The Alpha's Bite (Huntsville Pack Book 5) Page 13

  "Hey, did Zion tell you?" I spun around, my chest thrust out to exaggerate what bosom I had.

  "What?"

  "I'm an addict."

  "So?" He shrugged.

  "I crave vampires. Did you know that was a thing?" I went up to him and bumped my chest into his. "And I'm dying over here." I let my gaze drop to where our bodies touched. "Aren't you hungry, Larry?"

  He grabbed my shoulders, picked me up and set me down facing the direction he wanted me to go in. He shoved me along the hallway, uninterested. "Just go."

  I turned back around to face him and tried a different approach. All I needed was an in, and I could take him, I could feel it. I'd done my share of scamming. He had easy mark written all over him. "You don't look like a Larry."

  "Let's go." He tried to turn me by the shoulders again, but I twisted away from his hands.

  "How about Lars? I like the sound of that, don't you? It's big and strong just like you."

  He kept moving me deeper into the basement, but interest flickered in his eyes and he actually responded. "I like it."

  Oh, good. He'd cracked. I almost felt sorry for him. Larry wasn't the brightest vampire ever made. They should hand out IQ tests before turning folks. Maybe afterwards, too.

  "Why don't we find out what else I can do that you'll like? What do you say, Lars?" I slowed down until he caught up to me, nudging him with my hip. Arching my neck, I bared my throat. "I'm so weak from these chains. You could do anything to me and I can't stop you."

  Lust filled Larry's dark eyes. Did I know what vampires liked or what? Probably because they were addicts themselves. They'd do almost anything for fresh blood, and I knew exactly how that desperation worked.

  I jerked my head toward the hall. "Does my cell have a bed?"

  Larry nodded.

  "Let's test it out, shall we?" I stalked off down the hallway, putting an extra sway into my hips.

  The first several doors stood ajar and I caught glimpses of bare rooms with chains on the walls. Each door had a letter and E, D, C were all empty. But B waited for me just a few feet farther down, the door half open. Beyond that stood a shut door with a black letter A in the center. Who was in there? Would I be able to talk with them? And if I was successful in my bid for freedom, should I let them out, too? Was any prisoner of Zion's my friend?

  Ugh. I had no idea what was what. Cell A could be full of nightmares or a life saving ally. Decisions, decisions.

  At the threshold of Cell B, I turned around and pressed my back against the wall opposite the door. "Kiss me, Lars. I can't wait."

  He hesitated.

  I showed him the chains binding my wrists together. "I'm totally helpless, remember? I can't hurt a fly let alone a strong vampire like you." Reaching out, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward me. "Or don't you want me?"

  "No, it's not that. It's just—"

  "Shh. Zion's not here. He'll never know, and it's not like we're together. If we were, he wouldn't tie me up, right? We're not friends and definitely not lovers. I'm just a lonely werewolf and I need a fang fix bad. I wouldn't let Zion touch me, ever, but you, you're different." I smushed my lips into his. He didn't respond at first, but after a second, his mouth moved under mine, and his fangs scraped the thin skin of my bottom lip.

  Once I had him focused on our kiss, I slowly moved a hand to his front pocket, and ignoring the way the silver burned with every movement, I lifted the keys to the basement. One of my junkie boyfriends had been an accomplished pickpocket, and I'd learned a few tricks. I tucked the keys into the front pocket of my pants, covering any noise they made with throaty moans. Then I pushed Larry back, guiding him into the cell.

  In between kisses, I said, "Let's get naked and bloody. What do you say, Lars?"

  He gave an anxious nod, lips roving over my face. I nudged him with my hip, encouraging him to move toward the cell. He went wherever I wanted him to go, too distracted by my promise of sex and blood to notice. It was sad. Vampires would never be free of their addictions.

  When we reached the threshold of the cell, I gave him one hard shove and slammed the door shut. The lock clicked home followed by Larry's confused, "Hey! Wh-what happened?"

  "You thought with your fangs, Larry. That's what happened," I called through the door.

