Page 24 of Blood Pack Beginning

He grimaced. “Ouch.”

“Big ouch,” she agreed, clicking a key fob, which had one of the large SUVs blinking its lights as its doors unlocked.

“What weapons are we bringing?”

“The truck is already loaded. Guns, knives, even a sword.”

“Better hope we don’t get pulled over,” he joked.

“We’ll be fine. The weapons are well hidden, and I know how to talk my way out of a situation with cops.”

“The whole hypnotizing thing,” he remarked, although according to Sasha, she sucked at it compared to others.

“Only if necessary. Usually my cleavage is enough.” She tossed him a grin and a wink, probably knowing where his gaze would land next.

Yup. He glanced at her perfect tits, which pushed against the fabric of her tight T-shirt.

Movement behind reminded him that two others intended to travel with them. “Shotgun,” Diego yelled, sliding into the passenger seat before Amir and Cyrus had a chance. They could ride in the back and stare at Sasha’s hair. He intended to keep sneaking glances at those pert peaches.

Sasha drove, and the conversation centered mostly around what they’d be doing.

“We’ll park not far from the scene of the most recent attack. A ghoul leaves a pretty distinctive scent, so tracking it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“You said something about a lair.” Cyrus leaned his forearms against Diego’s seat. “What kind of places do they like to hole up?”

“Despite them being able to handle sunlight, the ones we’ve found thus far have preferred to live in darkness. So abandoned houses or buildings, usually in the basement. Sewers are also popular.”

Amir groaned. “Please don’t tell me we’re going to be mucking around in shit.”

Her lips tilted. “I’d say it’s a distinct possibility, but don’t worry. If we get dirty, we’ll find a hose and have a water fight to clean off.”

The thought of her slick and wet… Diego’s hands rested strategically in his lap.

“When you said the possibility of a nest containing more ghouls, how many would we be talking?” Amir’s turn to ask a question.

“Given there doesn’t seem to be a deluge of dead bodies and sightings, I’d say we’re probably dealing with one to three at the most.”

“And the best way to kill them is off with their heads.” Diego confirmed what she’d already taught them in training.

“Right. Ghouls are tougher than most prey. They don’t feel pain, and even when dying, they’ll keep fighting. The quickest and surest way is to take their heads, but carrying a sword where you might be seen, not to mention having the space to swing it for a proper decapitation, can be tricky. We’ll most likely be fighting with knives. Try and cut the tendons to their legs or wrists to render them less effective.”

“I’d still rather go in with a gun first,” Amir grumbled, despite Sasha already lecturing them on the futility of firearms in these fights.

“They don’t register pain, so bullets won’t distract,” she reminded. “We also have to be careful about the noise. A knife is quiet. Doesn’t draw attention like a gunshot does. We do not want to be seen and most definitely don’t want to be captured on camera. One last thing, this isn’t just about your fighting skills. This test is meant to show how good you are at hunting and doing it stealthily.”

Cyrus, who’d always been the thinker of their group, asked softly, “Why did Morpheus create the ghouls when doing so meant he lost some of his power?” Despite Sasha being coy about her kind at first, she’d gradually been sharing information with them.

“Morpheus was quite insane by the end, and his motives remain a mystery for the most part. I think he turned the rogues that used to belong to Roderick into ghouls becausehe saw no other way to keep using them. They weren’t viable thralls because the rogues went quite mad when they lost their alpha. Add in the fact that Morpheus, or whoever commanded Morpheus, appears to want vampires and Lycans to be outed, and I think he wanted the ghouls to be exposed to humanity.”

“Which makes no sense. Surely Morpheus understood the target that would place on him and other vampires,” Cyrus argued.

“Did you forget the part where I called him insane?”

“Was he, though?” Cyrus shook his head as he stared out the window thoughtfully. “Because from all that you’ve told us, he still meticulously plotted and pulled off intricate schemes. Look at how he forced your boss into hiding, and what about the massacre at Moon Dew?”

“You’re assuming Morpheus planned it.” Sasha drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. “He said something about a master, meaning there is still a missing player. Could be they’re the one behind the Moon Dew attack.”

“Meaning the Packs, vampires, and dormants are still at risk.”

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