Storm (Blood Haze: Book Two) A Paranormal Romance (10 page)

between two newer warehouses, a parking lot

opened up. At the opposite end of the lot, a high

chain link fence surrounded a dilapidated old

building. The front doors were chained and

padlocked, and most of the windows were

broken, but covered with bars.

At the far right end of the fence, it had been

cut and was partially pulled back. I led Jamie to

that spot and held the fence back while she went

through, and then Max and I followed her.

Since the front doors were padlocked, I

guessed there must be another way in. I shivered

in the chilly night air, and a sudden feeling of

dread washed over me. I froze.

“Something’s wrong,” I whispered.

“What?” Jamie and Max asked in unison.

“This warehouse… it’s kind of like the one

we were held at in Georgia,” I answered. “And I

get this feeling of… evil… lurking in the

shadows.”

“Evil?” Jamie breathed.

“I don’t know how to explain it. Not evil,

exactly, but… unfriendly, maybe,” I said. “I just

feel it. Max, I’d feel better if you got Jamie out

of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere without Will!”

Jamie hissed.

“And I’m not leaving you, Alice,” Max said.

I sighed. It was a good feeling to have people

who loved me so much, but both of them were

physically weaker than I. Of course, I had been

feeling extremely drained since the incident with

Alexi in the clearing.

“Problem,” I noted. “I haven’t fed in a while. I

might not be able to defend you both.”

“Use me,” Jamie offered.

“What… you mean… no, no!” I stammered. “I

don’t… well, I don’t do that to women,

especially friends.”

“Will’s already explained it to me,” she said.

“He said it doesn’t hurt, and I won’t even

remember it tomorrow. Just do it.”

“You’ll be paralyzed for up to several hours,”

I told her. “We can’t risk that. You’d be too

vulnerable.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Jamie agreed. “Maybe we

should leave and come back once you’ve fed?”

“I’m not leaving them in there!” I hissed.

“Something’s not right here, and I won’t abandon

them – not even for a few minutes.”

“I’m just as strong as you are,” Max pointed

out. “You’re not alone.”

“A hunter as strong as a vampire?” I asked

incredulously. “Not that I doubt you, but I’ve

never heard of that before.”

“Well, I may or may not be as strong as you

are when you’ve fed,” he said. “But I may even

be stronger than you when you’re weakened by

hunger.”

“That may very well be true,” I told him. “But

when I’m this weak, and we don’t know what

we’re facing, it’s a huge risk.”

“What other choice do we have?” Jamie

asked.

Just then, a fat rat scurried in front of us. I

heard its tiny fingernails clicking on the cement,

and its little black eyes shone brightly in the

moonlight.

“There’s one option,” I said, shuddering and

wrinkling my nose. “It’s disgusting.”

“Whatever it takes,” Jamie said.

I nodded. Within a few minutes, I’d rounded

up enough rats to make a meal and I fed. Rat

blood is truly disgusting. It’s bitter and gets cold

quickly. Other animal blood is tastier, but rats –

which often live off rancid garbage – taste

terrible. Animal blood doesn’t contain the right

makeup of minerals and other compounds, so it’s

also not as effective as human blood. But it’s

better than nothing.

With me feeling slightly energized, we

continued making our way around the

warehouse, looking for an entrance. In the back,

one of the bay doors where trucks used to be

loaded was wide open.

“Something is definitely wrong,” Jamie said.

She didn’t need any special senses to know that a

wide-open door spelled trouble.

“It’s a trap,” I whispered.

“I don’t like this,” Max said anxiously. “I

can’t stand you being in harm’s way like this.”

“It can’t be helped,” I insisted. “Let’s just go.”

Max grabbed my arm. He wheeled me around

and peered deep into my eyes. “If anything

happens…”

“It won’t,” I assured him.

“But if it does… I need you to know how very

much I love you,” he said weakly. “If anything

happens to you…”

“I’ll be fine,” I promised.

“Just tell me you know how much I love

you,” he whispered.

“I know,” I said softly.

He embraced me, and he kissed me gently. He

caressed my cheek, and then reluctantly released

me. Suddenly, the ominous feeling inside my gut

increased. Something was definitely not right.

“Max?” I whispered. “I shouldn’t do this.

Every part of me is screaming that I shouldn’t.

But… just in case… I…”

“What?” he urged.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I

love you, too.”

His mouth fell open, and I heard him slowly

sucking in a deep breath. It shuddered slightly. I

had told him this once before, but I’d since made

sure to avoid it for Kai’s sake.

“It doesn’t change anything,” I informed him.

“But I need you to know.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. I wouldn’t

be leaving Kai for him anytime soon, and he

knew it.

“Let’s go,” I said, clutching Jamie’s hand.

We entered through the big bay door, and in

the dark, I could see nothing unusual. The

warehouse was cleared out except for a few rows

of industrial shelving – most empty aside from a

few cardboard boxes. Some paper littered the

floor. I noticed a small room in the far right

corner of the room. I assumed it was the office.

I squared my chin and stepped forward. Since I

saw nowhere else they could be, I headed toward

the office. As we got closer, I could see a faint

glow of light escaping underneath the office

door.

Just before we reached the door, I heard a low,

grating chuckle behind me. I whirled around,

scanning the warehouse quickly. I saw nothing.

Panicked, I stepped between Max and Jamie, and

the chuckling voice.

“Who’s there?” I demanded.

From behind one of the rows of shelves

stepped the dark, shrouded figure of Alexi. Once

again, I saw those pearly white teeth gleaming

inside the shadow of the hood as he grinned.

“Alexi,” I snarled.

“So good to see you again, little one,” he

growled. “Pity we didn’t get to spend more time

together during our last encounter.”

