Run Through Blood
1320 Words
The first shot shattered the windshield.
Glass exploded across the SUV.
Lily screamed.
Marcus reacted instantly.
"DOWN!"
His arm slammed across her chest just as a second round punched through the driver's side window.
The convoy erupted into chaos.
Tires screeched.
Metal collided.
Gunfire echoed across the frozen Alaskan highway.
Outside, snow-covered pines blurred beneath moonlight.
Inside, pure panic.
"What the hell is happening?"
Marcus's eyes flashed gold.
"We've been compromised."
No kidding.
The lead vehicle suddenly swerved sideways.
Blocking the road.
The entire convoy slammed on brakes.
Vehicles fishtailed across ice.
Then Lily saw them.
Figures emerging from the darkness.
Too fast.
Too pale.
Too graceful.
Vampires.
Dozens of them.
Black tactical gear.
Silver weapons.
Predatory smiles.
The Blood Council had arrived.
A vampire landed directly on the SUV's hood.
His crimson eyes locked onto Lily.
The smile he gave her made her skin crawl.
"There she is."
The windshield shattered completely.
Marcus roared.
His claws erupted.
The vampire flew backward.
But three more appeared.
Then six.
Then ten.
They moved like living nightmares.
Bullets filled the night.
Wolf guards transformed.
Howls echoed through the forest.
Blood painted the snow.
The war had begun.
Then everything got worse.
The driver in the vehicle behind them opened fire.
On the wolves.
Not the vampires.
Marcus froze.
Just for a second.
Traitor.
The realization hit everyone simultaneously.
The driver leapt from his vehicle.
His wolf insignia hit the ground.
A silver bat symbol gleamed beneath it.
Vampire agent.
The bastard had been inside the convoy the entire time.
"Marcus!"
Lily pointed.
Too late.
The traitor triggered something hidden beneath the SUV.
Silver chains exploded upward.
Ancient runes glowed.
Marcus growled.
The chains wrapped around him instantly.
His skin smoked on contact.
The Alpha crashed to one knee.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Silver restraints.
Specifically designed for Alphas.
The vampires smiled.
Lily's heart stopped.
"Marcus!"
"RUN!"
His roar shook the forest.
The command hit with Alpha force.
This time she obeyed.
Because there was no other choice.
Lily sprinted into the trees.
Branches whipped across her face.
Snow crunched beneath her boots.
Behind her came screams.
Gunfire.
Howls.
Death.
She didn't look back.
Couldn't.
The cold air burned her lungs.
Her heart pounded.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster.
The scent of blood followed her.
The vampires were hunting.
And she was the prize.
—
Three vampires appeared ahead.
Blocking the path.
Their eyes glowed crimson.
One smiled.
"We only need her alive."
The other two laughed.
Fantastic.
Lily grabbed the silver knife from her belt.
Because apparently this was her life now.
Before the vampires could move—
A white blur smashed into them.
Bone cracked.
Bodies flew.
One vampire hit a tree hard enough to split it in half.
The others barely had time to react.
Then white claws tore through them.
Jace.
Blood covered his shirt.
The black curse marks crawled across half his body.
Yet he moved like a hurricane.
One vampire lost his head.
Another lost an arm.
The third fled.
Jace caught him before he took three steps.
The forest became very quiet.
Lily stared.
"You followed me?"
Jace wiped blood from his mouth.
The black mark pulsed beneath his skin.
A bitter smile appeared.
"The curse helps."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I always know where you are."
That was somehow both romantic and horrifying.
Mostly horrifying.
A gunshot echoed.
Jace jerked violently.
Lily froze.
Blood exploded from his chest.
Silver.
A silver round.
The bullet had punched completely through him.
Jace stumbled.
Another shot rang out.
Then another.
Hidden vampires.
Snipers.
Jace stepped directly in front of Lily.
Shielding her.
The next silver round hit him in the side.
The impact nearly knocked him over.
"Jace!"
He coughed blood.
Dark red against white snow.
The smell filled the forest.
For one terrible second, Lily thought he might fall.
Instead he grinned.
Actually grinned.
Idiot.
"You know..."
His voice sounded rough.
Painful.
"I still owe you a life."
Another shot.
Jace twisted.
Taking the hit himself.
Protecting her.
The realization hit Lily like a truck.
He wasn't pretending.
