Unmerciful_Forbidden Bonds

by Cat Miller

  Kayden went to Dani and Chase who were speaking to a vampire with oil-slicked hair, too many gold chains around his neck, and a pinstriped suit. Dani was giving the vampire an earful while Chase used a damp napkin to clean the blood from her face. She was a mess. Chase wasn’t looking his usual stylish self either. Both of them had fought for their people, and the safety of the humans present that night. Kayden was damn proud to call them his closest friends, even if he did tend to keep them and everyone else at arm’s length.

  “If you see Nick or any of his friends again you will contact us without delay, do you understand me?” Dani was pointing one delicate finger at the newcomer, who Kayden assumed was the club owner.

  “Yes, ma’am—” he tried to reply, but Dani wasn’t finished with her demands.

  “If you let them escape before someone arrives to arrest them I will personally ruin you. I will stand at the door and implant the idea that your human patrons are diseased, your beer is half piss, and your bathrooms are covered in hepatitis in the mind of every vampire who approaches this club,” Dani threatened.

  “Miss, I don’t know why you’re so angry with me. I run a respectable business. I had nothing to do with this mess.” The club owner held up his hands to ward off the threats of the raging female.

  “Lovely,” Chase turned Dani to face him, “it’s precisely those kinds of statements that give the council a valid reason to fear you. Please calm yourself. We will find him,” Chase soothed as he wiped the last bit of blood from Dani’s face.

  “I will go get pictures of the male from the video footage and distribute them among my employees immediately. If this Nick person returns, you will be informed without delay.”

  “We also need the image sent directly to the council for identification,” Chase added. “Send it to my father, Mason Deidrick. I will let him know to expect to hear from you tonight,” he demanded.

  “Yes, Mr. Deidrick.” The club owner swallowed hard and hurried off to the security room.

  Kayden couldn’t help chuckling at Dani’s tantrum. “Dani, you know human diseases don’t affect us, right? We can’t get STDs or hepatitis. The beer part might work, though. We can’t get drunk from the beer, but many males enjoy a cold one from time to time.”

  Dani’s attention turned to Kayden. She sucked in a breath and rushed to him, clucking and fussing over his injuries like his mother. He must look as bad as he felt after the brawl. Chase just shook his head. Chase was past all thought of jealousy where Kayden and Dani were concerned. The bond between Chase and Dani was a strong one. Chase could read Dani’s every thought, and he knew she was completely devoted to their mating, just as Chase was. Kayden loved them both, and he would always be a part of their lives. Dani could mother him all she liked and both Chase and Kayden would allow it if it made her feel better.

  “I’m all right, Dani. I’ll heal by morning. It’s just a few bruises.” Kayden looked over her head to Chase. “Now why don’t the two of you tell me why you’re here and what happened?”

  “I lost him, that’s what happened. I lost Nick! I passed out like a weakling, and he got away!” Tears filled Dani’s eyes.

  Chase hurried to take his now weeping mate into his arms. “Lovely, please stop crying. You are not to blame. You’re so tough. Look at all the humans you kept from running off to report what they’d seen here tonight. You hurt yourself attempting to control too many people at once. That is not the action of a weakling.”

  “It’s a good thing we have the nut job to question. Why were you here anyway?” Kayden asked again.

  “Dani wanted to go dancing after our anniversary dinner. This is the nicest vampire establishment around. It was just dumb luck that we spotted Nick. Money was exchanged, and Nick gave something to the kid. I was going to follow Nick and call you to meet me, but the kid snorted whatever Nick handed him, and the effect was instantaneous. He went nuts, grabbing the female closest to him and practically ravaging her in plain sight,” Chase explained.

  “Nick was getting away, so I went after him. Then the crowd started screaming, and I knew our worst nightmare had just become a reality. People were pulling out their phones to record the mayhem. I couldn’t let that happen. I held them as long as I could. By the time you guys started hauling them away, I was done. I passed out, and Nick escaped. He’s probably already informed Sheena that we’re in the area.” Dani swiped angrily at a tear running down her cheek.

