Wolf's Blood: A Wolf-Shifter Urban Fantasy (The House of Sirius Book 1) Read online

  WOLF'S BLOOD

  LAURA TAYLOR

  Copyright © 2015 Laura Taylor

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  To Fabien.

  For your enthusiasm, your time, your imagination, your love of these characters, your relentless questioning and the thousand other things you’ve done over the past year and a half. Words cannot express my gratitude.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Wolves of the Lakes District den

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  EPILOGUE

  ALSO BY LAURA TAYLOR

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Wolves of the Lakes District den

  Rank

  Name

  Occupation when recruited

  Age when

  recruited

  Current age

  1

  Baron

  Gang member

  19

  37

  2

  Caroline

  High school student

  17

  34

  3

  Tank

  Second Lieutenant in British army

  24

  33

  4

  Caleb

  Carer at animal shelter

  24

  38

  5

  Silas

  Soldier in Afghanistan military

  25

  45

  6

  Heron

  High school student

  13

  60

  7

  John

  Runaway

  Unknown. Late teens/ early twenties

  Unknown. Mid twenties

  8

  Raniesha

  Prostitute

  24

  42

  9

  Simon

  Computer programmer

  22

  37

  10

  Mark

  High school student

  17

  27

  11

  Alistair

  Journalist

  25

  34

  12

  Kwan

  High school student

  16

  26

  13

  Cohen

  Homeless

  23

  33

  14

  Skip

  High school student

  16

  23

  15

  Nate

  Unemployed ex-con

  35

  41

  16

  Aaron

  High school student

  15

  25

  17

  Eric

  Plumber

  35

  42

  18

  George

  Retired

  68

  71

  19

  Dee

  Administration assistant

  26

  26

  CHAPTER ONE

  Dee Carman lay on the cold metal table, alternately fearing death and wishing for it. She didn’t have any clear sense of time but, at a guess, she would have said it was three, maybe four days since she’d been kidnapped, snatched off the street and brought to this cold, impersonal lab to be treated like these monsters’ very own lab rat. She twisted her arms, tugging futilely at the restraints that kept her pinned down, locked tight around her wrists and ankles.

  The metal cuffs didn’t budge.

  She tried hard to steady herself, to even out her breathing as she felt the rising panic again. Her heartrate kicked up a notch, her eyes watering as she told herself not to cry. Crying wouldn’t help; crying never helped.

  She was alone for the moment. The masked men in lab coats had retreated after taking the latest sample of her blood. They’d applied electric shocks to her body and muttered disappointed grumbles as nothing had resulted other than her pained screams.

  What the hell did they want?! They’d taken samples of tissue, of blood, of bone, had filled the room with foul-smelling vapour, had shocked her and drowned her and, to her utter disgust and shame, had brought her to the brink of orgasm; yet nothing had resulted despite her pleas, her offers to tell them whatever they wanted to know, to give them money if they’d release her, to do anything if it would earn her freedom. They’d simply stared at her with cold, calculating eyes and moved on to the next experiment.

  None of them spoke to her. They asked no questions, not even how she felt after each round of tests or whether she thought anything had changed, and the complete and utter mystery behind her kidnapping was starting to drive her mad. Had they chosen her for a reason? Or was it a random snatch and grab, just a case of wrong place, wrong time? Did they want to harm her, or did they want her to help them? Were they doctors searching for a miraculous cure, or madmen torturing her for the sheer pleasure of it?

  All too soon, the door opened again. The men silently filed into the room as before, covered from head to toe in white lab coats and surgical masks. But before the door swung closed behind them, she heard a blood-chilling sound through the gap, a strange mix of howl and scream, and she felt a new rush of fear and adrenaline.

  She had to get out of here.

  She glanced around at her captors and a strange sense of foreboding struck her
. There was no perceptible difference in the men, but somehow she felt the atmosphere in the room change, becoming taut with expectation and triumph. Whatever it was they were seeking to achieve, they were close, closer now than they had ever been before.

  What on earth were they going to do to her next?

  As before, there was no talking, no apparent communication between the men, but they worked as a cohesive unit. A drip stand was wheeled over, a bag of blood hooked up to the IV in her arm. Her own blood, the sample they had removed earlier? Or someone else’s?

  If she ever got out of here alive, she was going to have to get herself tested for every disease known to modern medicine.

  The IV line was opened, but she didn’t even bother protesting anymore. She had begged, pleaded and offered every reward she could think of, and been met with complete disinterest at every turn. She felt a faint tingle in her arm as the fluid flowed back into her, her stomach lurching at the thought of all the infections that could be coming with it.

  Dee suddenly went still, her body breaking out in sweat, and then she felt a wave of ice-cold run through her. What the hell was that? There was... something in the blood; not a disease, not a virus or bacteria, but a consciousness. Another sentient being, joining her in her body. She squirmed and gagged as her body rebelled, shuddered as the new whatever-it-was infiltrated her muscles, trying to make itself fit into her veins and sinews. She convulsed once, her muscles utterly disobeying her commands. The creature moved further into her, reached her heart, made it stutter. It seeped in around her lungs, up her spine, into her mouth, nose and eyes. Suddenly she became aware of the scientists watching her intently. She tried to ask what the hell they had done to her, but all that came out of her mouth was a low growl, her tongue feeling too big, her jaw too tight, her lungs fighting for air.

  There was no mistaking the look of triumph in the eyes of those who watched. Hiding behind surgical masks, white caps and non-descript lab coats, their eyes positively gleamed with glee. And that was when the strange new presence inside her registered that it couldn’t move the limbs of this new body. It tensed, strained, struggled within her as it fought against the same cuffs that Dee herself had fought for days.