Not right now.
Not while bleeding out.
Not while dying.
Whatever else Jace was—
At this moment, he was saving her.
"Move!"
He grabbed her wrist.
Together they ran.
—
The abandoned mine appeared thirty minutes later.
A black opening carved into the mountain.
Forgotten.
Ancient.
Perfect.
Lily practically dragged Jace inside.
The Rogue was getting weaker.
Fast.
Silver poison spread through his body.
Blood soaked his shirt.
His breathing sounded terrible.
Every inhale rattled.
Every exhale hurt.
They stumbled deeper underground.
The darkness swallowed them.
Cold stone surrounded them.
Water dripped somewhere in the distance.
For a brief moment, silence returned.
Then a roar echoed from outside.
Marcus.
Every hair on Lily's body stood up.
The sound wasn't human.
Wasn't wolf.
It was pure Alpha fury.
The forest answered with screams.
Vampire screams.
Lots of them.
Jace laughed weakly.
"They're dead."
"What?"
"The vampires."
Another roar echoed.
Closer.
Jace shook his head.
"Marcus got loose."
The way he said it sounded almost sympathetic.
For the vampires.
Then the screaming stopped.
Completely.
A terrible silence followed.
"Oh."
Jace winced.
"What?"
"He killed them all."
—
Five minutes later Marcus appeared.
Covered in blood.
Most of it wasn't his.
His clothes hung in tatters.
Cuts covered his body.
Golden eyes burned like wildfire.
The silver restraints were gone.
The Alpha looked ready to murder an entire species.
Then he saw Lily.
Instantly his attention shifted.
Checking for injuries.
Checking for blood.
Checking if she was breathing.
Typical.
Then he noticed Jace.
Specifically, the fact that Lily was kneeling beside him.
Her hand pressed against the Rogue's chest wound.
Trying to stop the bleeding.
The atmosphere changed.
Immediately.
Marcus's gaze darkened.
Dangerously.
The possessive mark on his shoulder glowed faintly.
Lily felt it.
The jealousy.
The instinct.
The wolf.
For one terrifying second she thought Marcus might finish what the Blood Ring had started.
Jace apparently noticed too.
Because he smirked.
Even while dying.
Absolute menace.
Marcus took one step forward.
Then stopped.
His jaw tightened.
The struggle was visible.
Jealousy.
Anger.
Restraint.
Eventually he exhaled.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Then did something neither of them expected.
He lifted Jace.
Over one shoulder.
Like an inconvenient sack of potatoes.
Jace swore.
Marcus ignored him.
His free hand reached toward Lily.
"Come on."
Lily blinked.
"That's it?"
"What?"
"You're not going to kill him?"
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"I considered it."
Jace laughed.
Marcus growled.
Then he grabbed Lily's hand.
And together they headed deeper into the mine.
Three enemies.
Three allies.
Three disasters.
None of them knew which.
—
The tunnel ended abruptly.
A stone wall blocked their path.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
Thousands of them.
Wolf runes.
Blood runes.
Moon symbols.
Marcus froze.
Recognition flashed across his face.
"What is it?"
He stepped closer.
Slowly raising a hand.
The moment his fingers touched the symbols—
The entire wall trembled.
A deep rumble echoed underground.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Then the stone door began to open.
By itself.
Ancient gears groaned.
Darkness retreated.
Light emerged.
Cold artificial light.
Not ancient.
Modern.
A laboratory.
The door fully opened.
And Lily's world shattered.
Glass tanks lined the room.
Medical equipment.
Computers.
Research files.
Experiments.
Nightmares.
Three large cylinders stood against the far wall.
Each filled with pale blue liquid.
Each containing a girl.
Dead.
Preserved.
Beautiful.
And horrifying.
Because they looked exactly like Lily.
Not similar.
Not close.
Exactly.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same hair.
The first tank bore a label.
LUNAR BLOOD SAMPLE #1 — FAILED
The second.
LUNAR BLOOD SAMPLE #2 — FAILED
The third.
LUNAR BLOOD SAMPLE #3 — FAILED
Lily couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
Then she saw the fourth tank.
Empty.
Waiting.
Prepared.
A pristine white label rested on its glass surface.
LUNAR BLOOD SAMPLE #4 — LILY HARPER — PENDING RECOVERY
- Writer
