by Katie Reus
Larissa let the flames dance higher in a bright circle. Next to her Aiden growled at Magda, the sound low, deadly. The female nodded and collapsed against the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest, looking young and terrified. But Larissa wouldn’t be swayed by appearances. The female was pure evil.
“Who put me in stasis?” Larissa demanded.
“Your parents.”
“Why?”
“They didn’t want you mated with a shifter. They thought if they killed him while you were in stasis, you’d get over it once you awoke. You are virtually immortal. Maybe they figured you couldn’t stay angry forever.”
Larissa balled her hands into fists, furious at her parents. “What does your master want with me?”
“I’m . . . not totally sure. I swear it!” She held up her hands when Larissa’s jaw tightened. “He wants your blood, but he doesn’t tell me everything.”
Shock rippled through her. Her blood was naturally powerful because she was a pure, bloodborn vamp, but why would anyone want it? She didn’t think it could do anything for anyone long-term. “Why didn’t you just kill me instead of waking me from stasis and take my blood that way?”
Magda’s expression darkened and Larissa could tell that she wished she’d done just that. “Because he needs your blood fresh and he couldn’t travel to Romania. Plus . . . he needed you to gain back some of your strength for you to be of use. Now I think I understand why,” she muttered, looking around at the burning blue flames coating everything.
“How is he controlling vampires?” Because if he could, that meant none of her kind was safe. Larissa wondered if it was a distance thing. Maybe he had to be within a certain range.
Magda swallowed, fear rolling off her in waves so potent, Larissa nearly gagged on the foul scent. Like weeks-old garbage that had been left rotting under a hot sun. It masked everything else in the room, even the stench of death.
“Tell me,” she demanded.
Magda shook her head, and moving with shocking speed, withdrew an ancient-looking dagger from behind her back. The jagged blade glinted for only a moment in the firelight before she raised it high. Larissa moved to cover Aiden, but he knocked her out of the way, lunging for the female. But instead of striking at either of them, she sunk the blade deep into her chest before either of them could stop her.
Cursing, Larissa frantically knelt down next to her as Aiden shifted back to his human form. Her flames immediately died. Behind them she could hear Angelo shifting too. With the witch dying, most of her spells would weaken, giving them more control over their wolves. But Magda couldn’t die. Not until they knew everything.
Larissa didn’t attempt to pull the blade out, not wanting her to lose even more blood. But she tried to stanch the bleeding, pressing her hands to Magda’s chest around the entry point. The witch dragged in a gurgled breath and Larissa knew she had to be in pain, but Magda looked almost smug. Probably because she was dying on her own terms.
For a brief moment Larissa thought about giving her blood to Magda to help save her, but quickly dismissed that idea. There was no way in hell she could share a part of herself with someone this evil, no matter how desperate she was. “Who is your master? Where is he?”
“Stupid bitch . . . your mate . . . killed . . . parents.” She laughed maniacally before her dark eyes dilated and her body went completely still. Her hands fell away from her body as her facial muscles sagged, her jaw falling open as if in shock. Larissa knew from seeing more than her fair share of dead bodies, this was normal in the first stages after death. There was no more tension in her muscles because she was truly gone.
“Damn it,” Aiden cursed as he looked up from the body. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She started to stand, but a wave of exhaustion swept through her and she stumbled. Aiden caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to his naked body. “You need to feed,” he murmured, his deep voice soothing.
“I’ll be okay.” She placed her hands on his chest and steadied herself, but it didn’t help much. She had a lot of questions, like what was the deal with this fire-wielding ability.
Holding on to Aiden for support, she glanced around the room, everything coming into sharp focus again now that she wasn’t intent on Magda. Brianna stood next to the chained male, her hands glowing a soft green as they hovered over his chest. Larissa knew some fae had a similar healing ability so it wasn’t shocking.
“We need to get him to a hospital,” Brianna said, looking up at all of them. Angelo was in human form and moving around the room, seemingly inspecting everything. He just made a grunting sound and Larissa figured they were communicating telepathically.
Larissa and Aiden needed to be searching this place too. If they could find the witch’s grimoire it might give them the answers they needed. If not that, something that could lead them to the nameless vampire. For all they knew, the vampire might show up and find them here. And it worried her that he wanted her blood. The only possible reason Larissa could fathom would be for a blood ritual and those were only for dark purposes.
She pushed lightly at Aiden’s chest, and even that was a strain she felt all the way to her bones. “I’ll be fine, I promise. We need to search this place for clues to find out who her ‘master’ is. What if he shows up and finds us all here?” Considering how weak she was, she was afraid she wouldn’t be any help to anyone.
Aiden’s expression tensed as he watched her. “We will. But take a break first. You just expended a hell of a lot of energy.” He tilted his head to the side, his dark eyes going pure wolf. “Feed.”
