MADDOX

We got away from the city and drove all night, circling back and taking odd routes. We were confident we weren’t being followed, but Langston still thought it wise to ditch the car and get a new one.

By the next morning, we arrived at a pack that had agreed to work with B***d Eclipse in fighting against Warwick. Langston met with the Alpha, who agreed to let us lay low within their pack for a day or so to make sure we weren’t still being followed.

Luckily, they had spare rooms in their packhouse where we could stay even though they were a small pack. When I was finally alone, I collapsed on the bed. All I wanted was to pull Missy close and sleep, but she wasn’t with me. I closed my eyes and pictured her beautiful smile for the millionth time.

I wanted to find Warwick so that I could get back to her. We should be going to school together, training afterward, then going home to make dinner and do our homework. We should be playing games with her little brothers and visiting Azly. I shouldn’t be lying in a guest room in a foreign pack, waiting to make sure the coast is clear before I hunt down a vampire.

But until Alpha knows where to go to kill that vampire, Missy won’t be safe. He will send people after her, her siblings, and her mother to get to her dad.

I tried to turn my brain off and get a couple of hours of sleep. We would need to check in with Alpha soon to let him know what was happening. I was hoping to get ahold of Missy too.

–

I woke up to Langston shaking me by the shoulder. “Come on, kid,” he said. I shot straight up into a sitting position as soon as I realized it.

“Did I miss her?” I asked quickly. Langston frowned.

“I couldn’t get anyone on the phone. I got ahold of my mate but no one at B***d Eclipse,” he said. I deflated at his words.

“We’ll try again in a day or two. We can’t keep calling,” he said. I sighed and nodded my head. “Let’s go get something to eat. Alpha Ian said dinner is open downstairs.”

I pushed myself off the bed and smoothed my clothes a bit. Langston gave me a tight smile as we headed out of the room.

–

Langston and I decided it would be best to leave while we had the cover of darkness, so we left just after midnight and headed to the next lead on vampire activity we had. Beta Meadow had given us information about a city that she believed Warwick had a few business holdings in that we were sure we would find vampires.

By the time the sun was breaking the horizon and illuminating it with hues of orange, we were driving through the city looking for somewhere to get breakfast. This was by far the largest city I had ever been in, and it was weird to see so many people moving around so early in the morning.

“So one of the places on Beta Meadow’s list is a consulting firm. It looks like there is a bagel shop across the street from it,” I said.

“Great idea,” Langston said. “We can scope it out some. Maybe it will have outdoor seating to make our job easier.”

I reached into the back seat and grabbed a couple of dark-colored hats. “These might come in handy, and I don’t think we’ll stick out much,” I said, slipping mine over my head.

We found a parking structure two blocks from the bagel shop. I put my backpack on just in case, and we headed to breakfast.

We ordered our food then waited by the pick-up counter for our fake names to be called. Langston got his first and headed to the outdoor seating to find a table where we could have good sight of the buildings across the street.

When I had my food, I joined him. We ate slowly. Langston was positioned so that he could see down one side of the street, and I could see down the other with the consulting firm to our side.

“Blue jacket, dark jeans, third time passing the building,” I muttered quietly in between bites. If we spoke low enough, we didn’t have to be worried about being overheard.

“The wind is blowing towards them,” he said. “Can’t catch a sent.”

“Me either,” I agreed.

“Woman hailing a cab,” he commented. “She went in the building as we arrived.”

“What do you think this consulting firm does?” I asked.

“Looks pretty ambiguous,” he said.

I casually glanced at the building across the busying street. It had simple grey stone. There were window sections with stone panels in-between that stretched across the length of the front. All the windows had a film on them, reflecting the outside rather than allowing passerby to see inside.

It was maybe five stories high. It was only slightly shorter than the buildings nearest it but not so much that it stuck out in any way. There were no identifying signs declaring the business that operated there. Anyone could walk right by and ignore it entirely, which was happening for the most part.

It was challenging to catch the outliers, but they were there. Langston stood and went back inside to get more coffee while I stayed at the table. I watched the people milling along, trying to find those unlike the rest.

