by Leia Stone
“Last time,” the man holding the blade to Thorin’s throat growled. “Where. Is. Prince Luka?”
Luka strained against my hold and I opened my thighs, wrapping my legs around his waist, and clenched. This bastard was going to get himself killed, and for what? To save a murdering, blood-draining asshole like Thorin? And no doubt give away my hiding spot in the process…?
No way.
Why was I saving this bloodsucker from killing himself? I had no idea. Maybe it was because he could have killed me by now, or dropped me, and he hadn’t. Maybe there was such a thing as a decent vampire. No, I shook my head at that last thought. He probably saved me because he was hungry and knew if he got stuck up here too long, he’d need a snack.
Luka looked down at me again, eyes glowing copper, nostrils flaring as I held on to him with everything I had. We both knew he could shake me off if he really wanted to, but I was trying to buy time for him to think this through. His eyes fell to my lips, then I felt him harden, his erection growing between us. I unclenched my legs and opened my mouth in shock, swallowing my gasp as a halfcocked grin swept across his face. Luka pulled himself away from me a few inches, giving us both some room to breathe.
Was he … attracted to me? The thought was horrifying. I mean I had straddled him, but … he was a demon.
Hell spawn.
I shook myself, trying to expunge it all from my brain.
Why was I so mortified?
Thorin met his death then, while Luka was busy bonering out over my little wrestling move. The sound of cutting bone was one I was extremely familiar with. I didn’t have to look to know that Thorin’s head had just been taken off. The thud to the floor confirmed it.
Luka winced, looking down at me with anger, and … confusion. Either way, I was just glad it was no longer arousal or amusement at my shock of his … display.
“I hear a rapid heartbeat,” one of the Shadow Bloods said, and my eyes went wide. “There’s a scared little human in here.”
Crap. One thing I couldn’t change, no matter how much gene editing I’d had. Heartbeat and human smell.
“I don’t give a fuck about a human. I want the prince!” another male shouted.
“We were supposed to do this tonight. Morgana won’t be pleased,” the other said.
Luka’s entire body stiffened at the mention of Morgana.
Holy crap! Did his own family order a hit on him? It sure as hell sounded like that. My eyes flicked up to meet his and I saw the moment he realized he was betrayed by his own blood. Complete and utter pain crossed his features before he quickly stowed it away and it was replaced by a cold hard grimace.
A walkie-talkie squawked. “All clear out here. Have you got the target? Over.”
The dude sighed. “Negative. Cancel mission. Over and out.”
“Fuck!” The one guy kicked the wall, and then shuffling footsteps could be heard.
I presumed they were gone.
Luka lay against me, staring off at the wall as if replaying his family’s betrayal over and over in his mind. We stayed like that, pressed together, lost in our own thoughts, for about five minutes, until he pulled himself up and off of me.
“We should go,” he ground out, grabbing me by the waist and yanking me to his chest. I tried not to yelp as he casually carried me like I was a five-pound Barbie Doll, and leapt off the rafter. As we dropped to the floor, he released me and set me gently on my feet.
The stake was still in my hand. His uncle’s head lay on the floor near the rest of his body, both withered to a black husk, soon to be ash. There was no coming back from decapitation, not even for a vampire.
I looked over at Luka, who seemed beside himself. More so than I thought he should be. But he did save my life, and I had a moral code that would not allow me to forget that.
“Thank—” I’d been about to thank him when someone lunged out from behind one of the feeding room curtains.
“I knew it!” a Shadow Blood yelled. He had been hiding in there the entire time.
Both Luka and I exploded into action as he reached for his walkie-talkie.
I drove my stake six inches into the arm that reached for the radio before he could even say a word. His scream ripped through the feeder room as he dropped the radio, and Luka went right for his throat, grasping his neck with both hands. A vampire could easily rip another vampire’s head off, especially Luka. As a member of the royal family, he had the most potent kind of genes. His power would be unmatched, but the Shadow Bloods were a well-trained mercenary group. I yanked my stake back out and the dude pivoted, throwing himself forward, and wrenched out of Luka’s grasp.