  "Let me out." His body thudded against the door. It shuddered but held.

  "I wasn't going to let you suck me, so what makes you think I would let you out?" I shook my head and turned my attention to cell A. Poor Larry. He didn't keep up well.

  Banging on the door, I shouted, "Who's in there?"

  "Adele? Is that you?"

  My heart sucker punched my ribs. I knew that voice. I knew why it knew my name, too.

  "Davian?" I stepped back on wobbly knees. My pulse revved like a race car in my chest, driven by the sudden appearance of the one man I could never let go, the one man who walked away without looking back. "Davian?" I asked again.

  "Leave me, Adele. You need to be gone before Zion comes back. You shouldn't have come."

  "I didn't choose to be here, believe me." I sorted through the keys, looking for the one that would open the door standing between me and Davian. None of them were marked though, so I had to test them one by one, fighting against the silver chain binding my wrists.

  Just my luck. The very last key was the one. I inserted it in the lock and swung the door open.

  The man I thought I'd never see again stared at me, his dark eyes brooding. Black jeans hugged his muscular legs and a T-shirt, also black, traced the outline of his powerful chest. He looked good. I had to clench my hands into fists to keep from running over to him.

  "Davian?" I didn't know whether to slap him or kiss him. I settled for taking a step back. If I lost it and threw myself at him, more distance meant more time to gain control of myself. "What are you doing here?"

  "I could ask the same of you," he muttered as he poked his head into the hallway and scanned it.

  "We're alone. Except for Larry, but he's locked up." I pointed to Cell B. "As for what I'm doing here, Zion went on a murder spree in Huntsville and grabbed me. Your turn."

  Davian blinked at me, processing what I'd said.

  "The weird thing is Zion didn't tell me you were here," I said.

  "He probably wanted to see what we would do," Davian said.

  "But why?" I drank in the sight of Davian. The wave of his dark hair, the high cheekbones and full lips. It hurt to see him again.

  "He's telling everyone I had something to do with all those shifters who were killed," said Davian.

  "I know. He brought me here to tell the council that."

  He cocked his head, his expression confused. "But you were passed out. You couldn't have seen anything."

  "You ran the whole thing. It was you," I said.

  Davian stared deep into my eyes. "Did he tell you that?"

  The question sparked a turmoil of uncertainty. My thoughts whirled, fast and impossible to pin down. I should know something, but I couldn't think what it was. I frowned. "I saw you?"

  He shook his head. "Zion's compelled you to think that. We're both going to die if he has his way."

  "If it wasn't you, then who killed them? Do you know?" I knew Davian had done it, that he was lying, but something made me ask anyway. Maybe I wanted to know what he would say.

  "Zion. It was always him."

  "But why would you blame Zion?"

  "I'm not blam—" He stopped short and just sighed before saying, "It's the three Ps of the undead: Politics, power and profit."

  "Oh." The economics of blood hit me in the gut. I'd just been a thing, an entry in a ledger sheet somewhere, my blood a fountain of money, my life worth only what someone was willing to pay. "So which P did you kill them for?"

  "Adele, did you see me kill anyone?"

  I thought and drew a blank. I shut my eyes and dug deeper. "I remember when we first met and the kissing and the...thing on the bed later."

  "But
no murder."

  I shook my head.

  "I know you've been told to believe differently, but you're going to have to trust me. It was Zion and he's in it for all three Ps."

  "I don't like Zion," I said, finding common ground between what he said and what I knew.

  "Same here."

  "So, he ran a blood ring and you ran a blood ring, too?"

  Davian sighed again. "No. Just Zion. He's a bad guy."

  "Yeah. He is." I sucked in a mouthful of air and let it out slowly. "Now what do we do? You're free, but Zion's got his fangs into me and they're going to kill you for what you did to those shifters."

  "I didn't...oh, never mind." Davian sighed yet again.

  "You're breathing an awful lot for a vampire. Are you okay?"

  "Yes, but Zion biting you is a complication."

