“Mmm, well that sucks.”
I smiled at her reply, watching her pupils dilate as her body ached to be filled by more than my fangs. She may have hated me and my kind, but fuck if her body didn’t respond to me. I’d expected the siren to come out and play, yet she hadn’t. They were connected, and yet something pushed her deep into the human mind this wee girl controlled.
“Kiss me,” I ordered, pressing my lips against hers, expecting her to do as I commanded, and instead, she pulled her mouth away and closed her pretty green eyes. “I said, kiss me,” I demanded as my voice came out layered, the command enough to make any human mind do as I bid them to. She gasped as she leaned forward, slowly touching her lips against mine as I waited for her to deepen it.
The moment they touched against mine, lingering, her sweet tongue slipped free, tracing my bottom lip as a moan expelled from her lungs. “Go to hell, asshole.”
I stepped back, staring at her as my eyes narrowed at the huskiness of her words, and yet she had the ability to tell me off. The door behind us cracked open as Lars entered through it. She was strong of mind, too strong. She’d been trained to suppress her siren, medication more than likely, but that alone wouldn’t have held it at bay. No, her body was a temple, one she had wielded like a weapon. Knicks covered the flesh of her torso, but those were from various fights. I walked around her, noting the slices at the back of her calves, and anger pulsed through me. They’d made damn sure she contained the beast within her, abusing her until she’d learned to hide it.
“What do ye want done with this one?” Lars asked as he held the feeder’s hand.
“Slice her throat and give her tae him. She betrayed us tae hunters, her death is owed tae the clan.”
I watched as the absent-minded female followed Lars as he moved next to Jesse, slicing through the neck of the feeder as he pressed his mouth to her neck, holding her severed throat against his mouth. The boy denied the hunger, at first, the indecision playing out in his eyes giving me hope he’d survive in his new form.
Hunters evolved, but then so did we, to be able to withstand the never-ending onslaught of them that hunted us down, regardless of how careful we were. No creature was safe from them, and we’d joined forces with the werewolves, creating a new breed we had kept hidden for centuries. We had created hybrids, which could walk in both worlds, bred for one purpose: hunting our enemies to protect our people.
“No,” she whispered as she watched him with tears falling from her eyes. “No! Jesse, look at me, stop!” she wailed as she struggled against the ropes that bound her hands to the chain above her head. She twisted as she screamed, fighting a lost cause to save him. Too fucking late; he was already mine by right, and he would feed, I could feel it.
She loved him; it shone from her eyes as she pleaded for him to stop. Those emerald orbs turned on me as she shook her head. “Bastard! You bastard, he was all I had left!” she screamed as a sob racked through her body. My wolf warred with the vampire within me as he sensed her distress, needing to end it. Fucking hell, he wanted to protect her already? Fuck.
This was the last fucking thing I needed right now. She hadn’t cried when the blade had pierced her flesh, she hadn’t begged for mercy as many other hunters had. Full grown men had caved the moment the blade kissed their flesh, but this fierce little female had taken it without making a sound until it had cut through the wall of muscle in her chest.
“He’d die without it.”
“Because of you! You fed him your blood!” she accused, her body twisting against the ropes as she tried to get free from them.
“Because he turned when we cut him open. He was fatally wounded.”
“I will kill you,” she hissed vehemently. “I will destroy you all.”
“Nae, wee one,” I smirked as I watched the fight igniting inside of her, which only called more to the monster I was. “Ye will do as I say, or I will take his head from his shoulders. Ye are my good wee girl, who is goona walk into that stronghold and do me dirty work, or he dies.” Her eyes flashed with anger as she hissed.
“I would rather die!” The chains above her creaked as she continued fighting them, needing an outlet for her anger, one she wouldn’t get.
