Saving His Mate (A vampire-werewolf romance) (6 page)

Once the address registered he realized it wasn’t far, around ten minutes out. Maybe less. The female had given him just enough time to get there and ensure he couldn’t set a trap. From the dashboard map he realized how close it was to Charmaine’s bed and breakfast where he’d killed Stanley. For a brief moment he thought about contacting her and getting more intel on what Stanley had been up to and who his associates had been. But he didn’t trust her enough.

He used his Onstar system to call Grant. He rarely used the system but kept it as a backup. Now more than ever he was thankful to have it.

The alpha picked up on the fourth ring, sounding distracted. “Yeah.”

“It’s me. Margery’s been taken by an unknown female. Probable silver poisoning. There might be more than one kidnapper. I don’t know for sure but I’m guessing it was vamps. This has something to do with the male I was hunting because she wants to do a trade.” Which he would have done, if Stanley was still alive. “She insisted I throw out my phone so it’s possible someone’s watching me.” At least they couldn’t see into his SUV with the dark tint on the windows. He quickly repeated the address.

“I’m putting together a team as we speak,” Grant said, his voice clipped and tense.

Rex could hear movement and low murmurs in the background. “It needs to be small and you guys better be fucking invisible. They’ll kill her if they sense backup.” Under normal circumstances he’d never order an alpha around but he didn’t care now.

“We will be. Take care of yourself. We’re going to get her back.” The deadly edge to his voice left no doubt that Grant would follow through. Margery was his packmate and if she’d been around since Grant’s father was alpha, there was no way in hell he’d let this go unpunished. Whoever had taken her would die.

And Rex wanted to be the one who meted out that sentence.

As he neared what should be the last turnoff according to the map, he slowed. The road was about a mile before the one leading to Charmaine’s, but the landscape was basically the same. Farmland and pecan trees. He didn’t like how open it was but the night and trees should give him enough cover if necessary. As the road turned into a dead end, his GPS announced that he’d arrived at his destination.

He turned it off, then slid into the backseat. Crouching low he surveyed his surroundings as he pulled out a few explosive devices he always kept with him. Without knowing how many threats were out there he was going to be as prepared as possible. There was a dilapidated picket fence around a big spread of land that had pecan trees surrounding it. Behind it he could barely make out a barn-like structure through a thicket of trees. Withdrawing one of his blades, he slowly opened one of the doors and stepped out.

A soft whistling sound was his only warning. As he dove to the ground, an arrow skimmed his upper arm, ripping his shirt open, but didn’t penetrate skin. Pumped up on adrenaline he barely felt the burning sensation over his bare arm. But someone had shot at him with a silver-tipped arrow.

He might be used to tracking down vamps and bringing them back alive, but this time he was ending whoever was behind this swiftly and with brutal force.

Chapter 5

Margery shifted against the dusty concrete floor, cursing her chain. She tried to focus on her surroundings but a dull throb of pain threaded through every fiber of her being. Being in wolf form helped, but the agony of the silver in her bloodstream was making her weak and disoriented.

Though the room she was being held captive in was dark, she could still see enough thanks to her extrasensory abilities. A wooden ladder was propped up against a trapdoor in the ceiling. She could scent normal foliage, moldy hay and pecan trees. She could even scent traces of the ocean, but the salty tinge in the air was incredibly faint. Which gave her hope that they hadn’t gone too far. Maybe ten or so miles from the main beach strip. Margery couldn’t know for sure but she didn’t think they would have been able to go far because the woman who’d taken her was a vampire. Not with sunrise only a couple hours away. Her sense of time was skewed along with everything else but her animal sensed that not much time had elapsed. Her animal had also sensed the female was a vamp right before she’d fallen unconscious.

When the trapdoor opened, Margery laid her muzzle on her paws, feigning sleep as she kept her breathing and heartbeat as steady as possible.

“She’s still out,” the female murmured.

“We should just kill her now,” a male said.

Margery forced herself not to tense or change her breathing, but if these two tried to kill her, she was taking one of them with her. She might be weak right now but if one of them got close enough, she’d rip their throat out.

“Not yet,” the female snapped as she shut the door. “She’s our only bargaining chip for Stanley…” Her voice grew fainter as she left, but Margery couldn’t even hear them walking away.

She also hadn’t heard them approach. Either she was weaker than she thought or they’d used their vampiric gift of speed to sneak up on the door—or they hadn’t left at all. Maybe they were just waiting to see if she’d been faking being asleep.

Margery remained unmoving for long minutes and when no other sounds came, she took a risk and stood up on shaky legs. When the trapdoor didn’t fly open, she tugged on the chain with her paw. It scraped against the ground noisily.

Automatically she tensed, but the door remained shut.

The silver kept burning her insides in a way that was nearly indescribable other than pure pain, but she was becoming more lucid, stronger. Her legs and paws were thicker than when in human form so she knew her only chance of escape was to shift forms.

Taking a deep breath, she fought through the pain of the poison in her system and forced herself to undergo the change. A different kind of pain, more discomfort than anything, rippled through her as skin replaced fur and her bones shifted and realigned.

In moments she was human again, crouching on the dusty ground on all fours. But she smiled when the shackle slid off her slim wrist. Hell yeah.

Now all she had to do was get out of this prison. As she stood, she felt more of her strength returning thanks to the change back from wolf to human. And the pain from the silver was more of a dull throb affecting her muscles now. Still incredibly uncomfortable, but she could deal with that. Discomfort was better than death.

At over two hundred years old she was strong. Clearly more so than those vampires had realized. They had to be young.

