The scientist cleared his throat and rocked back on his heels. “So, is our deal still in place?”
“You mean the one where I turn you into a vampire if you manage to make me a dormant vampire army?” Cain asked, as if he and the human had a long history of negotiations.
The other man nodded eagerly and licked his lips. It was one of the first things Willis had asked Cain when they’d made introductions. A brilliant, if not annoying, scientist having an immortal life span to do all sorts of things for the vampiric race seemed like an acceptable sacrifice. And itwouldbe a sacrifice because he would be the one working with the idiot.
“I am a man who keeps his word, Willis. You do your part, and then I will grant you the boon you’ve requested.” Cain began to walk past him. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a wolf to find.”
“Of course.” The scientist stepped aside so Cain could pass. “I will go ahead and draw the samples from the dormants we have and number them now so I’m ready when you bring in the full-blood.”
Cain gave a wave over his head as he marched for the exit of the underground facility. He had no clue if Alston still had any wolves under his command. If he didn’t, it would not be easy to capture one. They were pack creatures. Finding a full-blooded lone wolf would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
* * *
Bodies littered the dark street,and blood dripped from Boain’s hands. He turned and saw gore covered his mate’s clawed hands as well. “You okay, Lorna?”
Her chest rose and fell quickly, but she nodded. “I need a shower.” She looked down at herself and grimaced. “Vampire blood is not my best look.” Lorna lifted her hand to her nose and sniffed. “How come this blood doesn’t smell as bad as the group from yesterday?”
“New vampires still possess their own human blood in their veins,” he explained. “So they still smell, well”—he considered his words and then said—“fresh. Older vampires that have been feeding for a long time eventually start to smell like old blood. But even the old ones can smell a little better if they’ve recently fed …veryrecently. They will smell like the blood of a living human.”
Lorna tried to wipe her blood-covered hand on her clothes, but it was no use. Her shirt and pants were equally stained. “So these were very young?”
Boain nodded. “It’s also why they weren’t as difficult to kill. They hadn’t been trained. These vamps were relying only on brute strength. Effective against humans, but not us. Let’s get these burned and then we can get cleaned up and rest for the night. I think killing”—he paused and counted the surrounding bodies—“fifteen vampires is enough for one night.” Though this group wasn’t the biggest they’d recently culled, the nightly vampire hunting was becoming exhausting.
Lorna’s lips pursed. “It will never be enough, Boain. Not until they’realldead.”
“I know, love. But we need rest. Without it, we won’t be able to continue our hunts.”
He felt her begrudging agreement through their bond. “Okay, let’s do this.” She breathed out.
Boain smiled at her. His mate was a trooper. She rarely complained about the difficult things they did, and she fought with a ferocious conviction. He loved her deeply.
She looked up at him, and her mouth turned up in a smile. “And I love you, mate of mine. But you have much too high an opinion of me.”
He wasn’t surprised she’d heard his every thought. Boain never closed their bond. He’d been so awestruck by finding Lorna, so incredibly thankful, that he wanted nothing between them. She knew everything about him because he allowed her complete access. He’d not expected the same thing from her, especially after she’d shared with him how hard her life had been. Lorna carried deep wounds, and opening up was not something that came easily. Trust was a fragile thing for her. But Boain would do everything in his power to continue to convince her he was worthy of that trust.
They worked quickly, gathering the bodies into a pile. Boain wasn’t worried about anyone seeing them; the surrounding neighborhood was derelict and all but abandoned. Boain suspected that the neighborhood probably wasn’t a posh suburb to begin with, and he was sure the presence of vampires hadn’t done anything to increase property values. It was the fourth nest of vampires they’d come across in two days, and he was starting to see a pattern. It looked as if the monsters set up shop in the worst neighborhoods, the kinds of places where disappearances were common enough that they didn’t make headlines. The fact that the vamps preyed upon society’s most vulnerable only made Boain want to eradicate them even more.
“What do you think they’re looking for?” Lorna tossed the last body on top. “Every group we’ve come upon isn’t hunting to feed. Half the time they’re just biting and dropping the person a second later.”
Boain pulled out a small box of matches, something he’d taken to carrying since they’d realized just how many vamps were running around. Vasile and Alina had begun hunting vampires over a year ago. And Boain had thought the vast majority of the bloodsuckers had been dealt with. And while he knew the Order was likely making reinforcements, Boain hadn’t imagined it would be in these numbers. Someone had been very, very busy. “I don’t know, and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure it out. We need to find one old enough that actually has some information. The ones we’ve been following are just the grunt workers. They’ve been given orders, and most likely don’t even know why.”
The match hit the bodies, and they went up in a blaze as if they’d been dowsed in gasoline. He felt Lorna’s hand slip into his as she watched their enemies burn. Boain felt her satisfaction, but he also felt her pain.
“They were once human,” she mumbled. “Sometimes, when we’re fighting them, I forget that. I forget that they probably had families, kids, and lives. They were victims, just as much as the people they fed upon.”
Boain gave her hand a squeeze. “We’ll figure it out.” They hadn’t seen any vampires at the new stronghold Alston had built up in the northern United States, not that it meant he didn’t have any. But somewhere, someone was making vampires, and those vampires were hunting for something.
The flames didn’t last long because the vampires burned quickly. When only embers remained, Boain led his mate toward the small SUV they’d found abandoned on the road. Most likely it had belonged to one of the humans-turned-vampire. He planned to take Lorna to a hotel and let them both get some much-needed sleep. Then he would seek out some supernatural establishments and see what he could learn.
Just as he reached the door and started to open it, there was a loud crash, and the vehicle shuddered. Boain pulled Lorna until she was behind him, and he faced the vampire that now crouched down on the hood of the SUV. If he didn’t have the fangs on full display, he would have actually looked human.
“Hello, wolf,” the man said, his smile kicking up a notch when his black eyes turned to Lorna. “And hello, she-wolf.” He licked his lips. “You’re a delicious one now, aren’t you?”
Boain growled, and his wolf pushed at his skin. The beast wanted out. He didn’t like the vamp’s eyes on their female. “Have you come to join your brethren?” Boain motioned to the smoking pile fifty feet behind them. “I’ve still got some matches.”
The vampire narrowed his eyes. “You won’t find me to be such easy prey, Boain, former fourth-in-charge in the service of the great Vasile.”
Boain’s teeth clenched as the disgusting creature spoke the name of his former alpha and friend. How the hell did he know that information?
