The Recruit (Book Three) (31 page)

Hiding was her
only chance. She went through the training, she was stronger and
faster, but without weapons she didn’t have a chance against these
vampires. If she wanted to see the sun again, she had to hide.

She had
stumbled on to the hollow tree by chance and immediately squirmed
inside, ignoring the uneasy voice in her head that questioned what
else might be lurking inside of it. It had turned out to be the
skeleton of what she thought might be a squirrel and a disgusting
amount of animal droppings.

Which you’re
currently rubbing into your face
, her inner voice moaned.
You’re going to catch all sorts of diseases, Steph!

Fuck that.
She’d rather have a hundred diseases than be the leech’s meal.
Besides, if she did make it out of this fucking mess, the first
thing she’d do was bathe in a tub of disinfectant. Hell, she’d
–

A branch
cracked and her breath caught in her throat. She shrank backward,
trying to keep away from the soft moonlight shining just outside
the tree, and listened carefully. It was hard to hear over the
rapid pounding of her heart, and she tried to will it to slow down
as she bit her bottom lip and cocked her head.

There was the
soft rustling of leaves but nothing else and her body relaxed a
fraction. Just an animal scuttling in the dark, she was almost
certain. The leech hadn’t –

A hand, pale
with nails that were long and sharp, reached in and slid around her
wrist. The leech yanked her out through the narrow opening. She
grunted in pain when her head connected with a solid thump against
the tree, and screamed in breathless terror when the vampire threw
her to the ground. He straddled her and she stared fearfully at him
as he grinned.

“Hello,
kleines mädchen
. Trying to hide, were you?
You needn’t have bothered. I can smell your fear.” Andreas said
happily. “The others were harder to hunt. They banded together and
tried to make simple weapons. It was fun to kill them one by one.
It is a shame you make this so easy for me.”

His fangs
lengthened and he opened his mouth wide as he slowly and teasingly
bent his head toward her.

Stephanie
screamed shrilly, the sound echoing through the forest, and stabbed
Andreas in the cheek with the broken branch she still held in her
hand. Andreas bellowed in surprise and pain and jerked away from
her. She scrambled to her feet, a moan of dismay slipping out when
she realized the leech was already on his feet and reaching for the
branch. He pulled it free of his flesh with a wet, sucking sound,
and she gagged when putrid smelling blood poured from the wound and
coated his lower jaw and throat.

“Not bad for a
little girl.” He gargled through the blood as he tossed the stick
to the ground. Already the wound was starting to heal over and as
he grinned at her, blood coating his lips and fangs, she turned and
fled.

Don’t look
back. Don’t look back.
She chanted repeatedly to herself even
as she heard the vampire chuckle softly behind her. The leech would
catch her, he was incredibly fast and strong, but she refused to
give in. She refused to –

There was a
harsh growling in front of her and her eyes widened as the giant
gray wolf appeared in the darkness. He was running straight toward
her and, as he crouched and began to leap, she instinctively
dropped to her knees and flung her body backward. She slid across
the ground, wincing when her shirt rucked up around her shoulders
and the bare flesh of her back was scraped by pine needles and
stones. She stared upward in numb wonder at the thick gray fur on
the wolf’s belly as he sailed over her and hit the vampire with a
harsh thud.

She slid to a
stop and flipped to her belly, breathing harshly and staring
wide-eyed at the wolf and the leech fighting before her. Despite
his surprise at the sudden appearance of the Lycan, Andreas had
recovered quickly and Stephanie struggled to her feet as he jabbed
his long nails into the Lycan’s side. The wolf howled in pain as
Andreas threw his other hand over his throat to protect it from the
Lycan’s snapping jaws.

She searched
frantically for a weapon as the Lycan fought to keep the
struggling, hissing Andreas pinned to the ground. She pried a rock
out of the ground and ran toward them just as the Lycan made a
snarl of frustration and rage and bit the leech’s fingers off. The
vampire screamed as blood jetted out from the stumps and the Lycan
snarled again before latching on to Andrea’s exposed neck. He bit
through the flesh with a loud crunch and Andreas’ cries weakened as
the wolf burrowed deeper into his pale skin.