“Ye can nae die, ye are immortal, Isa. Ye ken that ye are a monster, just as I am, nae? They tortured ye until ye buried yer wee beastie so deep that nae even she will help when ye are in trouble. Ye betrayed her fer them. Ye allowed them tae make ye into one o’ them,” I growled as my brogue thickened with emotion. “Ye will do as I tell ye tae, or he will die. Them or him, ye choose now.” I sent a silent prayer to the Gods above that she would break easily, and that the monster inside of me would stop clawing to get out, to reach her. Bloody hell, this was a mess.
Chapter 4
Isadora
I hung in that room for hours as Jesse turned from mortal to immortal. Unable to save him or do anything other than watch as the bloodlust took control as women turned traitor to the vampires were brought into the room to feed his never-ending hunger. Tears slid down my cheeks as I watched my partner, my best friend, losing his humanity as the change took control. It was my worst nightmare, and I was center stage for it.
The noise of him feeding, ripping through flesh, pushed bile to the back of my throat as I was forced to listen to it. I begged the siren to replace my mind, and yet she remained silent. I didn’t blame her, not really. I’d pushed her down, terrified of what she could do if she was released, and with enough medication and control, I’d learned to harness her.
I lifted my gaze, staring at Cian through my lashes as he sat in a lounge chair, studying me while I did the same to him. I had to get away from this place, from these creatures, and worst of it all, I had to leave my best friend behind, or kill him as I’d promised to do. He was no longer human, and the laws of the hunters forbid changed creatures from being allowed to live. More than that though, we’d made each other promises, to never leave the other undead.
Cian was the typical vampire royalty, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was one of the rare hybrids of his race. Rumors had reached us about them being born after multiple mistakes occurring, until they’d perfected them. Still, none had ever been discovered, and we’d considered it myth or a fabricated lie to scare us. The gold in his eyes when he was angered or his when his fangs clicked into place was something I’d never seen before. It didn’t bode well for me, or anyone who may try to save us. Not that they would, since capture meant death, and they tended to cut the ties rather than risk more lives in a daring rescue.
He lifted from the chair, nodding to his men, who moved towards Jesse, undoing the chains as he growled and snapped at them with his new dental issue running amok. I wanted to murder them all, and somehow, I knew it wouldn’t ease the loss of my friend. We’d been friends since I’d punched Bobby in the nose, and I’d protected him, even if it meant letting my inner monster out to play. Friends like Jesse were impossible to come by, and I’d failed him.
The moment I was alone with the vampire, I turned my eyes back to his instead of wallowing over the empty space beside me. His fingers pinched my chin and stared into my eyes. Golden flecks mingled with the darker irises in his eyes.
“Down tae business, sweet siren,” he announced before he released my chin to reach above me, freeing my hands from the ropes.
I touched the ground, but instead of landing on my feet, I swayed on them until he picked me up, as if I was nothing but a doll. He carried me to the chair that he’d sat upon moments before, cradling me in his lap. I swallowed down the rage that pulsed through me as the weakness of my body made it abundantly clear that I had nothing left to fight him with.
“Ye smell like sex and sin,” he uttered as he leaned back, pulling me with him as his hand pushed my silver hair away from my face.
“You smell like death,” I lied and flinched as his hand stalled, and his mouth curved into a sm
ile. I pushed him down, needing distance between us as I struggled to gain control of my thoughts. I could feel his inhuman heat as it singed my cold flesh. I whimpered as pain flitted through me at the subtle motion.
“I smell like ye, wee one,” he uttered as he pushed me down, knowing I had no fight left in me. His body straddled mine as he stared at me, watching every emotion that flooded through me with the precariousness of the position I was in. “Why would ye let them do such things tae ye?” he asked as he studied me. “Sirens are sexual creatures, and yet I can smell yer untried flesh, which means ye have suffered tae keep it that way tae please them. Ye are a virgin,” he said as he bent his dark head and rested his forehead against mine. “What did they do tae ye, wee lass?”
“Nothing,” I growled. “I did it, knowing the moment she was freed, she would destroy people. She craves death, and demands things that make my skin crawl.”
