by L. J. Red
Jacob curled his hands into fists. “You forget,” Jacob said, “hunters have claimed vampires in the past; not just weak ones.” His eyes darkened with memories and he felt Lucian relent through the bond.
“I know what you have lost,” Lucian said after a moment. “But Roman is the more pressing threat. He has allies among the Bloodlines. You think they won’t take their chance to attack the others after the Conclave was attacked and the Circle lies in shambles? The greater threat does not come from humans. The threat, as always, comes from those of our kind who use their powers and their strength to hurt innocents, be they human or vampire.”
“You’re wrong,” Jacob said. “HUNT is a real threat and they are only gathering power.”
Lucian snarled, slamming Jacob against the lamppost and making it rock dangerously.
“We are threatened on all fronts. I must decide which of my Shadows to send where.”
“You think my past blinds me to the severity of this threat,” Jacob said. “You’re right, I hate them, all hunters. I blame them for taking my sister from me. I always will. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
“Those men paid for the murders they committed. They are long dead.”
Jacob struggled to control himself. “I pray these hunters don’t do the same to another vampire as they did to me.
“It won’t happen,” Lucian said. “We will protect the vampires and humans of this city. I trust Rune and I trust Dana; I need you to trust me. Are you willing to accept my authority as your leader or not?”
Jacob snapped his teeth in frustration.
“Well?” Lucian said, his eyes intent and unforgiving.
“Yes,” Jacob said finally, dropping his gaze. “Yes, of course.” He trusted Lucian, had followed him into death itself and out of it. He let the tension flow out of his muscles and Lucian eased up.
Jacob watched his leader walk away from him, still feeling unsettled in his own skin. Lucian was right. Jacob had no control when it came to the hunters; they drove his rage to levels he could barely hold himself back from. It made sense to put Rune with the humans, even if he was less familiar with their ways. But the restriction chafed him. He feared there would come a time when his hatred for hunters and his control over his rage would come into conflict. Would his control snap? Would he descend into the kind of mad rage that Talon had so narrowly avoided?
It had been Eden, Talon’s soulmate, who had called him back from the brink, but Jacob had no soulmate and he didn’t expect he ever would have one. He was solitary, isolated, and that was how he liked it. He lived in the shadows, separate from the world. When the time came, there would be no one there to pull him back from the brink of madness and rage.
Chapter 11
Brigit led Rune to a quiet corner of the parking lot and crossed her hands over her chest. “Which one are you, Rune or Jacob?” Dana hadn’t specified which was which in the meeting.
“Rune,” he said, “and you are Brigit.”
“Detective McReeve,” she corrected. “So, explain it to me,” she said. “You’re clearly not comfortable around humans. Why do you want to be on this team?”
“What do you mean I’m not comfortable around humans?” he said.
“It’s pretty obvious; you’re all stiff around them. Or maybe that’s just how you always stand. I don’t know. You didn’t seem to be happy to be around humans in the alley.”
Rune’s expression shifted dark for a moment, before blanking again. “That was different,” he said.
“How was it different?” Brigit asked.
“Because…” He stared at her intently and then jerked his eyes away. “It just was,” he said.
Brigit huffed. She didn’t understand this guy. She wanted to know why he was here, why she felt this strange tension in the air, why he haunted her dreams. Since when did you dream about people before you met them? Nobody did. That was the kind of stuff that happened only in storybooks. How the hell should she even phrase the question?
“I’ve been having—” She broke off. This was going to sound really weird, but there was nothing for it. She squared her shoulders. “I’ve been having these dreams,” she said.
His eyes snapped to hers. “Dreams?”
Her breath disappeared from her lungs at the intensity in his gaze. “Yeah,” she said, “dreams. I dreamed of you. At least I think it was you. We were getting closer,” she said, leaning in despite herself. “Every night getting closer and I could… feel you, I mean, feel your presence somehow.” She raised a hand to her chest, pressing where she could feel the strange sensation even now that she was awake. It was like there was a thread running between them, pulling taut, tying them together in a strange, unfamiliar way. Not bad exactly, just… intense, inexplicable.
