Chapter 18 #2
Luckily enough, her men were the best at what they did, and no one fell victim to the crude traps. The hairs on the back of Dru’s neck stood erect. For certain, this vampire did not want to be caught off guard with the amount of traps that had been set.
Her heart rate increased at the thought of the catch. There was something about the thrill of the chase that drove her on. Solomon would soon have to answer to Queen Mira.
The warriors fanned out more and continued on. The forest flew by as Dru used her vampiric speed to race through the forest.
The only sounds were that of the rasp of boots on damp soil.
Finally the trees thinned out, revealing a small cottage half swallowed by ivy.
They paused, remaining hidden in the thickness of the forest. Dru strode forward to the edge of woods and assessed the structure.
The windows were dark, no smoke rose from the chimney, and the silence stretched long and far.
But what really stuck out to Dru was the lack of sound coming from the cottage.
She pulled her gun from her thigh sheath and replaced her blade.
She didn’t want to chance the vampire harboring lycans since the evidence pointed to him working with them.
She gave a few hand signals before she stepped out of the woods.
She strode to the front door while her warriors fanned out around the cottage, surrounding it as a hunting pack would on its prey.
Dru paused at the door and rested a palm on the handle.
With a quick flip of her thumb, the safety was now off her weapon.
Talbot moved to a window near it and peered inside.
He nodded to her. She backed away from the door and used her foot to kick it in.
The door shattered beneath her kick. She aimed her gun true, met with a dark interior and silence.
She didn’t rush into the building. There was no telling what kinds of traps the traitor had set in his home.
The air was thick with the scent of an unknown male—Solomon’s or Sol’s.
The cottage held an open floor plan, allowing Dru to see well into the kitchen, dining area, and living room.
A bed was pushed up in the corner and looked as if someone had slept in it recently.
She strode forward slowly, keeping her guard up.
The hearth was cold, but her attention went straight to the table where a chair sat overturned, as if someone had left in a rush. A cloak hung near the door on a ring, stiff and filthy. She flashed her fangs and snarled.
“He knew we were coming.” Dru already knew who’d been watching them while they were in the forest. She moved back to the door.
“He thinks he can outsmart us,” she said, her voice cold and steady.
She wanted each of her warriors to hear her.
“But he underestimates us. We will not stop until he’s captured. ”
And if Solomon was watching and listening, she hoped he’d heard every word.
* * *
Dru led her warriors back to the tree line.
They had searched the cottage but found nothing, which left her in a foul mood.
They entered the dense forest, but the air was thick with dampness and something else—an acrid musk that raised the hackles of the seasoned warrior.
Dru slowed, her fist lifted in a silent command.
The warriors froze. Blades hissed, guns were drawn. The silence of the woods broke. Branches creaked overhead, and the crunch of the earth was loud slicing through the air. The familiar scent of a wolf entered Dru’s nostrils.
“Lycans,” she spat.
She took out her gun filled with argentite bullets. The ground rumbled as the enemy grew closer. Her warriors prepared themselves for the battle. She didn’t need to tell them. They were ready for the beasts.
“For the crown!”
The first lycan burst forth from the underbrush in a blur of fur.
He raced toward Dru, his teeth bared, hurling himself at her.
Dru raised her gun and pulled the trigger.
His head jerked backward; her aim true. A bullet pierced the middle of his forehead, sending his body flying backward.
She strode forward swiftly, and when she arrived near his body, she fired again.
His body jerked with each shot. She growled and focused.
Head.
Heart.
The argentite would spread through the beast’s veins and guarantee its death.
She swung around. Three more beasts broke through the trees.
Her warriors engaged with the lycans in a heated battle.
Talbot’s sword pierced through one beast’s chest, pinning it to a tree, while another one barreled into a warrior, sending them both crashing to the ground.
More poured out of the woods, surrounding her and her men.
Dru didn’t hesitate to rush into the fray.
She fired her weapon until the magazine was empty.
