A Place to Call Home (Hollow Crest Wolf Pack Book 3) Page 8

  My eyes widened. Noah was straying into dangerous territory right now. Had he caught on to the supernatural nature of the university? The lamia wouldn't tolerate a group of humans who knew what their secrets.

  Noah's eyes were intense. "We have missing memories, missing people, events, and timelines that don't make sense." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "Everyone who went missing completed the application process at HCU, but no one from this town ever gets admitted to the school."

  "You've spent time at the university, right?" Jenna asked me. "Do you feel like you're missing time when you leave there, or are your memories hazy?"

  I swallowed nervously. "I guess my time there passes in a blur," I said cautiously.

  Kate nodded as if I had just said what she wanted to hear. "It can feel like that sometimes. You remember a specific event, but not the details."

  "It's as if someone told you that you went somewhere or did something, but you don't have a real memory of it," Jenna added.

  "Uh, what do you think causes it?" I asked nervously.

  "Don't get too freaked out," Noah cautioned me.

  There was silence in the room as the humans all looked at each other hesitantly. No one seemed to want to be the ones to make the big reveal.

  "We think they're… vampires," Lynn said in a scared whisper.

  I froze, and I felt Kannon stiffen beside me. Everyone else in the room was watching us, waiting to see what we would say.

  "Vampires?" I stuttered out. "They're not real." My voice came out in a very high pitch, but I was hoping they would attribute that to the bomb they thought they had just dropped on me. Being told vampires were real was probably a traumatic experience for most humans. How would they feel if they knew what Kannon and I were?

  "They made our family members disappear as if they had vanished into thin air," Will said angrily. "Money can only do so much, but the fake memories?"

  "Why vampires?" I asked, genuinely curious. The only evidence they had right now was memory alteration. It seemed odd that they would guess correctly when humans weren't supposed to know any supernaturals existed.

  Will rolled his eyes. "Because they're kidnapping young adults who are all attractive. They're using this town as a food source like farmers breed cows."

  "How do you know your family members are still alive?" Kannon challenged. "And what makes you think they're at Hollow Crest University?"

  Noah and Lynn looked at each other, and I could see him encouraging her with nonverbal cues. Lynn finally sighed and looked up. "Because I'm resistant," she admitted. "They came to my house and did the memory thing to my parents after Lily disappeared. They tried to do it to me, but I only pretended it worked."

  I looked at her with wide eyes. "Did they bite you?"

  "No," Lynn whispered. "One of them wanted to, but the other told him he had to wait a couple of years until I was old enough. They argued about it, but they left me alone."

  "This is crazy," I said with my heart pounding. "This kind of stuff isn't supposed to exist."

  "You don't believe us?" Will challenged me. "Well, we have something that will change your mind."

  Noah tossed a satchel that smelled strongly of herbs at me. It landed in my lap, and I picked it up reluctantly. "This is supposed to block their ability to influence us. We didn't give you a full dose, just enough to see if you reacted as a vampire would."

  "What happens if a… vampire was to ingest it?" It seemed difficult to even get the word 'vampire' out of my mouth.

  "It's excruciating," Noah confided. "It would have been obvious that you weren't human."

  Kannon took it out of my hands. "What is it?" he asked with a wrinkled nose. "Is it safe?"

  "We've all taken it," Noah assured him. "That's how we were all brought into this. Lynn got it from one of the connections she met when she was looking for Lily."

  Kannon squeezed it tightly in his hand. "This is a lot to take in."

  He was truthful, but not in the way they were expecting. It was shocking that a small group of humans could not only identify the lamia but also that they had come up with a way to combat their powers. Pierce and the others wouldn't hesitate to kill this group of humans. Sadness struck me, and I realized I couldn't let them die. Noah and the others had done nothing but try their best to find their loved ones. They had stumbled upon a secret that could expose the lamia for what they were. There had to be a way to resolve this without death.

  "We should go," I said quietly. "Kannon and I will get back to you with what we learn." I stood, and Kannon followed my lead.

