Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Rafe crouched down behind a tree, listening to the silence of the woods.
His designer suits and Italian leather shoes were gone.
Marcus’s newest daytime assistant had acquired for each of them some dark jeans, black turtlenecks, and black boots with nice, thick treads to handle the uneven terrain.
When they entered the woods to meet the MacPhersons, it was as if they’d all vanished into the thick shadows.
The leaves were mostly off the trees and carpeting the ground, creating a nice crunch as they walked through. Rafe’s lips curled a little in disgust as he looked around. Vampires weren’t meant to be in the woods. It didn’t make sense.
Humans were their prey, and it was too damn hard to find humans in the woods.
A vampire couldn’t happen on a person in the woods at night and not set off their internal alarm.
Well, if a vampire did find a human who wasn’t alarmed, the vampire probably wouldn’t want to feed off that human in the first place.
By choosing the nearby forest, the hope had been that it would put all the vampires on an equal footing, if not give the Variks a slight advantage.
The only real concern was the vampire with the pair of wolves.
The wolves would definitely be at home in these woods, and Rafe was in no hurry to feel their teeth sinking into his flesh again.
Philippe stood in the middle of the clearing, only a couple dozen feet away, and his lover had never looked so alone to him. Rafe’s brothers were spread around the woods, close by and ready for an attack. Ready to protect Philippe at all costs.
But Philippe needed to be in his arms, where Rafe could keep him safe.
Never had it been so hard to get out of bed than when the sun set that night.
Why couldn’t the sun have lingered in the sky a little while longer?
Philippe had rolled over at some point in the day so that Rafe had ended up on his back and Philippe was sprawled across his chest, one leg thrown over Rafe’s as if he was trying to pin him down. Or maybe protect him with his own body.
Either way, Rafe wanted to wake every night just like that. He wanted to see those sleepy eyes open and the tousled blond hair. He wanted to feel the delicious scrape of whiskers across his flesh as Philippe stretched and moved against him before finally tilting his head up for a kiss.
What he could do without was the worry that immediately clouded Philippe’s eyes when he likely remembered what they were doing that evening.
But after tonight, it would be over. They were going to take care of the MacPherson threat and they were going to focus on finding a way to be together every night after that.
The heavy silence of the woods was broken by the roar of car engines as they drew closer.
It had to be the MacPherson clan. The Variks had arrived hours ago at a different drop spot and had walked through the woods to the meeting place.
The MacPhersons would be able to sense them, but the hope was that they were spread out enough that it would be hard for them to pinpoint exactly how many vampires had accompanied Philippe.
With a squeal of tires and spray of dirt, four large SUVs came to a halt at the edge of the picnic area.
Rafe’s stomach twisted to see so many fucking vampires unload from the vehicles.
He did a quick count and came up with twenty, including Ezra.
Jullien was pulled, bound and bloody, from one of the trunks.
The man with the wolves was also present, but his wolves were not. But that likely meant they were out in the woods already.
That was fine.
Part of the reason they’d arrived so early was to give Bel a chance to make some new friends with the local residents.
If the feeling of grim satisfaction coming from his twin was an indication, Bel had done just fine in the friends department.
Ezra walked beside Nolan while another dragged Jullien along. The other vampires fanned out around them. Philippe’s balled fists shook at his sides. Yeah, Rafe was ready to rip Ezra’s head off as well.
“You brought the Variks with you,” Ezra said in a voice filled with disgust.
“You’re not a complete idiot, Ezra,” Philippe snarled. “You had to know how this was going to go. After you betrayed me, betrayed people who trusted you, there is no way I would ever join another clan with you.”
“That’s what I thought.” Nolan shrugged his shoulders and held up his empty hands a bit helplessly. “We had to play this farce out.”
In a flash, Nolan reached over and sunk his fingers into Ezra’s throat. The vampire didn’t have a chance to react other than a widening of his eyes. Nolan grunted softly as he tore out Ezra’s throat. Blood sprayed over the clearing and he fell to the ground at Nolan’s feet.
Philippe jumped back on a gasp, and Rafe had to grab the tree trunk he was peering around to remain where he was.
He wanted to rush out to Philippe and protect him with his own body, though there were no regrets or worries about Ezra as they watched him choke, blood pouring from his body.
