Page 83 of Mated By the Alphas
The rest of us hang back, out of sight around a corner, just to be safe. The building would be a perfect spot for vampires to hide. There are multiple floors. Lots of classrooms. It’s out of the way and doesn’t see much traffic.
Not long after Remy makes it to the school, he turns back, paws kicking up dirt until he hits the asphalt. As soon as he gets close enough to talk to us, we understand why.
“Run!” Remy transmits, and I can see the fear in his eyes. It takes a lot to rattle Remy. “It’s not a nest! It’s a fucking lair!”
“Oh shit,” Jaxton yells. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Normally, we’d dispose of a vampire body, rather than leaving it for others to find. We don’t have time to do that properly, not if the school is a vampire lair. We drag the body around the corner with us and toss it through a broken window into an abandoned building.
The vampires may still find it. If they do, they’ll know one of their own has been killed. Hopefully, they won’t know it was wolves. Either way, we need to get the hell out of here as fast as we can.
Nests are one thing. They’re usually full of fledglings and a few makers. Lairs are a different story. Lairs usually don’t contain many fledglings. They’re controlled by an older vampire, and the makers they’ve raised, at least, the ones that weren’t thrown out as soon as they were old enough to make fledglings. A lair is a quick way to get killed, even if Wyatt and I are immune to the worst of it.
I’m not sure what we’re going to do, but we’re damn sure not going in there right now.
CHAPTER 29
Ansley
I can tell Hayden is more tense than normal when he picks me up after work.
His shoulders are tight. He’s grinding his teeth together. Something is definitely bothering him. I wouldn’t be a good mate if I didn’t try to figure out what it is.
“Everything okay?” I ask cautiously.
“No, not really,” he growls. “The others went after a vampire today, and the trailed him to his nest, except it wasn’t a nest, it was a lair.”
“Is that worse than the blood bank?” I ask, assuming it is.
“Yes, a lot worse,” he confirms. “It’s a sign there’s a vampire in Chicago who is much older than we thought. Lairs require planning and organization. They were probably using the blood bank to feed all the makers so they could avoid detection.”
“What about my blood? I gave Wyatt a sample this morning,” I say. “Did it help?”
“It worked. Wyatt and Storm drank it before they fought the vampire. They were immune to the bites and even the claws couldn’t pierce their skin,” Hayden reports.
“Storm drank it? I haven’t even met him yet,” I’m surprised by this information. Drinking my blood feels like a very intimate thing to do. Since we haven’t even met yet, I guess it didn’t seem like something Storm would even want to do.
“Your blood didn’t make him crazy like your scent will,” Hayden says. “But you’ll meet him today. He’s at the safehouse waiting for us.”
“What about Jaxton?” I ask.
“No, he’s at The Den. He’s not ready to meet you. I’m not sure if he ever will be,” Hayden sighs, shaking his head. “Storm may be the last one we need to complete the mating ritual. We’ll know soon. Jaxton… if we need him, then we mayneverbe able to complete it. I don’t know what it would take to get him to come around to this. He’s a genuine loner and is still devoted to the memory of the woman he loved and lost.”
My heart goes out to the brother I might never meet. The tragedy he suffered was so crushing, it sounds like he will live under it for the rest of his life. I can’t help being a little nervous, though, about meeting the man who could be the final missing piece, and my thoughts soon shift away from Jaxton over to Storm. He’s in finance. He used to work for York Financial. I should have more in common with him than any of the others.
“Storm might like hearing about my day,” I offer. “I got to meet with a really wealthy client named Daniel Lumen. He’sobscenelyrich. I had to look him up after the meeting.”
“Yeah, I already know about him. Spotted him when he left and had Storm check the security footage,” Hayden sounds a little bit…pissy. “He’s nobody. Just another rich asshole.”
“Asshole? I don’t know that I’d call him anasshole. He does a lot of philanthropy. Seems like a decent guy,” I retort. “Definitely charismatic.”
“Are you saying you were attracted to him?” Hayden asks, his eyes narrowing.
“What? No! Not like that. Honestly, I haven’t even looked at another guy since I met you, other than your brothers,” I say quickly. “It wasn’t attraction. He was very nice and seemed really happy with the work I did. My boss said I made a great first impression, and now I’ll be managing his new investment.”
“Good for you,” Hayden says just a little bit dismissively, an edge still lingering in his voice. “But if he gets too friendly, we’re going to have a problem.”
“I doubt I’ll even see him again. Most clients don’t stop by for a personal visit unless there’s a problem.”
