Hunting the Hunter (Second in Lone Wolf series)

Chapter Twelve

Ella’s mind was not on her task as she cleaned the blood from Maggie’s skin. Instead it was on Brendon. Ella wasn’t sure what she thought.

She hoped he would be a better captor than Faugrimm and Warren. Would he abuse her or had Ella finally landed in the hands of a man who would be kind to his pet?

Ella had no clean clothes to dress Maggie in and she did not want to put the blood and dirt covered sack dress back on her, so instead she wrapped her up tight in the blankets and made the decision to ask Brendon for permission to get Maggie another dress.

The wash water was growing cool but it felt good to Ella’s skin as she slid off her dress and underclothes and cleansed the blood and dirt from her body.

Brendon had told her to rest and she was tired, so Ella dressed in a white nightdress and then slid into the bed next to Maggie.

The girl was lucky that Brendon had had that anti-venom. Ella would have had to drunk the girls blood, at least a little, in order to give her her own anti-venom. That would have been too much for the tiny girl to handle.

Ella looked at her innocent face as she slept soundly. It would have been her fault had the girl died. Ella felt guilt rip at her heart.

More of those emotions, coming stronger now, stronger every moment since she had met Brendon. She was still waiting for the good ones to come to her but the bad ones were coming more and more often.

She wondered what Brendon was going to find at the orphanage. Had Warren left any of them alive?

Exhaustion claimed Ella and her eyes slipped close as she fell fast asleep.

Her dreams were plagued by death, destruction and blood. The pale, mutilated faces of children filled her mind. A strange scent filled her nostrils and it took several long minutes before Ella realized that the scent wasn’t in her dreams… It was in her bedroom.

Ella’s eyes flew open and she barely managed to kick her leg out in time to catch the female vampire in the face and send her stumbling backward and away from Maggie’s neck which she had been preparing to drink from.

Ella leapt from the bed and blocked Maggie’s still sleeping form from the other vampire’s view. She hissed a warning as the vampire glared at her, tossing her long blond hair from her face.

“That hurt.” she stated accusingly as she wiped a drop of blood from her split lip. Ella didn’t reply, instead she bared her teeth and took a deep breath.

She hadn’t ever seen this vampire before but she recognized her scent. It had been on Warren countless times.

“Where is Warren?” The blond vampire asked.

“Dead.” Ella replied simply. The blonds face contorted with rage but before she could make an attack on Ella, the bedroom door flew open and Brendon came charging in. He stopped and looked from Ella to the other vampire.

The blond went for him but Ella reached out and caught her by her long flowing hair. She yanked her back, wrapped an arm around her head and one around her neck and then twisted roughly, snapping the vampires neck before dropping her lifeless body to the floor.

Brendon blinked several times and then holstered his revolver, which he had pulled before coming in.

“Did you know her?” he finally asked and Ella shook her head.

“No. But I recognize her scent. Warren spent a lot of time with her.” Brendon nodded.

“Are you both okay?”