  "Wait," Lynn said as she stood. "I need to remind you how dangerous this is. It isn't a game or a prank. There are real people who are missing, and I don't want the same to happen to you."

  "She seems immune so far," Will said with sharp eyes. "They let her come and go as she wants. How do we know she's not working with them as some kind of spy?"

  The attitude in the room abruptly shifted.

  "I wouldn't," I told them genuinely. "I don't want to see any of you hurt, and I'd do anything to reunite you with your lost family members."

  I met each of their eyes, and guilt ate me up inside. I was making all kinds of promises to them, but would I be able to keep them? By hiding the humans that knew about lamia, I was risking exposure of the entire supernatural world. If these humans could get proof, then so could others. Once the lamia were exposed, the rest of the supernatural world wouldn't be able to hide. There would be war, and how many deaths would be my fault?

  But how could I ignore the fact that their loved ones were being held captive by the lamia? I had been willing to do anything to get Corey back, and I knew Lynn and the others felt the same about their family members. Being human didn't mean their lives were worthless. After all, I was a quarter human myself.

  My stomach churned with nausea as Kannon, and I said our goodbyes. If I told the humans the truth, I was putting my entire pack at risk. Dr. Green and the other lamia wouldn't hesitate to use deadly force.

  "We need to talk to Gray," Kannon told me as we walked down the street. "He'll know the best way to handle this."

  "Kannon, wait," I said as I grabbed hold of his arm. "I don't want any of them to get hurt. Noah and Lynn are the only two people at that school who have been even slightly decent towards us."

  Kannon looked at me with regret in his eyes. "You know the law as well as I do," he said softly. "We have to do the right thing."

  "The right thing for who?" I cried out. "Things aren't always black and white."

  Kannon sighed and pulled me closer. "We'll figure this out, Lori," he said gently. "You know we can trust Grayson."

  "I know," I said as I chewed on my lower lip. "But to him, it's just a small group of humans that are a potential threat. To us, they're our friends and classmates."

  Kannon pulled back so he could cup my face in his hands. "And we're your pack. No matter what, we always protect each other."

  "Just give me some time," I begged him. "Let me have a week to convince them they're wrong and that they need to give up their crusade. I can figure out a way to reunite them with their family members without bloodshed."

  Kannon looked at me sadly. "If anyone finds out we knew about this and didn't say anything…"

  "I know," I told him. "I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they don't do anything stupid until we can figure out a plan."

  "If they show any signs of going public, then we're going to have to act on it," Kannon insisted.

  I nodded in agreement, but my heart wasn't ready to let the issue go. I felt stuck in the middle of trying to save the humans and making sure my fellow supernaturals weren’t exposed. I didn't want to see death on either side – human or supernatural. I would talk to Grayson if I couldn't work things out myself, but I wasn't ready to let the lamia know. I knew they would kill first and probably never ask questions.

  Chapter 12

  Lori

  Kannon and I huddled around his l
aptop. We had both kept our eyes and ears open all week, just waiting for Pierce to make his move, but he never did. The girls at school gossiped about how hot he was and debated on whether or not he would consider dating a senior once his teaching duties were over. The guys seemed annoyed that every girl in school was madly in love with the new teacher, but also puffed up their chests every time he walked by them. I think most of the guys wanted to be him. If they only knew the truth.

  Lynn and the others in her group hadn’t made any more accusations, and they were still actively hiding what they knew. I had tried to poke holes in their vampire theory but had only succeeded in irritating the whole group. They weren’t going to give up, not when they thought their loved ones were being hurt right on the university campus next to the town. I’d also tried investigating the humans who were being held on the university grounds, but I’d gotten nowhere. I couldn’t get close to the floor where I’d seen Lily without at least one lamia appearing out of nowhere and escorting me back to my suite.

  Because Lynn’s group didn’t plan on coming out of hiding, I decided it was safe to focus on taking Mr. Reaven down. I was failing at saving the humans, so I had to switch gears and try to clear Corey’s name. I needed more time to think of a clever way to get to Lily and the other captive humans.

