Veso

  “More climbing. Woohoo.”

  He actually cracked a smile. “At least we have rope now.”

  She glanced at the bulky tarp. “Inside that?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s your plan? Just stay out here in the middle of nowhere until you think the Vampires have given up on searching for us?” The idea horrified her.

  “They won’t do that. The master has a plan for you. Did he come across as the type to easily change his mind?”

  She would never forget the crazy bastard who claimed to be a relative of hers—or why she’d been kidnapped. “No. He’s a lunatic.”

  “We’ll keep going in this direction until we find a very remote home with a phone or a vehicle. It’s possible the Vampires are unaware of some of the antisocial humans who live miles from others and don’t use paved roads. Then we’ll either get to call my people to come get us or we’ll drive to them.”

  “I still think we should just go to the police. They can protect us.”

  “Foolish Glenda,” Veso muttered.

  She decided not to respond. He bundled the shotgun with the tarp, reached out, and gripped her arm with his free hand when the incline became steep. He might be a jerk but he kept her from stumbling as she struggled to climb the hill. The trees thickened again, the flood-damaged area left behind.

  “I’ll keep you safe.”

  She glanced at him, grateful.

  He didn’t look at her, instead scanning the woods. “Move faster. You’re slowing us down too much.”

  Chapter Six

  Glen didn’t think there was any part of her body that didn’t hurt. Her shoulders ached from the weight of the backpack digging into them all day. Her back felt too tense and her calves throbbed. The socks on her feet hadn’t protected her from feeling as if she’d gained a few more bruises after traveling for miles on rough terrain. Sharp pains radiated from her stomach since their breakfast had been the only thing they’d eaten all day. Veso had refused to take a break, pushing her constantly to keep on the move. The only rest times they’d had were for a few drinks of water and bathroom breaks that hadn’t lasted more than a couple minutes.

  “This is a good place.” He finally stopped at the top of a ravine, peering down.

  Glen moved next to him, gaping at the jagged line where the earth just dropped in front of them, leaving a hundred-foot gap in the ground between them and the other side. “Shit. A good place for what? To die? There’s no way we can climb down and up that. It would be suicide.” She leaned forward a little, staring at the bottom. A lot of rocks sat below. “It looks really steep.”

  “It is. I’ll lower you on a rope, and then haul your ass up on the other side once I climb it. You’ll slow me down though, doing that, so we’ll sleep here and tackle it in the morning. I don’t want to be caught at the bottom during the night. This is a strategic place to defend.”

  Glen just shook her head. “How do you figure that?”

  “Vampires can’t fly. I toss them over the edge if we’re attacked. The fall won’t kill them but that landing will be a bitch. They’ll break bones and bleed a lot. It will take them time to heal enough to come at us again. The sun will rise at some point and they’d need to find shelter far enough away to feel safe from me hunting them down while they sleep. That means if one falls, it won’t attack us twice in one night. They won’t want to die.”

  “We’re going to get killed instead if we try to climb down and up that. Why don’t we just head in a new direction and try to get around this?”

  “I’m not backtracking. VampLycan territory is in that direction.” He pointed over the ravine.

  “You’re insane.”

  “Determined. Learn the difference. I want to get home.”

  “Even if it kills us?”

  “I can climb. You’ve seen me do it.”

  Veso drove her nuts. She walked over to a big rock and took a seat, removing the backpack. She decided to change the subject to avoid a fight. “I wish I could take a hot bath right now.”

  “You can have one when we reach my home.”

  That surprised her. He dropped the tarp bundle before walking the area. Glen bent forward, gently removing the layers of socks. Her feet ached and she soon discovered why. Bruises really had formed, but at least there were no cuts to her skin.

  “We have perhaps an hour before the sun goes down. That will give us time to eat and dig in for the night.”

  She massaged the most tender spot on the ball of one foot. “I’m starving.”

  “You’ll have to eat the food cold from the cans. A fire is out of the question.”

  “Why?”

  “The smell of burning wood would carry for miles and help the Vampires locate us.”

  “Fantastic. Cold beans and corned beef hash. Yum. It’s a good thing I’m so hungry. I don’t even care at this point.” She dropped her foot and watched Veso as he knelt and unwrapped the tarp.

  He had a big rope coiled inside, a weird shovel, and the box of shells. A sealed bag had her frowning. “What is that?” She pointed.

  “Emergency blanket. It’s thin and lightweight but will help retain your body heat.”

  “And why did you lug a shovel?”

  “For digging, and it makes a good weapon. I mentioned we need to hide our heat signatures.”

  He wasn’t making much sense to her. He stood with the shovel and walked over to a few large boulders huddled together. He did something that extended the handle of the shovel, then crouched there and began to dig.

  “What are you doing?”

  “It faces the ravine. The rocks will hide our bodies from anyone approaching in the same direction we came from, and I’ll dig a bit so we’re hidden if a Vampire comes at us from the other side. They can see body heat, so I’ll dig down far enough to make us invisible to them.”

  She unzipped the backpack and removed a can of corned beef hash. “Shit. I forgot to pack a can opener.”

