Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) (10 page)

Kamara hadn’t struck her as the touchy-feely type, so it surprised her when the human pulled her into a tight embrace, turning them so that her back faced the werewolves.

“I’ll watch out for her,” she promised. “Take care of yourself, and when you get out of here, find us.”

Find us.

Those two little words weighed heavily on Thea’s heart. She said nothing, not willing to make a promise she had no way of knowing if she could keep. If she did make it out alive, she’d move mountains to track down her friends, but as it stood, she didn’t know if she’d even see the next sunrise.

She wasn’t suicidal, but the reality of her situation was that she’d likely never leave St. Louis. Once she’d accepted that, it became clear what she needed to do next. If they meant to kill her, then she’d die on her terms. She’d die doing the right thing, protecting her friends and mate, and if she was lucky, she’d take a few of the pack down with her.

With that thought in mind, she shoved Kamara into the nearest enforcer. The move surprised him, and he stumbled backward with a grunt, right into Deidra’s waiting grasp. The crack of his neck resonated through the cabin like a gunshot. Even as he fell to the floor, Thea charged the second guard, ducking under his swinging arm and twisting herself behind him to deliver a hard kick to the middle of his back. Arms flailing, he staggered into Rhys, who wasted no time dispatching the wolf in a spray of blood.

Thea turned, expecting to see more enforcers, possibly with guns raised. Instead, Alpha Chase stood in the center of the room, his hand up to hold back the other wolves, his expression almost bored.

“If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” he informed her. “You cause a lot of trouble, kitten, and while your death would certainly make my life less complicated, I have other uses for your…talents.”

He flicked his wrist, and as a unit, the five remaining guards stalked toward them, handguns drawn. Thea calculated her chances. She could take out two at once if she timed it right, but that still left three others too far back to reach in time before they fired off several shots. She might be willing to die, but she couldn’t risk anyone else’s life, so she fisted her hands at her sides and seethed as one of the enforcers gathered the shackles from his fallen comrades, and began placing them on the human members of her group.

“You’re scared,” the wolf purred, clamping the cuffs around Kamara’s wrist. “That’s good.”

With her eyes narrowed and her lip curled in disgust, Kamara didn’t look scared, but Thea detected the sickly sweet scent wafting from the female.

“Makes your blood sweeter,” the guard continued. “They’ll like that.”

Thea snapped around to face the alpha. “Vampires?”

Sighing, he removed a 9mm from his holster, aimed at the back of the enforcer’s head, and pulled the trigger. The gunshot was deafening in the confined space, and Thea’s ears rang so loudly she swayed on her feet. Kamara screamed and flinched away when blood splattered over her face, but the others stood frozen in shock.

“He never did know when to keep his fucking mouth shut,” Alpha Chase grumbled as he holstered his weapon. He spoke as if he’d simply disciplined an unruly child instead of murdering one of his own.

“You’re taking them to vampires?” Thea repeated. She wanted answers, and by fuck, he was going to give them to her.

“Yes.” Short, curt. “They’re being taken to Deadman’s Bend.”

Controlled by the Abraxas family, Deadman’s Bend referred to a stretch of territory that extended from central Texas, across the Gulf States, and up into Georgia. Furthermore, it was home to one of the largest vampire covens in the country, and rumor had it the ruling family made Elias Diavolos look downright cuddly in comparison.

And that bastard had sacrificed countless citizens of Trinity Grove to Ravagers, sent his Wardens into the Square to murder even more, then ripped out his own son’s fangs with a pair of rusted pliers.

Even Kamara seemed to understand the severity of the situation, because her face paled to an ashen gray beneath the blood, and her legs trembled, making her whole body vibrate. If she hadn’t been afraid before, she certainly was now, not that Thea blamed her.

“Take me,” Thea demanded, stepping in front of Abby once again. “If all you want is a couple of living blood bags, take me.”

“Sorry, kitten, but your blood is contaminated. Only those PN2-free need apply. Besides” —he turned to her with a calculating gaze— “as I said before, I have other uses for you.”

