by Amanda Carol
Contents
Always Keep Fighting
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Meanwhile
Plan B
Also by Amanda Carol
Acknowledgments
About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Amanda Carol
Cover Designer: Ashani Graphics
Editor: CPR Editing
Proofreader: Horus Proofreading
Interior Book Formatting: Clara Stone at Reader Central
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
Independently published.
To Mommom and Poppop: I love you more
I’m lying in Aria’s bed listening to her breathe. It calms me. I know it may sound weird, but I like listening to her breathe. It reminds me that she’s here, and that she’s safe. I thought I had lost her when Isabella captured her, and I replay that memory in my mind almost every night.
I’m speeding down the road, trying to get to Aria as fast as I can. Declan started seeing these images in his head of an abandoned warehouse and was getting glimpses of his sister and another woman. He showed us the painting that Aria had done and said that this was the woman that had Aria, and that they were alone. He emphasized that Aria was in bad shape and we needed to find her as soon as possible.
When we finally narrowed it down to one warehouse, it was a place thirty minutes from the club we were at about an hour ago. Since Declan didn’t see anyone else but them, I decided to only bring him and Bennett, but Knox is following us and keeping his distance, just in case.
“Turn here!” Declan says from the backseat of my Impala.
I cut a sharp right.
“There!” He points straight ahead of us.
I sense a vampire, but it quickly goes away as Bennett, Declan, and I get out of my car and take off running toward the large steel doors. I reach the door first.
“It’s locked!” I shout.
I kick the door, but it doesn’t budge, so I kick it again and again.
“Fuck!” I roar. I just need to get to my girl.
“Here, let me try,” Declan says.
He places a palm on the steel handle, and I see the metal start to glow orange as it heats. He concentrates, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he fights through the pain.
He lets out a harsh breath. “Now let’s try. On three.”
“One,” I say.
“Two.” Declan gets ready to kick.
“Three,” we both say at the same time.
We kick the steel door in, and the force of it makes the door fly off the hinges.
“You guys go. I’ll watch the front.” Bennett shifts as Declan and I rush inside the warehouse.
It’s dark inside, and the only light is in the center of the room. It shines down on chains, and some wet liquid on the ground. I sniff the air, and it smells metallic.
Blood.
“I can’t fucking see a thing,” Declan whispers next to me.
I search around the room, seeing nothing, but then I hear a soft moan coming from right in front of us. My eyes finally adjust to the dark and I notice her at the same time Declan does.
“Holy fuck,” Declan whispers.
My heart drops down to my stomach as I see my girl lying on the floor.
He and I both take off running at the same time, keeping pace with each other. We reach Aria at the same time.
I gently grab her shoulders, turning her over, and my eyes create a soft glow around her. And that’s when I see all the cuts covering her body, mostly on her torso and legs. She’s not healing quickly enough because she’s still wearing her amulet.
“Aria, little sister, can you hear me?” Declan’s voice breaks as he rips her amulet off and cups her cheeks.
I strip off my shirt and start ripping it into shreds. I know she’s healing, but fuck, she’s lost a lot of blood. She’s ghost-white and barely breathing. But I need to keep myself in check because she needs us.
“Here, take some of these and tie them around the deeper cuts,” I command.
Then her eyes flutter open, and I stop what I’m doing as they connect with mine. She’s looking at me, but it’s like she doesn’t see me. I feel her fingers brush my arm, a simple touch that, if I hadn’t been so in tune with her, I would have missed. I feel the tug and open the link.
Hunter. Aria’s soft voice sounds every bit as weak as she looks.
“We have to work faster,” I say, looking at Declan.
We work on bandaging her wounds as quickly as we can, but it still doesn’t seem fast enough. Once we’re finished, I scoop her up in my arms.
“I’ve got you, baby,” I murmur. “We’re getting you out of here.”
When we get to my car, I gently place Aria in the back seat with her brother and I speed back toward the Compound, just hoping that we aren’t too late.
I feel Aria jerk awake next to me. I look over at her, and she’s clutching her chest, breathing heavily from another nightmare. She takes in a few deep breaths before tossing the covers off her legs and getting up quietly.
It’s been two months.
Two months since she was taken from me.
Two months since she was tortured and almost bled to death.
Two months since we saved her.
When I brought her back to my cabin that night, I just held her. I was happy to just have her in my arms, because seeing her barely alive in that warehouse made me realize that I couldn’t lose her. I needed her strength, her compassion, even her snark. I would burn the city to the ground if it meant that it would keep her safe. She held onto me tightly and I vowed that I would do whatever it takes to make sure that Isabella and Ronan don’t get their hands on her again. I couldn’t protect her, and I’ll live with that for the rest of my life.