  Suddenly, the presence lost interest in her body. Instead, it moved further up and latched onto her mind. She had no idea what it was, its thoughts only half-formed, images and scents rather than words, but the message it gave was clear. If she would allow it, then it would kill those who held them captive. It showed her images of blood, of broken limbs, screams of terror, and the taste of blood in her mouth.

  She had no idea how it planned to get free of the restraints, but the presence had absolute confidence that it could make good on an escape.

  God knew what this thing was, or how many ways she would be damning herself if she gave in to it. But as she watched, the scientist nearest her reached for a large syringe and a bottle of vile green liquid. ‘Pentobarbitone’ was printed on the label, and Dee remembered from when she’d had her cat put down just what the drug was used for.

  She was left with only two choices; give in to this new force and agree to murder, giving up a portion of her soul to a beast promising death and violence... or face her own imminent death. Because now, for all their glee at their recent success, the eyes of these men were suddenly filled with loathing, hating what they had worked so hard to create.

  She glanced around the room quickly, calculating how many people were here, how many deaths she would have on her hands, how much blood her soul could bear.

  But then the creature within her paused. It scanned the room and fell still at a sudden and startling realisation.

  One of these men was like her, also infected with this presence. The beast within her could feel it, though it couldn’t identify which man amid all the fear and glee and emotion clogging the room. It repeated the question, more specifically this time: kill the infected man with all the others, or let this one live? Dee had no answer for the beast. Three days ago, she’d been a perfectly ordinary office worker living a normal, routine life and now she was being asked which people in the room it was okay to murder?!

  The scientist with the syringe stepped forward, and she was out of time. ‘Kill them’, she told the creature, already praying for forgiveness for this terrible crime. Then, after three days of terror and pain and regret, she felt the creature surge forward into her consciousness, and blackness took over.

  ◆◆◆

  Dee groggily came to, aware of hands shaking her. “Get up! Come on! We really don’t have time for this!” A firm, even voice, despite the urgency. A male voice.

  The creature stirred, snapped her eyes open, had her up on all fours even before she’d figured out which way was up.

  Blood. All over the place. The walls, the floor, the table, her clothes, her hands... Oh God, it was in her mouth too. She gagged, spat out what she could, retched, but there was nothing in her stomach to bring up. What had she done? What had the creature inside her done?

  She forced her head up and glanced around the room. Bodies everywhere. The scientists’ white coats were now red, throats ripped out, chunks of flesh torn away. The sound of hurried footsteps retreated down the hall. She was on her feet before she’d even thought about it, the creature eager to chase after whoever was fleeing. It wasn’t panting for more blood though, Dee realised in relief. Rather it felt a curiosity, a kinship with whoever it was that was fleeing. So apparently, the one who had shaken her awake was also the other one infected with this presence.

  Then her eyes opened a touch wider as she caught sight of the table. The wrist and ankle restraints were still there, locked, unchanged. She looked down at her wrists and saw no evidence of injury, beyond the red marks from days of chafing. How the hell had she…?

  She looked down again and felt herself sway. So much blood... Her hand left a bloody smear on the door frame, her shoes red prints on the pristine tiles. She ripped them off, running barefoot as she sought an exit from this bizarre hell. She came to a small storage cupboard and rummaged inside. She found scrubs, ripped off her blood-stained clothes, and tried to wipe the blood off her hands as best she could. Then she dressed in hospital green and put on someone else’s shoes, one size too big. She scanned the hallway as she emerged, eyes seeking out any movement, ears straining to hear the slightest sound.

  Nothing.

  Running again, up stairs, following blind instinct, a half-remembered scent, the creature in her head telling her when to turn and when to pause. Bloody hell, what was that thing crawling through her veins, tingling, tight and pulsing? A growl inside her own head, a wave of nausea. More running, upward, south, always south, though how she knew that was the direction she had no idea.

  Then through a door, into sunlight, and her knees hit the ground with sheer relief. She was out. She was alive.

  With an extra passenger on board, heaven help her.

  Dee pushed herself to her feet, frantically considering where she should go. Her apartment? No, of course not. They would know who she was, where she lived. To her family? No. That would only make them a target.

  North, the creature demanded. Go north, to the lakes, to the open spaces and cold winters. To the wild places where they could run free.

  She moved again, not knowing what else to do, running on shaking legs until she was free of the towering warehouses and on the open streets of London. Cars blaring horns. People talking, walking, stinking of sweat and money and greed. She pushed through the crowd in a daze, always heading north, feeling the whisper of a touch on her face, a non-existent breeze on her skin. What the hell was she? She should find a train station. Get a train north, out of the city.

  A white van pulled up in front of her. She weaved around it, ducking past the doors as they swung open. Dodged the hand that reached out to grab her. Darted forward to seek shelter in the crowd.

  Then she felt the tight sting of a dart in her shoulder. The creature inside her roared, howled, spun around, te
eth snapping. Her reality turned hazy as the whatever-it-was tried to take over, only to be sent packing by a sharp jolt of electricity. Her body shuddered, sinking down onto the filthy pavement as the taser knocked the wind right out of her. And for the second time in less than an hour, she felt the world go black.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Baron stood in the centre of the small bedroom in the Lakes District manor with his arms folded, staring down at the unconscious woman lying on the bed. She’d been out cold ever since they’d tasered her, the dose of sedative in the dart knocking her out after they’d got her into the van. One of the unfortunate luxuries of modern life and big cities was that no one seemed to bat an eyelid at odd events anymore, not even when a woman was snatched off the streets in broad daylight. People had just kept on walking as he’d hauled the woman’s small body into the van, probably more thankful than concerned that the crazed lunatic wearing scrubs and covered with blood was gone, no longer their problem.