To be honest, it scared her. The thought that she could in some way be tied to this stranger. And not just any stranger, but a vampire at that. One who clearly didn’t trust her to do her job. Who didn’t believe she could protect herself and fight her own battles. She didn’t want to be tied to someone that wanted to restrain her or put her into a box marked “weak woman,” then lock her up and throw away the key.
She wasn’t going to let anyone take her career and her passion away from her. She protected people; that was why she had become a cop. It was who she was, and it mattered more to her than whatever this strange vampire bond might be between them.
It didn’t matter how strong it was, that it chased her from her dreams into her waking life. It didn’t matter how attractive he was, how hard it was to look away from the lines of his face. It didn’t matter that heat was rising between them, that her thoughts were… slipping.
She swayed forward a step. The bond between them seemed to flex, thickening, pulling tighter.
“The dreams,” he said slowly, his voice rough and low, she felt it all over her skin. “They are…”
Oh God, she didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want her suspicion confirmed. It wasn’t like Dana. She wasn’t like Dana; she couldn’t fall for a vampire. No. No, she wished she hadn’t asked him, wished she hadn’t even mentioned the damn dreams. She needed to stop him talking. Her thoughts were moving so slow, fogging up in the heat, the delicious heat of arousal rising between them.
“It feels…” She trailed off, breath escaping past her lips in a moan. She raised her hand slowly, dreamily, toward Rune, feeling like she had no control, like her treacherous body was acting without her permission. She needed… something. Needed to… touch. She needed to get closer, to touch him. She could see a narrow v of his chest between his open collar, the outline of his muscles under his shirt.
The darkness of the night wrapped around them, thickened somehow by the shadows, almost like they were cloaked from view, safe, protected, alone.
But before she could touch him his hand came up and stopped her, gripping her wrist. The moment his skin touched hers it was as if a lightning bolt had been released, not shooting from the sky to the ground, but shooting between them. From Rune to her and back again. She swayed into him, almost losing her balance. His other hand was at her hip, his broad palm hot like a brand against her side. His fingertips touching skin where her shirt parted from her belt.
She gasped at the sensation. It was new, as if any touch before had never really reached her, as if he were touching more than just skin, the sensation raking through her body, through her bones, her nerves, her veins. She felt his touch in every part of her. It was overwhelming. She lost herself in it.
His hands slid around her waist toward her back and she moaned as he pulled her against his front. Her breasts pressed against his hard, muscled chest. Their bodies were pressed so close there was barely a gap between them.
The heat raging between them rose to new peaks. Desire drenched every inch of her. She could barely drag in the next breath she was so overwhelmed by the desperate need to be even closer. Her thoughts had entirely fled, she was one lit up nerve ending, all need, all desire. She wanted his lips
on hers. She arched her body up toward him.
And at that moment the door to the precinct slammed open and a trio of officers spilled out.
Brigit jumped back, the spell broken. The moment their bodies disconnected she felt cold. She gasped in a breath and spun away from the cops who had exited the building, not wanting them to see the naked emotion on her face. She tried desperately to claw back her control. What had she been thinking? She came out here to tell Rune she didn’t want anything to do with him, and instead she flung herself into his arms, craving his lips on hers. Where had her resolve gone? She needed to get a grip and stop behaving like a bitch in heat. Shit. Maybe she needed to get laid and find some no-strings, no-future sex in a club somewhere.
Her gaze was dragged back to Rune. His eyes were full of heat as he looked down at her. Shit, she really didn’t need to be thinking about sex while standing next to him. A deep pulse of lust shot straight through to her core, a wet, delicious heat moving between her legs. Fuck. She needed to put some distance between them.
“Look,” she said to Rune, “stay away from me, alright? Whatever this is, whatever vampire crap you’re pulling right now, I don’t want any part of it.”
