Kingly Bitten by Lexi C. Foss
Calina
A few minutes earlier
I showedJames and Gretchen my watch.
29:32:47.
They observed the countdown for three more seconds before gaping up at me. “The entire bunker?” James asked.
“Yes. It’s the doomsday sequence.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” he replied.
“Because you’re meant to die during it,” I informed him. “It’s my job to kill everyone—permanently—and send all copies of our research to a server in another bunker.”
Gretchen frowned. “And that one isn’t being destroyed, too?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “My orders are to send the files and kill everyone inside. That’s it.”
James glanced at my empty hands and arched a brow. “How?”
“There’s a toxin designed to knock everyone out. I have a serum in my office that will do the rest.” A serum I left locked up. Only my watch could open the safe. Unless someone else was given access to the emergency reactions, in which case… “I should destroy it. We need to destroy it.” Why hadn’t I thought about that beforehand? “If someone else is notified of the doomsday protocol, they could use it against us.”
I didn’t wait for them to agree, my feet already moving. But as I reached my office, a blaring alarm shrieked through the hallways.
My palm froze on the doorknob as Lilith’s voice flowed through the air around me. “Detection protocol enabled. All evidence must be destroyed. Vigils, engage.”
Vigils, engage?
My watch buzzed, the new time glaring up at me. 10:00:00.
“Ten hours,” I breathed. What the hell had just happened? Was this a result of not following the codes appropriately?
No. The AI version of Lilith’s voice had said, Detection protocol engaged.
Which meant someone from the outside now knew our location.
Likely because of the unsecure data connection I’d created.
I started to run my fingers through my hair, only to belatedly remember that I had the locks tied back in a bun.
James and Gretchen were at my side half a beat later. “What did she mean by ‘Vigils, engage’?”
I shook my head. “This isn’t a course of action that I’m familiar with. But I can guess what it means.”
I pressed my watch to the locking mechanism to open the door to my office and found it unresponsive.
Because I’d been locked out.
This emergency procedure superseded the doomsday sequence.
But do the Vigils know that?I wondered, thinking back to Officer Gerald’s behavior earlier. He’d been utterly calm. No outward signs of expectations at all. He could be an excellent actor. Although, I doubted it.
Which meant I might have a card to play here.
“Show me your watch.” The words were for James because his arms were free. Unlike Gretchen, who held their child.
James didn’t hesitate in complying; my word was law around here.
Another card I can play, I thought, my mind working through a plan faster than I could speak.
His screen showed nothing.
I checked mine and saw that the countdown remained. Which meant the fail-safe I’d engaged earlier was working, because the updated timeline had appeared on my wrist.
Good. I can use that.
“Act normal and let me take the lead.” I’d no sooner finished speaking than the elevator down the hall opened with an echoing ding.
There was only one way on or off this floor, and it was via the elevator.
Which meant a Vigil was coming.
I straightened my spine, pasted a bored expression on my face, and eyed the pup in Gretchen’s arms.
I’ll just have to make this work, I decided, clearing my throat. Acting wasn’t one of my skills, so I’d just fall back on what I excelled at—leading.
“Of course, we can allow that,” I said loudly, ensuring my voice carried. “But you understand what will need to be done afterward.” Pitching my voice low, I added, “Say, ‘Yes, Doctor Calina. We know what needs to be done.’ And say it with confidence.”
Gretchen did precisely as directed.
James followed suit just as Officer Gerald rounded the corner. I ignored the gun at his side and arched a brow, my expression one Lilith had given us all a thousand times before. “Are you here to be my guard while I complete the requisite actions?” I asked him, using my standard emotionless tone.
He paused, his silver hair gleaming in the low lighting. It had been black when he’d first started here. But like all Vigils, he aged. Meanwhile, my face remained stuck at twenty-two years of age, something he had definitely noticed over the last two decades.
“Well?” I prompted when he didn’t reply. “I don’t have much time to get this done, Officer. You’re either my guard or you’re not. That’s why you’re here, right? To prove your loyalty by using your watch?”
The plan formed while I spoke, my mind running a mile a minute to stay one step ahead of everyone else around me. I was banking on Officer Gerald’s inability to see through my strategy. As he’d fallen for all the brainwashing created by Lilith and her supporters, I suspected this just might work.
“Don’t just stand there,” I continued, threading my tone with impatience. “I’ve already tested Gretchen and James. Their watches worked on my door, which means they’ve been approved to help me execute the necessary tasks for the doomsday sequence. Now I need proof that your watch works as well. Then we can begin while you guard the door.”
He gazed at me warily. “The procedure states to kill everyone in the building.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” I snapped, pretending to lose my patience. “I have the necessary serum in my office. But it’s not to be distributed until after the tasks are complete.”
“What tasks?” he demanded.
“If you don’t know the answer, then you’re not meant to know,” I said through my teeth. Then I showed him the countdown on my watch. “This started when I woke up this morning. Because I’m in charge. Who do you think initiated the detection protocol? I did.”
Not a lie since it was very likely my unsecure connection that had allowed someone to track us.