  I nodded. "Yup. I have to kill him. I mean, I was going to kill him anyway because of what he did to my new pack, but I really have to kill him now that we've swapped blood, you know?" I held up my hands. "Can you help me with these?"

  Davian stepped close to me and examined the lock holding the silver chain in place. My heart thumped hard against my ribs, responding to his presence. I flushed, knowing he could hear it.

  "I can break it." He tucked his hands into the hem of his shirt and picked up a section away from the lock. He gave a sharp, hard pull and the links gave way with a metallic snap.

  "Thanks," I said.

  He unwound the last of the chains with quick, deft movements to minimize contact with the metal. "You're welcome."

  Was it my imagination, or had his gaze locked with mine longer than was absolutely necessary?

  "What do we do now?" I asked. "Wait here for Zion?"

  Davian chucked the chain into his cell. "No."

  "Why not? Isn't that easier than going after him?"

  In response, he pointed up to the ceiling.

  "What?" It took a second, but when I saw it, my heart sank. "He's got surveillance down here." Of course he did.

  "Yes. At the very least, Zion knows we're loose. If we wait, he'll have a whole squadron of vampires come take us down."

  "We should get out of here then."

  "That's our best option. We'll deal with him later, when he's alone. Come on." Davian headed for the stairs that led up to the main level of the house. "Let's get moving before they pin us in down here."

  I hurried after him. "Where are we going?"

  "I've got a place where he won't find us."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Come here." He held out his arms. "We're going to have to move fast and I don't want to lose you."

  He reached out and grabbed me when I didn't move, scooping me up into his arms. I tried not to relax into his strength, but damned if it didn't feel good to be this close to him. My wolf despised cats, but she was purring loud as a pride of lions. She'd always liked Davian. Maybe a little more than I had.

  Weirdly, the dark blob that had become my wolf's constant companion had thickened and darkened, too. Damn, but I wished that thing would leave me alone. I didn't want to carry around my own personal black cloud everywhere I went.

  Davian hugged me tight against him, and with a quick flex of his thighs, the hardness of which bumped my backside, he jumped up the flight of stairs. Using his shoulder, he pushed the door open. The kitchen sat still and empty in front of us. If anyone was watching us on the surveillance cameras, they didn't seem to care we were leaving.

  "Where is everyone?" I asked.

  Davian shook his head. "I don't know, but let's not look for trouble."

  He darted for the back door of the house, going so fast everything streamed by like someone had smeared it all together. I held my breath and clutched Davian tight. When we crossed the threshold into the musty cool air of the massive cave that housed the City Oscura, I let myself breathe normally again.

  I'd escaped Zion and found the one vampire I couldn't get out of my mind. Being close to him soothed me like a balm. All the jittery edges that had poked at me the last few months instantly smoothed over in Davian's presence. I didn't know what to make of it, but the utter relief was the best drug I'd ever had.

  Davian paused for a second, scanning the backyard. Zion had another gurgling pong and more rocks along with a nice set of wicker patio furniture. Lamp posts bathed the yard in soft, yellow light. Other than that, it was deserted.

  "Did you really relinquish your claim on me?" I asked. "Because I still feel something with you."

  "It's just an echo," he said.

  He began to run again, this time out of the backyard, his gaze focused in front of us. He jumped the low slung fence at the back of the property and headed straight for the cave wall, aiming for a narrow crevice. Once there, he ducked inside. I tried to make myself smaller and held him even tighter. This wasn't the city anymore. It was pure cave, the wilds of the City Oscura.

  Davian slowed down to a walk and I looked out into the dark. My night vision was good, but it relied on some light from the moon and stars. In the total darkness of the City Oscura, I couldn't see anything but black.

  I filled the silence between us. It wasn't enough to be in his arms, I wanted more. He needed to understand that. "It doesn't feel like an echo. More like a sledgehammer. I-I haven't done well without you, Davian."

  His grip on me tightened. "Are you using? Don't lie to me, Adele."

  I shook my head. "I want to though. Every day I'm without you."

  "I thought the healer was taking care of that?"