  Right now, Kannon was researching the alarm company that we had discovered protected Mr. Reaven’s house. He conveniently had signs in his front yard advertising it, so identifying it had been an easy task.

  Grayson had brought us to the university tonight before going on some errands, saying that the twins needed company. However, I think he had decided it was safer for us here than in the center of a town that was currently out for our blood.

  “What are you two up to?” Corey asked suspiciously as he walked into the room.

  I gave him my best innocent face. “Up to? We’re just working on homework.” I nudged Kannon to remind him not to look guilty. He was the worst liar I’d ever met.

  Corey rolled his eyes and sat down on the arm of the couch. “You and Kannon. You’ve been exchanging meaningful glances and hiding whatever you’ve been doing on Kannon’s laptop.”

  I blushed, embarrassed that we were so obvious. “It’s just school stuff,” I answered, already knowing that there was no way Corey would believe it. I looked up at him, and the sadness that I saw deep within him shattered my resolve. “We’ve been watching Mr. Reaven,” I confessed. “I think he’s up to something.”

  Corey narrowed his eyes at me. “What?”

  “You were set up,” Kannon explained. “We know you didn’t kill Gus or start the fire.”

  Corey sighed and leaned back. “You’re the only ones who think that I didn’t.”

  “We just need to figure out who did,” I said brightly. “We’ll clear your name and then-”

  “And then everything can go back to normal?” he said sarcastically. “We’ll go back to barely making ends meet, living in an old firehouse in a town that despises us, and struggling under the lamia’s tight control?”

  Kannon gave a low growl to warn Corey to back off, but I was quiet. When he put it that way, there weren’t any arguments I could use to defend our position. He was absolutely right on all of those statements.

  Corey glanced between Kannon and me before settling his eyes on me. “You want to go to college,” Corey said softly. “So does Kannon. That won’t happen as long as we’re trapped here.”

  I shrugged. “We can take online classes or commute.”

  Kannon shifted beside me, and I knew that wasn’t the college experience that he was hoping for. That wasn’t my dream either, but I was being realistic.

  “This isn’t the place to have this discussion,” Wyatt pointed out as he stepped into the room with us.

  My face flushed as I realized that one of the lamia was probably listening to us right now. Grayson had already warned us not to talk about leaving out loud – the only safe way for us to speak was through the pack bond.

  “The two of you need to stay here,” Wyatt told Kannon and I. “Corey and I were summoned, but Grayson will be back soon.”

  Corey scowled but didn’t complain. Dr. Green was delighted to have both twins as his test subjects, and it hadn’t taken him long to figure out the key to getting Corey to cooperate – me. All Dr. Green had to say was that he would take me instead, and Corey would immediately agree to go in my place. He and I had gotten into more than one argument over it, but he was just as stubborn as I was. Plus, he had the rest of the guys on his side.

  The twins left, and Kannon and I looked at each other. We could sit here and worry, or we could focus on our project.

  “I’m pretty sure I can build a jammer,” Kannon told me through our bond. He pointed to a website he found that instructed homeowners on how to protect themselves from burglars. We were using it to see how successful burglars managed to thwart an average security system. Apparently, a jammer would prevent the alarm system from sending any signals, rendering it useless.

  “We might have to start working on your physics project,” I told Kannon with a smile. “Weren’t you saying something about electromagnetic frequencies?”

  Kannon chuckled. “Yep, we have some of the stuff I need around the shop, but I’m going to have to order some additional components.”

  I sighed. “We still have my income even if the shop isn’t bringing anything in.”

  “The lamia seem willing to feed us as long as we’re here,” Kannon said absentmindedly as he scrolled through another article.

  “Doesn’t that seem too good to be true?” I asked Kannon silently. The lamia had been delivering gourmet feasts to our door every evening we were here. The first couple of nights, we had been hesitant to eat more than a small amount, wondering if it were drugged. Nothing bad had come from eating the food so far, but how much could we trust the lamia?

