Hunting Tess by Kathryn Summers (best novels to read in english .TXT) 📗

blade pulled from a side holster, we stand back to back to increase our odds of locating whoever is lurking in the night. That or he took a guess at where the attack will spring from and put me behind him. I look down and notice that the Twins have disappeared which can be construed either way.

“Your right,” I announce, pivoting to the left and gunning straight for the vampire poised in plain view. My limbs are sluggish when I stab the vampire through the heart. Though this one enemy is down there are countless others out scouring, and the more my internal temperature drops the less success I’ll have in taking down these monsters.

“Not bad, Mädchen, not bad. Good help to see in the dark.”

“Yes, it is,” I agree, pulling out the dagger with some difficulty. “How far before we reach help?”

“At our pace, another hour.”

Gritting my teeth, I lean against my knees. Even with Ryker’s jacket I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for another hour. I can barely feel my feet as it is. He can’t carry me and aim that size of a crossbow and I’ll be no good fighting if I can’t feel my hands.

Thunder peals across the sky, bringing with it a bad omen. If it rains right now then so help me.

Huffing out an angry breath full of frustration, I stand out of sheer irritation. I’m thousands of miles from home trekking through dark cumbersome woods being hunted by a mythological creature determined to create babies with me. This is not what I was planning on doing after graduation.

“Let’s go,” I grit, fueled with a new fire that won’t last very long but dang it, I’m going to get as far as I can.

Stomping up hills swarming with roots, Ryker keeps me from tripping which I’m profoundly grateful for. At least I don’t have to add more scrapes to my already beaten up body. I have yet to take inventory beyond making sure nothing is broken, but I’m fairly confident there are several, several major cuts. One of them oozing blood that’s leisurely dripping down my left hand.

White flood lights click on, beaming through the trees and momentarily blinding me. Shying away, I raise my hands to block out the intensity of the light, too tired to quickly think of a game plan if it’s vampires.

“Tess!” Leo calls, running in front of the blazing beams to sweep me up in a hug before setting me back down. “Holy crow, you don’t look great. How did you escape? Never mind, that can wait. I’m so glad we found you. We were worried it was going to take longer or that those vampires might get to you first.”

Everything he says sits on top of a medic quickly asserting my injuries to make sure I should be walking. She presses her thumb against my right ankle which I jerk back out of reach.

“How long have you been out here? We noticed some serious commotion a few hours ago at the Master’s keep, but didn’t know you had found a way out until Parker radioed that you weren’t there. It was pretty easy to piece together what happened.”

“Parker’s here?” I ask, blinking slowly.

“She’s going to pass out,” the medic broadcasts right before I slip out of consciousness.

***

“—dehydrated and a few of her toes look frostbitten. We’ll have to take care of that as soon as we get back to Sofia.”

Astringent stings my nose as I open my eyes to what looks like an ambulance. No, not an ambulance. A van outfitted to be a mock ambulance. The van jostles me on my back, and when I try to sit up a hand guides me back down. But at least the shackles are gone.

“Woah, easy there. You’ve been through quite an ordeal and need to rest. Everything will be just fine.”

I don’t recognize the speaker, and for one horrific split second I think I’ve been captured again. At least, until I breath through my nose and don’t smell anything out of the ordinary. Turning my head, I also see the medic I nearly kicked when talking to Leo. “The others?”

“Cleaning up. You don’t infiltrate a castle full of vampires without proper backup, and we brought plenty. Then there’s the lot who came specifically for you. You have good friends. It shouldn’t take them too long.”

They continue to talk at a soft level, giving me time to relax and enjoy the emergency survival blanket wrapped around my torso. Heavy rain pelts the roof reminding me of thunderstorms back home. I used to sit at my window and wait for lighting to flash across the sky, enjoying their seemingly random zigzags racing to the earth. The driver mutters something and the van slows, eventually coming to a complete stop. A sound like ticking comes from the front and I wonder what he’s doing.

“The fuel gauge is broken,” he states, my view of him extremely limited even with him turned around in his seat. “I’ll call for a pick up, but with this storm it’s going to get mighty cold real fast.” The others share worried looks and I wonder how far away we’ve driven from the mountains.

“Are there other’s nearby?”

“Don’t you worry,” the medic responds, patting my shoulder. “Just a minor hiccup. We’ll be moving again soon.”

A long howl hollers above the sound of rain. It’s mournful. And it’s Parker.

CHAPTER 19

HIM

Pain radiates through my head, traveling in circles with no place to go. Leo’s collapsed on the ground behind me from an ambush that left five vampires dead. His pain is so forcefully emanating that it becomes my own, making it increasingly difficult to destroy the vampire standing before me.

“Come now, pup, did you really think you stood a chance? Against me?”

Kleidion Bachkov saunters like he’s exploring the Louvre Museum instead of drenched to the bone on an outcropping overlooking the never-ending forest. My own fur is soaked through, weighing me down in a battle where I