Wen Read online

  He shoved his sunglasses into his shirt pocket. “Think slowly rotting corpse with the Vamp hunger, but they go insane within a few months, tops. Faster if the Vamp abandons them and doesn’t feed them his or her blood to help them survive that long. Soldiers are brutal killers, harder to take out than a regular Vamp, since they heal faster. They tend to cannibalize their own bodies doing it, hence the rotting corpse. We just found out they can turn their victims into the same thing. This asshole Vamp dropped off one of them on the edge of VampLycan territory and it made more. Five soldiers wiped out a small town. There were dozens of deaths.”

  “For real? How did that go over with the clan? I bet Trayis is fit to be tied that this happened on his doorstep.”

  “It wasn’t outside of our clan, but another.”

  “So why are you here? It sounds like it should be that clan’s problem, not yours.”

  “It’s a long story, but Decker isn’t in charge there anymore. The new leader, Lorn, asked other clans to help solve this mess because he has his hands full with a few internal problems. I volunteered to track and kill this bastard. He left a mess behind and it could have exposed our kind. It’s a problem for all VampLycans.”

  She let all that sink in. “Someone challenged Decker?” That surprised her.

  “Forget that part. Focus on why I’m here.”

  It was none of her business. That's what he should have said. She wasn't offended that Wen didn't want to share news from her old home. They liked to keep clan business private and she wasn't a part of that world anymore. “Fine. So you're tracking some jerk making amped-up Vampire zombies on speed.”

  “He needs to be stopped.”

  She decided Wen's chin was good to look at, safe. “The master is endangering everyone by leaving behind big enough messes that it could draw attention to your kind and others. An entire town being wiped out had to be a nightmare to hide.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So you've become Wen, the Vampire hunter.”

  He grinned, flashing perfect white teeth, minus the noticeably sharper points. “I think you’ve watched too many movies.”

  “You got the reference, so I’m not the only one.”

  “Guilty.”

  She still liked Wen. That wasn’t good. They were no longer friends and he had become an adult. Those were the most dangerous of his kind and he’d had years to grow out of the sweet person he used to be. With maturity came responsibility. She knew what that meant to a VampLycan. The males were trained to fight, to effectively take out threats and do anything to protect the clan. They wouldn't kill innocent people for the hell of it but anyone who knew too much was considered expendable.

  “What do you need me for, specifically? Am I tasty enough to catch his eye? Or maybe you think he'd want to turn me into an amped-up zombie Vamp? Am I his type or something?”

  “We got Intel that he hangs with a group of rogue Lycans and Vamps who’ve joined forces. They’re working together for once. This ghoul maker wants to start a war.”

  “Is this ghoul maker trying to breed? Is he a moron? It’s against the law for a Vampire to create more VampLyans. That was in the treaty.”

  “I’m surprised you remember our laws.”

  Whoops. It would be smarter to pretend she’d forgotten all about her childhood. It was out of the bag though. “That one just kind of stuck with me. You don’t want Vampires breeding more VampLycans unless it’s a love match. You protect all of your race, even if someone isn’t born into your clan.”

  “He’s not attempting to breed with any of the Lycans that we know about. He’s trying to convince them that we want to wipe out all Vampires and Lycans.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Obviously. This asshole is stirring fear in hopes they’ll join forces to wipe us out first.”

  “Why? I mean, it’s not as though he wants to take your territory. It’s too remote. There aren’t enough blood sources up there, and they sure don’t want to feed off animals.”

  “His master was killed after they invaded clan territory and kidnapped a VampLycan. It’s a long story. Bottom line, he fucked up and pissed us off. It’s a given that we'd retaliate. He fled Alaska, joined with those rogues, and now is trying to make it seem as though we’re going to start a war with the packs and nests.”

  She considered that. “Every nest and pack would attack you guys if they saw a large group of VampLycans enter a city. They’d believe him, and think you've declared war on them.”

  He inclined his head, growing somber. “Exactly. He’s manipulating the situation to make it seem as if we’re the aggressors. I'm here to end that.”

  “I’m still not clear on why you called me.”

  Wen reached out and wrapped his warm palm under her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “He left this mess on our doorstep so I was sent to end him. It will raise a little suspicion when they discover I'm here, but I plan to give them the impression I've gone against the clans. As for you, what’s more rogue than someone like me choosing to be with a human over my own people? I need them to believe I’ve fled my clan because I refused to give you up. I can track, get the information I need, and then kill this son of a bitch without anyone being the wiser until it's done.”

  Her mouth parted. “What?” She ignored the implied insult that he was too good for her. “But Trayis has allowed some of his clan to mate with humans.”

  “The nest who invaded VampLycan territory is more familiar with Decker’s laws. He would have killed for that offense.”

  “Shit.” If that was the case, she could understand how some crazy Vamp would buy into the ruse. Decker hated humans. That was no secret.

  He grinned and his eyes glowed brighter bluer.

  She squeezed her eyes closed. “Don’t pull that Vampy thing. Don’t manipulate me.”

  “I wasn’t going to.”

  “Liar.”

  He growled.

  She peeked up at him. “Your irises are glowing. That only happens when you’re about to pull that mind-control shit, Wen. I got older, but I’m not senile. I remember.”

  He smiled. “They also glow when I think about sex.”

  “Is the smell in here is getting to you? Breathe through your mouth.”

  “You wish, golden locks.” He wrapped his arm around her waist, hooking her, and she gasped when he tugged her against the hard, long length of his body. “I’m going to have to convince them we’re lovers…and you know what that means. They aren’t clueless humans.”

  Her knees buckled from the shock of what he was implying. He held her up though as she softly cursed, recovering. Her gaze locked with his.

  “They need to smell me all over you. Inside you.” His voice turned raspy and way too sexy. “It’s a good thing you turned out so pretty, Gerri. It won’t be a hardship fucking you.”

  “No!” Her hands flattened on his chest. “No, Wen.”

  His eyes narrowed and his low snarl was a warning.

  “That means let me go, because it’s not happening. Did you hear me about not wanting a big target put on my back?”

  “There will be no consequences.”

  “Bullshit. My mom had a lot of flaws once she lost her mate, but being dishonest wasn’t one of them. I know about the birds and bees when it comes to humans and nons. She never went anywhere without at least one member of the pack to guard her ass. Anything with a hyper-acute sense of smell knew it, because she was carrying their scent from getting it on with them. It's one thing for me to come here willing to say I was a hooker if anyone saw me with you. What you're talking about is something totally different; you want to flaunt that you're fucking me. I'd have to carry your scent but without the protection the pack gave my mom. That's like telling every Werewolf and Vamp that I’m available for whatever they want. I'll be a walking advertisement that I'm already tainted by your world and open season could commence. No!”

  “Tainted?” he snarled.

  “Knoc