  Kannon grunted. “They want to keep us on the premises, and they know how much wolves like to eat. It’s a bribe.”

  “They’re slowly wearing down our defenses,” I countered. “Making us think we’re safe, so we’ll relax our guard and become compliant.”

  Kannon pulled me closer to him and kissed me on the top of my head. “We’re just biding our time; we won’t be here forever.”

  I sighed. They had already lured us into a cage with the promise of money and a future, but now they were keeping us here by providing us with comfort. I sat up in alarm when a stray thought crossed my mind.

  “Kannon!” I called out with the bond. “What if it’s actually the lamia making all of these problems for us?”

  Kannon frowned at me and didn’t respond, so I continued. “We already know about the carrot, but what if turning the town against us was the stick?”

  It made Dr. Green’s job a lot easier if we were here and willing to cooperate. None of us would have agreed to live on the premises if it wasn’t for Corey being taken in for questioning. The only reason why we were here right now was that the townspeople were threatening violence against us. If Dr. Green had intended to make us turn to him for safety, then he had played us better than I could have ever suspected.

  “Dr. Green used the threat of my old pack to get me to sign an agreement to work with him,” I told Kannon. “He made it so that he was an ally against a more dangerous threat.” I dug my nails into my palm. He had even made sure to bring Cole and some of the other Stone Creek wolves here on the premises. Grayson and I had a physical encounter with them right before I had signed the paperwork with Dr. Green.

  “The lamia may have even compelled Mr. Reaven to testify against Corey,” I pointed out. “That’s why he seemed so weird when he was talking about it – because it wasn’t a real memory.”

  Kannon’s eyes widened, and I could see his thoughts churning. I’d seen firsthand how easy it was for Pierce to influence the townspeople. He had convinced an entire crowd that they hadn’t seen Corey beat up Mr. Reaven without even breaking a sweat.

  �
�But why?” Kannon asked. “Why not just hold us here in cages? Why work so hard and so long to manipulate events this way?”

  I deflated a little. “That’s a good point. It does seem like he needs my cooperation for the experiment he wants to do.”

  Kannon shook his head. “Nothing about that seems safe.”

  “And yet you volunteered to be his first subject,” I reminded him out loud.

  Kannon blushed. “Because I didn’t want you to do it unless we knew it was safe.”

  I leaned forward and brushed my lips against Kannon’s. “It would kill me if anything ever happened to you. Don’t ever put yourself in danger for me. I wouldn’t survive losing you.”

  Kannon pressed his lips against mine in a firmer kiss than what I had originally offered. “I’ll never leave you,” he promised.

  I gazed into his eyes for a moment before kissing him again. My love for Kannon was deep and his words rang true. My blood heated as our kisses grew more intense. I rubbed myself up against him and groaned at the sensation. My body pulsed with need, and I could feel Kannon’s desire just as strong as mine. He traced his lips across my collar bone, and I shivered.

  “Lori,” Kannon murmured as he ran a hand up my leg. “Tell me if you want to stop.”

  “I don’t,” I told him breathlessly. “I want to be with you.”

  Kannon groaned softly and ran his hand under my shirt and up my spine. I pushed him back, and disappointment filled his eyes, only to be replaced by desire as I took off my shirt. I unhooked my bra and slid it down, suddenly overcome with shyness.

  I trusted Kannon absolutely, I knew he’d never hurt me, but this was the first time I’d ever bared myself to someone like this. I was confident that this was the right choice, but inexperienced and unsure of what Kannon might expect. It was a little awkward as we undressed because my nervousness made me clumsy. Despite that, Kannon looked at me as if I were the most beautiful woman in the world, and I knew that he meant it.

  Kannon didn’t disappoint with his sweet kisses and tender caresses. We took our time to explore each other’s bodies, and I relaxed when I realized Kannon wasn’t expecting anything. His touch was almost reverent at times, and I could see the love he had for me reflected in his eyes. I loved touching him and seeing the effect I had on him.