The Recruit (Book Three) (26 page)

“Why are you
looking at me like that?”

“Nothing.” She
replied quickly. She pulled her swords free and gripped them
tightly as Will spoke.

“We’re getting
close. Remember, we find their bodies and bring them home. I know
we’re all upset and it’s about to get a hell of a lot worse, but we
need to focus. Understand?”

The others
nodded and Will gave them a grim look before continuing on. They
had discovered the van of the missing group parked next to an
abandoned house only a few miles away. They had parked and hiked
into the woods, the smell of blood and ash growing stronger to Will
and Hannah by the minute.

“Look!” Paul
darted forward and the others followed him. A campfire with lawn
chairs scattered around it could be seen through the trees and
Hannah scanned the area anxiously as Reid kicked at the cold ashes
in the campfire.

“Obviously this
is where they set up the hunt.” Reid frowned.

“Fuck!” Paul
shouted. He ducked behind a large tree and dropped to his knees as
the others followed them.

“Oh, Leanne.”
Hannah whispered.

Leanne, her
throat torn open and was lying motionless on the ground. Paul
groaned and closed her eyes as Reid looked at Will.

“Where are the
other bodies?”

“Maybe they ran
deeper into the woods. The leeches hunted them down and killed
them.” Will replied distractedly. He was inhaling repeatedly,
turning in a slow circle, as the others studied the trees.

“All of them?”
Reid frowned again. “They all ran after Leanne was killed? You know
as well as I do that Mannie would never run. Neither would
Selena.”

Chen studied
the large dark stains on the ground. The wind was blowing firmly
and he rubbed his fingers together. “There’s blood on the ground
and ash in the air.”

Mallorie,
holding two wooden stakes, shook her head. “There has to be – “

A low whine
interrupted her and she gave the others a tentative look. ““Did you
hear that?”

“Yes.” Hannah
said. Will’s face was pale as the two of them sprinted toward a
large fallen log that was to the right of Mallorie.

They leaped
over the log and Hannah cried out in dismay as Will made a hoarse
bark of pain and sorrow.

“Constance?”
Ryan whispered. He stumbled toward the log and peered over it.

“Constance!” He
screamed her name and dropped his gun before sliding clumsily over
the log. Bits of moss and bark scattered on to the fallen wolf’s
body and, trembling badly, Ryan dropped to the ground and gathered
the bloody and battered animal into his arms.

“Can you hear
me, honey?” He whispered.

There was a
soft pop as Constance shifted to her human form. Hannah moaned
loudly at the sight of her mangled chest and Will dropped to his
knees beside Ryan and Constance, touching the Lycan’s arm lightly
as Ryan bit back a harsh sobbing cry.

“Jesus.” Reid
whispered. His face completely white, he gripped Chen’s arm and
squeezed tightly. “Why isn’t she healing?”

“Her wounds are
too deep.” Chen replied. He swallowed thickly as Ryan stroked
Constance’s hair back.

“Ryan?”
Constance voice was barely audible.

“Yeah, baby.
It’s me. I’m here.” Ryan kissed her mouth and shifted her
closer.

She gasped
weakly with pain and he flinched. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so
sorry.”

“Will, we need
to get her back to Barb.” Hannah said quietly. Feeling sick to her
stomach, she stared at Constance’s chest. The Lycan had been ripped
open from her sternum to her navel, and Hannah could see bone and
exposed muscle and nerves. Blood was oozing out of the wound and
the ground around her was soaked black. The Lycan had to be in
incredible pain and Hannah had no idea how she had survived this
long.

Will leaned
closer to Constance. “Constance? Ryan and I are going to move you.
It’s going to hurt. We’ll try to – “

“Too late.”
Constance breathed.

“Don’t say
that.” Ryan kissed her again. “Just close your eyes, baby, and
concentrate on healing, okay? We’ll get you back to the facility
and after a few weeks of rest you’ll be good as new.”

Constance
smiled wearily, blood was smeared across her teeth, and shook her
head. “I love you, Ryan.” She drew in a ragged breath. “Should have
said it earlier, I’m sorry.”

“I love you
too.” Ryan replied quickly. “Now stop talking. You need to conserve
your strength for the trip home, okay?”

“Too late.” She
repeated and Ryan, tears beginning to drip down his cheeks, scowled
angrily at her.

