by K Loraine
“I brought you here to find my daughter.”
I laughed, the sound hoarse and slightly frantic. “So you are going to kill me. Well, I can guarantee I won’t find her in the afterlife. I don’t belong anywhere near Heaven.”
She crouched in front of me. “No, Lucas. I’m not sending you to Hell. I’m sending you to find Briar. Who is very much still alive, and very much ruined. Because of you.”
* * *
The end…for now
BRIAR
SCOTLAND, 2018
“Please let me go. I’m so hungry. Everything hurts.” My voice was weak and raspy. I didn’t know how long I’d been here. It all started to blur together after the first few years. Blurred into one terrible nightmare of captivity.
Nik hadn’t responded to my calls for help, for food, for freedom in far too long. He hadn’t come to…test my resilience, to see if he’d been successful in his attempts to cure me. I laughed bitterly at the thought. I couldn’t be cured. Not from this.
“Nik, I can still starve. You won’t let me turn, so you have to feed me.”
This cell with no windows and nothing but a small opening at the top of the door had been painful. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of the world around me. No sense of time passing aside from the clues Nik had given me. It was slowly driving me insane.
“Briar.” Nik’s voice floated on the air, rough and pained. Not typical—even if he had turned into a sadistic asshole.
A crash, the sound of flesh colliding with flesh, and a snarl had my nerves humming with a mix of fear and elation. Lucas. He’d come for me. He hadn’t abandoned me after all. I was finally going to be with him again. I had to. After everything between us, after he came for me at my wedding, he wouldn’t leave me like this.
“Where is she?” His voice sounded odd, so different, so strange. But it had been so long since I’d heard him last.
“You can’t take her. She’s meant to be mine. Once I change her back, she will be my mate.” Nik was crazed. There was no other explanation for the horrors he’d put me through.
A loud thud followed by rattling walls had me pressed into a corner, making myself as small as possible. I wasn’t ready to see Nik again, to have him touch me. The door trembled, shaking with a strange vibration that had my teeth aching until a bright blue light glowed from between the cracks and spilled through the window.
“What in God’s name?” I whispered.
Stone exploded inward, causing mortar and dust to fill the cell. I saw him through the cloud. Tall, broad, dark, and deadly, he strode through the dust. It had to be Lucas. He was here. He’d come for me. And he’d brought me a present. Nik’s limp body held in one hand, he tossed the unconscious shifter at my feet. I didn’t give it a second thought. My hunger took hold before I could even realize what I had done.
My teeth were in Nik’s throat, the monster in me taking every last drop. I drained him until a warm voice whispered, “Stop, love. He’s dead. He’ll take you with him if you don’t stop now.”
Heart racing, I took in great lungfuls of air, gasping, “Something…something’s wrong.” Pain twisted in my gut, burning me from the inside. No, this couldn’t be how it ended.
That blue glow filled my senses again, but this time it broke me free of my chains.
“Sleep, my love. You’re safe now. I have you.”
The man’s voice was unfamiliar, but not unwelcome, and when he touched my forehead, I knew it wasn’t Lucas who’d saved me. Whoever it was had me at his mercy, and I had to pray he would be kind.
My vision went black as my heart sped to a fever pitch before stopping completely.
Silent.
Still.
Empty.
I woke in a dark space. It was cold and empty, quiet as a tomb. Was this how death felt? I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, nothing moved, and the burning in my throat was unbearable. A heavy weight sat upon my chest, keeping me from drawing breath. But if I was dead, would I need to breathe? I needed to breathe. God, didn’t I?
Carefully lifting my arm, which felt like lead in its own right, I pressed my palm to my sternum and willed that rhythmic thump to make itself known. Nothing. My heart wasn’t beating.
I wanted to scream, but how could I if I had no air? Was this Hell? Had I been condemned for loving a Blackthorne?
The scent of sulfur catching light hit my nose first. That had to mean I was breathing, didn’t it? My head throbbed, mouth dry, tongue thick, and gums aching. Misery. This was pure misery.
A small glow in the distance drew my focus. Moving cautiously, I pushed myself to a sitting position and trained my gaze on the flickering candle.
How did it light? I could make out four walls and a handful of sconces with unlit candles of their own, but not a single soul existed inside the room with me.
“Hello? Where am I?” My voice was a weak rasp, thin and tired.
But the candles around the space continued to burst to life one at a time until everything was illuminated. This wasn’t a cell. It was a bedroom. Heavy tapestries covered the places where windows should be. No bars. Just a door. Normal, except for the dark.
I stood, my legs feeling stronger than I’d expected.
“Thirsty?” The voice I’d heard when I was rescued came from outside the door.
Panic swirled in my mind.
“Who are you?” It wasn’t Lucas. That much was certain.
“All in good time, Briar. Are you thirsty?”
I swallowed past the burn parching my throat. “Yes.”
“Come to the door.”
I did as he asked. I had little choice, really. He held my freedom in his hands. Again, it was up to a man whether I lived or died. I hated it.
