“Wait just a minute.” Stronger and faster than he expected due to his blood in her, she yanked her arm out of his hand and managed to dodge his other hand when he reached for her arm again. “You’re stopping her from talking to me. That’s why she’s upset. Let her talk to me.”
“No. That’s not why. It’s Jeremy. He’s controlling her right now.” Taking charge he changed tactics. He moved quickly and aggressively not caring if he instigated a violent response from Grace or alarmed Kara. She needed to be afraid. He caught Kara’s right arm in a firm grip and pulled her away from the iron bars. “We don’t have a minute. Trust me, Kara, you do not want to see what is about to happen.”
Grace burst into a fit of rage. She couldn’t make any other sound than a horrible hissing noise as she charged and slammed her body against the iron bars. She strained to reach though the bars. She thrust a powerful compulsion at Kara in an attempt to get her to come closer. Eli blocked it and pushed back with enough force to get Grace’s attention. In frustration and rage, she began to slam her body against the bars again and again.
“We need to leave now, Kara. We need to allow Max to calm her before she hurts herself.”
Kara nodded as Eli led her out of the cave. “She was fine just seconds ago. What happened to her?”
“It’s Jeremy’s blood in her,” Eli explained. “It’s corrupt. When she was attempting to lure you closer she wasn’t in her right mind. At that moment you weren’t her daughter. You were a source of blood.”
“We need to find Jeremy. We need kill him.”
“We need to find a demon willing to help.”
“Why?” Kara asked.
“Jeremy won’t be easy to kill. He has consumed a demon’s blood. It has made him stronger, more powerful than the average vampire.”
“Then, we get a demon to help and we hunt him down and kill him.”
“We won’t need to hunt him. He is already hunting us.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“He’s a predator, a hunter by nature and he has marked you as his prey. As soon as his wounds are healed and he is at full power he’ll begin hunting you. We’ll make it easy for him to find you. We’ll free you mom from the bond he has with her.”
~Epilogue~
FROM TIME TO time life had brought about unexpected happenings. The truth, looking up into the eyes of a man who loved her with all that he had, was an unforeseeable affair. Eli had become Kara’s world. He’d given her his heart and he’d captured hers. He would never hurt or betray her. He would die to protect her. He was and would forever be the best friend and lover she’d ever had.
“Stop stalling. It’s time. Do it.”
And bossy. Being an alpha, chest beating male he would always try to tell her what to do rather than offer suggestions. Her job would be to find creative ways to make him beg before giving in to his wishes. “How do you know I can do it?”
“I’ve more going for me that just being the hottest, chest beating sex god you’ve ever dreamed of getting naked with. I also happen to have infallible instincts.”
It was true. His instincts were, as a general and annoying rule, always right on target. “You also have an enormously puffed up ego.”
“Are you saying the loving you’ve been receiving from me isn’t all that good?”
Refusing to allow her smile to broaden, she shrugged to appear nonchalant. “I suppose you do a decent job with what you have to work with.”
As if ignoring the muffled chuckles of the other pack members gathered all around, he took her into his arms. “Decent? That’s it?” She shivered. His voice was thick, husky, and it somehow managed to touch her, move over her skin as if ever so lightly caressing her.
“A pretty good job.” Her response drew more from him than a grin. Gripping her ass and lifting her up, he took a few steps and used his entire body to pin her back against a tree. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“If I’m only pretty good I need a lot of practice to get better so you don’t feel the need to find a stronger, more capable mate,” he breathed the words against her lips.
She expected blazing hot, lustful passion to explode. Instead, his tender kiss ignited a slow rising sensual flame of love and desire. It had nothing to do with having sex. He was sharing his love for her. He was making love to her. “Honestly, I would never want another man.”
“That’s good news.” He set her down. “Are you ready?”
“What if…”
He took a step back and shifted into his wolf form. Close your eyes. You’ve met your wolf in your dreams already. Envision yourself as it. You can do it.
