Alpha Mate: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (12 page)

“
Yes.”

Lucas nodded. He had a feeling that Charlotte and Bryn
had been taken by the same group of rogue vamps, and they were being
held at the same place.

Two rookie Enforcers, gone missing without a trace at
the same time.

And the only way Charlotte could have escaped him so
quickly last night was if she had been misted away by vamps.
Otherwise, he would have scented her. He might have been injured,
but his injuries would not have been able to keep him from his mate.

“
Glenn, can you mist during the day?” Lucas
asked.

“
Yes. Just not in direct sunlight. Otherwise,
I'll become smoke instead of mist, and the both of you will be
pressure cooked and smoked to sizzling perfection,” Glenn
answered, ignoring Jett's murderous glare.

“
And the average vamp? The average vamp isn't
quite so powerful, right?” Lucas said, humoring the Master
vampire. “And their powers will be further weakened by
daylight, so they won't be able to mist during the day.”

“
Yes. That is right.”

“
Let's hope we can get to them during the day. We
have to stake those rogues before they can mist the girls away
again,” Lucas said grimly. “Jett, recall your
Enforcement Unit. I want to meet with the whole Enforcement Unit in
an hour's time. I'll be announcing some changes to the rotation of
the teams and the patrol routes. There will be more patrols,
covering every street of New Moon City, every hour. The rogues are
getting bolder, and we have to send the message that the PAC is
striking back. We will step up our Enforcement efforts, and clamp
down on rogue activity. And we will spare no effort in retrieving
and rescuing our Enforcers.”
And no one messes with the
Alpha's mate!

“
Yes, Alpha!”

“
And Glenn...”

“
I'm on standby, Alpha,” the Master vampire
answered firmly.

Lucas gave a lopsided smile. “Did you just read
my mind, vampire?”

“
No. I will never dream of doing that. Whatever
is in your head would probably give me nightmares.” Glenn
shuddered. “Besides, mind-reading is a skill I have never
acquired.”

Lucas smiled. “Tell me, is it true that vampires
can never lie?”

“
Depends on what you mean by lie,” Glenn
deadpanned.

Lucas laughed and clapped the Master vampire on the
shoulder on his way out. “You're a good man, Glenn.”

“
No,” Glenn said quietly. “I...was
not.”

Lucas nodded. He knew what Glenn was talking about.
They'd lived a long time, time enough to make mistakes and live to
regret them. “You're a good vampire.”

This time Glenn did not refute the Alpha's words, only
giving a small bow in silent acknowledgment.

Charlotte cracked her eyes open, and tried to blink the
darkness away. She knew she had lost consciousness, because she had
fought for so long and so hard to stay conscious. But in the end she
had lost the fight. She had sunk into a nightmare, one that was
filled with fangs and blood.

The last thing she saw was that fog. That cold,
nauseating fog had wrapped around her and sealed her in like a
coffin. She had heard voices and mocking laughter.

Mist. Vampires!

Rogue vamps had misted her—to this dank, putrid
place.

With a gasp, she pushed herself up and swore loudly as
everything tilted and spun. She just had time to realize she was in
a large cage before her stomach heaved violently. She fought the
urge to throw up and clutched the sides of her head hard. Keep it
down, keep it together. Breathe, take deep, slow breaths, and focus.

As she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead
against the cold bars of the cage, the sound of her own labored
breathing mingled with another sound.

It was a small, wet sound, like someone sucking and
lapping at something.

Her eyes flew open.

A thin figure huddled at the far corner of the large
cage. Matted dark hair obscured most of her face, and the haunted,
bloodshot eyes staring out of that gaunt, feral face looked nothing
like her partner's bright, black eyes that always sparkled with
intelligence and humor.

“
Bryn!” Charlotte scrambled forward.

“
Stay back! Stay away from me!” Bryn
screeched, her eyes wide and glowing. Her face was smeared with
blood, and her fangs were long and dripping. Against her broken dark
red lips, her face was too pale. She looked tortured and ravenous.

