Sawyer led the way into the dimly lit corridor when they got to the bottom of the steps. The only light came from the old fixtures hanging every twenty feet or so. Why did there have to be more dark, dank tunnels? Hadn’t he reached his yearly quota in Paris?
He turned right, following the path on the map that he’d committed to memory and that he knew led to the larger rooms in the maze, since they assumed that’s where the bad guys and their captives would likely be. He braced himself, expecting to run into one or more of those aforementioned bad guys at any moment, but after not seeing anyone—or even picking up a fresh scent—in a few minutes, Sawyer knew something was wrong. It was too quiet. Too easy.
On the radio, Jake announced his group was in the tunnels now, coming in from the entrance to the north. They didn’t run into any immediate resistance, either.
Three rooms and a long corridor later, Sawyer finally picked up a familiar scent. He started to announce it when he realized he couldn’t, not with Erin there. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at Harley and Caleb, assuming they’d smelled the same thing he had, but apparently not, as neither of them said anything.
“Vamp ahead,” he whispered softly after slowing at one of the intersections in the hallway to let Erin pass him. He gave Harley a pointed look, tapping his nose. Fortunately, she seemed to get what he was saying, giving him a nod before turning to sniff the air. A moment later, she announced that the vampire was somewhere ahead of them.
“What does the thing smell like?” Erin asked, glancing over her shoulder at Harley, the question coming out as a mixture of curiosity and embarrassment.
Harley took another sniff before making a face. “Mud and blood. But old blood. Like it’s drying out and starting to go rancid.”
“Okay,” Erin said before looking away. “Probably a little more than I needed to know, so thanks for that.”
They’d barely made it a few more steps before Erin turned and gave Caleb a suspicious look. “Why didn’t you say anything about smelling the vampire? You trying to hold out on us?”
Caleb kept walking, not even bothering to look back. “I’m an omega werewolf. I didn’t say anything about smelling the thing because I didn’t. My nose doesn’t work as well as Harley’s.”
Erin looked baffled at that. Sawyer had to admit he was, too. The truth was, he didn’t know a whole hell of a lot about werewolves, even though he was one. Sawyer knew he was an alpha, but that was because the only other werewolf he’d ever met—a beta—had told him so. The guy had only talked to him for a few minutes and had never mentioned anything about omegas.
“What the hell does that mean?” Erin asked. “Are you telling me you’re some kind of junior version of the real thing? Like the B-team werewolf or something?”
Sawyer cursed under his breath. They didn’t have time for this right now, but Erin never could pass up an opportunity to insult someone. It was like her superpower. Sarcasm and snark at the worst possible time.
But it didn’t seem as if the jab got through to Caleb, at least not based on the grin he gave her.
“Wow. You’re good.” He stopped and turned to face Erin. “You got it right off the bat. Omegas are definitely second-class citizens when compared to alphas like Harley…and other werewolves.”
Caleb glanced at Sawyer as he said that last part, then turned his attention back to Erin, eyes glowing with the slightest hint of blue instead of the usual gold.
“My nose isn’t that good compared to theirs,” Caleb continued. “My hearing isn’t so great, either. Same with eyesight. I definitely can’t see as far. Claws and fangs are a bit lacking, too, I guess. But of course, the big difference is control. Alphas are all over that control shit, while omegas like me have absolutely none.”
As he spoke, Caleb moved closer to Erin until he was only a foot away and gazing down at her with an expression that had suddenly lost all its humor.
“You might want to think about that the next time you decide to rag on me like we’re friends or something. I’ve been known to bite during my less-lucid moments.” Turning, Caleb strode down the hallway. “We aren’t gonna find that vampire by standing around talking, so let’s go. I feel like shooting something.”
Sawyer let his gaze travel back and forth between Harley and Erin before heading after Caleb. “Well, that could have gone better. Pissing off the guy you hope will be watching your back in the next few minutes isn’t the way I would have approached the situation, but whatever.”
Erin didn’t say anything as she and Harley caught up to him, but he hadn’t expected her to. Erin was good at burning bridges. She wasn’t so good at building them. Hopefully, her lack of social talent wouldn’t come back to bite them all in the arse.
As they moved through several more rooms and connecting corridors, the vampire’s scent didn’t get any stronger, which worried Sawyer. They should have encountered someone by now. But other than Long Hair and the vamp, it didn’t seem like anyone had been here in a few days. That made his inner wolf
