Chapter Thirty-Seven
Hunter
I know I can’t put it off any longer. Where?
Meeting room.
I head that way. When I get to the packhouse, I shift and throw on a pair of sweats from the basket by the front door and head inside.
It doesn’t bother me that I’m not wearing a shirt or shoes.
We’re pack; they're used to it. Bryce might give me grief for being like this in front of Ava, but I couldn't care less.
I stride inside and push the door open to the meeting room.
“Thanks for dressing up,” Ava mutters.
I smirk, calling on my dark side. I need it right now. “Anytime, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Bryce pins me with a dark look, and I drop into a chair. Everybody’s eyes are on me, and I feel like flipping them all off just for the fun of it. I don’t, though.
Leo slides a box across the table to me. “Thanks.” My voice is dark as I take out the new cell phone.
Bryce turns to me. “What happened?”
“With what?” I can’t help but retort.
He scowls, but it’s Ava that responds verbally. “Maybe you could pull your head out of your backside for thirty seconds and tell us what happened with my friend.” She emphasizes those last two words heavily.
“Sure. Why not?” There’s a niggling in the back of my head that tells me to stay quiet, but I ignore it.
She wants the truth? I’ll give it to her.
“Where should I start? How about that she was strapping the healer down to the table? Or maybe the part where she was taking her life’s energy from her, nearly killing her? Oh, or here’s a good one.”
“Hunter,” Bryce says in a warning voice, one that I ignore.
“How about when she was shoving a needle into the girl’s arm to take her blood?”
I hear a sound, and I finally come back to my senses.
My gaze lands on Ava, and regret bubbles inside, but it’s too late.
She has her hand over her mouth, and then she stands up from the table and runs out the door.
Bryce gives me such a cold look before disappearing from the room.
I wonder if he’s going to kill me in my sleep tonight.
It’s silent in the room. “When did you become such a jerk?” Cody asks.
I smirk. “I’ve always been this way.”
“No, you haven’t,” Leo says quietly. I don’t look over at him.
“I could have told you this would happen,” Alicia says, leaning back in her chair. “What did you all think was going to happen by bringing a vampire here? At the end of the day, her baser instincts will rule her.”
“Stop, Alicia,” Cody warns in a quiet voice.
“Why should I?” she asks.
“Because Hunter’s going to rip your heart out,” Leo says in just as quiet a voice.
Alicia laughs. “No, he’s not. Why would he?”
There’s silence in the room for all of three seconds. “Because she was his mate,” Cody says quietly.
My heart squeezes, and I find myself gripping the table so hard that it cracks. Alicia gives a brittle laugh. “She’s not his mate. She’s a vampire! What don’t you all get about that?” Her voice is shrill, and it grates on my nerves.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Alicia says, sitting back in her chair. “She made her choice. She’ll have to live with it. Hopefully, the vampires will take their vengeance on her for helping you get the healer out.”
I go very still. “What did you just say?” She looks across the table at me and must see something on my face.
“What?”
I continue to stare at her. “How did you know she helped me get the healer out?”
She stares at me. “I just know, just like everybody else knows.”
“I never told anybody that.”
“Hunter, you’re obviously tired. Nobody—”
I bang my hand on the table, causing her to jump. “Answer me.” I stand up and drop both my hands to the table. “How did you know, Alicia?” I snap. One moment, I’m standing opposite her; the next, I leap over the table and shove her body into the wall with my hands wrapped around her throat.
“Whoa,” Cody says, standing. “Everybody, calm down, and let’s talk this through.”
Alicia stares up at me, “What is wrong with you, Hunter?”
“Answer me,” I squeeze tighter.
And then Bryce is there. “Stand down, Hunter.”
I’ve always wondered if I could ignore an alpha order from him. Guess now’s as good a time as any. I feel his power lash out at me, but I manage to stay on my feet. “Hunter!”
I ignore him and stare down at Alicia. “I am going to ask you one last time.” My words are slow and distinct. “How did you know that Sherese helped me get the healer out?”
I feel Bryce’s power release its hold on me. “What’s going on?” he asks.
I don’t turn away from Alicia. “She knew that Sherese helped me get the healer out, but I—”
“Didn’t tell us that,” Bryce fills in. “Alicia,” he starts. “This would be a good time to tell us what you know.”
She shocks me, shocks us all when she throws her head back and laughs. I stare at her, wondering if she’s lost her mind. “He told me it would be easy, but I never thought it would be. I mean, how could it?”
An uneasy feeling flows through me, and I take a few steps back. “What are you talking about?” Cody asks, stepping closer to her.
She shakes her head. “You only see what you want to see, even when it’s been in front of you the entire time.
You wolves are so full of yourselves, think you’re top dog.
” She shakes her head and smiles. I get a glimpse of fangs, fangs that are too long to be werewolves’.
And then in a move that will live in my head for the rest of my life, she shoves a clawed hand into Cody’s chest and rips out his heart.
It takes me precious seconds to react. Cody’s shocked eyes meet mine, and then his body falls forward.
I manage to catch him and lower him to the ground.
Bryce roars his rage and disappears out the door Alicia just ran through.
I want to stay with Cody, but he’s gone.
I race after Bryce, who I know is racing to find his mate, his pregnant mate. I hear a scream, and I speed up.