Charlotte stared at Bryn's shivering body, at the blood
trickling down her chin, at the shredded sleeves of her jacket, and
her shaking, bleeding arms. Her wrists were a bloody mess, mangled
and torn to expose the veins. A gurgled whimper escaped as Bryn
pressed her ravaged arm to her mouth and sank her fangs deep into her
own flesh.

“
No! Stop! Bryn, stop! Stop it! You're...”

Bryn hissed at Charlotte, warning her away. “Stay.
Back!”

“
No, I won't let you...”

“
You won't let me feed?” Bryn laughed
hysterically. “Really?”

Charlotte lowered her hand slowly, watching tears of
blood seep from the corner of her partner's eyes. “What
happened, Bryn?” she asked softly. “What...did they do
to you?”

“
They drained me.”

When Charlotte gasped, Bryn continued with a brittle
laugh, “Yes. Those rogue vampires took turns drinking my
blood.” She turned her neck to the side to show off the ugly
puncture marks. There were fang marks and bruises all over her neck.
Those bastards!
“They drank me to within an inch of my
life, to weaken me and awaken my hunger. I have to feed...now, or I
die. I'm so, so hungry, Charlotte. I don't think I can hold on for
much longer. I'm getting too weak.”

“
Bloody monsters!” Charlotte gritted, her
anger surging.

“
I'm not a monster!” Bryn wailed.

“
I didn't mean you,” Charlotte said quickly.
“Not you. Never you. I meant them, those rogues! I'll kill
them!”

Bryn made a noise like a sob, and sucked desperately at
her own wrist. “More...I need more...” she swallowed.

“
Don't! You'll get weaker. You're drinking your
own blood!”

“
I...have to. I need to!”

“
Bryn, just stop! You'll kill yourself!”
Charlotte yelled.

The young vampire looked Charlotte straight in the eye,
her gaze strong and clear despite the blood haze. “Yes.”

“
You're not killing yourself, you fool!”

“
I'd rather kill myself, than kill you!”

Charlotte's breath caught. “Bryn...”

“
I'm losing control, Charlotte,” Bryn said
sadly. “I'm afraid I won't be able to hold off much longer.
I'm going mad. Mad with hunger, and weakness. You need to get away
from me. But you can't. You're locked in a cage with a starving,
raving vampire. You have to protect yourself. Where are your
stakes?” Bryn asked suddenly.

Charlotte gulped, shaking her head. “Bryn, you
can fight this. We'll fight this together. Bryn! Stop hurting
yourself! Don't do this. Look at me!” Charlotte reached
forward and tried to ease her friend's wrist away from her fangs.
The vampire hissed savagely at her, and a look of feral hunger
crossed her glowing eyes. Her blood red eyes locked on Charlotte's
shaking hand, then traveled to her wrist. Her tongue darted out and
licked a drop of blood from her fangs as she stared at Charlotte's
neck in raw hunger.

Charlotte backed away slowly. “B-Bryn, you...”

“
I'm so hungry. I'm sorry...” she rasped.

“
You're not a rogue vampire, Bryn. You're an
Enforcer.” Charlotte forced her voice to remain calm. “You
hunt rogues. You protect people.”

“
I can hear your heart speeding up. I can hear
your blood rushing through your veins,” Bryn whispered.

Charlotte backed away slowly until she could feel the
bars pressing hard into her back.

The vampire was sitting on her haunches, leaning forward
as if to pounce. Her jacket was in shreds, her Enforcer's weapons
strewn around her feet. Her black t-shirt and leather pants hung
loosely from her small frame, and her blood red nails seemed to have
grown longer. Her red eyes were crazed with blood lust, driving her
to the very edge of her sanity and humanity. But still, Bryn held
on, clinging to the precipice, refusing to let go and hurtle into the
abyss.

