Page 54 of Her Eternal Mate

“Those soldiers, the ones that died on their own, exploded this time around, spraying blood everywhere. It was the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen,” Morgan said. “I might be getting too old for this.”

“They exploded?” Will asked incredulously.

“Yeah, but not as if they were wearing suicide bomber vests or anything like that. It was as if their entire body somehow just gave up at once and refused to hold itself together,” Vince said.

“That must be the latest iteration of Blair’s experiments. They were dying before, but now they’re fucking exploding,” Will said slowly. “Regardless, all of you did a great job. Hopefully, for now, the town can sleep in peace, knowing that there aren’t any soldiers in the vicinity. Good work, men.”

Once the hunting party had dispersed, I turned my attention to Will. He seemed to be doing better as far as his injuries were concerned. He was no longer standing in a stiff posture as he had been doing earlier today.

“What’s the plan, then?” I asked.

“I was actually hoping to rely on your instincts this time,” Will said, rotating his shoulder joint. “By the way, I do feel better. It’s like…the sex…the sleep…I don’t know what it was exactly, but my body doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”

“Will. The hunting party did say that they left no traces of soldiers, but my gut says that there are bound to be a few stragglers left. We have to check the tower out. And if we can, we should grab one alive soldier.”

“Vincent will come with us,” Will said.

“For real? He’s dead tired.”

“He’s going to be the next Alpha. Tiredness should be the least of his concerns. Back when I had captained the ship from Germany to America, I had been awake for days on end. That’s what an alpha does. That’s what I expect of him,” Will said. There was just a little hint of sternness in his voice that conveyed how serious he was.

“In that case, let’s regroup in an hour. I have one more person I need to call,” I said. This whole operation was going to be impossible without Maliha. It was her bio-hacking skills we needed right now. And as much as I valued her life, this had to be done with her present in the same room. She had to get the samples from the soldier when he was alive.

“Maliha?” Will asked.

“You’re damn right,” I grinned.

***

“Well, isn’t this one odd bunch of people? Three werewolves and one normal-sized human. I am in great company. Oh, am I talking a lot? I kind of do that when I’m scared out of my wits!” Maliha had been incessantly talking ever since we’d picked her up. Vince had been quiet, ruminating over the events of the day while recuperating his strength. Will, on the other hand, was just as excited as Maliha. The two of them were on the same wavelength.

Me? I was feeling tired, just like Vincent.

“Maliha. How is your life going since you discovered this whole dimension of supernatural creatures exists?” Will asked, enthusiastically driving his Jeep down the deserted town road. Beckett Pharma’s abandoned tower was getting nearer. My anticipation was only growing stronger. Even though Vincent and the hunting party claimed they had wiped out everyone in that building, something within me said there were survivors. We just needed one.

“Will, now that I know you’re a werewolf, I’m honest to God scared of you,” Maliha said. “But since you haven’t eaten me yet or harmed me, I know you’re one of the good guys. Isn’t that right? I mean, you never did invite me to the engagement party, but you are my best friend’s fiancé.”

“I am sorry about that,” Will said. “We will surely invite you to the wedding now that you’re in the inner circle.”

“Ooh, inner circle, I like it,” Maliha said.

“Guys, focus,” I said, cutting their conversation short. We were finally at the abandoned tower. The hunting party had done a good job of keeping things discrete. There was no sign of violence outside of the building. There was no telling what it looked like inside.

As our group got out of the Jeep and headed into the building, we turned our flashlights on and shone them in the dark and haunted corridors of the building, looking for any signs of life. In some rooms, there were piles of corpses that the hunting party had left in their wake.

“We’ll be cleaning up this mess in the morning,” Vince said, addressing Will.

“It doesn’t matter,” Will said. “This building is abandoned, and it gives off a very spectral vibe. I don’t think anyone’s going to come inside any time soon. Though, it would be the responsible thing to do. Make sure you dump the bodies somewhere no one can discover them.”

“Roger that, boss,” Vincent said.

“Vince, you know, the way that Will has been delegating a lot of his responsibility to you, he’s doing it to ensure that you’re ready for the role of being the Alpha,” I said quietly.

“Oh. Is that so?” Vince said, looking surprised.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know,” I said.

“Some part of me knew. I just didn’t know it was that official. Is that why Will has been riding me so hard lately?”

---