  “Not a problem. Bring it here.”

  She stood and approached him. “You’ll get dirt in the food if you use the sharp part of the shovel, now that you’ve been digging with it.”

  He dropped the shovel and twisted his body a bit, opening his hand and holding it out to her. She passed the can over. Her mouth fell open when he grew claws with his other hand and used the tip of one to circle the lid. Her mouth dropped open wider when she realized it actually worked. He managed to cut through the lid after a few passes. He handed it back.

  “Eat.”

  She accepted it and backed away. “Thanks.” Her gaze locked on his hand as the sharp nails shrank, disappearing into his fingertips. “That’s handy.” It was the only thing that came to mind to say.

  “I’m not like you. Don’t forget it, Glenda.”

  “Would it kill you to just call me Glen?”

  He picked up the shovel, digging once more. “I refuse to call you by a man’s name.”

  “Do you want something to eat?”

  “I’ll go hunting for something fresh after I’ve prepared camp. You eat the canned stuff.”

  She took a seat on the rock and used a little bit of their water to wet her fingers, using her pants to clean them as much as possible. She’d also forgotten to pack silverware. “You said you couldn’t start a fire. How are you going to cook whatever you catch?”

  He kept digging.

  “Am I talking to myself?” She waited but he didn’t respond. “No, I don’t think I am. I’m pretty sure I’m talking to the guy with the shovel.”

  He growled low and turned his head, pausing with his task. “I’ll shift and hunt something live. It’s not my favorite thing to do but it won’t make me sick. Your digestive system might repel raw meat from an animal. Mine won’t. Any more questions or can I finish preparing us a safe sleeping space before the sun goes down?”

  She swallowed hard. “I’ll just shut up now.”

  “Good.”

  Glen wondered if he’d allow her to
see him shifted and tried to picture him as a wolf. He’d be huge, for sure. All the movies she’d ever watched on Werewolves replayed through her head. Whatever he ended up being, she’d have to keep her cool and pretend he didn’t scare the crap out of her.

  “Can I ask one more thing?”

  He growled and stopped digging, glaring at her. “What?”

  “You will know who I am after you do this shifting thing, right? Like you won’t think I look like dinner?”

  He shook his head and went back to using the shovel. “I’ll know you. You’ll be in no danger unless you keep talking.”

  She sealed her lips. Veso had to be the grumpiest person she’d ever met. He had no compassion when it came to her curiosity. He might have known about humans all his life but she had everything to learn about his kind.

  She ate the cold, greasy corned beef hash and tried to imagine it warm. Hunger helped her choke it down and she swallowed a little water afterward.

  Veso kept digging and she hated that the shape of the hole began to remind her of a grave. He was also crazy strong. She watched the muscles in his arms flex as he kept tossing dirt into the bushes. He finally must have thought it was long and deep enough because he collapsed the handle on the shovel and set it aside. He stood, went to the tarp, and dumped out everything inside it. He lined the freshly dug hole with the thick material and turned.

  “I’ll be back. Stay far from the edge of the ravine and don’t leave this area.” He glanced around.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “Just checking to make certain no one is around.” His nostrils flared. “I’ve never smelled any humans except you but that doesn’t mean the master doesn’t have some slaves.”

  “Slaves?”

  “Servants. Is that a better, kinder term for you?”

  “People don’t own people anymore.”

  “You’re so naive. Vampires can rip apart the minds of humans and force them to their wills. That’s what I meant earlier about humans being under the control of Vamps. After enough exposure, they completely lose their self-awareness, surviving only to serve their master. They’d die and kill for him. Vampires have the ability to brainwash your kind and turn them into day guards.”

  “That sounds horrible.”

  “It is.”

  “That jerk could have done it to me.”

  “He probably would have if you’d fought him to the point that you annoyed him.”

  “Can you do that to me?” She hated to even ask, in case it gave him ideas.

  “Rip into your mind and force you completely to my will? I could, but I never would. It destroys a human forever if it’s done by someone ruthless. They’re damaged and there’s no way to fix their minds. They usually commit suicide if the one who controls them dies. They lose the will to live.”

  She sealed her lips, appalled.

  “I’m going hunting. Stay put and away from the edge. The ground could be unstable.”

  “I’m tired. I’m going to sit right here.”

  “I’ll return before dark.”

  She was tempted to ask him to shift forms in front of her but changed her mind. They would be sleeping together in that hole he dug, which meant very close quarters. She wasn’t sure if seeing him turn into a wolf would terrify her so much she’d be unable to lie next to him.

  “Be careful.”

  He walked away, quickly out of sight as he disappeared between the trees. She turned her head, gazing at where the ground abruptly ended. Tomorrow morning he wanted to climb down the ravine to get to the other side. Veso was a crazy bastard but he had saved her ass. She couldn’t forget that. He’d also kept his word. He hadn’t left her behind.

  “Out of the fire but I’m still in the frying pan,” she mumbled. “I just need to survive.”

