Heir (Bloodline Vampires 2)

It depicts a trio of masked individuals. It’s so dark, it takes me far too long to understand what I’m seeing. No trees. No rocks. No dirt. A hallway very similar to the ones we’ve been traveling since arriving yesterday.

“They’re inside.”

Chapter 15

I lean close to the monitor. “Why can’t I feel this group?”

“They must be masking their presence.” He doesn’t look happy by the revelation.

I could argue that maybe my lack of expertise is to blame, but there’s no time to figure out the why. All that matters is that they’re in the house and we’re outnumbered. “What do we do?”

Rylan clicks a few more buttons. “You’re not going to do anything. They’re barely inside. It will take them time to get here.” He stands and rolls his shoulders. “I’ll get to them before that happens.”

I’m moving before I register my own intent, shifting to stand between him and the door. “Not alone.”

“Mina.” He smiles slowly. “No matter what else is true, here I am the apex predator. Once I’m out the door, hit this button.” He motions to one in the sea of them. “It will shut off the lights.”

“Vampires have superior eyesight in the dark.”

“They still need some light to be able to see. They won’t get it in here.”

Because there are so few windows. I drag in a breath, fear like a live thing inside me. “That means you need light to see, too.”

“Yes, but sight isn’t the only way to get around. Smell is just as useful.” He closes the distance between us and kisses me hard. “Bar the door behind me. If the worst were to happen, there’s a hatch below the desk that will take you out. It’s narrow and uncomfortable, but you’ll be free.”

If the worst were to happen.

That would mean that Rylan is incapacitated. I drag in a breath. “If you think that’s a possibility, don’t go.”

“Mina.” Gods, the way he says my name. Tenderly, as if testing it out in the space between us. “No matter what else is true, we are warriors. We can only run and hide for so long.” He brushes his lips to my forehead. “I care for you. I won’t let them take you.” Rylan lifts me easily out of the way, and sets the bar across the door aside before I have a chance to react. Then he’s gone, sliding out into the shadows of the hallway. His body ripples as he changes, shifting into a monstrous wolf that looks like something out of a nightmare.

I shut the door and wrestle the bar back over the door. It’s heavy enough that I don’t know if a human woman could manage it. If I wasn’t terrified out of my mind, I would wonder again what kind of woman this granddaughter of Rylan’s friend is, but I have bigger things to worry about.

I hold my breath as I push the button Rylan indicated. Instantly, all the cameras go dark. Did I fuck something up? Even as the worry takes hold, the cameras flick back to life, their images taking on a green tint that indicates night vision.

The giant wolf that is Rylan appears and disappears in flashes, running full out down the warren of hallways. He barely pauses at the doors. I can’t be certain, but I think he shifts one hand to open them each time. It makes me dizzy trying to track him, so I turn to the intruders instead. They’re all dressed in black and wearing masks that hide everything but their eyes, which now glow eerily in the night vision. They could be anyone.

I don’t know the layout of this place well enough to figure out where they are, and it’s not as if Rylan left a convenient map to track their progress against. All I know is that he’s moving quickly, and they don’t seem to have been slowed down much by the lack of light.

On the other set of screens, the vehicle is stopped. I catch blurs of movement that might be a fight, but my eyes can’t track it to tell for sure. No matter what advantages seraphim might supposedly hold over vampires, their physicality isn’t one of them. They’re faster and stronger. I can feel Malachi and Wolf through the bond, but all I’m getting is a direction and approximate distance. It doesn’t make it easier to tell what’s going on.

Trying to follow the action will just give me a headache. I keep one eye on that screen, but turn the rest of my focus to the intruders actually in the house. They’ve gone still. I examine the buttons before me, finally finding one that seems to allow audio. A horrifying howl echoes through the speakers.

Rylan’s caught their scent.

I peer at the screen, but they don’t seem nearly as terrified as I would be in their position. Being hunted in the dark by a monster, unable to see the threat coming at them.