Bound by Danger (The Alliance #6) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,116

had a place to work with animals, but last month he’d taken her to a music festival in Virginia. He’d looked as happy to be there as a cat dunked in water, but he stayed through both days, and a few times she caught him tapping his foot along to the music. The grouchy look on his face only made her love him more.

Ricochet sat outside the fence with his ears pricked and his attention riveted on the compound. She’d heard the main gate open seconds ago and detected the crunch of tires as vehicles sped toward the mansion.

That can’t be good.

No one sped around here. There were too many children and animals now, but the vehicles were moving far faster than normal. Thankfully, it was night, and no kids roamed the grounds at this hour.

Uneasiness spread through her as she finished stitching the lamb and handed it over to the young hunter who often helped her tend the animals. Justine embraced the lamb against her chest as shouts filled the air. Callie rose when lights blazed on around the compound.

An uneasy chill ran down her spine, and her heart hammered. Lucien was safe inside the mansion; they had tonight off from patrolling, but some of the friends she now considered family had gone on patrol tonight.

Doors opened and closed as hunters emerged from some of the homes. They sprinted across the lawn toward the shouts. Something was really wrong.

“Justine, get inside,” she said.

“What about the lamb?”

“Take it with you. Just get inside and don’t open your door until you know it’s safe to come out.”

Justine nodded, and keeping the lamb against her chest, she sprinted toward the gate, opened it, and slipped outside. Callie ran to the fence, leapt over it, and landed beside Doc as he lifted his head from the grass.

She didn’t bother to put his bridle back on as she grasped his mane, pulled herself onto his back, and turned him toward the chaos. When she nudged him in the side, he broke into a trot that progressed into a smooth gallop. The wind whistled past her as they pounded across the land toward the three SUVs in front of the mansion.

Shouts continued to come from the SUVs as doors slammed. Her growing unease was turning into full-blown panic as she closed in on the vehicles. Things had been bad out there lately as the number of Savages increased. They’d lost too many of their own over the year.

As she reached the chaos, she slowed Doc and swung herself off his back before he came to a complete stop. She sprinted across the earth and spotted Lucien amongst the group of hunters and vampires gathered around an SUV.

“What happened?” she demanded as she arrived at Lucien’s side.

He crushed her against his chest. “We’ve lost another.”

“Oh no,” she whispered as they removed the body of a hunter from the back of the SUV.

The young man was so severely beaten she couldn’t make out his features, but the sobs of his mother filled the night. Callie closed her eyes against the woman’s anguish and worked to suppress her tears.

“This has to stop,” she whispered.

Lucien’s arms clenched around her. “It will.”

“I hope Logan and Asher are having better luck than us.”

“So do I.”

Logan gazed down at the broken and battered body sprawled across the floor of the office. The pool of blood beneath it had already coagulated on the wooden floor. Overturned chairs and tables surrounded the body. Papers spilled from the large, oak desk in the center of the room.

Alejandro, the leader of the hunter compound, had moved his hunters from Nogales, Mexico, to Arizona a couple of months ago. They moved after three of their hunters failed to return from a mission.

Concerned the hunters had fallen into the wrong hands, Alejandro moved his compound to a backup location. The move was meant to ensure the safety of its occupants, but it failed to ensure Alejandro’s safety.

Alejandro had put up a fight against his murderer, but in the end, he lost the battle to his attacker—an attacker who had been one of his followers.

Logan lifted his gaze to meet Asher’s over the top of the body. Asher was still staring at Alejandro but, sensing Logan’s stare, his head rose and their eyes met. On Asher’s face, Logan saw what he already knew... this was because they were here.

Alejandro had been on board with all the changes taking place ever since the Alliance formed. He’d helped the Alliance and