Chapter 30 Ensnared
The river should have been quiet this early in the morning. But Dax knew something was wrong the moment he heard violent, frantic splashing.
“Ryker?” he called out, already pushing through the thick brush.
He reached the riverbank just in time for his heart to stop.
Ryker was half-submerged in the cold current, his body pinned back against a slick rock as someone clung to his chest. Small arms wrapped tightly around him and a pile of wet hair was covering the face.
“Let me taste the burnt grapes!” the female voice shrieked, and Dax jerked off, shocked at the shrill sound.
And then, when she lifted her head, Dax saw the glint of fangs as she began leaning in toward Ryker’s neck.
For a moment, Dax froze.
But then the girl opened her mouth wider, exposing her new fangs, and instinct drowned out everything else.
Dax didn’t think.
He simply shifted into his wolf form.
Bones snapped and fur burst across his skin, and in the space of one breath, the massive black wolf landed in the river with a thunderous splash.
The girl screamed at the sight of the intruder of her night snack, releasing Ryker just before Dax lunged.
He grabbed her by the collar of her soaked dress with his jaws, yanked her off Ryker, then tossed her to the riverbank like she weighed nothing. She skidded on wet leaves, trembling and scrambling backward on her hands.
When her eyes finally caught Dax in wolf form, she went pale, her eyes bulged out and she began to shake.
“Please! Don’t kill me!” she cried.
But the wolf had already lowered his head, lips peeled back, growling with enough force to make the girl curl up in a ball.
Ryker coughed and pushed himself upright. “Dax! Stop!” he hissed through chattering teeth. “She’s very young! She doesn't know what she's doing.”
Dax didn’t care. He shifted again into human form and stomped across the riverbank, grabbed the trembling girl by the neck, and lifted her clean off her feet, holding her over the edge of the river as if he might drop her in.
“That thing was about to sink her teeth into you,” Dax growled. “Young or not, she’s a vampire. They don’t deserve any mercy.”
The girl sobbed harder, her voice cracking. “I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to do any of this. They made me. They made me this monster!”
Her small fists beat weakly against Dax’s arm, but she had no strength compared to a very angry Dax. None at all.
Ryker climbed up the rocks toward them, his breath still unsteady. “Dax, enough. Put her down.”
“No.” Dax’s fingers dug deeper into the girl’s throat. “You were seconds away from dying at her hands because you pitied her.”
“Let her go,” Ryker repeated, sharper this time.
For a long moment, Dax held the girl there, arms trembling with rage. Then, with a frustrated snarl, he finally set her down in a not-so-gentle manner and she landed in a heap on the wet forest floor.
He pointed at Ryker. “Just remember that she had you pinned and would have drunk you empty. She’s a vampire now. And vampires cannot be trusted.”
Ryker ignored the warning and crouched beside the girl. “Let me worry about that.”
The little vampire edged closer to him instinctively, hiding half her face behind his arm as she peeked at Dax with terror.
“I’m guessing you're Oscar's sister, yeah?”
The girl nodded, still trembling with her fangs unable to retract.
“Let's get back to camp and head out. Oscar has his sister back.”
Dax rolled his eyes skyward and muttered, “Wonderful. You’ve adopted a bloodsucker.”
Ryker helped the girl stand and led her out of the riverbank into the forest path. Dax followed, arms crossed, clearly hating every second of this.
By the time they reached the camp clearing, Rex was pacing like a madwoman, running her hands through her hair, muttering under her breath.
The moment she saw Ryker, she rushed over. “Finally! I’ve been waiting for you guys, what took you so long?” Then she froze, eyes landing on the soaked, trembling girl clutching Ryker’s arm. “Who’s she?”
“Pack up,” Ryker said immediately. “We’re leaving.”
“Okay?” Rex said slowly. “But who is she?”
“Not the time,” Ryker snapped. “We’ll talk on the road.”
Dax smirked. “Come on, Ryker. Don’t be shy. Tell Rex you brought a bloodsucker into our camp.”
Rex went rigid and leaned closer, sniffing the air.
Rex jerked backward. “Wait, is she really a vampire?”
Ryker tugged her behind him. “I’ll explain later.”
He grabbed his bag, slung it over the motorcycle, and tightened the straps. Once everything was secure, he turned toward the tents, scanning.
“Where’s Lyra? Tell her to hurry. We need to reach a human town before sunrise. They might know how to cure the girl before we head to the Bronx Pack.”
“Curing a vampire is only theoretical, Alpha. No one's sure it's ever worked.”
“Let me worry about that.”
Rex cleared her throat. “About Lyra, we have a problem.”
Ryker frowned. “What problem?”
Rex swallowed and pointed toward the trees. “I can’t find her. I’ve been searching for over an hour. She’s gone. And so is that phony-looking boy.”
“Oscar?” Ryker’s voice dropped into a dangerous growl.
Rex nodded. “Yeah. Him.”
“What happened?” Ryker demanded.
Rex winced. “I may or may not have said a few things. The kid got emotional and ran off. Lyra went after him, and now I can’t find either of them.”
Ryker cursed under his breath and stomped around the tents, trying to catch Lyra’s scent. Dax joined him, sniffing the air, frowning deeper with each breath.
Ryker stopped abruptly. “I can’t smell her. At all.”
Dax nodded. “She left this area a long time ago. The trail is almost gone.”
Rex turned to the girl. “What’s your name, kid?”
She pressed herself closer to Ryker. “Alyssa.”
“When did you get turned?” Rex demanded, narrowing her eyes.
Alyssa shivered. “Last night.”
Rex scoffed. “We know what you are. There’s no point pretending to be shy about your own remaking. Tell us exactly when it happened, unless you want us to force it out of you.”
Alyssa clung to Ryker’s sleeve. “I’m telling the truth. Last night.”
Dax and Rex exchanged a look and then turned to Ryker. They all knew what this meant.
Rex spoke first. “If she was turned last night, then why did her brother tell us this morning that she was alive and still human?”
Dax’s eyes widened. “It was a trap.”
Ryker’s stomach dropped.
“A distraction,” Dax continued. “A distraction to pull us away from the girls.”
Ryker’s fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
“Oscar took Lyra.”