Swallowing hard, she looked at his chest. Her fangs ached, the urge to strike his vein and assuage her hunger was strong. But she wouldn’t, even if it offended him. She’d already taken too much from him recently and she wouldn’t risk feeding and weakening him. “No.”
He growled softly, drawing her gaze up to his as his hands flexed on her hips. “Do you believe what she said?”
She frowned at him and clutched tighter. The edges of darkness pushed in on her vision and a spark of fear skittered through her. She worried she’d pushed herself too hard. Without knowing the specifics of her gift, she didn’t know what this could mean for her. “It was hard to decipher truth from lies, but I believe some of it was real. What did you scent?” His ability to pick out lies from truth was stronger than hers.
I mean about me killing your parents.
No. There had been a very small part of her that had reacted to the witch’s words, but it had been borne out of fear, not because she didn’t trust him.
Don’t lie to me.
I’m not. Now is not the time for this, Aiden. We need . . . She swallowed hard and gripped him tighter. A wave of dizziness rushed through her as something wet dripped down over her lips. Blood? But that didn’t make sense. Confusion intermixed with that darkness creeping in on her. What the hell was happening?
Aiden’s eyes widened, all annoyance replaced by pure fear. Shit, Larissa, talk to me.
“Wh—” She tried to find her voice as it registered that her nose was bleeding. That had never happened before. Not that she remembered. It felt as if something was weighing on her eyes, tugging them down. She tried to hold them open, to grasp onto that link with Aiden, but she couldn’t even do that as blackness consumed her.
Chapter 21
Sixty years ago
What was that sneaky male up to? Larissa lifted up on her toes to peer over the long stone wall in the local town. What she’d seen of the Isle of Skye was beautiful, but her coven had remained centralized to the Nicholl pack’s castles and extensive land. They’d had no need to look for food as they brought their own humans with them—who they paid handsomely—as donors. Tonight Aiden had told her that he had something to do while his pack put on a big festive Christmas party, but that he would meet up with her later.
A dark, jealous part of her had decided to follow him. She knew it was crazy and something she’d never done before with a male. The truth was, no male would dare stray from her while they were lovers. Partially because of her father, but more likely because they feared her own wrath. But Aiden was maddening and even though he seemed completely taken with her, she couldn’t help the strange irrational urges he brought out of her. She knew the emotion was jealousy and she did not care for it. She was not a jealous female. Or she hadn’t been.
Larissa found herself feeling possessive when a pretty female from Aiden’s pack entered the room or gave Aiden a lingering look. She knew he’d likely slept with many of them, and it shouldn’t bother her. But it did. For all she knew he had a human lover he was coming to see in this nearest town. At that thought her claws dug into the stone. As pieces crumbled off and fell onto her new coat, she barely reined in her curse as she swiped them off her and took a step back. Her heels sunk into the grassy earth.
Despite the cold weather, she was wearing a knee-length blue ribbon-trimmed gingham cocktail dress. She’d seen a lot of fashion over the centuries and she loved this era with its fun, flirty dresses. To blend in with any humans she might stumble across, she’d worn a thick, ankle-length fur coat.
After hoisting herself back up, she glanced around and when she was sure there were no humans lingering about, she jumped over the wall in one quick move. Her heels barely made a sound on the cobblestone street.
Using her gift of speed, she walked lightly over the street down to the one she’d seen Aiden turn on moments earlier. He’d been carrying a big sack of something with him. Maybe presents for a human lover. As she looked around the corner she saw that the street was devoid of humans or other life. A long row of brick town houses lined the quiet area. They were set close together, as seemed to be common in this little town. Most of the homes had candles in the windows or wreaths on the doors to celebrate the holidays.
As she contemplated her next move and the insanity of her actions, a door three homes down opened. She slid back into the shadows and watched as Aiden walked out with a smile on his face. A pretty, wholesome-looking blonde walked out with him and gave him a big hug, profusely thanking him. Larissa’s claws descended, wanting to swipe the smile right off her face. And definitely off his.
Her anger faltered when two young children appeared beside the female, clutching on to her legs and staring up at Aiden in awe. When they shyly thanked him, she frowned, confused. And when a young, handsome male about the same age as the female appeared in the doorway, her confusion grew greater. She noticed immediately that the man had a cane. Smiling, he shook Aiden’s hand with his free one before he wrapped it around the female and pulled her close. He also thanked Aiden, true appreciation rolling off him, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there were tears in his eyes.
Moments later they went inside and shut their door as Aiden descended the short set of stairs to the street. Standing there, he looked up at the full moon, his profile one of true beauty. Despite the cold, he hadn’t bothered with a coat. His shirt was pushed up to the sleeves, showing off all those taut muscles she could make out even from her hidden position. And she knew under his kilt he likely wore nothing. Something she couldn’t dwell on without getting flustered. Feeling incredibly foolish, she started to turn and leave when he spoke. “You can come out now.”
