Jack glanced from Charlie to Dylan and back again. The gleam in Charlie’s eyes told him he better proceed cautiously. With the brood Liam and Sera created, he’d been around plenty of children over the years.
He’d never seen himself being surrounded by a big family when he was human. As an only child, he had little experience with babies until his best friend decided to try repopulating the earth with vampires.
But the Byrne kids had grown up with him, they were used to him, and after changing their diapers and watching their antics, he was used to them. He had no idea how to approach a child he didn’t know.
Treat him like you’d treat a Byrne.But he didn’t think Charlie would appreciate it if he tossed Dylan into a lake or told him to fuck off. So instead, Jack tried for polite. “Nice to meet you.”
And he sounded like a moron when he went for polite, something Dylan seemed to agree with as he looked anything but impressed.
“Where did you find him?” Dylan asked Charlie.
“He fell into the pit,” she said and lifted her head to look at Mal as he approached. “We also encountered a couple of Savages. The hunt has started early.”
Mal’s eyebrows shot up at this revelation. “That’sneverhappened before.”
“There’s been a change in their routine. Some of the prisoners escaped. Jack was one of them.”
Loud gasps filled the cavern, and then those gathered within rose to approach them. Miguel had a noticeable limp as he came closer. Sheila handed him a stick, and he took it to use as a cane. As a child in Mexico, when Miguel broke his leg it healed wrong; being turned into a vampire a hundred years ago hadn’t fixed it.
He was still fast enough to avoid the initial rush of slaughter during his hunt, but not fast enough that he ventured above often. Mal and Charlie were okay with that as they didn’t want him getting killed.
“An escape?” Miguel asked. “Someone got off the island?”
“No,” Charlie said, and she sensed the disappointment washing off the others.
“We escaped our cages,” Jack said.
“Who’s we?” Mal asked.
Jack explained to him how he, Mike, and Doug, along with some others, were taken from a bar and placed in the cages. He told them how they broke out and were separated after fleeing the barn.
“So their world has been turned upside down,” Mal murmured. “This could be our chance.”
“What difference will this make?” Chase asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Mal walked over to stand by the fire. Clasping his hands behind his back, his head bowed as he studied the flames. “But in fifteen years,nothinglike this has ever happened. The organizers will be distracted and scrambling. There must besomethingwe can do to take advantage of that.”
“Mal,” Charlie said, but his gaze remained riveted on the flames. “Mal, does Jack smell?”
When Mal’s head turned toward her, she held her breath. She couldn’t let anything more happen between her and Jack, but she didn’t want him to die, and if he were one of the enemy, Mal would kill him.
Mal glanced at Jack before returning his attention to the fire. “No, he’s fine.”
“Mal’s a purebred?” Jack asked her.
Mal stopped staring at the fire to focus on Jack. “You know the difference between turned and purebred vampires?”
“Yes,” Jack said.
“Many turned vamps never know the difference; how is it you do?”
“My friends have children that I consider my nieces and nephews; they’re all purebloods.”
“I see,” Mal muttered, and there was far more interest in his eyes when he surveyed Jack again.
“So can he stay?” Charlie asked.
“He’s not one of them. Do you think he can be trusted?”
