Page 23 of Blood Pack Beginning

The very idea of eating dead and rotting flesh had Diego grimacing. “Nasty.”

“Agreed. So, who’s in the mood to go hunting?”

Without hesitation, Diego’s hand shot up. This was his chance to impress the sexy Sasha. He’d been working hard with her during their training sessions but hadn’t found a chance to spend any one-on-one time with her. And boy did he want to. He’d never met a woman so confident and deadly. Bedding her would be like riding a wild bronco: exhilarating… and dangerous.

“Isn’t bringing all of us overkill for a single ghoul?” Cyrus commented.

“If there’s only one, then yes. However, this is a good opportunity for you all to see for yourself what we’re dealing with. We’ve recently learned that ghouls tend to nest in groups, meaning if we can track it back to its lair, we could find more.”

“Count me in,” Amir stated.

“Me too,” Cyrus added, which led to them looking at Omar, who’d not said a word yet.

The boy might share the same parents as Amir, but Diego had a hard time finding a resemblance, personality-wise or physically.

Omar waved a hand. “I’m good. You guys have fun.”

Sasha pursed her lips. “This would be a good learning experience for you.”

“I’m not interested in becoming a monster fighter.”

“Then what are you doing here?” her blunt reply.

“You kidnapped me, remember?” Omar snapped back.

“And have since given you the option to leave.” Sasha pointed to the door.

“Not without my brother.” Omar tilted his chin stubbornly.

Amir sighed. “We have nowhere to go. Our house is gone. Our vamp friends burned the town to the ground to hide the evidence.”

“We could go stay with Lorelei,” Omar insisted.

“Lorelei is couch surfing until she can find a new place, and that could take time seeing as how the insurance company is dragging its feet paying out our claims.” He’d been in touch with her since her return from holiday, but had been vague about his whereabouts and what truly happened in Moon Dew.

Omar’s lips pressed into a thin, stubborn line. “We don’t belong here.”

“We don’t belong anywhere.” Amir’s harsh rebuke. “Or have you forgotten we’re rogues? We have no pack. No home. Nowhere to turn. What we do have by staying here, though, is a roof over our heads, meals, and a chance to avenge the people of Moon Dew.”

“And make the world a safer place,” Diego quipped. He’d often fantasized about being a hero, only without a cape ortights, and thanks to Sasha’s training, he was beginning to feel like he was well on his way to becoming one.

“I’m not dying fighting their enemies.” Omar slewed his gaze at Sasha. “I’m staying here.”

“Very well. Shall we, puppies?”

Sasha strode off, and Diego fought a grin as Amir and Cyrus hesitated to follow. In the Lycan world, men gave the orders. Diego, though, had no issue following that sweet ass. He caught up to Sasha as she headed out the front door.

“Any last-minute tips or tricks on dealing with ghouls?” he asked.

“Don’t let them bite you.”

“Can I be infected?” That hadn’t even occurred to him.

She rolled her eyes. “Can you transmit lycanthropy through bite?”

No, one couldn’t—a Lycan had to be born—but that didn’t stop him from waggling his eyebrows and asking, “Not that I know but I’m willing to give it a try.”

The corners of her mouth curled for a moment before she turned serious. “Ghouls can’t turn anyone. Only a vampire of a certain strength can do that, and it takes more than a simple bite. In any case, you want to avoid getting nipped because ghoul mouths are nasty, dirty, germ-ridden things, and once they latch on, their hold is hard to break, meaning you might lose a chunk of flesh.”

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