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  “Please?”

  An earsplitting howl almost sent her crashing to her knees as she covered her ears.

  “STOP!”

  It cut off and she lowered her hands. “Thank you.” She darted a glance his way. Whoever had cut his hair had done a decent job at least. It was jet-black in color but his eyes freaked her out a little. They didn’t appear human; they were golden-brownish but showed a lot of yellow. She’d had a cat once with eyes similar in color.

  He still struggled against his bonds, and she saw blood near one ankle.

  “Listen.” She tried to use reason. “We’re both prisoners here. My name is Glen.”

  “Stay away from me!”

  His voice was deeper than any man’s she’d ever heard, and she totally wanted to obey that command. “No problem.”

  “I know what they want. I’ll kill you if you straddle me.”

  She sat down on the hard-packed dirt, putting her back to him as she studied the metal door. It was locked; she’d already tried to yank on it. No other openings were in the room that, like the other, looked as if it had been carved out of stone. “No worries there. I’ve never raped a guy before and don’t plan to start now.”

  He grew quiet, and she almost missed his growls. It was eerily silent, reminding her of what she assumed a grave would be like. She reached out and touched the rock wall. Then she lowered her hand and dug in the dirt until she found more rock.

  “I don’t suppose you have claws that can dig through rock, do you?”

  He said nothing.

  “I was told you’re like half Werewolf. I don’t know anything about them except what I’ve seen in movies. Do you have super-strength that can knock down a metal door?”

  His continued silence irritated her.

  “I’m trying to think of a way to escape.”

  “I can’t dig through rock or break down that door.”

  His softer tone was kind of nice and husky. It beat him snarling. She resisted the urge to turn her head to glance at him. The whole naked thing made her uncomfortable, and probably him too.

  “I was hopeful.”

  “Why do you have a man’s name?”

  The question surprised her. “That’s what you want to know? Really? Out of all the things to ask me, you choose that? It’s short for Glenda. But I hate it. Kids teased me growing up.”

  “It’s a good name.”

  “Glenda the good witch. It sucked. I told them it’s spelled differently but kids don’t care about actual facts. They just want someone to torment.”

  He growled. “You’re a witch?”

  “No!” She did look over her shoulder then, seeing his face turned her way. He was shockingly handsome, with masculine features and full lips. His expression was still scary though. “Don’t you watch movies? Never mind. Are witches real?”

  He said nothing.

  “Forget I asked. I don’t want to know. Ignorance was bliss. I really wish I didn’t know Vampires were real, or Werewolves, but I’m sure this isn’t some nightmare. I would have woken up by now if it were.”

  He sniffed. “You’re human.”

  “And you’re not.” She got to her feet and brushed off her skirt, examining the lock on the door. “I wish I’d been wilder as a teen. I might have been able to figure out how to pick this. It looks old.”

  He kept quiet.

  “I was kidnapped from my apartment, and apparently, I’m some distant relative of the master.”

  “I was told why we’re here and what they want.”

  “Then you know I’m not here because I want to be.”

  “Yes.”

  “We’re both in a hell of a lot of trouble. I don’t suppose you have a pack like Werewolves do in the movies, and they’ll track you down to save us?”

  “Doubtful.”

  “Great. There goes that scenario. We’re on our own.”

  “Just stay away from me.”

  As if she had to be told. Glen muffled a snort. “Did you hear me the first time? I’m not a rapist, and I sure as hell don’t want to go near you. I’m not even looking your way.”

  She kept close to the walls with her gaze averted away from him. The chains of the handcuffs made little noises, so she assumed he continued to struggle to break free.

  Glen ran her fingers over a crack in the wall, trying to see if it had any give to it. Some loose chips of rock broke off. She looked up, studying the ceiling. There were blast marks, which meant that the room had probably been carefully made. “The room they kept me in was much older. I’m sure we’re in an abandoned mine. I saw wood beams where I was kept and they appeared to be rotting. This section is newer. They used metal braces in the tunnels here. What do you think?”

  “We’re definitely in a mine.”

  She almost forgot he was naked and barely stopped herself from turning around. “Do you know what location we’re at? Like a guess? I have no idea. I was taken and knocked out. I woke up here.”

  “Not really. They drugged me and I woke right before they brought me inside. It’s boarded up from the outside, they had to lift a section to drag me in. Who gives a shit where we are?”

  “I do. I don’t know if it’s night or day, how long I’ve been here, but I’d like to figure out where I am in case I can find a way to escape.”

  “Pay attention to when you don’t see the soldiers. They’ll be sleeping during the day. That’s how you can tell the passage of time.”

  “Soldiers?”

  “The ones with the red eyes and the veins showing on their skin. They are soldiers.”

  “Creepers. I call them that because they’re as creepy as hell.”

  “You can call them whatever you want. Vampires make them and use them until they become too insane and unstable to control any longer.”

  “How do you kill one? Do you know?”

  “Take the damn head off.”

  “What about a stake to the heart or crosses?”

  “Total bullshit. You have to take the head off to keep them from healing and getting back up.”

  She filed that information away. “Where’s a machete when I really need one?”

  He made a snorting sound. “As if it would do you any good. You’re human. The only way you’re going to be able to kill one is if you attack it while it’s sleeping during the day.”

  She didn’t like the sneered tone. Someone sounded prejudiced against her kind. He’d said “human” as if it were an insult. “Like you could kill them either.”

  “I could if I were free.”

  Her heart sped up. “You could?”

  “I have claws. I could rip their heads right from their bodies. They wouldn’t have gotten me if they hadn’t cheated by drugging me.”

  “I’ve counted at least nine of the creeper things, plus the master and Vlad. Those two don’t have red eyes or ugly skin veins like the creepers do.”

  “Soldiers,” he corrected. “That’s how you can tell what they are.”

  “Okay. You think you could win a fight against that many of those things?” She wasn’t sure.

  “I’m strong and fast. I could take out the soldiers and Vlad. He’s a younger bloodsucker but a full one. The master would be harder to kill, but I could win if I were able to destroy everyone else in the nest first. They wouldn’t be able to swarm me.”

  “Swarm?”

  “They would all attack at once to bite and claw me. The massive blood loss would weaken me enough for the master to have a chance at winning.”

  Glen slid a glance his way, taking a quick peek. He did appear really big, even lying down. He was also very muscular. She could try to free him but then he could become a threat to her. She retook a seat on the dirt, trying to weigh her options.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Thinking.”

  He mumbled, “I’ll kill them all. They’ll have to let me up at some point.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “I have to piss, and I�€