“Look, if you want me, I’m here,” I spat. “Just

let them go.”

“By them, I’m assuming you mean your

brother and your beloved Kai. Am I correct?”

“I mean all of them,” I shot back at him.

“Hmm,” he said, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Your feelings for young Maksim seem to

have… evolved. I can feel it.”

“Stop trying to read me, Alexi!” I demanded.

“Oh, but it’s so much
fun
,” Alexi said. “You

are

quite…

interesting.

Perhaps

even

fascinating.”

“And yet you want me dead,” I mocked.

“Whoever said I wanted you dead?” he

rhymed. “You know what they say about those

who assume.”

“If you don’t want me dead,” I began. “What

exactly
do
you want with me?”

He chuckled again. “Dear Alice,” he said.

“You underestimate yourself and your value. Is it

true you only recently discovered you have…

abilities?”

“It is,” I replied. “I didn’t know until I met

you.”

“Do you wonder why that is?” he said, slowly

creeping toward me.

“I haven’t thought about it,” I confessed.

I stepped forward, widening the distance

between Max and Jamie and me. I wanted them

as far away from any confrontation as possible.

“You’re a brave little thing,” Alexi said. “I’ll

give you that.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Alexi,” I snapped.

“No, but there
are
things you
are
afraid of,”

he countered.

“Everyone is afraid of something,” I said. “I

bet even you are afraid of something.”

“I am indeed,” he agreed. “Not that I would

tell you what that is.”

“Of course,” I said. “Nor would I tell you.”

“You don’t have to tell me, Alice,” he

grinned. “It’s written all over your face, and

etched in your mind. I can hear you screaming it.

You fear losing the ones you love. Nothing else

frightens you more.”

I glared at him.

“If you harm any of them, I will kill you

myself!” I snarled.

“Now, now,” he chuckled. “There’s no need

for threats of violence.”

“Alexi, get to the point,” I demanded. “Just

tell me what you want with me. If you don’t want

me dead, what do you want?”

“I want
you
,” he said, as though the answer

was obvious.

“What does that even
mean
?” I asked,

irritated. “What do you want me for?”

“He wants you to marry him,” Max snarled,

clearly disgusted.

Alexi’s grin widened. “Young Maksim is very

astute.”

“
Marry
you?” I boggled. “Why would you…

but you don’t even… explain!”

“What is there to explain?” he asked.

“You’re a hunter, aren’t you? Aren’t you

supposed to hate vampires? Aren’t you supposed

to want me dead?” I shouted, flailing my arms.

He chuckled again.

“He’s not a hunter,” Max glowered. “He’s a

vampire.”

“Well, well, well,” Alexi gloated. “My

reputation precedes me.”

“We all know who you are, Alexi,” Max

snapped. “We all know who you are and what

you do. You and your family.”

I turned to face Max and glared at him. “You

knew all about him and you said nothing?” I

shouted.

“I didn’t want to get you involved,” he

explained. “I didn’t know what he wanted from

you. Not at first. Then I remembered hearing

about him and his father a long time ago.”

I turned back to Alexi. “Why do you want to

marry me? I don’t even know you.”

“It’s destiny, Alice,” he said.

“Destiny,” I scoffed. “And how would you

know that?”

“Don’t you?” he asked incredulously.

“I most certainly do
not
!” I snapped.

“Hmm,” he mused. “Perhaps your abilities are

not as well-developed as I thought.”

“Look, Alexi,” I said. “I’m getting tired of

playing charades with you. Stop being so obtuse

and just get to the point.”

“You’re an impetuous little thing,” he

spewed. “You don’t stop to think things through.

You want me to get to a point when there is no

other point to make. You spit venom at me with

your words, when there is no reason to do so.”

“You’re holding my brother and Kai hostage,

you tried to kill Max, and you’re
really
getting

on my nerves!” I yelled, clenching my fists. “I

have plenty of reasons to do so!”

“Well, yes,” he agreed. “Those are good

points. But you should realize by now I have no

wish to harm you or anyone else.”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “If you’re a

vampire, how did you become an Elder hunter?”

“Max really has kept you in the dark, hasn’t

he?” Alexi asked. “Didn’t he tell you? All Elders

are vampires.”

“What?” I gasped. “Why would you hunt your

own kind?”

“It is a long story that is perhaps better saved

for another day,” Alexi returned.

“No!” I yelled. “Now!”

“Would you rather get into this with me, or

would you rather take your friends and leave?”

Alexi prodded.

“I… you’d just let us leave?” I asked.

“But of course,” Alexi said. “I have no wish

to harm you. I only want the chance to meet you,

to spend time with my betrothed.”

“Be-betrothed…” I muttered, feeling utterly

floored. “What are you… Exactly who betrothed

us?”

“Your father, of course,” he answered, as

though it was obvious.

“My father is dead,” I hissed.

“Indeed,” he acknowledged. “And I truly

grieve for your loss.”

“How could be betroth me to you if he’s

dead?” I demanded to know.

“Your father and my father were old friends,”

he explained. “He did it the day you were born.”

“The day I was…” I whispered.

Suddenly, I felt weak. My knees started to

shake, and they soon gave out. I felt myself begin

to fall. In a flash, Alexi was by my side. His arm

went around my waist to catch me, and he

wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled me

to my feet.

I tried to stand, but my legs trembled and

caved again. The world began to spin, and I

shook my head, frantically trying to stay

conscious through the shock and turmoil that

was raging in my mind. Finally, I succumbed to

the darkness.

When I came to, I was in Alexi’s arms. He was

carrying me somewhere. I couldn’t tell where we

were, because everything was still blurry, and I

felt woozy.

“I can do that,” Max insisted.