With a final
growl, the Lycan tore Andreas’ head from his body as Stephanie
staggered backward, tripped over her own feet, and fell to the
ground with a harsh thud. She dropped the rock as the vampire burst
into ash and the Lycan turned to face her. His face was dripping in
blood and a shiver of fear went down her back as the wolf crept
closer. His eyes glowed softly and he growled deep in his throat
before suddenly shifting.

Will, blood
dripping down his side from the five small wounds just below his
ribcage, wiped the blood off his face and knelt in front of the
dirty, violently-shaking woman. “Stephanie? Are you alright?”

“Yes, sir.” She
whispered.

“Where are the
others? Are they alive?”

She nodded and
swallowed thickly. “Some of us. They’re keeping us in a barn, sir.
They – they’re hunting us. These vampires are – they’re
different.”

“I know.” Will
said grimly. “Can you walk?”

She nodded and
he helped her to her feet as she gave him a startled look. “Tyrone
is out here too! We have to find him! There’s another vampire
hunting him. Please, Will – I mean, sir – we have to find him!”

Will turned his
back to her and inhaled deeply. “We go this way. I’m going to shift
and you’re going to ride on my back. Do you understand?”

“I – I don’t
think – I mean, are you sure?”

“Yes!” He
snapped impatiently. “Quickly, Stephanie!”

He shifted and
lay down on the ground, barking softly at her. With a nervous look
at him, Stephanie climbed gingerly on to his back, gasping in alarm
and clinging tightly to his fur when he leaped to his feet and ran
swiftly through the forest.

* * *

Tyrone paused
and held his breath. He listened intently and then forced himself
to keep moving when the faint sound didn’t repeat itself. He needed
to find Stephanie, the two of them had a better chance together
than alone, but he had been walking for nearly twenty minutes and
there was no sign of her. Of course, it was so fucking dark he
could have stumbled past her and not even known it. Fuck, he needed
to –

A shrill scream
sent goosebumps shuddering across his flesh and, muttering a quiet
curse, he turned and ran in the direction of the scream. He was
certain that had been Stephanie, who else could it be, and he
vaulted over a fallen log and landed neatly on this feet before
continuing on.

As he dodged
around a thick tree, a shadow flickered and there was a brief flash
of red before he ran full speed into the leech’s outstretched arm.
He bounced off of it, pain radiating through his chest, and landed
on his back in the dirt. He rubbed his chest as Gunther laughed
delightedly and straightened his tie.

“Guten Abend,
dark one. It’s a lovely night for a walk, isn’t it?”

Tyrone climbed
to his feet and gave the large vampire an impudent look. “Took you
long enough to find me, dickface.”

The smile
dropped from Gunther’s face. “What did you just call me?”

“Dick. Face.”
Tyrone enunciated slowly. “You don’t look that bright so I’ll
explain. It means your face looks like a dick.”

Gunther hissed
and Tyrone gave a strangled grunt of surprise when the leech’s hand
shot out and closed around his neck. He squeezed viciously and
lifted the teenager into the air.

“Do not treat
me like a fool.” He snapped before tossing Tyrone like a rag
doll.

Tyrone slammed
face-first into a tree and tumbled to the ground. His head was
ringing and blood was trickling from a cut on his lip but he
staggered upright and grinned at Gunther. “What? Don’t like hearing
the truth, you fucking mosquito?”

Gunther snarled
and shot toward Tyrone. He lifted the teen again by the throat and
bared his fangs at him. “I will tear your throat out.”

Tyrone, his
eyes bulging, pulled at the leech’s cold hand. Gunther set him on
his feet and relaxed his grip. Tyrone pulled in a ragged, coughing
breath, before eyeing the vampire.

“You’re nothing
but a Dracula wannabe. Your bloodsucking friends back at the barn
think you’re a dickface. Hell, your mama thinks you’re a dickface.
She told me that right before she wrapped her lips around
my
dick and – “

Gunther
screamed with rage and backhanded Tyrone across the face. He flew
backwards over the fallen log and disappeared. Gunther, breathing
heavily, straightened his tie again and strode toward the log
before leaping easily over it.

“I am going to
kill you slowly. You will beg me for mercy before I am – “

He paused and
stared blankly at the empty ground.

