AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smile, but it’s weak, exhaustion taking root.
“I think it’s time you go back to bed,” Law says, coming to my side and helping me stand.
“I’ll see myself out,” Shante calls over her shoulder.
I don’t even remember Law helping me into bed, or tucking me in, but I’ll never forget the nightmares that begin the second my eyes close.
Chapter Four
Julian
My fingers dig into my temples, trying—and failing—to rid my mind of the scene unfolding right before my eyes. I’ve been in this hellhole for days, attempting to speed up the process by which we tame new bites.
It’s a complete shitshow.
The guys I’ve left in charge of the operation are some of my most trusted generals, but they’re in over their heads. The place is a mess and completely lacking the organization I thought was in place when I last left.
When I arrived here in Seattle, a new truckload of vampires, sick with bloodlust, had just been hauled in from New Mexico. There were two dozen in that delivery, and I was towing in another dozen. They were wholly unprepared and out of space. The process of rehabilitating the new bites is too slow.
The new bite training facility was established in Seattle because it was a central location to the first outbreak of vampires. Marcellus’s crew made their way down the West Coast and got as far as Portland before we interceded. It’s likely that our interference with his plan prompted the move south. It’s getting harder to transport new bites the distance to Seattle and it’s giving Marcellus too much time to wreak havoc.
I’m not sure how long this facility can withstand the traffic, but I hardly have enough time to arrange for an additional location. It’s not easy to amass a space large enough to house rabid vampires; it has to be low-key so it doesn’t attract attention. Add to that the need for trustworthy people to run the location, and right now, I trust very few.
“Boss,” Bash grates from the door. “Anderson needs you in chamber block six. Girl’s about to lose her head if you don’t intervene.”
I groan, digging my pen into the wood desk.
“What did she do now?”
“Spit in his face.” He smirks. “Not that I can blame her. Anderson’s an ass, if you don’t mind me saying so.”
I let out a laugh, picturing that scene.
No wonder Bash seems frustrated. I’ve tasked him with the impossible. Anderson doesn’t take kindly to orders of any sort and I’ve put Bash on his block. Anderson is an ass, but he’s one of the best generals I have. He’s a vampire I can trust at my back and these days, that’s saying something. I need him, despite the fact that the chip on his shoulder grows by the second.
“I’ll be there shortly. Can you attempt to keep the peace until I get there?”
He nods.
“Bash,” I call to his retreating back, and he turns. “Aside from the bodily fluids, how’s she doing?”
He inhales deeply. “She’s coming along, sir. She’s more frightened than anything else.”
I know he’s right. She needs to see someone who can root her to her humanity. I’m a stranger and as far as she’s concerned, the king of the monsters who took away her life. It’s going to take someone she truly cares about to bring her back to a semblance of her former self.
An impossibility.
“Might I make a suggestion, sir?” Bash asks, tentatively.
“Please,” I grunt, ready to hear any option that would make this situation better.
“Remove Anderson from her care and put him on another block. She needs someone not so...”
“Terrifying?” I offer, and he nods.
“Precisely.”
“I hear you, Bash, but I need him there. He’s the best I have.”
