Page 21 of Forced Vampire Mate

“You might as well release the glamor,” I said as I stepped forward. I grabbed the shifter’s arms and twisted them behind his back as I kicked his feet out from under him. He howled as we went down. I pinned him in place with a knee to his back. “Listen, we’re here to help. Stop fighting and tell us what we’re up against.”

The shifter struggled against me. “All vampires should die!”

“We should just knock him out and go after the orcs,” Luken said.

I glanced up at him to find his amber eyes glowing. He’d released the glamor. I bit back as a flutter of anxiety went through me. That meant my scars were visible again. Shaking my head roughly, I turned the shifter, kneeling over him to pin his arms beneath my legs.

“We are here to help,” I repeated. “I had two shifter friends, and I owe them both my life. If I can help your shifter village, I will do it. How many orcs are there?”

He stopped struggling, glaring at me in distrust.

Luken wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me off the shifter. “I don’t like seeing you in that position with another man,” he whispered in my ear.

A thrill shot through me, and I fiercely squashed it.

“What’s your name?” Luken said, louder, his arm still around my waist.

The shifter slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. “Bain. My mother and sister… the orcs… they were talking about fighting rings. I have to get them back.”

“How many?” Luken asked, his voice clipped.

“I… I couldn’t tell. It seemed like there were dozens, but when I attacked them, I went right through them,” Bain said.

I pulled away from Luken and inspected Bain’s injuries. Most of the blood clinging to him wasn’t his own. He had a shallow gash across his chest and several lacerations in his scalp, but he was in better shape than I first assumed. I patched him up as best as I could with the limited supplies I had.

“They were using a type of glamor to confuse the village,” Luken said, rubbing his chin. “How many were taken?”

“I think it was just my mother and sister.”

Luken smirked as he straightened. “There can’t be many of them, then. I thought the magic smelled weak. Elara, take the shifter back to the village. I’ll take care of the orcs.”

“No!” Bain sprang to his feet. He swayed but steadied himself. The alcohol must be processing out of his system. “I’m coming with you. I won’t trust a vampire to save my mother and sister!”

Luken opened his mouth, but I laid a hand on his arm. “No arguing. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Frustration crossed his face, but he nodded. We continued along, Luken leading us and Bain taking up the rear. I pressed my fingertips to the back of Luken’s shirt, not daring to use the flashlight now. My heart thrummed in my ears.

“Let me take out the guards when we get there,” I whispered to Luken.

He stiffened.

“I’m the most trained in stealth,” I added.

“I’m a vampire. Stealth in my middle name,” Luken answered in a harsh whisper.

Bain hiccupped. “What was that?”

“Shh,” I snapped at them both.

Luken reached around and pulled me down behind a bush. With an impatient hand, he grabbed Bain and tugged him down as well. His glowing eyes lit the space we were in, and he muttered something, weaving his hands in a complicated pattern. Before us, a shimmering bubble appeared. Inside, vague shapes moved. It solidified in a black-and-white view, like we were looking through night vision goggles.

The orcs were clearly confident in their magic. I counted five bodies lying in sleeping bags around a medium-sized fire. Their weapons lay in easy reach but not directly in their hands, and nobody was standing guard. Near the back of the camp was a large cage in which were the two shifter women. I squinted at them. They appeared to be unharmed, carefully shaking the bars of their cage, looking for a way out.

Luken’s arm snapped out, grabbing Bain suddenly. He twisted the shifter to the ground and clapped a hand over his mouth. Bain shoved at him, his eyes alight with fury in the night.

“If you wake them, they could kill your mother and sister before we have the chance to free them,” Luken snarled in a whisper.

“I’ll go in and kill the orcs,” I murmured, resting a hand on Bain’s shoulder. “You’re still drunk and injured. You stay here until I’ve taken them out.”

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