Hunter Reborn (22 page)

And it wouldn't be satisfied until it was released. Until it devoured all the innocent blood it could find.

“Y
ou're positive it's the dead, not demons?” Connor asked Larissa quietly. Liam and Kat were nearby, listening via their earpieces, but hidden in the trees.

Aiden watched as Larissa shook her head. He hated that she was being thrust into potential danger again so soon after her fainting spell. More than anything he wanted to take her away from here, keep her safe. “I'm not sure of anything. I just know that scent. I guess it could be demons. Why?”

Connor shared a grim look with Liam before glancing back at them. “A vampire named Juhani mentioned demons in a conversation we had in regards to”—he spread his hands out—“all the crazy shit going on with vampires acting possessed.”

Larissa looked at Aiden.
I know a vampire named Juhani. Is he from Finland?

Yes. He's one of the Brethren.
When Larissa raised her
eyebrows, he realized she didn't know what that meant
. They're four ancient vamps who semi-rule the vampire race now that supernaturals have come out to the world. They're not like shifters with our Councils. They don't have a very good pulse on their people.
He nearly snorted.
Clearly.

Who are the others?
she asked.

Their names are Narek, Andrei, and Luca. You know them?

Possibly. I know ancient vampires with those names. They were all leaders of powerful covens when my father ruled ours. They are likely the same vampires as only a few would be strong enough to lead all vampires.
She looked back at Connor. “Your vampire contact might be correct. Either way, it does not matter. Something, whether demons or the dead, wants out and we need to stop it. I don't care if the vampire we're hunting is behind this, we have to do something now. Whatever that wretched scent is, we can't allow it to gain even a little purchase into our world. It will feed on anything innocent it can find.”

Connor and Liam nodded simultaneously, their expressions grim. “You wouldn't happen to know how to stop this, would you?”

Before answering she looked at Aiden and he knew he wasn't going to like what she had to say.
My mother and I helped cleanse one of my father's dungeons when something similar happened. Because of all the people my father killed one year, their blood acted like a sacrifice of sorts even though that wasn't his intent. . . . None of that matters. I will need to use my gift. Depending on how far into our world this darkness has moved, I will need to be at top strength. For that to happen, I will need to feed.

She didn't continue and Aiden realized what she wasn't saying. Before answering Connor, Larissa was letting Aiden decide if he was okay with her feeding from his packmates. He was pretty sure she could feed from him and he'd be fine, but now wasn't the time to test his strength. The first time she'd drunk from him she'd taken a lot.

Though he hated the thought of her lips on any other male, for any reason, he shoved his possessive, protective wolf back down and turned to his Alpha. “Larissa can do it but she needs to feed from everyone. Not a lot, but enough that she has the strength to do what's necessary.” Because he would not lose her and if that meant she had to drink from other males, so be it.

Connor looked thoughtful for a moment before he focused on Larissa. Then he held out his arm and shoved his long sleeve back. “Take what you need.”

Shock rolled off Larissa as she stared at Connor. She looked at Aiden and it took all his strength to nod that he was okay with this. This wasn't sexual, he reminded himself. If anything, it was an honor that his Alpha was doing this so freely.

“Thank you,” she murmured to Connor before barely touching his wrist and gently striking his vein.

Everyone took turns standing guard while she fed. Ten minutes later she'd drunk from everyone—except Jayce, who'd flat-out refused, much to Kat's annoyance, though it didn't surprise Aiden—and was already glowing.

“Give us a couple of minutes,” Aiden murmured to Connor, who nodded before stalking off with Liam.

“I feel like I could fly,” Larissa said, awe in her voice. “I've never had so much supernatural blood at once. So much strong blood. Your pack is incredible.”

“
You
are incredible.” She hadn't balked at wanting to stop the evil nearby. Had just told everyone what needed to be done and was willing to jump into the fray, no questions asked. That bravery was one of the reasons he loved her.

