“I’m sure you do,” she said and cocked her head slightly.
“This isn’t about your sister.”
“Oh? What is it about then?”
“The suppression… I’ve taken the antidote and don’t plan on using the suppressor again, but my abilities… They haven’t returned fully,” I said, looking away from her. Theodosia had been the witch to create both concoctions. If anyone could help me return to normal, it’d be her.
“And you want me to fix you?”
“Yes,” I said.
“I can’t,” she replied. “Your strengths, your abilities, they’re all inside of you. You just have to be patient. It takes time.”
“It’s never taken this long before. The first time I took the antidote, it all surged back immediately, but each time I’ve taken it since, it’s taken longer, and aside from an instance where I was really pissed off, I haven’t been able to tap into the storm like I should be able to. It’s like it’s dissipated.”
“That’s not possible. Harnessing the storm, controlling rain, lightning, wind… it’s ingrained into your DNA just as much as your eye color is. You can’t simply lose it. It’s there.”
“So there’s nothing you can do?”
“Nothing that would happen as quickly as I suspect you expect it to. What else is going on with you? Why the urgency if it doesn’t involve my sister?”
“I’ve found my mate.”
“Hence, why you want to avoid my sister and shed the suppression altogether.”
“Yes… Your sister has seen her already. She’s part-wolf, and everything has all gotten terribly complicated. Throwing this business with Theodona on top of everything else, and it’s shaping up to be a proper shit-show.”
“I’m sorry, Stellan. I wish there was something more that I could do. But may I offer a suggestion?”
“Of course…”
“Don’t let uncertainties get in the way of your happiness. Follow your heart. She’s a wolf? So what? The heart wants what it wants and if your heart tells you that you want her, then listen to it. There are no problems so great that they can’t be conquered by love.”
“You’re right,” I said.
“Of course, I am,” she said with a smile. “Now go back to her before my sister finds her. She knows you’re reneging on that ridiculous deal. She’s not taking it too well, and I’m afraid she’ll take it out on your girl.”
“I won’t let her hurt Sydney.”
“Please give my regard to the king and queen next time you see them, and tell Delia it’s been too long since she visited. She may want to check into Mallory Falls, as I hear there has been rumblings about a small uprising there.”
“I’ll tell her,” I said and took off through the forest as fast as I could.
As I made my way back to Sydney, I slammed into what felt like a brick wall that forced the air out of my lungs as I flew backwards and landed with an excruciating thud on the ground.
Gasping for breath, I stumbled to my feet and prepared to meet whatever had attacked me head on.
A dark cloud rushed at me, enveloping the space around me, and clung to my body, seeping into my pores. A figure appeared, an evil grin spreading across its face.
“I didn’t want to do this, Stellan, but you’ve forced my hand. I had hoped our union would be amicable, but you had to be difficult,” she said as she approached me. “Now, the choice is yours. Either lay with me tonight or kill your mate. I’ll be waiting for you at the tower in Velum Mortis.”
A moment later, she faded into nothing as I stood there stunned by what had happened. Rage coursed through my body as an insatiable urge to kill vibrated through me. The slightest thought of Sydney had me ready to tear her throat open and drink her dry.
It took every ounce of strength I had to keep myself from seeking her out and doing just that. Every desire for her blood and her body rushed to the surface, drowning out all thought and reason.
And in that moment, there was no other choice. I knew exactly what I had to do.
21
Sydney
I’d drifted off to sleep shortly after Stellan had gone, still high on the kiss he’d left me with. I wanted to trust him—needed to trust him—but everything I’d experienced in my life had told me not to. But maybe he was right. Maybe he was the one worth taking that leap of faith with. Maybe he was made for me, and I for him.
The sound of the lock clicking and door swinging open startled me awake. Not knowing who or what to expect I rubbed at my eyes and focused on the person who had busted in on me.
“Lucien,” I said. Of course, it was Lucien. As the one who had paid for the room, he was the only one who would have access to the other keycard. “What are you doing?”
“It’ll likely get me killed, but I have to take you to the king.”
“Like hell you are. I’m not going to the king to face Christ only knows what. Stellan will be back soon.”
“It’s the safest place for you. You’re in danger. Not just from the wolves who tried to buy you, but the witch has threatened your life. My brother may be many things, but he doesn’t generally harm those who come to him for help, and his queen certainly wouldn’t hurt you. You’ll be safe there until Stellan can deal with the witch.”
“What has she done?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I do,” I said, standing and slipping into the pants I had shed on the floor before lying down. “Tell me.”
“She’s used her magic to force Stellan to make a choice. Be true to his word and do as he promised…”
“Or?”
“Or he has to kill you.”
“Take me to him,” I demanded.
“Have you gone deaf? Did you not hear what I just said?”
“I did, but I’m frankly tired of this bitch, and I don’t believe Stellan would ever harm me.”
“He won’t have a choice.”
“He always has a choice.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“Will this hurt her?” I asked, producing the dagger Stellan had given me.
“If you get close enough,” he said.