She ejected it and reached for a replacement on her waist belt.
Then a force smacked into her from behind.
She crashed to the ground and rolled over just as large claws slammed into the earth.
Her gun fell to the ground, lost in the tussle.
Dru snatched her axe out of the sheath on her back and whipped it around.
She pushed up to her feet. The lycan stood almost seven feet tall, its fangs sharp and long.
It was feral, one who was lost to the beast.
“Come on, motherfucker.” She didn’t know fear when it came to fighting these beasts.
Dru was a seasoned warrior, and a recently turned feral lycan was no match for her.
She dove forward, slicing her axe, landing strikes.
The lycan howled and snarled. It dodged her axe, the silver causing smoke to arise from its wounds.
It dove at her, but gunfire filled the air.
Its body spasmed multiple times before falling over.
Dru’s head snapped in the direction of where the gun had been fired and found Orenda standing tall holding her weapon.
Dru slipped her axe back into its sheath.
She gave the warrior a nod, then turned to another beast flying toward her.
It lunged at her, but she caught it by the jaw.
She wrenched it to the side and ripped its skull open with her strength. These were all recently turned lycans.
Sacrificial beasts.
These were not pure-born lycans who’d match Dru’s and her warrior’s strengths.
Even though Azura had been desperate to get her numbers up, she was also willing to sacrifice her people for the greater good of her kind.
It would appear whoever was in charge now was using her methods.
Dru spun around and took in the small battlefield.
Her warriors held their own with the final lycans, but it wasn’t the fighting that captured her attention.
A chill rippled through her spine.
A single figure at the far edge of the trees was visible through the haze. They stood cloaked and watching. Their eyes met for a heartbeat before he melted back into the shadows.
Rage boiled inside Dru. With a snarl, she took off after him and raced to where she’d seen him last, but there was no trace of him or where he’d disappeared to.
It had to be Solomon. This confirmed, without a doubt, the vampire had betrayed his people and sided with the lycans.
When the last lycan fell, quiet returned. Dru’s warriors stood bloodied but unbroken. Their eyes burned with the same fire that consumed their general.
“Was that him?” Talbot strode forward through the warriors.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I’d be willing to bet it was.” Dru sniffed.
The forest stank of lycan blood and fur. The beasts lay broken in heaps, their howls snuffed out. Dru took in the footprints left in the damp earth near where she stood. This had been where the vampire watched them face the lycans.
The lycans he’d sent to attack them.
“We should go after him,” Orenda murmured. The warrior bent down and wiped one of her blades on the fur of a dead lycan. She stood and sheathed her weapon.
Murmurs of agreement went around. As much as Dru wanted to follow behind him, it would be another trap.
“No,” Dru snapped.
The word silenced the conversations. All eyes moved to her.
“He’d want us reckless and chasing after him.
He knew we were coming. He waited until we didn’t find anything at the cottage then sent his wolves after us.
” She paused and met each of their eyes.
Oh, they would get the chance to go after the traitor, but now would not be the time.
Solomon or Sol didn’t understand who she was.
She was cunning and highly intelligent. He was going to learn she was his worst nightmare. “We will not play into his hands.”
The warriors nodded, the weight of her words settling on them. They trusted her. They bowed their heads and thumped their fists over their hearts.
Dru crouched, tracing a fresh set of lycan prints still pressed into the damp earth.
“This was definitely coordinated. Planned. He wanted us to find the cottage. He lured us out here in order to take us out. This is not the work of a traitor hiding from the crown. This is a traitor with allies.”
Growls sliced through the air.
“Then what is our next move, General?” one of the warriors asked.
Dru rose to her full height. The cool air grew moist as a light sprinkle fell. They’d need to dispose of the bodies quickly.
“We burn the bodies, then we’ll regroup at the inn. He knows we’re after him. I want security tightened at the inn. I’ll speak with the postmaster about this attack. The town may need to go on lockdown.”