A Place to Call Home (Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 18

  Blaine must have done as the lamia asked because a blank look came over Mr. Reaven's face. He stood awkwardly and followed after Blaine like a puppet on strings.

  "Get back against the wall," Blaine ordered me.

  I scuttled back and pressed myself against the cold concrete. Mr. Reaven was shoved inside my cell as the others watched with amusement on their faces.

  I could smell the blood that was dripping from Mr. Reaven, but it wasn't the blood itself that I was craving. It was the life that was swirling around inside of him and slowly leaking out with the blood.

  I licked my lips, and my eyes were glued to the wound. I opened up my newfound senses even further, and I could feel variations of that life force and power radiating from the lamia standing around me.

  "That's it," Blaine said with encouragement. "I can see it on your face. Take what he has to offer you; it'll make you stronger."

  My eyes flicked toward Pierce, who was watching silently. I had no delusions that Blaine had good intentions for me, but Pierce had his good moments. He'd tried to help us several times. But today, Pierce's eyes were cold, dark, and impassive. I wouldn't be getting any help or advice from him.

  I took a step closer to Mr. Reaven, and my nostrils flared.

  "He's hurt you in the past, hasn't he?" Blaine's voice was almost hypnotic as he spoke. "I think this guy owes you something."

  I felt myself nodding along to Blaine, although my thoughts swirled in confusion. I didn't want to hurt anyone, did I?

  I blinked and was suddenly lost in a memory. Mr. Reaven shoved me against a bookcase, and my head hit the hard shelf. Anger flooded through me, and I wanted to hurt him just as badly. He thought he could take advantage of me? He thought I was weak and helpless?

  I snarled and leaped. My teeth sunk into his neck before my brain could even process what was happening. Blood flooded into my mouth, but along with it came the essence of life itself.

  Memories came pouring into me, and I was overwhelmed with a flood of images and emotions. It felt like I was standing underneath a waterfall as a dam broke, and Mr. Reaven's life came crashing down on me. I couldn't make sense of the nonsensical stream of consciousness that I was receiving, but I could feel the high I was getting from it. As his blood slid down my throat, my body filled with strength and power.

  The world around me completely disappeared, and I felt myself flying higher and higher. The stream of life flowing into me slowed and I pulled harder, trying to keep the momentum going. When it slowed to a trickle, my senses started to come back to me.

  I was on the floor, straddling the limp body of a man who had tormented me. My face was stained with his blood, and I had one hand tangled in his shirt and the other in his hair to give me better access to his neck.

  I released my grip on him, and his head hit the ground with a solid thunk. Lifeless eyes stared up at me, and I scrambled back in horror.

  What had I done?

  Blaine laughed. "Feeling better?" he asked with a smile.

  I wiped at the blood on my face and spat to get the taste out of my mouth.

  "That's enough," Pierce said coldly. "Get the body."

  Two of the lamia moved forward, but Blaine held up a hand. "You know the rules. She needs to understand the consequences of her actions."

  "She's not one of us," Pierce said irritably.

  "Look at her," Blaine said with a chuckle.

  One of the other lamia looked me over and shrugged. "He has a point."

  Pierce sighed, and I could see a flicker of pity in his eyes. "Lori, to make sure you fully understand the weight of taking a life, we're going to leave you here with the body to think about it."

  My jaw dropped as they started to leave.

  "Wait!" I called out hoarsely. "I didn't mean it! It was an accident."

  "That's the point," Pierce said as he turned to look at me. "It can never be an accident, only intentional. You need to remember this lesson for the future." His eyes burned into mine, and I sensed he was trying to tell me something more. Before I could figure it out, he was already leaving. The door slammed shut behind him, and I was left alone with the cooling body of one of my enemies. Guilt and horror warred within me, along with a tiny thread of relief.

  Initially, I had turned Reaven into the police to let them handle his trial and punishment. But I knew that the court case would have dragged on for months, and Mr. Reaven's victims would have been called to the stand and been forced to relive their torment. His case might not have gone to trial if he agreed to turn in the names of the other men that he traded videos with. He might have gotten off with an easy plea deal. A tiny voice inside me said that this was the better solution. The nightmare for so many people was over.