“Was ist das?”
He muttered softly. “Do you think hiding will save your life,
dummer junge
? I can smell you.”

He inhaled
deeply and his steps faltered.
“Eine andere
Wölfin?”

There was a
flicker of movement to his left and he whirled, his eyes widening
in surprise at the dark-haired woman standing before him.

“Hello,
asshole.” She said softly. She was holding two swords and the boy
was standing behind her with a look of triumph on his face.

“Oh, dickface -
you’re in for a world of hurt now.” He said gleefully.

Gunther curled
his upper lip at him and took a step back when the woman growled
deep in her chest and bared sharp fangs at him. Her eyes were
glowing a soft jade and he could see her sharp nails curled around
the handle of her swords.

“You think I am
afraid of you?” He asked. “I have killed many Lycans. Bigger and
stronger ones than you.”

The woman
grinned at him, a cold and feral smile that sent a trickle of fear
down his back. She took a deep breath and her smile widened. “You
are afraid of me, leech. I can smell it.”

She raised her
swords and nodded to him. “Begin.”

Fear was
rushing through him now, strong and unpleasant and utterly foreign
to him. There was something about the Lycan, something about the
way she held her swords and stared so fearlessly at him, that sent
shivers running down his spine. He knew with absolute clarity that
she would slice him apart. For the first time in centuries, Gunther
turned to flee from his enemy.

A gray wolf
stood behind him. He stared wide-eyed at one of the biggest Lycans
he’d ever seen as the wolf snapped its teeth and lowered its head
before stalking toward him on stiff legs.

“Wait.” Gunther
held his hands out. “Wait, I can be of assistance to you. I can –
“

His back arched
as the cold steel slid into his flesh. He stared numbly at the
dirty, dark-haired girl standing next to the Lycan before the
she-wolf wound her hand in his short hair and yanked his head
back.

“You’re so
weak.” She whispered into his ear as her blade pierced his
heart.

Hannah pulled
her sword free as the vampire turned to ash. She turned and tugged
Tyrone into her embrace.

“Are you okay,
honey?”

“Yeah. I had it
all under control.” Tyrone’s voice was muffled against her throat
as he hugged her fiercely.

“Really? Were
you planning on insulting him to death, Tyrone?” Hannah said
dryly.

Tyrone laughed
shakily and winced when she touched the cut on his lip. “Where’s
your brother?”

“At the barn.
They’re hunting us.”

There was a
soft pop as Will shifted and Tyrone nodded to him. “Hey, wolf boy.
I’d hug you but you’re naked and I don’t want you to get the wrong
idea.”

“Shut up, kid.”
Will said affectionately as Stephanie pushed past him and threw her
arms around Tyrone.

“Tyrone!”

Tyrone hugged
her back before wrinkling his nose. “Fuck, Steph. You fucking reek.
What the hell, girl? Were you bathing in shit?”

“I was trying
to hide my scent!” She glared at him and smacked him hard on the
back.

He flinched.
“Careful, girl, I just got my ass kicked, remember?”

“Yeah, I
remember.” Her face softened and she hugged him again as Hannah
gave them an impatient look.

“C’mon, you
two. We need to get to that barn. Stay quiet and keep your eyes
open.”

Will shifted to
his wolf form and Hannah caressed his large head briefly. Stephanie
took Tyrone’s hand and he squeezed it reassuringly as they followed
Will and Hannah toward the others.

Chapter 24

Klaus sat in
the tree and watched as the woman with the mass of curly dark hair
walked quietly past him. He grinned when she bent and picked up a
fallen branch. She tested its weight in her hand, and studied the
end of it before holding it tightly and moving forward.

There was a
faint scream and the woman froze like a frightened deer. It was
almost impossible to tell what section of the forest the scream had
come from, and Klaus shifted slightly and smiled again. At least
one of his brothers had been successful in his hunt. These humans
might be more skilled than others they had taken but in the end,
they were still only humans. They would fight and claw for their
lives but his kind would win. They always won.

The woman was
almost out of his sight and he suddenly scowled. His brother had
found his prey and drank his fill but if he stumbled on to Klaus’
prey, he would not hesitate to take her blood as well. They had
lived and hunted together for centuries but there were no rules
when it came to their prey. First come, first serve, was their
motto.