“If I don’t, you’ll be there to help me,” I said.
Lucien rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Well, I guess it beats losing my head by taking you to my brother. I am reluctantly in…”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”
The journey through the veil nearly had me vomiting, though I suspected it was more because of the situation I’d found myself in rather than the journey itself.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“You tell me. Being his mate, you should be able to sense his presence.”
“The heaviness in my chest,” I said, realizing I had left my inhaler behind.
“Yes, the closer you get to him, the less it’ll plague you.”
“So I don’t actually have asthma, do I?”
“Not likely.”
“I can smell him,” I said. “His scent is strongest that way.”
We headed down a street, passing by a few vampires who stopped to stare at us.
“We’re gaining too much attention,” he said. “My brother will know I’m here. We have to hurry.”
“We’re almost there.”
“The tower?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so.”
We traveled in silence until we reached the outside of a tower that overlooked the city. Before I could find a door, I caught sight of Stellan standing around at the back, ready to enter.
“Stellan,” I yelled. “Stop.”
“You shouldn’t be here, Syd,” he said. “Leave me.”
“I won’t.”
“Get her out of here, Lucien,” he said, his voice booming. “You assured me you would take her to Liam so I can do what I have to do.”
“So you’ve made your choice then?” I asked.
“I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, yo
u do. You can fight it,” I said, trying desperately to get closer, but Lucien had ahold of my arm and wouldn’t let go. “Look at me,” I commanded.
His eyes met mine a moment later.
“There’s only one thing I can do to make sure she never hurts you.”
“I won’t let you do it,” I said. “Come to me.”
“If I come to you, I’ll rip your throat out.”
“No, you won’t. Lucien will stop you if you lose control. Come to me,” I said, reaching out my hand to him. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have a choice. Listen to my heart and tell me you still want to kill me. Remember our time together and tell me her will is stronger than yours.”
“You don’t understand how hard it is to keep myself from killing you right now. I’m constantly thrown back and forth between hating you and loving you. There’s only one way to end this that I can live with.”
“Well, I can’t live with it,” I said. “Get your ass over here. Now… Take a leap of faith and trust me,” I said, reminding him of the words he’d said to me.
He hesitated for a moment before slowly making his way over to me. Reaching out, he took my hand in his, yanking me from Lucien’s grip. His lips curled back, exposing the sharp points of his fangs.
His body stiffened as he let loose of me, eyes focusing on mine, searching for something.
He placed his hand on my stomach, and said, “You’re…”
22
Stellan
“Pregnant?” she asked, her eyes going wide as her mouth dropped open slightly. “How is that possible? We just…”
“Vampire pregnancies progress much faster than humans, but this can’t be. You haven’t turned.”
“Hades fucking hell,” Lucien whispered. “A natural-born hybrid.”
“How sweet,” a hauntingly evil voice called out from the shadows. “The happy couple has reunited. Pity it’ll end so soon,” Theodona said, appearing in front of us from nothing. “You know what you have to do, Stellan.”
Just then, the very thing I had thought I lost, rushed through my body, sparking at my fingertips.
“Get her back,” I said to Lucien as I fully faced the witch.
Sydney had been right. I did have a choice, and I had chosen to kill Theodona. I’d been on my way to do just that when Sydney and Lucien had shown up, but now was as good of a time as any. And at least this way, I wouldn’t have to pretend I was there to give in to her in order to get her to let her guard down.
Balling my hands into fists, electricity coursed through my veins, a crack of thunder crashed through the sky above us, accompanied by a blinding flash of lightning.
A scream tore from the witch’s throat as she stumbled backward. Never taking my eyes off of her, I watched as she stood up straight and pulled the dagger I had given Sydney out of her shoulder. Glancing toward Sydney and Lucien, I saw Syd standing there, her arm still outstretched from where she had thrown the dagger at the witch.
“Stellan,” Theodona said, her voice trembling. “Kill her now, or I’ll be forced to do it for you.”
“Oh, I’m going to kill something, but it won’t be Sydney,” I said and raised my hand. A bolt of lightning rushed from the palm of my hand, closing the distance between the witch and myself.
She flew backwards, the smell of singed flesh and burning hair permeating the air. I leapt, landing just in front of her as she coughed and sputtered.
“Please,” she said through jagged breaths. “Please, don’t kill me. I’ll… I’ll… leave her alone…”
“And me?”
“Yes. I swear it.”
“Leave Velum Mortis now and never return if you should recover from your wounds. I won’t be so merciful next time.”
“Kill her,” Lucien said. He stood just behind me now. “You can’t trust her to keep her word.”
“You can’t be trusted either. Yet, here you stand.”
“But you have more than just you and Sydney to think about now. You have a child on the way, who is likely the first of his or her kind. Can you live with her also knowing that?” he asked, pointing at the witch. “You know what she’s always wanted from you. She won’t give that up so easily.”
He was right. The witch knew too much, and her obsession had been creating a child unlike any others that she could control in order to fulfill her own delusions of grandeur. What if she thought my child, a vampire-wolf hybrid, was the key to unlocking her plans? I couldn’t have that.
