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by the sea breeze.
    They stopped near the front doors. Silas knelt to catch his breath while Ryker and Kyana scanned the large building. There were chains on the inside of the doors and furniture covering the glass. Humans, either trapped or long since something’s dinner, had tried to barricade themselves from the danger.
    Whether they’d been successful remained to be seen.
    She closed her eyes and drank in a gulp of pheromone-laced air. There were definitely humans inside, and they smelled alive. But more importantly, Haven’s scent was among them.
    â€œWait here while I find a way in.”
    â€œBreak . . . the . . . glass.” Silas was still winded from their jog. “Between the three of us . . . the debris will barely slow us down.”
    â€œAnd what if there are people still inside?” Ryker scanned the building.
    â€œThere are,” she said.
    Ryker frowned and pointed skyward. “There may be an opening on the roof. A ventilation shaft we can use. It’s not that high.”
    â€œNot all of us can do the Spider-Man thing.” Silas stood to his full height and glared at Ryker. “Besides, if they blocked the doors, I’m sure they thought about the roof. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any humans left to worry about.”
    â€œAnd there won’t be when we’re gone if we breach their defenses and leave them wide open to attack,” Ryker said. “It will take until dawn at the earliest before help arrives. We can’t leave them on their own, and we sure as hell can’t take them with us. We have to find another way in. Unless you want to stay with them.”
    Feeling a full-blown battle of wills coming on, Kyana stepped between them before they brought any and every creature that went bump in the night down on their asses. She didn’t mind a good fight. Actually, it always made her feel better. But now wasn’t the time.
    â€œI’m going to find another way in. You two wait here. I won’t be long.”
    â€œYou can’t go in there by yourself,” both men demanded at once.
    She glared from one to the other, her gaze finally coming to rest on Silas. “I’m not going to risk killing the humans. This is the right place and if Haven came back, there’s something important in there. I intend to find it.”
    â€œThis doesn’t look like the place you described from your vision,” Ryker said. “You sure this is right?”
    â€œNo, I’m not sure, but it’s all we have right now,” she said, slinging her pack over her shoulder. “I won’t be long. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone, okay?”
    Before they could offer more objections, Kyana turned and sprinted into the shadows. Jumping to the low roof wasn’t even a good workout. Neither was removing the ventilation fan’s cover.
    She knelt before the opening, easing her head inside the dark hole. She didn’t have a problem with small spaces. However, the loud whir of the fan was proof that the mall was still hooked up with electricity, and she didn’t much like the thought of falling the wrong way and ending up as a pile of ground beef.
    With a deep breath, she eased into the tight shaft and slowly made her way away from the noise. After several false starts that led to dead ends, she finally found a path that opened into a maintenance area.
    The minute she eased the heavy door open, Haven’s light scent became stronger . . . as did the humans’ fear.
    She inhaled deeply. The humans’ numbers weren’t large, but their need for self-preservation was strong. She could sense their determination to survive. It was probably the only thing that had kept them alive all this time. She ran her tongue over her fangs, noted begrudgingly how much they’d shrunk since absorbing Artemis’s blood. It didn’t matter how small the fangs were, or that she didn’t