Veso

  Glenda straightened a few feet away and he turned, watching her. Her cheeks were a little red. “I guess you heard me pee.”

  “I wasn’t listening, and I don’t even want to know why performing a normal body function embarrasses you. I’d piss in front of you if I had to go.” He jerked his head. “Stick to the thick clumps of trees until we’re farther away so that human doesn’t spot us.”

  “What if it’s a good guy? Maybe the police are searching for me.”

  He decided to be blunt. “It’s too remote for them to reach this area easily from the time the sun rose. It means they were already out here in the night, and if the soldiers didn’t tear them apart to take their blood, they are part of their tracking team.”

  “Oh.”

  “Move, Glenda. Now!”

  She spun, doing what she’d been told. He followed her, keeping on alert. He was happy when she traveled at a faster pace without the weight of the backpack. Her balance was a lot better too, and he didn’t have to reach out to keep her from falling as she climbed over rocks. She even stuck to the closely grown-together trees, just as he’d asked.

  She might have potential as a mate after all.

  That thought had him biting back a growl. His mind kept going there and it irritated him. The blood transfer had to be a temporary thing but he’d hoped the effects would have faded after twenty-four hours. It had been longer and he still felt attracted to her, thinking of her in a way he shouldn’t.

  They were making good time. He stuck close to her, his gaze constantly moving, seeking a threat. The damn Vamp had day guards. It pissed him off. It meant they were being hunted around the clock and there was no safety just because the sun had risen. He’d also bet they had dart guns. The master was obviously insane but he would know humans posed no threat to a VampLycan unless they could drug him.

  They made it down a slope and into another area ravaged by past flood waters. He didn’t like being in the open but they couldn’t bypass the area. He grabbed Glenda’s arms before they left the trees and pulled her to a halt. He removed water and handed it to her.

  “Catch your breath first. We have to run as fast as you can across this.”

  She stared at the destruction where water had taken down trees, left deep scars in the earth, and dragged rocks so they were partially covered. “We’ll break our necks.”

  “One day guard means there are probably more.”

  She drank, handed the bottle back, and surprised him when she began to search the ground. She located a broken stick, then another, fisting them.

  “What are you doing?”

  She faced him. “I might not be Miss Outdoor Survival Champion but I’ve seen movies. These are good weapons. I dare any asshole to try to take me back to that mine. I’ll stab him or her in the throat if they come at me. I’m not going to run and break my leg trying to get through that obstacle course.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  “It’s uneven, rough ground, covered in rocks and trees and debris. I could fall and stab myself on one of these.” She shook a hand, brandishing her stick. “I’m putting my foot down about this right now. I’m carefully walking across that area until we get to higher ground and the upright trees. Then I’ll run again once we get past the clearing. Got it?”

  “Glenda, you’re not being reasonable.”

  “I’m human. You might be able to run across that without bodily injuries but not me. We’re compromising on this. Deal with it, Veso.”

  He growled.

  “Understood. You’re not happy. How about you run and I’ll follow at a slower pace to where you disappear into the trees? That way you can watch me and yell if you see anyone coming?”

  That idea wasn’t a bad one. She probably would fall and get hurt if he made her run. This way she’d only have to risk it if he spotted danger. He studied her. She looked tired. Walking would help her catch her breath. “Be careful.”

  “You too.”

  He hesitated, glanced toward where they’d come from, but felt certain no one was behind them. “Move as fast as you can and you run to me if I yell at you. Deal?”

  “Like my ass is on fire.”

  He assumed that meant she agreed. He took off, not allowing his instincts to overrule his common sense to stay at her side. Her plan was solid, if not ideal. He dodged fallen trees, jumped over some of the larger rocks, and made it to the other side. He entered the trees, put the tarp down, and shrugged off the backpack. He climbed a tree, using his claws to tear into the bark. He got high enough to have a good vantage point.

  Glenda had begun to cross the clearing. He checked her progress, ground his teeth at her extreme caution, then turned his attention elsewhere, looking for any movement that wasn’t her. He spotted some wildlife but nothing human. He kept scanning, silently urging her to move faster.

  He was able to glimpse the river when he climbed higher to get a better view. White caught his eye and he twisted, gripped another branch, and moved to get a better look. A low growl caught in his throat. Two humans were out there but far away still. They had large backpacks on, like hikers wore. He glanced from their location to Glenda. They wouldn’t be able to see her unless they left the trees and rounded a bend where the flood trail had flowed.

  He lost sight of them for a few minutes because of the density of the woods but then he caught another glimpse. They were heading toward the river. He swung back to the original branch he’d stood on and calculated how fast they’d have to move to avoid those humans. They could do it but Glenda would need to run.

  Veso climbed down after feeling secure those two were the only threat. He waved to Glenda, using his finger over his lips to keep her quiet when he stepped out far enough for her to see him. She looked up, her mouth opened, but she said nothing. Fear showed on her face though. He nodded, dropped his hand from his face, and held up two fingers, then pointed in the direction of where he’d seen the men.

  She picked up the pace and he hurried down the embankment, hauled her into his arms, and carried her back into the tree line so they’d make it there faster.

