It was Tripp’s turn to show a side of him not many saw as he spit fire at Dane, standing toe to toe and eye to eye with the alpha. “Let’s get something straight. I don’t take orders from you, and if you want our help with the drug, I suggest you answer our question. Did you or did you not tear out Ben’s flesh?”
Ross ran a hand over his bald head. “Just tell them, Dane. Then we can get the fuck out of here. These vampires are making me itch.”
It was useless even to acknowledge the brazen barb. “Karma’s a bitch, man. But you’re right. The faster you dogs leave, the better we’ll all be.”
Dane backed away from Tripp, sighing. “We have a new pup in our pack who couldn’t control himself. When your man escaped from Roman, we had one of ours chase him. Things escalated. The two got into a fight. Our man went down, and yours disappeared.”
Kraft had mentioned that he and Olivia had found a trail of blood in the snow that night.
I rubbed my throat. “He dies, I’m coming for you.” I pointed at Dane. Fuck his beta. I wanted to take down the big bad alpha.
Dane arched a thick dark brow, which was in stark contrast to his white hair. “You can try, vampire. But you’ll fail.”
Tripp pinned me with daggers, no doubt daring me to engage.
I bit my tongue for the time being and stalked out. I needed to release some fury, and short of getting laid, I had something else in mind.
2
LAYLA
Rianne, Jordyn, and I sat in the wide-open kitchen of Uncle Jack’s rustic log home, surrounded by exposed beams on the ceilings, weathered wood, antique metals, vintage glass, and earth tones that complimented the design, not only in the kitchen, but throughout the eight-bedroom home.
Jordyn popped up from her seat at the wood-topped island that held six guests comfortably. “Let me make sure no one is listening before we chat.” She sped out like wildfire.
My sisters and I hadn’t had a chance to talk about our next move. It was the first time since I’d gotten sick that I’d been upright—I felt ten times better. I was a little behind on what was going on around the ranch and what my sisters had been up to. Jordyn wanted to head back to Massachusetts to chum up to the vampire military. At least, she’d dropped that bomb the other morning while I’d been in the bathroom puking. I wasn’t sure about Rianne. She and I hadn’t talked about what she wanted.
“Are you sure you’re feeling better?” Rianne studied me, her brown eyes appraising as she fiddled with a paper napkin across from me. “You still look pale.”
A few days before, I’d gone to a walk-in clinic, and the doctor had diagnosed me with the flu. I’d figured as much. I hadn’t been eating right. My stress level had been through the roof and taking vitamins had never been on my list. Truth be told, I’d been relieved to hear him say the flu. I’d been worried that Sam’s blood had done something permanent to my system.
I cradled the coffee cup in my hands. “It’ll probably take me several more days to get my strength back, but I do feel human again.” Metaphorically speaking, anyway. When I was with Sam, I seriously thought I’d been changing into a bloodsucker, which was impossible. I set my cup down and rubbed under my eyes. “The dark circles are showing, aren’t they?”
She nodded. “And your blue eyes are grayish.”
“I’m sure once I get food in me and inhale some crisp mountain air, I’ll look better.” The sun shone through the large window over the sink directly ahead of me. “Maybe horseback riding will do me some good, or a long walk.”
Smiling, Rianne gathered her long brown hair, draped it over her shoulder, and combed her fingers through it. “I’m sure Poncho misses you.” She picked a stray hair off her red sweater. “Mom loved that horse.”
After she died four years ago, Dad had brought Poncho to my uncle’s ranch. Dad had been too distraught to look at the horse. My sisters and I had felt the same way. “Have you done any riding?”
She shook her head. “No. I haven’t been anywhere near the horse barn.” Sadness bled through her words.
I was sure returning to Montana brought out emotions my sisters and I had buried—or tried to, anyway. “So where is everyone?” I suspected my younger cousins were in school, since it was ten in the morning, according to the clock on the microwave. “And I can’t find my phone. Have you seen it?” I’d thought I’d left it on the nightstand by the bed, but it wasn’t there or anywhere in the bedroom. I was curious whether Sam had tried to call or text me like he had been prior to me coming down with the flu. Not that I was returning to Massachusetts.
She rubbed her pink glossy lips together. Rianne rarely wore makeup, but a rosy blush colored her cheeks, blending well with her lip gloss. “The uncles made a trip into Bozeman to scope out horses. Most of the cousins are in school, and Aunt Tab went out to the workshop to get a box of mason jars. She’s making her famous elderberry jam.”
My uncle had a humongous two-story workshop that functioned as a weapons room with loads of instruments to combat vampires—or anyone, for that matter.
“Mom loved elderberries,” I mumbled. “You know, we should visit her grave and Dad’s, too, while we’re here.”
She set the napkin she’d been toying with into her empty cup and straightened on the barstool. “Look, Jordyn filled me in on possibly going back to Massachusetts. That’s a bad idea.” Her tone bordered on disgust.
I sipped my black coffee. “I agree.” One, we had no reason or purpose to show up on Sam’s doorstep. Two, after all the problems we’d caused, I doubted the military vamps, except maybe Sam, would welcome us with open arms. But I wasn’t eager to run back into his arms. I felt human again, and Sam would only make me feel like the crazed animal I’d been while in his presence.
She flinched. “You do? I thought you were into Sam.”
I snorted through a laugh, almost spitting out my coffee. “What? Did you think we would date?” I glanced around to be sure no one was listening, suddenly curious about what had happened to Jordyn.