  “Nick hasn’t been seen since he assaulted Brandi. If he’s working for Sheena as we suspect he is, we’re lucky he didn’t haul you away when he disappeared. We’ll catch up to him again, Dani.” Kayden really hated to see her so upset.

  “That’s an excellent point, Lovely. It’s time to get you out of here before Sheena gets brave and decides to show her face.” Chase clutched Dani to his chest. “I’ll call you for an update later,” Chase said to Kayden.

  “What happened to the girl?” Kayden was worried about the human female they’d found bloody and disheveled. She would need medical attention.

  “She was stable, but in shock. I scrubbed her memories and enthralled a human to get her quickly to the hospital. I gave them both the suggestion that she’d been attacked by a dog. The male found her and chased off the animal. It was the best story I could think of on short notice. She had puncture wounds all around her neck and shoulders,” Chase told him.

  “Humans usually believe the most likely explanation. It will have to do. Fuck!” Kayden punched the wall, sending plaster and chunks of the wall flying when he withdrew his fist. “What are we going to do if there’s video footage out there somewhere?” he exploded. Chase had no answer. Kayden gestured to Dani. “Get her to safety. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Kayden glanced around at the faces of the remaining vampire employees. They all seemed to be looking to him for the answer to that terrifying question. He didn’t have the answer either.

  “We lost Abel. I don’t know where he went,” Hawk said as he made his way back to Kayden. The club was now nearly empty. “We did a good job of dealing with the regulars, but there’s no guarantee we caught them all.” Concern creased Hawk’s forehead. ‘Regulars’ was the name Hawk used for full-blooded humans.

  “Nick was here, but he got away. I wouldn’t be surprised if Abel is hunting for him now. The man has a score to settle with that piece of shit. As for the human witnesses, it’s more than likely we didn’t get them all. This place was packed and only about a quarter of the patrons I saw were vampires.” The consequences of video or pictures making national news would be widespread and devastating.

  With the fight over and as many humans as they could find receiving a memory scrubbing, Kayden was able to think about what his next step should be. He was going to contact Griffin, his ally on the vampire high council and Dani’s father, to break the news about the possible exposure to the humans. He had no way to know how many humans witnessed the bloody show and left before they arrived to intervene. Then he needed to call his father with the same bad news. Running a big hand through his dark hair, Kayden contemplated all the pain and misery Sheena has caused with disgust. This was a fucking mess.

  “Let’s get the perp and get out of here.” Hawk walked toward the hall the bouncers had disappeared down with Kayden’s new prisoner.

  Maybe he could make good use of one of those cages back at the nest they’d busted. That idea almost made Kayden smile. It was going to be a long night. If Kayden couldn’t be comfortable in bed, he didn’t see any reason to make his new friend feel at home while they questioned him. Then they would send the kid off to the council for punishment. The penalty for exposing the Vampire Nation would likely mean his death.

  Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts with a tired sigh and then hit the call button. It only rang twice before the call was answered. It seemed the councilman still wasn’t sleeping much.

  “Kayden, what can I do for you at this hour? Is everything all right? Where is Soleil?” Griffin a
sked. Soleil was the name Dani had been given at birth. Her mother changed it to protect her identity. Griffin usually used the name Danielle because that was Dani’s preference, but old habits die hard. Griffin had thought of her as Soleil, the child he’d lost, for twenty-one years before she reappeared.

  “Griffin, I’m sorry to call so late. Dani is fine. Chase just rushed her out of here. We have a situation. You might want to sit down for this explanation.”

  Sheena reclined on the chaise in her sitting room and concentrated on David. She had to get him back and soon. Her estranged mate was out there roughly seven hundred miles north being punished for his extensive sins. Of course, none of the crimes he’d committed were actually of his own doing. No, that had been all Sheena’s work. She chuckled to herself. He was her puppet for twenty-five years. He’d been sleepwalking and carrying out her plan to overthrow the Vampire Nation all that time. Her hold on his mind held steady over the years, too. She had owned his ass. If anyone was going to punish David, it was going to be Sheena.

