Page 62 of Wicked Allure
“For the crown!” Dru thumped a fist on her chest.
Her warriors returned the same action. They turned and began their trek. They moved swiftly and silently. The forest pressed in on them, heavy with a thick mist and silence. The animals sensed the predators on the loose. Every step closer toward the cottage seemed to awaken the area. Dru’s sharp senses detected everything from the distant crackle of leaves to the snap of a twig beneath a warrior’s boot. They slowed as they made half the distance.
Dru led the charge and came to a halt. She raised her fist and ceased breathing. She drew her blade from her waist, having felt eyes on them. Someone knew they were there. She bit back a curse and glanced around. Talbot stood to her right, while Orenda was to her left.
Words were not needed.
They sensed it, too.
Dru used hand motions to signal for the warriors to spread out. They moved again, this time at a slower pace. The first trap soon revealed itself—a wire strung low to the ground, almost invisible to the untrained eye. Talbot pointed to it with the tip of his sword.
Dru’s lips curled back in disgust. It was a simple trap, but there was no telling what was attached to the other end of the wire. They each carefully stepped over it.
“Keep your eyes open. There will be more,” Dru cautioned in a low voice.
The nodding of heads confirmed they’d heard her. They continued on and soon came upon a crude pit disguised by a blanket of moss and large branches. They quickly bypassed it. There were more on their way to the cottage which gave away they were drawing closer to their destination.
Luckily enough, her men were the best at what they did, and no one fell victim to the crude traps. The hairs on the back of Dru’s neck stood erect. For certain, this vampire did not want to be caught off guard with the amount of traps that had been set.
Her heart rate increased at the thought of the catch. There was something about the thrill of the chase that drove her on. Solomon would soon have to answer to Queen Mira.
The warriors fanned out more and continued on. The forest flew by as Dru used her vampiric speed to race through the forest.
The only sounds were that of the rasp of boots on damp soil. Finally the trees thinned out, revealing a small cottage half swallowed by ivy. They paused, remaining hidden in the thickness of the forest. Dru strode forward to the edge of woods and assessed the structure. The windows were dark, no smoke rose from the chimney, and the silence stretched long and far.
But what really stuck out to Dru was the lack of sound coming from the cottage.
She pulled her gun from her thigh sheath and replaced her blade. She didn’t want to chance the vampire harboring lycans since the evidence pointed to him working with them. She gave a few hand signals before she stepped out of the woods. She strode to the front door while her warriors fanned out around the cottage, surrounding it as a hunting pack would on its prey.
Dru paused at the door and rested a palm on the handle. With a quick flip of her thumb, the safety was now off her weapon. Talbot moved to a window near it and peered inside. He nodded to her. She backed away from the door and used her foot to kick it in. The door shattered beneath her kick. She aimed her gun true, met with a dark interior and silence. She didn’t rush into the building. There was no telling what kinds of traps the traitor had set in his home.
The air was thick with the scent of an unknown male—Solomon’s or Sol’s. The cottage held an open floor plan, allowing Dru to see well into the kitchen, dining area, and living room. A bed was pushed up in the corner and looked as if someone had slept in it recently. She strode forward slowly, keeping her guard up.
The hearth was cold, but her attention went straight to the table where a chair sat overturned, as if someone had left in a rush. A cloak hung near the door on a ring, stiff and filthy. She flashed her fangs and snarled.
“He knew we were coming.” Dru already knew who’d been watching them while they were in the forest. She moved back to the door. “He thinks he can outsmart us,” she said, her voice cold and steady. She wanted each of her warriors to hear her. “But he underestimates us. We will not stop until he’s captured.”
And if Solomon was watching and listening, she hoped he’d heard every word.
Dru led her warriors back to the tree line. They had searched the cottage but found nothing, which left her in a foul mood. They entered the dense forest, but the air was thick with dampness and something else—an acrid musk that raised the hackles of the seasoned warrior. Dru slowed, her fist lifted in a silent command.
The warriors froze. Blades hissed, guns were drawn. The silence of the woods broke. Branches creaked overhead, and the crunch of the earth was loud slicing through the air. The familiar scent of a wolf entered Dru’s nostrils.
“Lycans,” she spat.
She took out her gun filled with argentite bullets. The ground rumbled as the enemy grew closer. Her warriors prepared themselves for the battle. She didn’t need to tell them. They were ready for the beasts.
“For the crown!”
The first lycan burst forth from the underbrush in a blur of fur. He raced toward Dru, his teeth bared, hurling himself at her. Dru raised her gun and pulled the trigger. His head jerked backward; her aim true. A bullet pierced the middle of his forehead, sending his body flying backward. She strode forward swiftly, and when she arrived near his body, she fired again. His body jerked with each shot. She growled and focused.
Head.
Heart.
The argentite would spread through the beast’s veins and guarantee its death. She swung around. Three more beasts broke through the trees. Her warriors engaged with the lycans in a heated battle. Talbot’s sword pierced through one beast’s chest, pinning it to a tree, while another one barreled into a warrior, sending them both crashing to the ground. More poured out of the woods, surrounding her and her men.
Dru didn’t hesitate to rush into the fray. She fired her weapon until the magazine was empty. She ejected it and reached for a replacement on her waist belt. Then a force smacked into her from behind. She crashed to the ground and rolled over just as large claws slammed into the earth. Her gun fell to the ground, lost in the tussle. Dru snatched her axe out of the sheath on her back and whipped it around. She pushed up to her feet. The lycan stood almost seven feet tall, its fangs sharp and long. It was feral, one who was lost to the beast.
