Chapter 16
As Vega and Gabriel raced toward the line of trees, Judoc kept pace with them. He’d ordered his packmates to secure the perimeter as far as they could, and Vega assumed that he would leave her and Gabriel to hunt down Carson.
She planned to claw his face up when she caught him.
She was a little surprised by how accommodating the Alpha was being, and had questions—so many questions about Carson’s past—but wasn’t going to ask him now. Maybe never. The only thing she was truly concerned with was hunting this monster down.
Gabriel tugged his shirt off halfway to the woods and she did the same.
Frowning, he glanced at her as they ran but didn’t say anything. What the hell did he think she was going to do, rip her clothes when she shifted? She could run in human form and likely keep pace because of her vampire genetics, but decided to go completely wolf. She wasn’t sure what kind of terrain there was and was more nimble in animal form anyway. Besides, her wolf was ready to come out and play.
“You can shift?” Judoc asked.
She shot him a surprised glance. He knew who her parents were, so she’d assumed he knew she was a hybrid. Obviously he didn’t realize that meant she had a dual nature. Hell, a triple nature. Not to mention she was a day walker and a psychic. “Yeah.” What else was she going to say?
He didn’t respond but started stripping as well.
Gabriel growled slightly and she turned to find him frowning at her. What was going on with him? Was he annoyed that she might see Judoc naked? They weren’t playing a role anymore, so he could lay off, especially now. They had more important things to do.
Rolling her eyes, she put on a burst of speed and fully stripped as she reached the tree line. She gave zero fucks about modesty right now. As soon as she bundled her clothes into a tight ball, she underwent the change. Like always, pain and pleasure mixed together as her wolf overtook her human side, until she stood on all fours. By the time she’d shifted, the two males had as well.
Since she had no idea where they were going, she waited until Judoc raced into the forest, a giant beast of dark brown that blended into the trees. Even though Gabriel knew where they were going it was clear he was letting the Alpha take lead. He had a similar coloring in wolf form, a dark brown that allowed him to blend into the shadows as they raced.
She was more of an inky blackish-blue-colored wolf and she blended well too—but no one was as good as Gabriel. Vega fell in step with him, her paws pounding against the cold earth as they ran full speed through the forest. She reached along her psychic link, trying to see if she could connect with Carson—and maybe get into his head again, slow him down—but couldn’t reach the male. In fact, she couldn’t feel much of anything along her link. Probably because she needed blood.
As a hybrid, she could eat food and didn’t need to feed as much as her mother did, but she still needed blood for her survival.
She jumped over a cluster of thick roots, the wind rolling over her as they raced onward.
Judoc had said twenty miles so she started keeping track. She was roughly aware when they reached the one-mile mark. Then the two, three, four, five. She was so amped up on adrenaline that she barely felt winded. At least physically. Mentally she was drained.
She had a hell of a lot of stamina and didn’t need a lot of sleep. As soon as possible, she’d drink Gabriel’s blood, if he was a willing donor. She’d never drunk from him before, had rarely drunk from anyone in her pack.
As she and Gabriel jumped over another cluster of roots, she saw that Judoc had picked up speed slightly.
He was maybe thirty yards in front of them. Damn, that wolf was fast.
Wanting to keep up, she’d started to run faster when a rumble shook the ground. Underneath them, the earth shifted and suddenly split into a huge cavern. A cacophony of colors burst out everywhere, almost like lasers. Blues, greens and purple illuminated the forest, their own personal light show.
She wanted to cover her eyes, but fell into the hole, unable to stop herself. As she tumbled down, she shifted back to human form, hoping to grasp onto something. Reaching out, she clawed at the sides of the cavern. But it was useless. She couldn’t get purchase anywhere.
“Vega!” Gabriel shouted somewhere near her as she slammed into the earth.
Pain punched through her at the impact, but she rolled to her side and saw that he was next to her. As long as he was okay, she could deal with anything.
Ignoring her discomfort, she jumped to her feet and held out a hand, even though he didn’t need it. Taking her hand, Gabriel stood—completely naked—and looked her over from head to toe. But in a clinical fashion. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he demanded.
“Fine. You?”
He nodded and turned away, surveying their surroundings.
“Where are we?” she whispered, very aware of her own nudity. Above them the hole had closed and their clothes had scattered everywhere. There were lights overhead, like the little moon and star stickers kids put on their ceilings. It wasn’t wildly illuminating but it helped so she could see enough of the open space. She knew about Hell realms but wasn’t sure they worked like this. But her knowledge was limited on stuff like that, so that didn’t mean anything.
