Page 87 of Claimed By Blood

I expect it to be just our small group waiting by our car. It’s not quite dusk, but the darkness is settling in slowly, lengthening the shadows around the gathered bunch. My eyes run over all of them, checking for injuries, making sure that my pack is okay in a way that’s second nature to me now. Once I’m certain that they’re all healthy and whole, I allow my irritation to come forward.

“You’re supposed to be at the other location,” I growl at Vane.

Mia, Morwenna, Imogen, and Noha are all with him, and Draven is sitting in the van with the side door wide open, hiding from the last rays of the dying sun while remaining part of the heated conversation that’s happening.

Evelyn is curled under Finn’s arm, her arms wrapped around his torso like a vine, as he stands back from the middle where Vane is arguing with… Noha?

“We haven’t heard anything. Going there now could put you in danger.”

“They told us they were underattack.” Noha’s hair is a mess, and her eyes are wild and sunken in her face. If I had to guess, I’d say she was woken up just as suddenly as the rest of us. “Mysonis in danger. My husband—”

“Specifically told you to stay away.” Vane is just as calm as always. There’s very little that can faze the elder beta.

“What’s going on?” I demand, the role of alpha sliding over me like a welcome cloak.

Responsibility shoves my personal problems aside, and for the first time in days, my head feels clear and able to focus.

Or maybe that’s just the result of having my hyper-fixation fucked out of me by a vampire.

Evie took my knot like she was born to do it.

That should not make me as smug as it does.

I should’ve fucking warned her, but I never thought my body would react that way to someone who wasn’t a fucking omega. Guilt hits me hard, but a large part of me is happy that it did, because the thrall bond made it clear she liked—no,loved—it.

I shove that unwelcome thought away and watch as all eyes turn to me.

“Noha got a call from Samuel,” Imogen answers, surprising all of us. The red-haired vampire looks almost as heartbroken as Noha does. “He said the base was under attack and warned her—and the rest of us—not to return until he or Bakari gave the all clear.”

“He hasn’t phoned since.” Noha is trembling as she points to where Mia is still tapping away at her tablet, frowning. “Now your beta has found satellite images ofsmoke.”

“When was this?” My voice is level, but my mind has gone into disaster management mode.

“They called Noha less than an hour ago,” Mia grumbles, accepting a takeout cup of steaming coffee from Morwen as she continues to type, one handed. “Finn, do you have a back door into the base’s cameras yet? Getting in from the outside is taking too long.”

Finn grabs his own tablet from his bag and starts typing furiously. “My computer is hooked up to their internal network, I should be able to…”

Drowning the two of them and their tech speak out, I look around at the group of us.

This is not good, and they all know it.

“We’re not going back there,” Vane growls. “Not if there’s even the slightest possibility that Cain is there.”

“We have no choice,” Evie retorts. “We might be able to help, and besides, weneedwhatever Samuel knows. If Cain kills him before we get there—”

Noha laughs hysterically. “We should never have gone to that club…”

“It’s unlikely they followed us back—”

“They alreadyknewwhere we were.” All of us freeze at her confession. “Cain has known fordecadesthat we had our enclave in the desert, but he left us alone untilyoushowed up. We were no threat to him, and now because I failed to hand you over, he’s gone after my family.”

My shoulders are rigid, and I can barely breathe as the implications wind through my brain.

“Noha,” Evelyn whispers. “What are you saying?”

The other vampire is coming apart at the seams. She wraps her arms around herself and squeezes so tightly that for one irrational second, I fear she might burst.

“You don’t think Iaccidentallywalked us into Armin’s club, do you?” A single tear drips down from her eyes. “I made a deal almost a century ago to protect my husband and my son. I kept Armin apprised of what goes on in our little community, and in exchange, he left us alone. When you arrived, I had to tell him. I had no choice. He demanded you.” She glares directly at Frost. “But your omega refused to bring the rest of you. I knew if I took Evie to the club, you would all follow—thralls don’t leave each other’s sides—but then Armin fucked up by letting you escape, and now my family is going to pay the price.”

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