Frick.
I pulled my stake back up just as the guy reached me. Lashing out, I aimed to stab him in the chest, but he moved so fast, a blur, that I only grazed his shoulder.
A door slammed somewhere just beyond me and then we were joined by two more Shadow Bloods. Some of the men from before had come back.
Awesome.
This was how I was going to die.
Luka sped across the space and positioned himself so that his back was pressed to mine. “You watch my back and I’ll watch yours, okay, hunter?” His voice was deep and throaty and did not at all hold the fear I was feeling right now.
Fighting back to back with a freaking vampire? Did I have any other option right now?
“Fine,” I growled, just as the bastards reached us.
The tall one with a shaved head launched at me, but I was ready for him. Keeping my back to Luka, I kicked out, landing a boot squarely in the guy’s balls. He crumpled forward and I came down with my stake like a psycho, stabbing wildly into his back, trying to reach his heart. Luka was pushed into me suddenly, which caused me to go forward, nearly losing my balance. I knocked into the vampire that I’d just poked a bunch of holes into, and he stood up quickly, cracking his head into my chin.
Pain exploded in my jaw and I lost balance, allowing the vampire to grip me by the shoulders. He sneered at me, his fangs distending.
“Hunter,” he seethed.
I’d never heard of a Shadow Blood capturing one of us and just letting us go.
Tonight I would probably die—but I wouldn’t go out without a fight. I puckered my lips and spat in his face, then reeled my head forward, slamming my forehead into his nose, grinning as the satisfying crunch of breaking bone filled the room.
“Bitch!” he roared and then chucked me across the room, in one clean arc.
This is going to hurt…
I braced myself for the hit, crashing into a table and chairs, which helped to break my fall. My butt slammed into the table first and I skidded backward, taking out a chair on my way to the ground.
Ow. That was going to bruise.
My gaze flicked to Luka to see that he was fighting the other two Shadow Bloods barehanded, no weapons, just repeating blows to the face.
I popped onto my feet, readying myself for the Shadow Blood who had chucked me across the room to come back and finish me off. He ran at me full speed. I braced myself. Reaching into my skirt, I yanked the razor wire free just as the bastard slammed into me, knocking me backward. I tried to steady myself for the hit but he was too powerful and I lost balance. The force at which he plowed into me had my head cracking backward onto the hard floor.
One smack and everything went dark.
Chapter Three
I came to and my heart raced as my fight-or-flight instinct kicked back in. Peeling my eyes open, I frowned in confusion. I was no longer on the floor of the feeder room in the club. I was … in a bed. Soft gray silk sheets brushed against my skin as I tried to sit up—and a raging headache slammed into me. I winced as my fingers probed the knotted bruise at the base of my skull.
What the…? Where was I?
I inhaled.
Luka.
This freaking bed smelled of Luka! I should know, I was smooshed under his body for ten minutes in the rafters of the club. A fact that made my stomach warm, somethin
g I was not proud of.
Why the heck was I in his bed? What had happened after the Shadow Blood had knocked me out?
Pulling off the bedspread, I gasped when I saw dried blood on my legs and shirt. A lot of blood. I quickly lifted my shirt and did a body scan, relieved to find the blood wasn’t mine. Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I noticed my boots lined up at the far wall. Padding away from the bed, I slipped them on and then opened the bedroom door.
The first thing I noticed was more blood. It started at the door handle, then trailed down the hall, puddling on the hardwood floor.
“Luka?” My heart knocked against my chest.
What if this wasn’t Luka’s place, what if it was the Shadow Bloods and I was a late-night snack?
I heard a muffled groan, like an injured animal, and started running.
When I turned the corner into the open living room, a startled scream died in my throat.
