The Wolf Fount (31 page)

The man was staggering away from something lying at the base of a tree, reaching behind his head to try and grab the tiger’s. Jerome whined, nudging Cal’s shoulder with his nose, and Cal realized the “something” was Thane, who was trying to change.

Which meant the tiger was Morgan, and removed the last smidge of doubt he had about her being his Chimaera.

Cal tore down the slope with a howl of rage as the man spun around, slinging the tiger—tigress, rather—loose. She landed on all fours, tail lashing, and immediately leaped for him again. The man was a vampire, because a human wouldn’t have caught her, but gone crashing to ground beneath her weight.

Her back paws raked at his thighs, stripping cloth and flesh. Her front paws were locked into the muscles of his shoulders as she hissed and yowled in frustration, because the vampire had tucked his head under her chin.

Cal hit him low from behind, forcing the vampire’s knees to bend. Down they went, a muffled squall of pain escaping Morgan when her muzzle struck.
Sorry, darlin’
.

The vampire didn’t let go of her, kicking at Jerome when the other wolf darted forward to grab his leg. Cal spun and sank his teeth into the vamp’s thick forearm, throwing his weight backward. Realizing what he was doing, Jerome darted around to the other side, grabbing the vampire’s other arm.

Between the two of them, and using every ounce of weight and leverage they had, they were able to force the vampire to release his hold on Morgan. She backed away, shaking her head, and turned toward Thane. The were-liger had only managed to half-complete his change, signaling that he was either sick as hell or badly injured. Maybe both.

First things first, and this guy
, Cal snarled, shaking his head and trying to rip the vampire’s arm loose,
is first on the agenda
.

The vampire was laughing. The absurdity of that struck Cal right before the son of a bitch flung his legs up and over, rolling all three of them. Cal lost his grip, and before he could acquire a new one, the vampire had grabbed Jerome. Then he used him as a club, beating Cal down into the dirt while Jerome snarled and flailed until something cracked.

Yelping and seeing double, Cal finally managed to slide clear and crawl away. The vampire tossed Jerome’s silent body at him, and the bastard was still laughing. Cal shook his head, preparing to charge, and hoping his body held together long enough to finish the fight.

Instead, a large, striped figure hit the vamp from the side, knocking him down, and immediately leaped away. Cal sat down, more than willing to take a moment to catch his breath.
Not laughing now, are you?

Before the vampire could regain his feet, a much larger striped body landed on him. Cal cheered Thane on as the were-liger crunched and clawed, wondering where Morgan had gotten to. He couldn’t see her. Lowering his head, he sniffed Jerome’s muzzle. The bloody froth he found said the other had internal injuries.
I’ll just sit here with you for a few minutes
,
unless Thane needs help
.

Thane didn’t need help. He raised his blood-stained muzzle, uttering a hoarse roar, as the huge vampire turned to ash beneath him. As the sound faded, Thane fell over.

Well, shit
. Cal sighed and painfully rose to his paws to limp to him.

M
organ hadn’t gotten very far before the change swept over her without warning. “Fan-fucking-tastic.”

She was naked in the woods, with no idea where she was headed, other than after Hailee. It only took a few steps to realize that bare human feet weren’t the best option for the terrain. An attempt to change failed, and she growled while continuing to pick her way across the rocky, pine needle littered ground.
She’s not getting away
.

Three more steps, and a low roar filtered through the trees behind her. Morgan stopped to listen. It had to be Thane, which meant... well, she hoped it meant he’d killed Eluf. There’d been two wolves. She was positive the larger wolf was Calhoun, and a little less certain the other had been Jerome.

“What the hell am I doing?” Morgan turned around and began carefully walking back. Screw Hailee. Eluf had said there was a vehicle waiting. He hadn’t said no one was waiting with it.
You almost walked into more trouble, dumb ass
.

The trip back took a little longer on two feet. She’d run a good quarter of a mile before changing. Morgan wondered why she’d changed. She hadn’t meant to. “Shit. Calhoun saw me.”

So much for her idea of asking Thane to keep the Chimaera business quiet for a while. Not that she’d expected him to agree to, considering how loyal he was to Calhoun. A few minutes later, she’d found her way to the edge of the slope and paused to take stock.

One of the wolves was upright, sitting next to Thane’s larger, prone figure. Beyond them lay the second wolf. She could see the were-liger’s side rising and falling, and briefly closed her eyes in relief. It took another moment to reach them. The conscious wolf was unmistakably Calhoun.

He whined softly, his tail scattering vampire ash and small pebbles. Morgan crouched on the other side of Thane, across from him. “You hurt?”

Calhoun nodded.

“I guess that means I need to find help. You did bring more than Jerome with you?”

He nodded again, and she mentally patted herself on the back for guessing the other wolf’s identity. “Okay. Guess I’m climbing up. Is it safe?”

Calhoun flicked his ears, glancing upward at the tunnel opening, and nodded after a few seconds.

Morgan stroked Thane’s shoulder and leaned to whisper in his rounded ear. “I’ll be back soon.”

Twenty minutes later, she’d made the opening and was officially not a fan of nude rock climbing. Her knees were skinned, her fingers sore, and her toes hurt. She had hand and foot cramps, the latter making her hobble. “This sucks.”

“I heard someone.” It was a female voice.