The knob twisted easily, the door cracking open and revealing a tall man with dark hair, close to the same shade as Lucas’. His eyes burned an acid green though, not the warm topaz of my dreams.
“Here. You’ll need this if you’re going to make it.” He shoved a tall glass filled with red liquid at me.
I didn’t hesitate. I drained the glass and handed it back to him without a word.
“More?” he asked.
Nodding, I waited as he handed me another.
I drank my fill, not questioning where it came from, who the donor was, how he got it. All I knew was I needed to sate this hunger.
“Better?” His eyes locked on me.
I lashed out, gripping him by the throat and giving him no warning.
“Yes, Now tell me who the hell you are.”
He didn’t panic. Not even a glimmer as the green of his eyes glowed and my palm began to blaze.
I released him and backed away, holding my hand to my chest.
“My name is Sebastian Eliason, and I’m the man who saved you. I’ll thank you to remember that the next time you think about trying to kill me.”
“The last man who said he was saving me spent every waking minute torturing the monster out of me. Excuse me if I don’t so easily trust you.”
“I’m not asking for trust, just a truce. You don’t kill me, and I’ll keep you safe until you’re ready to handle yourself.”
I glanced around the room. No chains, no bars, no silver. I didn’t know what to do.
“So, I transitioned?”
He nodded.
“And I killed Nik?”
“He had it coming, if you ask me.”
I hadn’t, but I couldn’t disagree. “I can’t go home. They won’t understand what…what I’ve become.”
“I know.”
I couldn’t help but stare at him. This stranger who’d come to my aid for seemingly no reason. But I’d learned the hard way. There was always a reason.
“Why?”
He cocked a brow. “Why what?”
“Why would you risk your life to free me from him?”
“Because we’re the same, you and I. We can help each other.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, we’re the same?”
&nb
sp; “We have no place where we belong. The vampires won’t have us. The shifters won’t either. None will allow us to stay. I’ve been alone a long time.”
“You? You’re like me? A shifter and a vampire?”
He shook his head. “Not a vampire, but yes, I’m an abomination. That’s what they call us, you know. My coven shunned me. You’re the first I’ve met who’s survived the transition.”
“There have to be others.”
Shrugging, he let out a sad sigh. “Without someone to teach them how to survive straddling two worlds, they’ve all been too far gone for me to save.”
“Can you show me how to survive? Being…this?”
He nodded. “As long as you promise to stay. I can’t be alone any longer.”
Midnight Hunger
Read Cashel Blackthorne’s trilogy
Keep reading for a sample of Lucas’ brother Cashel’s three book series.
Blood Captive
The Blackthorne Vampires: The Blood Trilogy #1
Prologue
The soft thud was what woke me. Not the breaking glass of the window in my mother’s bedroom, nor was it the cry for help she must’ve certainly let out. Just a soft thud. I remember that sound more vividly than anything else from that night. It was the night that changed everything. In the span of a few moments, I lost my entire life.
“Mom?” I whispered in the dark, my feet cold on the hardwood floor of the hallway that separated our rooms.
Strange gurgling noises floated out from behind her open door, and my gut clenched. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go inside. Apprehension prickled in icy patches across the back of my neck. Something was very wrong behind that door.
Then I heard it. The rasp of her voice, strangled and weak and so unlike my mother’s usual musical tone. “Liv,” she said.
“Mom?” My words trembled, almost stuck in my throat, and when I pushed open the door, terror gripped my heart and turned it to stone.
My beautiful, raven-haired mother lay in a pool of her own blood. A raw wound ran from her jaw down to her shoulder, the blood poured freely over her white nightgown. It was a sight fit for a horror movie, not my home. She stared at me, eyes glassy, mouth moving, but no words escaped. I rushed to her, kneeling in the still warm blood, my knees slipping as my hands fluttered uselessly over her. I didn’t know what to do, how to stop the bleeding without hurting her. Panic flashed across her features and I leaned down to tell her she was going to be okay, even if it wasn’t true. Instead, she whispered one word that sent ice down my spine.
“Run.”
Chapter 1
Olivia
I stood at the balcony rail of the bar in the middle of the city, staring at the Portland skyline. Lights, noise, and people, it was everything I never got to experience as a kid. A soft breeze washed over my face and I tilted my head up toward the darkening sky, ready for tears or despair or crushing grief to take me.
Tonight marked one year since my mother’s murder, and the anniversary of the night my entire world changed. Instead, I watched the clouds and wished I was completely alone so I could have shouted into the air. The cold fist of anxiety clutched my chest, making it hard to breathe as panic threatened to take control of my senses. I balled my hands into fists, squeezing my fingers until my palms ached from my sharp fingernails digging into the flesh. Blood welled in a few of the crescent-shaped indentations, but I brought myself back from the edge.
“Are you okay?” a male voice asked, catching me by surprise.
Embarrassment mixed with irritation at being interrupted. I turned on my heels to find a man standing near me, gaze roaming my form. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
His lips quirked up in a grin. “You look like you’ve got something on your mind.” As good-looking as he was, I was nowhere near in the mood to deal with his attention. “Would you like me to get you a drink? We could talk about whatever’s going on.”
