Liam

“Azalea, Azalea, Azalea…” The dissonant repetition of her name echoed in my head as I searched. Leaping over the wave of vampires pouring from the house, I shifted back to human form, landing hard on the vast porch. I vaguely heard Maddox and Damien land behind me, but I didn’t care. Too many vampires still spilled from the doorway, so I grabbed one by the face and created my own entrance by throwing him through the wall. The others, seeking easier prey, abandoned their assault as I stalked through the hole, enlarging it to accommodate my passage.

Inside, multiple staircases descended into the floor through what appeared to be purpose-built trapdoors, likely flush with the floor when closed. There was no way all those vampires fit in the enormous house; an underground lair explained it.

Searching for Azalea and Missy, I was momentarily stopped by an older vampire, confident in his approach. I grabbed him by the throat, lifting him inches from my face.

“Where is she?” I roared. His eyes widened as he struggled against my grip. Perhaps he wasn't as confident as he seemed.

His attempts at escape proving futile, he tried to bite me. I met his advance with my forehead, shattering his nose and sending his head reeling. I squeezed his throat tighter, feeling it begin to snap. I wasn’t sure what it would take to kill him, but I didn't care. He was useless unless he told me where she was. I crushed his neck, then smashed his face into the ground until it was unrecognizable, leaving his teeth scattered on the floor. I released him; he fell, gasping and moaning in his pool of blood. I resumed my search for Azalea.

My gaze fell upon a horrified female vampire, her eyes darting between me and the carnage. “Where?” I growled. She was next if I didn't get an answer.

“Do-do-down the ha-ha-hall,” she stammered, pointing before fleeing down a different staircase.

An expansive hallway stretched towards the back of the room, away from the underground entrances. Azalea was somewhere in this direction. I could hear Damien and Maddox thundering behind me as I ran towards the hallway. It seemed endless, a trick of the light, or perhaps magic. A vampire emerged from the first room, closing the door behind him. I used him, as I had the first, to reopen it. The room appeared to be a planning room—useless.

“Alpha, I think there’s something down here!” Maddox called from further down the hallway.

I raced towards him, pushing him aside as I reached a huge double door he'd indicated. I'd dragged the vampire with me; I used her to open this door as well, her head crushing sickeningly as it met the wood, blood splattering the door.

“Warwick,” I said, his name escaping me involuntarily. There he was, gloating in what looked like a banquet hall. His pompous face broke into a wide smile.

“I see you’ve found my humble abode, dog,” he said with a laugh.

“Where. Is. She?” Each word was enunciated, carrying the weight of my intent.

“Oh, come now, puppy, don’t be so angry. Your kind has taken so much from me. It is only two simpering women, after all. One isn't even really a wolf, is she?” He gestured towards a blood-tinged tea set. “Oh, and she’s down there.” He lazily indicated another underground entrance.

“Maddox, go,” I snarled, my voice growing less human as I shifted. Gavin and I shared control as my body transformed.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll be going down there,” Warwick said, his jovial expression fading as he moved towards the entrance where Azalea was.

“I didn’t give you a choice,” I roared, my wolf's voice replacing my own as the transformation completed. I intercepted him, lunging for his throat. I missed, skidding into a table as he leaped back.

“He made it!” Damien yelled from behind me.

“Good,” I thought. “He can find our girls.”

“Help me end him,” I mentally linked with Damien.

“It would be my pleasure, Alpha,” he replied.

Damien, unshifted, stepped beside me, tapped my shoulder twice, and I growled my assent. We shifted back to human form, standing side-by-side.

Warwick stared intently, assessing his best approach. I wouldn't give him the chance. I turned to Damien, grasped his forearm, and spun, throwing him overhead at Warwick. Damien landed deftly behind Warwick, seizing him as he recoiled in surprise. I shifted and attacked. This time, Warwick struck me, keeping me from his throat. Damien had his arm around Warwick’s throat, but seemed to be struggling, his expression odd.

“Did he bite you?” I asked Damien.

“I’m fine.”

Trusting my Beta, I continued my attack. Although Damien struggled, he restricted Warwick enough for me to bite him repeatedly. Blood flowed freely, but Warwick continued to land blows. I felt my jaw and ribs threaten to break, but I wouldn't relent. He would pay for what he did to my family.

“How pitiful, you can’t even kill me with two of you. What a pathetic excuse for an ‘Alpha,’” Warwick sneered. “I doubt your pup will find her before she dies giving birth in the cage I’ve put her in.”

