I breathed a ragged sigh of relief.
Safe. Mei was safe behind the wards.
But my relief quickly morphed into terror as the two vampires turned toward me, their blood red eyes flashing eerily. I didn’t even get a chance to scream before one of them was on me. He snaked an arm around my midsection from behind, forcing my head back with a firm grip on my hair.
“It’s her,” he said, his breath hot on my neck. He paused to inhale deeply, emitting a low growl. Fear spiked through me. “Mint and fresh snow. Definitely her. Call it in.”
“Wait,” the other said, the one who’d fed on Jordan. He sauntered forward, cocking his head as he slid his eyes down my body. “She’s bleeding. Her scent will carry to the princes if we don’t take care of it.”
Hope tripped inside my chest, accelerating my heart rate.
He jerked his eyes to mine. “That’s an interesting response to their presence. You’re not afraid.”
I gulped as he infiltrated my personal space, effectively making me a vampire sandwich. “They’re not that scary. Neither are you,” I managed to say, despite my growing dread at his close proximity.
As his head dipped toward my vulnerable neck, I forced myself to hold still. But when he flashed his fangs and cruelly gripped my injured arm, hissing, “Then let me show you how scary we can be,” I made my move.
Jerking my hands up, I grabbed his face. “No,” I spat, viciously digging my nails into his cheeks. “Let me show you.”
His roar shook the trees.
He tried to jerk away, but I desperately held on. If I let go, he’d probably rip out my throat. As our joined skin glowed a fiery red, the other vampire shook me so hard that I saw stars. Still, I stubbornly refused to relinquish my hold. Fingers tipped in claws tore at my hands, then immediately withdrew. Sharp hissing filled the air. Warmth surged through my palms, but I was too desperate, too panicked to care what that meant.
This was life or death. Screw the consequences.
But I didn’t anticipate what would happen next. I didn’t see it coming, only felt it as two sharp points sank into my neck. I froze in shock and horror, still gripping the vampire’s face before me. But when it hit me—when I realized what the vampire behind me had just done—I screamed.
My wail rose into the air, echoing through the trees. The fangs plunged deeper into my flesh, triggering an avalanche of pain. Hot. Searing. Burning like acid. It coursed through my veins, and I trembled violently. Uncontrollably.
Pain from all three of us saturated the night air, yet no one moved. We were trapped. Suffering. Each experiencing our own personal hell.
Seconds passed. Maybe minutes. The vampire in my grip was the first to crumble. He fell to his knees, taking me with. The fangs in my neck tore at my skin and I choked back another scream.
Despite the agony he was in from touching me, the vampire behind me knelt too, feeding with a wild ferocity. It wasn’t like when Everett had fed from August. No, it was much worse. Brutal. Desperate. I could feel the savage pulls of his mouth. Feel the blood being sucked from me in great gulps. And I couldn’t stop him. I was helpless as I doggedly sucked the life from the swaying vampire before me.
Finally, he sagged under my touch, slumping sideways into the snow. His dark body contrasted sharply with the white snow surrounding him, his wide red eyes fixed on a distant point. I peeled my hands off his face. A faint red outline marred his cheeks where they’d been, the only sign of what I’d done.
Slowly, slower than I should have, I struggled to break free of the feeding vampire. But he was ravenous, clinging to me like glue. He squeezed me tightly to him and released a growl-whimper against my neck. He was dying, in excruciating pain, and couldn’t bring himself to stop.
And I was growing weaker and weaker. Darkness, darker than the blackest shadows, edged my vision. My neck angrily throbbed from the bite, matching my erratic pulse. My breathing grew labored with each passing moment. He was going to drain me, I realized dazedly. He was going to suck me dry, even if it killed him.
How twisted was that? My heavy lids pulled shut. How freaking insane was—
A loud caw reached my ears, followed by the frantic rustle of wings. The vampire abruptly jerked back with an agonized bellow, the action further tearing open my neck. Feeling the warmth of my blood gush from the wound, I pressed a shaky hand to the bite mark. Numbness spread through me. Shock, maybe. It dulled my panic and fear, enough that I calmly turned toward the flailing vampire.
