Page 61 of Fanged Desire
The image that surfaced in her mind was chilling: cold, sterile rooms, metal equipment, industrial doors and walls housing people like specimens.
I took what I needed from her memory and released her roughly, letting her slump to the ground. The elf woman lay there, dazed and defeated, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. I hadn’t touched her with my teeth, hadn’t shed a drop of her blood, but she looked like she’d been drained of life.
The image of that facility burned in my mind, fueling my anger – and my desperation.
Without a second glance, I turned and left the office. There was no time to waste, no room for mercy. Cathy and her associates were about to meet an entirely new kind of reckoning.
The lab was tucked away in an industrial part of town, disguised as just another nondescript warehouse. But thanks to the fractured memories I’d forced out of Esmerelde, I knew exactly what I was looking for. Shadows blanketed the side of the building as I crept along the brickwork, every nerve humming with tension.
I found an entrance around the back where people in lab coats slipped in and out, some wheeling around unlabeled crates and mystery supplies. I waited, counting their movements, watching their patterns.
Finally, I slipped in behind a pair of lab technicians, blending into the shadowy hallways beyond. My footsteps were soundless, my senses dialed to a razor-sharp focus as I slid into the nearestalcove to let a few lab techs pass. I could hear Addison’s name screaming in my head, her heartbeat that I couldn’t track driving me forward.
I moved down the hallways, scanning each door I passed, listening intently for any sound that might give me a clue to her location. The silence was suffocating, and with every second that ticked by, my urgency grew.
As I rounded a corner a heavy hand clamped down on my shoulder. I spun around, eyes narrowed, and came face-to-face with what must have been a security guard of sorts. His face twisted in surprise and I instantly pushed my powers forward, compelling him to let me go.
“Walk away,” I commanded, my voice laced with persuasion.
But he didn’t even flinch. Instead, his gaze turned steely, and a mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips. My weary eyes settled on the small talisman glinting at his neck. It seemed this place was prepared for the possibility of telepathic vampires. My coercion was useless here.
Before he could call for backup I struck, landing a blow to his throat and sending him stumbling back. He recovered faster than I’d expected, lunging forward, but I sidestepped him, my elbow catching his jaw as he staggered. I was about to slip away when two more guards appeared down the hallway, their own talismans catching the light as they moved toward me.
“Guess we’re doing this the hard way.” I brushed stray hair from my eyes, bracing myself with my fists raised.
They came at me in unison but I was faster, ducking under their swings and retaliating with strikes that landed with sharp, shattering cracks.
More guards flooded into the hallway, and I felt a grim satisfaction settle in my chest as I took them down one by one, my hands moving in quick, brutal precision. I was makingprogress, pushing through them toward another door, when a sudden, sharp pain exploded through my body.
Electricity crackled up my spine, paralyzing me where I stood. I let out a strangled gasp as my muscles seized, the shock rattling through me with relentless intensity.
The stun lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough. I fell to my knees, dazed, and before I could recover, whatever fucking asshole decided to tase me grabbed my shoulders, dragging me forward. I fought to shake off the dizziness, struggling against their hold, but my limbs were static and sluggish.
I heard my phone clatter to the floor, sliding out of my pocket, but there was no way to retrieve it as they dragged me through a pair of heavy metal doors.
With a shove, they threw me into what I could vaguely make out was a small, clinical room and slammed the doors shut behind me. The echo of a heavy metal contraction locking in place reverberated in my ears, and I pushed myself up from the cold floor, glaring at the barrier with every bit of fury left in me.
Dragging myself to my feet, I staggered and rushed forward, slamming my shoulder against the doors, hoping for even the smallest give. But they held firm, as unyielding as the walls around me. Frustration surged through me and I drew back, ready to ram into it again, when a soft voice, barely above a whisper, cut through the sirens in my head.
“Hunter?”
I froze, my breath catching as I turned slowly.
Addison was huddled in the corner of the room. Relief colored my fury, but it was short-lived. The sight of her, scared and vulnerable, knees curled to her chin, ignited a fierce knot of something tender in my chest – but it was tangled with something darker, something desperate.
Addison stood slowly, her eyes wide as she took me in. “Are you okay?”
"Am I okay – fuck that, Addison, areyouokay?" I demanded, rushing toward her before she could muster an answer.
I reached out, tilting her chin up as I inspected her face, lightly gripping her jaw as I checked for injuries. She looked exhausted, disoriented – but at least there weren’t any cuts or bruises, nothing visible, anyway.
She blinked at me, hands coming up to cover mine. "I’m fine, Hunter. I swear. But Cathy… she knocked me out. When I woke up, I was just… well, here.”
She gestured around the sterile, featureless room, her voice wavering slightly. "I’ve been waiting ever since, just hoping you’d find me."
I nodded, relieved to know she wasn’t hurt, but fury still roared in my veins. This wasn’t part of the plan. Not in the slightest.
At my extended exhale Addison looked up at me, wide eyes waiting for comfort and reassurance. “Please tell me you have a backup plan.”