“I can hear you too, and if you’re a vampire, I’m going to rip you a new...”

“Morgan?”

A flashlight beam blinded her. “Hey!”

“Sorry. You’re taller than I thought.”

Blinking, Morgan managed to focus as the woman walked toward her, a tall man at her shoulder. “Who are you?”

“Laney. This is Tex. I mean, Herman. Where’s...”

“Outside, at the bottom of the hill. Slope. Friggin’ cliff.” Morgan crossed her arms. “Anyone have an extra shirt or pants?”

“Here, ma’am.” Tex, or Herman, hurriedly shrugged off his jacket. It was leather, and hung to mid-thigh once Morgan put it on.

“Thank you. Okay, Thane and Jerome are out. Cal’s hurt, but he’s conscious.”

“I need help for three down,” Laney said. Morgan realized she had an earpiece. “Home in on my signal. We’re going out. And we have Morgan with us.”

“I just climbed up. And my first trip down was not fun.” She gave Laney a once over. “Calhoun mentioned you.”

The other woman ignored her comment. “We’ll help you down. It’ll be easier and quicker to get to the vehicles. Lucas is already sending people to bring them around.”

Laney was armed to the teeth and didn’t seem intimidated when she frowned, so Morgan decided against arguing. “Fine, but if I fall, I’m taking you both with me to land on.”

“Sounds fair,” the other woman said, a grin flashing across her face. “Let’s go.”

A
fter everything she’d heard about Morgan, Laney had expected the sympathy she’d developed for the other woman to dissolve in the face of meeting her. To either be overwhelmed by the natural dominance that had scared Jana, or by Morgan’s reportedly unpleasant disposition.

Now however, faced with the reality of her, Laney decided she liked Morgan. The blonde was tired, scared, and worried about the wounded—Thane in particular. She clung to them both like a terrified child as they helped her down the steep slope, but her voice was steady. “We only saw maybe a dozen vampires. Four came the first time we saw any. There were... ouch, um, nine in the throne room, until Vampzilla arrived.”

“Vampzilla?”

“Huge fucking guy. They called him the Viking, but his name was Eluf. Thane got him.” Pride heated Morgan’s voice. “He was the one who kept Thane prisoner.”

“How did you two escape?” Laney kept her talking, because it seemed to be helping Morgan, and the information was useful.

“There was a girl, Hailee. New vampire, still had a tan. I knew she was playing me, but I thought if we could get out, we’d have a decent chance.” Morgan scowled. “She was working with Eluf. She pushed us over the edge as soon as we reached the end of the tunnel.”

“Ouch.”

“She got away. I went after her, but...”

Laney nodded. “Good decision. No telling how many vamps Eluf had with him.”

They reached the bottom of the slope then. Morgan let go to hurry to Thane, and Laney smiled. She checked Jerome first before approaching Cal. “Help’s on the way, boss. The tunnels have been cleared. We nailed about a dozen vamps, but some escaped. I think they left as soon as they heard us coming.”

He nodded, groaned, and slowly lay down. Kneeling beside him, Laney ran her hands over his sides. “What the hell happened to you?”

Morgan answered. “Thane wasn’t in good shape, and couldn’t change fast. Vampzilla used Jerome as a bat.”

“And Cal was the ball. Figures.” Laney shook her head. “Remind me to teach you the fine art of moving out of reach, boss. It’s a useful skill.”

“Incoming,” Herman reported. “Friendlies.”

“Hope they brought stretchers.”

T
he next hour or so was filled with collecting the wounded and carrying them to the nearest section of road. The adrenaline rush she’d experienced by changing and attacking Eluf had long since worn off, and Morgan stumbled along beside the stretcher holding Thane.

Her abraded skin had healed, but her feet still hurt. To take her mind off them, she listened to and watched the way the men treated Laney. It quickly became obvious that the brunette was well-liked, but also respected. If she told someone to do something, they did it. They might make a wisecrack first, but they obeyed.

“Hey, Tex.”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Carry Morgan.”

“I can make it,” she protested, too tired to glare at the other woman.

“I know you can. But why use your own feet when a ride’s available?”

Laney’s calm logic forced a nod from Morgan. “Okay.”

She’d been given a blanket, which she’d wrapped around her body under Herman’s jacket. When she stopped, the lanky man moved to her side, touched the brim of his cap, and picked her up. Her relieved feet sent happy signals to her brain, and Morgan lowered her head to his shoulder.

Eyes closing, she settled into a semi-doze, but opened her eyes and lifted her head once they’d reached the road. “I want to ride with Thane.”

“There’s not room in the van.” The response was from Calhoun, startling her. “He hasn’t changed back yet, and I don’t want to force him to. But it means the ride back’s going to be crowded.”

“Put your pants on, boss.” Laney tossed them at him, earning Morgan’s gratitude. Even dirty and covered in bruises, Calhoun’s body was a distracting sight. “Tex, help the Chimaera into our ride.”

Great, everyone knows
. Morgan sighed, wondering how they’d found out. She hadn’t heard Calhoun speak until then, so he hadn’t told anyone.
Guess one of the vampires said something
.

Loading was done quickly and efficiently. She considered protesting when Calhoun and Herman climbed into the backseat, trapping her between them, but was too tired to follow through. By the time Laney had the vehicle on the road, Morgan had surrendered to sleep.