Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) (17 page)

Her response had been that bad guys didn’t rest, so she couldn’t, either.

“Well, let’s go,” she insisted, crossing the room to stand beside the door. “Luca doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s going to wait for everyone to be there before starting the meeting.”

As usual, she’d been right. The meeting had already started when they’d arrived at Captain Dresden’s office. Although they’d technically been four minutes early, Luca had still berated them for their tardiness. He didn’t bother repeating information they’d already gone over, telling them they could ask to borrow someone’s notes after class.

Sometimes, the guy could be a real dick.

“Nik has some information about the Abraxas coven.” Sitting atop Captain Dresden’s desk, Luca motioned to Nikolai.

Stepping away from the big, bay window, Nikolai folded his hands together behind him and nodded. “As most of you know, the Abraxas coven spans a territory from Texas to Georgia. They’re the largest coven in the country, and certainly the most powerful. Their numbers alone are overwhelming.”

“Big, scary vampires,” Thea retorted, bobbing her head. “Lots and lots of big, scary vampires. Got it. Get to the good stuff, Nik.”

Seated on a squashy loveseat in the sitting area of the office, Deke curled his arm around his mate and chuckled. Luca glared, no surprise there. Cameron Dresden didn’t seem to know what to make of Thea, while the guards seemed cautiously amused by her outburst.

Rhys just smiled and slid his fingers down the inside of her forearm to take her hand. He wouldn’t have her any other way.

With a crooked grin of his own, Nikolai bowed his head in a graceful motion that would have looked completely cheesy coming from anyone else. “The Abraxas family has a residence just outside of Dallas, Texas, and they began…procuring humans about a year ago.”

No one asked why the ruling family had been collecting humans. They were vampires. It seemed pretty self-explanatory. What Rhys didn’t understand was how the werewolves fit into the equation.

“Why are wolves kidnapping these people for the coven?” If the coven was as big as everyone claimed, he didn’t see why they’d employ werewolves to do their dirty work. “What do the packs get out of it.”

“They get to keep their lands.” Sighing, Nikolai took another step toward the center of the room, his gaze sweeping to every person gathered. “My sources say the Abraxas coven is looking to expand their already vast territory. Packs up and down Demon Alley have been making deals with them.” He held his right hand out, palm up. “The packs kidnap humans, weed out the weak ones, then hand them over to the coven.” He repeated the same motion with his left hand. “In exchange, the coven leaves them in peace.”

No one spoke for several seconds as they absorbed the implications. The Abraxas coven already had control over a large area of land, and if they were looking to expand, it seemed a reasonable guess that their numbers would multiply with their territory.

“We can’t fight them,” Rhys said, breaking the silence that had settled over the room. “We can’t win.”

Nikolai shook his head, his blond hair swaying against his back. “No, we can’t, and it would be foolish to even try.”

“Then, that’s it?” Cheeks flushed with anger, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, Thea released Rhys’ hand and took a jerky step forward. “We’re not even going to try? We’re just going to leave our friends there to die.”

“It’s been more than a month,” Captain Dresden reminded her, his tone subdued. “It’s more than likely that your friends are already dead, Corporal.”

Her hands fisted at her sides, and Thea leveled a look of pure hatred on the captain. “Fuck. You. I promised I would find them, and I will. Dead or alive, it doesn’t matter.” She breathed heavily, her chest heaving, her shoulders shaking with barely restrained fury. “Sit here and cower in your fucking mansion. I’m going to find my friends.”

Rhys hadn’t expected anything less, but he’d be damned if he’d let her walk into the lion’s den alone. “You know I have your back, angel. Tell me when, and we’ll go.”

“I’m going, too.” Standing from the loveseat, Roux dodged Deke’s hand when he reached for her, and came to stand next to Thea. “Abby and Cade are my friends, and I’m going to find them.” Quieter, she added, “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Deke cursed under his breath, but he also stood and joined them. “I go where the stubborn female goes.” He took Roux’s hand when she grinned at him. “Abby was my friend, too. If I can help bring her back, I will.”

