Bite of Vengeance (Shadows of War #3)

20. Zan

Chapter 20

Zan

“ I can’t even imagine what Dad is doing right now,” Pax muttered from beside me.

I gritted my teeth. “We don’t want to find out.”

Keeva mumbled something, and I glanced in the rearview mirror into the backseat where both she and Warner were sitting. Neither had said a word the entire time we’d been in this truck. It had been hours since Pax and I spoke with the human that Viggo entranced. Luckily, we’d been heading back to the property before our father had come home. I physically wouldn’t have been able to pass the gates because of Amaros’s entrancement, but it didn’t matter.

Because if I ever went back to the property now, I’d end up dead.

Sons or not, we officially went against our father, and he would treat us like any other enemy. Actually, we’d be far worse off than any enemy.

“PARA is going to retaliate once they find out we took her,” Pax said as I turned onto a small road.

“We already warned everyone in Deadwood. They should all be gone by morning.”

Deadwood would be the first place they hit since it was so close to Project Hope. Knowing that Impulse and our house was about to get destroyed bothered me more than it should. I’d considered that place home for more than a year. It was where I met Kali.

“How much longer?” Warner spoke up. “We’ve been on the road for hours.”

“Where are we going?” Keeva asked, suspicion still thick in her voice.

“We’re nearly there,” Pax replied before lowering his voice. “If it hasn’t been destroyed.”

I had the same worry. We’d found this place years ago and hadn’t checked on it since before we arrived in Deadwood. Though, it was so far from everything that I doubted it had been disturbed.

The sun was high in the sky, and it gave me a bit of relief that Amaros couldn’t try to search for us until sundown. He was old enough that he could stand to be in sunlight for a few minutes without being harmed, but even he didn’t have the power to walk in the sun like us Shadows. Something he’d always wanted but could never have, and I always had a feeling he was jealous his sons had that ability.

Warner was leaning away from the window, his lips pressed tightly together. He was still so new that the sunlight was only irritating to him and not deadly. Keeva didn’t look bothered at all, which wasn’t a surprise since she was a Shadow. I was still curious how far she was in her transition but hadn’t risked asking her anything. She was still on edge, and it was clear she didn’t trust me and Pax. One wrong word, and she’d flee.

“I’m sure they parked in the woods.” Pax glanced at me. “If the vehicles aren’t there, it means they went somewhere else.”

“They’ll be there.”

My voice held confidence I didn’t feel. I had no idea if they’d be there. But they needed to be. I’d been away from Kali for far too long, and I would lose it if I didn’t see her today. I was sure Pax had doubts, but he didn’t voice them as I veered off the dirt road and into a field. It wasn’t long before I spotted the vehicles from my father’s property through the trees.

Relief swept through me, and I pressed my foot down on the pedal, tearing through the overgrown field until I found a wide enough opening through the trees. Pax cursed under his breath when I cut the wheel, jerking the truck to the side.

“We need all the cars we can,” he grumbled. “Don’t wreck this one. You’ll see her in a couple minutes.”

I ignored him as I pulled beside a small sedan. It had been days, and I didn’t want to wait another fucking second. I hopped out of the truck and began striding across the large field. In the distance was a fallen barn with rotting wood. Tilting my head, I listened, trying to catch any voices. All I could hear were the birds and waves crashing. I blew out an aggravated breath as I got closer.

Stepping over the broken wood, I stopped in the dead center of the wrecked barn before crouching down and swiping away the brush. A shiny metal hatch door came into sight, and I grasped the handle, letting out a curse when it didn’t budge. Closing my fist, I pounded on it twice before standing up. A second later it cracked open, and a Shadow stuck his head out.

“Hey,” he shouted when I grabbed the edge and yanked the hatch open.

“Move,” I gritted out.

Recognition hit his eyes, and he glared at me with loathing, not moving a muscle. “Fucking Kane. You shouldn’t even be here with us?—”

“I’m going to say it one last time before I make you move,” I warned, my voice deadly. “Get out of my way.”