“It’s not too
late! Just try, baby. You have to try, okay? Try for me.”

Constance
closed her eyes, her breathing was harsh and laboured in the quiet
air, as Will gave Hannah a helpless look. She reached out and took
his hand as Chen spoke.

“Who did this
to you, Constance?”

“What does it
matter?” Mallorie snapped. “Leave her alone!”

“We need to
know.” Chen said quietly. “Does this look like vampires to you,
Will?”

“No.” Will
admitted. “The wound is odd for leeches.”

Constance’s
eyes flew open and she made a harsh, barking cough, her back
arching as Ryan struggled to hold her still. Blood flew from her
mouth in a thick spray and she howled hoarsely with pain before
collapsing in Ryan’s arms.

Gasping for
air, her eyes rolled wildly to Will. She reached out and clutched
at his arm, pulling him closer.

“The others!”
She gasped.

“Are they
dead?” Will asked.

Hannah’s heart
knocked fiercely in her chest when Constance shook her head
weakly.

“Alive.” She
breathed. “Leeches.”

“Leeches did
this?” Will squeezed her hand as Constance coughed again.

“Yes.” Her
breath was whistling in and out of her throat and Ryan stroked her
face soothingly as she continued to stare at Will.

“So strong,
Will. Tried to – to save them but too strong.”

“It’s alright,
Constance.” Will soothed. “Did the leeches take the others?”

She nodded
again, her eyes were starting to close, and Will squeezed her hand.
“Constance, look at me, honey. Look at me!”

She blinked
wearily and Will squeezed her hand again. “Do you know where they
took them?”

She shook her
head and Ryan pushed Will away. “Enough.”

“Ryan, we need
– “

“Honey?”

Will stopped
and stared up at Hannah. She was standing over him, tears sliding
down her cheeks, and holding her hand out to him. He took it, his
throat squeezing painfully, and allowed her to lead him away from
Ryan and the dying Lycan.

“Hannah, we
have to – “

“She’s dying,
Will.” Hannah said softly. “Give her time with her loved one.”

His face
twisted and as Hannah wrapped her arms around him and drew her into
his embrace he turned to stare at Ryan and Constance. Ryan was
still holding her in his arms and he rubbed her cheekbone tenderly
with his thumb as she stared up at him. He leaned down and kissed
her mouth before whispering in her ear.

A whine slipped
from Will’s throat and he turned and buried his face in Hannah’s
neck, breathing deeply, as she rubbed his back. After a few
moments, she led him to the others and they stood quietly in a
circle.

After nearly
five minutes, Ryan uttered a single sobbing cry. Paul, his face
pale, moved around the fallen log and crouched next to Ryan.

“I’m sorry,
man.”

Ryan eased
Constance to the ground and kissed her tenderly on the mouth. He
brushed her hair back before pulling his jacket off. He covered her
head and upper body with his jacket and stared numbly at her
body.

Paul squeezed
his arm. “We need to take Leanne and Constance back to the
facility. Reid, Will and I will carry Constance, okay? You can help
Hannah and Mallorie with Leanne.”

Ryan shook his
hand off and staggered to his feet. He climbed over the log and
picked up his gun from the ground.

“Ryan? What are
you doing?” Reid asked cautiously.

“I’m going to
find the leeches who did this to her and kill them.” He replied
calmly.

He stalked
toward Hannah and Will, studying them with bloodshot eyes. “I know
you can smell them.”

Hannah glanced
at Will. “Ryan, it’s not – “

“Shut up.” Ryan
said with the same eerie calmness. He stared up at Will. “You’re
going to lead me to them.”

“It’s not that
easy.” Hannah said quietly. “The scents are mixed up and – “

“Not for him.”
Ryan pointed at Will. “Tell her.”

Will didn’t
reply and Hannah frowned at him. “Will, can you track them?”

Without waiting
for his reply, she moved away from him and lifted her head. She
inhaled deeply for a few moments, her eyes closed and her body
tense, before she suddenly twitched.

“I can smell
the twins.” She whispered.

“Hannah – “

“I can smell
them!” She rushed back to Will and clutched at his arm. “It’s faint
and it’s fading in and out, but I can smell them. We need to
go.”