  "So did I. But I think..." I trailed off unwilling to say it. He wouldn't like it.

  Davian slowed to a stop. "You think what?"

  "You were everything I needed," I said softly. "And then you left."

  "Oh, Adele." He crushed me against him, his lips gently brushing against mine. "I can't be that for you."

  "Why did you leave me like that?" The memory of that night flooded my brain. I'd been bound in silver to keep me contained while Marie worked to free me of Davian's influence. He'd shown up, not to save me as he'd promised but to tell me he was letting me go. Not anyone's idea of a good time.

  "What would you like me to do? I'm a servant of the Vampire Council and I'm currently on their shit list. I don't get a choice. You do. Would you want to live here with the likes of Zion as a neighbor?"

  "If you hate it so much, why do you stay?"

  "Because your world isn't mine. I don't belong there."

  "I don't think I belong there, either. Maybe you and I just belong...together."

  He fell silent and resumed moving, taking us farther and farther into the crevice. The gap became so narrow, rock scraped my feet and my back.

  "I don't think anyone is chasing us. You can put me down."

  "Can you see?"

  "No, but we can hold hands, right?"

  He set me down in response and his strong hand wrapped around mine. I held on for dear life. When he'd left me before, I hadn't been able to stop him, but now, I was free, and I wasn't about to let go. Not until I had the answers I wanted.

  Namely, what was the point of my life?

  Did Davian have anything to do with the shadow in my mind?

  And why did I want him so badly?

  I was a werewolf. I should want a warm-blooded mate who could give me lots of pups, but after watching Chloe give birth, I didn't feel called to that life. Being a healer didn't fit right, either. It didn't stop my cravings for oblivion. I was bad at funneling the pack's energy away from me, and so far, nothing Marie had taught me had been a cure.

  Maybe I was doomed to live a life marked by craving things I could never have. In which case, drugs weren't really the worst-case scenario; a lifetime of self-destructive need burning in my belly and fighting not to feed it was.

  Did I deserve that? Had I been that awful of a person?

  Or...perhaps, being kidnapped by Zion was really my second chance. Because the one time I had felt right with the world was when Davian had claimed me.


  I just had to convince him to make me his again, and this time, keep me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Adele

  We walked for so long, I thought we would never arrive anywhere. The quiet filled my ears until it seemed plausible that we'd died and the never-ending night was purgatory. The dark pressed around me, making me grateful for Davian's cool hand wrapped around mine. Even with his guidance, my feet hit small rocks, sending them clattering into the eternal obsidian night of the City Oscura.

  I breathed a sigh of relief when a trail of glowing rocks appeared, offering hope. Visibility remained poor around me, but at least I knew which way the trail was headed now.

  Although, I lost some faith in the trail when the rocks stopped glowing. A gaping darkness loomed in front of us.

  Davian bounded forward without any hesitation, but I turned back. It looked like the start of a black hole. Did scientists know for sure black holes were just in outer space? Because I was pretty sure this one had gulped down Davian and was coming for me next.

  "Where are you going?" Davian's voice by my ear spooked me. He'd doubled back to look for me.

  "It's so dark down here," I said. "You got something against lights?"

  "Makes it hard for them to find me, and I like the dark." He took my elbow and turned me around.

  "How do you see anything?"

  "I see enough." He put something in my hand. "Here. I forgot you can't see as well as me."

  I fingered the object, recognizing its smooth metal shape as a flashlight. Finding the switch, I turned it on and one tiny dot of light flickered to life in a sea of black. I could see, but not enough for any of it to be useful.

  "What's down there?"

  "My home." Davian guided me back toward where I'd lost my nerve.

  "You live down here?" I cast a suspicious gaze at the gaping maw in front of me. Were rock giants real or just a fairy tale? Because I could totally believe we were going down something's mouth to churn in their gut.

  "Yeah." He pulled me after. "You'll see. It's kind of nice."

  Black pits in deep caves were not even close to my idea of 'nice,' but maybe it was an undead thing. Clutching my little flashlight tight, I let Davian take me deeper into the place he called home.