What happened?
I was about to stab Francesca and someone put me out.
Hope!
I looked around and there was no sign of her. Christian was sitting in his chair, his neck had been snapped too.
I couldn’t believe Hope did this. What the hell was she thinking?
I had no idea what she was planning to do, but she was going to get herself killed. I had to save her from doing something stupid.
Why did she have to be so damn stubborn? Why couldn’t she just let us protect her? Did she have any idea how lucky she was that so many people wanted to make sure she was safe? Apparently not!
I ran for the door. She couldn’t have gotten far. I opened the door and flew into the air, slamming onto the floor of the foyer. I looked at the door in shock.
“Dammit Hope!”
She put up a Goddamn barrier spell. She had literally lost her fucking mind.
She was going to get herself killed and I couldn’t do anything about it.
I pulled out my phone to try to contact Elizabeth. Someone had to go after Hope. Someone had to save her.
Chapter 43: Hope
I was sitting in the driver’s seat. Francesca was driving. We were taking a back road in case my spell didn’t work and Wyatt and Christian managed to come after me.
They could probably track me regardless. Especially if they went to Gemma. She could track me right away.
I wasn’t the best at doing a cloaking spell yet. As soon as we got to our destination a witch was going to have to perform one, or my aunt was going to come find me.
I looked out the window and watched the trees fly by. The moon was especially bright tonight so I could see them clear as day.
I thought of my life in Salem Point. Since I moved here, I was happy. Yes, I was in danger, but I had friends and my aunt. And now I even would have had a father. But I was leaving all of that behind now.
I saw Knight’s smile when I closed my eyes. Wyatt’s scowl and emotional eyes. And Christian’s concerning gaze. The gentle touch of his skin against mine when he would comfort me.
I was leaving everyone and I had no idea what was waiting for me in New Orleans.
But they would be safe. I kept telling myself that. They would be safe and I was saving Kane. I owed him everything. He found my aunt. He gave me the life I had. The short time of happiness was because of him. I couldn’t fail him.
“I have to ask, why are you so willing to sacrifice your life for my brother’s?”
“Your brother helped me. I can’t let him be tortured for me. Plus, I’m not just doing this for Kane. I’m doing this for my friends and family. I love them. I can’t let them continue to be targets because of me. It’s better this way.”
“You’re a noble girl Hope. I’m sorry it had to come to this. Truly. I think I would have liked you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
She smiled at me and for the first time it wasn’t an evil smile. “I’ll do everything in my power to free you if I can. Once my brother is safe.”
She looked back at the road.
I had to say, I admired her love for her brother. She was giving up the chance to get her mother back so that she could save her brother. We were kind of similar if you thought about it. We were both willing to do whatever it took to save the people we cared about.
Unfortunately, for Francesca to do that, she had to give me up.
“Kane is lucky to have a sister like you. It sucks that you can’t save your mother too. I know what it’s like to lose your mother. If I had the chance to get her back, I’d do anything I had to.”
There was a faraway look in her eyes as she kept driving. “She was a wonderful woman. And a hell of a witch.”
I looked at her surprise. “Your mother is a witch?”
“Yes.”
“But that doesn’t that mean that you…”
“Are a sister witch?” She smiled at me. “I am. Regrettably, I can’t use magic anymore.”
“Why? If you’re a born vampire shouldn’t you have kept your witch powers too? You’re a hybrid too.”
“My father had my magic put into an amulet. The only person that knows where said amulet is, is him and my mother.” She looked at me. “You see, my father is a man that would hurt his own children to keep them in line. One day, I am going to make sure that he suffers endlessly.”
When she turned back to the road, she hit the brakes. There was a figure in the road. She swerved just in time to keep from hitting him, but the car flipped over.
I hit my head on the top of the car, but not hard enough to knock me out.
Francesca was already trying to free herself.
“Who was that?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “I don’t think you want to know.”
I heard footsteps coming towards the car. I looked to my right and the person was walking towards us. I struggled to try to get myself free. “Francesca!”
She was already out of the car and heading towards the person. “Stop this! What the hell are you doing?”
“What needs to be done.”
I knew that voice. But it was different. It was cold and vicious. It wasn’t at all how I remembered it.
There was a struggle. The two of them were fighting, and then Francesca appeared feet away from the car, her neck cracked.
My head was starting to pound. Things were getting darker. I tried to keep my eyes open, but I couldn’t do it.
The darkness overtook me, as he appeared right next to me.
“Hello, Hope.”
It was Kane.
Chapter 44: Hope
When I woke up I was in a house I didn’t recognize. Kane was sitting right across from me. He smiled. It was the most terrifying smile I’d ever seen in my life. This wasn’t the Kane I knew. This wasn’t the Kane that risked everything to keep me safe all these years. This was a monster.
“You’re awake. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Where are we?”
“We’re still close to Salem Point.”
“What are we doing here Kane? Where’s Francesca?”
He scoffed. “Don’t worry about her. I left her at the side of the road. As for why we’re here, I needed to stop here to make you suitable for my father.”
