Page 40 of Forced Bonds

“You think this is where they were turned?” I asked, using my phone to scan the room.

“Definitely,” Zar growled. “The room smells of old blood.”

“There’s also this scent of medicine or chlorine. I can’t really pinpoint it,” Chris said, sniffing around the room.

“We should head further down the tunnel. I think it will lead us outside.” My men listened to my plea and we walked the rest of the way and found the door we knew would be there.

Zar was the first out and he scoffed out a laugh. “I finally understand how they found so many humans.”

Chris and I left the tunnel and scanned the area. It was a camping site, and the door had a sign above it, with toilet written on it. “That doesn’t explain how hundreds of people decided to camp here and then enter,” I pointed out. Had I camped here I would’ve never entered that building.

“Not even if something was chasing you? Or making scary noises at night?” Zar asked innocently.

I gasped. “You think Gabriella hunted them inside?”

He shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that this is where the tunnel leads and we now know how the witches kept in touch with Gabriella.”

“You want to ambush them here tonight, don’t you?” I sighed, already accepting my fate of never getting any beauty sleep.

“No, I think they’re done with Gabriella, so they likely won’t show up here ever again. But we can get their scents and maybe find their homes. Or at least a direction.”

We both looked at Chris who huffed and began sniffing. The area was big and filled with forgotten tents and campfires. There was one cabin further away. It was likely one you could rent or for rangers to stay in if there were too many animal attacks. The most obvious thing was that we were far into the middle of the woods. This could very well be how the rogues got out and not just through the scrap yard. They likely didn’t have enough control over them at first, which meant they left through the back door. This exit seemed better fitting if they didn’t want to get caught, though.

Chris sniffed around and then snarled in frustration. “Their scents are scattered! It’s like they knew this would happen!”

“Let’s go back to the car,” Zar sighed. “We can walk through the woods and get back that way. I don’t want—” He sniffed the air, growled, and then in a dash, he was in front of the cabin, tearing the door clean off and rushing inside.

Chris and I ran towards the cabin, Chris running slower to match my speed, then Zar stomped out with a rogue vampire, holding him by his throat. The rogue screamed as the sun hit him, turning him into dust before our eyes.

“What happened?” I demanded once we were next to Zar.

“That,” he said, pointing to the dust. “Was Tom.”

“What was he doing out here?” I asked no one in particular.

“My guess,” Zar sighed. “Likely he was a way to control Gabriella. They knew she couldn’t leave in the daylight hours so they were keeping her in place by having Tom someplace else.”

“She could just go to him at night,” I argued.

“No, because they were here each night. I think they had more control over her than we think,” Zar said.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I tried again. “What would they gain keeping them apart? She couldn’t do anything to Tom.”

Zar shrugged. “I have no idea, that was just my guess on why.”

“Was there anything else in the cabin?” Chris asked, sniffing the air.

“Tom was wearing a red necklace. I left it in there.”

“So, they were controlling him,” I mused, rubbing my chin.

“Um, Benji?” Chris sounded a tad sad as he said my name, making me look at him confused.

“Yes?”

“Where are my clothes?”

“Will you stop with the puppy eyes!” I snapped. So, what if I’d lost Chris’ clothes somewhere in the hotel between them killing rogues and wading through a dark tunnel. It wasn’t as if I’d done it on purpose!