  David had been the love of her life, but he rejected her for a mousy little coward of a full-blooded vampire whose elitist house, the Vaughn’s, was closely tied to David’s house, the Deidricks. Sheena wouldn’t stand for being dismissed that way. She needed David, and his will to fight against Sheena’s hold on him was dependent on his connection to the Vaughn bitch. He was refusing to do her bidding even in a trance state. So Sheena had killed the bitch and made it look like a suicide. Unfortunately, David had already bonded to the mouse. His particular talent for absorbing the gifts of others through their blood was a surprise to Sheena. It was an inconvenience, as well. She wasn’t able to maintain a true blood bond with David. He was only able to truly bond once. After his first mating, the bond would never stick. It was a necessary evil of his blood siphoning gift. He could drink the blood of vampires and assume their talents. So Sheena had been forced to make David her slave instead of the mate she wanted. It was a pity, really, because she had loved him long ago, but she still thought of him as her mate after all the time they’d spent together. Not that either one of them had been faithful.

  When she met David, he’d believed Sheena was human, but that was only half right. Sheena’s father was a vampire, but his genes hadn’t been dominant in her. She lived a mostly human life. The only trait she’d inherited was mind control. She could enthrall some human beings and even some vampires. She didn’t even need to drink blood to survive. Only during her pregnancy with David’s son had Sheena needed to feed on blood to nourish the baby. It was disgusting, but having a tool to use against David had been totally worth her effort to birth the child. It was too bad Abel had grown into a worthless vampire who thought only with his dick, just like his father. He’d left Sheena behind to be with a full-blood, just like his father had.

  The irony wasn’t lost on Sheena. She’d done some snooping and learned that her son’s mate was the niece of the mouse she’d murdered to have David all to herself. That house of vampires was a never-ending annoyance. First David was obsessed with the mouse, and then they hadn’t been able to get their hands on Danielle Vaughn. Sheena wanted David to be able to control other vampires and Danielle had that talent. When it became too much of a hassle and Sheena rescinded the order to capture her, David had refused to stop hunting for her. She’d caused them far more trouble than she was worth, and that little bitch had it coming to her if it was the last thing Sheena did. Now Sheena’s son was mated to the dead mouse’s niece and Danielle’s half-sister.

  Yeah, irony sucked, but Sheena was making a major comeback. Her tests of the new drug were complete, and she’d sent the first batch for a live test. Very soon, the Vampire Nation would have more trouble than they’d ever dreamed of, and Sheena would have the opening she needed to rise to the top. Wouldn’t her daddy be proud? She chuckled to herself. All she needed now was to get her mate back. Males, especially vampire males, had difficulty with the idea of following a female. She needed David to keep the Shade in line. They were getting out of control. It was time for their master to get back to work.

  She sighed deeply and focused harder on regaining control of David’s mind, but he was just too far away. It looked like she might need to go on a little trip to New York. That wouldn’t be before Sheena killed the little bitch in the basement. That one had been another fly in the ointment. David had found a pet, and he couldn’t stay away from her. No matter how many times Sheena ordered David to kill his pet, he just wouldn’t comply. So Sheena had taken her when she escaped. Death at David’s hand would have been far kinder than the punishment Sheena doled out. The scientists developing the new drug performed all sorts of tests on her. Once her body was used up, and she died, Sheena would go fetch David. She might even keep the body on ice to show him what his disobedience had wrought. That was a pleasant idea indeed.

  Sheena blinked several times when the lights of her cozy new nest started to flash in a rhythmic pattern. She turned the air blue with curses as she grabbed some clothes and hurriedly dressed. Someone had triggered the silent alarms around her property. She’d thought her new home was safe from prying eyes, but obviously, she was wrong. The council had found her already, and Sheena had to get moving. She grabbed her getaway bag and headed for the basement.

  Son of a bitch!