The PN2 virus, as it had been officially named by human scientists, coursed through her veins, as well as every other paranormal on the planet, including the Abraxas coven. It wasn’t as if they could be infected again, so she didn’t see why it mattered whose blood they consumed. Maybe the coven had decided to go organic. Only human blood for the pretentious and elite vampires. It would certainly be easy to find since the infected humans were already dead, making the remaining as pure as the driven snow in terms of red cells.

Feeling helpless and angry, Thea watched the enforcers lead half of their group out of the cabin into the brisk wind that howled across the front porch. Rhys came to stand on one side of her, Zerrik filling the space on the other, and Deidra covered her from the back. Together, they stared out into the gray morning until Cade, Duncan, Kamara, and Abby had disappeared.

Two enforcers remained in the room with the alpha, one pointing the barrel of his rifle at them while the other attached the metal shock collars around their necks. Not one of her remaining friends said anything or tried to fight, and Thea wondered if they felt as numb as she did.

“I’ll see you all at the Gathering,” Alpha Chase said over his shoulder before walking through the front door.

Once he’d left, the guards seemed to take pleasure in pressing the buttons on the fobs around their neck to test the collars. Thea’s muscles twisted into spasms, and her eyes rolled back in her head, but she managed to remain on her feet. The same couldn’t be said for Zerrik, and she was beginning to worry for the lieutenant. While he’d eaten plenty of regular food, he hadn’t had a sip of blood since their arrival. His cheek bones protruded, creating deep hollows around his eyes that highlighted the dark bruises under his lower lashes.

He was too much of a gentleman to feed on someone he cared about, but if he didn’t accept a donor soon, when the full moon came, they might be fighting against him instead of with him.

“You need to feed,” she whispered from the side of her mouth as they all shuffled out of the cabin. Rhys wouldn’t like it, but she couldn’t just let her friend starve to death. “When we get to the enclosure, you can have my wrist.”

Zerrik’s gaze strayed to her neck, but he shook his head. “I’m okay for a while longer.”

As predicted, Rhys growled, hovering close to her protectively, but he didn’t comment.

Following the walkway through the woods, Thea rounded her shoulders against the biting wind and ducked her head to prevent her hair from whipping her in the face. The heartland was notorious for its unpredictable weather, but the temperatures were unseasonably cold for November, even by Midwest standards. As she’d feared, the atmosphere smelled of coming precipitation, likely in the form of snow and ice.

It was going to be a long fucking night.

The trek across the parking lot and through the welcome center seemed to take longer than it had the first time. Across the railroad tracks and past the café nestled over the little pond, they marched along the winding path that led to the staff building behind the primate enclosure. They didn’t stop to change clothes or retrieve blankets this time, nor did they exit through the big, steel door. Instead, the guards led them through a smaller door, along a dark, dank, winding corridor, and into a separate enclosure with glass viewing panels, a domed roof, and a two-story wall painted to mimic a jungle.

Everything was green, so green, it hurt her eyes, with reaching trees, tall grass, and another waterfall that flowed into a pool coated with algae. Fake and real vines hung from the branches of the trees, as well as several wide hammocks placed at various heights. The enclosure had an air of abandonment about it the outdoor cage hadn’t, an eeriness that sent a shiver down her spine.

On the bright side, it did protect them from the snow, ice, and wind, even if it was still cold enough to make her breath smoke from her lips.

“I’m going to cut you open and wear your entrails as a goddamn scarf!” a female screamed as the door closed with a heavy thud, her voice rebounding off the glass ceiling.

Thea blinked several times, sure she was hallucinating. “Roux?”

Roux Jennings stood a few inches shorter than Thea, with hair the color of rich coffee that cascaded down her back in thick, corkscrew curls. Her brilliant green eyes flashed with murderous rage as she shoved back the sleeves of a gray sweater at least two sizes too big and yanked at the collar around her neck.

In her blind fury, she nearly stomped right into Thea before jerking back as though she’d only just realized someone was standing there. “Thea?” Her features relaxed, softened, and moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes when she wrapped Thea in her slender arms. “Oh, my god, we thought you were dead.” Backing away, she looked at the other faces staring back at her and grinned. “Hey, Zerrik.”