Since she was the only person skulking around like some thief, she had no doubt he was talking to her. She figured she should be embarrassed—and perhaps she was a little—but she wouldn’t show it.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped from around the corner and strode toward him. He looked at her then, his wolf in his eyes as he took her in from head to toe. He watched her with unconcealed hunger and a shiver spiked through her.
“You spying on me, lass?”
She lifted her shoulders casually as she came to stand in front of him under one of the dim, whining bulbs of the streetlight. With her extrasensory abilities she could hear the buzz of the light. It seemed overpronounced in the quiet evening air. “Just curious.”
“You could have asked to come with me,” he murmured, his big hands settling on her hips as he pulled her close to him.
She didn’t bother not to be affected by his simple touch as she slid her hands up his chest and linked her fingers behind his neck. “You didn’t ask. What are you doing?”
“It’s not important.” He dropped a soft kiss on her lips, the light touch igniting a spark of desire in her that not even her gift could match with its beautiful flames.
She pulled back. “It is to me. I . . . found myself wondering if perhaps you had a human lover.” She didn’t form it as a question but it clearly was.
“Are you jealous, little lass?” he murmured, his head dipping to her neck where he nuzzled her gently.
She moved her hands down his shoulders to his arms and dug her fingers into his biceps. “Maybe I am.” The confession cost her a big chunk of pride, but she didn’t want to play games with this male.
Now he pulled back, surprise etched on his face. “Why would you be jealous? You are the only female for me. I never believed in mates until I met you.”
The seriousness of his statement slammed into her. She felt the same way, but had been terrified she was just a challenge to him. She knew she was the first vampire he’d been with. And she wanted to be the last—and only—female for him. But admitting that was something else entirely. She wasn’t used to showing weakness, and if she admitted to a shifter that she was willing to give up everything for him . . . “Mates?”
His jaw twitched. “You think this is a game for me?”
She bit her bottom lip. The past couple of weeks they’d spent every second possible together and made love more times than she could count. But he was a shifter and she was a vampire. Their species did not generally mate. Or even sleep together for fun. They were both from strong lines and she knew neither of their parents would ever accept their mating. “I wasn’t sure.”
Anger darkened his expression for a moment before he sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led them back the way they’d come. “How did you get here?”
“I drove, but parked near the outskirts of town and just followed your scent. I wanted to rip your face off when I saw that female hugging you.”
He chuckled. “Didn’t realize you were so bloodthirsty.”
“I didn’t either.” It was the truth.
He motioned to the left once they reached the end of the street. It was a different direction from which she’d followed him.
“So what were you doing tonight?”
Aiden was silent for a long moment and she wondered if he’d even answer her. Finally he did. “Most of the humans here know about our pack. It’s not a huge secret. The Highlanders have always believed in more than one can see.”
She nodded. “It’s the same for our coven.”
“I’ve known Donnan Brodie—that’s the human’s house where I was—since he was a babe. We’ve been friends a long time and I was bringing presents to his family for Christmas.”
Smiling, she nuzzled her face against his chest as they strolled down the street. “That was very sweet.”
“Aye, it was. And if you want to show me just how impressed ye are by my actions, I’ll let ye take advantage of me in the next dark alley we come across,” he murmured seductively.
Laughing, something she seemed to do a lot of these past couple of weeks, she playfully pinched his side. “You are hopeless.”
“I also wanted to say good-bye to Brodie in case I’d be leaving soon,” he said softly.
It took a moment for his words to register. But she wasn’t sure she understood him. “Leaving?”
Slowing, he nodded and pushed her back up against a brick wall. She could vaguely hear the sounds of music and laughter a block or so o
ver, but she tuned it out as he rolled his hips against hers. He spread open her coat and ground himself against her. Through his kilt and her dress, his erection was unmistakable and insistent.
When he didn’t say anything else, she swallowed hard. She’d never put herself out there for any male, but Aiden was worth fighting for. Worth taking a risk for. If he didn’t mean what she thought, she’d survive the rejection. Or try to. “Our parents have come to an understanding over the shield and protection of your people near our region. My coven is leaving in a few days.”
He nodded. “Aye, I know.”
“Do you want to come with me?” They would have so many obstacles to face that she wondered how they would make their relationship work. Even though it would be hard she wanted to try.
He shook his head and it was like he’d pierced her with a silver dagger straight through the heart. She struggled to suck in a breath at the unexpected agony. But his next words changed everything.
“I want to start over somewhere new with you. We’ll never be accepted by our families. At least not right away. Let’s go to America, start a life together. Once our families get used to the idea, we can go from there.”
A cacophony of emotions exploded inside her. Pure joy at his declaration, but it was tempered by sadness because he was right about their families. She didn’t want to admit it was the truth, but knew it was. Her mother had mentioned something about leaving this disgusting shifter den and Larissa had felt as if her mother had been watching her for a reaction. Throat tight, she nodded. “Yes.”