Chapter 23 #2
I nodded and followed right behind him. The mine was pitch black inside. Moss-covered walls. Damp, moldy smell. Evan clicked on his flashlight, the beam cutting through the darkness.
"Watch your step," he said quietly.
The ground was uneven, water pooling in places. We advanced carefully. The deeper we went, the larger the space became. Torches appeared on the walls—someone had been here.
"Mommy..." A faint voice.
My heart lurched.
"Kai!" I started to rush forward, but Evan grabbed me.
"Wait." He scanned the area warily. "Could be a trap."
But the voice came again, clearer.
"Mommy... help me..."
I couldn't hold back. I wrenched free from Evan and ran toward the voice.
"Miss Ross!" Evan shouted behind me, but I'd already plunged deeper into the mine.
The tunnel suddenly opened into a vast natural chamber. Countless torches lined the walls, flickering light illuminating the entire space. Then I saw him.
Kai—tied to a stone pillar in the center. His little face deathly pale. Eyes red and swollen.
"Mommy!" He saw me and cried harder.
I started toward him—
A ring of vampires emerged from the shadows, surrounding Kai. A dozen. Maybe more. They grinned, fangs bared, eyes glowing red in the firelight.
And Drake.
He stood beside Kai, leaning on his cane, wearing a false smile.
"Layla Gray." He spoke like reciting poetry. "You came."
Evan and the other warriors burst in, raising guns at the vampires.
"Let him go!" I aimed my gun at Drake's head. "Or I'll kill you right now!"
"Kill me?" Drake laughed. "You're welcome to try, but before you pull that trigger..."
He tapped his cane on the ground. The vampires lunged at us simultaneously.
"Fire!" Evan roared.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Gunfire thundered in the enclosed space. Bullets tore through the air, hitting the charging vampires. One, two, three... but there were too many.
"Shift!" Evan shouted as his body began changing. Bones cracking. Power surging beneath skin. Gray fur erupted across his body. Claws lengthened. Fangs emerged. The other warriors followed suit, becoming wolves, fighting in the firelight.
Two warriors shielded me, but my eyes never left Kai.
I had to save him.
I had to.
A vampire broke through the line and lunged at me. Instinct—I raised the gun—
Bang!
The bullet punched through its chest. It shrieked and fell.
My hand trembled. Recoil numbed my wrist. But I'd done it. I'd hit it.
"Miss Ross, fall back!" a warrior yelled, blocking me.
The fight intensified. Claws against claws. Fangs tearing flesh. Blood—black, red—pooling on the ground.
I strained to see Kai.
Evan fought three vampires, moving like lightning, each strike lethal. But there were too many. He was getting injured. The other warriors struggled too. We were outnumbered.
Then a massive shadow emerged from the endless tide of vampires. A gray wolf, larger than the others. But its movements were sluggish. Eyes clouded.
Drake. He'd shifted.
"Let's see," he transmitted through the wolves' mental link, "what makes Kayden's second-in-command so special."
He lunged at Evan. Evan sensed Drake's movement and tried to dodge, but the vampires swarmed like locusts, pinning him down. Drake's paw slammed into Evan, hurling him against the wall. Evan let out a pained howl and collapsed.
"Evan!" I rushed toward him.
"Don't... don't come..." Evan gasped, struggling to rise. "Protect... Kai..."
Drake turned to me, bloodlust in his eyes.
"Your turn, hybrid." He charged.
I raised the gun and fired three times.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But Drake was too fast. He dodged sideways. Bullets struck stone, spraying debris. He scattered my protective detail. Closer. Closer. I could see his fangs. Smell his rot.
Diana screamed inside me. The rage of her stolen pup had been compressed too long. A massive force exploded from within. Bones shifted. Skin tore. Muscles expanded. Fur erupted from beneath my skin.
Brown. Soft. Gleaming amber.
I shifted.
We collided mid-air and hit the ground, rolling in a tangle. He snapped at my throat. I kicked his chest with my front legs, creating distance, dodging his bite. My hind claws raked his belly. Blood spurted.
Drake howled in agony. Pain fueled his rage. His attacks became wild.
Blood. Fur. Furious snarls.
He hurt my child.
He had to die!
I found an opening in his chaotic assault. The fierce battle had drained him. I deliberately exposed a weakness, baiting him to kick with his hind leg, then stomped hard on the joint.
Drake roared. I seized the moment. Clamped my jaws around his nape. With everything I had—
Twisted. Crack. Clean snap of bone.
Drake's body went rigid, then slowly went limp. I released him. He fell, eyes still open but lifeless.
Evan and the warriors still fought the vampires, but the tide had turned. Drake's death sent the vampires into disarray. They retreated.
I shifted back to human form, covered in blood, but I didn't care.
"Kai!" I started toward the pillar.
"Mommy!" He cried. "Mommy..."
"Such a touching reunion." A voice echoed from deep in the mine, sinister and sickly pleased.
I froze. Slowly looked up.
A gaunt figure emerged from the shadow, footsteps echoing in the vast space. He stepped into the firelight. Deathly pale skin. Brooding features. Eyes glowing red.
