Chapter 7
It wasincredible how much better I felt after a full meal. And by full meal, I meant at least half the rotisserie chicken was now resting happily in my belly. Along with six slices of bread, lots of cheese, half a head of lettuce, mayo, and a full tomato. Sandwiches were the epitome of comfort food. And after three days of hardly eating, this had felt like a feast. The protein eased my jitteriness, but also made me hella tired. If it was Thanksgiving—and I was wearing jeans—I might have popped the button and let my happily distended belly do its thang. A notion Avery clearly shared with me as she groaned and leaned back on the couch.
Yeah, I felt that down to my bones.
We couldn’t sleep though. Or rather, I couldn’t sleep. I knew Adrian and his vamps were hiding from the sunlight. But I also knew—thanks to the daily holy water regime—that he also employed humans. Humans he could have ordered to scour all the closest neighborhoods until they found us. Sitting still made me anxious. No way I’d be able to sleep through that.
Not to mention, I still had dozens of questions to unload on Avery. And I had a feeling that once the retrieval team arrived, I’d lose my chance.
We both turned to stare at each other, our eyelids drooping, but neither willing to rest.
“So—”
“I—”
Chuckling, I gestured at her. “You go first.” Truthfully, I wanted to go first. But it seemed the polite thing to do, since she was the one providing me with food and shelter. I might have been raised by the foster system, but I still had manners.
“Thanks.” She reached her hand out to me. “Avery Goldman. Werewolf. Ranked fifth in the New Orleans Pack.”
My eyebrows lifted. Fifth. Wow. That certainly wasn’t anything to shake a fist at. I didn’t know the New Orleans Pack’s exact size, but I did know they were quite large. Perhaps even larger than the Mississippi Pack.
I took her hand and shook it. “Madison Smith. Werewolf. Vampire Slayer. Not technically part of a pack.”
Avery frowned. “What does ‘not technically’ mean? I thought you said you were Sam’s sister-in-law?”
“I’ve always been a lone wolf, so to speak. And my sister understands that. I have friends and family, and they make up my pack.”
Avery’s frown didn’t ease. Clearly, she didn’t understand my logic. To her, werewolves belonged in packs. Being a lone wolf wasn’t something to strive for. But I’d been alone my whole life. I’d never wanted a pack. I’d wanted a family, and I had one. One I was desperate to return home to.
“And you said you’re a vampire slayer?”
“I am. Have been for going on six years.”
“But…” Her gaze drifted to the ceiling, likely picturing Gabriel upstairs.
“Yeah,” I said, chuckling. “My mate is a vampire. Trust me, it was a shock to me too.” I didn’t mention that Gabriel was the Vampire King.
“Okay. I’ll try to wrap my head around that one. Now, the man that’s chasing you. Gabriel said he was his father?”
I nodded. “Adrian. He’s got a bit of a grudge against his son, one he refuses to let go.”
“Must be some grudge,” she commented, her warm eyes peering into mine.
I didn’t really feel like getting into that particularly messed up story. “What does Adrian want with you?”
Her eyes widened. “Me? Nothing that I know of. Why?”
This time, I was the one frowning. I cocked my head and regarded her. “He must have put you in that cage for a reason.”
Her face darkened like a thundercloud. “Adrian had nothing to do with that.”
“What do you mean? That warehouse?—”
“Does not belong to your Adrian,” Avery growled. “I don’t know how your problems and mine intertwine, but that warehouse belongs to a vampire named Nash. I’ve been hunting him for a long time. Unfortunately, he found me first.”
“Okay, hold up.” I lifted a hand and pinched the bridge of my nose. “So that warehouse doesn’t belong to Adrian? And those cages…?”
“Are all Nash’s design.” Avery exhaled slowly, her gaze hardening and jaw tightening. “Nash has been a blight on this area for about a year now. Kidnapping werewolves, caging them, torturing them, killing them. It was my job to find the bastard and run a stake through his black and withered heart. But?—”
“He found you first,” I said, digesting this new piece of the puzzle. So, Adrian didn’t own that warehouse. And he wasn’t the one stocking it up with cages. This Nash was. “Adrian and Nash must know each other then. Or Adrian’s heard of him. Heard enough to reach out to him in a moment of need.”