Then Bryce’s alpha command roars through my head. Lockdown! Alicia is a vampire. I repeat. Alicia is a vampire and has already killed, and she will again. Lockdown immediately. Hunter— He doesn’t even have to say it. I’m already on it.
Enforcers, cover every exit. Follow the intruder procedure.
Every enforcer is now on duty! Brent, Rick, Xavier, and Quadaire, you’re on the alpha’s house and mate.
I shout the orders as I race through the halls, trying to find a scent.
But there is none. It hits me that she probably used a scent blocker.
She used a scent blocker. You won’t know she’s there until you’re on top of her. Be vigilant.
I see her! Karl, one of my enforcers shouts. She's—
His voice cuts off abruptly, and fury fills me. Who’s got eyes on Karl? I shout through the link.
He’s gone.
I continue running, but she’s a ghost. We search every square inch of pack property, but she’s nowhere to be found. She’s long gone, Bryce finally sends out hours later.
Anger burns through me. I shove a hand through my hair and make my way to the meeting room.
I throw the door open, not caring that it slams into the wall.
Bryce follows me in, looking just as angry as I am.
Ava’s with him, and I’m sure that’s making him even more on edge.
Leo’s already on his laptop; I’m sure he has been since we lost sight of her.
I notice absently that Cody’s body has been removed, and fresh grief and anger run through me simultaneously.
Bryce stands at the end of the table and slams his fist down on the table. “How did we miss this? How in the—” He drops his head and takes a breath. “How did this happen?” For some reason, his eyes find mine, but I don’t have any more answers than he does. “Leo, you got anything on her escape?”
He shakes his head. “No. She’s way too smart; she literally avoided every single camera once she left this room.”
“Okay, let’s start at the beginning,” Ava says without any emotion in her voice. “Did she grow up here or transfer in?”
Bryce pulls out his chair and sits. “Grew up here, born and bred.”
“So, you’re sure she was a wolf?”
“Yeah. She was.” There’s no doubt in Bryce’s voice.
“So they...what? Kidnap her? Turn her into a vampire?” Ava asks. “I mean, the vampires have tons of money. Could that have been a draw?”
Bryce doesn’t say a word, and Ava turns to me. “I don’t know.” I really am clueless on this.
Then Bryce speaks. “I don’t know either, but we need to warn the other packs.”
“And tell them what?” I ask.
Bryce’s glowing eyes meet mine. “That one of our wolves just vamped out and killed one of my most powerful wolves.”
None of us says a word as Bryce pulls out his phone and drops it onto the table. The phone rings, and I don’t have to wonder long who he’s calling first. “Bryce,” the other voice says.
“Garrett,” Bryce says in return. “I’m calling with bad news on multiple fronts. Things went sideways with Hunter and Sherese’s mission. Hunter had to get a healer out, but Sherese stayed behind.” He glances at me. “He thinks she’s working with them.”
“So, no Ajax,” Garrett pieces together.
“Yeah.”
Garrett doesn’t let it faze him. “We’ll figure out another way in. Thanks for letting me know.” He pauses a moment. “Tell Hunter I’m sorry.”
I don’t acknowledge the alpha’s words. “There’s more,” Bryce adds. Garrett waits silently. “You remember Alicia, one of the wolves on my security team?”
“Yes.”
Bryce pauses again, and Ava reaches out and takes his hand. “She vamped out and killed Cody. She’s currently in the wind.”
There’s absolute silence on Garrett’s end for a moment. “Come again?”
“She’s a vampire, and she just took out one of my strongest wolves.”
“How?” Garrett demands, but he can demand all he wants. We have no answers.
“I don’t know. We’re trying to deal with the fallout of this right now. I’m just giving you a courtesy call.”
It’s silent for a moment. “You had no idea?”
“No.”
It’s quiet again, and then Garrett says, “This changes everything.”
Bryce’s reply is equally soft. “Yes. It does.”
“Thank you for letting me know. We will need to let other packs know.”
“Yeah, I’ll let Maverick’s pack and Wyatt’s know,” Bryce says.
“I'll pass on the word to a few other packs.”
“Thanks.”
Bryce hangs up and doesn’t waste a second calling Maverick. “Bryce,” the alpha answers.
“Maverick,” Bryce starts. “I’m calling with bad news.
” He doesn’t give Maverick time to respond; he just gets right into it.
“One of my pack members just vamped out and killed one of the strongest males in my pack.” He says nothing, and Bryce continues.
“She escaped off pack property. Our guess is that she’ll run back to vampire territory.
I’m calling to warn you. I don’t know when it happened or how, but she’s a full vampire. ”
I suddenly remember the body we’d found drained on the pack property before Sherese and I went to vampire territory.
I look up and meet Bryce’s gaze. I’m pretty sure it hits him about the same time it hit me.
A sick look crosses his face, and I get it.
I’m pretty sure I look about the same. There’s nothing but silence on the other end.
“Thank you for letting me know.” That’s all Maverick says, but he’s a calculating guy.
He’ll already be thinking through the ramifications of this.
Wyatt is the next call, and he’s just as shocked as everybody else, but a little more verbal about the whole thing. When Bryce hangs up, he looks like he aged about ten years. “What happens next?” Ava asks quietly, looking more defeated than I’ve seen from her in a while.