“Roux, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Same as you, I’d guess.” Captain Deke Collins sidled up beside his mate and wound his arms around her, holding her protectively against his chest. “Fucking werewolves.”

Standing with Deidra, Rhys watched the interaction between his mate and the newcomers. She obviously knew them, which meant at least some of them were likely Revenant. The one she’d addressed as Captain, held the human female not only possessively, but as if he feared she’d disappear if he let go of her. Rhys knew the feeling.

Angling her shoulders, Thea stretched her arm back, reaching for him. When he took her hand, she pulled insistently until he stood beside her and curled her arms around his waist.

“You’re so damn warm.” She snuggled closer and sighed. “Rhys, this is my captain, Deke Collins, and his mate, Roux Jennings.” Untangling one of her arms, she motioned to an enormous male with pure white hair and eyes the color of moonlight. “Lieutenant Lynk Foster.” She waved at the human male with dark hair. “And that’s Brody Walker. Everyone, this is my mate, Sergeant Rhys Lockwood.”

“Oh, wow,” Roux gasped. “I mean, congratulations and all, but this is a hell of a way to meet your mate.” She snorted and shook her head. “Leave it to you, Mendez.”

“Well, I planned it about as much as you did when Deke kidnapped you,” Thea shot back, earning her a disgruntled huff from her captain.

“I didn’t kidnap her.”

“If I remember correctly, you threw me over your shoulder and tossed me into the back of an SUV with bulletproof glass.” Batting her lashes, Roux stared up at her mate innocently. “What would you call that?”

“I rescued you.”

“Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.”

They bantered as if they’d been together for years, not just a couple of months. “Are they always like this?” Rhys asked, loud enough for the couple to hear.

Thea shrugged, an uncharacteristic giggle bubbling through her lips. “Pretty much.”

“Okay, fine, I kidnapped you,” Deke relented, “and now you’re stuck with me.”

“Mm, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

An odd sound, somewhere between a snort and a groan came from behind him, and Rhys turned to find Deidra watching the pair with open cynicism.

“And you are?” the captain asked.

“Deidra O’Malley.” Popping her hip out to the side, she folded her arms over her breasts and grinned to reveal long, pointed fangs. “You can call me the ‘fucking werewolf.’”

Rhys laughed at the stunned looks she received, but he didn’t take the captain’s comment about werewolves personally. “Well, I’m a werewolf as well, but you can just call me Rhys.”

With one arm still around his female, Deke extended his arm, nodding when Rhys took it in a brief handshake. “No disrespect, but our encounters with wolves haven’t exactly been pleasant recently.”

“Aye, I’m guessing you have a point there.” Easing out of her defensive posture, Deidra shook Deke’s hand as well. “How’d they get you?”

“They shot us with darts the second we stepped out of the car at the bunker.” Roux rubbed at her arm. “We woke up in these big holes in the ground with collars around our necks, and a couple of assholes laughing as they zapped us.”

“They brought us here last night,” Lynk added in his deep baritone. “That’s the extent of what we know.”

Rhys had done this song and dance before, and he didn’t look forward to recapping the atrocities that awaited them. These strangers were important to Thea, though, the closest thing she had to family, so he’d do what he could to prepare them.

“What happened in Trinity Grove?” Thea asked. “Did you get the civilians out of town?”

Shadows darkened Deke’s blue eyes, and from the way the muscle in his jaw ticked, Rhys gathered the news he had to share wasn’t good.

“We found footprints through the woods, and tread marks out by the highway, but we didn’t see anyone in town. The city was deserted by the time we got there, and the Diavolos estate was up in flames.”

“You didn’t find anyone?” Thea’s tone wavered between skepticism and disappointment. “What about the tunnels under the Bastille. Did you look there?”

Deke nodded. “We spent two days searching through every inch of the city, then up and down the highway. It’s a ghost town.”

“Some of them might have made it out,” Zerrik offered, but without any real conviction. “They could have headed north to Ithaca.”