Nautilus was relentlessly attacking his face, aiming for the eyes. Weakened from his prolonged contact with me, the man uselessly batted at the air. The crow struck again and again, raking his sharp talons across the man’s exposed skin.
I stayed and morbidly watched for far too long, wasting precious seconds.
Go. Go! my mind screamed at me, and I finally forced my body to move. I stumbled through the snow without aim, solely focused on surviving, on losing myself to the woods so no one could find me.
I was running from witches, spirit demons, and vampires. Fates, how had this become my life? Might as well add werewolves to the mix and call it a party.
As soon as I had the sarcastic thought, a distant howl shivered through the trees. Renewed fear spiked through me, and my legs nearly gave out.
It’s just a wolf, it’s just a wolf, I inwardly chanted, relying on the fact that tonight wasn’t a full moon. Werewolves couldn’t change at will . . . could they?
I continued to blindly crash through the woods, listening for sounds of pursuit. I kept running and running, knowing that I was freezing, that I was weak and in pain. That I barely had enough blood in my body to keep me going. But the farther I went, the less windy it became. The trees grew denser, providing more cover.
I couldn’t feel anything anyway. I could lose a toe to frostbite and wouldn’t even know. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping me upright, but even that eventually gave out. When it did, I simply fell in a tangle of limp limbs. Half buried in snow, I was tempted to let nature consume me. Alone and terrified, I couldn’t think of a reason not to. But as I struggled to fill my starved lungs, to slow my dangerously thundering heartbeats, reason trickled back in.
I had a purpose.
Isla.
My best friend needed my help. I couldn’t let myself die here.
So I struggled to rise. When that failed, I dragged myself to the nearest pine tree, its low-hanging branches laden with needles and snow. I crawled underneath for shelter, allowing myself a few minutes of rest before plotting my next course of action.
Suddenly desperate for something familiar and comforting, namely a shirt that held a certain irresistible scent, I reached behind me to remove my backpack. Only, it wasn’t there.
“No, no, no,” I whimpered, racking my tired brain. Had it fallen off while I’d scuffled with the vampires? Then it hit me. The car. It was in Noah’s car that was now burnt to a crisp. And that fact—not the fact that I’d witnessed Jordan’s death, or got bitten by a vampire, or killed someone—was what broke me.
A gut-wrenching sob tore from my lungs. I curled up on the frozen pine needles, clamping both hands over my mouth as more sobs threatened to reveal my location. I was crumbling inside. Breaking down over a lost t-shirt and half-eaten cheesecake. But that was all my mind could think about as I cried myself into nothingness.
13
KENNA
I jerked awake some time later, keenly aware of a rustling sound in the distance.
My breathing slowed as I zeroed in on the noise, picking out the clear crunch of shoes on snow. I thought of Noah and almost stood from my hiding spot, but paused when the hair raised on the back of my neck—warning me to stay put. Confused, I squinted past the pine needles, surprised to discover that I could see clearly. Too clearly, since I was pretty sure it wasn’t morning yet. It was like my eyes had been enhanced by night-vision goggles.
I carefully reached up to rub them and was startled yet again when I could barely fe
el the cold, nor the various aches and pains in my body. Not even the bite mark. Worry that I was suffering from hypothermia trickled through me, but I could still feel my fingers and toes. Plus, I was alert. Like, really alert. Didn’t hypothermia make you drowsy?
“I lost her,” a female voice suddenly said. A familiar, accented one. I winced at how loud Clarice spoke, but didn’t move to cover my ears. “Her trail has gone cold. Not even my familiar can pick up any sign of her tracks. There was too much snowfall.” A pause, then, “It wasn’t our fault. If you kept your subjects on a tighter leash . . .” Another pause. “Regardless, we’ve struck a pactum, Ambrose. Even if your sons find her before I do, our binding agreement in regards to McKenna Belmont still stands.”
Icy fingers of dread gripped my throat at the mention of that name. Ambrose. The five-hundred-year-old vampire king who had ordered the eradication of all Syphons.