When Langston came back, the same lady that had gotten into the cab maybe 10 minutes ago was climbing out of a different one. I watched from the corner of my eye as she exited the cab and went straight for the front doors of the building.

“Same girl,” he whispered. I just nodded slightly. “Let’s wrap up and get away from here for a bit. We’ll come back and check it out.”

I stood up from my chair, grabbing both of our trash. As I turned to leave, I met a pair of eager-looking eyes. The guy stood as I turned, his eyes quickly moving from mine. I subtly drew in a deep breath. It was there. Vampire.

“Thanks for breakfast, old-timer,” I said over my shoulder. “Let’s catch up again sometime.”

I hoped Langston got my hint as I quickened my pace to the trashcan, deposited our waste, and headed away from the bagel shop. I fished my headphones out of my pocket, making a show of pushing them into my ears as I walked. I didn’t turn any music on, though; I listened closely to the kid following behind me. He had to be around my age or at least appeared to be. He was not very good at blending in, though, because I could hear him walking into people, probably too focused on watching me and not his surroundings.Belongs to - All rights reserved.

I remembered a book store we passed down the street, so I continued past the parking garage and made my way there. My phone vibrated with a message.

A L

| apricots will be ready for pick up tonight

He was being followed by a vampire as well. We needed to stay apart for a while and throw them off. Three blocks later, I could see the bookstore coming into view. The kid following me was getting closer and closer the longer we walked. I waited for my moment. As soon as he knocked into someone else, I stopped, kneeling to pretend to tie my shoe. He tripped right over me, clearly not paying attention.

He fell on the ground in front of me. “Oh man, my bad!” I said loudly. I shot up and reached out a hand to him, making sure to keep my hat tilted down just enough to cover the majority of my face. “Let me help you.”

He slapped my hand away as he scrambled to his feet. I threw my hands up in surrender. “It was an accident. Just needed to tie my shoe,” I said loudly. People were turning their heads as they walked by. He looked around before shaking his head and dashing away. I shrugged my shoulders, keeping up the act before continuing to the bookstore.

–

I spent all day pretending to run mindless errands and not notice the vampire following me. I took my time at dinner, eating as slowly as possible so I could get to meeting back up with Langston to rid ourselves of these guys.

When I had finally waited long enough, I called a cab and headed to the meet-up spot Langston and I had already designated. The cab driver seemed a bit put off at my request to be dropped at this random crossroad at the city’s outskirts but didn’t ask too many questions.

When the cab dropped me off, I tipped him well and waved as he drove away. I waited until he was out of sight to head into the wooded area next to me. I knew my tail would find a way to follow me, so I didn’t bother being quiet or fast. We were going to get rid of them.

When I was in the approximate area where I was supposed to meet Langston, I found a fallen tree and dropped my bag next to it. I sat down and waited for my tail or partner to show up.

I waited maybe ten minutes before I heard the audible crunch of footsteps. They were followed by a sound akin to a hiss then more muffled steps. My tail had arrived. Tom paced in my head, ready for some action. I tried to remind him to have patience.

The vampire scent stopped growing stronger when he was maybe 15 feet away, hiding within the brush. I stood up and started to stretch out my limbs. I rolled my neck, letting it crack all the way around. Langston was taking too long; I decided just to take care of my tail.

“If you know who I am or at least what I am, then you know I can smell you,” I said in a level voice. A twig snapped in the vampire’s direction. I let out my claws, not thinking I would need to completely shift to take care of this one.

“Come on,” I said. “Don’t be scared. It will only hurt for a second.”

There was movement in the trees, a struggle it sounded like, followed by heavy steps. Langston emerged, dragging my tail by his neck.

“That one is mine!” I said, irritated. Langston tossed him toward me.

“Did you bother to ask him anything before you decided to invite him to death?” he asked.

“Well, not yet,” I said.

“Who sent you?” Langston asked the vampire. He looked between us, worry clouding his eyes.

“I don’t know his name,” he answered nervously.

“Wrong answer,” I said. I lept at him, but the kid was quicker. He launched himself into the air, jumping higher than I thought possible. He landed on his feet, stumbling slightly before regaining his balance.

Before I could attack again, another vampire joined us. Langston scoffed. “That took long enough.”

