By the torch light, we walked down a hallway and it opened out into a room that smelled like metal, mildew, urine, and blood. My eyes adjusted and I held in a gasp. They’d led us to a prison, and the only prisoners were vampires and Lycans. All of our brothers were either locked in cells or chained to the walls.
“Move,” one of the dhampirs ordered before he kicked at my legs, making me stumble. Dom caught me and we walked further into the room. Right in the center, chained spread eagle was Olivier, foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog at the sight of the dhampirs.
“I will murder each of you little fucks and piss on your bones,” she spat venomously at them in French. She tended to revert back to her native language when she was beyond furious. Like right then.
“Should’ve muzzled that one,” a dhampir complained at her loud musings that were still going on as we walked closer to her.
“Kitty!” she shouted when she saw us. She struggled at her bonds, but they held her down so tightly she could barely lift her head. “Jason!”
“Jason?” another voice came from one of the cells, and Knight came to the front of it, his face obscured by the thick bars.
“Dad!” Jason exclaimed at the sight of him. Arthur was in the same cell and came forward to see us. They were chained to the wall of their cell by a cuff on their necks.
“Stop talking,” the dhampir soldier next to me shouted, and he kicked at me again, sending me whirling to the cell wall where Knight and Arthur were. I righted myself with my hands on the bars and both of my dads were baring their teeth at the guards for roughhousing me.
“Where’s mom?” I asked before the dhampirs took me away.
“Hendrix,” Arthur answered, glaring at the dhampir that roughly grabbed my arm. “You hurt her, and I’ll rip your damn arms off.” The dhampir laughed, laughed, and took me to the wall next to the cell to lock my neck in a metal cuff before taking the cuffs off my wrists. They locked Dom beside me and the rest of us along the same wall. Jason got to the end of his chain once the dhampirs had left us alone, just barely able to put his fingertips on the cell wall that held our dads. Knight reached out and they clasped wrists outside the bars.
“You good, son?” Knight asked, his voice trembling ever so slightly at the sight of Jason.
My brother nodded and wiped at his nose with a laugh. “Yep.” He looked at Arthur and held out his other hand for the vampire to take, which he surprisingly did almost immediately after it was offered. “Hear you’re my second dad. Welcome to the fam.”
“I don’t respond to the word ‘fam,’” Arthur grumbled.
Knight wiggled his finger against Arthur’s shoulder. “You’re stuck with us now, sunshine. No take-backsies.”
“Leave it to you to find humor in this place,” Olivier hissed. Renard was chained next to her and he was massaging her arms to combat the loss of bloodflow.
“At least I’m not yelling in French how I’m going to murder them and piss on their bones,” Knight countered, sticking his tongue out at her.
I stood next to Jason who was still holding Knight’s arm like a lifeline. “Where’s Dreya?”
“Hendrix,” was Arthur’s repeated response. I gripped the bars so hard I hoped they snapped in half.
“Ana,” Knight muttered when he finally noticed his mother-in-law chained beside Jason. She stood and came as close as she could to us.
“Kitty, drink my blood again. You and I are escaping with Clara.” She pulled Marie to her for a kiss, and they whispered loving things as a farewell.
“What about them?” I demanded, gesturing to my family. “I’m not leaving them behind.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “We’re not leaving them. We’ll get the keys from the guards and they’ll help everyone else escape.” Oh. “Are all the vampires and Lycans in here?” she asked Knight. He nodded, and she nodded back in confirmation. “You two will get everyone out of the city limits safely.”
“Ordering everyone around like usual, ehh mom?” Knight joked, and instantly regretted it when she glared at him. “Sorry, ma’am.”
Without missing a beat, she exposed her neck for me and I latched on like it was a line of sugar to snort. Happy shiny sugar. I was full within moments and tried to pull away, but she put her hand to my head. “More. You need to be stronger.” I obliged and drank until she let me stop, then she turned to Clara and drank from her twin for her Super Saiyan power up while I started spinning like a fuckin’ Ferris wheel, wheee! Once she was done, she kissed Clara’s forehead and broke through her sister’s cuff like it was paper. “That’s better. I was about to kill them for hurting you.” She broke hers as well and turned to me expectantly.
