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Two bodies fall to the ground, and even in the dark I recognize Wolf and Malachi before the other vampires close in, piling onto them to trap them. “No,” I whisper.
“Stop. Be still.” My father’s voice brings me back to the other screen. He pulls the mask from his face. “Flashlight.”
One of the other vampires provides a flashlight and he clicks it on. Right before them, less than ten feet away, is Rylan. His body is low to the ground, obviously my father stopped him right before he pounced, and he quivers as he fights the command.
“Pretty thing,” my father murmurs. “You’ll make an excellent rug in my great hall.”
“No!” They can’t hear me. There’s no way any of them can hear me.
My father flicks his fingers. “Sleep.” He watches with interest as Rylan slumps to the ground. “Bind him with silver.” As his people rush to obey, he turns and finds the camera overhead. “Are you watching from some bolt-hole like the rat you are, Mina? All of the suffering to come could have been avoided if you’d done the one task I set out for you.” He shakes his head. “This is on your head. Now, be a good girl and wait for me. I’ll be along shortly.”
Something wet and hot slides down my cheeks. I press my fingertips there, strangely surprised to find that I’m crying. All this time and effort, and he’s outplayed me once again. If I open the door and turn myself in, he might—
What am I saying?
He won’t let any of the men go. Three Bloodline vampires in one fell swoop? It’s a feather in my father’s cap like no other. He won’t stop with a blood ward this time. No, he’ll want to ensure any progeny of this trio of Bloodlines stay within his control. He’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen, including drugging and torturing my men.
A sob bursts from my throat and then I’m moving, shoving the chair back and fumbling down at the floor beneath the desk for the hatch Rylan said was there. I can’t help them if I’m taken, too. I’m not sure I can help them if I’m not taken, but I have to try to fight. They’ve sacrificed too much for me to do anything else.
I find the hatch and wrestle it open. I can hear my father’s voice, vibrating with power, but it doesn’t work well long distance. His will presses on me, demanding I hold still and obey, but it’s dampened from being conveyed through electronics. Because of that, I’m able to slip into the dark square beneath the desk and pull the hatch closed behind me.
Rylan was right; it’s a tight fit. I descend the ladder in perfect darkness, the walls so close, they almost brush my shoulders.
I couldn’t feel the weight of the mountain while in the house, but here it’s almost overwhelming. Even without seeing my breath, I know it’s ghosting the air in front of me. A shiver works its way through my body, and I pick up my pace. There’s no telling how long I have before they find the security room, how many minutes it will take them to break down the door and give chase.
Endless minutes later, the ladder ends and my feet find solid ground. I reach around, trying to get a feel for where I am now. My foot nudges something. A box. Inside, I find the familiar shape of a flashlight. I hold my breath, praying to gods I’m not sure I believe in that the batteries are still full.
The light clicks on.
I exhale slowly and take a look at my surroundings. It appears to be a natural cave of some sort, the walls close and slanting. There’s only one path forward, so I have to hope that it leads to the exit. Spending years wandering this place, lost, while my men are tortured and bred against their will is out of the question.
The box that held the flashlight also has a thick coat that’s only slightly too large, a pair of boots that are also slightly too large, and a pack of bottled water. It’s not quite a bug-out bag, but it’s close enough. I pull on the boots and coat, instantly feeling better now that I’m not freezing. I glance up into the darkness where the hatch is, but there’s no sound or movement. Down here, I’m completely cut off.
Except I’m not really.
I can still feel the men through the bond. Rylan somewhere above and to the right, Wolf and Malachi to the left.
If my father transports them, the bond will react poorly.
Shit.
I pick up my pace, hurrying through the cave in the only direction I can walk. Maybe under other circumstances, I’d marvel at the cold beauty of this place or consider how it makes me feel like I’ve left our world behind entirely.
It takes less time that I would have guessed for me to see a sliver of light ahead. I click off the flashlight and move forward slowly, all too aware that this might be yet another trap. If my father was able to find the other entrances, surely he could find this one?
Except when I step out into the sunlight and turn back to look at the cave entrance, it’s nearly invisible. And I’m standing six inches from it. Someone would have to truly know it was here to find it.
Still…
I consider my options. I know where my father will take my men. He rarely ventures out of his compound to begin with, and it’s more than equipped to keep captives. It’s hardly the first time he’s tried something of the sort.
I suppose I’ll have to try to keep pace with them as best I can to avoid the bond lashing at all of us. I’m not sure what will happen if they’re taken too far from me, but I don’t want them to suffer while we find out.
A branch cracks somewhere off to my left. I react on instinct, crouching down next to a bush and holding my breath.
“I can see you, you know. That’s a godawful hiding spot.”
A feminine voice. It’s not familiar, but I hardly know all my father’s people by voice alone. “If you come closer, I’ll kill you.”