Rune didn’t react in any way that Brigit could see. His expression was like stone. It could have been carved from granite, so little emotion did it show. Proof that whatever she was feeling, he wasn’t sharing it. She tried to hide the painful disappointment in her chest. It was all her, a stupid emotional human getting caught up in vampire business.
She stumbled away from him, trying to pretend that each step didn’t hurt, each pace away from him didn’t feel like it was pulling her chest apart.
Chapter 12
“You, get up,” the guard said, pointing at one of the street kids they’d brought in during the last sweep. Sparrow pushed herself upright, gripping the cold concrete wall. There were about ten of them in this cell, many of them people she recognized from the shelters or from seeing on the streets around Chicago. The last bunch of people they had brought in had been little older than kids, barely at the end of their teens, looking rangy and underfed.
The boy the guard had pointed at scrambled back, pressing himself against the wall. Everyone in the tiny room was too terrified to intervene as he advanced on the kid. The guards had been brutal, shoving them into the cells roughly with beats and kicks. They’d hurt them over the past few days, just for fun. One of them had even stolen her necklace, snapped the chain clean off her neck and tucked it into his pocket. He had beat her with his baton when she tried to get it back. It was the only precious thing she had. The only possession her mother had left her. She’d managed to hold onto it this long and now this bastard had stolen it.
They had barely fed them. Sparrow wasn’t sure how long she’d been in here. It felt like weeks, but surely it was only days. Down in this concrete cell, there was no sunlight, no way of tracking the passage of time. She hoped Brigit was okay. She’d never wanted the cop to get hurt; she just hadn’t been able to stand the thought of staying in the shelter, and the moment the walls had begun pressing in on her she’d had a strange premonition of danger. Of course, then she’d gone and run straight into it. She’d always trusted her premonitions before, but this time it seemed her instincts had led her astray.
“Move,” the guard snapped as a woman got in his way. He struck out at her so hard that Sparrow was sure she heard the bone in the woman’s arm crack. The woman screamed out in pain and fell to the side as the guard went straight for the kid.
“Stop,” Sparrow said without even thinking about it, stepping forward. “Leave him alone. He’s just a kid; take me instead.”
The man turned to look at her and her stomach dropped at the empty, hateful look in his eyes. “Boys, we got a keen one,” he said.
She glared at him. “Let’s get this over with,” she said, dreading what violence they were planning to inflict upon her. She had no idea what these sickos had planned, but she wasn’t going to let them take it out on a kid half her age. If all she could do to stop them was put herself in his place, then she would do just that.
The guard grabbed her, pulling at her wrist so hard her arm almost came out of its socket. “Where are you taking me,” she asked as he dragged her down the hallway.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “it’s right here.” And he shoved her into a room.
She pulled up short. The man with the mask who’d been here on the first day and stopped her escaping was standing in the middle of the room. The guard behind her grabbed both her arms, gripping her tightly so she couldn’t break free. “Let me go,” she said, struggling. The masked man’s eyes were black and terrifying. Whatever they had planned, she was deathly afraid she wouldn’t live through it.
“Oh no,” he said, “you aren’t going anywhere.”
“Whatever you’re planning to do to me, you won’t get away with it—”
“What I’m planning to do?” His eyes were empty of any human emotion; pure malice seemed to emanate from him. “Oh no, my dear,” he said. “I’m not the one who’s going to do anything to you. Roman is.” He flung out his hand and pointed to the corner of the room. Sparrow turned and froze in terror, her feet rooted to the floor as she took in the man who had been hidden in the corner of the room behind her.
He was pale from the tips of his white blond hair to the ends of his pale fingernails, his eyes luminous and glowing with an unearthly light. He grinned, pale lips parting to show long white fangs. He walked forward toward her. Every step closer filled her limbs with lead. Her mind was screaming in terror, her thoughts tangling. He opened his mouth as he grew closer and his breath exhaled in a hiss. His fangs were long and wicked against his lips.