“I said, I’m fine.” I shook my head and moved to head back inside, hoping to get past him.
His eyes were a heavy weight on my back as I walked away from him and back to the table where my friend had been sitting. Though friend wasn’t really the right term for Masie. She was my co-worker, and somehow she’d talked me in to a night out in the city.
Searching the crowd, unease curled in my belly with every passing moment. Where the hell was she?
My tension ebbed as she came into view, her long wavy teal hair like a beacon. Until I spotted the man I’d just been talking with at her side, along with another man who had his hand on her waist.
“Hey, girl. This is Davis,” she said, motioning to the guy touching her. “And this is Matt.”
Matt offered me a sheepish grin, but I didn’t reciprocate. This was why Masie and I weren’t destined to be friends. We were far too different. “You know, I’m not feeling very well,” I said. “I think I’ll head home.”
Masie’s brows rose in surprise. “Really? We just got here.”
“You stay. I’ll get a cab.”
She didn’t think about it for very long. “Okay. See you Monday.”
“Unless you’re too worn out after tonight,” Davis said, nuzzling her neck. “You might end up drained.”
I wanted to tell her maybe she should come with me, but Masie was already shoving her tongue down his throat. Matt locked gazes with me again, his attention making the back of my neck prickle. Apprehension had my heart racing with every step I took toward the exit. I’d been on the verge of a panic attack most of the evening and I didn’t know why.
The music died to a dull throbbing of bass as soon as I got into the corridor and the door closed behind me. I was so ready to get out of there. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open without me needing to push the button. Adrenaline coursed through me, making me run for the elevator. My toe caught on the edge of the piece separating the corridor from the elevator car, sending me hurtling toward the floor with a cry. But instead of landing face first, I found myself in the arms of a tall, handsome man. His dark eyes sent a wave of unease and dark desire through me as he looked me up and down.
“Careful, little bird,” he murmured. Something in his voice made me shiver. It was like he’d just told me he wanted to fuck me instead of offered a warning. The doors slid shut behind us, and the man hit the button for the basement level.
“Thanks,” I said, shrugging out of his hold. “I’ll keep that in mind.” I reached for the buttons so I could press the one that would let me off at the lobby, but he stopped me.
He leaned forward and inhaled, his body far too close. “What are you running from? Your heart is beating so fast.”
Alarm shot through me. “What?”
“And you’re bleeding.” Long fingers toyed with the ends of my hair and he frowned as his hands drifted to mine and turned them palms up to expose the small cuts from my nails. “I can smell it.”
“I had…a panic attack. The pain brings me back.” Why was I telling him all this?
A low chuckle rumbled in his chest as he backed away. “What’s your name, little bird?”
The last thing I wanted to tell this guy was my name. “Thanks for catching me. I should get going.” I tried to move past him, but he stood in my way, and I really had no way out until the elevator opened.
“Your name,” he demanded.
“Olivia Stewart,” I supplied, working hard to keep my focus off his magnetic gaze. It seemed like he was pulling me into the depths of his eyes.
“Olivia.” His soft utterance of my name twisted things low in my belly. He was strange and sexy, but I was also desperately uncomfortable. “You smell delectable, Olivia.”
I had no idea what to say to that. His entire demeanor was so inappropriate, so socially odd, I was at a loss for how to react. “Thanks?” I said, but the word sounded like a question.
“You’re like…sunshine. Like a warm summer day. Like exactly what I need.” His hand wrapped around my upper arm, gripping me hard. “Who sent you here to te
mpt me?”
There was such anger in his voice, I wondered if he was stable. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I came here with a friend.”
I tried to pull free of his grasp, but he held me fast, leaning in and running his nose along my throat. “Just a taste,” he whispered, his breath leaving a trail of ice over my skin.
“What?” The word trembled.
I shuddered at the feel of his lips trailing up my throat. “Let go of me.” I hated the fear in my voice, but I had no idea what this man was going to do to me. He was so much taller, broader, stronger than I was. Was he going to rape me? Kill me? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I needed to get out of here, get away from him.
“I don’t think so, little bird. Did you really think that once I found you, I would let you get away from me? Smelling the way you do, it’s a wonder no one else has taken you.”
What was he talking about? I tried to pull away, but his hold on my arm was like an iron band, immovable. “Please, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
A dark chuckle fell from him, low and dangerous. It would’ve been seductive if I wasn’t so terrified. “Do you really not know?”
I shook my head, the adrenaline coursing through me, making my heart race. “I’m not who you think I am. I promise. I’m nobody.”
Then he lifted my hand and licked my palm where my small wounds were already healing. A shudder left his body and the elevator stopped, doors sliding open to reveal the underground parking garage. “No, little bird, you are exactly who I think you are. I’m not letting you go anywhere. Now.” He gripped my chin with his fingers and tilted my head until my eyes were on his. “Look at me and relax. You will come with me, without a fight, or I will make you, and it won’t be pleasant.”