Avery’s eyes suddenly widened, and she reached out and snatched my hand. I wasn’t a fan of being touched by people I didn’t know, but I refrained from pulling back.
“You’re a vampire slayer,” she said, a light sparking in her eyes.
“Uh huh.”
“You can kill him. Nash, I mean,” she announced, as though there wasn’t a doubt in her mind. “I can help you track him down. I’ve done it before, I can do it again. And then you can slay him. I’m a great tracker, but I’m not trained for fighting vamps.”
Oh boy. I should have seen this coming a mile away. And if she was such a great tracker, then how did he find her first? I didn’t voice that question though.
“Please, Maddie,” Avery pushed, likely when she caught sight of my frown. She scooted closer on the couch, her presence a bit overwhelming now that she wanted something from me. “My pack is strong, but we’ve had some rough times. You’re Sam’s sister-in-law, meaning you’re Lucy’s sister, yes?”
I nodded.
“Then you know about Corbin?”
Oh yeah, I knew all about him. He was dead, thankfully.
“Corbin murdered one of Sam’s sisters.”
I flinched. Lucy had mentioned that to me once, but we’d never spoken of it again.
“After that, things changed. It was about a year after Izzy’s death when Sam’s dad decided to step down as alpha. He never really recuperated, you know?”
I’d never had a child stolen from me, so I didn’t know. But I could imagine. If anyone ever touched one of Lucy’s children, my niece and nephew, there wouldn’t be anything left of them for the police to find.
“And since Sam’s in Mississippi with Lucy, his eldest sister, Aimee, took over the pack. She’s been a wonderful alpha. She implemented a new training regime so that our people would never be caught unaware again. She prepared us for any worst case scenario she could imagine—that’s how I knew how to navigate the bayou and knew about the boat. She trained us well.”
“Okay,” I hedged, hearing the quiet but….
“But”—there it was—“she’s inexperienced in matters like these. Hell, I don’t know many werewolves who would be experienced in this kind of thing.”
More than she knew, unfortunately. Myself, Lucy, Sam—we had far too much experience in matters such as these.
“Start from the beginning,” I said, needing the full story before I promised anything.
Avery blew out a breath. “Okay. It started about a year ago. One of our more introverted werewolves disappeared. He never came to pack meetings, had very few friends. He was like you, I guess, a lone wolf. Unfortunately, we didn’t give much thought to his absences until he’d already been missing for about a month.”
“No one ever reported him as missing to the police?”
She shook her head. “He truly didn’t have many people in his life. And those we found were like his mailman and a barista at a coffee shop he frequented. Both just thought he’d gone on a vacation or something. Aimee initiated a new procedure that required all werewolves to check in monthly, even if they don’t come to the pack meetings. That’s how we noticed when our second werewolf went missing. A woman named Dana. Also fairly low in pack ranking.”
“So he started with the weaker members,” I concluded.
Avery nodded. “We immediately started investigating. This time, it was a bit different. We found her car in an impound lot. It’d been towed after someone reported it abandoned. We didn’t find any evidence of a fight in her house?—”
“You wouldn’t. Unless she invited him in. A vampire can’t enter someone’s home without permission.”
Avery chewed on that for a moment. “Meaning he would have had to wait until she was somewhere accessible.”
“Correct,” I said.
“When our third wolf went missing, a man by the name of Joseph Donnelly, I got involved.” Her expression shuttered, and she closed her eyes.
Uh huh. And I suspected why. “Joseph was important to you?”
Her bottom lip trembled. “My best friend. We’d been friends since we were pups. Not a day went by when we didn’t talk.”
“So you noticed immediately when he went missing,” I concluded.
She nodded, then quickly knuckled away a tear before it fell. “It was the same as all the others. No sign of fighting. Abandoned car. And no contact.”