“What are you talking about? Your father? You’re working with your father now?”
“Of course. I’m his son. Now, my father only wants you if you’ve activated your werewolf side. It’s my job to make sure that happens.”
My nostrils flared in anger. What the hell did he mean by that? I recoiled as he stepped towards me.
He laughed. “Relax. I would never do such a thing, Hope.” He walked over to a door and opened it.
Knight was sitting on the floor inside of a closet. He was tied up and he had tape over his mouth. He fought Kane as he pulled him out by his hair. “You see I’m being nice. I could have activated your werewolf side myself, and I would have enjoyed it too. But, I’m giving you the chance to do it with someone you love.” He covered his mouth. “Oops I’m sorry. Have we not said the L-word yet?”
I ran over to Knight and kneeled down next to him. “You’re insane! What the hell happened to you Kane?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “I’ve changed. My father fixed me.”
“He destroyed you.”
“He reminded me who I truly am and what my family was put on this earth to do. Kill.” He pointed towards the door. “I’m going to wait outside and give you two some privacy. Don’t get too wild in here, Knight. I wouldn’t want you to hurt the hybrid.”
He left me alone with Knight. I got to work on trying to untie him.
Tears escaped my eyes. I was so stupid. Here I was trying to save Kane. I screwed everything up.
It turned out, Kane didn’t need saving.
I needed saving from him.
Chapter 45: Wyatt
“Elizabeth, when I say to answer your phone, I mean to answer your phone. I need you. Ca
ll me right away.”
Christian was now awake and trying to figure out a way out of the house. That was pointless. I already tried that myself and there was no way to get out of here. I don’t know what Hope did, but she was getting really good with her powers.
She was sacrificing herself for Kane. I felt it in my bones. It was the only plan that made sense. Made sense to her anyway. She was being careless with her life. Why did she have to be such a damn martyr?
I stopped when I heard the sound of someone coming in the distance. I could smell her from miles away. She still had the same scent. I snarled and met Francesca at the door.
“You bitch! Where the hell is Hope?”
“Calm down.”
Christian came running into the foyer. “Francesca, where’s Hope?”
He was too calm. He needed to kick it up a notch and start treating her like the vermin that she was.
“I will kill you if you touched a hair on Hope’s head!”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I understand your anger, but you need to calm down or I won’t help you get Hope back.”
“Where is she?” Christian said.
“Kane has her.”
Christian and I shared a look. I didn’t like Kane, but I knew he wouldn’t harm her. He was safe with her. Unless something had changed.
“I don’t understand,” Christian said. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“He’s not the Kane Hope knows. He’s the Kane I knew long ago. The Kane that tore villages apart and slaughtered families. The Kane that was merciless and vicious. Even vampires feared him. Wyatt, Hope is in grave danger and if we don’t find them, she might not make it through the night.”
“We have to find her.” I felt numb and helpless. Hope was out there right now going through who knew what. I was angry at her and afraid for her at the same time. I wasn’t going to be okay until I saw her standing right in front of me, unscathed.
“We’re stuck in here,” Christian said. “Hope did some kind of boundary spell and we’re trapped.”
Francesca grabbed an amulet off of the light outside of our home and dropped it onto the ground. She stomped on it. The gem lit up before going out. “And now you’re free.”
I stepped through the door carefully. I preferred to not get knocked back onto my ass again. I looked into Francesca’s eyes. “Why are you helping us?”
“Because, my brother is gone. If he hurts Hope or worse kills her, he’ll never come back from that. The guilt will eat him alive. We have to save her Wyatt.”
“We will.” There was no question about it. We were going to find her. Tonight, Hope was going to sleep in her bed in the comfort of her own home.
I was going to save Hope. No matter what.
Chapter 46: Hope
I finally managed to get Knight untied. His wrists were red and bleeding from the tightness of the ropes.
I couldn’t believe Kane did this. He hurt Knight. And he was willing to hurt me.
“Hope, please don’t cry,” Knight said.
“It’s okay. I’m going to get us out of here.”
“Hope, we have to be careful. He was crazy. You didn’t see what I saw. He killed a bunch of people right in front of me. He didn’t just suck them dry. He massacred them.”
I couldn’t understand what happened to him. It was like he was possessed or something. How could someone go from being a kind, gentle person that would go against his family to protect me to being a person that was so cruel and evil? It just didn’t make any sense to me.
Kane banged on the door and yelled. “I don’t hear any screwing in there.” He let out a hearty laugh.
I rolled my eyes. “I can’t believe I even wanted to save him.”
“I can. You have a good heart, Hope. It’s one of your best qualities.”
“It also might be my downfall.” I rubbed on his wrists gently. I went and found a cloth in the kitchen. I wet it before going back to him. I tried my best to clean off some of the blood. He also had a busted lip, but it looked like that was already healing. “I’m so sorry he did this to you Knight.”
“Hey, it’s not your fault Hope.”
Fresh tears fell from my eyes. “Yes it is. It’s all my fault. That’s why I’m going to go with him, Knight.”