“Dirty mutts,” the second vampire spat.

“Filthy leeches,” I countered. The second vampire ran at me, his hand coming up to strike. I dodged him easily, my eyes finding Langston going at the vampire that followed me.

The second one wasn’t going to be easy, though, because he redirected himself, lowering to kick out my legs. I landed on my a*s but carried my momentum to roll back to my feet. I sprang forward at him before he could attack again.

He began to duck away from me, but my claws caught his chest, tearing at the cold skin. He let out a low growl as he grabbed hold of my arm, pulling me back. He spun, pulling me with him and releasing me so that I stumbled forward. As I caught my balance and stood again, I felt a knee drive right into the center of my back.

“Let me out!” Tom roared.

“Give me another minute! I can catch him!” I yelled back. I had too much training not to at least try to use it. I pretended to be struggling to get up as the vampire circled around toward my head. He grabbed me by the hair, and I let him drag me to my feet. Before he could do anything else, I grasped my right hand over his, pinning it to my head. I drove my heels into the ground, exploding into a standing position as I struck out at the vampire with my left hand. I found his eye easily, plunging my thumb through it deeply with my outstretched claws. His grasp on my hair involuntarily released as he tried desperately to pull my hand away, his screams echoing off of the trees surrounding us. Ripping his hand from my head with my own, I used my occupied hand to drive the vampire to his knees by plunging my finger deeper as he continued to shriek in agony. He was begging for mercy now, but my vision was narrowed, my heart pounding so loud I could barely hear his pleas. Reaching down, I batted away the leech’s feeble attempts to resist and grabbed the other side of his head.

“Langston!” I shouted, turning around. He was struggling with the other vampire, who appeared to be agile but not necessarily great at fighting.

“Remove the head!” he shouted.

Placing my foot on his chest, I pulled sharply in a twisting motion. His head broke free of his body with a deafening crack and sick squelching noise that sprayed me with b***d, drenching me in the vampire’s stench.

Turning my attention to Langston, he finally had the other vampire in his grasp but didn’t look like he could stop him. I let myself shift, and Tom sprang to the front, dying to get out. He charged ahead and lept when he was only a few yards away. His teeth grabbed the vampire’s face as he flew by them, taking his head along with him.

Langston dropped the vampire’s body as Tom turned and gave him a wolfy smile. “Alright,” he said, nursing his arm. There was a good gash on it. “Shift back and get some clothes.”

Tom was disappointed in the lack of praise but gave me back control and shifted. I jogged over to my undisturbed backpack and fished out my spare clothes. “That was not easy,” I said, pulling on my pants.

“No, it wasn’t Langston said, sitting down on the fallen tree.

“Want me to take a look at that?” I asked.

“No,” he said. He had a piece of my tattered shirt in his hand and began wrapping it around his arm. “It’s a scratch, not a bite. It’ll heal.”

I stretched my sore back; the vampire hit me hard. “I think I need a few more rounds in the ring with Liam and Felix,” I admitted.

Langston laughed. “You did well,” he said. “Just don’t be so cocky next time.”

I looked out across the little clearing at the two beheaded bodies. As the adrenaline subsided, it hit me; I had just killed two vampires.

“You okay?” Langston asked with raised eyebrows. My stomach turned, and I felt like my balance shifted slightly. I turned swiftly, dropping to my hands and knees just as the contents of my stomach came pouring out.

Langston sat silently while I heaved even after my stomach was empty of any food. “First time can catch up to you quick,” he commented as my body started to calm down.

“That wasn’t pleasant,” I said, sitting back on my heels.

“It gets easier,” he said. I sighed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“Did you find anything about the firm?” I asked him.

“Something that might be helpful. Do you run down anything on the housing complex?” he asked.

“I went past it. It doesn’t really look like it’s inhabited,” I said. Langston nodded.

“We can ask Meadow if she can get anything else about it and see what she can do with the things I found,” he said.

“Can we go to a hotel now? I need to wash the vamp stench off and brush my teeth,” I asked hopefully.

“Yea, I need a nap,” he said. “We can call the pack tomorrow.”

My heart raced at his words. Now I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all with the opportunity to talk to Missy on the horizon.