard as I could. I surprised myself with the violence of the impact and how far she went bouncing away from me.
Kyla and I worked together to pull back the other woman while Riggs pounced on Lazarus, who had gotten back to his feet. It looked like Lazarus was melting into the shadows just before Riggs reached him, but his wolf form apparently wasn’t fooled. He bit down on seemingly nothing, but his snout started dripping with blood.
He whipped his head to the side and Lazarus’ limp form materialized out of thick shadows that spilled off him like steam.
Riggs slung him to the ground, then put one paw on his chest and ripped out his throat with a sickening sound I was afraid I’d never quite wipe from my memory.
The woman we were wrestling with and the one on the ground looked toward the sound, then seemed to wordlessly agree to run. They both took off, and Riggs made no show of wanting to stop them. He flashed with more light and the sizzling sound filled the air as he walked back to retrieve his clothes and put them on. His face was covered in blood still and Lazarus’ body was on the ground with his dismembered head lying a few nauseating feet from the rest of him.
“I didn’t want to say in front of them,” Kyla said. “But I may have asked the rebels for help before we left. I made sure they all knew the fuckers who killed their prince are here. I sense them nearby. I don’t think Lazarus’ ambush will go as well as he was hoping.”
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