Finn Blackwood.
He wore a black robe, hands clasped behind his back, a mocking smile on his lips.
He'd changed.
His skin was paler—corpse-white. Eyes blood-red. At the corners of his mouth... fangs barely visible.
He'd become a half-vampire.
"Long time no see," Finn said, moving beside Kai, each step landing on my heartbeat. "My fiancée."
"Shut up." My voice was ice. "You're disgusting."
"Disgusting?" Finn laughed, the sound twisted and sick. "Layla, you wound me."
"We were engaged, after all."
"I may have died, but technically, you're still my fiancée."
"That engagement was never valid." I calculated how many bullets I had left. Finn stood right next to Kai. I couldn't risk a shot.
"Wasn't it?" Finn tilted his head. "But I remember it so clearly."
"Elder Drake personally delivered the invitation. You wore your prettiest dress and prepared a bouquet..."
His smile grew more grotesque.
"Such a shame the groom 'died' early."
He burst into laughter, tears streaming. "You should've seen your face! Shock, terror, despair..."
"It was magnificent!"
I clenched my jaw. Behind my back, I quietly picked up the gun I'd dropped when shifting. Slowly gripped it.
"All right, all right. Enough teasing." Finn stopped laughing and wiped his eyes. "Maybe you'd prefer I call you..."
He paused, malice glinting.
"Sister-in-law?"
More insane laughter echoed through the mine like multiple Finns laughing at once.
"You're insane," I whispered, fangs baring involuntarily.
"Maybe." Finn shrugged. "But that doesn't matter."
"What matters is..."
His eyes went cold. Hollow and cruel.
"You think Kayden truly loves you? A hybrid orphan? The pack's defect? Layla, have you looked in a mirror?"
Finn extended his hand theatrically.
"Look at yourself. Are you worthy of an Alpha? Remember how he abandoned you? In front of everyone. Called you a 'mistake.' Said Silver Moon Pack's Luna could never be someone like you."
Each word was a blade, stabbing into my heart's still-bleeding wounds.
Those memories... the wind on the cliff. The icy sea. Kayden's cold stare. They hadn't truly healed, and now they were ripped open again.
"You think when he says he loves you now, it's real?" Finn continued. "Once the novelty wears off, once the pack pressures him..."
"He'll abandon you just like seven years ago. Because you'll always be that unworthy—"
"Enough!"
I cut him off, my voice shaking with fury, but my eyes stayed steady.
"I don't need you judging my relationship with Kayden, you coward who sold his soul for power!"
I looked at him—at the madness and twisted hatred in his eyes.
"You'll never understand what real love and trust are."
Finn's smile froze.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." I gripped Kayden's gun tighter, drawing strength. "You drank vampire blood. Mixed with the wolves' mortal enemies. Became an ugly monster."
"For what? Revenge on Kayden? Payback for the pack's injustice? But the way you did it..."
I gave a deliberately cruel laugh—mockery. I had to provoke him further to find an opening.
"Only proves you're a coward."
"Too afraid to face him directly. Only lurking in shadows. Too afraid to own your ambition. Just hiding behind the banner of revenge."
"Finn Blackwood, you..."
My voice went cold. Scornful.
"You're not fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Kayden."
Finn's expression changed. An unnatural flush crept across his pallid face. The red in his eyes intensified.
"You..." His voice trembled. Pupils dilated. "How dare you?"
"I'm stating facts."
"Shut up!" Finn suddenly screamed, his face contorting. "You bitch! What right do you have to judge me?!"
"You're just a hybrid! An orphan! A—"
He drew a sharp breath. The flush faded. In its place—cold, hollow emptiness.
"Forget it." His tone shifted to something like pity. "No point arguing with the dead."
"You..." My heart sank.
Finn's pale hand shot out and clamped around Kai's throat.
"Mom—" Kai tried to call out, but the sound choked off.
"Let him go!" I raised the gun, hand shaking as I aimed at Finn. But I knew my aim wasn't good enough... He was too close to Kai. I didn't dare shoot.
"Drop the gun," Finn said, fingers slowly tightening. "Or I'll snap his neck right now."
Kai's face turned purple. His small hands weakly clawed at Finn's arm.
"No... don't..." Tears threatened to spill as I watched Kai suffer. I slowly lowered the gun. "Please..."
"Kick it over."
I obeyed. The gun slid across the floor to his feet.
"Good." Finn smiled. "Such an obedient mother."
"What do you want?" I fought to stay calm, but my mind was unraveling. "My life? I'll die, just let Kai go."
"Your life?" Finn's smile widened. "Layla, you overestimate yourself. Your life is worthless."
"I want Kayden to suffer! Watch him lose everything, just like I did!"
His hatred froze me solid, chilled me to the bone.
Finn finished venting. Suddenly drained of emotion. He looked at me like I was already a corpse.
"Watch your son go to hell."
His grip on Kai's throat tightened viciously. Kai's face turned purple-red instantly. Eyes rolled back. His little hands went limp.
"Kai!" My scream tore the air.
Bang!
A gunshot from behind me.