Page 26 of Hunter

“Well of course you do. We just…”

“I know you. ” Willa shoved onto her forearms. “Come to me.”

“Maybe we should get Hunter.” Viktor stood firm.

“Come. Here.” Willa’s eyes locked on his as she sensed his acquiescence. “Give me your hand.”

“Get away. Come here. Which is it, Willamina?” Viktor closed the distance between them.

“I know you.” As his palm touched hers, her wolf rushed to the surface, howling. Memories of Hell churned in her mind. The slice of his fangs piercing her skin. Lying helpless as vampires drained her blood. Viktor, crazed and starved, shoving them away, sinking his fangs deep into her neck. She’d begged for mercy, slowly accepting death. In and out of consciousness, she woke to a room dead with silence. The starved vampire lay in the distance. She’d known then he’d saved her.

“I’m sorry, little wolf,” Viktor said, his voice soft.

“You, you…you’ve had my blood.” Her heart pounded against her ribs.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“My wolf.” Her mighty beast woke, clawing to escape.

Willa’s eyes flashed from brown to black, feral as she began tearing at her clothing. Overwhelmed with raw emotion, unfurled fury from her attack surfaced. Memories of the torture rushed over her and she struggled to stand.

“I’ll get Hunter,” she heard Viktor say but as she transformed, she refused to hear another word.

The vampire scrubbed his palm over his cheek as the angry wolf growled at him. “Well, then. That didn’t go as expected.”

Willa snapped, her beast wild, lost in the devastation of both captivity and torture. She’d been used as a blood slave, feeding savage creatures of Hell. Reality morphed into demon-fueled memories. As Viktor dematerialized, she paced, aware the rogue wolves roamed Wyoming. She had no choice but to leave. By tomorrow, she’d be gone.

Chapter Five

“Is anyone there?” The Alpha’s question was met with silence. As he shielded his face with his arm, he coughed, ash coating his tongue. Red-hot embers crunched beneath his feet as he stepped into what was left of the bar.

He sensed the death all around him as souls left the bodies. Humans and vampires lay strewn among the rubble.

As Cheryl’s face came into sight, he rushed to her side. Her lifeless eyes stared up at him as he reached for her. As he tugged the shard of wood out of her chest, he knew it wouldn’t make a difference.

“Come on, girl.” Hunter hung his head in frustration. “Ah, fuck. I’m sorry. This is some shit.”

The familiar stench of Hell teased his nostrils, and Hunter gritted his teeth, his chest tight as he kissed the top of her head. Fucking demons.

He’d have to call the police department to claim the human bodies. With no particular vampire in charge of the others in Jackson Hole, he’d have his wolves help dispose of any vampires who weren’t cremated by the flames.

A cold drop of water stung his face, the sky rumbling loudly. Lightning flashed across the plains, and he cursed as the torrential downpour commenced. As he headed toward his car, he growled, his mind racing. The wolves who had killed these innocents would suffer. He’d track them to the ends of the Earth and pick them off one by one. No one attacked in his territory and lived to tell about it. Death would come swiftly, and its name would be ALPHA .

Hunter sensed the lupine energy the minute he stepped into his home. “What the fuck?”

“Why does everyone keep asking that?” Viktor appeared out of nowhere.

“Where’s Willa?”

“Yeah, about that. She’s upstairs. She’s fine. But…well. You see, we have a little…um, what you’d call a situation.”

“I’m in no mood for your jokes, Vik. I’ve got over a dozen dead vampires being buried or sent to their next of kin. Dead humans too. If these assholes blew up a club tonight, who’s to say what else they’ll do? I need to consider what’s going to happen next. All I know is either way, Willa can’t stay here. She’s in danger.”

“You see. About her.” Viktor hesitated. “Alpha, I say this with the utmost respect…your girlfriend…she’s an animal in bed. And not in a good way.”

“She’s not my…ah, forget about it. Just tell me. What in the hell is going on?”

“You feel her, right?”