All reason vanished at his words. I shifted back to human form, blood staining my skin. I grabbed a chair leg, breaking it off at the seat and smashing the remainder on a table, creating a makeshift stake. His eyes narrowed as I approached; he spat at me.

“What do you think you’re going to do with that? DOG.”

He struggled against Damien, who was equally strained. Warwick lashed out; I caught his hand and stabbed him in the bicep with the chair leg. He screamed. Holding his hand, I ripped the stake free and plunged it into his thigh. He shrieked, trying to free himself. I broke his hand. I nodded to Damien; he released Warwick, pushing him towards me as I shifted and sank my teeth into his neck. I tore away, leaving a gaping wound and a spray of blood. He fell, gasping. I spat his blood onto the floor and looked at Damien, exhausted but satisfied.

Shifting back, I turned to the door, intent on helping Maddox find Azalea, when I heard glass breaking and a thud. Warwick was gone, Damien thrown into a china display. He was covered in shattered glass, but standing. Blood stained his clothes—Warwick's blood.

“I’m okay, but he surprised me,” he said, brushing off the glass. “I thought he was dead, but he jumped upstairs.” He gestured towards the second floor, where a broken railing and a trail of blood led upward. “Go, find Azalea.”

“I can’t leave you here,” I protested, despite the desperate urge to reach my mate.

“You have to go, Liam. I’m fine, and I will finish him.”

“Liam, I found them!” Maddox yelled, linking us mentally. “I can’t get them out! These doors are impossible to break through!”

“Go, Liam!” Damien shouted.

“Fine, but be careful,” I growled, turning and running towards my girls. “I’m coming.”

Maddox

“Where is she?” I thought, desperately searching the extraordinarily expansive network of tunnels and caverns. It resembled the dwarven underground cities of fantasy books. After running past Liam, diving through the door, and descending the staircase, I found myself in a colossal tunnel, earthen walls lined with ceiling lights and countless doors. I rushed forward, opening doors as quickly as possible.

“Nothing. Nothing. UGH, NOTHING AGAIN.”

My thoughts raced as I opened empty bedrooms, presumably for the vampires. They were bare, most containing only a bed and a trunk. I ripped open a new door—different, with scratches and red stains. It opened into a much larger room, vast enough to hold the house above, with rows of army bunks. Hundreds of them. Another set of staircases ascended towards the house.

“This must be where they were all coming from.”

A snarl echoed from behind me; two vampires descended, fangs extended, looking feral. I looked around, hoping to avoid drawing attention while searching for Missy and Luna. I stepped into the room and closed the door.

The pair disappeared among the bunks, but one quickly reappeared, leaping onto the beds towards me. I heard the second vampire moving slowly, stealthily.

“What would Alpha do?”

I searched for a weapon. I saw what Alpha did upstairs, but he's an Alpha. My eyes fell on a broom.

I grabbed it and waited. The vampire closed the distance, jumping towards me. I stepped back, thrusting the broom into his open mouth, using his momentum. The handle exploded from the back of his head; his expression changed from predatory to horror. I spun, pinning him to the wall with the broom.

“I guess that works too?” I said. I’d intended to use it as a stake, but his open mouth offered a better opportunity. I heard running and turned, finding the second vampire fleeing. He was likely seeking reinforcements. I had no time for that. I returned down the hall. The plain wooden doors ended, revealing prison cells. Iron bars segmented small cells containing injured wolves, caked in blood and dirt. A large key hung on the wall. I unlocked the cells, telling the wolves to shift and escape, promising to return if needed. I frantically searched for Missy and Luna, finding nothing.

“I’m so stupid…I can link her!” I realized.

“MISSY!”

“MADDOX?” she replied, her voice desperate but relieved.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“I’m in a small room. It’s just a stone box with a window. I can see the moon, but I’m not strong enough to get out.”

“Yell! I’m trying to find you.”

Muffled sounds came from a bend in the tunnel. The tunnel sloped upwards, leveling off. It seemed we were directly beneath the house, basement level. The sounds grew louder until I found two heavily fortified doors. The key didn’t fit; I tried kicking the door, but it wouldn’t budge. I pounded on the door; Missy answered with her own pounding.

“Save Azalea first!” she screamed. Then I heard Azalea scream, followed by silence. “She’s having the baby!”

“Luna! Can you hear me?” I yelled, pounding on the second door. Another scream of pain overpowered Missy’s.

“I can smell blood from her cell. You need to hurry!” Missy said, linking me.

Tom, my wolf, thrashed within me, hearing my mate's terror. It was all I could do to restrain him. No matter how hard I punched and kicked, I couldn’t open the door.

“Liam, I found them!”