‘So can those who want to use serryns against vampires, right, Jask? Is that why I’m here? Doesn’t that break that pact of peace you have going on?’ In that instant, her purpose to him became all too probable. She’d already said to The Alliance that she had the feeling it wasn’t over. ‘Unless that’s what you want. Is this something to do with Kane Malloy?’
His eyes flared just at the mention of his name, seemingly confirming her fear. ‘Why would this be anything to do with Kane Malloy?’
‘Do you seriously think I don’t know about that? It’s been on every channel and station this past two weeks. Everyone knows about it: you and the master vampire collaborating to expose the corruption in the Third Species Control Division. I read the reports of you giving evidence of how those three agents used two of your pack to kill Kane’s sister – all in their attempt to finally incarcerate their most wanted vampire by sending him on a rampage against you.’
Jask’s eyes narrowed slightly, clearly not liking her insight. For those moments, it gave her her turn at the one-upmanship she craved.
‘Only rumours are that you weren’t happy you had to give evidence,’ she added. ‘That you only did because Kane Malloy backed out of whatever deal you two had. Of course, no one knows what that deal was. But knowing what I do about your species, it’s all an eye for an eye with your kind, isn’t it? I’m guessing you wanted those responsible dead, not least the mastermind behind the plan, the now ex-head of the TSCD, Xavier Carter. But more than that, you also wanted the only link between all four dead: the golden agent of the Vampire Control Unit, Caitlin Parish. After all, there’s no better way to stick it to the ones responsible than to do the same to the one they all cared about. A pawn for a pawn, right? Only rumour has it things got hot between her and Kane, leaving you out in the cold with his change of plans in her favour. I’m guessing I’m here because you want to turn that back around. Why else would you need a serryn, Jask?’
‘That’s a lot of speculation.’
‘But you’re not denying it.’
‘You think you’re capable of taking on Kane Malloy?’
Not a chance. An hours-old serryn against one of the most notorious vampires in Blackthorn – he’d rip her apart as soon as look at her. But she didn’t need Jask to see any indication of that. If that was his plan for her, she was useful to him. And as long as she was useful to him, she stayed alive. And the longer she stayed alive, the better chance she stood of finding out everything she needed to before taking him down – let alone staying alive long enough to find out what was going on with her sisters.
And if he was planning a retaliation against Kane, something that would be seen as a retaliation against all vampires, Blackthorn was about to implode. The consequences for the humans caught in the middle didn’t bear thinking about. And now she had been granted the perfect opportunity to do something about it.
She just had to make sure she came across as everything he was expecting. One slip of vulnerability and she was defunct. And that meant dead.
‘You clearly think I am or I’d be dead already,’ she said. ‘Come on, Jask – admit I’m right. Maybe we can come to an arrangement quicker that way and save us both some time. Why else would you need to tame me if not to make me co-operate? And you’d need me to co-operate for this one, wouldn’t you?’
She was sure she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. ‘You still haven’t told me your name.’
‘Tell me why you want me.’
‘How long have you been in Blackthorn?’
She couldn’t let her frustration at his deflection get the better of her. The notorious closed book that was Jask Tao would have to break at some point to get what he wanted. ‘Long enough.’
‘How many vampires have you killed?’
‘I’m working towards all of them so, as you can see, still a long way to go.’
‘Where are you from? Originally.’
Disclosing where she was from wasn’t going to have any impact. And she could hope it would go some way to placating his curiosity enough to stay clear of the more revealing questions. ‘Summerton.’
He raised his eyebrows slightly. ‘Really?’
‘Don’t sound so surprised.’
‘And what did you do to earn that privilege?’
‘I had a special talent for keeping my head above water. Still do.’
She was sure she saw another hint of a smile, clearly from the irony of the statement in light of her predicament.
‘Summerton to Blackthorn,’ he said. ‘That’s quite a lifestyle switch.’