“Nah, only the Goddess has the power to enact that protocol, Sunshine.” He lifted his gun. “I know my job.”
I glared at him. “To what? To shoot me before I’m done transmitting research files? Sure. Go ahead. It’ll be your funeral in the end.”
He studied me for a beat. “What files?”
“My task, Officer.”
“Yeah?” He started to lower his gun. “You got proof?”
“In my office, yes.”
“Show me.”
I shook my head. “You have to prove you’re allowed to see it first. Use your watch on my door, and I’ll know you’ve been sent here to help me finish the job.”
“I don’t need to prove nothin’.”
I always knew Officer Gerald wasn’t my favorite guard. And not just because he felt it was acceptable to call me Sunshine when I’d never actually seen the real sun before.
“You seem to be forgetting who is in charge here, Officer. I am the lead researcher for Bunker 47. You are a member of my staff. Yes, Goddess Lilith is our superior in all ways, but I’m her creation. I’m the one she left in charge here, and my word is law on her behalf. Now open my fucking door, or I’ll call Lilith myself.”
I brought up my watch and made a show of finding her contact information.
The Vigils didn’t have her number.
But I did.
Just like I had a mark on my neck that denoted me as Lilith’s personal property. A mark I exposed subtly now by tilting my head.
“I’m not just a lab employee, Officer. I’m the head researcher. Now either obey me or face the consequences.” I uttered it with all the confidence I could muster and hoped it was enough.
I lifted my finger to hover over the screen and knew from the resulting expression on Officer Gerald’s face that I’d won. His tan skin turned white. Then he dropped the gun. “I’m sorry, Doctor Calina. I-I must not be familiar with this part of the operation.”
I forced a sigh. “Well, I hope it’s that. Otherwise, my intended guard will kill you as soon as he or she arrives.” I gestured at my door. “If you would please prove your worth, I would be much obliged, as I really do need to return to my research transmission.”
He eyed James and Gretchen warily. “And them?”
“As I said, they’ve been assigned to assist me. That’s why we ran here from the lab a few minutes ago.” I added that last part because I was very aware of the cameras in the hallways.
I’ll need to dismantle all surveillance, I thought, cataloging the task. I’ll do that the second he lets me back inside.
“And the mutt?” he asked, earning himself a death sentence from the question alone. Because James would not allow a Vigil, let alone a human, to insult his pride and joy. But a glance from me held him in check.
Not yet, I said with my eyes.
“I told Gretchen she could keep her child with her a little longer before we engaged in the extermination process. It’s what we were discussing when you arrived. She’s agreed to my terms and understands what must be done. I’m rewarding her loyalty with a few extra minutes of familial memories.”
He eyed me with clear suspicion.
So I lifted a shoulder to feign indifference. “As long as he doesn’t get in my way, I don’t care,” I continued. “But I do care about the fact that you’re stalling. Why is that, Officer? Will your watch not work and fail inspection?” I arched a brow again, just like Lilith, doing my best to prove my superiority over the Vigil.
I’m immortal, I told him with my eyes. You are not.
He swallowed. “Just tryin’ to make sure we’re all followin’ the rules,” he said, holstering his gun.
“Of course,” I agreed, shifting purposefully to my right. It kept me on the same side as his firearm, just in case this test didn’t work. I had no idea if his watch would override mine and be able to let us back inside.
If it didn’t, I’d go for his gun.
If it did, I still might go for his gun. That decision depended on what I found waiting inside.
He moved forward with purpose, his expression giving nothing away. But I caught the hint of perspiration dotting his neck. He feared what I might do to him if he failed this mission.
Good.
Because that meant he feared me.
I notched my chin up just enough to continue my air of superiority—a feat, considering his six-foot-plus frame dwarfed my five-foot-four one—and maintained a cool expression as he tested his watch against the locking mechanism.
It clicked, causing him to release a sigh of relief.
“Excellent,” I said, maintaining my confident tone to suggest I’d expected that to work, and waved him to the side. “You will remain here. I will send the files.”
His eyes narrowed. “I want proof.”
I blinked at him. “Excuse me? You’re not cleared for proof, Officer.”
“None of this is in my handbook.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not memorizing or thoroughly studying your handbook does not give me jurisdiction to break procedure.”
He huffed in response, his burly chest puffing out with decades of toned muscles.
I merely arched my brow for the third time and gave him a dispassionate look. “Stop wasting my time, Officer. It’s precious”—I lifted my wrist to display the countdown—“as you know.”
His jaw clenched, causing his cheekbones to flex.
I waited, acutely aware of his every move. If he went for his gun, I’d act. He might be trained in combat, but I had over a century of experience on his meager forty or fifty years. And just because I wore a lab coat didn’t mean I couldn’t operate a gun.
Hungry vampires and feral lycans were a job hazard, one I’d been thoroughly trained to handle. After all, Lilith couldn’t afford to lose one of her prized assets.
A rogue Vigil wouldn’t be a problem.
Unless he has serum bullets, I reminded myself.
“Fine,” he finally said. “Hurry the fuck up.”
“Watch your tone,” I countered. “I’m still your superior, Officer.”
