The Recruit (Book Three) (22 page)

“Please don’t hurt me.” She whimpered.

“Shh. What’s your name, lovely?” The man
asked.

“J-Jill.” She stammered. “My – my husband,
Gary, they – they killed him back in the store.”

“That’s unfortunate.” He glanced at the pile
of ash at his feet before staring at the cars. He kept a firm grip
on Jill’s wrist as he turned and spoke to the men behind him in
German.

They nodded and he spoke again before
returning his dark gaze to Jill. “Don’t be frightened.”

“You – you’re a vampire too.” She
whispered.

“I am.” He confirmed.

“Vampires aren’t real.” She moaned.

“
Oh I can assure you that they are.” The
man replied. “I am standing before you, am I not?”

“Why are you helping me? Why did you kill
Billy?”

“
Billy? Was that his name? Ridiculous.” The
man snorted loudly. “I helped you because I hate to see a beautiful
woman such as yourself being treated so poorly by an absolute pig
of a vampire.”

“You’re a good vampire?” She whispered as she
stared up at him. His eyes were a striking shade of blue and she
stared at them in fascination as he drew her up against his body.
He brushed her hair back from her neck and licked his lips as he
stared at the vein pulsing just below the skin.

“That’s right, my lovely.” He murmured. “I’m
a very good vampire. Close your eyes. I know you’re tired.”

“I am.” She sighed. “I’m so very tired.”

“But of course you are.” He stroked her hair
lightly as he bent his head to her neck. “Everything will be just
fine.”

“Do you promise?” She whispered.

“I promise.” His mouth latched on to her soft
skin and she made a low moan that was a combination of pain and
desire. As his fangs broke through her skin and he suckled eagerly,
she clutched helplessly at his back, her nails digging into his
suit jacket.

The other vampires watched silently as their
leader drank the woman dry. When he was finished he dropped her
body to the ground and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He
wiped the blood from his lips before placing it back in his
pocket.

“
Brothers, I know it’s been a long journey
and you are thirsty and tired. We will stake our claim to this
place and begin our new lives.”

One of the vampires stepped forward and
bowed briefly. “Forgive me, Olof, but are you sure this is where
you want to begin again? It is a small town and it will be more
difficult to blend in.”

Olof shook his head. “You are wrong, Lars. It
is the perfect place for us. Besides, I have no desire to “blend
in” with the humans. We will take what is rightfully ours and when
we have bled this town dry, we’ll move on to the next.”

The door to the barn swung open and Judd ran
into the barn. He skittered to a stop and stared suspiciously at
the men in dark suits.

“Who the fuck are you? Where’s Billy?”

“I’m sorry to say your oafish friend Billy
got exactly what he deserved.” Olof pointed to the pile of ash at
his feet before glancing at the others. “Bring him to me
alive.”

Judd, his eyes widening in fear, turned
and shot toward the door. The vampire was quick but not quick
enough and the other vampires easily surrounded him, grinning and
hissing as they closed in on him. As Judd screamed hoarsely, Olof
smiled to himself.

“Yes, this place will do rather nicely.”

Chapter 17

Two months later

The Lycan picked his way carefully through
the trees. His fur rippled in the wind and he lifted his snout to
the sky and inhaled deeply before continuing forward. There was a
low growl that turned into a whine of happiness and the wolf
grinned at the gr
ay
Lycan that emerged from the trees to his left. The gray wolf
brushed up against him, nudging his shoulder in a friendly way
before turning and loping away. The second wolf followed and it was
only a few minutes before they had reached a clearing in the trees.
A large camouflage-coloured tent was erected at the edge of it, and
two camping chairs and a crackling fire contained by a ring of
large stones were in the middle of the clearing. The Lycan watched
as the gray wolf shifted to his human form.

“
Hello, Douglas.” Will ducked naked into
the tent and Douglas waited patiently until he returned. He had
pulled on a pair of pants and he dropped a second pair in front of
the wolf. With a soft pop, Douglas shifted and nodded his thanks
before pulling the pants on. They were too big and he held them up
with one hand as the two men embraced.

