Page 82 of Rogue Wolf

At least they removed the fucking net. At least there was that.

It was a small, almost non-existant comfort.

His captors had hidden from the sun until nightfall. It seemed they could only tolerate a little sun.

Then, finally able to move freely, the vampires had forced him into a car and driven him back to Sydney. They’d parked at the Blood Moon nightclub, where Amdis had waited to greet him.

Bile seeped into Kodiak’s mouth, bitter, hot and burning at the thought of another encounter with the vampires’ leader. They’d confined him to a room with a silver chain around his wrists, anchored him to a ring in the brick wall, and left him alone in the dark.

Tamaska would have surely fled the hut with the rest of the pack. Though Kodiak had recently encouraged them to formulate an attack plan that would exterminate the vampires once and for all, now he hoped against all odds that they’d neglected their duty.

He hoped that, instead of planning an assault, they were seeking refuge thousands of miles away from the city so they could be safe. Then, they could rebuild in peace. A fight could come later.

His thoughts weren’t right, his brain a little cold, the silver was taking its toll. If the vampires got whatever they were doing working, nowhere would be safe.

But… His pack… they had Tamaska. They needed to keep her safe.

Onai, I hope you don’t fight.

Kodiak was too weak and encased in silver to telepathically connect with the pack. Still, he tried many times, just in case through some strange chance, they could hear.

They’d be listening, trying to reach him. That is, if they hadn’t figured he’d been taken, or thought him dead. His stomach churned and nausea rode through him at his failure as a leader.

He’d gone off, on his own, and left them.

Worse, left Tamaska.

He only knew one thing now: The Blood Opal wasn’t worth it.

Whatever powers it had, in truth or in legends, the gem wasn’t worth losing his pack over. The pack needed to forget about it, to look out for themselves and each other. Otherwise, their pack could go extinct.

No, no that wasn’t right. Not the thoughts, not the coldness in his head that numbed his brain. The pack would die if they did nothing. A smart, prepared fight was the only thing to do. They had to find a way to stop the vampires and if the opal had something to do with it, destroy that.

His pack, humanity, depended on that.

Kodiak closed his eyes, trying to squeeze the dreadful thoughts from his mind.

Shadow Pack had to survive, do their sacred job, no matter the odds. If they didn’t, the vampires would continue to grow unchecked, and if the opal somehow gave them the powers he’d witnessed like being in the sun, then the human race would end up enslaved for their blood.

A thump forced Kodiak’s eyes open. He turned toward the sound as the heavy wooden door creaked open.

Kodiak smelled the vampire and stiffened. He instinctively pulled against his chain, then immediately regretted it as fresh pain burned through already aching muscles. If the chain had been steel instead of silver, the vampire standing in the doorway would have seen the fight of his life.

“Steady, now,” said the vampire.

Goosebumps rose on Kodiak’s skin. He recognized the voice straight away.

And he felt it, the cold poking at his mind. He was a shifter so the vampire couldn’t get in and manipulate him. But he was in silver, had been for the day and he was weak and in pain and the thoughts that weren’t right…

Amdis, using his power.

He’d bet his life on it.

Now he figured that out, he could work out the things being put there and what he was thinking.

Never in his life had a vampire been able to do that. But these were strange days.

“Let me loose, you coward, and we can have a proper fight,” growled Kodiak. “Tell me what you want and I’ll rip out your throat without making you suffer. Don’t, and you’ll wish you’d died properly the first time.”

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