"Alright. I think we've got this covered. Be ready to leave at dawn," Nick announced and James left the room to go find Lily. He hadn't gotten too far when someone called him.
James did his best not to scowl when he saw it was the vampire. "You are this James Lacrosse I've heard so much about, correct?" he asked with a thick French accent. James crossed his arms over his chest with a nod, curious about what the vamp wanted. "And you are also Lily's mate?"
This time, James allowed a small frown to cross his face. "It's isn t official but she has my mark, why?"
The vampire gave him a closed lipped grin. "Did she tell you she needs a sire?"
"She mentioned it and she also told me how you volunteered," James replied.
"I did but that isn't what I wish to speak of at the moment. As her mate, I'm surprised that she hasn't fed from you. I believe your blood would be the most satisfactory and the safest."
Now that surprised James but he was still wary. "Why?"
"You're her mate, your bond nullified completely the blood bond of an older vampire. That alone is impressive! That kind of strength in a bond I haven't seen in a long time," he explained. James couldn't help but feel a little smug. "James, Lily can't keep avoiding and suppressing her vampire side. Sooner or later it will come back on her and when it does there will be casualties. You and you alone is her best chance to avoid that."
Yep, he was feeling downright cocky now but he frowned more. "Why do you care about what happens to her?"
"I know you've not seen our best side but we care for our young just as much as you do. Would you not try to help an orphaned pup? This is the same. Also, she is my crow's daughter and in part, it's my blood that has made her this way. It's my duty to make sure she has her best chance of survival," the vampire told him.
"So what do you want me to do?" James asked, wanting to believe that the vampire was being sincere.
"Talk to her. Tell her what I told you and give her your opinion. If she won't let me be her sire then I would, at least, like to help her learn how to feed."
"Alright. I'll speak with her but her decision will be hers. I can't and I won't try to force her into anything," James told him.
"That is all I ask," the vampire said then gave James a small bow before walking back to the hotel room. James snorted with dry amusement and followed Lily's scent to one of the many doors. He knocked and heard her muffled permission to enter. He saw her sitting in a chair with a disgusted look as she sucked on a blood bag like some pouch drink.
"This is disgusting. It's like drinking chemicals straight from the bottle. I am not so sure it won't make me sick," she said tossing the half empty bag on the table.
"Actually, I was talking with Lord Pumpernickel earlier," he started making her smile. "He thinks you should feed from me."
"Right, you really expect me to believe that James?"
"Hey, he said it not me. Said our mate bond is one of the strongest he's seen," he told her, laying down on the bed. James told her everything the vampire had said to him.
"I don't know James. That sounds like he's asking for a threesome," she said, shuddering. James let his disgust at that idea show. "I'll think about it. Now move over I'm tired and I'm guessing we've got an early morning."
"Be ready by dawn," he told her and Lily groaned as she plopped on the bed next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. He nuzzled her neck gently for a moment before drifting off to sleep.
It was eerie driving back into Nick's territory. The small town where Nick called home and been sheriff was completely empty. He said that his fallen had remained where they were killed. Any recovery attempts had only ended in more death. But now the bodies, blood and anything that could catch an outsider's attention were gone. It looked like a ghost town except the homes and buildings weren't in ruins.
"They didn't even let us mourn them," Nick said through his clenched jaw. "They'll pay for that too." Their train of vehicles stopped at the edge of the dense forest. Again deja vu struck James hard. He looked over at the crowd and could tell he wasn't the only one feeling it.
"Hybrid," the fairy, Donovan, called to Lily and jerked his head to the side. James watched them, curious, and moved a little closer to hear what they were saying. Yeah, he knew he was being nosy but he didn't like that fairy too much.
"Remember you are the boss," Donovan told her. "They may be monsters but you're stronger than them. You decide how much they get to come out." James glanced towards them surprised. He was giving her a pep talk? Did this have something to do with what happened back when she was training to be a guardian for the Aequivalere? Jams knew something bad had happened but Lily didn't want to talk it. Whatever it was had stopped had her training.
"Don't make me have to come and kick your ass," Donovan finished, making her laugh and they shared a fist bump before she walked over to James.
"Eavesdropping is rude," she told him, taking off her shoes and socks. She stuffed the socks into her shoes and put them in the car they had come in. She wore a loose tank top and yoga shorts that looked a little too big for her.
"Just keeping an eye out is all," he replied and she rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay Big Brother," she said, stretching and looking like she was getting ready for a run. He was about to ask her about her training when Nick called them over. He wasn't happy to see Alpha Sanders was on their team or that the prick wouldn't stop looking at her like a dog would a juicy bone.
"Alright, remember Bonnie and the human girl is our priority," Nick said, passing two photographs around. One of an older blonde werewolf and the other of a girl around sixteen or seventeen. "Kill everything else unless they surrender then silver or zip-tie them. No one is to go off on their own. Is that understood?" Nick finished, looking at Lily. Last time they were here, she ran off to take care of Xavier on her own.
"Aye, aye, Cap'n," Lily said, giving him a salute.
Nick shook his head. "Alright, arm up. We leave in ten!" James took off his jacket, preferring hand to hand versus firearms or knives. He wasn't good at either. He looked over as Lily. She had her eyes closed and taking deep breaths.
"What is she doing?" Lucas Sanders asked.
"Going hybrid," James replied, glad she wasn't armed. She wasn't much better than he was with weapons. The alpha gawked as Lily started to change. She grew almost a full foot taller and her frame became much broader. Lily's hands increased in size and more knobby as her nails grew into claws. Her feet did something similar and small, dark hairs ran down her arms and legs.
"Hello ladies," James said when she had finished. Lily gave him a toothy smirk, showing off the long sharp teeth that now filled her mouth. He'd never fully seen her go hybrid before. It was impressive as it was scary.
"Uh, ladies?" Lucas said, sounding unsure and maybe even a little afraid. Lily must have noticed this because she sniffed in his direction then snorted with a scowl.
"Lily, the beast, and the vampire. They're not all the same," James explained and she gave him a pleased smirk.
"Let's go!" Nick yelled and they gathered and entered the forest. It wasn't a long walk to get to the building. Especially since the vampires didn't bother putting up the fences that had torn down the first time. The entered the clearing where the three-story brick building stood. It looked abandoned. The front doors were laying on the ground or barely hanging off its hinges. Many windows were broken or boarded up.
The scents surrounding the place told another story. Fresh scents were everywhere. Vampire, Lycan, and human. They advanced through the clearing towards the old lab. James' nerves grew the closer they got with no sign of... well, anything. The inside of the building was the same, completely abandoned except for the footprints on the dusty floor. They followed the footprints until they heard some movement in a corridor to their left.
Nick, cocking his gun, nodded at them and they followed the noise. They found three male guards, mocking the blonde werewolf. Her hands were bound in silver so she couldn't fight back and her clothes torn. Lily let out a roar that startled almost everyone on their team as well as the guards. Nick started to demand they surrender but Lily ran towards them.
She grabbed the largest and sunk her teeth into his neck, ripping out his throat before she savagely drank from him. The other two scrambled for their weapons. James ran towards Bonnie, slugging one of the guards as he went. Taking off his shirt, he used it to protect him from the silver as he freed her. Bonnie gave him a mumbled thanks and he put his shirt back on. He saw Lily toss the dead guard aside to pick up another guard who was bleeding shot to the gut.