Sophia lingered over his lips as he spoke, catching glimpses of those well-formed, powerful canines. Just like their wolf heritage dictated, they were said to still use them to kill when they needed to. It may have been a rare occurrence, but the potential was there. And from the way he had brought her down on the wasteland, let alone manoeuvred her in the shower, they were also as physically adept as their reputation dictated.
She glanced down at his hands held lose on his knees. Strong, masculine hands. His underlying talons, hidden beneath his nails, were as retracted as his canines, but they’d extend soon enough if he wanted them too. Just as he could have snapped her neck in seconds if he’d chosen too, let alone been more than capable of ripping her heart out – a rumoured personal favourite of lycans wanting to add a personal touch.
‘Not unlike you wolf-boys – once running wild, now locked in here,’ she said, meeting his pensive gaze again.
His eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I’m a lycan – not a wolf.’
‘Are you embarrassed of your heritage?’
‘Dual heritage.’
‘Managed by your special herbs, right? Those of you who don’t opt to take the meds issued by the Global Council, that is. But take all of that away, and you have nothing left but the animal inside.’
‘And the human too.’
‘Still soulless though,’ she reminded him. ‘Having nothing but a shadow where your soul should be, just like with the rest of you third species.’
His eyes narrowed a little again. The silence became thick between them. But to her relief he broke away a few seconds later, easing off the windowsill.
‘I’m going down for breakfast,’ he said, stepping away. ‘If you’re not into being force-fed, I suggest you join me.’
Under any other circumstances, she would have told him exactly where to anatomically shove his breakfast. But following him meant getting out of the room, seeing more of the compound and hopefully Rone or Samson. Besides, she was starving – and her stomach frequently won over her pride.
She crossed the room behind him. ‘How very civilised. Usually I have to sleep with someone before I get a free breakfast. Or maybe you lycan boys need sustenance to build up the energy? I can work with that.’
He opened the door, stepping back to allow her to exit first, his frown his only response before he followed her out.
‘You know, you’re really going to have to develop a sense of humour if we’re becoming roomies,’ she said. ‘Actually, are your kind even capable of laughing or does it just come out as a growl?’
His fingers encircled her upper arm. She lost her breath as he slammed her back against the door, his grip not easing as he equally pinned her there with his glare. But she knew it was anything but fear she felt as heat rushed to the pit of her abdomen.
‘Quit,’ he said, ‘with the irritating remarks. I’m trying to be nice. You’re not making that easy.’
‘I’m not an easy kind of girl,’ she said, her throat too dry for comfort. But she wouldn’t look away. She wouldn’t break from those entrancing eyes, those rapidly dilating pupils – now almost encompassing their azure bed – a sure sign of his annoyance.
‘Then I suggest you learn. Quickly,’ he said, the tips of his extending razor-thin talons purposefully on the cusp of embedding themselves in the flesh of her upper arm.
‘Sir, yes, Sir,’ she quipped, but refrained from saluting desp
ite the temptation.
He frowned again as he pulled away.
A part of her felt a scratch of disappointment.
She regained her breath, checked the imprints on her upper arm, impressed he’d managed not to draw blood, before following him across the landing and down the stairs.
There were less lycans around now and those that were, were heading through the open doors to her left. The sound of chatter echoed through from the room beyond, along with the clink of cutlery and the distant aroma of freshly cooked toast. Her stomach grumbled. Marid had barely fed her and the crap he’d served up had been hard to swallow.
She followed Jask towards the open doors into the wood-panelled dining hall, seated lycans filling the multitude of tables that spanned the room.
She stopped abruptly at the threshold as more slipped past her. Amidst the buzz of chatter were an increasing number of glances in her direction, a few suspended conversations as others stopped to scrutinise the stranger in their midst.
She scanned for any sign of Rone or Samson. But there was none.
