I reach for the physical change, picturing my human form in my mind. Flesh dissolves around me as the bones and muscles re-knit in a wash of energy so fast that I’m returned to man in the blink of an eye.
I rise from the gravel and open the back door, withdrawing the bag and grabbing my clothes with a speed I’ve never possessed. I slide the T-shirt over my head, then pull on jeans, apprehensive to face not only what waits for me inside the blood brothel, but to come to grips with exactly how I’m managing to move and change form as fast as I am.
It’s the vampire heart, you twit. Guess you’re digesting it faster than you’d bargained for.
My stomach clenches at the thought, the urge to hurl and dispel the vampire heart raging through my system.
“Who are you and what’s going on?”
I turn and see the three wolves from inside, huddled next to each other a dozen feet away.
“I’m friends with Raine and came to help.” Firming my resolve as I quiet my gut and return to the house. “Go care for your alphas. It will all be over soon.”
I march up the steps, the picture of the exploding vampire head front and center in my thoughts. Will she kill them all the same way? Without even a fight? Is there honor in a battle that isn’t fought but obliterated like a nuclear bomb?
Our government didn’t stand and debate for years when they dropped the bomb on Japan, now did they? The only choice is usually the hardest to make.
Dria waits for me in the foyer, her head angled toward the stairs and what awaits us above. “Next time I tell you to close your eyes, listen.”
I move to stand before her, meeting her green gaze without flinching. “If you can handle it, then so can I.”
A sad smile curves her mouth. “You never forget your first massacre.” Compassion spikes in her eyes for an instant before vanishing. “It will haunt you forever. I would have liked to spare you the pain.”
“Being an alpha means I don’t get to wear blinders when times are tough, right?”
“Yes, Jon.”
“Well then, it’s about time I face the world with my eyes wide open.”
She nods and places a foot on the first stair. “There will be days you regret this decision. But, I understand.” Dria looks over her shoulder and there’s a sadness on her face. “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
Nine by Night: A Multi-Author Urban Fantasy Bundle of Kickass Heroines, Adventure, Magic
Chapter Fourteen
The next five minutes shake the very foundation of my sanity. At each occupied bedroom we encounter, Dria has me usher the victimized Were out the door and down the hall, while the previously feasting vampire sits utterly still. Once the Were passes, she closes the door, leaving it slightly ajar, and stands in the hall while the wet splatter of the addicted vampire’s head explodes in the room beyond.
It would all seem surreal and out of a movie if I wasn’t smelling the gore and seeing the blood on the red stained walls when a door happens to swing open. By the third one the gorge in my stomach tries to force its way up my throat. I can’t do this. I can’t sit by and watch this mindless killing.
Dria’s cooler hand rests on my arm as we travel toward the last room in the hall. “Steady, Jon. You can do this. Only one more to handle.”
“Don’t you mean ‘slaughter’?” I try and pull my arm out of her grasp, but she holds firm. “For God’s sake, you’re not even giving them a chance to fight.”
She leans in, her voice whispering near my ear. “Like they did to the wolves, Jon? These vampires captured their minds and held them captive while they raped and used them for their own twisted needs.” Her breath tickles my neck and I shudder, torn between loathing and vengeance. “Revenge is never pretty and often leaves you empty. Focus on the lives we’re saving and you’ll get through this.”
A quiet calmness fills me, but my soul screams. It seems wrong to kill anyone without a fight.
Dria releases my arm and stares into my eyes. “It is—in a perfect world. But ours is far from perfect. Remember what they told you happened to the daughter of the alphas?” I nod. “Save your mercy for children like her and do the hard task that needs to be done in her honor.”
She’s right, I know. But I never signed up for heartless, cold-blooded slaughter. I never dreamed her plan would include the quick execution of everyone responsible.
What did you think would happen? That the vampires would all promise not to abuse Weres again and everyone would be magically set free?