“Nash is taking them when they’re out in public then. Obviously at night.” I paused and reflected on everything I’d seen at the warehouse. I’d checked all the rooms. Avery had been the only other werewolf present. Meaning something I didn’t want to say out loud.
“He’s dead,” Avery said in a hard voice, as though sensing my thoughts. “Nash made sure to pass that info along to me. In great detail. He confessed everything. Because?—”
“He didn’t think you’d ever leave that cage.”
She jerked a nod.
“How did Nash get his hands on you?”
She shivered, then raked a hand down her face. “I spent months tracking that asshole. I memorized his scent—it was in Joey’s car. I didn’t care if I had to go door to door to find him. Then one night, there Nash was, standing in the middle of the street, watching me. I chased him, but he led me right into a trap. Next thing I know, I woke up in one of those cages.”
Meaning he knew she’d been tracking him. Curious. “And when was that?”
“About a week ago,” she said.
“You’d been in the cage that long?”
Another nod.
“Okay.” I studied her lean body, noting gratefully that she didn’t seem too injured. Werewolves healed quickly, but with poor nutrition and lack of care, our healing abilities slowed. “Looks like we got to you before he could do any permanent damage.”
“He had his fun,” she bit out. “Every night he came to my cage. And every night, he sated himself.”
Oh, I didn’t love the sound of that.
“Did he…?” I paused, not sure how to ask this question. “Did he force himself on you?”
A cold laugh slipped past her lips. “No. I don’t think he’s into werewolves. Not in that way, anyway. I made sure to remain in wolf form as much as possible.”
Yes, I was familiar with that tactic.
“He likes to inflict pain, but I don’t think his needs are sexual.”
Well, that was a small relief. “You said he came to your cage every night. What about last night?”
“He was there with me for a few hours. He left about an hour before you appeared.”
“And was he part of the group chasing us?” I asked.
“No,” she said, anger deepening her voice. “If he had been…”
Yeah, we wouldn’t have been able to control her.
“Meaning, he either isn’t allied with Adrian, or he wasn’t present at the warehouse for our escape.”
Avery considered my words, then gave a slow nod. “I suppose either is possible.” She turned her pleading eyes toward me once more. “Will you help me with this, please? You’re a vampire slayer. This is your wheelhouse. And not to lay the guilt on too thick, but I was there the day we helped Lucy rescue Sam from your other half-sister, Olivia. My pack came all the way to Mississippi to help you guys.”
Oof.
“And you want our help now too, right? That’s what you said earlier this morning when we were running through the bayou. You want us to provide you and Gabriel shelter?”
Oh, for crying out loud. Really, what answer could I give other than yes? I hated that I had no other choice, that this really screwed with my and Gabriel’s plans regarding Adrian, but I couldn’t abandon her. Not when this psycho was abducting, torturing, and killing other werewolves. I wasn’t a part of the New Orleans Pack, but that didn’t mean I could turn my back on them.
I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my tangled hair. “Yeah, I’ll help you, but I need to be straight with you. I have my own problems, as you’ve probably guessed. Adrian and Elias are at the top of that list.” Not to mention the corrupt council waiting for us back in Jackson. “I will help you as much as I can, but I need to prioritize.”
“Tell me about your problems. Maybe I can help?”
I appreciated her offer, I truly did. But I shook my head. “I refuse to drag your pack into this. My problems are so far beyond anything you can help with.”
“I can listen,” she said. “Maybe offer advice?”
I gave a dry chuckle. “I mean no offense, but I really doubt it.”
She shrugged. “We’re stuck here until the retrieval team arrives. And I doubt you’re planning on sleeping. I know I’m sure not.” Though the slight shudder that ran through her told me her reasons were different than mine. Fear, maybe? Afraid to dream? “So, unload on me. Tell me your tale.”
“You really wanna hear it?”
She lifted her hands, then settled onto the couch. “I’m all ears, my friend.”
“Alright. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She cocked a brow. “That bad?”
“It’s not a pleasant story.”