Headmistress Mayweather was already working with him? I felt the sting of betrayal. Sure, she’d tried to keep me from leaving against my will, but I thought it was to protect me. Now, I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t sure about anything.
Lochlan had warned me that nearly half the supernatural world wanted to use me or see me dead. But my own kind? Was I nothing more to them than a means to an end?
I blinked as my mind focused on another problem. If she was here, then what had happened to Noah? Should I try to find him, or call Sheriff Andrews like he instructed? Crap, I really didn’t want to see his father again, not after what he’d done to Lochlan.
While Clarice and the vampire king continued to discuss me over the phone, I slowly scooted backward, careful not to make a sound. It wasn’t hard. In fact, I moved almost gracefully, my limbs responding readily despite how frozen they should be by now. Deciding to worry about that later, I crawled out from beneath the tree’s protection.
As soon as I did, the wind kicked up, blowing hair across my face. I turned to sneak away, but froze in my tracks when a scent hit me. My body reacted violently to the smell, trembling uncontrollably. My throat seized with a desperate, irrational need, so powerful that I couldn’t swallow the spit pooling in my mouth.
Warm, rich toffee and clean mountain air.
The scent invaded my senses, drowning out everything else.
I need it, I need it, I need it.
Nothing else mattered but finding the source of that smell. I had to have it. I had to . . . I had to taste it. To devour it. To—
Pain sliced through my top gums and I sucked in a startled breath. Clarice whirled toward me. We stared at each other for a stunned moment, each taking the other’s measure. As the pain in my gums throbbed like a second heartbeat, I whimpered, reaching up to feel them.
What I found made the world disappear beneath my feet.
Clarice’s eyes widened as she too saw what I’d discovered. She slowly tucked her phone away and raised her hands non-threateningly. “Don’t be scared, Kenna. We can fix this. Let me portal you back to the academy where it’s safe, then we can discuss how best to help your abducted friend.”
I quickly shook my head. “No. I heard you on the phone.” Twin points jabbed into my bottom lip and I yelped.
Dark purple billowed from the headmistress’s fingers. “I’ll explain everything, Kenna. But let me take you back first.”
I shook my head again. “You’re lying. You—”
Wind swirled around us, shoving the scent up my nose once more. I lost track of my thoughts, clutching my throat as it seized painfully. I gasped for breath, which only exasperated the problem. Need screamed through me, pounding through my veins, scraping across my skin.
I need, I need. I needed . . .
Her.
My gaze sharpened on Headmistress Mayweather, seeking out the thundering pulse in her neck.
Found you, my instincts purred. I licked my bottom lip, wholly focused on my prey.
“Kenna, snap out of it. I don’t want to hurt you,” my prey commanded, which didn’t sit well with me at all. My upper lip curled back in a silent snarl and I stepped toward her. Instead of running like I anticipated, my prey simply flicked her fingers.
Pain immediately bloomed on my right cheek and I stopped short, reaching up to touch the spot. Shocked when my fingers came away red with blood, I gaped at the headmistress in disbelief. Wait. She was the headmistress, not my prey. What was wrong with me? “You . . . you cut me,” I whispered, cringing away from her.
“Only to stop you,” she replied softly, as if she’d done it for my own good. “You haven’t learned control, Kenna. I’m sorry for not training you myself these past few days. I thought we’d have more time. If you come quietly, we can begin training right away.”
I retreated another step. “Where’s Noah? Did you hurt him?”
Her expression flattened. “Enough of this. It’s time to go, Kenna,” she firmly said, circling her hand in the air. A black portal edged in dark violet sprang into existence behind her. She reached for me and I backpedaled, shaking my head. When her lips thinned in determination, hands raising to do who-knew-what to me, I bolted.
My instincts almost won out. I almost returned to fight her. To prove my dominance. But if I did that, I knew something awful would happen. I’d nearly lost myself to her scent a minute ago, delirious in my need to have it. No, it wasn’t her scent that I needed, I realized with a jolt of horror.
It was her blood.
Something was happening to me, something that I was too afraid to face.
So I ran and ran, faster than I’d ever run before. Except, I wasn’t just running. I was flying, my feet barely touching the ground.
Oh fates, oh fates.