And as more and more eyes turned to her, she started to feel like the only one in fancy dress at a party. Stood there swamped in Jask’s shirt, naked beneath, her skinny legs thrust into her tough army boots, heat rushed to her cheeks. She instinctively smoothed down the back of her hair, but it took only a second more to resolve to retreat.
But Jask was quick, grabbing her wrist.
‘I’m going to get some fresh air,’ she declared, with a single attempt to yank her wrist free.
‘You’ll stay where I can see you.’
‘Let me go,’ she warned.
But his hold only tightened as he turned to face her head on, his back to the room. ‘If you wanted everyone’s attention, you’re getting it. You seriously think I’m going to let you walk away now that everyone has seen this little battle of wills?’ He leaned close to her ear and whispered, ‘You are one more defiant glare away from me publicly putting you over my knee. How much humiliation do you want in one day?’
‘Bastard,’ she hissed.
‘You’d better believe it,’ he said, lingering on her gaze a second longer than was needed. An unsettling intimacy that was reinforced as he slid his hand down from her wrist to encompass her hand as he turned away – a hand that was surprisingly gentle despite the harshness of his words.
He led her around the periphery of the room, letting her go only to place his selection from the buffet table onto the compartmental tray he held.
Resentment coiled in her stomach to the point she finally lost any semblance of appetite, despite how enticing the smell of the herb-infused toasted bread and sautéed potatoes were. Instead, she opted for a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice along with a bread roll, before following behind Jask.
But whereas he headed over to the table at the back of the room, Sophia held back. Seeing an empty table for four against a wall, she opted for that.
She placed her juice on the table, yanked out a chair and plonked herself down, glowering over to where Jask was pulling out a seat beside a blonde female. Corbin, his back to Sophia, was sat opposite them both.
The blonde eyed her with curiosity as Jask leaned forward to say something to Corbin, Corbin glancing across his shoulder in Sophia’s direction.
They were clearly talking about her. Worse, they were smiling.
She looked down at her bread roll before glancing back up to meet the blonde’s gaze. The beautiful female swiftly responded with a hint of a friendly, if not slightly wary smile. With her baby face, full lips, sun-kissed complexion, and enviably waist-length braided hair that trailed over her full chest, she was everything Sophia wasn’t.
No wonder Jask had found it so easy to turn down her advances, to be so dismissive of her flirtatious remarks. It must have been her clothes and fragrances in his room.
A knot of embarrassment, of envy, formed in her chest as Jask draped his arm around the back of the blonde’s chair whilst he continued to talk to Corbin. She instantly wanted to hate her, but the female who glanced back at her again was only trying to make her feel a little more comfortable – one female reassuring another, despite the species divide, that she understood her awkwardness.
So Sophia forced a hint of a smile back. She had to at least let her know she appreciated her effort if nothing else – even if she clearly was Jask Tao’s mate.
But as Jask recaptured her gaze, one laced with the triumph of having got her in there, even if not to sit with them, Sophia tore off a piece of bread. And plotted how to even the score.
* * *
‘Is she not willing to mix with our kind?’ Corbin asked.
Jask placed his breakfast tray on the table as he pulled out the seat beside Solstice.
Sitting down, he looked across at the serryn.
She looked so small sat alone at the table for four – shirt held down between her thighs with one clenched fist, her long, shapely legs slightly parted, her heavy mid-calve boots unflattering to their slenderness. Her scowl darkened her eyes, her body tense with resentment. He would have found it amusing had it not been so childishly annoying.
‘I think that might have been asking too much,’ Jask remarked, tearing his gaze away to focus his attention on eating.
‘Why’s she in your shirt?’ Solstice asked.
‘A small lesson,’ Jask replied.
‘And from the death stare she’s giving you, I’d say this is round three to you,’ Corbin declared with a smirk.
Jask smiled back.
‘Round three?’ Solstice asked, her gaze switching between her companions.
Jask swallowed a mouthful of food. ‘Will you get some clothes for her, Solstice? And leave them up in my room. Anything else you think she might need as well.’