  The blood that covered half of my body was now congealing and made my clothing stick to my body uncomfortably. "What do you think?" I asked Mr. Reaven's staring eyes. "Would you rather be dead than in prison?"

  He didn't answer, and I let out an unhinged laugh. Hysteria rose up inside of me, and I let it out instead of holding it in. It wasn’t long before my laughter changed to sobs. I was covered in death, surrounded by it, but somehow I was still alive. I wiped my face, smearing blood and tears, as I tried to pull myself together.

  I hiccupped and drew my knees up to my chest. Mr. Reaven’s eyes were glazed over, staring right through me. "Why'd you do it?" I whispered. "Did someone hurt you as a kid?"

  Whatever memories I had received from Mr. Reaven were faded enough that I couldn't make anything out. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. I could feel the energy I had stolen from him still inside me.

  It was several hours before the high wholly dissipated. But once it did, the true reality of what I'd done sank into me. Had Dr. Green succeeded in making me into a monster?

  Blood was smeared across my face and had soaked into my hair. My clothing was stiffened with dried blood and stuck to my skin uncomfortably. But the worst part was staring into the eyes of a dead man. A man that I had killed.

  The smell of death was getting stronger with every hour I was alone with the body, and my horror was only growing stronger. I could try and rationalize my actions and say that Blaine had influenced me into attacking, but I could have resisted if I'd genuinely wanted to. What I had wanted was to sink my teeth into this man's throat and take his life for myself.

  I bowed my head in shame. How would Kannon and the others react to what I'd become? I imagined the disgust I'd see in their eyes, and I swiped at the tears that burned at my eyes. I fully deserved their hate and scorn.

  The door to my prison opened, and several men entered, but they stayed a few feet from the cage I was locked in. Pierce was among them, but he didn't show any signs of being friendly. Two of the males were large and dressed in black fatigues, but the third had blue hair and was casual in jeans and a hoodie.

  "This is her?" the blue-haired lamia asked curiously as he walked towards me.

  "Yes, Emerys," Pierce confirmed. He looked like he wanted to add something snarky onto the end of that sentence but suppressed it. Emerys must be higher up on the pecking order than he was.

  Emerys stopped in front of me. "You're the wolf that wanted to be a lamia? What is it that's so attractive you would turn your back on your own kind? You want to live forever? You're already beautiful - if a little young."

  My jaw fell open. "A lamia… no…" I looked over at Pierce in confusion. Why would Pierce tell him that?

  Emerys stared at me while Pierce ignored us. "What then?" Emerys prodded.

  "I didn't want to become a lamia," I said slowly as I tried to gather my thoughts. "Dr. Green did this to me. At first, I cooperated with him because he said he was collecting data. That lamia and wolves didn't get along because they didn't understand each other, and he wanted to build bridges. That's why Grayson trains with the young lamia."

  Emerys looked at me as if I were utterly insane at the rambling words that probably made no sense to him. He shifted his gaze to Pierce.
"She's serious," he said flatly before starting to laugh. His laughter trailed off, and he shook his head. "I was worried that Stefan Green was trying to create his own wolf hierarchy to challenge the one we were building. But these are just naïve pups."

  I turned red. "Obviously, we knew it wasn't the whole truth, but he just recently offered to try to change me into a full wolf shifter." I lowered my head. “But that’s not what he did.”

  Pierce gave Emerys a nod of confirmation. "Arminius has me here to monitor Stefan's progress, but we don't have all our pieces positioned to make our move yet."

  Emerys sighed. "And the pups are collateral damage?"

  I saw a flash of regret on Pierce's face. "I tried to get them out, but Blaine got in the way."

  "Out where?" Emerys asked curiously.

  "Seaside."

  "Good choice," Emerys said with a nod. "They have good wolves there that will nurture the young ones."

  My eyes widened. Pierce had been trying to help us, not set us up. Why was he so open about it now? He didn't seem concerned that he was admitting to working against Dr. Green.

