Tanya and Megan searched all around the motel for Sanders. He’d been gone almost two hours, and there was no sign of him. Megan couldn’t message him because she’d left her cell in the condo. Tanya didn’t have a phone. So, they needed to wait and see if he showed.

“You don’t think, he’s...” Tanya asked.

Megan pulled her patch back over her eye and shook her head. “Nah! He’s got too good a thing going on with us two. He wouldn’t leave us. Anyway, the vehicle’s still here but the keys are gone.”

They chatted more on where he could’ve ventured off to. They quickly surmised he’d more than likely gone out for a feed. Having a good feed was something they needed to do because they both felt a little weak.

“You wanna go for a hunt?” Tanya asked.

“I don’t see why not. He’s gone out without us, so we should return the favor,” Megan replied, now opening the rear window to the motel room. “That’s our way back in if he doesn’t return before us.”

Megan pulled the room door closed behind them. They walked toward the vending machine at the same moment Sanders rounded the corner.

“Where have you been?” Sanders' face was lit from the vending machine, and Megan spotted the wry grin on his face. “We’ve searched everywh...” she remarked. She noticed the other person. “Who’s this?”

Sanders pulled the brunette closer to his body. He introduced her by her first name, Lizeth, and mentioned she’d be joining them for the remainder of their journey. Both Megan and Tanya spotted he had a fondness for Lizeth because he clung to her much harder than he did to either of them.

“We’re going to feed,” Megan said.

“Be careful and keep away from Little Haiti,” Lizeth said. “We’re being hunted again.”

Tanya pulled on Megan’s sleeve, and they headed from the motel. Megan rubbed her eye patch and snapped. “It’s because I’m blind, isn’t it? He wants something more glamorous to hang on his arm.”

Tanya thought more about it. She saw it from another angle too. “I don’t think it’s merely you. I think it’s me; also. He’s got a new playmate so let’s go along with his games. He’ll get bored with her.”

“I fucking hope so or I’ll rip her damned throat out,” Megan snarled.

“Where do you want to hunt?”

Megan peered into the darkness with her one good eye. Her finger ran over her scar. She turned her head toward Tanya and grinned.

“It’s time for a challenge. I want to go to Little Haiti.”

Tanya wasn’t sure, but she went along with the idea. It’d be an extreme challenge to feed without any of Declan’s pack coming around the corner. Tanya also thought it a good idea to check in on Gabriel and see how he was doing.

They began jogging and changed into their inner wolves. The golden hue filled their eyes while their fur ruffled in the wind when they ran. Seven blocks and they should be able to smell the action in the air. Their paws padded on the sidewalk while they ran through Liberty City. The streets were deadly silent now a good deal of the residents had met their fate the previous night.

Wall murals announced their arrival into Little Haiti. Megan cocked her head. Her wolf hearing was heightened since she’d been blinded. Screams and growls were coming two blocks from their east. They entered the street and ran halfway down the block. Tanya spotted figures ahead with crossbows. The team marched in two lines when suddenly a group of vlads ran toward them. She watched the first group kneel and fire. The vlads fell. The second line of the pack walked forward and dropped to their knees. More vlads fell. The screech of tires filled the bottom half of the street. Dustin leaped from the van and helped a kid bundle the limp bodies into the back. He screeched away.

“Where are we going to feed?” Tanya asked.

“One of these streets, we’ll find a couple of servings in a while,” Megan replied.

They changed direction and headed down a side street. Megan pushed Tanya into the shadow next to a large-wheeled rubbish container. A flashlight shone up the alley. Tanya peered over the top and noticed it was Gabriel with a blonde close to his side.

“I see Gabriel’s had a change of partner as well,” Tanya commented.

“That’s another one who I’d love to throttle,” Megan said as she snarled. “Little Miss Fucking Perfect.”

“You don’t like her?” Tanya asked.

“Hated her guts from the moment I laid eyes on her.”

Tanya giggled. “It might be third time lucky for Gab, she’s candidate number three, and we are the other two.”

Megan told Tanya to leave it alone. She’d been given the mission of worming her way back into the pack as a spy; nonetheless, and being jilted because of your looks was enough to hurt any woman. She was still pissed at Sanders.