“Yeah,” Thea agreed, readily accepting the theory. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“You look like shit,” the human male—Brody they’d called him—said, speaking for the first time. “When’s the last time you fed, Z?”

Thea had offered her own blood, and while Rhys understood why she’d done it, the vampire wasn’t getting anywhere near her. He liked the lieutenant, respected him, but not enough to let him chomp on his mate’s neck. If Zerrik needed blood, he could have Rhys’, or he could feed on one of his fellow soldiers, because Thea was definitely off limits.

“I’m okay,” Zerrik answered, ducking his head and turning away from the concerned looks that followed him. “I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

“I think we’re more concerned about you hurting yourself.” Letting go of Rhys, Thea marched over to the vampire and poked him in the chest. “If you keep this up, you’ll barely be standing come the next Gallows.”

“What the hell are the Gallows?” Deke demanded.

Roux rolled her eyes. “Well, sweetheart, does it sound like anything good?”

The human female had fire, and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, just like a certain puma shifter Rhys knew. “No, it’s nothing good. I’ll explain later.”

Thea had ignored the entire exchange, still glaring at Zerrik, waiting for some kind of response. When she received none, she poked him again, a little harder this time, and growled.

“Damn it, Zerrik. No one gives a sweet fuck that you’re a vampire. You need blood, something that’s not exactly in short supply here.”

“How can you say that?”

Rhys started toward her when Zerrik snarled, but Thea waved him back.

“How can you think that way,” the vampire continued with barely hidden disgust, “after what just happened to Cade and Abby?”

Roux and Brody both jerked. “What happened to Cade?” Brody demanded, at the same time the female asked, “Where’s Abby?”

“They were taken,” Rhys explained while Thea continued to argue with Zerrik. “The alpha of the pack sold them, traded them, I don’t know, but he sent them to the Abraxas coven along with two other humans.”

Deke cursed under his breath, and Roux’s eyes filled with tears. Brody appeared speechless, and Lynk’s countenance hardened, deepening the grooves across his brow.

“When?” The word came through gritted teeth as Deke fisted his right hand until the knuckles turned white.

“Maybe half an hour ago.”

“Zerrik, I swear to the goddess,” Thea yelled, dragging everyone’s attention back to her quarrel. “Either feed, or Lynk is going to hold you down while I shove my bleeding wrist down your throat.”

Lynk arched a pale eyebrow and grinned. “I’m game.”

Rhys liked vampires about as much as the rest of them liked werewolves, but he recognized suffering when he saw it. Despite his protests and arguments to the contrary, Zerrik was barely holding on, viciously battling back his bloodlust because he didn’t want to make his friends uncomfortable.

“I’ll do it.” He respected Zerrik, but he wouldn’t call them friends. The lack of familiarity should solve part of the issue. “Where do you want to do this?”

“What?” A golden ring glowed around Thea’s irises when she spun around to face him. “No. Absolutely not. You are mine.”

“He’s going to bite me, angel, not fuck me. Relax.” Still, he had to admit her response pleased him more than a little.

Zerrik choked, and Thea growled, but Deidra and Roux doubled over in a fit of giggles.

“I mean, I’m not saying you should do it, but that would be kind of hot.”

“Kitten,” Deke growled in warning to his mate.

“What?” Completely remorseless, Roux rose up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. “Well, it would be.”

Thea glared for several heartbeats, before her eyes softened, and she finally relented. “Maybe it would be easier if it was someone he doesn’t know that well.”

“I’m standing right here,” Zerrik reminded her, but he looked less pained than he had a moment ago. “Rhys, you don’t have to do this. I’m really okay.”

“No, you’re not, and to be honest, I care less about your hunger and more that you pose a danger to my mate when it becomes too much for you to fight.” Pulling the sleeves of his shirt up his elbows, he nodded. “So, again, where do you want to do this?”

“It would be better if you were sitting.” Scanning the room, he pointed to a rope hammock that hung just a couple of feet off the ground between the two biggest trees. “You might feel a little light headed.”