“Nae, sirens are nae truly evil unless ye break their hearts or take something they ‘ave claimed tae be theirs,” he chuckled. “Older ones, aye, they were the scourge o’ mon and women alike. They would pull men from ships into the drink, drowning them as they fucked them. It was nae a bad death, but brutal. It’s a different world now, ye ken? It is nae one where ye can lure sailors into the drink and feed from them. That is part o’ how they died oot. The other is their inability tae accept that the world changed around them.” He stood up, pulling me with him as he reached over the chair, grabbing his shirt.
Silently I allowed him to slip it over my head, inhaling his earthy scent as he dressed me in his oversized shirt. I swallowed as he pulled me up to my feet, lifting me into his arms as I stiffened against his hold. He moved us towards the door, which opened with his magic the moment we neared it, passing through it before it closed again behind us.
Outside of the cell, the hallways were darkened, walls of earth and thick rock mirrored throughout it until he started up a winding staircase. We were deep beneath the ground, and the dimly lit sub-terrain of the structure made it bone-chillingly cold. I folded my body against his, letting his heat warm me as he moved us deeper into the dungeon-like building.
“Where are you taking me?” I whispered against his neck, swallowing past the coppery taste of him still coating it.
“Tae my room, Isa,” he replied huskily. “Day is coming, and we will need rest before I allow ye tae leave tae do as I need ye tae.”
“I prefer the chains of the cell to your room.”
“Afraid tae be alone with me?” he asked as his chest shook, as if he was trying to suppress a laugh.
“I’m never afraid,” I lied. I was terrified, because if the siren awoke in his room, I could end up in a very precarious situation that I didn’t want. She had a mind of her own, and I’d missed picking up my medication yesterday from the compound, which meant I was two days behind on it, and she’d already taken control of me once around him.
“If ye are nae afraid, why are ye trembling?” he countered as he turned, moving down yet another maze of hallways.
“I’m cold,” I admitted.
“I can warm ye up, wee Isa.”
“If you mean to set me on fire, fine. Anything else, I’m not interested, asshole.”
His dark, husky laughter sent goosebumps spreading over my flesh as he paused at a door, pressed a fang against his thumb, and held it to the mechanism that sat above the doorknob. Great, because that would be easy enough to escape from, right?
Inside, the room was dark and reeked of his alluring scent. A large bed sat in the middle of the wide room, covered in thick black curtains. Next to it was a tub, one that beckoned me to it. I reeked of copper from the blood that caked my flesh, even though the wounds had healed thanks to his blood pulsing through my system. He carefully placed me on my feet, and I looked behind us as the door slowly closed, echoing the sound of my freedom slipping away.
“Is this where you scare the shit of me by telling me how you plan to rape me?” I asked as I put some distance between us.
“Do I look like the type o’ mon who has tae force women into my bed?” he asked as he watched me taking in his luxurious room. He had pictures of the moon and Highlands in expensive frames that covered the walls, as if it was his way of seeing out of the darkness. They resembled windows, as if he was perched in the highest room of a castle, staring out into the world, rather than what it was. Some underground stronghold that never let daylight into it. My guess was that we were beneath a castle in the remains of a dungeon they’d taken over.
“There’s only one bed,” I pointed out as I spun around to look at him.
“Aye, ye did nae think I would let ye loose, did ye? Ye are my prisoner, wee one.”
“Suck it,” I groaned as I rubbed my hands down my face, rubbing the soreness of my eyes. “What is happening to Jesse?” I swallowed hard as fresh tears burned against the back of my eyes.
“He is sleeping, healing from his change. It is nae a fast process, but what happens tae him depends on ye.”
“On me being your spy?” I asked, watching as his lips curved into a wicked smile.
“Among other things, aye. Ye are mine now, Isa. Ye should nae ‘ave fucked with me or my people. I kenned who ye were when we tracked ye from that graveyard. Ye are one o’ their best hunters. How many o’ my people ‘ave ye killed?” he asked as he closed the distance between us, reaching around me to turn on the faucet to the curved, cast-iron tub.