“Cute, but I don’t think so.” A woman steps into view. I blink like a fool in response. She’s a tall white woman with a mass of wavy brown hair and an athletic build, clothed in what looks like military gear designed to camouflage the wearer. The gun slung over her shoulder isn’t her only weapon. I count at least three knifes that I can see, one long enough that it might be termed a sword.
She’s also human.
She eyes me. “You’re Rylan’s seraph.”
Surprise flares. I wouldn’t have thought he’d tell anyone about my identity or what that might mean between the two of us. “Who are you to him?”
“A friend. Sort of.” She lifts her gaze to the mountain behind me. “I take it things went poorly. The alarms have been blaring since those assholes breached my security. Where is he?”
“They took him.” I can feel him moving, but there’s a sluggish nature to the bond that makes me suspect they drugged him. I don’t know what drug can incapacitate a vampire, but of course my father is aware of it and has it on hand. “They took all of them.”
“Well, fuck.”
“That about sums it up.” I twist, trying to estimate the growing distance. We have miles and miles to play with, but I’m on foot and they’ll be in a car before too long. “I have to go.”
She narrows inky eyes at me. “I don’t suppose you have a plan.”
Not even close. “Of course. I’m not going to let him harm them.”
The woman sighs. “I guess I’m at your disposal, at least for transport and the like. Though I’m not storming any castles for you, princess.”
I can’t afford to trust her, but at the same time, I can’t afford to reject any help out of hand. “Why would you help me?”
“My family owes Rylan a debt we can never repay.” She doesn’t say it like she’s happy about it. “Since I’m the matriarch of the family now, that means it’s on me to keep balancing the scales.”
I eye her. I’m hardly an expert on humans, but she doesn’t look much older than me. “Who are you?”
“Oh. That.” She adjusts the position of the gun across her back and offers her hand. “Grace Jaeger. I’m a monster hunter.”
I shake her hand, feeling numb. “Wouldn’t you consider me one of the monsters?”
“Definitely.” She says it so easily. “But, like I said, the whole debt to Rylan thing means you’re safe enough with me.”
I’m out of options. I run my hand through my hair. “We have to follow them. Do you have a vehicle?”
“Come on.”
Her vehicle, if it can be termed such, is an off-roading beast with two seats and yet more weapons. Grace climbs behind the wheel. “Which way?”
I point north. “They’ll be heading for Montana where my father’s compound is.”
“I see.” She worries her bottom lip, a small line appearing between her dark brows. “We can’t drive this the whole way, but there’s a good stopping point a few hours from here that will take us in that general direction.”
It will have to do. “That works.”
She guns the engine and then we’re off, flying over a trail that barely seems to exist. The engine is too loud for easy conversation, which is just as well. I don’t know this woman, and all I can focus on in the worry about what comes next.
My father took my men.
I close my eyes and welcome the anger that knowledge brings. Better that he’d taken me instead. At least I know how to survive in that compound, though that was back when he actively underestimated me. I doubt he’ll make the same mistake again.
Nausea rolls over me in a wave, and I have to open my eyes. What the hell? I press my hand to my chest and try to focus on the area in front of the vehicle, but it doesn’t help. Another wave, stronger this time. “Pull over.”
Grace glances at me. “What?”
“Pull over!”
She slams the vehicle to a stop, and I barely get out of it in time to lose the power bars and apple I ate earlier. I keep dry heaving for several long moments as my stomach tries to exit my body.
I have never thrown up once in my life. I don’t get sick at all, not really. I search the bond as best I can, but it doesn’t seem to be originating from there. What the hell?
Another wave of nausea nearly has me dry heaving again.
“You okay?” Grace gives a rough laugh. “You’re not like, pregnant or something, are you?”
Surely not.
Except…
I close my eyes, feeling with my power on instinct alone. I’ve gotten really good at feeling the parameters of the bond. Searching within my actual body isn’t all that different. To be thorough, I scan myself from head to toe. There, nestled in my lower stomach, I find it.
The tiniest, most fragile spark of life inside me.
I open my eyes. “Holy shit.”
I struggle to my feet to find Grace offering me a pack of mint gum. “Don’t get back in here until you chew through one of these. I’m super sensitive to smell and puke breath is gross.”
“Thanks,” I say faintly, my mind still spinning.
“Is there a reason you’re muttering ‘holy shit’ at the forest after you throw up?” She sounds vaguely curious, almost like she’s asking out of politeness.
If I’m really pregnant, it means I have what I need to fight my father. It would be significantly simpler if I also had my men at my side, but I’ll make do. All I need to do is get onto the compound and make a public declaration. It will take careful planning. I can’t think about it right now.
I press my hand to my stomach, and the little flicker of life seems to flare brighter in response. I wish I could be happy. This is what we wanted, after all. Except my being alone and stranded with some strange monster hunter while my men are taken captive by my father was never part of the plan.
“Turns out you were right.” I swallow hard. “I’m pregnant.”
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