All the nights since then haven’t been easy. A nightmare will wake her up, and she refuses to go back to sleep. So, she goes to the barn and trains. It’s even gotten to the point that she wears workout clothes to bed.
Aria has never really let people in, and just when things were going great, just when she was starting to give me glimpses of her past, that night happened. And she hasn’t been the same since.
It’s like she’s trapped in her own mind.
Her wounds have healed, and there is no trace of what Isabella did to her, physically. But no one is looking hard enough, except those of us who are closest to her, to see that the mental wounds are there, attacking her. She’s pushing everyone away, especially Abby. She won’t go out anymore. She barely even talks to anyone, and only a couple of us have been able to get more than a handful of words out of her. She hasn’t talked about what happened in th
at warehouse with anyone.
I watch as she goes to her dresser and grabs socks from the drawer.
“Aria,” I say, voice low so I don’t wake Declan and Ciera.
I’m hoping that she’ll stay, but I know she won’t. She never does. Sometimes I’ll end up going to train with her. Other times, she tells me to stay put and I wait for her here. When she doesn’t answer, I get up from the bed and walk over to her.
She’s just finishing putting her socks on when she notices that I’m right in front of her. She gasps, jumping back.
“It’s just me,” I whisper.
I reach for her, but she brushes me off. She sucks in a harsh breath, then steps around me to walk over and grab her shoes.
“Do you want me to come with you tonight?” I ask, crossing my arms over my bare chest, careful not to startle her more than I already have.
“No. I want to go alone,” she murmurs, lacing up her shoes before getting up from the bed and grabbing a hoodie from her closet. She throws it on, zips it up, and then turns to me. “I’ll be back soon.”
She stops as soon as she gets to the doorway, placing her hand on the frame and turning to face me. Our eyes lock from across the room.
“I’m here for you, always,” I say, giving her a look that lets her know that I mean it. I’m not going anywhere.
She nods, giving me a sad smile before leaving me standing in her room. I run a hand down my face, then walk over to stand in the doorway and listen as I hear her shut the front door.
Hey, Benny, she just left. Make sure she gets to the barn okay. I use the telepathic link to tell my best friend, Bennett, to look after my girl.
We have a patrol set up around the Compound to help ensure the safety of everyone here. Especially since we still have no idea where Isabella and Ronan are and what they’re up to. Not to mention, they have gotten past our warding more times than they should have, and we still haven’t the slightest clue about how they were able to do that.
On it, bro. Another nightmare? Bennett responds.
I hear some rustling coming from Declan’s bedroom. His door opens and he steps out, closing it quietly behind him as he walks over to me.
Yeah, is all I say to Bennett before closing the link.
“Not going with her this time?” Declan mutters, voice groggy with sleep.
I glance over at him. He’s got dark circles around his eyes, just like the ones everyone is sporting now. None of us are getting enough rest, since we are all worried about what Isabella and Ronan are planning and we’re busy making sure the grounds stay safe. When I asked Aria if Isabella said anything, she shook her head no, and the subject has been off limits ever since.
“She didn’t want me to. I don’t know what to do anymore,” I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
We’ve barely touched since I got her back, and all I want to do is touch her, kiss every inch of her body that would be covered in scars right now if it weren’t for her healing demigod abilities and Kora’s unique Gumba Paste. I want her to know that she’s not alone.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. When our parents died, she threw herself into training and learning how to be strong. She still kept her snarky attitude, though,” Declan tells me.
He turns as his bedroom door opens and Ciera walks out. She pads over to us and wraps her arms around his waist, and he kisses her head.
“Listen, Hunter, Aria tries to deal with things her own way, but I have a feeling she needs more help than she’ll admit to deal with this. Even with our parents’ death, she was never like this…” He trails off, and Ciera hugs him tighter.
I’m not sure how to respond to that. I just…
I miss her.
“I’m going to go downstairs and wait up for her. You guys go back to bed,” I say.
I feel Ciera’s hand on my arm. She gives it a reassuring squeeze before she turns to go back to Declan’s bedroom. He claps me on my shoulder before mumbling a goodnight, and he goes after her. I grab a white t-shirt from Aria’s room and head downstairs to do what I always do when I don’t go with her. I pick up my guitar and quietly strum my fingers on the cords.
I’ll get my girl back.