I was a freaking vampire!
Sheer panic shot through me and I fled the horrible thought and all that it meant. Wind whooshed past, whistling sharply in my ears. Boulders, roots, and low-hanging branches threatened to take me down, but I easily dodged them, my sharp vision alerting me to their presence.
But distance didn’t dull my need. My hunger.
For blood.
I thought about going back again, if only to inhale that delectable scent one more time.
No, no, no. One whiff and I’d be lost again, a slave to need. Was this what vampires endured every second of every day? Was this how Lochlan felt around me?
My chest started to ache. Not from the running, but from sadness as the truth slapped me hard. He’d never wanted me. He’d only wanted my blood. I knew that now. I knew because I was feeling exactly what it meant to be a bloodthirsty vampire.
When I’d been a werewolf, the craving for raw meat had been strong. But not like this. This blind, mindless haze of lustful need to sink my fangs into a pulsing vein and suck it dry. It was all I wanted. To feed. To revel in the taste and texture of life-giving blood as it slid down my parched throat.
“Oh, God.” I slapped a hand over my mouth as bile raced up my throat. Still running at full tilt, my legs suddenly gave out. I fell hard, recklessly rolling down a steep hill. My body struck several snow-encrusted rocks, until I finally came to rest at the bottom. Pain and exhaustion threatened to drag me under, but the thirst was stronger. A shuddering cough racked my frame, and I curled into a ball, half buried in snow.
“Stop,” I moaned, gripping my burning throat. “Please, stop.”
So consumed by the relentless need, I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps. Didn’t see or feel the presence until it was too late.
Something cold brushed my cheek and I jerked back with a startled cry. Fiercely blinking away my hunger haze, I spotted a blurry form crouched nearby and lunged without thinking. The momentum sent us both sprawling into the snow. Before I could get the upper hand, though, the dark form flipped me beneath it. I bucked against the grip pressing both my wrists into the snow, kicking out only to have my hips firmly straddled.
I hissed in my captor’s face, snapping at him with my fangs.
Fangs. Oh fates, I had fangs.
“McKenna.”
&nb
sp; So incensed with the need to escape, I didn’t register the familiarity of the male voice. I snarled and struggled, even while knowing my captor’s strength was superior to mine. I wouldn’t be bitten again. I wouldn’t be bullied or used or kidnapped. And, above all, I wouldn’t feed. I wouldn’t let my hunger overpower my humanity and force me to drink this man’s blood.
“Let me go!” I desperately roared.
“Kenna.”
The command in his voice—the authority—gave me pause. Enough that I finally registered who was looming over me, inches from my face.
“Loch—” I choked out. My throat was too swollen, too raw for me to utter his full name. He was in his vampire form, his skin matching the black hair falling into his eyes. Eyes that were blood red and studying me intensely. Wisps of shadow curled around the edges of his features, but not enough to hide his thunderous expression.
Witch killer, a part of me screamed. Run before he kills you too!
He came for you, another part reasoned. He wants to protect you.
Overwhelmed with indecision, every inch of me began to tremble. I tried not to breathe in his scent, but the need for air was too strong. I gulped in several lungfuls and, sure enough, the scent I knew so well invaded me completely. Amber, sandalwood, and the unique male musk belonging only to him. But I picked up another scent too, a deeper one that made all others pale in comparison. Decadently sweet yet slightly burnt, it reminded me of white chocolate mocha.
“Oh no,” I whimpered, my eyes widening in dismay.
It was his blood. Lochlan D’angelo’s blood smelled exactly like my favorite drink. Even worse, I’d never wanted to consume something as much as I craved to consume him right now.
“Who did this to you?” His voice crashed over me like a roiling wave, urging me to drown in its depths. When I didn’t respond, he released one of my wrists to gently touch the skin near my bite mark.
I flinched away, uncertain how I felt about him touching me. “Don’t,” I said, grimacing when my fangs scraped my bottom lip again.
His eyes darkened. “McKenna, tell me who bit you. I need to know now. How did it happen? Where else are you injured?” His gaze swept over the cut on my cheek.
Curse Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 2) Page 12