“Or we can find a room here, and you can show me how those pouty lips of yours look around my cock, Remington.”
I lifted my drink, downing it as I felt the alcohol catching up to me. Cole smiled before taking another puff of the thick cigar. “Chicken. I bet you shocked the shit out of Rhys when he woke up with your pretty lips wrapped around him. Rhys seems whole, Remington. But he isn’t. He doesn’t allow anyone to get past the shields he erected over his heart after what Roslyn did to us. She fucked us harder than anyone else ever had. The moment he fucks you, his interest will wane, and you’ll be another broken-hearted female he’ll add to his long list. Of all of us that Roslyn toyed with, she fucked Rhys the hardest. He was the loyal knight who jumped when she called, doing what she asked without question. Rhys loved her. He thought she wanted to marry him and make a life and give him children.”
“But not you?” I asked softly, watching the darkness pooling in his gaze.
“I knew she was a monster. I was okay with that. I was okay with her fucking my brothers and her obsession to conquer the entire Van Helsing male population with her loose cunt. Rhys, though, he loved that evil bitch even though I don’t think he realized it until after she’d died. When she helped her father murder our mother, Rhys was the one she used to lure Mother to them, and then she made it known to the world that our mom died because Rhys Van Helsing was weak and unable to deny her anything. I hated him for it, but not because of Roslyn.” Cole swallowed, lifting his drink before he took another drag from the cigar.
“Our mother was gentle and everything beautiful. Rhys thinks I hate him because he was her knight, but I never wanted to be a knight. I wanted to be a monster, and in that aspect, I got my wish. I hated him because he couldn’t see who that evil whore was, not even after I proved it by fucking her in front of him and bringing women and men for her to use while she made him watch without joining. Don’t get me wrong, Sunshine. We’re all fucked up, and we enjoy what we’ve become. Rhys took it as a punishment and has refused to allow his other half out to play. He was always the better man, the knight who needed to save the world. Roslyn just exploited it and him until he faced the truth. Rhys will fuck you, and when he’s finished, he’ll walk away because he’s Rhys Van Helsing, and to punish himself, he won’t let anyone love him again. I, on the other hand, will be waiting to catch you after you fall, Silversmith. I’m always the second choice, and I’ve learned to live with it.”
“You should never be anyone’s second choice, Cole. Nobody should ever settle for second place, because you are someone’s first choice. You just have to find her.” I studied the way his eyes tightened, and he shook his head.
“Just don’t fall in love with him. He isn’t interested in more than a one-night stand. I don’t want to see you fall and end up hurt, little one. And those who fall for Rhys, they always fall the hardest.”
Chapter Seventeen
We piled into the stretch limo, and I leaned my head against Nyx’s as the car lurched forward in the direction of the estate. Cole spoke to Acyn in a hushed tone, and I ignored them. What Cole said earlier ran through my head and worried me.
I didn’t assume I’d end up falling for Rhys. But then, people didn’t ever plan to do anything so stupid. If I were being honest, I wouldn’t admit to wanting him if asked. The thing was, I only wanted him for a one-night stand, and if Cole had been trying to sway me from that course, he hadn’t.
My eyes closed as the car moved down the highway toward a housing development still in the midst of being built. I’d actually considered buying one of the condos for when I came to visit my mother, but quickly squashed the idea when I saw the hefty price tag that came with the yearly maintenance fees.
A light caught my eye as a whistling noise filled the night. I sat up, watching as it sailed toward us. My eyes rounded, and my mouth opened to scream out a warning, but it was too late. The car was struck, and began flipping non-stop until it finally came to a rest, upside-down.
My ears rang as screaming sounded. The muffled noises reached my brain as I watched Cole and Acyn, righting their large frames in the car. Cole withdrew his phone, punching in a code before shoving it back into his pocket. Hands grabbed me and pulled me out of the bent, twisted metal. The scent of fire singed my nose, and I gasped as everything went silent. Acyn set a dazed Nyx beside me, reaching into the car, ripping the seats apart as he produced blades.
