She decided it probably wasn’t the best time to tell him she planned to become a vampire too. Some things could wait until he was more comfortable around Saxon and the others. Saxon opened the door, and they entered the cabin. The others stood near the kitchen; they looked subdued and stopped speaking.
Her father stopped to stare at them before turning to her. “I want to take a shower.”
It looked like they hadn’t allowed him to bathe since the last time she saw him, but she didn’t know if he would be strong enough to stand on his own for one. “Will you need help?”
His face colored. “No. I’ll be fine.”
Elyse started to argue with him but closed her mouth. He’d been through enough without her embarrassing him in front of the others. She led him to the bathroom door and hesitated before reluctantly releasing him. He held onto the doorway as he limped awkwardly forward. He’d never been a big, muscular guy, but he’d always been agile, and now he shuffled like a ninety-year-old man. He was still alive, but the Savages had stolen her father from her.
Her hands fisted as he closed the door. She didn’t care what it took; she would make them pay for this. While in the cabin, she would have given anything never to use her ability again. Now, she planned to hunt as many Savages as she could and use their blood to help her track more.
And she would. No matter how far or fast they ran, she would do everything she could to hunt them like the rabid dogs they were.
She gave in to her tears again when a crash sounded from the bathroom, and her father grunted before cursing. “Dad?” she asked nervously.
“I’m fine!”
More bangs and rattles came from behind the door as he moved around. She reached for the knob before jerking her hand back; it would only embarrass them both if she went in there now.
Saxon draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him as the shower started.
“They… they….” She couldn’t form words for what they’d done to him.
“He’s going to be okay,” Saxon assured her.
The anguish she emanated made him wish he could return to those tunnels and destroy every Savage in them. He’d tear them apart for doing this to her. He still had to tell her about her mother, but now was not the time for that revelation; she would learn soon enough.
Saxon didn’t know if her mother was still alive. They’d managed to slaughter a fair amount of the Savages trying to flee, but he believed there were as many, if not more, hiding in that underground maze. They’d bombed every entrance in the hopes of caging them in, but some of them would claw their way out before they became too starved to do much more than lay there and rot.
They’d decided against leaving men behind to guard the exits. It would be days, if not weeks before the Savages dug their way to the surface, and they didn’t have the manpower and time to devote to a waiting game.
They also couldn’t take the chance more Savages and demons would arrive to dig the others out. If such a thing happened, their men would either be slaughtered or captured and turned.
And they couldn’t stay here much longer; Nathan had a baby on the way, and they needed Ronan at the compound. Even if the two of them left with Kadence and everyone else remained to keep watch, they could be leaving the fifty plus men who survived the fight to their deaths if more Savages and demons arrived.
They’d struck a major blow against the Savages today, learned who their enemy was, and destroyed one of them. They had to be happy with that.
He didn’t believe there was more than one demon in the tunnels they’d left; there had only been one throne on the dais, and he didn’t see those bastards sharing it. He hoped he was wrong, but he suspected each one of these creatures had their own location and Savages to rule until they decided it was time to unleash whatever hell they were planning on earth.
He didn’t see the demons being big on traveling. The whole “bursting into flames when touched by the sun” thing would put a kink in their traveling abilities. He didn’t know how they’d escaped Hell—or wherever it was they were from—and found their way into the tunnels.
Maybe they hadn’t escaped, maybe they’d been living beneath the earth this entire time and biding their time before making a move. They may never know the answer to that, but he had no doubt the demon’s brethren heard its dying cry and would be pissed.
“He needs clothes,” Elyse murmured.
“I’ll get them,” Saxon said.
Elyse didn’t move away from the door when he released her and walked away. A hand fell on her shoulder, and she expected to see Saxon when she looked up; instead, Killean stood beside her.
She braced herself for whatever he was about to say, but she didn’t know if she could take it right now. She wasn’t in the mood for more hatred; she had enough self-loathing to last her a couple of dozen lifetimes.
Killean’s golden eyes were unreadable and his scar more pronounced as he studied her. Then, he squeezed her arm. “I know what it’s like to be at the mercy of others. I also know what it’s like to become something you hate to save someone you love.”
Elyse didn’t know how to reply, and he didn’t give her a chance before he released her and strode back to the others. Her mind spun as she returned her attention to the door. She’d never expected Killean to forgive her, or to experience any kindness from the man, but though she would never forgive herself for her hand in all this, his understanding eased some of her self-recrimination.
Chapter Fifty
Elyse saton the couch while Saxon and the others filled them in on what they discovered in the tunnels and the creature they encountered. Elyse held what remained of her father’s hand while Simone finished cutting his shaggy hair.