On bare feet she started climbing the wooden rungs, careful on each step. She might be regaining her strength but she was unsteady. Still no sounds from above. As she reached the trapdoor, she tentatively pressed her palm against it.

It pushed up half an inch then stopped. A chain rattled against the door. With the slight opening she could see the end of it bolted to a concrete slab. Taking a deep breath, she called on all her strength and shoved up against the door.

She felt the force of the impact all the way to her bones. The door snapped up, pulling the chain free from the ground as it flipped open. Because of the awkward angle she lost her balance and started to fall. Scrambling, she tried to grab the ladder but her reflexes were too sluggish after that use of her waning strength.

She bit back a cry of pain as she slammed back to the ground. No sound from above. No once coming after her.

Shoving up, she started climbing the ladder again. Nothing was keeping her from getting out of here.

* * *

Rex rolled under the SUV, using his vehicle as cover from his attacker—or attackers. From this angle someone would have to get up close and personal if they wanted to shoot at him again. He almost hoped they did.

Amped up on adrenaline with the need to save Margery, he welcomed anyone trying to attack.

He ignored the sharp ping near the front left tire as he pulled out a small block of C-4. He didn’t want to destroy his own SUV but he needed the diversion. Hell, he’d incinerate everything he had to get Margery back safe.

C-4 was his favorite explosive. It was stable and malleable. A perfect combination. Laying on his back, he set it on his chest and worked fast, thankful for his supernatural speed as he rigged the explosive to the underside of the gas tank in seconds. With quick fingers he slid two blasting caps into it before rolling out the other side of the SUV.

On a burst of speed, he sprinted away from the rambling house and into the pecan orchard. As he cleared the first tree, he pressed the pre-set code into his burner phone, setting the explosion off.

He’d moved deep into the orchard by the time the fiery ball of smoke and flames licked into the sky. Well out of the blast zone, he couldn’t even feel the heat as he slowed in between two big trees. Using the darkness and orchard as cover, he crouched low, inhaling deeply.

Shifters.

He scented at least a dozen wolf shifters in the vicinity. And if he could, that meant the other vamp, or vamps, could too. Panic surged through him. If they smelled backup, Margery could be hurt or worse. He had to get to her.

Not caring if he was running into a trap, he scanned the area once more before drawing on all his strength and sprinting back through the orchard toward the house. As he neared the fence the wind changed and that subtle lavender scent of Margery rolled over him.

It didn’t matter how faint, he knew it was her and just inhaling it was like a punch to his senses, amplifying his protective instincts. Changing directions, he bypassed the house and raced for the barn. Even though he moved at such high speeds that humans couldn’t track him with the naked eye, a vamp would be able to pinpoint him and possibly attack.

Forcing himself to act like the hunter he was, he started to slow as he neared the outside of the barn—until he heard Margery scream.

His fangs and claws sprung free as he covered the remaining twenty yards to the barn. Margery screamed again and he vaguely registered it was one of anger, not fear. Following her scent and the scuffling sounds, he slammed through a wooden half-door for what might have been a stable or storage area. He didn’t care what it was as he ripped the door off its hinges. Wood splintered under the force.

When he saw a trapdoor-type opening in the corner of the stable he withdrew his blade and dove through it. Maybe it was fucking stupid of him, but nothing could stop him from getting to Margery.

His boots landed on the concrete floor with a thud, puffs of dust and dirt flying everywhere.

He snarled at the sight of a female on top of a naked, struggling Margery, her clawed fingers around Margery’s neck. The female vamp swiveled when she heard him, her eyes a bright amber and full of rage. Then she flew at him. Without pause he brought his blade up and sliced her head off in a clean sweep.

Before her head hit the ground, it and her fallen body turned to ash. Rex scanned the lower room, taking in every inch and shadow of the small storage area. Finding it empty, he hurried to Margery who was struggling to sit up. Cuts and gashes covered her beautiful body, though she was already healing with impressive speed. Even in the darkness he could see how pale she was.

Kneeling next to her, he pulled her to him. A potent relief that he’d never imagined surged through him when she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and plastering herself to his body in a suffocating hug.

He rubbed a hand up and down her back, just grateful she was okay. “Was she the only vamp?” he asked, needing to know how big the threat was against her.

“No,” Margery rasped out as she pulled back. Immediately she wrapped her arms around herself, covering her breasts. “There was a male but I never saw his face. Just heard his voice.”

Rex knew shifters didn’t care about nudity too much, but Margery had to be feeling vulnerable now. That was unacceptable in any circumstance. He unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to her. The primal part of him reveled in the knowledge that his scent was now all over her.

“I don’t know where he is though,” she continued, sounding a little stronger, as she slid his shirt on.

Rex ached to reach out to her and help, but wasn’t sure if she’d welcome it or if she’d want to gain back some control. When her fingers shook as she tried to button the shirt, he took over.

“Thank you.” Her voice trembled in a way that made him want to kill that female vamp all over again.

“Your packmates are getting closer,” he said instead of responding to her gratitude. She never had to thank him for saving her.

Now that he was back in control and coming down from his adrenaline high he sensed they were relatively safe. Grant and a few others were entering the barn. Their scent was strong and he heard the faint pad of paws on the ground.

“I don’t want to see anyone right now,” she whispered. “Make them go away.”

Rex was stunned by her words. Shifters always went to their pack for comfort. It was part of what made his kind and hers so different. But he could see the pain in her eyes and would do any damn thing she wanted. Nodding, he picked up his blade and went to the ladder.

“Grant, I’m coming up.” As he rose through the opening he found a naked Grant standing in the busted out entryway.

“Margery—”

“Is alive. I killed a female vamp attacking her. Did the pack find anyone else on the property?”