They stood in the shadow which was cast by the steel staircase leading to the second floor. A dampness filled the air as their warm breath clouded in front of them. They stood silently as voices entered the alley behind them. Megan and Tanya peered back to the far end of the alley. Two swaggering figures strolled toward the solitary light which hung from the side of the building.

“You wanna start by tasting the high school jocks?” Megan asked excitedly.

Tanya stepped forward and started to unbutton her blouse. “Bring it on.”

They walked to the center of the alleyway. The cobblestones had puddled from the light rain. The jocks approached, and the faint whiff of alcohol washed over the girls. The guys looked up and laid their eyes on their unbuttoned blouses.

“Hey, guys. Where’re you going?” Megan asked.

The guys said they were heading to a party a few blocks away. Megan said the party was right there. She pulled at her blouse and exposed her bare breasts. Tanya followed suit. Her breasts were cupped by a diamond-white bra. The guys looked ruffled until they adjusted to what was being offered.

“What do you have planned?” the guy with the jet-black, army-cut hairstyle asked.

Tanya walked forward a little and slipped her fingers into the waist of her pants. “A little one-on-one, or two-on-one. Hell, we can get a group thing going if something like that turns you on.”

The second guy ruffled his hair. “Is-is-is this gonna cost us?” he stuttered.

He watched Tanya shake her head and say everything was on the house and it wouldn’t cost them a dime, and all they needed to do was enjoy themselves. “What happened to your fa-fa-face?”

Megan giggled while he stuttered. “I cut myself shaving.” Her hands pushed against his broad chest.

He walked back into the shadow. Megan slammed his back against the damp brick wall. Her eyes flashed amber when she rubbed her leg against his groin. She turned to watch Tanya as she got the other guy pinned up against the wall and gyrated her hips against his struggling body.

She turned back and placed the kid’s hands on her bared breasts. “How does that feel?” she asked.

“It feels okay.”

“Only okay?” Megan barked softly. She pushed her head up the side of his cheek. The kid closed his eyes and leaned his head to the side. “How about this?”

Her fangs sank deep into the base of the guy's neck. His warm beer-tainted blood ran down her throat, and she drank her fill until he slumped on the ground. Tanya stepped from the shadow wiping her mouth on the back of her arm. She felt refreshed and alive.

“Now what?”

Megan lowered her gaze toward Tanya’s bra which the other guy had removed from over one of her breasts. She raised her hand and cupped Tanya.

“You do know I’m horny as hell after a feed?”

“So, you want to start now or wait for these two to turn?” Tanya replied.

Megan pushed her thigh between Tanya’s legs. She caressed Tanya’s breasts and licked the lobe of her ear.

“Both.”

The pack members stepped from the van when they returned to the club for refreshment. Declan walked up and down the line looking at the beasts they’d so-far rounded up. The numbers were much the same like the previous evening. Each vlad looked up into his steely-gaze. They all knew it’d be the end, and not one of them retained information regarding Sanders.

Kelvin yelled from the doorway. Wong had finally recovered all the messages on the cell. Declan and Gabriel dashed inside and leaned on the table where Wong sat. The cell connected to his laptop and out popped a screen that was full of messages.

“Is there anything interesting?” Gabriel asked.

Wong looked up and slid his spectacles back up his nose. He explained if he was to read it one after the other, it’d make sense. In fact, he’d see where they’d stopped and where they’d hunted, along with any actions Megan had performed (like the trashing of Dustin’s vehicle).

Wong changed screen and showed the triangulation of where the cell location was. He said it could take a few hours because it’d only finalize when Sanders turned his cell on too.

Gabriel looked at the screen and then stood from leaning on the table. “That’s all well and good, but what happens if he knows she lost her phone and he’s burned it?”

“In that case, you’ll never locate him from his cell,” Wong admitted.

“Keep us updated anyway,” Declan said, and they headed back to the yard. “We’re off again for a few hours.” Wong nodded and went back to entering numbers into his laptop.

Noelle stood in the yard talking with her parents. Gabriel and Declan approached when Wong leaned from the door and screamed.

“I’ve got a new message!”

Gabriel headed back to the door. Declan turned to Noelle. “Take the teams out. I’ll catch up when I’ve seen this message.”