“What? Hope, you’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you go with him.”
“We don’t have a choice. He’s going to hurt you if I don’t go with him.”
“He also wants you to activate your werewolf side before he takes you. Are you really prepared to do that?”
“I think I am.” I looked into his eyes. “Knight, I can’t be the strong person that I need to be if I’m not a full wolf. I can’t protect myself, let alone anybody else. I have to do this.”
He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He didn’t want to tell me something. “What is it?”
He cleared his throat. “Hope, I’m not ready.”
I didn’t know what to say. Was he not ready because he didn’t want to be with me?
As if he read my thoughts, he caressed my cheeks and kissed me passionately. “It’s not you. I want to be with you Hope. I love you. I just don’t know if I’m ready to be a wolf.”
“I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready for. We can wait.”
“But he’ll…”
“We are not letting Kane force us into this. I want to be with you when the time is right. Not when Kane says so.”
I put myself in this mess. I had to get myself out of it.
Kane busted through the front door. “You are making the biggest mistake of your life Hope Sinclair.”
Knight got up and tried to go at Kane, but he grabbed him swiftly and threw him to the side like he was a stuffed doll. Knight slammed into the wall and fell to the floor unconscious.
I tried to focus my powers on him to try to at least set him on fire like I’d done before, but he appeared right in front of me and grabbed hold of my neck.
He smiled devilishly. “You can’t do magic if you can’t focus, lack of oxygen to the brain should fix that problem.”
“Kane...don’t...do...this.”
He ran back and slammed me into the wall. I grimaced in pain as he shoved me into the wall. It was like he was trying to squish me against the wall. “Your little boyfriend should have just screwed you. Now I’ll have to do it, and Hope, I can’t promise I’ll be gentle.”
He pulled me towards him, and slammed me back onto the wall again. He squeezed tighter around my neck. “How about I just knock you out? That way you don’t have to remember how terrible your first time was? I do prefer my ladies not struggling against me.”
Suddenly, a wave of wind appeared and Kane’s neck was snapped. I fell to the floor with him.
Someone was standing over us. The person checked my pulse and caressed my face. They looked at me with concern. I tried to focus my eyes on the person, but the lack of oxygen was catching up with me.
The blurriness went away, and I narrowed my eyes on the last person I ever expected to see again.
“Mom?”
Chapter 47: Christian
We called Gemma and explained what was happening. She managed to perform a locator spell from home and texted us Hope’s location. She wanted to come as well, but it was faster if we just went ourselves.
There was no time to waste. We were lucky that Kane didn’t go straight to New Orleans with her. Otherwise, who knew if we’d ever manage to get her back from his father.
When we got to the location, we ran right into the house. Wyatt was first. I entered seconds later. He was already down at Hope’s side, checking on her.
Francesca was checking over someone else. It was Knight. She checked his pulse.
“Is he alright?” I asked.
“He’ll live. Just unconscious. No doubt at my brother’s hands. The question is…”
“Where is your brother,” I said. I looked at Wyatt and Hope. Hope was starting to wake up. I released a brea
th I’d been holding in since I found out she was gone.
Hope looked around. When her eyes met mine, she sighed in relief. “Thank God.”
“Oh, happy to see us?” Wyatt said. He had bitterness to his voice. He was relieved she was alright, but he was angry with her for putting us and herself in this position. “I thought you could protect yourself.”
She ignored him and tried to stand. “Kane he’s…”
“Not here,” Francesca said. “I’ll go do a perimeter check to see if he’s still closeby.” She looked at Hope. “I’m glad you’re okay. And I’m sorry for whatever pain my family has caused you.”
She seemed truly remorseful for the part she took in tonight’s events. Perhaps the real Francesca was back. Or maybe she never truly left.
Hope stood up, but she was still woozy. “Maybe you should sit down,” I said.
“I’m fine. I just hit my head and couldn’t breathe for a while. I think I started seeing things.”
“What do you mean?” Wyatt asked.
“Well, I saw someone. Only it doesn’t make sense.”
“Who did you see?”
She looked at both of us. “My mother.”
I looked at Wyatt, only he didn’t seem very surprised. “Wyatt? Is that possible?”
“It can’t be. She’s dead. I saw her dead.”
Hope was really struggling with this. I wanted to give her answers, but I had none. Wyatt, on the other hand, seemed to know something.
“There’s no sign of him,” Francesca said, coming back into the house.
“Good, then we should go while that’s still the case,” Wyatt said. “One of you, try and wake the dog please.”
“Wyatt,” Hope said, grabbing his arm. “Tell me what you know.”
He looked down at her, but he couldn’t look her in the eye. “All I know is that Kane went back to New Orleans, because he thought there was a chance that your mother was alive.”
“No, I’m telling you. She was dead. I saw her body.”
“Maybe she was dead,” Wyatt said. “But if you saw her tonight, then I’m thinking it didn’t stick if you catch what I’m saying.”
Saving Hope: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Bloodmoon Series Book 2) Page 14