I throw my hood over my head and shove my hands inside the pockets of my hoodie after I shut the door behind me. I know Hunter is going to us the link to call one of his pack members to walk with me to the barn, so I wait. Three guesses on who it’ll be tonight. If it’s not Bennett, it’s Axton, and if it’s not either of them, it’s Kai. They have extra wolves patrolling every night, making sure the Compound stays safe.
But I don’t feel safe.
There’s still a traitor lurking on the grounds, and every time they come close, I turn and run in the opposite direction. Isabella told me who it was. I didn’t want to believe a vampire, but what reason did she have to lie? I mean, she’s a vampire, so she could have just been messing with my head. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
I don’t know how to tell everyone else. I don’t want to put anyone in danger, and I’m not sure what the consequence will be if I tell people what I know.
Not only is Isabella haunting my dreams, but the traitor is too.
I hear rustling off to the side of the porch. My heart starts to race in my chest as I turn my head to look off in that direction. Amber-colored eyes glow in the darkness, and when they get closer, the moonlight illuminates red fur. I instantly relax and walk down the steps to Bennett.
As much as I want to be alone, having him close by eases my nerves. There are three people I truly trust right now—Hunter, my brother, and Bennett—and until I figure my shit out, that isn’t going to change.
Bennett walks beside me as we head to the barn. I expect him to follow me up the steps like he usually does, but when I reach the top, I look down and he’s not there. I spin around and see him sitting at the bottom on the steps. He nods, then takes off running back toward the woods to patrol.
The common area is empty, but I guess it would be at three in the morning. I make my way back to the training room and turn on the light. I walk over to the stereo to turn that on too, setting the station to alternative rock.
Hozier’s “Arsonist’s Lullaby” starts to echo through the room. I grab a pair of boxing gloves and walk over to the punching bag. I have found that taking my aggression out on the bag helps tire me out, and I can get a few dreamless hours of sleep. I toss my hoodie to the floor and lace the gloves around my hands.
I throw a punch.
Images of her cornering me in the bathroom flash through my mind.
Then I hit the bag again. I can still feel the chains around my wrists, the knife slicing into my skin, and the smirk that was on her face the entire time she was draining me of blood.
I let out a scream and punch the bag harder as I remember her threatening my brother, my friends, and Hunter.
I keep throwing punch after punch. My muscles are burning, but I push through the pain.
This is what I do. I come in here to push my body and mind to the point where all I feel is numbness, because feeling that is better than the alternative—fear.
I’m not scared of vampires. Not even Isabella and Ronan.
No, I’m scared for my friends, my family…my home.
Isabella took my blood for a reason and I don’t know why. She said that she will need Declan’s blood too, and I would rather die than let her come anywhere near him or my friends.
I must have lost track of time, because the door to the training room opens and Axton walks in. His dark blonde hair is tied back in a low ponytail, but some pieces have slipped free and lay down flat by his cheeks. Right behind him are Sloane and his lovely friend Blaine.
“Well, look who it is. It’s demigod Barbie!” Blaine shouts as he spots me.
I clench my jaw as I take off the gloves, walking back over to put them away. Well, I try to. But this asshat keeps blocking my path. I glance up, narrowing my eyes at Blaine. His light-colored eyes
flash before they glare back at me. When I go to step around him, he takes a step in the same direction, blocking my path once again.
“Move,” I snap.
He’s been giving me hell these last few weeks. Why? Not a damn clue. But I’m over it.
“Or what?” Blaine quirks a brow, taking a step forward. He’s so close that his boots hit my feet.
“Knock it off, Blaine.” Axton tries to pull Blaine away, but Blaine shrugs him off.
I see Sloane take a step closer out of the corner of my eye. She and I are more like acquaintances than friends. But she’s kept Blaine off my back a time or two. Since we saved her life, she and I have sort of called a truce, so we tolerate each other.
Blaine leans down closer, so close that our noses almost touch. “You don’t belong here. You or your brother.” His voice is pitched low. “You’ve caused nothing but trouble since you got here.”
My temper flares and I feel my hands grow hot.
He glances down at my hands. “Go on. Do it.”
I try to take a breath to calm down, but Blaine keeps adding fuel to the fire.
“Here, let me help.” He pushes me, making me stumble backward.
I don’t even think twice. My hands connect to Blaine’s chest and I push him back, harder than I intended, because he flies back into the dumbbells. He shoots to his feet quickly and charges forward, eyes glowing brightly. Axton and Sloane intervene and grab onto his shoulders, just as the training room door opens and Knox walks in.
“What’s going on in here?” Knox’s voice echo’s in the room.