  Emerys smiled at me as if sensing my thoughts. "There's a tech blackout in this room right now, we can speak freely."

  "Are you going to help us?" I asked hoarsely. I was almost too tired and beaten down to feel the tiny bit of hope that glimmered inside me.

  Emerys watched me thoughtfully. "Perhaps," he finally answered before turning back to Pierce. "When will you be ready to move?"

  "I'm ready," Pierce said confidently. "I'm just waiting for my signal."

  "The men here are loyal to you?" Emerys asked.

  "About eighty percent," Pierce admitted. "Blaine has a close following, but they're in the minority."

  Emerys hummed in agreement. "Arminius seemed concerned that something big is on the horizon. You may get the word sooner than you expect."

  I was watching both of them with big eyes, trying to take in every word and read between the lines to figure out what was really happening. I gathered that Pierce and some of the other lamia were planning to take down Mr. Green, Blaine, and some of the other lamia, but they hadn't given any indication as to their motivation. It certainly wasn't to save us. There was a much bigger picture that I was missing.

  "Austin and the others would take it as a gesture of good faith if we 'rescued' some of their kind and delivered them safely," Emerys told Pierce. "Their pack has been conducting various missions to help disadvantaged wolves. Plus, they need all the allies they can get right now."

  "Trouble in paradise?" Pierce mused.

  "The wolves have their own factions to deal with," Emerys said cryptically. "But trust me, the Seaside wolves are ones we want to ally ourselves with."

  Pierce shrugged. "I can't make promises, but I'll give the order to avoid letting the wolves be collateral damage."

  Their conversation over, they both turned to look at me. "Sorry, my pretty little wolf," Emerys told me. "I'm going to need you to forget this conversation."

  I nodded, but Emerys looked at Pierce. "Is that going to be a problem?"

  "Stefan doesn't think I'm powerful enough to roll them," Pierce said with a smirk. "He won't suspect anything."

  "He doesn't know the truth of who you are?" Emerys asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Pierce shook his head no. "He thinks I'm fighting my human heritage along with everyone else here."

  My eyes widened, and I took a step back, but Pierce had already caught my gaze. "Lori, I'm going to need you to listen carefully. You're going to forget ever meeting Emerys."

  “Emerys…” I echoed.

  Pierce grabbed my chin. “It’s just you and I here. I came to talk some sense into you. You have to learn to feed properly.”

  “Properly…” I said stupidly. My brain was so fuzzy that I couldn’t tell what was happening. I couldn’t remember where I was. I should’ve probably been alarmed, but my emotions were numb.

  “Listen to me,” Pierce demanded. His eyes were so dark that they sucked me in, and I couldn’t look away. “You can survive by feeding on your pack mates, but you have to let them help you.”

  I blinked, but I couldn’t look away. “I don’t want to.”

  “You have to,” Pierce said bluntly. “And here’s how you’ll do it.”

  Pierce opened my jaw and pressed on a sensitive spot on my gums. I hissed as my hated fangs dropped down.

  “It won’t be painful anymore once you heal completely,” Pierce explained. “They’re going to be sore for a week or so.”

  I ran my tongue around the inside of my teeth. The area did seem less sensitive than it had yesterday.

  “Pay attention,” Pierce snapped. He held out his wrist and demonstrated where to bite if I needed blood, but I didn’t want to kill the person I was drinking from. He explained how to keep my fingers on the person’s pulse so I could stop feeding before I harmed them.

  “Now,” Pierce said intensely. “I’m going to let you feed on me so I can share my experience with you. Blood gives you the ability to siphon the life energy from someone, but it also allows you access to their mind. Lamia can choose the memories we share with each other, and it’s considered a sign of trust and respect.”

  I nodded through my confusion. “Why do you care?” I blurted out against my better judgment.

  Pierce rolled his eyes. “I shouldn’t. I’m doing this as a favor to Grayson - he’s a good guy.”

  I let out a breath. “Fine.”

  Pierce held up his wrist. “Where are you going to bite?”

  I traced my fingers over the spot, and he nodded. “Good. Now slide your teeth in slowly, being careful not to tear the flesh. You want to pierce the blood vessel, not rip it apart.”