Me? Break a vampire cuff? As if. I put my hands on the cuff, my fingers sliding between the metal and my neck, and gave it a yank. It broke with little effort and I stared at my hands in awe. I was Super Kitty! I flexed and drew Dom in for a heated kiss.
Arthur made a noise of complaint when he saw us. “That’s not why I fucking sent you with her. We’re having words later, you pissant.”
“Sssh, it’s so cute!” Knight squeed. “Psst, Dom. You hurt her and I hurt you.” He smiled and held a thumbs up to the man in my arms.
“We’re wasting time,” Anastasia admonished, and Knight deflated with a pout. “Let’s go, Kitty.”
I left them all behind as the three of us walked back down the hallway to the heavy metal door. Anastasia knocked on it like that was normal in this situation, waiting patiently for it to open. The dhampir guards were taken aback by the sight of us, but Anastasia raised her hands and they instantly stood at attention.
“Keys,” she ordered them. One produced some keys that would unlock all the cuffs in the prison. “You will go inside this building and free everyone before coming back outside to your post. No one escaped, you saw nothing. Got it?” He nodded and disappeared behind us to the dark hallway. “And you,” she addressed the second dhampir. “Everyone is still a prisoner, you didn’t see anyone escape at all. Right?”
“Yes, ma’am!” he shouted dutifully, and turned back to his post at the door like nothing had happened.
“Let’s go,” she said to me, and we were off down the street.
28. The reign of terror ends
Dreya
“Your food is going to get cold, Dreya,” Governor Hendrix chided. We sat at his dinner table, mother and myself out of place amongst the dhampir guards. Darius wasn’t there, he’d been confined to his room so he wouldn’t help me escape, and don’t mistake me, he would’ve if I’d asked. Despite his betrayal, I had him wrapped around my finger, even if Governor Hendrix thought differently.
I managed a polite smile, plastering on the practiced patience I’d had for my entire relationship with this miserable fuckwad of a man’s son. “It looks delicious, Governor.” Beside me, mother ate her portion of noodles and tomato sauce without comment. She hadn’t spoken a word since everyone had been locked away, and I feared she would enter the comatose state her mother had been in so many years ago. If she did, I’d be on my own, and only my ties to Darius would keep me safe. If that.
The Governor turned his slimy gaze to her, showing a purple lustful color that made me feel sick. “You’ve been silent lately, Lisbeth. I’ve known you long enough to know you always have something to say.” She remained silent, eating the last remnants of her food and placing her fork on the plate to signify she was finished. His mouth twitched in irritation, but he still smiled at her sickeningly. “I’ve decided to approve the union of our children,” he announced, looking back at me. Yes. All my hard work would be worth it. “It will forge a new bond between our species, and we will work toward fixing all the hurt feelings your rebellion caused. Who knows? Maybe after a few years I’ll release your mates if you behave yourself.”
Lisbeth’s blank face wasn’t giving anything away, but her aura shone the brightest red I’d ever seen. It was brighter than any red Olivier had ever shown, brighter than Arthur’s red the day he w
as taken away when I was a child. It was so red, so encompassing, I made me angry just looking at it. Very far underneath the red was a gloomy blue that tore at my heart. I didn’t know anyone could feel equal portions of anger and sadness at once, but she was proving me wrong.
Mother’s hand moved to her belly where Hendrix couldn’t see. My little sister would be born into this life. I had no doubt Hendrix would take her away as soon as she was born, if she would even be allowed to survive long enough to be born, and either of those things would be the last straw I could take.
“When will I get to see Darius?” I asked the Governor brightly, putting on my best face. “I can’t wait to start planning our wedding.”