With a scream, Bryn turned away from her, her shoulders
shaking as she hunched in on herself, cradling her bleeding arms
tightly against her empty, gnawing stomach.

Charlotte's heart ached, but she knew that approaching
Bryn would only make things more difficult for the vampire.

She doesn't want me to see her like this. She thinks
I see her as a monster. I don't!

Charlotte was hurting for her friend, but at the same
time, she was fiercely proud of her. Those rogue vampires had locked
her in a cage with a human, to force her to feed and kill in order to
survive. They wanted to turn her into a monster like themselves.
But they had underestimated the resolve of the fearless, young
vampire. Bryn had chosen to hurt herself, rather than sink her fangs
into Charlotte's throat. It would have been so easy. She could so
easily have drunk Charlotte's blood while she had been unconscious.

A sudden thought struck Charlotte. “Bryn, why
don't you just transform yourself into mist, and escape?”

There was a short, bitter laugh. “I can't. I'm
not that old or powerful. But even if I could, I can't. These bars
are made of silver. Silver can strip a vampire of her powers.”

Charlotte fell silent, trying not to make any
unnecessary movement. Bryn was much stronger than she gave herself
credit for. If Charlotte was famished and locked in a cage with a
large, juicy burger that was constantly making noises and jiggling
around to tempt her to eat it, she wasn't sure she could fight the
temptation. The burger would be gone before it could even squeak
“eat me!” The only proof of the burger's existence would
be a burp and a trickle of ketchup down her chin.

Charlotte shook away the image of herself as a huge
burger sitting in a cage. She was dressed in leather, not lettuce.

“
These...rogue vampires, have you seen them?”
Charlotte cleared her throat and asked at last.

“
Yes. They're older than me, and there are four
of them. I can't fight them.”

Violent shudders were beginning to wreck Bryn's frail
body. When Charlotte moved to try to help her, she shouted her back.
“Don't! Just don't...come near me. You're just making it
worse.”

“
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” Charlotte scuttled
back to her corner. “I won't do it again.”

“
You won't have a chance to,” Bryn replied
in a cold voice. “Where are your wooden stakes, Charlotte?”

“
Huh? Um...here.” Charlotte patted the
side of her jacket.

“
Take them out.”

“
What? Why...”

“
Take them out! Now!”

“
Okay, okay, I got them,” Charlotte mumbled,
dragging the stakes out. “There.”

Bryn turned around slowly.

“
Charlotte,” she said, attempting a smile
and failing. “Will you...will you promise to stake me if...if
I...”

“
No!” Charlotte sheathed those deadly
stakes under her coat in a hurry. “No. Way. Not negotiable,
not bargainable, not contemplatable. Just no.”

“
Charlotte, listen to me...”

“
Not listening. La la la la la!” Charlotte
sang loudly and tunelessly, covering both ears with her hands.
“Can't make me!”

“
You must! You must.” Bryn's voice
cracked. “Promise me that you'll stab me cleanly through the
heart, or take off my head entirely, so I'll turn to dust and won't
regenerate. You can kill me by piercing my heart fully, you know,
staking me or decapitating me. Don't let me rise again. Because if
I do...I—I'll kill you.” Her voice had dropped to a
whisper, her voice anguished but her gaze hard and steady. “Promise
me!”

Charlotte opened her mouth but her words refused to
come.

“
Please, Charlotte.”

“
I...I promise,” Charlotte whispered, her
heart breaking.

A door creaked open and four figures stepped into the
room. Charlotte drew a dagger and a stake from her coat and crouched
protectively in front of Bryn, her eyes and her blade glinting
menacingly.

You'll have to get through me to get to her, you
shits!

The four vampires were wearing hoodies and dark
sunglasses. The tallest one, the only vampire who didn't have his
hood pulled over his head, sauntered over to the cage and smiled
broadly, displaying his fangs. With his dirty blond hair and tattoos
covering half his face, he looked like a teenage thug, instead of an
old vampire. Hard to believe these rogues were older than Bryn.