Chapter 8
Thorin
It has been two days since Winger had the vision of Delaney being hurt.
When we got to the parking lot of the supermarket and I saw my woman on the ground, I almost lost my shit. My fangs dropped, ready to attack anyone who dared touch her.
Seeing her in pain, then her blood coating my fingertips, I fought everything in me to not taste her, because when I do, it will come from a place of pleasure and not hurt and fear.
My cock had jerked in my jeans, because being that close to her, and her blood smelling so sweet made me want to take her. I had to fight the urge to claim her in front of my brothers because I know my woman, and she would have cut my balls off for doing that in that moment.
The club and I have been hunting the vampires who hurt her and made threats against both her and me. Not only that, but it also seems that we have a rat in the club who is feeding information to the rogue vampires and helping them attack the club.
I think it is one of the club girls, so when this shit is over with, both Rush and I are going to go to work on them, finding out exactly who the hell turned their back on the club.
Winger sent me on a run with Camo, Cotton, and Halen to collect some two-thousand-year-old artifact from a goblin who’s hoarding powerful items that could cause a problem if all used at once. So we are going to go in and take some things that we know will do the club some good in the future.
The main thing we’re focused on locating is a locket that once belonged to a very powerful sorcerer back in the day; apparently some of her blood is locked inside. Also a bone from a cat that belonged to her and was used in the Salem Witch Trials.
The witches of Salem are a big deal, but most think they were just some unfortunate women and men who got caught up in men having some kind of religious power.
But they do not know the true depth of what happened here, back then— what was never discovered. You can be fucking sure that those women knew how to manipulate minds and get away with almost anything, while others were punished for simply knowing the truth.
“His cave is about five miles ahead. Are we riding right in, or walking?” Cotton comes through the coms.
“Walking. Maybe it will give Vin Diesel over here time to fucking cool off and clear his head.” He aims the dig at me, as I almost swiped him out thinking of Delaney.
I flip him off, making the guys laugh, but it earns me a scowl.
Camo leads us to where we dismount after shutting our babies down. It is an old gas station that burned to the ground only last winter, and it has been one of the projects that Winger and I have been looking into.
It would be a good business opportunity for the club. While it would sell the usual gas, we would also do oil changes and other small jobs to ease the pressure off the club’s main garage.
“Alright, fuckers. We get in, grab what we need, and get out. I fucking hate the smell of goblins.” Camo pulls a face like he smelled something bad.
“They freak me out; have you seem their toes? Fucking disgusting,” Cotton adds.
“So, we are now bashing people for how they look and smell? Wow, what a kind-hearted, diverse club we are,” Halen jokes.
“They would bash our heads in if they got the chance, so I am all for bashing them with words. But hey, I could bash a few heads tonight.” Camo nods as we walk.
He is not wrong; goblins can be evil as fuck. They are sneaky, cunning, and will not hesitate to bite your face off if they could.
“How is Delaney?” Halen asks.
“Good.” I shrug.
“That is translation for Thorin has not checked in on his woman since she got attacked by vampires because he is a fucking pussy,” Camo calls out.
The men snigger, and I punch Halen in the arm, to which he glares at me.
“Ouch, fucker. I bruise easily,” he mock whines.
“I can see why Winger calls us fucking children.” Camo laughs.
We approach the cave, and the smell makes me want to gag. Thankfully, I can hold my breath… well, you know because I am a vampire, I’m technically dead.
“Oh, fuck,” Camo groans, retching.
“Let’s just get this done, so we can leave,” I state.
I want to go and see Delaney, to check on her. It was shitty of me to not check on her before now, but like I said, I have been hunting, looking for the cunts who hurt her.
She will be pissed at me, and I am okay with being stuck in her villain category, for now, as long as she is safe.
My feet kick rocks, and the muggy dust clings to my skin, as we walk further into the dark cave. My night vision, thanks to my vampire sight, helps guide us through.
“Information states that the items we are looking for are being kept in a wooden chest behind a large throne,” Cotton fills us in
“A fucking throne?” I scoff.
“This goblin thinks he is the king of goblins, but from what I have been told, he is the brother of the actual king. He just likes to throw his weight around.”
“Goblins: lying, smelly fuckers.” Camo coughs.
I grin at his bitching.
“We split up, get it found, and leave.” The men nod to me, Camo dipping his chin.
We split up; I take the left side, hearing my brothers fan out. Stepping into a room, I see a pallet of fur blankets and pillows, all thrown together like a nest. Gold and silver goblets of different sizes and designs line the floor and built-in cave shelves.
Candles flicker in the dark room, and skulls are scattered among other items that seem to fill the room. Goblins are known for collecting things.
Moving further into the room, I see a wooden throne-looking chair and move closer, to see if the chest is behind it. The sooner I get the fuck out of here, the sooner I can go and see my woman.
Peering around the chair, I see a wooden box, not like a treasure chest, but still I go to look.
“I would not touch that if I were you,” comes a voice behind me.
Twisting my body a little to see who spoke, I see a goblin glaring at me, a knife pointing in my direction.
“And why not? Do you have something in there that you should not?”
He scoffs, inching closer. A smirk slips across my face, knowing that I can kill this fucker in the blink of an eye, and yet he still challenges me.
“What I have here is none of your concern. You need to take the rest of the biker boys and leave, before things get messy.”
This time I laugh; the confidence of this little guy is hilarious. Damn, no wonder he has the balls to stand up to me, the alpha vampire.
“I agree, things could get messy if I do not get what I came here for. So let me just do my job and we can both leave here with no blood spilled, or you can get in my way, which I am perfectly okay with, and so much blood will flow.”
“Leave,” he snarls.