“As many as I could,” I admitted coldly. “More when you release me,” I laughed as I stared him down.
“Ye think ye can take me on, wee hunter?” he asked heatedly, his eyes glowing liquid gold as he stepped close enough that I could feel his heat drifting off his flesh. I swallowed as his muscles tensed, his hands lifting the neckline of the shirt I wore as he shredded it with one easy tug, ripping it down the middle.
“I’ve put half those bodies into that graveyard ye visit so often, wee hunter. I am the scourge o’ yer people. I slaughter them fer fun, tae hear their pain-filled cries as I rip their souls free from their meat-sacks. Ye think you’re the deadly one here? I assure ye, I am so much more the killer than ye will ever be.”
I exhaled as my arms lifted to cover the blood-stained bra I wore, but his hands were faster, capturing my wrists in one of his large hands as he reached around me, his nose pressing against my throat as he undid the clasp of my bra. I shivered as my insides turned to lava in response to his nearness. What the fuck was wrong with me? He’d just murdered my best friend, and here I was, melting for him as he spoke of murdering my people. His hand slid down my spine, effortlessly flicking his clawed finger to undo the thin straps that held the panties onto my tiny hips.
“Wash the blood off o’ yer sweet flesh. I will nae have ye ruining my sheets, hunter.”
I turned away from him the moment he stepped back, and slipped into the hot water, gasping as it seared my flesh. He knelt beside the tub, pushing his fingers into the water before he adjusted the temperature and reached into the small chest beside it, dropping rose petals into the water. Once he’d finished, he stood up and moved to the bed, opening the curtain to reveal the mountain of pillows.
“If ye doona begin washing yer flesh, I will help ye do so. I am tired, and need to rest before nightfall comes again.”
I reached to the loofah sponge and started scrubbing my flesh raw as he crawled onto the mountain of pillows, watching me bathing in his oversized tub. Plumbing meant that wherever we were, they’d made some modern updates to the facility. Rumors always ran rampant about them being in old, abandoned castles, and yet there were no hives that we’d discovered in any of the remaining ones. I was going to guess that some type of magic warned us away from going deeper and discovering them.
I could feel the coldness of the earth, being so deep in its depths. The room itself showed that the walls had been modernized, concrete with coded panels that made
leaving it impossible unless he chose otherwise. There was no bathroom that I could see, other than the tub, but there was a side bar that was set into the wall, carved in the earth and remaining even though walls had been built with the updates.
“You’re trying me patience, wee hunter,” he growled as his eyes continued to glow as he watched me.
“I don’t have a towel,” I uttered thickly as I watched him from beneath my lashes.
I felt magic pulsing in the room and turned slowly, watching a towel float towards me. It was suspended in air, too high for me to reach sitting down. Swallowing hard, I lifted from the water, uncaring that he stared at what the Gods had gifted me to wield. I heard the hiss of air that escaped his lungs as I wrapped the towel around me and turned back to face him.
My eyes flared with fear as he lifted from the bed, staring at me as if he’d found a decadent meal he planned to savor slowly. He reached for my hands, smiling as I cried out as the towel dropped to the floor with his action. His hand wrapped the length of rope around my wrist as I watched him, lifting my eyes to hold his as I stood before him, naked.
Once he’d finished, he bent down entirely too close to the apex of heat that clenched with his nearness. I watched his bowed, dark head as he picked up the towel, drying my legs with detached movements, or so I thought until his mouth touched the inside of my thigh.
A moan escaped my lungs before I could prevent it, and his mouth curved into a smile as he rose to his feet, watching me through his liquid amber stare. He dried off my body, staring at me as his knuckles skimmed my flesh as he slowly, methodically walked me backwards towards the bed. My breathing grew labored as my knees touched the bed and buckled as I fell back. Instead of following me down, he stared at me with wicked heat that burned in his sinful eyes.
Forever Immortal Page 3