“What are they doing?”
“Hunting.”
Saber removed his triple-bladed haladie knife from the sheath strapped to his back and grinned. “That means there is someone left to hunt.”
* * *
Willow wokeand blinked as she took in her surroundings. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep again, but boredom and her healing body had other plans for her. Still in the tree, she stared at the needles surrounding her as she twisted her injured foot in her boot. Except it wasn’t injured anymore because no pain accompanied the movement.
About time.
She would have spoken the words out loud if only to hear a voice again, but her throat was so dry, she couldn’t talk. Howls pierced the night again.
Why don’t they give up? Why don’t they leave?She’d hoped they would have moved on by now, but they were determined to track her. Or maybe they were hunting someone else.Please let there be someone else alive to hunt.
Resting her head against the tree, she studied the stars above. She couldn’t see many of them through the thick conifer surrounding her, but a few poked through. For some reason, those tiny, shining lights made it so she didn’t feel so alone.
Maybe she didn’t feel so alone, but her cramped legs, asleep ass, and stiff neck made her feel like a truck hit her. At least her clothes were dry, and she wasn’t as cold tonight as last night.
Leaning over, she peered through the branches to the ground. She should wait until morning before climbing down, but she felt good, and if she waited until morning, she’d be hungrier. The longer she went without feeding, the weaker she would become. However, she’d have the sun to her advantage in the morning, but in these woods, it wasn’t much of an edge.
She was debating what to do when another howl erupted. The hair on her nape rose, and her breath froze as the sound came from so close she felt like she could touch it. Tendrils of unease slid down her back.
And then, the hot plume of a breath caressed her neck.
The stench of rot filled her nose, and her heartbeat tripled in speed. Something was watching her; something so close its next breath stirred her hair. Something that wouldn’t be satisfied until it destroyed her.
Tilting her head back, her breath puffed out when a pair of red eyes filled her vision. Dirt streaked the face behind those eyes, and the blood caking its hair caused it to stand on end. They stared at each other before it grinned to reveal its elongated fangs.
Willow scrambled for the stake tucked into the belt she’d used to strap herself to the tree, but it was gone.
No!She moaned as the Savage waved the stake at her and its grin grew. Before Willow could free herself from the restraint she created, the Savage flipped off its branch and landed on her.
Chapter Ten
Declan followedthe hunting cries of the Savages as he raced through the woods. The others kept pace as the flat terrain gave way to hills before returning to flat once more. He had no idea how much distance they covered before they discovered the first body.
Asher knelt to examine the body and the bite marks covering it. “Leonard.”
“Fucking pricks,” Logan growled.
Logan’s shoulders heaved as he turned and punched one of the trees. With his head bowed, he took a few deep breaths while he reigned in his control again.
“He was young,” Logan said.
“We’ll make them pay for this,” Declan vowed. “But you have to keep yourself together. Can you do that?”
Like Logan, he would like nothing more than to tear into the assholes who did this, but they couldn’t be reckless about their pursuit of them. Right now, they had the advantage of the Savages not knowing they were here, and they couldn’t blow it.
Logan’s head turned, and the white-blue eyes of a pissed-off turned hunter met Declan’s. “Yes,” Logan said.
Before Declan could reply, a series of ear-splitting shrieks erupted. They sounded more like excited baboons than anything once human or vampire. Many of these Savages were probably tortured into becoming these monsters, but he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them all.
His fingers brushed one of the lollipops in his pocket as he contemplated removing it, but he didn’t want to calm down. No, instead, he welcomed his rising fury. He would use it to destroy every one of these bastards, especially if they’d harmedher.
“We can’t leave him here,” Logan said.
“Were not carrying a body around with us,” Saber said. “We’ll come back for him.”
