An ugly sob bursts out of my chest the same time the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, whipping my head around to see the first feral vamp set foot into the clearing.
“Malcolm?”
I’m nearly knocked to my knees from the force of his relief.“Where are you, love?”
The door opens, but at the sight of the vampires, it’s slammed in our faces. Beck and I don’t bother cursing the bastard, vaulting over the porch railing and landing with a jarring thud, sprinting for the next cabin. Rattling off as much as I know about our location and situation, he responds,“I’m not too far, but Vice and his team are closer. I’m calling Kase now. Fuck, Scarlett, I was so-”
He’s cut off as I yelp in surprise, Beck slamming into me and sending the two of us rolling on the hard ground. A snarl bursts out just beyond us, my thundering heartbeat making it difficult to comprehend we were nearly mauled. My eyes clamp tightly shut at the sickening sound of a skull being caved in followed by a foreign shout, not wanting to see it, to admit to myself that it happened.
I know that good intentions can only take us so far.
No one is going to let themselves be brutally torn apart just because ‘they don’t know what they’re doing, it’s not their fault’. Right now, it’s kill or be killed, them or us. It doesn’t matter that these vampires have the ability to be saved if nobody wants to save them, and it doesn’t matter if I want to rescue them all when it really comes down to it.
All that matters is survival.
Another vampire crashes into someone, the impact and snarls turning my stomach. Nobody’s going to bet on riding this out, hiding in one of the cabins and praying that they don’t manage to break in through the barricaded windows. They’re going to eliminate the threat to their families.
Steeling my resolve, I tug Beck into motion as we scramble to our feet, eyeing the chaos around us. “Come on, I have a terrible idea.”
Another fifteen people have emerged from the cabins, shifting into their various animals, and it’s a surreal sight to see something as massive and deadly as a damn panther barely holding his own against a human. A human that’s feral and mutated from the infection, sure, but still; it’s a testament to what we’re dealing with. Vampires without a blip of training can slaughter fully grown shifter men that have spent their entire lives learning to fight in either form in less than two minutes.
Taking the steps to the next cabin two at a time, I pound my fist against the door. A curtain is pulled back from the window to my left before a gorgeous woman with ebony hair only a few shades darker than her skin is pulling the door open and hastily ushering us inside.
Her chestnut eyes lock on my face as she slams the door shut behind us, locking it. “Amun and Cresley. Have you seen them? Are they alright?” At our clear confusion, she quickly describes them.
Reluctantly, I admit, “We weren’t exactly checking, I’m sorry. Listen-” glancing around, my eyes fall on two figures under the wooden table, a wolf pup and bear cub, and my heart lurches for more reasons than I’m willing to analyze right now “- there’s no time. You need to grab anyone in here and get over to the next cabin.”
As she starts to protest, I grab her shoulders as if I can physically shake sense into her, forcing her to understand. “Your mates are outnumbered, but if you help us, we might be able to save them.”
“How?” Her entire body is trembling, and it hits me that she’s completely and utterly human. This poor woman doesn’t stand a chance in hell against a vamp if one makes it in here, yet she still opened up her hiding place to us, is willing to try.
Ensuring she sees the rings of my eyes, the humanity in them, I rush out, “If anybody knows how to deal with vampires, it’s one of them. Beck will get you and the kids to the next cabin, and I’ll work on making sure your mates make it back to you, okay?”
She’s shaking like a leaf, but nods, barely breathing. As she goes to gather her kids, Beck grips my bicep to whirl me around, positively furious.
“You are out of your godsdamned mind if you think I’m leaving you to play fucking escort,”he seethes, but keeps it between us in the pack link.
I don’t glare, nor do I raise my voice. I just stare at him, letting him see the full depths of my sadness and determination.“Half of the people out there are going to die, Beck. I don’t know which side will take the worst hit, but the vamps aren’t going to stop until they’re commanded to, or die. This woman? She can’t barricade the windows and doors by herself. If even one vampire slips past the people out there and attacks this cabin, her and those kids are as good as dead. I can tell you from experience, it’s not a good way to go.”
His eyes harden.“So we stay here and pick up the slack. Board up the windows and we can each hold one of the doors.”
I raise an eyebrow.“Or we’re proactive instead of reactive. Malcolm’s on his way, and he said Vice’s team is closer.”
His jaw ticks. “You want to set a trap.”
“No, I’mgoingto set a trap, and I’m asking you to help me so that I don’t die trying.”
We stay stuck in a standoff of wills for a few heartbeats before he shouts, “Fuck! Fine. But you lock the damn doors until I get back, and if you get attacked, you don’t hold back. Promise me.”
“Promise.”
Yanking me in for a bruising kiss, he storms off to join the woman waiting by the door, her squirming cubs in her arms. As I lock eyes with her, she dips her head slowly, the action speaking a thousand words.
They duck out and I lock the door before frantically checking what I have to work with here. It isn’t much, but I use my speed and strength to my advantage. Finding a rusted tool box tucked beneath the sink, I steal the hammer and half-empty box of nails. Ripping the doors off of the cabinets, I haphazardly board up the windows, knowing they won’t hold up long, but we don’t need them to.
We just need to buy ourselves some time.
“Malcolm? How close are you?”