  “Are you sure they’re bad guys?”

  He gently lowered her to her feet and put the backpack on. “I told you. It’s a remote area. They’d have been food if they weren’t working with the Vampires.”

  “That’s not exactly what you said but point made.”

  “We have to run to get ahead of them to the river. Try to keep quiet and I’ll lead.”

  She reached out suddenly and gripped his arm. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because I might balk at the river but now I’m afraid, so I’ll just do what you say when we get there, despite being worried I’ll drown.”

  “I won’t lie to you, Glenda. There are two humans and we need to avoid them.”

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Nine

  Glen had what she felt would be a permanent cramp in her side and her feet ached by the time they reached the river. Veso turned, staring down at her. It annoyed her that he wasn’t panting too or covered in sweat. If she ever had doubted he wasn’t human, no more. He’d kept her to a grueling pace between the clearing and the large body of water.

  “I’ll take you across first, then return for our supplies.”

  She bent, gripped her knees, and closed her eyes. “I need to catch my breath. You do that first and come back for me.”

  He growled. “I’d rather risk losing our supplies than you. I take you across first.”

  She lifted her head, staring up at him. “Give me two minutes. I bet you could swim across there and return in that time. You’re a freak of nature.”

  He scowled.

  “Do you want me to puke?” She collapsed, sitting down hard, and didn’t even care if it was unladylike. She spread her thighs apart and leaned forward, bracing her hands there. “Give me at least two minutes. I should get bonus points for keeping up and not falling on my
face. That had to be two miles I just ran.”

  “Damn it. Don’t move.”

  He spun around, just trudging right into the water. She watched him as the water got deeper, until it reached his shoulders. He had the backpack on, the tarp locked under one arm. He swam as though he’d been born to do it, making it look easy as he used his free arm and both legs to maneuver through the body of water. She saw stuff floating by him but he swam almost a straight line, seeming oblivious to the current.

  “Freak of nature, alright,” she muttered.

  Some of the pain in her side faded and she slowed her breathing as Veso climbed out of the river on the other side, hiding their things, and then dove back into the water. He went under, and she tensed when he didn’t come right back up. His head surfaced finally, almost mid-river as he took a breath, and then disappeared again.

  “Iron lungs too. It’s not fair.”

  Wood cracked, as if a twig had snapped, and she turned.

  The sight of a man about eight feet from her had Glen grabbing for a rock as she struggled to her feet.

  He was about twenty-two, wore a big backpack, and looked like some clean-cut college kid. He had just stepped out of the woods and his light brown eyes widened as if she’d surprised him too. She moved, backing up and hoping to draw his attention away from the river.

  “Glenda?”

  She hated when Veso was right. Though, the kid could be part of a search team from the police. It was possible someone had reported her missing. She swallowed hard, remembering there was supposed to be two of them. She anxiously glanced around looking for the other one.

  The kid reached up and shoved off his backpack, taking time to remove something from a pocket. He held out a chocolate bar. “Here. I bet you’re hungry. Do you want water? I have some. Come here.”

  She scowled. “Really? Candy? My mom taught me better than that by the time I was four.” She gripped the rock tighter in her fist. “Who are you?”

  He glanced at the rock and his features morphed to anger. “You try to hit me with that and it’s going to get ugly. King Charles wants you alive but he didn’t say I wasn’t allowed to defend myself.”

  That was one question answered. She had another. “Why work for a Vampire? Are you stupid? Nuts? They’ll kill you.”

  He shook his head. “I’m never going to die. That’s why. King Charles promised to turn me.”

  “You’re a moron. Have you seen those creeper things? Get off the drugs if think that’s any kind of future.” She glanced back, wishing she knew where the second one had gotten to and wondering where Veso was. She didn’t dare look at the water in case the kid followed her gaze. She glared at him. “Why don’t you take that candy bar and choke on it? That’s a far better way to go out than being some insane jerk’s puppet.”

  He lunged and she threw the rock, nailing him in the chest. It must have hurt because he dropped the candy and grabbed for his chest as he stumbled backward.

  Instead of running, she dove forward, thrusting her elbow out and slamming into him as hard as she could. He grunted as they went down. She landed on him and used her other hand to claw at his face. He cried out as her fingernails raked his closed eyelids.

  She sat up, jamming her elbow into him hard enough to hurt even herself, but she ignored the pain to snatch up another rock. She managed to grab one and started to batter him, using her thighs to brace herself when he tried to buck her off. She bashed him hard in the head. He tried to protect his face so she stopped using her nails on his eyes and went for his throat instead, still hammering him with the rock.

  Someone grabbed her wrist and she was torn off the man under her.

  She tried to throw her head forward, attempting to head butt the person, but she hit solid chest instead. A wet one.

  She looked up at Veso, who just twisted, dropping her on her feet. He moved fast and she watched, mouth falling open, as he used his foot to step on the downed guy’s throat.

  “How many of you are there? Answer or I crush your throat.”