  I licked his wrist, feeling his pulse beat as I followed his directions. True to his word, Pierce shared his memories of feeding with me. A few minutes later, when I pulled away, I felt stronger and more confident in my abilities.

  Pierce watched me closely as I licked my lips, and his wound healed in front of my eyes. “I’m going to put you in a room with the rest of your pack. Can you refrain from throwing any more tantrums?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him but nodded. Asshole.

  When Pierce unlocked the door and motioned for me to leave, I had an odd feeling that I forgot something. Had we been the only people here when he came in? I shook my head to try and get rid of the foggy feeling. Transitioning to a lamia had really messed with my brain. We walked down the hall, and I couldn’t get rid of the exhaustion that had plagued me since I woke up from the procedure. I wanted to see my wolves, but I’d probably pass out as soon as I sat down again.

  Chapter 32

  Lori

  An explosion sounded outside of the building, and I looked at Grayson with wide eyes.

  “What was that?” I croaked out with a hoarse voice. It had been several days since Pierce had left me in here with the others. Dr. Green stopped in to check on my progress daily, but I’d been sleeping for almost twenty hours a day. Pierce hadn’t been back, but his lessons had stayed with me. I was cautiously taking blood from my wolves, although probably a lot less than I needed. My hunger and weakness never left me - feeding only took the edge off my cravings.

  Grayson stood up with determination evident in his stance. “That was the sound of opportunity.”

  I tried to stand up, but my body was weak, and I couldn’t support myself. I growled in frustration at how helpless I was. I felt like a newborn pup.

  “Save your energy,” Grayson murmured to me. “We need to wait for the right time.”

  “She needs to feed again,” Kannon said softly.

  I grumbled an objection, but it was insincere. I could feel the need growing in my body, and I knew that was partially to blame for my weakness.

  “Take it from me,” Grayson offered.

  Kannon shook his head. “You’re our strongest fighter; we’re going to be relying on you to get us out of here. I can do it.”

 
; My hands shook as Kannon sat next to me. It was a fight not to simply grab him and sink my teeth into his flesh, but my love for him was stronger than my hunger. I never wanted to hurt him. I took his wrist in my hands and slowly brought it up to my mouth. I bit him gently and lapped at the small amount of blood that seeped from the wound.

  “You’re going to need to take more than that,” Corey said objectively as he watched.

  I rolled my eyes up at him in irritation, but I knew he was right. If I were too weak, I could slow the others down. The trick was going to be keeping my energy balanced with Kannon’s. He couldn’t afford to be weak either.

  I nipped at Kannon again and sucked hard on the wound this time. He moaned and held the back of my head. Encouraged, I drank more deeply. Energy slowly filled me, but I could feel a tipping point was coming close. Proud of myself for being able to sense it, I pulled away. I’d indulged my hunger without turning into a ravenous beast. Kannon looked at me with hooded eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”

  I blushed, but before I could comment, the door burst open. I was shocked when I saw Noah and Lynn dressed in black fatigues. “Lynn?” I asked in confusion.

  “We thought this was the prison,” she asked with a frown.

  “It is,” I admitted. “But your sister and the other humans are kept on sublevel three.”

  “The other humans?” Noah asked suspiciously.

  Grayson ignored him and pulled the door further open. “Let’s go,” he ordered.

  I looked at Noah reluctantly and gave him a slow nod. “Go to sublevel three,” I repeated. I hoped he would focus on that piece of information as more important than the fact that I had just let slip that we weren’t exactly human.

  “You’re not vampires,” Lynn said confidently as she eyed us.

  I felt a wave of shame. If only she knew the truth. Would she and Noah attempt to kill me right here?

  Corey gave Wyatt a hand up while Kannon helped me stand. “I feel much better,” I assured him. “I’m ready to go.”

  “Then let’s get the fuck out of here,” Corey said.

  “There are other things out there,” I explained to Lynn. “And we’re not your enemies; we just want to live in peace.” I hoped she would understand that not every supernatural was interested in harming humans. We weren’t a danger to her.