The ground greedily lapped up the black fluid, stealing it away even as Ezra tried to stop its flow.
The dying vampire looked up at Philippe standing only a few feet away. He lifted one blood and dirt covered hand toward his former friend before collapsing in a lifeless heap.
“I’ll admit I had my doubts about his plan from the beginning,” Nolan murmured.
“Siding with someone who betrayed you, even if they couched it in terms of ‘protecting you from yourself.’ ” Nolan snorted.
He pressed the toe of his shoe into Ezra’s stomach and pushed until the body flopped over onto its back.
“He never was much of an asset.” Nolan lifted his eyes to Philippe and smiled.
“But you and Jullien? I definitely see benefits to having you in the MacPherson clan. Particularly with your gift.”
“How the hell could my gift possibly help you?” Philippe replied. His words were a little ragged and uneven, as if he were struggling with the violence he’d just witnessed. Even if he’d planned to kill Ezra himself, he’d known the vampire for a long time. Counted him as a friend and brother once.
“Because you can find them, Philippe. You can find all the weak and useless vampires no one wants.”
“But why? You had Ezra kill those same vampires in the Arsenault clan.”
“And that’s exactly what I plan to do with the rest of the pests that infest our world.
” Nolan’s relaxed stance disappeared. Straightening, everything about him seemed to grow hard and implacable.
“Our kind has been weakened by too many vampires that can’t effectively fend for themselves.
They don’t wish to be vampires. Never wanted to be. I say we help them with that.”
“By what? Ending their lives?” Philippe’s voice cracked a little, growing higher with each incredulous question.
“Yes. Exactly that.”
Philippe shook his head. “Why would you ever think that I’d agree to that?”
Nolan lifted one hand and made a small waving motion. Jullien was dragged forward and forced to kneel right next to Ezra’s dead body. Nolan placed his hand on Jullien’s head and grabbed a fistful of hair. “Leverage, Philippe. Leverage.”
Philippe shook his head, but no sound came out of his mouth.
“You wouldn’t do anything for Ezra after he betrayed you, but Jullien is still a loyal friend. For him, you’d join the MacPherson clan. And for him, you’ll track down the rats plaguing us.”
“Philippe?”
Rafe’s heart gave an unsteady beat at the rough sound of Jullien’s voice.
He was covered in bruises and blood. One eye was swollen shut.
Vampires healed quickly from wounds, but Rafe could guess Jullien had been beaten again and again over the past several hours.
He’d been given no blood to help with healing.
Even if he managed to escape and feed, there was no telling whether he’d fully heal again.
“Jullien, I’m sorry. So sorry,” Philippe whispered.
“Fuck him!” Jullien shouted. “Don’t do a damn thing he says!”
Nolan released Jullien’s hair and cuffed him hard on the back of the head, knocking him over into the dirt.
“This isn’t happening,” Philippe snapped.
“But it is. You can walk over here right now, kneel, and swear loyalty to me and the MacPherson clan. It will save his life and the lives of all the Variks hiding like cowards out in the woods.” Nolan paused and smirked.
“Or you can say no. I’ll kill Jullien. Kill the Variks.
And still force you to work for me. But instead of being a clan member, you’ll be a slave. ”
Rafe had heard enough. He straightened from his crouch, but before he could step into the clearing, there was a rustling through the brush. Something large. Rafe remained ready to spring into action should anyone get too close to Philippe.
But his knees tried to buckle under him when Bel stepped into the clearing, a small, strange smile on his lips. What the fuck was his twin doing?
“While I’m sure your interest in Philippe is appreciated, it’s a little too late. Philippe is a Varik now. He’s not going anywhere. And neither is Jullien.”
Nolan cocked his head at Bel like he was the oddest creature he’d ever seen. “You’re…you’re the scientist, aren’t you? Beltran Varik.”
“Yes.”
“Got a new poison to try out on me?”
Bel’s smile grew, and something prickled along Rafe’s arms. “No. I thought I’d just let him eat you.”
The rustling in the brush started again, and an enormous black shape lumbered into the clearing.
Holy fuck! Bel found a bear. A black bear.
And judging by his massive size, this male was more than ready for the long winter.
He had to weigh at least five hundred pounds.
The bear walked straight over to Bel and seemed to stare at Nolan as his brother rested his hand on the creature’s giant head.