“Ah yes,” he said. “I do so enjoy it when they are truly afraid.” He laughed and the masked man joined in with him. Like nails drawing down a blackboard, it filled her with agony. The vampire bent down toward her until his face was mere inches from hers.
“W-Whatever you do to me, you won’t get away from it. Even if you kill me,” she said. “You’ll pay. You’ll get found out eventually and they will put you down just like the Monster of Chicago.” Sparrow trembled, despite her brave words, her entire frame shaking with terror.
“Oh no,” the vampire said, “I’m not here to eat you, my dear.” His eyes lit with a vicious glint. “I’m here to turn you into a vampire.”
He gripped her by her shoulders painfully, tugging her away from the guard. His sharp fingernails bit into the flesh of her arms.
“No, no,” she choked out, full of revulsion. She didn’t want anything to do with him. She didn’t want to be a vampire. She didn’t want his fangs anywhere near her. But it was useless; he was too strong. She threw herself against his grip, trying desperately to break away, but he only gripped her harder, his fingernails cutting into her flesh, blood trickling down her arms. Despite her struggles, he pulled her to him with a jerk and then lunged forward, burying his fangs in her neck.
Chapter 13
“Jacob?” Rune said, stepping down from his room into the shadowed courtyard that all of the Shadows’ private rooms faced onto. The fountain in the middle cascaded water gently in pattering droplets. The trellis along the far wall was starting to show buds of greenery.
He had felt his brother call him through the Bloodline bond and the insistent draw had led him here. As he walked down toward the fountain he wasn’t surprised when a patch of shadow detached itself from the wall and resolved into Jacob’s form. He took a seat by the fountain’s edge and looked intently at Jacob, content to wait in silence until his fellow Shadow spoke. Jacob approached slowly, and the silent night settled around them.
“The humans are a threat,” Jacob said finally, the words falling into the space between them like the droplets from the fountain.
“Which humans?” Rune said, a growl in his voice. His brother couldn’t be talking about those at the precinct, about Brigit. Anger curled deep within him.
�
��These modern hunters,” Jacob clarified. “You must not dismiss them.”
“Oh,” Rune said, his anger settling back into his bones. He understood what this was about. “You are unhappy that Lucian let me volunteer for this team,” he said.
Jacob turned to look at him, his icy eyes flashing. “I have no interest in joining the humans in this fight. I merely worry that Lucian dismisses the threat and—”
“And you wanted to impress upon me the importance of the role I am taking,” Rune said
“I wanted to make sure you are aware what a threat they are.”
“Surely Roman is the greater threat?”
Jacob snarled and exploded into movement, pacing before Rune. Rune had never seen Jacob so openly angry before. He usually kept all things under the shadows, even his emotions. It was rare for Jacob to show his true feelings on his face. He was a master of control, but then if anything was going to make him lose his usual cool, it would be hunters.
“Jacob, surely you must recognize that you are not entirely…” He hesitated. “… objective when it comes to hunters.”
“Of course not,” Jacob said. “This is why Lucian ignores my warnings, and now you too,” he said, frustrated. “Why can’t you both see my experience with hunters makes me better able to recognize the threat that they pose, not worse.”
Rune stood slowly and faced Jacob. “I am not dismissing your words, and I do recognize that the hunters are a threat. I promise you, brother.”
“Then heed this warning,” Jacob said, looking intently at him. “Lucian is right that Roman poses a threat to us all. Of course he does. He is insane and power-hungry and it is our purpose to track down vampires such as him, but these modern hunters have a greater reach than the hunters of the past ever did. They are organized, they are networked across the country. It’s not like the old days when a lord here or a lady there would give them a few pieces of gold to track down the vampire terrorizing the village. This modern world that we are in is different, and as we change with it, so to do the hunters. Only they change even faster for they are humans and have short lives and must make the most of their time.”