  The guy moved his hands, revealing the bloody scratch marks she’d put on him and a few cuts to his forehead and cheek from the rock. “Fuck you!” He flipped Veso off.

  Veso looked at her. “Close your eyes now.”

  She did.

  The sickening crunching sound had her spinning away, her stomach threatening to heave. Veso hadn’t been bluffing. She didn’t need to look to know that horrible sound had come from neck bones.

  Something popped, a slight noise, and she gasped as Veso tackled her, taking her down. He twisted at the last second so he hit the rocky ground instead of her. Glen jerked her head up, staring at a metal dart that had landed by the river’s edge.

  Veso must have seen it too. He snarled. “Hold your breath and don’t let go of me.”

  She barely understood him since the words came out so gruff. She gulped in air though and then they were rolling. Icy water almost made her gasp when they left the embankment and hit the water. She squeezed her eyes closed just in time and felt the current grab them.

  The hold Veso had on her tightened to the point she felt he might break her ribs. She got her arms around his neck by feel and hooked her legs around his waist for good measure. He released her ribs and his body tensed, his muscles flexing.

  They were under water and he was swimming. It didn’t take long for her lungs to scream for air. Panic struck and she dug her nails into his skin, trying to tell him she was about to drown. He must have understood because in seconds their heads broke the surface and she gasped in air. He did too, and then the icy cold surrounded them again as he took them back under.

  Something snagged on her shirt and tried to tear her away from him. It terrified her. What if they got separated? She really didn’t know how to swim. Whatever tugged on her ripped free though and she just kept clinging to Veso’s large, firm body. The current wasn’t pushing at them anymore as hard as it had been when they’d first entered the water.

  Glen was pretty sure she was going to die. She buried her face against Veso’s chest and tried to keep calm. Drowning wasn’t a good way to go. She felt air again and gasped, right before he went back under. It reminded her of videos of whales she’d once seen, taken from a ship. Veso would take them up for a second, then go back under.

  How long could it take to reach the other side of the river? He’d crossed so fast the first time but it felt as though forever passed as he took her up for air about five more times. Maybe having her attached to him slowed him down. Whatever the case, when he finally took her up and wrapped his arm around her lower hips, hiking her higher on his body, she realized they stayed up, and Glen rubbed against his chest to clear the hair from her eyes. She opened them.

  “We’re downriver,” he panted. “We’ve lost our supplies. I can’t risk going back for them.”

  He hooked her around her rib cage, carrying her out of the water as he staggered up the embankment and into the trees. She used one of her hands to shove more of her plastered hair off her face.

  “I can walk.”

  He ignored her, heading deeper into the trees until the river sounds faded. She didn’t complain, instead just kept hold of him. He stopped after about five minutes and crouched a little.

  “You can let me go.”

  She slid down his body and stood on trembling legs. The river had been cold and she instantly missed the heat of his body. Her soaked clothing felt really heavy and uncomfortable.

  Veso pointed. “Climb inside that cave.”

  She spotted the small split in the rocks. “What if there’s like snakes or something?”

  Veso gripped her arm and growled low, his eyes flaring golden yellow. “Hide. I have to check the area. Be quiet and don’t make a sound until I return.”

  They were still in danger. She lowered and remembered to just be grateful they were out of the water and she hadn’t died as she crawled forward. It was a tight fit but she knew why he had chosen it. No sunlight reached beyo
nd a few feet inside. She wouldn’t see whatever bit or attacked her, if something else was already hiding there already.

  Veso fumed as he stripped out of his clothes. His shirt was torn and useless. He threw it into the crevice he’d made Glenda enter and yanked off the shorts, tossing them out of sight too. He shifted, not caring if she were able to see him. He didn’t hear her gasp so he figured she hadn’t found room to turn around. He used his paws to shove dead leaves and foliage to cover their tracks from the tree line and peeked out at the river.

  He spotted the other human pretty quickly, running along the other side of the river, searching for them. He lowered to his belly, keeping in the shade. The bastard had a rifle in his hand, the kind that shot darts. The backpack was gone but he knew it was the other so-called hiker.

  It was tempting to go for their supplies but he wasn’t willing to chance the human shooting him with a dart. He waited until the man disappeared around a curve and backed up, rose to all fours, and went hunting to see if there were any more of them on his side of the river. It didn’t take long to discover they were alone, so far, at least within a mile. He returned to Glenda and shifted to skin, crouched down, and shoved his wet clothing forward to follow her inside.

  The interior was damn tight, and he scratched his skin along the rock. It wasn’t that deep. Maybe seven feet. His eyes adjusted and he found her along the back, where she’d come up against solid rock. She’d curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs, head down.

  “I’m here,” he whispered.

  She lifted her head and bumped it, softly cursing. “Is anyone out there?”

  He reached out and put his hand on the back of her head to protect it from more accidental hits. She stared at him wide-eyed, blind. It was apparent to him that she couldn’t see a damn thing.

  “We’re good for now.”

  “I’m freezing.”

  He could tell. “This isn’t a safe location. Take off your clothes and wring them out while I’m gone. I need to find us a safer place for the night, away from the river. They know you’ll slow me down.”