  Veso refused to go far and kept on alert for any scents that could warn him of an attack. The Vampires who’d stolen him used drugs. It meant their human guards, if they had some, probably had access to them as well. He stopped when he felt safe Glenda couldn’t see him and stripped, carefully placing his clothing off the ground to keep them cleaner. He bent, shifting fast.

  He shook his entire body once the transformation completed. Time had rid him of the drugs in his system but his skin felt sensitive.

  He caught the scent of a squirrel. It was easy to track it. The creature moved fast and tried to climb a tree but hunger drove him to climb after it, his claws scarring the trunk. The poor thing hadn’t expected something like him to be able to follow, and he probably confused it enough to be able to capture it easier than normally. It died fast, painlessly, and he leapt out of the tree to eat it on the ground.

  Glenda would be appalled if she could see him. He tried to imagine what she’d say, and none of it would be good.

  He dug and buried the remains of his kill when he finished eating, rubbed his muzzle on the grass to clean off the blood, and returned to his clothes. He shifted back and dressed.

  The desire to protect Glenda drove him to nearly run back to their temporary campsite. He refused to allow her to be recaptured. It riled him to the point of wanting to roar when he even imagined that Vampire master getting ahold of her again. She might not be his real mate, but his instincts didn’t seem to care that it was just a trick of being injected with each other’s blood. The feelings were real, despite the logic.

  He found her still sitting on the rock but he knew she’d gotten up, since she’d moved over a few feet. He also faintly scented blood. “What did you do while I was gone?”

  She turned her head, holding his stare. “I peed. Is that okay? I went behind that tree.” She lifted her arm and jerked her thumb toward one. “Right over there. Did you find something to eat? That was fast.”

  “There’s a lot of game in this area since humans aren’t around to overhunt them.” He stomped toward her and sniffed. “You’re bleeding.”

  She lifted her hand, showing off a scratch. “I used a tree to brace my weight when I squatted and the bark was rough.”

  “God…you’re so human.” How could she get hurt taking a leak?

  “What’s your deal with hating my kind?”

  He no longer like her thinking that way but couldn’t honestly deny her accusation. “History.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Humans have always tried to kill what they don’t understand and can’t control.”

  “Is that why nobody knows Werewolves and Vampires are real?”

  “Yes. Some would try to become what we are, thinking it would gain them great power. Others would try to capture our kinds and use us for experiments. We live much longer lives.” He drew closer to her. The scent of her bleeding made him semi hard but he tried to ignore the reaction. “Some outright fear us and just want us dead. We’re monsters to them.”

  She seemed to mull that over. “I get it.”

  That surprised him. “You don’t want to deny it, or maybe argue about what good our blood could do for humans?”

  “I watch alien movies. They’re usually gory and always depict aliens being killers. Most Werewolf movies are horror too. That’s probably why humans would want to kill or dissect first, ask questions later. Vampires have been frequently romanticized but after meeting real Vampires, even I want to kill them all.”

  “Most of them are pretty bad. They see humans as cattle, the way you humans see actual cows. Food sources.”

  “I do love my hamburgers and steak but now I’m feeling guilty.”

  He spotted real emotion in her eyes and approached her, taking a seat a foot away on the rock. “You wouldn’t kill it if it begged for its life, would you?”

  “No. Of course not. I doubt I could actually kill one, even I was hungry. I buy my meat in packages at the store. I can’t even stand to look at the fish. Some of them have faces. It depresses me.”

  She was so tenderhearted. He thought that was cute, but then remembered the animal he’d just eaten. He changed the subject in case she
asked what he’d had for dinner, focusing on her hand. The sight of her blood bothered him in more ways than just the thought it might cause her pain.

  “Give me your hand.” He held out his own.

  “Why?” She peered at him with a frown.

  “I can fix it. Infection can easily set in out here. It won’t hurt.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Lick it.”

  “Ewwww.”

  “Don’t be squeamish, Glenda. Give me your hand.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  He reached over, curled his fingers around her wrist, and turned to face her more. She wasn’t able to prevent him from lifting her hand to his mouth or sucking on her skin. He stared into her eyes as he cleaned the scratch with his tongue. It clearly horrified her but he didn’t care.

  “That’s really unsanitary.”

  He continued to hold her hand close and allowed his fangs to grow. Her eyes widened and she paled.

  “Easy. I’m going to bite my tongue, not you. My blood will coat your scratch and heal it.”

  She seemed speechless and afraid. It hurt a bit to bite down but he didn’t do much damage, just nicking his tongue with a fang to cause minimal bleeding. He put her hand against his mouth again, making certain his blood covered her scratch.

  Glenda tried to tug her hand away a few times but she wasn’t strong enough to free her wrist. He waited a full minute before he pulled back. Then he turned his head, spitting to be certain he didn’t swallow any of her blood. “See? I didn’t bite.”

  “You have really big fangs.” Her gaze locked onto his mouth.

  “I’m a big man.”

  She lowered her attention to his chest, then shifted her head in another direction to stare at anything but him. “Can you let me go now?”

  “No. You’ll try to wipe my blood off and it’s not healed yet.” He focused on her palm, waiting a minute or two, then wet his thumb with his spit enough to rub across the area to clean off his blood. “There. See?”