With Thea’s hand in his, he strode purposely to the hammock and settled down on one side, leaving room for Zerrik on the other end. Thea knelt on the ground, situating herself between his legs and resting her head on his thigh.

“It might pinch at first.” Easing down on to the hammock beside him, Zerrik took his wrist, but hesitated before lifting it to his mouth. “Are you sure about this? You don’t have to, Rhys.”

Despite what he’d said earlier, he did care about the guy, in the sense that he hated to see anyone suffer unnecessarily. There was enough of that going around without Zerrik adding to his own misery. Of course, Thea remained Rhys’ top priority. Not only did he worry that the vampire would eventually snap and possibly attack her, but Zerrik was her friend, a close friend from what she’d told him, and it hurt her to see him in pain. That, to him, was unacceptable.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

The pinch lasted for less than a second, no more painful than the initial burn of a bee sting. The suction on his wrist, feeling his blood being drawn from his body, was strange, and his stomach rolled uncomfortably at the sensation. Ignoring his discomfort, he combed his fingers through Thea’s hair, focusing on her steady heartbeat, her even breaths, and the softness of her long tresses, letting her scent lull him.

Only a minute, maybe two, had passed when Zerrik extracted his fangs and lifted his head. He already looked better, less gaunt, and the shadows under his eyes had lightened considerably.

“I know that wasn’t easy for you, but thank you.”

Rhys shrugged, not knowing what to say. “You’re welcome” felt inappropriate and “my pleasure” would be a lie. So, instead of responding to the gratitude, he inquired about something that had been bothering him since they’d left the cabin.

“What that enforcer said to Kamara, is it true? Does fear make blood sweeter for you?”

Zerrik curled his lip in distaste. “Don’t believe that idiot. Fear produces high levels of acidity, and prolonged fear makes human blood taste extremely bitter.”

“Do you think that’s why they kept us all at the cabin, not just the ones they were planning to take to the coven?” When the alpha had arrived with his enforcers to take the humans, Rhys had been too angry to think rationally. Now, he had a hundred question and very few answers.

“To keep them calm?” Raising her head from his lap, Thea stared up at him, her brow creased and lips turned down at the corners. “I don’t know, Rhys. That seems like a stretch.”

“Hey,” Deke called, striding up the slight incline toward them. “Sorry to interrupt.”

“We’re good here.” Shaking his sleeve down over his wrist, Rhys stood, pulling his mate up with him. “What’s up?”

“So, Abby and Cade were taken, right? But, where’s Nik?”

Rhys didn’t know who Nik was, and Thea hadn’t mentioned him during their time together. As one, he, Deke, and Zerrik turned to her for the answer, but she looked as confused as Rhys felt.

“Nik?” Her brow furrowed, forming a deep V, and she tilted her head to the side. “I thought he was with you.”

* * * *

Prince Nikolai Diavolos paced the floor of the lavishly decorated office, the fall of his boots muffled in the thick, burgundy carpet.

“It’s been a week since we’ve heard from Lieutenant O’Malley. Something’s wrong.”

“She isn’t supposed to check in until tomorrow night,” Captain Cameron Dresden reminded him for the third time since their conversation had begun. “There’s no reason to think that anything is wrong.”

Throughout his very long life, Nikolai had never been in a position to call someone a friend. Deke, Roux, and the other members of the Revenant had trusted and accepted him despite his last name and who his father was. In the short time they’d spent together, they’d become more than just friends. They were his family.

It had killed him to sneak away from the bunker in Pittsburgh without even a goodbye, but it had felt like his only option at the time. If he’d told them his plan to hunt down his father, they would have insisted on following him. Elias Diavolos had proven himself a formidable enemy, unafraid to kill everyone standing in his way on his quest for power, including his own son.

Nikolai should have died in Trinity Grove. In fact, his father had been counting on it when he’d ripped his fangs out and left him in a jail cell to be found by the Revenant. Though Deke had every reason to hate him, the captain had spared his life and brought him into the fold of the Revenant. In a few short hours, Deke had shown him more kindness than he’d known in his entire life, and it was a debt he could never repay.