She couldn't wait for a rescue. She had to get out of here. Aquila and Miss Forbidden could die. The other maidens were in danger. Hell, she was in danger.
"I think I'll go to the kitchen and check supplies," she told the other maidens. "I'll be along later."
She dashed to the kitchen and gathered up supplies for her escape. A knife, a small box of matches, an empty bottle filled with water, some crackers. She emptied potatoes out of a burlap sack and put her supplies inside.
With the sack in hand, she crept out of the kitchen. These damned white sandals were not good for a long trek through the woods, but what choice did she have? And this white gown made her way too visible.
She spotted two guards walking along the stone wall. They were headed away from her. She rounded the kitchen and spotted an overgrown dirt road in the back, leading to an iron gate. Great! This was probably the road the delivery truck used to bring in food supplies. It might lead to a nearby town.
She looked around. The coast was clear. She pulled her long white gown up to her knees and dashed to the gate. She slipped underneath. She was free!
A long howl echoed eerily around her. She scanned the woods and gasped when a pair of golden eyes looked back at her. What had Miss Forbidden told her? There were ferocious beasts in the woods with gnashing teeth? They would drag her to Hades?
She shook her head. No, that was brainwashing. She couldn't believe that.
The golden eyes moved closer. Lara pressed against the gate. Her heart thundered in her chest. Another howl came from the forest. Undergrowth swished and crackled.
She fumbled in the burlap bag for the knife. Just in time, too, for a huge, gray wolf appeared from the forest. She gulped. She'd never seen such a huge wolf. Actually, she'd never seen a wolf before at all. She tightened her grip on the knife.
The wolf's gold eyes gleamed in the dark. He snarled, and two more wolves emerged from the forest.
Oh God, there could be a whole pack of them. Lara eased back underneath the gate. She retreated slowly, keeping her eyes on the three wolves. They stood still, watching her.
She circled the kitchen, then ran inside and slammed the door shut. Dammit! Vampires and wolves. Either way, she was a goner.
Oh, Jack, please find me.
Jack strode into the security office at Romatech. "Give me another place to check out. Hurry."
Phil looked up from where he sat behind the desk. "No luck with the place in West Texas?"
"No." It was just past midnight, and already Jack had investigated four isolated compounds across the country. "Wasn't there one in Colorado?"
"Robby's at that one." Phil referred to the yellow legal pad on the desk in front of him. "And Phineas is in Virginia."
Jack paced across the office. The three Vamps had split up so more locations could be checked. Phil was manning the phone as more reports were called in from wolf packs across North America. Unfortunately, they were getting a lot of reports from the western states, and Jack still believed Apollo was somewhere in the east, close to his hunting grounds.
Phil tapped his pen on the yellow paper. "I've got one in Minnesota."
"Call the pack master, and I'll teleport there." Jack had to stay busy, or he'd go crazy. If he even stopped to think about how Lara could be suffering, he would rip a tree out by its roots.
As Phil reached for the phone, it rang. "MacKay Security and Investigation. Phil speaking." He paused. "Yes, I'm that Phil."
Jack's superior hearing could pick up the deep, gruff voice on the line. A pack master from northern Maine. This sounded promising.
Jack leaned over the desk, so he could hear better. A female body had been discovered in the woods.
His heart lurched. No, not Lara.
Phil gave him a worried look. "Can you describe her? You have a photo? I'll give you our fax number." He recited the number.
A chill stole over Jack. The voice on the phone described the girl as tall, slim, with reddish blonde hair and blue eyes. The fax machine was so damned slow. Jack's stomach roiled, and for the first time in his long vampire life, he thought he might lose his dinner.
Finally, the photo arrived. Jack ripped it from the machine. It wasn't Lara.
He drew in a shaky breath. "It's not her. But this girl looks familiar." He grabbed the case file and rummaged through the photos he'd collected. He pulled out a photo that closely matched the fax. Brittney Beckford. Apollo had dumped the poor girl's body in the woods.
"Greek-style architecture?" Phil sat up. "Are you sure?"
"Put him on speakerphone," Jack said. "We'll go there now."
Phil punched the button and warned the pack master that they were on their way. Jack grabbed Phil's arm and teleported to the sound of the werewolf's voice.
"Welcome to Wolf Ridge." A tall man with thick gray hair and amber eyes stood behind a desk, wearing a police uniform and a grim expression. "Everyone around here calls me Chief."
Jack glanced at the empty jail cell behind him. "You're the chief of police here?"
"Yes, and pack master." The werewolf extended a hand toward Phil. "It's good to meet you. I know your father."
"I'm sure you do," Phil muttered and shook Chief's hand. "This is Jack from Venice."
Chief eyed Jack warily as he shook his hand. "My sons and I found the dead girl in the woods. I think one of your kind killed her. She has tooth marks on her neck, and she's completely drained of blood."
Jack ground his teeth. "The vampire who killed her is not one of my kind. I only drink synthetic blood, and I protect mortals from those who would kill them for a meal."
Chief nodded. "Good. I don't allow my pack to attack mortals, either."
"We need to see the compound you discovered." Jack called Robby and Phineas, and the two Vamps teleported there.
Chief looked them over. "So we have a vampire from Venice, one from Scotland in a kilt, and one from...?"
"The Bronx," Phineas finished the werewolf's sentence. "You got a problem with that?"
"No." Chief smiled. "I'll take you to the compound. If there's a vampire there who's killing women, I want him stopped, too."
Chief led them out the door, and they all piled into his SUV. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at Chief's hunting cabin, deep in the forest.
"I'll take you the rest of the way on foot." Chief stepped behind the big hood of the SUV and removed his uniform. "It'll be faster for us wolves if we shift." He glanced at Phil. "Ready?"
Phil's jaw shifted. "I'll stay as I am."
Chief winced. "Sorry. I got the impression that-"
"Don't mention it," Phil grumbled. "I'll be right behind you all. And I'll bring your clothes."
"Thanks." Chief left his clothes stacked on the hood. As he walked toward the woods, his body began to waver. Within a few seconds, he had shifted into a large, gray wolf.
"Holy shit," Phineas said. "That was fast."
"He's an Alpha." Phil grabbed the police chief's clothes. "They can shift easily at any time. He doesn't need a full moon."
"Oh." Phineas glanced up at the crescent moon. "So I guess you're not-"
"Enough," Robby interrupted. He pointed at Chief, who was already loping into the forest. "Let's go."
The three Vamps dashed after the running wolf. Phil sprinted along behind.
After a few miles, they arrived at the compound. Jack grinned when he saw the Greek temple. I've got you now, Apollo.
"Bingo," Phineas breathed. "This has got to be it."
Chief sat on his haunches, panting, with his tongue hanging out.
"As soon as Phil catches up, there'll be five of us," Robby said. "We could attack right away."
It was tempting, so tempting to rush in and rescue Lara. But was it wise? "We can't be sure how many vampires are in there," Jack said. "We know Apollo has at least one accomplice. There could be more."
He walked slowly around the compound, keeping to the woods. The others followed. He wished he could send a psychic message to Lara that he had arrived, but he didn't dare. Vampire telepathy was like broadcasting on a radio. Every vampire in the vicinity would hear it.
Phil arrived. He set Chief's clothes behind a tree, and the wolf shifted back to human form.
Phil eyed the compound. "This looks like the right place. It's got to be, since one of the missing girls was found close by."