“It’s good to see you, Will.”

“You too.” Will grinned at him before
crouching next to the fire. “Can I make you some tea?”

Douglas laughed. “I’d like that.”

He sat down in one of the chairs as Will
set a large metal rack over the fire before pouring water from a
jug into a pot. He set the pot on the rack to boil as he rummaged
through a bag and produced a mug and a plastic baggie of tea bags.
He dropped a tea bag into the mug before sitting down next to
Douglas.

“You look good, old man.”

“
Thanks. So do you.” Douglas glanced
curiously around the campsite. “Where is Hannah?”

“She’s out hunting.”

“
How is it going?” Douglas
asked.

“
Good. Really good, actually.” Will gave
him a pleased look. “She has much better control over the shift now
and her emotions don’t affect her Lycan side like they were
before.”

“That’s great news.” Douglas shifted in his
chair. “Will you be coming home soon?”

Will hesitated. “I’ve been talking to
Hannah about it but she – ”

There was a soft bark and the dark brown wolf
loped into the campsite. She rubbed her head affectionately against
Douglas’ knee and he stroked the fur on her back lightly.

“Hello, Hannah.”

She barked again and sat down, her large tail
sweeping back and forth, as she stared brightly at the old
Lycan.

Douglas waited patiently and when she didn’t
shift, glanced at Will. Will cleared his throat.

“Hannah, you should shift so we can talk with
Douglas.”

She made a chuffing sound of displeasure and
Will frowned at her. “You’re being rude, honey.”

She chuffed again before standing and
disappearing into the tent. After a few moments, she emerged from
the tent in her human form and wearing one of Will’s shirts.
Douglas stood and hugged her firmly and she patted his back before
kissing his weathered cheek.

“
Hi, Douglas. What are you doing
here?”

The old Lycan shrugged. “Just thought I’d
come by and see how it was going.”

“
Really good.” Hannah
sat on Will’s lap. “Isn’t it,
Will?”

“It is. I was just telling Douglas how well
you’re doing at controlling the shift.”

She smiled happily. “You were right, Douglas.
I just needed to get away from all the shit that was going on.”

She jumped up and poured the boiling water
from the pot into the mug before handing it to Douglas. He gave her
a nod of thanks as she returned to Will’s lap. She kissed his
temple affectionately and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

Douglas waited a few moments and when Hannah
didn’t say anything, he cleared his throat. “Your mom and dad said
to say hi and they miss you.”

Hannah smiled. “Tell them I said hello and
that I love them.”

“Selena and the twins were asking about you
as well.”

“Were they? That’s nice.” Hannah said
absently as she raised her head and inhaled deeply.

“They’re wondering when you’re coming
home.”

Hannah didn’t reply, she was staring over
Will’s shoulder into the trees, and she cocked her head as a faint
smile crossed her face. “Do you want rabbit for dinner tonight, my
love?”

“Douglas asked you a question, honey.” He
said gently.

She forced her gaze back to the old Lycan.
“I’m sorry. What did you say, Douglas?”

“People are wondering when you’re coming back
home.”

She laughed bitterly. “Home? The facility is
hardly a home.”

“You know what I mean, Hannah.” He replied
quietly.

She sighed and looked into the forest again.
“I don’t know. When I’m confident I have full control over it, I
guess.”

“You seem to have control over it now.” He
pointed out.

She shrugged and stroked Will’s thick hair.
“I can use some more practice. Tell him, Will.”

“
Douglas is right, Hannah. You’ve done very
well, and I’m confident that you’ll be fine at the
facility.”

She sighed loudly. “Well, I’m glad you’re
confident in my abilities.”

“
Hannah – ”

She stood up abruptly and gave them a
strained smile. “I’m going to go for a run. Douglas, it was good to
see you.”

She
ran to the edge of the clearing and they watched as she
turned her back to them and pulled Will’s shirt over her head. She
shifted with a soft pop and, without looking at them, disappeared
into the trees.