He growled something unintelligible under his breath, his irritation palpable.
Good. That meant I’d done my job in making him believe me.
I gestured for James and Gretchen to enter first, then I followed behind them. “The vials you want are in the safe behind that picture,” I said, gesturing to the large portrait of Lilith. She’d put that there decades ago. I’ll be watching you, it said.
But are you watching me now?I wondered. Because I don’t think you are.
I used my password to unlock my computer and found the access revoked.
Hmm, I hummed, entering a secondary code meant to access the back door I’d built years ago. My lips threatened to twitch when the screen sprang to life beneath my command.
This was the benefit to being in charge—I had access to everything, including the security network and database servers.
I’d created these back doors to access my files in the case of a system reboot going haywire. Never had I considered needing to break in because of a mandate that superseded my authority. These codes were meant for regaining control in an erroneous situation, not an intentional one.
Although, I supposed I always knew this might be necessary. It was just one of those strategic moves in my mind, one driven by my need to survive.
Or, I thought, glancing at James and Gretchen as they stood beside the open frame, in the case where I wanted my only friends to live.
I gave the information they needed to open the safe. “There’s a manual inside on top of the case. Flip to chapter four to read the instructions on how to properly release the toxins.”
Chapter four provided details on how to load the guns in the box beside the vials. We were going to need those after I finished my task on the computer.
Settling into my chair, I went to work pulling up the surveillance feeds and queueing all the commands in my mind.
Only, the visuals on the screen snagged my focus, my heart skipping a beat to see the massacre that had occurred in four out of the seven labs.
Oh God…
The Vigils hadn’t wasted any time in killing all the researchers throughout the bunker. And the crystallized glimmer of red from a few of the lab technicians confirmed that the Vigils were in possession of the serum as well.
I swallowed, my stomach churning at the sight.
The bullets turned the blood to solid form, immobilizing the host and essentially dismantling the immortal essence. It had taken decades to perfect the substance. Many of those who had helped create it were now experiencing the impact of the effect… and dying.
Witnessing it now, I realized there was no way I could have seen this through. Lilith had to know that, too. Yet she’d put me in charge for a reason.
My brow furrowed as I tried to puzzle out her logic.
Then a fifth lab flashed across my screen as the Vigils entered to destroy the occupants.
I’m running out of time to act, I realized, my frozen limbs jolting back to life.
I pulled up the feeds from the floors that were already cleared and started a recording to create a loop for anyone looking in on the video surveillance. Three minutes passed before I decided it was sufficient for a consistent replay.
By the time I finished, the fifth lab was already cleared.
Rather than focus on the morbid scene, I began another recording to create a loop for that level. The Vigils were entering the sixth lab as I finished. Rather than record that, I went to the one on this floor where James and Gretchen worked, and created a loop there. Then I returned to the most recent massacre to record and loop.
A ding down the hall told me that more Vigils had arrived, probably to check on Officer Gerald’s work.
I met James’s gaze and noted the question there.
He’d already assembled some of the guns, but Gretchen still held their furry child in her arms.
Giving him a subtle shake of my head, I called up another series of commands on my computer. The sixty-second loop for our area would have to be enough to fool an onlooker because we were out of time. And, fortunately, my office didn’t have a camera.
My fingers flew across my keyboard as the murmurs began in the hall.
One of the Vigils asked Officer Gerald what he was doing.
He then uneasily replied that he was overseeing my protection while I finished up in my office.
“What? That’s not part of the protocol,” a deep voice snapped. “They all die. You can’t be soft on her just because she’s nice to look at.”
I ignored them, my sequence almost complete.
Boots stomped forward.
Five, I counted. Four.
I hit the Enter button.
Three.
Final command.
Two.
I hit Enter again.
Now.
I nodded at James, and he lifted the gun to aim just as Gerald and his buddy charged in. His aim was true, nailing both Vigils right in their heads before they even had a chance to react.
Hurried steps started down the hall, only to skid to a stop as a sharp howl graced the air. “What the fuck was that?” a gruff voice asked.
A feral lycan, I thought at him. Then I jumped up to help James pull the dead Vigils inside.
He knew that sound as well as I did. Which was why he reacted quickly—his lycan genetics aiding in his rapid movements—and slammed the door to my office to lock us inside.
Screams rent the air from the corridor, the agonized sounds making me flinch.
“You let Louis out,” James breathed, his turquoise-colored eyes widened in shock.
I shook my head. “No. I let all of them out.”
Every single rabid vampire and lycan. On every single floor. The Vigils might have guns with serum-laced bullets, but they didn’t stand a chance.
It was a hasty decision, but one that would help us eliminate the immediate threat.
“What now?” James asked, wincing as Louis released a furious roar from the hallway. The beast followed it with a punch to my door. He was a strong alpha lycan.
Fortunately, he wasn’t strong enough to take it down.
“We wait,” I said softly, returning to my chair to pull up the non-looping surveillance feeds.
If anyone could escape this hell, it was a horde of pissed-off lycans and vampires. Once they discovered the exit path, we’d follow.
I just hoped they figured it out before the countdown reached zero.