She blinked, her indigo eyes turning that electric blue. Before she could respond, he bared his neck to her.
I know you don't want to feed from me and I understand—though I feel fine. Just take a little. I want my blood to be the last you drink right now. It's making me insane that you touched other males. I want my taste to be on your tongue when we go in there.

Instead of telling him that she'd just been feeding and none of it had been sexual or making a half dozen other statements to attempt to soothe him, she clutched his shoulders, bared her fangs and struck. Not with the gentle politeness she'd used with the others, but with a rawness she reserved only for him.

He shuddered and groaned at the feel of her teeth sinking into his neck, at the erotic sensation each time she sucked on him. Pushing her back up against a tree, he pinned her there with his hips, rolling them against her and hating that they had clothes in the way.

Much too soon, she pulled her head back and licked his small wounds. When she met his gaze, her eyes were glowing as she licked the blood from her lips and teeth.

“As soon as we're done here, I'm fucking you for
days,” he snarled, the harsh words ripping from him. He knew everyone could hear them through the earpieces and the most primal part of him needed every single male to know his intent. It didn't matter that most were happily mated. His wolf was not rational right now.

“Good.” Her voice was just as harsh as his.
I like it when you lose that charming veneer,
she added as he took a small step away from her.

He took a steadying breath, exhaled. “Ready?” he asked.

She looked down and held her palms up. A bright blue flame shot from both of them, more brilliant than he'd ever seen it. Her eyes were still electric as she met his gaze again. “Oh yeah.”

“Erin, Noah, Jayce, and I are converging on the cabin first,” Connor said via their earpieces. “Once we've secured it, everyone else move in.”

After the rest of them answered in the affirmative, they all went silent. Aiden and Larissa crouched in the shadows of two tall trees, their boots making small indentations in the snow. Around them everything was silent as they watched the house. And waited.

If he hadn't been watching so intently he may not have seen the multiple blurs of movement from the woods to the cabin. Still in human form, Connor and Erin were the only ones visible from his and Larissa's position. Moving lightning quick, they invaded the house, Erin using a window and Connor going in through the front door. He guessed the others were using windows on the other side of the quiet cabin.

“Everyone can come in,” Connor said fewer than thirty seconds later.

Using caution, Aiden and Larissa sprinted to the front porch, reaching it at the same time as Kat and Liam. Aiden entered first, using his body to block Larissa's as he stepped inside. He could feel Larissa's annoyance through their link at his protectiveness, but it didn't bother him.

Once inside he saw Connor and the three others standing next to a kitchen table that they'd clearly moved to the side. A dingy rug had been pulled back to reveal a door cut into the floor. It lined up with the seams of the floor, but the hinges and small door were clearly visible. The rest of the cabin was definitely unlived in. There were a few pieces of dusty wooden furniture that looked as if they had never been sat on and the fireplace had a nest of something living in it. He nodded at the unopened trapdoor as Larissa, Liam, and Kat came to stand next to him. Aiden also scented the remaining three males entering. The growing putrid stench of the dead was stronger inside, wafting over them.

Connor let his claws out before he looked at Liam. Aiden guessed they were communicating telepathically. A moment later Liam crouched next to the door. Connor motioned that he was going to go first. As he did, Erin and Jayce pulled out blades. Both enforcers immediately handed a blade to their mates. Aiden let his claws free, as did the other males. Larissa's fangs and claws released, but she didn't let her flames loose yet.

Liam tugged back the door. It barely made a sound. From his position a few feet away Aiden could see a metal ladder, but the drop to whatever was down there, was dark. Connor started to move in, but Liam grabbed his upper arm in a tight grip. They had one of their telepathic conversations until Liam finally let go, but he looked pissed as his brother went first.

Aiden understood that as Connor's second-in-command, and his only brother, Liam wanted to protect Connor. It was his right and duty, but as Alpha, Connor had to go first in situations like this. He had to show everyone what he was willing to do. Otherwise how could he expect them to? It was the shifter way and why Connor was a respected Alpha.