“Got it,” comes through the mind-link of Cotton.
My shoulders shake a little as I chuckle. Then, I nod and step closer to him, as he inches back, his hand still steady, ready to stick that knife in my heart if he has the chance.
Stepping even closer, I harden my face as he watches my every step. Killing this fucker would be a good deed to society, but I also know that it could bring unnecessary trouble to the club, and for that, Winger would cut my balls off, or bury me in the wall for a century or more.
“I guess you win this time, but I would watch your back if I was you, little guy.”
His lips curl in a snarl, showing his yellow, sharp, pointy teeth.
“This will be remembered, bloodsucker.”
“I have no doubt.” Knowing that I will sense him making a move on me, I step from the room and make my way out of the cave to meet my brothers.
As I reach fresh air, and walk up to my brothers, I see Camo and Cotton tucking some artifacts that glisten in the moonlight into the saddle bags on the side of VP’s bike.
“We got what the rich prick wanted, plus some more things. Winger will be happy for a while, and we got this.” Camo holds up a ring, and my eyes widen a fraction, moving from the ring to my VP.
“What the fuck?” I snap.
“I know. I will bring it to Pres, and he can put some feelers out to find out who the fuck made it.”
The ring is something that carries a lot of power for a vampire. A silver band and a black onyx heart with a silver frame, embossed with a vintage pattern. An intricate silver sun in the center. It is a symbol of freedom and protection, aka, a day-walker ring for a vampire.
An image of Delaney wearing it slips through my head, but I shake that image away. Not ready to deal with that shit yet.
“Let’s head back; I need a hard fuck and some whiskey.” Cotton rubs his hands together.
We walk back to our bikes and mount up, again following our VP back to the clubhouse.
Riding with my brothers, the cold air is snapping at our skin—not that I feel it, but I feel the crispness of the weather. Something puts me on high alert, a scent weaving with the wind, and I frown.
Looking around, I see nothing out of the ordinary, but I can smell them, and then blood. Once the coppery scent hits my senses, my fans drop and my mouth waters. Shit, I need to fucking feed.
“VP, something is not right. I smell vamps and blood.”
“Go. We will follow.” I change the direction of my bike once Camo gives the order.
Following the scent that floats in the air, my body is humming with rage as they are fucking with the humans in our territory.
Head up, my senses take me close to the clubhouse, and that in its own right has my hackles up. They fucked up, coming this close to the clubhouse.
Parking my bike, I jump off and run in the direction of where the copper scent of blood is strongest. Turning in to a narrow alleyway, my brothers at my back, I see two young vampires pinning a teenage-looking girl to the wall, both feeding off her.
Her eyes meet mine, pleading as fear and tears fill her gaze.
I snarl and move. In a flash, I am on them, pulling them both by the hair off their victim. They growl and snarl but are no match for me— they are young and fucking stupid.
We fight, fast moving hits, the air filled with grunts and snarls as they get more and more angry that they cannot fight me, because I am faster and stronger than them. I am the fucking alpha vampire and they know it, but killing me will give them unlimited power in their nest.
Before they can blink, I reach for my dagger and bring it up with such force that it slices into the fucker’s chest, piercing his heart like warm butter. His eyes widen in shock, then his body convulses. Ripples of fire flow through his body, burning him to ash.
“You killed him,” the other one screams. “You killed my brother.”
Looking up, my lips curl into a snarl. “You came into an alpha vampire’s territory, and fed off innocent people; what did you expect?”
He stares at me, hate in his red eyes, but fuck, I have seen it all. He thinks he is intimidating as he is newly sired; they are all cocky fuckers finding their footing in their new dark world, where they are told that they are the top of the food chain.
Well, not in this part of the fucking world. I also know that other Kings of Anarchy charters would not take kindly to rogue vamps coming into their territory.
“You are not our king, Thorin Blackwood, once Thorin Gusev. You are a poor excuse for a vampire, protecting humans when they are below us.” He smirks.
I changed my name many years ago, taking a friend’s surname once he was killed, to carry on his legacy.
“There are spaces for you to feed, fucker; you do not need to take off the street. My streets. Learn your place,” I grunt, inching closer.
A smug look crosses his face. “Oh, I know my place, Alpha.” He says the title with sarcasm. “Do you? It is a shame that you cannot protect all humans in Salem. The females are so easily and readily available to us.”
My fists curl at my sides, my talons breaking the skin of my palms as my jaw tightens, and my teeth grit tightly.
“Brother, stop playing with the scraps; end this. I am fucking bored,” comes Rush’s voice in a low, bored tone.
The rogue’s gaze flickers to my brother, and I take the opportunity to lunge for the cunt, driving my blade into his chest, striking his heart. Unlike his brother, he does not look at me with shock— it is like he already knew the risks coming here and was willing to die, after causing much chaos.
He parts with words that would stop my heart, if I had one.
“You cannot protect her all of the time.” With that, his body jerks before ash fills the air.
Dread fills me knowing that he means Delaney. They fucking plan to target her to get to me.
This is why I stayed away.
Wrath fills me.
My body is vibrating with undiluted rage.
My lips curl, my fists bunch, and my body is coiled tight.
Looking down at the two piles of ash, I bring my boot up, stomping on the soft embers, watching as they float away in the wind.
“Brother, you need to bring this to church,” Camo calls.
“I need to go to her,” I snap.
“Go,” Camo replies, then he looks to Halen. “Go and fill Pres in on what has happened tonight; we will be at Starlight Lounge.”
Moving to my bike in a flash, Camo hot on my heels, we mount up before firing up the bikes, and head toward my woman. She needs to be kept safe, away from fucks who want to take her from me.
I will bleed them dry if they touch her.