Bite Marks (The Lycans 5)

I licked my lips. “What are you? Who are you?” it was my turn to whisper.

She looked back at me and gave me the saddest smile I’d ever seen. “I’m no one. I haven’t been important to anyone for a long time.” She exhaled a shaky breath. “I’m just a girl.” We were silent for long minutes before she spoke again. “You’re human but must be someone’s mate if they have you.”

We stared at each other for a prolonged second before I nodded. “Adryan.”

Zero recognition covered her face.

“And you?” I didn’t emphasize if she was human or Otherworld. And the more time that passed, the more I realized she wouldn’t answer.

“I’d get some sleep. Since you’re new, they’ll be coming for you sooner rather than later.” She gave me another sad smile and pushed away from the wall to go to her cot. She laid down, her back to the bars, and curled herself into a tight ball.

My heart jumped in my throat as a wave of heartache washed through me. She’d been here for a long time—that was clear, even if she had only implied it earlier when I told her the year. It was in the desolate, empty look on her face, the hollowness in her demeanor and voice.

And I feared, as I stared at her, thought about the horrible life Larkin lived down here, that I was staring at a reflection of myself and what my future looked like.

28

Adryan

I crouched behind the thick line of trees on the Vermont property, an aggressive surge thrumming through me, so staying still was almost fucking impossible.

Banner was to my right, Odhran and Cian to my left. Lennox and Tavish, and Kane and Sebastian were behind us, as well as an army of Lycans and vampires. Kane was seething, the wound to his head crusted with blood that he hadn’t bothered cleaning off. I knew Kane wanted a piece of James, but that motherfucker was mine to end.

I could feel the energy pulsating all around us… from us. Although I’d had soldiers stationed here since we found out about this piece of land, we hadn’t made a move. We just watched, knowing all the superficial logistics of the farmland, more positive with each passing day that this was all a front.

All a farce with the human who owned it, the generational lineage tied to it that was all bullshit. Nothing but pretty paperwork.

We’d dug up information on the owners from decades past. At one point, back at the turn of the century, this had been a prosperous soy and corn farm that distributed to several states around the country.

But as the crops began to die and nothing was able to grow—which was of course suspect as fuck—the farming business collapsed until all we had was what was right in front of us. Acres upon acres of unusable soil, a dilapidated barn… and nothing else.

I could feel that erratic energy moving through me, and it was taking every ounce of my self-control not to just storm in there and shred that fucking barn apart, tear up the land, dig fucking trenches until we got to the truth. But Banner was right. We had to be smart. I had to think logically.

I couldn’t let my very animalistic side control me right now or shit would get sloppy, and the risk of Kayla getting hurt in the crossfire was too great. I’d never practiced self-control before and had always indulged my bloodlust, letting myself enjoy the violence and destruction that life had to offer when I just let go.

But this was my mate we were talking about. I wouldn’t risk anything when it came to her.

“How the fuck are we gonna do this?” I knew what I wanted to do, and that was scale the place, turn over every rock, push over every slab of wood, and see what these fuckers were really hiding. Then we could make an informed decision on how to dismantle it piece by piece.

Hell, I’d been the one to set up a solid plan, but that was before. Before some dead asshole had taken the most precious thing to me.

But when I was met with silence, I looked at Banner. His expression told me more than enough on what he and his boys wanted to do.

“You know we’re behind you no matter what,” Kane interjected, and I slid my gaze to him and Sebastian. The latter gave a nod in agreement.

Banner scoffed but otherwise kept his mouth closed.

Although we’d come up with a pretty solid plan back at my place, which consisted of canvassing the area and really diving deep in that barn, we all agreed there was no doubt an underground network right beneath our feet.

This whole mission was probably the only thing the Lycans and vampires were in agreement with.