“We can’t.”
Will replied. “It’s too dangerous. We have no idea how many leeches
we’re dealing with, and the smart thing to do is go back to the
facility and get more people.”

“Who? More
babies?” Ryan said bitterly. “Do you think they’re going to be able
to help? By the time we get back here, the scent will have faded
completely.”

“He’s right.”
Reid broke in. “We need to move now.”

Will glared at
him. “Reid, this is madness. You know it is. Don’t let your
feelings for Selena cloud your judgment.”

“Lead us to
them, Will.” Reid said firmly.

“I can’t!” Will
nearly shouted. “I won’t put everyone else in danger on the off
chance that the rest of them are still alive. Do you honestly
believe that the leeches haven’t killed them by now?”

“I can smell
the twins!” Hannah protested.

“That doesn’t
mean they’re alive.” Will replied.

Hannah winced
and Will grimaced. “I’m sorry, honey. You know I’m right.”

“You might not
be.” Hannah reached up and cupped his face. “What if the twins and
Selena are still alive? What if Mannie is alive? Can you really
just leave knowing that they’re going to die because we didn’t go
after them?”

“Hannah, the
vampires killed Constance. Do you have any idea how powerful they’d
have to be to kill a Lycan?”

“If there were
a lot of them, they could have overpowered her.” Paul said.

“Either way,
it’s too dangerous.” Will snapped. “I can’t let -

“Mannie and
Selena would come after us.” Hannah said softly. “You know they
would.”

Will stared at
her and she returned his look calmly. “We can’t leave them out
here.”

“Fuck!” Will
suddenly shouted. He tore away from Hannah and, growling loudly,
punched his fist against a tree. He stood with his back to them,
growling continuously, as his body swelled.

Reid gave the
others a nervous look. “Will – “

“Give him a
minute.” Hannah interrupted.

They waited
quietly until Will took a deep breath and turned back to them.
“Hannah and I will follow the scent. Everyone else goes back to the
facility.”

“No fucking
way!” Ryan retorted.

“You’ll take
Constance and Leanne back,” Will continued as if Ryan hadn’t
spoken, “and update Jordan. I’ll call in when we find the others
and give you the location. You can come back with the cavalry and
we’ll kill the leeches and rescue our people.”

“I’m coming
with you and Hannah.” Reid stepped toward them.

“So am I.” Ryan
stared at the blood on his hands. “You can’t stop me.”

“Both of you
will slow us down. We’ll track and move faster without you.” Will
replied. “If the others are still alive, we need to move
quickly.”

“Oh and us
driving all the way back to the fucking facility, is moving
quickly?” Reid shouted.

“We don’t have
enough people.” Will scowled. “We can’t rescue anyone if we’re
being slaughtered ourselves. Now stop wasting more fucking time and
get back to the facility. I’ll call Chen on his cell when we find
the others.”

There was a
moment of silence and Will bared his teeth at them. “Get
moving!”

Chen squeezed
Hannah’s arm. “Be careful.”

“I will,
master.” Hannah took a deep breath and followed Will into the
forest.

* * *

Christ, his
head hurt. The pounding was like a damn steel drum and he couldn’t
imagine how it would feel to open his eyes. He had drank too much
again and his mother was going to kill him. She hated when he snuck
out with his friends to party, especially on a school night. His
arms were aching and he tried to move them, groaning loudly when
they refused to cooperate and something harsh and heavy bit into
his wrists. What was going on? Why was his bed so uncomfortable? He
groaned again and forced his eyes open a crack. The light was dim
and he breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn’t a school day and
his mother was showing mercy on him. Maybe he’d –

“Mannie, wake
up.”

He grunted and
tried to drift back into sleep. The pounding in his head wouldn’t
stop and he felt like he’d taken a brick to the head. God, he had
to stop drinking. If he kept this up, his liver would be failing by
the time he was twenty-five. His mother kept telling him that –

“Mannie! Open
your eyes. C’mon, wake up now.”

“I’m up.” He
muttered. “Jesus Christ, ma, I’m up.”

“Mannie!”

“Fuck!” He
forced his eyes open and cursed again as nausea rolled through
him.

“Fuck me
sideways.” He groaned as he quickly closed his eyes again. “Ma, get
me some aspirin, for the love of God.”

There was no
reply and he turned his head and squinted blearily at the figure
beside him. “Ma?”