He smirked at me and took a sip of his water. “You’re not going to see him at all. Your marriage is only for the public. I won’t have you corrupting him behind my back. Don’t think for a second I buy your little act. You’re Lisbeth’s daughter, after all.”
My hopes fell from their tower and smashed down to the ground like a delicate vase. All my hard work. Everything I’d sacrificed. It had all been for nothing. I’d never see Thomas’s smile again. I’d never hold him in my arms and tell him I never liked Darius, how I’d only dated him to ensure my family’s safety. And I’d never get to kiss Thomas, like I’d wanted to for so many years.
“Don’t fucking talk to my daughter like that,” Lisbeth clipped in a dangerously quiet voice, her spine suddenly straightened and her head tilted in a way that meant she was listening to something in the hallway. I was too low on blood to hear anything, but the anticipation inside me rose.
Hendrix raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. “She speaks! I was beginning to—”
“Shut up,” Lisbeth ordered, slamming her fist on the table, not enough to break it, but our glasses shook so hard some water spilled out. Hendrix waved the guards away from us when they came forward in response to her movements. Her face went blank, but I could see the red overtaking her entire body. She was only rage, only anger. “Decades ago, a vampire named James held me captive as you have. He tortured me every day mercilessly, and the worst part was I could not refuse him. He had me under his control, in a way that was worse than your attempts to control me. But this time, I could’ve refused your treatment, and I didn’t. I swore, I swore, that if anyone else ever tried to control me like he did, that I would fight back, that I would break free. And you came, threatening my daughter, ripping my mate from my hands, and holding my husband’s life over my head like he was a bug you wanted to squish for your personal enjoyment.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek, the only betrayal of the emotions I could see swirling all around her.
“James never hurt me the way you have.”
I covered my mouth to hold in the tears I felt coming over me. She was so still, like a statue. A dangerous statue with the red around her growing deeper and darker with every word she spoke. Even Hendrix was looking uncomfortable at the sight of her.
“Alistair ruined the world for vampires, Lycans, and humans, and he wasn’t as cruel as you,” Lisbeth continued evenly, her fingers curling around her slightly swollen belly. “My mother slaughtered hundreds of my people, and she was still more merciful than you. You alienated me from my husband for years, you made me afraid to even open a window. I haven’t felt the sunlight on my face in thirteen years. You killed…” Her voice faltered slightly as despair filled blue overcame her, but she continued. “You killed my brother and sister. Before the drones came, vampires destroyed my home brick by brick, and you came and destroyed me stone by stone. I will not allow you to continue your destruction with my children. Dreya will not marry Darius.”
Hendrix scoffed and sat back in his chair. “You have no room to make demands.”
“I’m very certain I told you to shut the fuck up,” she retaliated, and he cowered slightly, enough where I felt satisfaction at his fear. She stood and the dhampirs responded with a step forward until they were all frozen in place. “Now, mother.”
Before I could ask what was happening, Kitty burst in with two women. One held her hands out and the dhampirs moved out of the room under her command. From their descriptions and the telling purple eyes, I knew the women were my grandmother and her twin sister.
“Under Hendrix’s personal orders, the vampires and Lycans are to be freed. He’s transferring control of the town to someone who isn’t a complete bastard,” Anastasia compulsed, and the dhampirs continued down the hall out of sight under her orders.
“You can’t just—” Hendrix complained before mother cut him off with her hand around his throat. She leaned over him, pulled the pistol out from his belt, and dragged him over to the middle of the room where we stood around him, all pulling out our guns. Anastasia handed me her second pistol and I clicked the safety off as I’d been taught.
Anastasia, Clara, Lisbeth, Kitty, and Dreya Bathory. We all held a pistol to the head of the man who had tortured my mother for so many years.
“Your reign of terror is over,” Lisbeth proclaimed. “This city will never again hold my people prisoner.”
Collectively, we let off our shots like a firing squad.
29. For as long as I can
Lisbeth
Six years later.