Luka lay draped across the couch, a giant wound bleeding freely at his abdomen. It was so big I could see his intestines. He was shirtless, covered in tattoos and blood, and I didn’t know what to do. This bloodsucker was everything I hated. I’d built my life around killing his kind, but in that moment I went into damage control.
“Why aren’t you healing?” I gasped.
His skin was whiter than white, his eyes void of their normal glossiness. He was circling the drain. Those Shadow Bloods had jacked him up bad, and he must have carried me here, bleeding all over the place.
Idiot. Why would he do that?
“Silver … wound,” he rasped, barely able to get the words out.
Crap.
That delayed healing, but he would be okay if he was able to feed.
“I’ll call one of your feeders.” I looked around for a phone. My purse was gone and I was missing my watch. Royalty had about a dozen feeders at their beck and call, all paid six figures with big, fat, signed NDAs.
He shook his head. “Can’t trust … any … one. All … want me … dead.”
Morgana. I’d forgotten about that. Did he think one of his feeders would turn on him? Give up his location? I didn’t know anything about their relationship, but clearly it was bad. What did this guy do to deserve such hatred from his own aunt?
“I’ll go to the hospital. Steal blood.” I looked around for some car keys or something. For some reason I just couldn’t walk away and leave him to die, not after he carried me here when he could have left me unconscious and allowed the Shadow Bloods to kill me.
I’ve never not killed my mark.
Never.
Until now.
His hand reached out and grasped mine and I was shocked at how cold his fingers were. More than normal vampire cold.
“Dead blood. Need … fresh,” he rasped.
Oh.
Oh. No.
Chills ran up my arms as the realization hit me. I was going to have to let him feed from me if I wanted him to live. Why was I even entertaining this!? This was a douchebag vampire of the royal family! He’d been about to feed on me in that room right before the Shadow Bloods dropped in. So … why didn’t I just let him die?
An ache bloomed in my chest at the thought. He was … different. Not that I’d gotten to know many vampires, but the way he so quickly made the split decision to pull me up into the rafters with him, even after he knew I was a hunter … it changed everything.
His fingers still grasped mine, weakly, but he held on. In his own way he was asking without asking.
Aspen, you are a stupid woman, I told myself as I dropped to my knees.
You hunt these animals, not keep them alive! I raged at myself as I draped my hair across one shoulder, exposing my neck.
You protect humans from being fed on like animals, you do not willingly give your blood.
I leaned forward and pressed my neck to his lips.
You…
Pleasure exploded inside of me as two sharp pricks sliced into my neck.
This was different from when I’d been fed on before. Although that had felt good, it was also scary and predatory, but this was … orgasmic. All of these weird feelings and thoughts flooded my system all at once. Trust, adoration, life, vitality, love, bond, darkness, all of these words and feelings swirled around my head as pleasure pulsed through my body like a wave of heat. Tingly warmth spread between my legs, and I reached up and threaded my fingers through his hair, pushing him harder into my neck. I moaned at the same time he did, and his hand came around my back to trail my spine.
Holy vampire hunter. What was this magic?
Dizziness washed over me then and he pulled back, licking the spot he had bitten with his tongue, sending chills down my spine.
Whatever spell he’d held over me broke in that moment, and cold ice water flushed through my veins as I instantly sobered.
I let a demon feed off me…
God forgive me.
I sat back, hand flying to my neck as I met his gaze in shock.
We were both wearing a look that said, What the heck was that? Which told me that wasn’t a normal feeding session for him.
His eyes were alight, copper threaded with gold; he looked more alive than ever. I peered down at his abdomen, gasping as the skin knitted together supernaturally, covering the wound.
‘That was weird. I felt her emotions,’ he said. But his mouth didn’t move…
I jumped up, stumbling backward, and tripped over the coffee table, falling on my ass.
What the hell!
His eyes went wide.
‘Can you hear me?’ His voice … inside my head. No mouth moving.