“You’re lucky that she?—”

I didn’t give him a chance to finish as I jumped into the tunnel, knocking him off the ladder. He let out a yell as he landed on his feet, his hands clenching into fists. I could hear Pax behind me, but I didn’t wait as I moved down the narrow tunnel. The walls were a silver metal, the same color as this entire underground area, and I was sure it used to be shiny decades ago when this was all new. The dim lights flickered constantly, threatening to go out. Inside the tunnel, I could hear almost everything. The musty scent was vastly different from when we found this place years ago. Back then, it was still being lived in.

My stomach unknotted when her voice broke through the noise. A second later, her scent invaded my nostrils, and I inhaled deeply as I upped my pace. Pax followed me as I ran through the maze of tight tunnels until it finally opened into a massive room. The closest Shadows grew silent when they saw me, but I paid no attention to them as I scoured the room for her.

Finally, I spotted her near the back of the room, talking to Viggo. She was glaring at him, her hands on her hips.

“PARA isn’t our biggest concern,” she was saying heatedly. “Your father is. We need to stop him…” she trailed off, her back straightening. A smirk tipped up my lips when she whipped her head toward me. She sensed me somehow, whether it was my scent or the invisible band that connected us. Relief filled her eyes, and she opened her mouth, but my brother spoke up first.

“Thank fuck,” Viggo grumbled, giving Kali a push toward me. “Take her. I am never fucking doing babysitting duty again. Do you know the shit she put me through?”

Pax replied to him, but I was already crossing the room, my eyes locked on Kali. My chest swelled with something I couldn’t identify, but I never wanted to let this feeling go. Her eyes were locked on me. Only me. Not behind me where her best friend was. Or her long lost twin.

“Zan—”

I slammed my lips to hers, silencing her words. She opened her mouth, accepting my kiss without the slightest hesitation. I nearly groaned from how fucking good she tasted. It was worth it. Every single damn thing I’d done. Being away from her only cemented the fact that I would do anything for her.

A noise close to me had me cracking open my eyes, and I lashed my arm out, catching the throat of the Shadow who was creeping close. Kali pulled away from me, and I scowled, focusing on the asshole who interrupted us.

“She might be important to you,” I growled, squeezing his throat until pain flashed in his eyes. “But she is everything to me. I’m not going to hurt her. And none of you are going to try to stop me anytime I go near her. Do you understand?”

My jaw clenched when his glare turned frigid. No matter what I did, the Shadows would never obey me. I wondered if they would follow Keeva as effortlessly as they did with Kali.

“Stand down,” Kali ordered sharply. “Zan, let him go.”

I turned my attention back to her. “Giving me orders now?”

My tone was teasing, but there was a note of curiosity too. I hadn’t been gone more than a week, but I could sense that she was so much stronger. Was her transition over?

Dropping my arm from the Shadows throat, I snatched her wrist and tugged her with me as I walked toward a different tunnel. Her small protest had the Shadows murmuring angrily. Before they could follow, I pushed a door open which led us to another tunnel.

“Where are we going, Zan?”

“Somewhere there won’t be ears on us.”

After a couple more minutes of leading her through the tunnels, I halted in front of a thick door. Just like the rest of this compound, it was metal. I knew from memory that this room was soundproof. Pushing the door open, I waited for Kali to enter first before I followed.

She glanced around, taking in the gloomy scenery. A small fireplace was to the left, and the only furniture in the room was a mattress sitting on an old metal frame. A frown appeared as she stared at the bed.

“It was a torture room,” I said quietly as she stared at the chains that were connected to the wall behind the bed. “They’d chain a vampire on the bed, and then let sunlight in.”

“Sunlight?” she repeated tightly. “We’re underground.”

I caught the small chain that was hanging from the ceiling above me and pulled it down. A loud scraping noise filled the room before sunlight filtered across the bed as I moved the grate.

“PARA?” she asked.

“No.”

She turned to look at me, and I pointed out the answer. On the wall above the fireplace, there was a large four-leaf clover painted in black. Shock swept across her face as she swallowed thickly.

“The Clovers?” she breathed out. “This was their compound?”

“At some point, yes,” I replied, knowing she wouldn’t like my answer. “Some vampires found it and drove them out.”

“You mean killed them” she muttered.

