The journey to the secluded cabin helped clear Pallas’ aching head. Once past the manor, there was little need to extend his mind and blur human thoughts. What a pain in the ass. Or head, in his case.
These humans were determined to catch him and many of them had strong minds, which made it that much harder to penetrate. In the past, people had been much easier to scare. Vampires were myth then and lived in the shadows. Going public with their existence made them more tangible, less frightening. Especially since they now knew vampires had weaknesses.
Snow slowed his pace but he managed to arrive at the foot of Mount Killmore without rousing suspicions. It would be so easy to continue forward over the mountain range, away from this trouble. It was what he would have done ages ago. Take his werewolf army and march over the humans or retreat. Whatever seemed more feasible.
This pack would follow him as blindly as his army even though they were new to each other. All of them born in different packs. None of whom he had raised. Heavy hearted, he recalled his wolf family. Long gone now. Slowly slaughtered over the decades as men grew wiser and learned to hunt them.
The stark bare branches stood out in the moonlight that sparkled on the snow. He paused in the dense forest just beyond view of the cabin. The land around it was sparse of trees and he would be exposed. Warm yellow light filtered through the windows and smoke trailed out of the chimney.
They had made it.
He tilted his head. Wait…how had they all fit in that small cabin? Pallas reached out to the small animals in the quiet forest, taking control of a nearby rabbit. He slipped inside its body and hopped across the exposed snow, searching for the sound of guards. He couldn’t treat a human like a puppet, but the rodents were easy. The pack should be patrolling the grounds in wolf form. That’s if they had listened during class and weren’t daydreaming about making puppies. There would be some serious punishment if they were all in there roasting marshmallows.
Footsteps. He paused, crouching low in the deep snow. The sound was wrong. The footsteps crunched as if booted instead of soft paws. Like he suspected, more police officers. He let the rabbit go and fought the vertigo snapping back into his body. He ground his teeth.
What had happened to his wolf pack? He jumped to his feet and paced. Losing his shit wouldn’t help them or himself. He tried to pretend he was Daedalus for a minute.
Inner calm.
Inner calm.
He punched the closest tree. Dammit. He’d been so close to being happy then this had happened. He punched the trunk again. This time it cracked. The noise echoed in the hollow night. The tree swayed, leaning alarmingly to the right. “No, no, no.” Pallas tried to stop its fall. So much for channeling his brother. Daedalus always brought out the worst in him anyways.
The tree wasn’t heavy but awkward as hell. He stood there preventing its crash to the forest floor. What was he doing? He didn’t want to attract attention but someone must’ve heard the initial crack and was probably on their way here to investigate.
He hung his head. At least he had no witnesses to kill. Stupid move on his part. His temper would be his downfall. Stepping aside, he let the tree fall. They would definitely know he was here now. With that in mind, he ran.
The best thing he could do for his wolves was stay away until he solved this murder. Problem was he didn’t know how. Was there a rogue vampire in his territory with balls big enough to challenge him? How would Pallas find them? These problems were best handled by—by a sheriff.
Who would shoot him on sight.
It took all his willpower not to roar at the night sky in frustration. Here he was, running in knee-high snow, leaving a trench wide enough for a blind man to follow. The only thing saving him was his speed and endurance. None of which would protect him once the sun rose. He needed to think and he couldn’t do that while being chased. Where could he hide? He couldn’t go back to the police station attic. Not after feeding off Joe in the parking lot. There was too much chance of discovery in his sleep. Where would the police least likely look?
His mouth curled into a smile as he thought of the perfect hiding spot.
It didn’t take long for the media to arrive in Alberg. Huge vampire hunt in upstate New York would sell papers and hike up ratings nationwide. At least this horrid situation poured some much-needed income into their small community.
Gillipsie had made a public statement on behalf of Homeland Security in the early evening. Sheriff Lee refused to comment. She hid behind the walls of her station, waiting on Murray’s return with the drug screen results. She wouldn’t lie to the public. She’d make her statement once she irrefutable proof in her hands.
According to the report Murray had left on her desk, one puncture wound was twice as deep as the other. So either the bite mark was fake or they were hunting a lopsided fanged vampire. Both proved Pallas was innocent. Neither agent wanted to hear the report, even when she shoved it in Thomas’ face. They wore blinders now that they had a reason to capture a Nosferatu vampire.
She googled the term but the list of information was so long she couldn’t sort fact from fake. She also couldn’t read all the articles in time for it to matter in saving Pallas. She rested her weary head on the desk.
Why was she trying to save him again?
Because he was innocent. And she really, really hated to admit this, but she liked the jerk. That’s why. Her uniform intimidated most men but not him. He still flirted with her every chance he had. Eyed her like a piece of candy. She wished just once she had taken him more seriously. It had been a game. He would make a pass and she would shut him down hard. Then he came right at her saucier than before.
It had been fun, tempting fate, like poking a rattlesnake. Dangerous and might bite her. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She always seemed attracted to men who were bad for her.
That was it. She was fantasizing about a vampire old enough to remember the Black Plague fondly. Time for sleep.
The search was still going strong but Homeland had taken over the operation. She gladly wiped her hands clean of it. Part of her hoped Pallas was halfway to Europe.
She exited her office to find agent Thomas on a laptop, headset on as he directed the search teams. Their glares met but no words were exchanged. As she passed the paper shredder, she tossed Joe’s resignation into its jaws. He had woken up in his car with a bite mark, convinced Pallas wanted him dead. They would discuss what happened once this fiasco was finished, but in the meantime, she needed her second in command with his head in the game. If the vampire truly was pissed about almost being deep fried in sunlight, Joe would never have woken up. Truth be told, it gave her a little satisfaction that Pallas had taken a bite out of the deputy and brought him down a notch. It might save Joe’s life in the future.
Outside the front door, the sharks circled. Reporters from networks waited to pounce. She took a deep breath and pushed forward.
“No comment.” She blocked the microphones with her hand but they pressed them closer as the cameras focused on her face. “No comment,” she repeated. Her car seemed a football field away when in reality it was the first one in the lot. Right next to the reserved for sheriff sign.
She climbed inside and maneuvered her cruiser out of the crowded lot. She noted that some of those sharks were concerned townspeople. At the road, she paused. They deserved answers, but from a sheriff who had a few hours of sleep first. She doubted she could string words into a comprehensible sentence.
Home was on the other side of town. She wanted space from work. Her own slice of solitude for the rare day off. She drove along her inclined driveway, urging her vehicle not to get stuck in the snow. She hadn’t the time to plow her driveway yet. “Come on, baby. You can do it.” Halfway up, the car slid to the side instead of going forward, wheels spinning.
She put it in park. Good enough. She rested her chin on the steering wheel and stared at her front door one hundred yards away. If she fell asleep in the car, she would freeze to death. With a sigh, she exited the vehicle and trudged to her house.
Had she left a light on? Possibly, she’d been in a hurry when she left. Wait—not yesterday but the day before. Oh, she was tired. She just didn’t give a shit. She would skip the shower and just head straight to bed, uniform and all.
She unlocked the front door, tossed off her jacket, and dragged her feet toward her bedroom.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move in her living room. Heart jackrabbiting in her chest, she pulled out her gun before her mind registered what was happening as adrenaline flooded her bloodstream. “Hold it right there. Don’t move.”
From the shadows a figure approached with his hands raised. “I surrender.”
A muscle ticked in her jaw and her head threatened to explode. “Pallas!”