Chapter thirteen

Axel

"Good morning!"

I wrap my shirt tighter around my middle, letting out a little yawn as I step out of the RV. "Good morning," I call over to Carlos.

The morning air is cool and crisp. I breathe it in, letting a smile play at my lips. I haven't moved all my things out here, but I have been sleeping in the RV for about a couple weeks now. It's nice, waking up and stepping outside into nature each morning. It's also been nice to spend more time with Jeff's crew, and getting to know them and letting them get to know me.

They're a good bunch of guys but I expect no less. Their leader is a good man, it makes sense Jeff would surround himself with good people in turn.

"Did you sleep well?"

I nod, stepping over to where he's sitting. "I did, thanks. You?" Carlos gives me a thumbs up in answer. "Do you wanna go for a walk with me? I was thinking of heading down to the campground office and seeing if they have some instant coffee."

"Yeah, I'll come along. Can't have you walking around by yourself."

A flutter of worry goes through me, like a bucket of cold water. I know the rules. Nobody wanders anywhere alone, we all travel with buddies. I hate that we have to be so cautious. I hate that we still don't know where Jeff's sire is and what her plans are.

I wish she'd just make her move already. I'm tired of sitting around and waiting. I want to live my life without this particular worry shadowing my enjoyment. The dread that fills me every time I hear a branch snap is getting old and I want this to be over once and for all.

Carlos stands up, stretching his hands over his head before stepping next to me. We make our way down the winding pavement towards the campground office.

"I'm glad you can still hide your belly with big sweaters," Carlos says, nodding down to my stomach. "Pretty soon you'll be stuck at the campsite."

I let out a dramatic groan. "Don't remind me. Sometimes I wish the world knew about us, just so we wouldn't have to hide certain things," I tell him, shaking my head. "But then I remember how humans can be and decided it's probably for the best."

"Yeah," Carlos says with a wince, "sometimes they don't do well with large changes. Hearing about the supernatural world might not go over as well as we hope."

Just as the office comes into view, a noise catches my attention. With lightning speed, something runs right into Carlos. He lets out a pained noise before he's falling to the ground. Bright, red blood pools around his throat where a new bite is and my stomach sinks all the way down to my feet.

"Fuck," I gasp out, turning and running. But I'm too slow. Something clips my feet and I hit the pavement. My hands and knees lance with stinging pain. "Fuck!"

Boots click against the pavement and I look up to find a woman standing over me. Fear strikes me deeper than I've ever felt before and my entire body goes cold. "There you are," she murmurs, leaning down and grabbing my wrist, yanking me up to my feet.

I open my mouth to scream, praying that one of the guys will hear me but she's faster, shoving something into my mouth to keep me quiet.

I look down at Carlos, thankful that his chest is still moving. His shifter body will heal before he bleeds out. He'll be okay. That thought is the only happy thing I can think of and I cling to that, letting it give me a sliver of hope.

"Off we go," she murmurs, yanking me along. The further we get away from the campground, the more bile rises up in my throat. I might actually throw up.

"Where are we going?" I murmur as best as I can around the material in my mouth.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry that you got tangled up in the middle of this," she says, her voice coming out in harsh pants, her skin somehow even paler than a vampire's should be. She looks sick. "You're just an innocent sap who got the unfortunate luck to be mated to a killer."

Before I can stop myself I hiss out, "you're the killer! You were killing innocent people!"

"Shut up," she snaps, letting out a hiss of her own. I instantly stand down, knowing she can't be reasoned with. She's crazed with the need for vengeance. "Humans are food. He killed my mate. He has to pay. He has too. He has to know how hurt I am," she starts to say, her words drifting in and out and her eyes darting every which way.

There's no getting through to her. Which makes this entire situation that much more terrifying. When I thought there was hope of talking my way out of this, I was okay, holding onto that. But now? Now I know just how fucking screwed I am.

The grip around my arm tightens until I'm crying out in pain. She just snorts, shaking her head like it's amusing to hurt me. I understand she was hurt, but to go to this length to hurt Jeff back? Not only to take away his humanity but then take away his true mate as well? She's a lost cause.

Will she wait to kill me until Jeff arrives so he has to witness it?

Gods I hope not.

Tears prickle behind my eyes. All I can do is hope that Jeff and his crew are just as good as they say they are. I have to trust their ability to find me and stop this woman. After all the stories I've heard, they truly do sound like superheroes. Now it's time for them to prove it.