Gabriel didn’t respond as he slowly turned around in a circle, taking in their surroundings.
She followed suit, frowning at their prison. How could the earth just open up, then close again? It couldn’t, that’s how. Not without help. “It’s clearly a cave of sorts. Is this a Hell realm?” She whispered. She knew he’d been to them before.
“I…don’t think so.”
Okay, that was really helpful. “Well what do you think this is?”
Another rumble started and an opening appeared before them in one of the walls. A rough doorway.
“Come to me,” whispered a female voice.
“Did you hear that?” Vega asked as the melodic voice from her dreams filled the cavernous space.
He nodded once.
She hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him about her other dream. “Before Carson got in my head, I had a strange dream. Or vision. A female voice talking to me. Not insidious like him, but…powerful all the same.”
He started gathering their clothes as he said, “What did the voice want?”
“Ah…for me to set her free.”
He gritted his teeth as he handed over her jeans and sweater. “Fucking awesome.”
* * *
Mira heard a wolf howling in the distance even as she felt her sister reaching out to her.
Again.
Prima wanted to fully awaken, to come out of Hibernation. Mira and her sister were different than other dragons. Just as their brother was. They had all been hatched. The only dragons in existence still alive that had been born that way. The others like them had long since passed. As far as she knew, anyway.
It meant they had more gifts but that came with a price. At least that was the way Mira viewed it. Millennia ago she’d felt as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Figuratively. Too much power meant responsibility, and her sister Prima had not been able to deal with it. She’d grown tired of humans, exhausted with their pettiness. And she’d started that tilt into madness that had claimed so many of their kind. Especially the originals.
Prima had refused to go to sleep alone, too afraid to sleep without Mira. Prima had never actually said those words, but Mira had known. And she’d been tired of the world as well. The only thing she regretted was leaving behind her brother. Sweet Dragos.
But she’d known that Arya would be there for him even if Mira had relentlessly tested the little dragon. She’d known he would be okay. And it turned out he was more than okay. He was blessed beyond measure with a family of his own.
She stepped out onto the front porch of her little cabin, sending out a psychic push to her sister again. Trying to urge Prima to stay put. To keep sleeping.
The earth shook underneath her—Prima’s response.
Mira reacted without thinking. Adrenaline surged through her as her wings exploded from her back in a rush. Instead of fully shifting, she just let her wings out and jumped up. Her muscles twinged at the vertical jump before she found balance and soared through the trees, maneuvering her way through the narrow openings until she watched in horror as…a huge split in the ground closed up.
“What the hell just happened!” Judoc shouted, his gaze narrowing in on her as she landed a few feet in front of him.
Behind him half a dozen of his packmates raced up in wolf form. None of them shifted like he had.
Standing there naked, he glared at her.
Looking back at the disrupted spread of earth, she pulled her wings in closer to her back, but didn’t bother shifting back.
It was time to tell the truth. Or at least part of it. “I believe that was my twin sister who caused the earth to split. She might be trying to awaken from her Hibernation but cannot. I simply don’t know. What exactly happened?”
“The ground opened up and my cousin and Vega fell through before it closed over them. Are they dead?” Each word was whiplash sharp.
As Mira shook her head, her frown deepened. “No. But I don’t know what she’s doing. She might have wanted Vega. The female is unique. At least her scent is. Perhaps it’s her blood.”
“She’s a hybrid. Her father is a wolf and her mother a bloodborn vampire.”
Mira sucked in a breath. That explained the unique scent. She hadn’t realized that shifters and vampires even mated.
He must have read her expression because Judoc said, “As far as I know she is the only hybrid in existence. Perhaps there are one or two others. But it is not common.”
“My sister might have wanted the girl, then.” Perhaps for Vega’s blood…it might have an effect on the binding spell.
“How can we get to them?” he asked.
“I don’t know that you can. I know my sister is sleeping underneath the earth.” They had gone to sleep together. But Mira had woven a spell around Prima after she’d gone into Hibernation, ensuring that her twin could not awaken first. It had also contained a binding spell, connecting her to the earth. But her sister was very powerful and was clearly fighting it—and using her link to the earth to create the rumblings. Given more time, who knew what she might accomplish.
“Can you help?” he demanded.
“Possibly. Why were you out here?” It was far too late for all these wolves to be out and there was a wrongness to the air. She scented the stress of all the wolves around her. Maybe it was simply because of what had happened but she needed to be sure.
He let out a short curse. “We’re chasing after a rogue, a packmate—former packmate.”
