Vessa tiptoes over to the doorframe, securing the ties of her silk robe. “What’s going on?” All four sets of lycan nostrils widen, taking in her muffled image and ravished scent.
A guttural growl lashes out of me. “I’m going to give you three seconds to come out with it.”
“Beta Nell sent us,” the fidgeting patrolman squawks. “She’s currently dispatching the rest of the warriors but after that, she’ll meet us here.”
Finally, Tripp opens his mouth. “A host of rogues have invaded Apun Beach, joined by vampires. The Tilaak are under attack.”
Part Three
Though Lyndi held on well into the night, in the end, she was no match for him. Bite after bite, strike after strike, she gave up nothing. Not even as the Master cradled her face, melting the brain beneath her skull. Only then did he feast on her secrets. Her flesh.
What he saw as her blood seeped down his throat caused him to stumble.
—FROM THE JOURNAL OF MAURLEEN JAMES
Chapter 36
VESSA
The Tilaak are under attack.
Our small cabin bubble bursts with those five words.
Axe’s breathing hollows as he lowers the weapon. With one look at me, he springs into action. Peeling off his long-sleeved shirt, he hands it to me. “Put this on and let down your hair. We need to cover your scent.”
I do as he says, a tremor coursing through my body.
He tosses his keys to the tallest patrol officer. “Start my truck.” Then he turns to Tripp. “Take a lap around the house. Check all points of entry.”
They both answer with a prompt “Yes, sir,” leaving me alone with the Alpha. He cups my face. The rapid rise and fall of his chest indicate that he’s primed to shift.
“Listen closely,” he murmurs.
Tears prick my eyes. “Take me with y?—”
“Listen,” he growls over me. “Upstairs, behind my grandfather’s portrait, there is a safe, stocked with guns and ammunition. The moment I leave, you run up there and get what you need, do you understand?”
“Yes,” I breathe.
“Good girl. The combination is two, forty-nine, fourteen. Now repeat that back to me.”
“Two, forty-nine, fourteen.”
He rewards me with a brief but savage kiss on the mouth.
Tripp reappears at the doorstep. “All clear.”
Fuming, Axe grips him by the shirt. “Protect the Luna with your life, cadet. That’s an order.”
When he releases him, he doesn’t look back at me. He sprints to the truck, slamming on the gas. Inhaling deeply, I reach for Nell’s words of assurance and race for the stairs.A mate doesn’t say goodbye unless he believes he won’t return.
My stiff legs ache, groin clenching. My muscles have been pushed to the point of exhaustion over the last twenty-four hours. The exertion of ascending the stairs is almost too much.
Sure enough, the upper right corner of the portrait creaks and swings forward, giving way to a rotating three-wheel combination safe lock. My pulse pounds in my ears as I come face to face with the dial, rotating the knob clockwise to land on the first number, two. I switch directions for the second number, and just as I set the dial on the third, a startling commotion jerks me away. The thumping sound of a body colliding with the side of the house.
Shit.
My hands tremble as I try the combination a second time, once again failing as I struggle to steady the dial.