“Remington, are you alright?” Cole asked, studying my face between his large hands. “Answer me, woman! Dammit!” he snapped. Peering down at his glowing pocket, Cole withdrew the phone, staring up at Acyn, who watched the direction from where the missile had come. “She’s alive, asshole. Hurt, but alive. Yeah, I fucking know it isn’t good. Send a fucking team and get us the fuck out of here now.” Cole hung up the phone and touched the side of my head, causing me to wince.
Shouting started from nearby, and Cole growled, leaning into the burning car, withdrawing a pair of wicked looking blades. What the hell? We’d been sitting on an arsenal of weapons without knowing it!
“Do not move, do you understand me?” Cole warned, his eyes sliding to the side of my head, where I could feel a throb and wetness. “Bloody hell, that looks bad.”
“They’re not going anywhere, but we’re about to be fucking surrounded, Nikolas. Let’s release some steam, brother,” Acyn chuckled. The sound of the wickedness in his tone sent a shiver racing up my spine.
The moment the brothers were out of sight, I turned, finding Nyx glaring at me. Her tawny head shook as she looked in the direction the men had gone. She frowned, moving her attention from my eyes to the side of my head that dripped blood.
“You’re going to make me run, aren’t you?” she asked, and I nodded, wincing at the pain. “He has a really nice cock, Remi. It’s a shame to abandon it. It’s tough to find a decent looking guy, who actually knows how to use his nice cock.”
“We have to go now,” I grunted, crawling to my knees to watch as the men engaged the creatures swarming them. “They’re outnumbered. If they fall, we’re toast.”
“Can you feel any silver?” she asked, frowning as I shook my head. “Fine, let’s go.”
She moved to me, helping me to my feet as we turned, staring at the vacant condos that were little more than wood structures. Nyx didn’t let go of me, moving into the shadows of the night, slipping behind one of the large buildings to take a breath. Her eyes zeroed in on my head, and her hand lifted, touching the wound.
“We probably should have stayed and let you heal before we made a daring escape from captivity, Remi. Your head looks bad.”
“I’ve had worse before. We need to keep moving.”
She nodded, even though she didn’t look convinced. I swayed on my feet as we ducked inside a building. Cutting through it, we made a run for the woods. Once inside the foliage, Nyx stalled, turning to look over her shoulder.
“Someone is following us, and it’s not a Van Helsing.” She grabbed me, holding up my weight easily, rushing us toward the sound of gurgling water.
At the large body of fast-running water, she twisted and peered through the darkness as we entered the creek and began floating. I didn’t need a play-by-play to figure out it was immortals tracking us, and that more than likely, they were doing so by the scent of my wound. I dunked my head beneath the water, using my fingers to scrub the blood away from my scalp. Nyx pulled me with her, moving us toward an overhanging rock that jutted out over the bank.
We slipped beneath it, and I lowered the wounded side of my head into the water to keep the scent moving with the flow of the rushing creek away from our location. Thankfully, we were in Washington, where creeks were the size of rivers in most other states.
“I smell them. One is definitely bleeding.”
“No shit, idiot. The others won’t be able to keep the Van Helsings busy for long. They’re fodder for their blades. We need to find the little bitch now and get the fuck out of here before their alpha shows up. He
knows we set the traps to lure him away by now, and I don’t plan on dying over some bitch that may or may not be worth her weight in silver.”
“This way,” the other grunted. “You saw him looking at her. He’s fucked her, or he intends to. You know she won’t allow the little bitch to live long. I say we take her to the cabin and have some fun with her before we hand her over.”
“Are you fucking stupid? You don’t think she’ll notice we fucked her? She’s an alpha. She’d know, and I don’t intend to die over some worthless pussy when the women she gives us to hurt will suffice and fulfill those itches you want to scratch.”
Nyx’s hand tightened on me, her inhuman senses much stronger than mine. She pushed me down the moment I had sucked in air, cutting off whatever they were saying. I watched feet entering the water close to where we hid. Nyx’s body blocked mine, but when the feet turned in our direction, they moved back and appeared to be struggling to stay upright. The bodies slid beneath the water, stirring up unsettled algae from the creek’s bottom, marring the ability to see anything.