*
It was a warm, spring day in Texas at the farm house. I fluttered around the kitchen, making sure everything was just perfect for my daughter’s special day. Celebrating birthdays was something I’d gotten used to while living amongst humans, and while I still never enjoyed mine, I couldn’t imagine my years without a birthday party for my children. A new year was something to celebrate. It meant another year with family, another year to learn and grow and love.
“Is the cake done?” Arthur asked as he came into the kitchen and tenderly kissed me on my lips, sparking the flame he’d already doused several times that morning with Knight alongside us. I deepened our kiss and I forgot the cake in the moment, immersed in his love. Since he returned to me, we hadn’t gone a day away from each other. I could barely even stand him leaving to take a shower. If I could’ve permanently attached him to me, I would’ve done so eagerly. No amount of time would erase my need for him, nor his for me.
He smiled down at me, something he reserved only for our private moments, and I cherished it like a precious gem. He pulled me closer and kissed me again, deeply, slowly, forgetting why he’d come inside except to kiss me. “Cake,” he said finally, coming up for air.
“It’s almost done,” I breathed against his lips with a smile. I turned, still wrapped in his arms, and ran my spatula over the pink icing to finish the smooth edges before I sprinkled some chopped nuts on top. Arthur kissed at my neck, right where his bite was. “You’re going to distract me again,” I chastised him, not that I was complaining.
“I have to get all my kisses in while Knight is away,” he reasoned with another kiss on my neck. “He’ll just steal you, and I need all of you for every moment of every day.”
I giggled. “You know you love him in your own way. I’ve seen the way you look at him when we’re having sex. It’s almost hotter than you fucking me.”
“I do not look at him. Shut up.” I turned in his arms, smacked him, and pulled him in for another kiss. “Don’t tell him, he might take it wrong. He’s not into men.”
I laughed again and wiggled out of his arms to pick the cake up. “Let’s shelve that conversation for when we’re not at a family party.” He grumbled, his hands clutching the back of my skirt, following me past the wooden dining table and out the front door with our black cat, Shadow, at our heels.
Outside was a birthday party for my fourth child, Guenevieve, Gwen for short. She was turning five today, and we were celebrating it in style.
After leaving Salvation behind, we’d settled into the farm house of Knight’s youth. There was a human town nearby of with various settlements of vampires and Lycans from the city that had come with us. We all looked after each other, in the way Salvation should’ve been.
Over time more humans had come, and while not all of them were ecstatic about having vampire and Lycan neighbors, we kept the sharks away, and that kept us on their good sides, mostly.
At our farm house, Gwen was playing chase with Jason and Yukina in the front garden. The two had been inseparable since they’d first met, and while we didn’t exactly do weddings anymore, I knew they would’ve said their vows without any hesitation.
“Come and get me, Gwen!” Yukina shouted playfully, jumping onto Jason’s back as they ran around the grass.
Gwen’s little brown legs tried to keep up with them and her black curls bobbed around, having escaped from the braid I’d put them in. She was a carbon copy of Knight and had inherited his brown eyes, meaning she only had to pout at me once and I did whatever she wanted. She squealed when she saw me putting the cake onto our lawn table and ran up to me, grabbing my legs.
“Mommy!” she shouted happily. “Is daddy coming back soon?”
I bent down and kissed the top of her brown head. “He’ll be here, I promise.” She let me go and held her hands out to Arthur for him to pick her up as I started putting some tiny homemade candles into the cake.
“Dada!” she shouted when Arthur had hoisted her up into his arms. She pulled at his cheeks and he almost smiled at her. Almost.
An engine came in the distance and I perked up at the sound, the cake forgotten. Arthur followed me down the driveway as Jason and Yukina came up beside us to watch the truck arrive.
This day wasn’t just Gwen’s birthday. No. Today was even better. I brought my hand up to my mouth to stifle my tears and the truck came close enough for me to smell everyone inside. Arthur shifted Gwen to his right arm and he put his left around my shoulders.
The Born Vampire series: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (The Complete Series, NSFW Edition) Page 82