‘So she’s staying a while?’
‘Long enough for her to need to get dressed.’
‘Is this what the call was about earlier? Is this why Rone and Samson are in the chamber?’
‘They crossed the line,’ Jask declared.
‘Did they do something to her?’
‘No, but they found her where they shouldn’t have been.’
‘Vampire territory?’ Solstice glanced across at the serryn again, eyes wide with concern. ‘Was she attacked?’
‘Bitten, yes.’
‘Did Rone and Samson intervene?’
‘Not exactly. Not that Rone and Samson should have been there to see it in the first place.’
‘Which is why you’re angry with them.’
‘They know the rules, Solstice.’
‘So do you, Jask. You made them. So what’s an outsider doing in the compound?’
‘She has something we need.’
‘Like what?’
Jask took a mouthful of bread, chewed and swallowed as he glanced at Corbin before returning his attention to his food. ‘Like very precious blood.’
Solstice frowned. She stared at Jask before glancing at Corbin, looking for his confirmation too. Her eyes flared, her fair eyebrows knocked up an inch. ‘No.’
‘In the flesh,’ Corbin confirmed.
‘But I thought they were extinct?’
‘Rumour is they are,’ Jask said. ‘Yet clearly not.’
Solstice lowered her voice as she leaned closer. ‘And you brought her back here? She came voluntarily?’
‘Not exactly,’ Jask said.
Solstice snapped back a breath, her gaze switching between them both again. ‘Are you both crazy?’
Jask took a mouthful of food. ‘She can’t do anything.’
Solstice lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘She’s a serryn, for goodness sake. Is there anything more lethal? Need I remind you we have young ones here, Jask? You know what her kind are capable of doing to them. And what if she takes one of them hostage or something to get out of here?’ She flashed an accusatory glare at Corbin before staring back at Jask. ‘Have you thought of that?’
Jask looked across at the serryn again.
Her knees were now locked together, her feet slightly parted and in-turned. She was halfway through her bread roll, tearing off pieces, chewing them with her head lowered, her bobbed hair partially covering her face. The prospect of her being the most dangerous, not least vicious witch there was seemed improbable. But he couldn’t be fooled. ‘She’s not that stupid.’
‘Trapped in here with no other option? You don’t know what she’s capable of. And if the vampires get word we have a serryn here… Kane or Caleb…’
‘We have no choice.’ Jask glanced at Solstice then lingered on Corbin before turning his attention back to his food.
‘What does that mean?’ Solstice asked. Her attention switched to Corbin. ‘What’s he talking about, Corbin?’
Corbin glanced at Jask to acquire his approval. ‘We need a serryn,’ Corbin told her. ‘That afternoon, after what happened to Nero, when we both headed out, we saw a witch. He told us there’s a supply of turmeric here in Blackthorn. Enough of a supply for what we need.’
Solstice’s lips parted slightly, her grip on her spoon tightened. ‘But I thought there was no more turmeric here. That we had the last of it. Is it not still banned?’
‘Oh, it’s still banned,’ Jask said. ‘And still illegal to trade.’
‘And now we know why,’ Corbin added.
Jask took a mouthful of water. ‘Which is why we have to play this carefully. They get one hint that we don’t have enough this time around, and this is over.’
Solstice frowned. ‘No way. I know those bastards at the Global Council are willing to stoop low, but seriously? You think they knew we’d need it at some point? How?’
‘This is proof that they know far more than they’re letting on,’ Jask said.
‘All this so-called respecting our heritage and they’ve just been biding their time, haven’t they?’ Solstice said. ‘They’ve been waiting for our supplies to run out.’
‘And they can keep waiting. Because if the witch we met with is telling the truth, I also know where it is,’ Jask explained.
‘Then why don’t we have it already?’
‘That’s where the serryn comes into it,’ Corbin said.
Blood Torn (Blackthorn Book 3) Page 6