Her lips curled up in disgust. “The one named Carson?” It was the only wolf from his pack she didn’t care for. He’d only recently returned to the pack. Her dragon wanted to burn him to a crisp.
His gaze narrowed. “Yes.”
“Which direction did he go?” She could take to the sky and easily track that little shifter down.
“Toward the clearing about fifteen miles west of here. You know the one. I’ve seen your claw marks in the earth. There might be a helicopter on the way to pick him up.”
It took her a moment to think about what a helicopter was. She’d been devouring books since she woke up and his pack had introduced her to a lot of modern culture, including television and movies. The majority of what she’d seen was utter garbage but it was certainly an education. “I believe I can stop a helicopter. Is that what you wish?”
He blinked once, stunned by her response. “Don’t let Carson off this territory. Will my cousin be okay?”
She nodded. “I believe so, and there’s nothing you can do now. I can retrieve Carson and be back faster than anyone here.”
Judoc nodded once and turned back to his wolves. “Continue hunting him!” Then he turned to Mira. “Bring Carson back if you reach him first. Preferably alive. The pilot.” He shrugged. “I don’t care what happens.” Sharp, brutal words. “Stopping the helicopter and Carson’s escape is your priority.”
Because no one had a right to infringe on an Alpha’s territory.
“I’ll meet you at the clearing,” he snapped, before turning and shifting.
Without pause, Mira allowed her dragon to fully take over, her clothing shredding as she completely shifted and soared high through the trees. Wind rolled over her, a multitude of scents filling the air as she reached the treetops.
Filtering out everything in a way that was second nature, she focused in on Carson’s scent. Of all the wolves in Judoc’s pack, she knew this male’s. It offended her on a primal level so it was easy to track.
She could beat the male to the clearing—and all the wolves—with no issue. Wolves were fast, but dragons were faster. At least she was. She was curious why Judoc wanted him hunted down, but not curious enough to ask why. Something was wrong with Carson, and at one point in the last couple days she thought she’d felt him trying to push at her mind.
Her camouflage fell into place like a second skin as she flapped higher and higher, the wind rolling over her as she shot into the night sky.
She heard the rustle of wolves racing far beneath her. They ran in little packs from various directions. Clearly Judoc had put out a call to all his sentries to converge on the male. And Carson was a fool to think he could escape this powerful pack.
No, this male would not likely get away even if she hadn’t been here. But she owed Judoc many favors for allowing her to remain on his land when he hadn’t been obligated to. It was clear he was a smart, fair Alpha and did not want bloodshed. And if he’d tried to force her off this land, there would have been bloodshed, unfortunately. She had little patience for playing games and politics.
Long ago, she hadn’t known any wolves who would’ve been quite as civilized or pragmatic as him. They would’ve hated the very fact of a dragon or any other type of shifter encroaching on their land.
There! She could hear the erratic heartbeat of a lone wolf racing through the forest. His breathing was wild and out of control.
At the same time she heard a strange sound in the distance. Whop. Whop. Whop. It had to be the helicopter. At least that was what it had sounded like on one of the movies she’d watched.
Ignoring the running wolf for now, she banked northwest ever so slightly and headed in the direction of the helicopter. Such strange contraptions.
And that was when she saw the dark smudge against the sky coming her way. Her vision was excellent, and the closer she flew she realized that yes, it was indeed a helicopter. She didn’t see any weapons harnessed to it, like on the action movies she’d watched. Even if it had weapons, she was virtually indestructible.
It was a very good thing that it was a near full moon tonight because she wanted the pilot to see her. She allowed her camouflage to fall, knowing that the moonlight would glitter off her huge jade wings and body as she flew directly for the helicopter.
Opening her mouth wide, she released a stream of bright orange fire high into the air, illuminating her even more. This was definitely for effect. Sometimes she liked to play with her prey. She simply couldn’t help it.
The helicopter jerked sharply to the left and…completely lost control as it spiraled downward. If she’d been in human form, she would have laughed. The pilot must not be very trained if the sight of her made him lose control so quickly. She’d hoped for some pushback. Pathetic.
Flying straight for the spiraling contraption, she slowed her descent at the last moment and reared up, grasping onto the top of it with her claws.
The little blades hit her skin and broke off with a creaking snap under the impact. Instead of letting it crash and burn, she continued her flight to the clearing and slammed the contraption down with a thunk before landing next to it.
Nudging it with her nose, she saw that the pilot was definitely dead, given the odd angle of his neck. Her work was done here, at least.
Now she had a bad, bad wolf to catch.