“No.” I put my hand out. “No. No. No. Whatever demon magic this is—NO WAY.”
“Oh shit.” Luka looked at me differently then, like he was … scared of me, or this, whatever this was.
I needed to get out of here. I’d saved his life and now we were even. I needed to scram and pretend this never happened.
Bolting upright, I ran to the door in long strides. My purse sat on an entryway table along with my busted-up watch. Grabbing everything in my hands, I yanked open the front door.
He called out: “Wait, we have to talk about th—”
I slammed the door behind me and ran.
I was in a stairwell, taking them down two at a time as my thoughts raced a mile a minute. Vampires didn’t have mind speaking powers … or as far as I knew they didn’t. Maybe because he was royal he did. But why the heck did I have them with him? A whimper left my throat.
My hands shook as I reached the metal EXIT door. Kicking it open, I burst outside and spun, taking stock of my surroundings.
I recognized where I was immediately. This was a seedy part of town, probably his hidden bolthole his family never knew about. Slipping my purse over my shoulder, I powered up my phone and started to walk in the general direction of the society. We had smaller safe houses for emergencies, but I didn’t want to go there. I need to talk to Liv first. She picked up on the first ring.
“Where in the name of all things holy are you? I’ve been freaking out,” she screamed, and I yanked the phone away from my ear to avoid going deaf.
“I’m safe. Come meet me at the ice cream place.” Code. “Tell Maz I’ll get her proof the job was done.”
Without the head, Maz only paid us fifty percent of the bounty, because it could be fake and she’d been scammed by a few hunters in the past who weren’t actually killing. In our hunting career, we were allowed three blood evidence cases, and so this would be my first. Ever since then, she put the incinerator in her office and required the head. I just hoped all of this blood on me was actually Luka’s.
Liv knew better than to ask any more questions, not after I used our ice cream place code. It was the most severe of codes we had.
WW3. Nuclear. Ride or freaking die.
“On my way,” she said, and the line went dead.
I jumped in an Uber going west and pulled out my phone as the driver looked at me wide-eyed. I’d forgotten
I was covered in blood.
“I’m a model. Just got off a crazy zombie shoot,” I told the guy gripping the wheel with white knuckles. He relaxed a little after that, but only a little.
Going into my contacts, I pulled up Maz’s number and sent her a text.
Me: Things got complicated last night. Will give a full report later. Job is done.
If I didn’t report about killing Luka, someone else would go after him, and I didn’t know how I felt about that just yet…
I turned my phone off and leaned my head against the cool glass window, my fingers going to the two prick marks at my neck.
Holy hell, Aspen, you have royally screwed up this time.
I paced the entrance of Riverfront Park, getting stares from people as I realized I must look like a murderer.
“Good lord, Aspen!” Liv’s voice came from behind me and I spun. She was holding my bug-out backpack firmly. She took one look at my appearance and winced. “What happened last night?”
I grabbed the bag from her and pulled out my trench coat, throwing it over my bloody clubbing outfit. I slung the bag over my shoulder and we started to walk.
“Prince Luka … saved my life.” I hated the words as they left my mouth.
She frowned. “Why would he do that?”
“I dunno. But … then I saved his.”
She looked horrified. “Why would you do that?”
I stopped and faced her, feeling overwhelmed by my own emotions. My entire life I’d spent hating the bloodsuckers, bringing them down as a servant of God, and now … my world felt like it was shifting on its axis. “I don’t know, okay. He was a decent dude, he carried me to safety from the bar even with his guts hanging out of his stomach … and he was dying. I felt bad. So … I let him feed from me.” I pulled my hair back to reveal my neck and she gasped, hand flying to her throat. “And I think we…” I remembered when he spoke into my mind. “I dunno, it was different. I think we imprinted or some demon magic. Like the wolves do.”
My best friend’s eyes widened to giant saucers and she stood there for a full minute staring at me like I’d sprouted two heads.