Erin and Noah went next, then everyone else followed with Ryan closing the trapdoor behind them. The descending tunnel was dark, but with his supernatural vision Aiden could make out everything well enough. And there was definitely a light coming from somewhere below. No noise though. Which was surprising since they'd seen multiple individuals converging on the house from the satellite feeds. According to Ryan, no one had left since. That told Aiden that either everyone who'd entered was incredibly quiet, or whatever was below them was expansive enough that they simply couldn't hear where the others had gone—or the vampires were lying in wait to attack. That was definitely a possibility.

As Aiden dropped out of the tunnel onto solid stone ground, he immediately scanned his surroundings, taking in everything in one visual sweep. There were a
dozen burning torches hooked on the stone walls around the circular cavernous space. A torch for each carved archway leading down twelve different tunnels. That putrid stench was much stronger down here. Not so overwhelming that he wanted to hurl, but they were getting closer to whatever darkness lurked down here. He rolled his shoulders once, trying to shake off his tension. Having Larissa in any sort of danger, no matter how capable she was, was wreaking havoc on his senses.

Larissa looked at Aiden, her expression grim. There were twelve tunnels and ten of them. Since there was no way in hell he'd be leaving Larissa—and he knew neither Jayce nor Noah would leave their respective mates—it could take a while to search them all.

Connor motioned that they should all bunch together like a football team huddling. Once they were close, he looked at all of them. “We'll split into twos and cover ground that way. Liam's with me, the rest of you pick your partners,” he said, clearly out of courtesy because it was pretty damn certain who would pair off with whom. “That one,” he pointed to the archway nearest to the overhead tunnel drop, “I'm designating as tunnel number one. The next is number two,” he pointed in a clockwise motion. “And so on. We'll take the first five tunnels at once. Keep your earpieces on, and if you get into trouble, call for backup. Use your tunnel number so we know which one you're in. Fight if you have no choice, but wait for backup until we know more about what the hell is down here.” His voice was whisper soft and serious as he gave them orders.

Even so there was still a chance they'd been overheard if vampires were nearby. It was a chance they had to take.

When everyone nodded, they all split up, with Aiden and Larissa taking the third tunnel. He watched as everyone entered one of the tunnels before stepping inside with Larissa. They walked in silence, quick but conscious of possible traps or explosives. Right now he wasn't about to underestimate any possibilities. He couldn't measure for sure, but about one hundred yards in he heard a low chanting.

Next to him Larissa immediately slowed. Her heart rate didn't increase and she didn't put off any scents, but shot him a glance.
I hear it.

What language is that?
The chanting was almost nonsensical. He wondered if it was because he didn't know the language.

Latin.

Pausing, he strained to listen and realized she was right. It was Latin and the chanting male was saying only four or five words over and over. They all blended together, sounding like gibberish.

As they neared the entrance, the hair on the back of Aiden's neck stood straight up. Tingles raced down his spine and he had the most ominous feeling, as if he was walking straight into a mouth of hell. The sulfuric smell was incredibly strong now and the chanting sounded like something out of a bad horror movie.

Moving slowly they crept near the entrance. He had to force himself to continue and not grab Larissa and whisk her away to safety. His wolf clawed at his
surface, ready to be unleashed and protect Larissa. Shadows moved and shifted against one of the high arching walls. From candles. Next to him Larissa was tense, her body rigid even as blue flames licked up from her hands, covering her arms like body armor.

Ready?
he asked.

Larissa's jaw tightened.
Let's do it.

They moved the last couple of feet toward the edge of the archway in silence. It took only seconds to take everything in. Shock punched through him as he saw a vampire wearing a dark hood kneeling in front of a blood-stained altar with three dead human females on it. Their blood spilled everywhere as the male's hands plunged into the chests of two of them and pulled their hearts out.

That wasn't what shocked Aiden. It was the dark aura almost hovering around the male like a thick cloud. He could see gaunt faces peering through the haze, their eyes an eerie red as they watched what the vampire was doing. As if they were hungry for . . . Oh, nasty. The vamp lifted one of the hearts and took a bite of it. Only the bottom half of his face was showing so it was impossible to see who it was.