“It’s suicide, you know?” Nikolai arched both golden eyebrows, his lips twitching. “When do we start?”

“We need supplies, at least two vehicles, and we’ll need a plan if we want to get in without ending up as lunch.” Jumping down from the mahogany desk, Luca folded his arms over his chest, the light glinting off a silver chain stretched tight around his wrist. “We leave at the end of the week.”

“Captain?” Miles Irati cocked his head to the side so that the sunlight shining through the windows glinted off his auburn hair. “If you leave, who will take over the KC base?”

Luca shrugged. “Congratulations, Lieutenant. You’ve just been promoted.”

“With all due respect, sir,” the vampire began, “but I’d like to accompany you to Dallas.”

The Chambers twins pushed away from the far wall, their movements so coordinated it was kind of creepy. “We’re in, too, Captain,” one of them said while the other nodded.

Rhys really couldn’t tell them apart.

“Good.” Luca’s shoulders relaxed, and he nodded a couple of times. “You three get me a list of who you trust to take over the base. In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of work to do in the next four days.”

“Has anyone questioned the werewolves?” Thea asked, drawing everyone’s attention. “Someone had to deliver the prisoners to the coven. If one of the wolves here have been to Texas, they might be able to help.”

“Not bad, Corporal.” Luca’s gaze cut to Deke. “Can you start on that this afternoon?”

Though there were two other captains in the room, and Cameron was quite a bit older than the rest of them, Luca seemed the natural leader. No one thought to question his orders, and while he might be human, he’d more than proven himself worthy of the respect afforded him.

Deke angled toward the double doors behind him. “I can start now.”

They spent a few more minutes discussing what needed to be done and who was best suited to accomplish the tasks. Then they agreed to meet again the following morning, and everyone departed the office, leaving Captain Dresden to shake his head at them as they left. Rhys didn’t necessarily dislike the lion shifter, but he doubted they’d ever be friends.

He and Thea made the four block trek to the high school in under six minutes. Modest, white houses lined the opposite side of the brick-paved lane, smoke curling from the chimneys before being swept away by the wind. From what Rhys had seen, Valley Falls was a typical small Kansas town, situated in the middle of nowhere. It didn’t even have a stop light, not that it had ever needed one. Before the Purge, the town had boasted a population of just under twelve hundred.

Cameron’s ostentatious mansion with its expansive, manicured lawns stuck out like a sore thumb.

Inside the gym, several stations had been set up for the Revenant guards to train the new recruits. Some sparred hand to hand. Others worked with weapons—mostly daggers and other field knives. One wolf groaned as Lynk twisted him into unnatural positions, chiding him the whole time for his lack of flexibility. At the back wall, the two females threw punches and kicks at a heavy bag, while Deidra circled them, offering instruction and encouragement. When she saw Rhys and Thea standing by the open doors, she lifted her hand in greeting.

“This is good,” Thea murmured, waving back at the she-wolf. “This is really good.”

Thea looked out over the gym with a deep sense of satisfaction. Yes, the wolves were volatile and undisciplined, but they had potential. She’d been skeptical at first, still holding on to old prejudices. The wolves worked hard, though, and they never complained. One by one, they’d approached her over the past two days to thank her for the part she’d played in freeing them. By the second night, she’d had to accept that they truly wanted to help make a difference.

Several of the males currently taking beatings from Revenant guards had been pack enforcers. Maybe because they felt the need to pay penance, to redeem themselves, they trained harder than anyone. When a guard knocked them down, they got back up. When they’d been pushed to the point of exhaustion and couldn’t even stand, they crawled. Three days ago, she’d hated them all. Now, she saw the wolves in a different light, and she was proud to have them on her side.

Distractedly, she traced the fresh mating bite on her neck, shivering when tingles swept down her spine.

Rhys struggled to adjust to his newfound freedom, and sometimes, she’d catch him staring into space, his eyes glazed with the look of a caged animal. He always smiled when she asked him about it, assuring her he’d just been thinking, but she knew better.