More feet moved through the water, pausing to turn in our direction before turning back the opposite direction. My heart echoed in my ears, and my lungs began to burn from holding my breath. I lifted from the water, silently inhaling before slowly dropping back beneath the surface, watching the feet pause before moving toward us again.
We didn’t move, not even when they were inches away. Wet jeans brushed against my shoulder before the male exited from the other side of the creek bank. I pushed from the water silently, ensuring I didn’t disturb it, sucking air into my starving lungs.
My teeth threatened to give us away from the ice-cold water sinking into my bones. My fingers and legs were going numb, but we didn’t dare leave the water. Instead, we let our survival training kick in, huddling together, waiting within the chilled creek for time to pass. Eventually, we became numb to the cold, and it no longer bothered us as hypothermia became a real fear.
When dawn started to rise, Nyx dragged me to the far side of the bank, pulling me out of the water. I shivered, staring at up her as she dropped to her knees, crying out as she landed.
“I’m a fucking prune,” she groaned. “My vagina probably looks like a ninety-year vag right now!”
“We have to find somewhere to hide and change out of these wet clothes.”
“I smell men, which means there’s more than likely a cabin someplace close to the creek. They smell like fish, so I’m guessing they’re here on a fishing trip instead of hunting. Come on, let’s move. You do know I could be riding some good dick right now. Instead, I have a wrinkly pussy, and we’re in the middle of Nowhere, USA, in the woods.”
“It won’t be wrinkly as soon as it dries, hooker.”
“Slut, I saw you, eye-humping Rhys, more than a few times. I know you want to ride him. I can smell you when you’re turned on, woman. Remember, nymph here. I know all about sex. I’m like a sex addict, with a master’s degree in human needs. You even look at a man with lust, my high beams go hard, and my instinct is to get to your prey before you reach that goal. So, I know things before you even know that you’re considering slipping down that cock. You, Remi, want that Van Helsing dick with a fever burning through you.”
“Can we move before I end up with an actual fever—mortal, remember?” I muttered, hating that her words spoke true, hitting home so hard that I couldn’t argue with them. I wouldn’t lie to her, not to Nyx. She was my person when I needed to vent or when my emotions conflicted with my priorities.
“Tell me I’m wrong, Remington. Tell me you don’t want Rhys,” she continued, holding my arm, starting us in the direction of where she’d smelled men.
“You know the truth, so why ask? You know me better than anyone else. The thing is, he is my enemy. Not to mention, I don’t trust him. Every time I start to let my guard down, he pegs me so hard in the ass that I feel him in my lungs. He called every alpha to his bar and announced to them all that I existed. He’s just placed a huge target on my bloodline, and my mother is still missing. I had enough shit to worry about before I met Rhys Van Helsing, and now he’s just another thing that I have to deal with.”
Male voices sounded from somewhere in front of us, and Nyx fixed her wet hair, smiling as we entered what looked like some semblance of a yard. Two men turned, staring at us as we made our way closer to where they watched us.
“Are you guys okay?” one asked, slowly stepping closer.
“Great, wrinkly vaginas and all,” Nyx snorted. “Can one of you be a sweetheart and suck the other off for a few?” she asked sweetly. My eyes dropped to their skinny jeans; her biggest pet peeve. One of the men wearing loafers with matching jeans and a tight tank top blushed and grinned to himself, turning away from his friend as he considered Nyx’s suggestion.
“We’re not together. Not like that,” the other snorted, although the thought didn’t seem to put him off as he puffed out his chest, magnifying the embroidered trout on his very non-salmon-colored pink shirt.
“Oh, well, you can stand guard then, and make sure no one gets past you into the cabin until morning.” She smirked as their eyes studied her with lust.
“I’m going inside,” I muttered, moving into the house to peel off the wet clothing.
In the bathroom, I turned my head, staring at the large gash above my ear. I fumbled around the bathroom until I found a first aid kit and used gauze to clean the wound with rubbing alcohol. Once I’d tended to it and several smaller abrasions, I entered the cabin’s main room and pulled a shirt out of the dresser, slipping it over my head. I searched for sweats, finding some in the last drawer, pulling them on and tying the waist as tight as it would go.
Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling. The sound of moaning men filtered in from outside, and I sighed. When Nyx entered the cabin, I frowned, peering between her and the window where the moaning continued.
“It is wrinkly! Oh my God, it looks so wrong.”
“Nyx, stop playing with your grandma vag and get in bed.”
“You did not just call it a grandma vag! Take it back! I’ll never forget you said that. It’s mean, seriously mean. I thought we were friends?”
“It will only be a grandma vag until it dries. Stop overreacting. You know, even if it were wrinkly, men would still want it.”
“That is true,” she agreed, and the sound of her searching the room replaced her complaints as my eyes grew heavy, and sleep settled over me.
Chapter Eighteen
Something touched my head, and I groaned. Opening my eyes, I stared up at Rhys and Cole, who both watched me before taking in the crumpled male clothing. My eyes slid to the window, revealing it was light outside, and yet Nyx continued to slumber, oblivious to the men in the room, which told me I was dreaming. She was one of the people you couldn’t sneak up on because people had too much sex running through their minds nonstop, which gave them away.
“Go look around the other room, Cole. Find an address,” Rhys ordered softly, his hand still examining the wound. “You’re hurt, Remi. Why the hell would you run?”
“Because you’re the enemy, Van Helsing,” I groaned, sitting up as he backed away, lowering to his haunches in front of me, silently staring.
I reached up, yanking the gauze from the wound on my head, pulling off dried blood. I gasped and grimaced as I brought the bandage in front of me, staring at the hair stuck to it. Sliding my legs off the side of the bed, I tossed it aside.
“If I’m dreaming, why did that hurt?” I asked, and his smile turned darker, which caused my body to tighten.
“Cole is controlling the dream-walk, which means if I hurt you here, you wake up wounded.” Cole entered the room, scratching his head. “Figure out where our little minx ran off to?” Rhys asked.
“Yeah, and men outside fucking screaming about them being here, and, well, they’ve been at each other for long enough that they’re rather hoarse. So, our pretty bird flew, but she didn’t fly far. She’s a mile f
rom where our bodies are.”
“I didn’t think she’d get too far from us, not wounded. Not smart, Remington, to run from a Van Helsing hunter, tracker, and assassin. You may be good under E.V.I.E. standards, but I assure you, we’re much better.”
“If we wake up now, we can reach them before people start milling about. Considering it’s Monday, and humans are about to start waking up and heading to their day jobs.” Cole leaned over Rhys, checking my wound with a wince. “Bloody hell, woman,” he muttered.
“Let’s go, Cole. The sooner we get to Remington, the sooner a healer can tend to her wounds.”
The dream faded, and I turned, shaking Nyx awake. “Get up now. They’re coming.”
“I was almost coming too! Acyn was just about to do that thing with his tongue where he flicks my clit. You’re a horrible person to wake me up before he made me come!” she whined, tossing the pillow over her head, bellowing into it.
“It probably wasn’t a dream. Cole and Rhys were just both in mine, and they figured out where we are hiding. Let’s go,” I said, slipping my feet into the sandals before grabbing the keys off the nightstand.
“You’re a slow driver, give me the damn keys,” she groaned, slipping on her shoes before she moved toward the bathroom. “If you need to use the bathroom, do it. I don’t intend to stop until we’re at least over the mountain pass.”
We piled into the Land Rover and started down the small dirt road, hitting the highway. I had just leaned back and exhaled when Nyx slammed on the breaks, bringing the SUV to a stop. I peered through the windshield, staring at Rhys, leaning against the dark Jeep with his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in tactical gear. His eyes held mine as he uncrossed his feet, standing up. Their SUVs blocked the entire road. I groaned, turning to look at Nyx.
I wanted to slap the smug look on his face, violently. Car tires screeched behind us as a motor revved, causing my body to swivel in the seat. Trucks blocked our retreat, and then the car lurched, and I turned, noting the side road.
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