He ran toward the club and stepped in through the steel door. The reflection of the laptop screen reflected in Wong’s spectacles while his head bowed.

“What does it say?”

“It says…” Wong’s finger scrolled over his screen. “He has a job for them both. They need to go back to Cripple Creek and get some canisters of the gas.”

“Is that it?” Gabriel asked.

Wong said it was more in-depth, like where the fuck are you I need to talk. He filtered out the non-relevant stuff.

“We have a slight advantage at the moment. I bet it won’t last long. When Megan returns and Sanders questions her about her cell and her lack of reply, you can triangulate all you want, but we won’t get shit,” Gabriel said. “The other thing is; he’s sending those two girls for some more weird green gas. He’s going to be stationary while they’re gone.”

Declan nodded. “You’re right. We can leapfrog the son-of-a-bitch,” he replied. “Find out where he is and then we can estimate where he’ll hole up and wait for them.”

Wong said he was on the case and got back to work. He definitely knew his stuff no matter how young he looked.

Ariana opened the front door of the club for Gabriel and Declan. Declan explained two to three hours and that’d be it. Human hunters were going to take over, but the club wouldn’t be used.

“To be honest, I’m getting used to the silence,” she said, pulling the heavy door closed behind her.

Declan flexed and readied himself to change into his wolf form. Gabriel sucked in a huge breath and started to jog. “Don’t run too fast. It’s a real killer being human.”

“I’m the last person you need to mention that too,” Declan replied while his body changed.

The sound of his boots on the ground faded once his paws lightly skimmed the asphalt. Gabriel ran to his side and grabbed hold of his fur to get a tow. Gabriel’s radio crackled. They paused while he caught his breath. Sascha said they were being watched from the top of the buildings ahead of them. By using both sides of the street, the vlads had created their own kill zone, and it’d be suicide to head much further in that direction. Gabriel said not to move.

“Are you up for it, to help the pack out?” Declan asked.

“I’ll do my best. I’ve got Noelle’s trusty knives, and they haven’t let me down yet.”

He picked up the radio and explained to Sascha they were going to spring a surprise on both packs of vlads. Declan would be on the far side, and he’d be on the nearside.

“Forget the tranquilizers. Use the arrowed bolts,” said Gabriel.

“Will do. We’ll flank on the roof. One on each side so you can have support up there,” she explained.

Gabriel said they were ready. He ran to the rear alley. The fire-escape ladder hung above him at head height. He jumped and clasped his hands on the first rung. He heaved his body up until his foot reached the bottom. Step by step he climbed higher up the rear of the building. His eyes peered over the top stone of the roof. The beasts huddled along the lip. He counted at least twenty.

Fuck. This might be too many.

He clambered onto the roof of the building and crouched behind an air vent. He pulled the swords from the sheaths on his back and readied himself for Declan’s signal. Gabriel felt hot breath on his neck. His head turned. He sighed with relief when he spotted Sascha who now stood behind him in her wolf form.

“I thought I was dead just then,” he said.

Sascha smiled. “You thought I’d risk losing the new man in my life so soon?” she replied softly.

Gabriel looked into her eyes. She looked at the row of vlads and across the street. Declan’s huge frame waved to her. She peered to her left. Abigail crept in the shadows with her bow wedged firmly against her shoulder, and she headed in Declan’s direction.

“Make sure you stick by my side,” Gabriel whispered.

Sascha chortled. “Spoken like a true alpha.”

“No way. That got me into the mess I’m in now. I’m the best number two, and I’m never going to forget it,” he replied. “If you're close it means we’re both safe.”

“Well, number two. Are you ready to kick some ass?”

Gabriel stood and ran the blades of the sword knives against one another. “You’d better believe it.”

A blood-curdling howl filled the night sky from across the street. The vlads stood and began running back and forth with excitement. Gabriel and Sascha walked to the rear of the frantic creatures.

“Hello there,” Gabriel said.

The head vlad turned. He froze while Gabriel threw the knife with all his might. The vlad screamed one word before his skull was pierced right through.

“AMBUSHHHH!!”

“Rattle of bones and the taste of your flesh, hot sex in the alley keeps the body fresh.”