“Okay. Lay it on me.”
I told her everything, from my upbringing to how I became a werewolf and, soon after, a vampire slayer. I told her about the Academy, and how my friends and I had discovered their corruption. How I’d fought a demon. How Adrian abducted me and Gabriel. Then I jumped into Gabriel’s tale and told her about his sordid history, including why his father wanted him dead.
“You…weren’t kidding,” she rasped. “You definitely have a lot on your plate right now.”
“That’s an understatement.”
She ran a hand down her face and blew out a harsh breath. “Like, a real demon? From hell?”
“Or from whatever reality demons come from.”
She lowered her hands and twisted them in her lap. “And you fought it? You killed it?”
I let out a flustered laugh. “Not easily. It damn near killed me.” I grabbed my shirt collar and pulled it down, showing her the top of my lovely scar.
She paled even more. “The demon did that?”
“Thrust its hand into my chest, claws and all.”
She released a slow breath. “I… I’m speechless.”
“It’s been a hard month.”
“A hard month, you say. But it sounds to me like your whole life has been hard.”
I wouldn’t deny that. “It’s been good to me too. It’s given me so much. Six years ago, I had no one. Now I have Gabriel, my sister, Sam, my friends. I never had a family. And now that I do, I refuse to lose them.”
“Which is why you understand why I need to kill Nash. He took my family. He took Joseph.”
Compassion softened me, and I nodded. “Yeah, I get that.”
“Doesn’t it feel overwhelming?” she asked, fear tightening her face. “You carry so much on your shoulders. How are you going to take down the council? And how are you going to end this feud between Gabriel and his father?”
“Adrian will die,” I growled. “That man deserves death after everything he’s done. That’ll end the feud.”
“And Elias?” Avery pushed. “I’m not convinced he helped you. But I’m not sure he betrayed you, either.”
“Gabriel can decide his brother’s fate,” I said. “That’s between them. But if he tries to harm Gabriel, I’ll rip his head off.”
Avery chuckled. “Yeah, I could see you doing that. You’re pretty kick ass, you know. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Not in so many words,” I said, laughing.
“Well, I’m glad to have you on our side.”
“And I’m glad I was able to help you escape that warehouse.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, I’m thankful for that too.”
“I’ll help you track down Nash,” I told her, “and then we’ll kill him. Together.”
Avery’s resolve strengthened with my words, color returning to her cheeks. “I’m going to hold you to that. I’ve been chasing him for far too long. It’s time to end this. And it’ll only end when I drive a stake through his heart.”
I glanced at the nearby clock and noted the time. It was almost noon. Which meant food—because yes, I was hungry again.
“How about we make some lunch, then you get some rest,” I suggested to her.
Fear immediately flashed in her eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep watch. I won’t let anyone harm us, and I’ll be here in case you need me,” I said.
Avery eventually nodded, the tension in her shoulders slowly easing. “I can’t believe I’m hungry again.”
Oh, I believed it. Werewolves and food went together like vampires and blood. And after a week of imprisonment, her body needed all the energy it could find.
As we made our way to the kitchen, the normalcy of the action felt almost alien after everything we’d been through. I found comfort in the mundane. It was a brief respite from the chaos that had become our lives.
While I busied myself fixing another sandwich, Avery sat at the kitchen table, watching me. Her gaze was distant, lost in thought.
“You know,” I started, breaking the silence as I sliced up a whole new tomato, “this is a messed up situation, but for me, it’s oddly normal.”
Avery looked up, a wry smile touching her lips. “I suppose I should find that comforting?”
“Exactly,” I said, before placing a generously sized sandwich in front of her, then returning to make one for myself.
We ate in silence, then I cleaned while Avery made herself comfortable on the couch.
I watched her settle in, my senses alert and ready to pick up on anything abnormal. Outside, the world went on. But inside, I was preparing for battle. I had a new vampire to add to my kill list, but that didn’t bother me. I lived to slay evil vampires. Nash was just another in a long line. And at least this time, I knew he deserved what was coming to him.