“How much time does she spend in her Lycan
form, Will?”

“Nearly all of it.” Will admitted. “We sleep
and we mate in our human forms and that’s about it.”

“That’s dangerous for her.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Will stood and
paced back and forth. “What would you have me do? Over the last
month or so she has grown increasingly fond of staying in her Lycan
form.”

“She’s losing her human side, Will. She
didn’t even ask about her parents nor did she show interest in her
friends.”

“
I know!” Will nearly shouted. “I’ve tried
to talk to her about it but for the first time since I met her,
she’s happy, Douglas. Truly happy. I find it difficult to take that
away from her.”

“
I know it’s hard.” Douglas replied. “But
you must remind her that she is not only Lycan. She is still
human
, and she has
responsibilities and people who love and miss her.”

Will sighed and dropped into the chair as
Douglas gave him a sympathetic look. “I understand wanting to make
your mate happy, I really do, but do you believe that this is what
will make her happiest in the long run?”

“No.” Will said quietly.

“
Hannah’s been through a terrible time.
It’s understandable why being in her Lycan form and living out here
in the woods with her mate is so appealing to her, but that doesn’t
mean it’s the right thing to do. You need to convince her to come
back to the human world.”

“Yeah, I know.” Will sighed again.

The two Lycans sat in silence for a few
minutes before Douglas set down his untouched mug of tea. “I should
get back. I’ll tell the others that you’re doing well and will
return soon, alright?”

Will nodded and Douglas clasped his shoulder,
squeezing gently. “Take care, Will. I’ll see you and Hannah
soon.”

* * *

“They’re not ready, Jordan.”

“It’s been two months. They’re ready.”

Mannie raked his hand through his hair before
glancing at Reid. “Tell him they’re not ready.”

“They’re not.” Reid confirmed. “They need a
few more weeks.”

Constance rolled her eyes. “Try a few more
months.”

“
The Board of Directors feels that, based
on the results from their latest round of tests, they’re ready to
go hunting.”

“Ready? Fuck, Jordan! A month with me and
Constance and a month with Reid and you think they’re ready? In the
old days they would have trained with us for months before even
graduating to the weapons level. Half of them still can’t hit the
target seven times out of ten and you think they’re ready.” Mannie
shouted.

“Not me – the Board of Directors.” Jordan
replied calmly.

Mannie snorted angrily. “Tell me, Jordan –do
you have any control over what happens in this facility or are you
just the Board of Directors monkey?”

“Mannie!” Constance said sharply as Jordan
flushed a bright red.

“Richard would never have allowed the Board
of Directors to run over him like this.” Mannie snapped.

Jordan cleared his throat as his face
continued to burn a bright red. “Yes, well, Richard started the
program using his considerable wealth and he had a certain sway
over the Board that I, unfortunately, do not.”

Mannie snorted again and Jordan sighed
loudly. “For what it’s worth – I agree with you. I don’t think
they’re ready either but the Board is pushing for this. Ultimately
they have the final say.”

“Maybe you could find your balls and tell the
Board they’ll be sending their batch of fresh-faced recruits to
their deaths.” Reid retorted.

When Jordan glared at him, Reid shrugged.
“Just a suggestion.”

“
If I balk at sending the recruits out, if
I tell the Board that I’m flat out refusing to do it, all that will
happen is they’ll demote me and bring someone new in. And the new
person might not be nearly as easy-going as I am.” Jordan replied
with a brittle smile.

He pushed a few buttons on his computer
and pointed to the large screen on the wall of his office. A map
had appeared and he tapped a spot that had been marked with a small
red ‘x’. “There’s been a pod of vampires spotted moving around in
this area.
It’s fairly
remote which is a little odd. There’s a gas station about ten miles
away and a few scattered farmhouses but that’s it. It’s odd to have
a group of vampires in an area with few humans to feed on. The
Board is concerned that another uprising is already beginning, or
that this pod is a part of the initial uprising. We have no idea
how many followers Samuel had, and we all know how odd it is for
vampires to be in close proximity with each other.”