  She was not ready to start over yet! She didn’t have the capital to begin again so soon. She’d been avoiding her father, so she couldn’t go to him for more money yet. Not until a few more pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Sheena rushed to the lowest level of the building where the doctors and scientist she employed were scurrying to the emergency escape passage. They knew damn well they’d be put to death for the work they’d been doing. She should be leaving with them, but Sheena wasn’t retreating without her data. She wouldn’t leave it behind for those high and mighty councilors to pick apart and destroy. Sheena had too much time and money wrapped up in her master plan to give it up without a fight now.

  Sheena rushed into the laboratory. Her favorite doctor— the one who visited her room at night because he liked a good spanking and Sheena enjoyed inflicting pain—was already hard at work backing up the hard drive.

  “It’s almost done,” he informed her. There was a loud thud over their heads, and Sheena knew her nest had been infiltrated.

  “Destroy the hard drive. I have one last task to complete before I go,” Sheena ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am, please hurry,” the doctor implored Sheena. They both looked up as the sound of booted feet shook the ceiling above their heads.

  “Just get the data backed up. It will take them a bit to find the hidden door and blow through it. It’s reinforced.”

  Sheena stormed down the hall to the cells where they kept the test subject and the humans they fed to her. In one cell the humans were cowering in the corner of their cage, listening to the sounds from above. In the other cell, David’s little pet, the blonde goddess of a creature that David couldn’t resist, lay sprawled out on the cold stone floor next to the body of her latest meal. She was a shadow of the woman Sheena had stolen from David. Sheena would kill the woman David had wanted so desperately that he’d turned her into a vampire so he could keep her with him for as long as they both lived, which was a long time for a vampire. She would die before David ever set eyes on her again, though.

  She emptied every bottle of Hypervamp from the small refrigerator into her bag. The original drug they’d developed was Hypnovamp, a substance capable of incapacitating a vampire for long periods of time. They’d used it to capture young vampires with extrasensory gifts. David would drain the vampire, thereby absorbing the gift and killing the vampire. There weren’t many things a vampire couldn’t heal from, but total blood loss was one of them.

  Then Sheena realized what a goldmine she had on her hands. She had created the only recreational drug known to vampire kind. Young vampires were always looking for a good time. Their high metabolism wouldn’t allow for the use of alcohol to catch a buzz
unless they drank from a drunk or high human, and even that didn’t last long. Hypnovamp taken in a very small dose would give a vampire a long lasting high. Since she was avoiding her father, who had been financing Sheena’s operation, Sheena had been financing her new empire with sales of the Hypnovamp.

  Now her new drug was ready, but her goal was different. If she couldn’t take control of the Vampire Nation by tactical means with her Shade army, she would destroy it all together. Hypervamp was the exact opposite of its predecessor Hypnovamp. Instead of eliciting a relaxing high, Hypervamp released the primal nature of a vampire. They would become violent with their need to feed. Their strength was enhanced, and they lost all sense of self. All they knew was that they had to feed. This was her ultimate revenge on vampire kind. They would expose themselves to the humans in their drug-induced madness. It wouldn’t be long before every vampire was erased from the earth.

  She picked up a syringe from the supply cart, drew up a lethal dose of the potent drug, and entered the cell. Sheena approached the bitch with care. She was known to strike out unexpectedly and do severe damage. Sheena stepped over the nearly dead human body. Why wasn’t he dead? It really pissed Sheena off that no matter how much of the drug they gave David’s pet, she never totally lost control. The part of her that refused to let go of her humanity would not allow her to take a life. Apparently, the drug still needed work for use on turned vampires. It had worked fine on the full-blood they tested it on. That vampire was already terminated. The changeling was the only subject they had left.

  The weak baby vampire whimpered when she saw Sheena above her, but she didn’t strike. Sheena rammed the needle into the woman’s thigh. There was no reaction other than an expression of acceptance. Maybe even hope. Sheena began to depress the syringe but hesitated. She wanted to kill her competition, just as she had twenty-five years ago, but the look in the female’s eyes said she wanted to die. She wanted an end to the torment. Sheena wavered between the need to kill her rival and the even bigger wish to watch her suffer. Thin, but strong arms wrapped around Sheena from behind and pulled her away before she could finish the deed.