He had nightmares, and he talked in his sleep, usually about his mother. When he was awake, he never mentioned her, and Thea didn’t push, knowing the wound was still too raw and too recent. When he wanted to talk, she’d be there, and they’d work through it together.

Overcome with emotion, she rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek.

“What was that for, angel?”

“Just because.” They needed to get to work, but she didn’t move, not ready to leave his side just yet. “Do you think they’re alive?”

He didn’t ask who she meant. “No, Thea, I don’t.”

She appreciated his honesty, even if it hurt to hear. “Then why did you agree to go with me to Dallas?”

“Because I love you,” he answered without hesitation. “Because what’s important to you is important to me.” Wrapping his hand around hers, he squeezed gently. “Mostly, because it’s the right thing to do. Even if there is just a minuscule chance that they’re still alive, we have to try.”

After a few more moments of silence, she finally sighed and released his hand. “We should get started. Go help that guy before Lynk breaks him, yeah? I’m going to go see if Deidra can use a hand.”

She felt his eyes on her back as she walked away, and she lowered her head to hide the smile stretching her lips. The world they lived in didn’t lend itself to second chances or happy endings, yet she’d somehow been offered both. Now, she risked it all to trek into enemy territory on a fool’s errand. She didn’t look forward to it, but she wasn’t afraid, and she knew Rhys wasn’t, either.

Together, they could face anything.

Kamara Yamashito drifted into consciousness on a cold, steel table surrounded by blinding light.

Around her, people flitted about the room, their movements quick and precise. She couldn’t see their faces beneath their surgical masks, but she imagined their fangs glistening wetly as they smiled at her. Here, she didn’t have a name, only a number. Subject 621.

For weeks, she’d alternated between the frozen, sterile facility and a vast, dark room with rows and rows of red chairs. She could never recall many details, but there had been vampires. Sometimes, they looked strange, like all the color had been leached from their skin, and she always heard music—eerie, ominous chords that whispered softly in her ears.

Naked beneath a white sheet, she moved her arm experimentally, her lips turning downward when something pinched her in the crook of her elbow. Wires and tubes snaked from her body, connected to machines she couldn’t name with functions she didn’t want to know. The room smelled of chemicals that stung her nose, and something else that seemed vaguely familiar but that she couldn’t name.

A hand came to rest atop her shorn head, fingers gently caressing the stubble that covered her scalp. It felt nice, and her eyelids fluttered again.

“She’s waking up,” a woman called, her voice distorted through Kamara’s haze. The woman’s face swam into view, and eyes the color of storm clouds stared back at her. “Just relax. Everything is going to be okay.”

Turning her head away from the woman, Kamara stared into the light that shown down over her. It reminded her of something that had happened right after the Purge. When the world had fallen into a state of chaos and ruin, she’d packed her bags and headed west to destinations unknown.

The dreams had started the first night she’d left New York, and she’d had them almost every night since. Some of the details changed, but the ending was always the same.

In her dreams, she stood in the center of a room flooded with white light, the illumination so bright it hurt her eyes. A door opened. She never saw it, but she heard it—the click of a doorknob, the soft squeak of hinges, then slow, muffled footsteps coming toward her.

Though she couldn’t see who approached her, in her dreams, she wasn’t afraid. A man called her name. His voice seemed to resonate from every corner of the white room, his tone melodious and otherworldly, and his presence enveloped her with warmth and tranquility.

When he finally stepped into view, her breath always caught in her throat. Tall, with broad shoulders and tightly sculpted muscles, his pale skin aglow with an inner light, he stood before her like a towering god. Golden hair cascaded down his back, the tresses gleaming with radiance. His eyes, she never could look away from his rich, brown eyes. They enraptured her, mesmerized her, and she felt as if they could see right down into her soul.

While she slept, she imagined the man to be an angel, a guardian sent to watch over and protect her. In her waking hours, she chided her subconscious for indulging in such ridiculous fantasies. She didn’t have some guardian angel watching over her, and if she did, he really sucked at his job.

“Give her another twenty units,” a male voice instructed, pulling her back into the present. “We’ll begin shortly.”