Before she made it to her feet, I pounced, ripping the head from her body and throwing it to the ground. The look on her face, frozen in time, had been one of shock and fear. That action alone may have sparked a new war that none of us was prepared for, but I couldn’t stand by and let her destroy my family.
“Stellan,” Sydney called out as she ran toward me. Jumping into my arms, she asked, “Is it over?”
“Yes,” I said, breathing her in as I held her against me. “She won’t hurt you again, and I swear if anyone else tries, they’ll meet the same fate.”
“I was never here, friends,” Lucien said as he picked up the dagger by its hilt and handed it to Sydney. A second later, he was gone.
Something off to my left caught my eye and I turned, prepared to fend off whatever trouble had found us next, but I met the gaze of my best friend and king, his queen standing at his side.
“What’s happened?” Liam asked. “We heard the thunder.”
“Theodona,” I said, tipping my chin toward the dead witch splayed out on the ground. I took a deep breath and stepped in front of Sydney, blocking Liam’s view of her.
“She finally came for you?” he asked.
I nodded in response.
“Is she the one?” he asked and stepped to the side to get a better look of Sydney.
“She is,” I replied as the queen moved forward.
She bypassed me, stepping close to Sydney and pulling her in for a hug “It’s so good to meet you,” Delia said. “I’m Queen Cordelia, but you can call me Delia.”
A smile grew on Sydney’s lips as she said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I won’t give her to him,” I said, turning my attention back to Liam. “She’s pregnant. He can’t have her. End of story.”
His brows drew together over his blue eyes. “She can’t be…”
“Listen,” I responded. “Do you hear?”
“Yes, but I never thought it possible. She’s the first wolf I’ve ever known of a vampire to mate with, but she hasn’t turned?”
“No.”
“And you’re sure you’re the father?”
“I am. Turns out we don’t know everything we think we know about our kind.”
“Why did you want me?” Sydney asked. “I know what Stellan told me, but I want to hear it from you.”
“Your father came to me for help in locating you. He’d heard your mother had offered you up to the alpha of a rival pack who wanted you for breeding purposes.”
“I don’t have a father. My father left me a long time ago.”
“And now he’s come to claim you, dangling the possibility of peace between our species as payment. I’m not quite sure how to handle this,” he said.
Liam made his way closer to Sydney, but I stepped in front of him once again to block his way. He may have been my best friend and my king, but she was my mate, and he’d have to go through me to get to her.
We stood toe-to-toe as he stared into my eyes.
“Stellan,” he said.
A chorus of growls echoed around us, interrupting our conversation. A man stepped out of the darkness, a pack of wolves at his back.
“Your guests?” I asked Liam, but he only responded with a shake of the head.
If the man wasn’t Sydney’s father, it could only mean that the Mathis pack had come to Velum Mortis to collect their bounty.
23
Sydney
“Stay behind me,” Delia said, her voice stern and unwavering as she unsheathed a sword
that had been fixed at her side. “I won’t let them get close to you.”
I watched, gripping the dagger Lucien had handed back to me before he’d disappeared, as Stellan and Liam faced the wolves. I’d never depended on anyone before, and I wasn’t about to trust this stranger, as nice as she seemed to be. If anything managed to get by the vampires squaring up with the wolves, I wouldn’t go down this time without a fight.
The man leading them began to speak. As he did, the wolves ceased their growls, but kept their teeth bared and their fur standing on end. I wished then that Cyrus was near. Aside from Stellan, he might have been the only other thing in the universe I trusted.
“I don’t want war, but war is what you’ll get if you don’t turn my property over to me,” the man said, his voice echoing through the stillness. Tension was at an all-time high and all one had to do to cut it was to swipe their hand gently through the air.
“Death is what you’ll get if you don’t leave my kingdom now. The girl is under my protection. You have no property here.”
“I beg to differ. I paid for her. That makes her my property,” the man said and glanced toward where Delia and I stood.
“You so much as look in my queen’s direction again, dog, and I’ll have your head removed from your body before you can take your next breath,” Liam said, stepping forward.
“You do and my brothers will have you torn to shreds before your next breath.”
Stellan stepped forward, past Liam and marched right up to the man as if there was nothing in the world that could harm him. The wolves at the man’s back inched closer, their eyes fiercely intent on Stellan.
Lightning lit up the sky as the smell of rain tickled my nose. The air buzzed with electricity, and I wanted to go to him, to stand at his side and fight if necessary, but my feet held me firmly in place. I doubted I could get through the vampires standing between the two of us. At least twenty had joined our ranks within the last few moments. They wore armor and looked like they’d stepped right out of a medieval television show or movie. I’d never seen anyone wear a full suit of armor before, but I was glad for it. What werewolves were capable of I didn’t know, but I did know I didn’t want to go anywhere with these beasts and the vampires were the only things standing in their way.
Into the Storm (Vampires of Velum Mortis Book 2) Page 13