“It happened years ago. Your group was larger than I first thought. The Clovers have been around for decades and have only grown.” I moved toward her. “When they captured me, they probably would have brought me to a place like this if I hadn’t demanded to talk only to you. It probably helped that they also ran out of hawthorn. I escaped before they could get more.”

She ran her hand along the foot of the bed frame before staring at the dust on her fingers. “Vampires know about this place. That means Amaros does.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I told her. “Those vampires were deserters. Didn’t want to follow my father. We tracked them here and dealt with them. This place is my brothers’ and mine. That’s it.”

“Really?” she hummed out, her eyes burning with curiosity. “You know, you and the twins keep a lot of secrets from your father. The humans entranced on his property. This place. I thought you didn’t lie to him unless it was about me.”

“I didn’t lie to him. We just never told him.” I cocked my head. “Everyone has secrets, Kali.”

“Do I know all of your secrets?”

Stepping forward, I caught her chin in my grasp, tilting her face up. “If you don’t know them, then I’ll tell you.”

She was doing a good job hiding her thoughts like she always did, but I didn’t miss how her heart sped up when I touched her.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” she mumbled before hesitating for a second. “I was worried about you.”

“Really?” I grinned smugly. “Ready to admit it, Kali?”

“Admit what?”

“That my feelings aren’t one-sided.” Letting go of her jaw, I wrapped my arm around her, crushing her to my chest and kissing the side of her throat. “Tell me that while I was gone, there was an ache that never left. A sense of dread that you couldn’t control. Because I wasn’t near you.”

“Or maybe I had those feelings because I was trapped with your father,” she snarked, her words lacking vigor.

I nipped at her neck. “Don’t lie to me. This was the longest fucking week of my life. And I won’t do it again. There is nowhere on this damn earth that I won’t follow you.”

“You mean chase me?”

“Call it whatever you want. It doesn’t change anything.” I pulled back to meet her eyes. “You’re mine, Kali. You are it for me. I don’t want life if it doesn’t have you in it.”

Her chest heaved as she listened to me, her eyes shining with emotion I couldn’t decipher. Until she went on her tiptoes and brushed her lips against mine.

“I did miss you,” she whispered hoarsely. “I want you to chase me, Zan. I…I don’t want to be away from you.”

My grip on her tightened. “Do you forgive me? For turning Warner?”

“He wouldn’t be alive right now if it wasn’t for you.” She sighed. “There’s nothing to forgive. You’ve protected me, and I trust you’ll keep doing it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What in the hell changed while I was gone?”

“You went against your father, Zan.” Her eyes searched mine. “To protect me. You even fought against his entrancement?—”

“I failed against his entrancement,” I cut her off gruffly, still very aware that I couldn’t have sex with her.

“But you tried. You didn’t do his bidding. For me.” She reached up, and gripped the collar of my shirt, tugging me to her height before kissing me.

I chuckled against her lips. “I guess your opinion of vampires changed. Maybe because now you’re one of us.”

“No, my opinion of you changed. Now, are you going to keep talking or kiss me?”

Sliding my hand up her neck, I fisted her hair, taking control of the kiss. Her tongue clashed with mine, and I backed her into the wall, pressing my body into hers as I tried not to think about sleeping with her. Any wrong thought would trigger my father’s entrancement, and I wanted to fucking enjoy this moment.

Until someone pounded on the door.

“I swear to fuck,” I growled, anger crawling through me.

Pax stuck his head in, his usual frown on his face. “I’m sorry. But her sister is out here causing all kinds of ruckus because she wants to meet Kali. You need to get out here.”

“Keeva,” Kali breathed out. She pushed away from me with more strength than I was prepared for, and I nearly stumbled back a step. “I want to meet her.”

“Did you forget?” Viggo called out from the hall. “It was the entire point of why Zan left, and I was stuck with you.”

Kali rolled her eyes at my brother’s words before rushing toward the door. Our moment was over, and her twin was now her sole focus. My gut twisted painfully as I followed her into the hall. Kali and Keeva were who my father wanted most. Having them under the same roof was a risk.

We just had to make sure PARA and Amaros didn’t find them.