She looked around at the pack surrounding her. They’d followed Eli’s lead when he took his wolf form. “What if I get stuck like that?”
You won’t. Eli sat down and yawned as if bored.
“That was rude.” Accompanied by a strong urge to bite him she felt something dark and wild stir in her. His lip lifted in what could’ve been mistaken as a snarl, but it was far from it. He was amused. “Go chase a flea or something.”
Standing up, he yawned again.
“Stop it.” Her anger building she took a step toward him.
Then, after shaking his head as if to force himself to stay awake and alert, he allowed his body to collapse. “Oh, that’s real funny, Eli.” Sprawled out on his side, he twisted his neck and looked at her with sleepy eyes. “Don’t you dare do it again.” Once more, he yawned.
The transformation was so sudden she didn’t even notice it had happened until after she’d pounced on him and had a mouth full of fur. Releasing his throat, she climbed off him and stared at him. She wasn’t as shocked as she was excited. I did it.
He got to his feet slowly and, head lowered and ears pressed back, he moved toward her. You bit me.
You deserved it. Back off or I’ll do it again. Refusing to retreat she lifted her lip in a snarl, took a step forward, and then she stopped and looked around her before settling her gaze back onto his. Let’s run. I want to run. Followed by Eli and surrounded by the pack, Kara ran until her legs could no longer carry her.
Want a sneak peek at what’s to come?
Volatile Breath of Darkness (unedited)
FOLLOWING AN EXTRA-LONG soak in the tub, Brianna had just wrapped a towel around her body and walked out of the bathroom when she felt a distinct shift of power in the atmosphere. At first she’d mistaken it for Nikolas, but she knew it wasn’t him when she felt heat generating from the necklace he’d given to her for protection.
“Don’t panic. We wouldn’t want you to lose your grip on that towel.” The man’s voice was deep. It had soothing and hypnotic attributes. It was familiar. It was too perfectly pitched to belong to anything other than a demon.
Gripping the towel in her fist up above her breasts a little tighter, she turned to face the intruder. “Who are you?”
“Demetri Demidov.”
Hearing him say his name made her feel as if a cold, dark cloud had swallowed her up. She fought the sudden, desperate urge to turn around and run for her life. It wouldn’t do any good. She’d have better luck outrunning a bullet fired from a gun. “What do want, Demetri?” Wanting to appear as calm as possible, she forced herself to say his name out loud.
“You don’t look pleased to see me. Oops. That was truly insensitive. Please accept my most sincere apology. I would hate to cause you to have any negative opinions of me. I forgot that you’re as blind as a bat without Nikolas’ help.”
She wasn’t going to let him see that his words hurt her. She shrugged. “I’ve been blind my entire life. I’m used to it.”
“Where is Nikolas?”
That was a good question. Nikolas showed up before any danger presented itself. Not after. Never after. She couldn’t feel him. She couldn’t hear him. He didn’t know she was in trouble or he was dead. With him there couldn’t be any other options. If he didn’t know maybe it was for t
he best. From what she’d heard Demetri and Nikolas were equally matched. If he was dead she had nothing to lose. She decided to confront him about her sister. Steeling herself for his reaction, she took a step toward him. “Where’s Sara?”
“Do you truly want to know?”
She felt vibrations beneath her feet and she heard rattling all around. She knew it was Nikolas. In her mind she could see him in his dragon form moving as fast a jet tearing across the sky. She couldn’t hear his voice. And for that she was glad. He was furious. She lifted her head as if to meet Demetri’s gaze. “Of course.”
“What if it isn’t good?”
“It doesn’t matter. I need to know.” She heard Nikolas’ roar of protest. The fury, the fear in him was so intense, so profound. The dragon emblem on the necklace started to vibrate and get hotter. She felt electrical currents pulsating in the rhythm of a beating heart. A strong, steady rhythm.
“I can’t do it for you. You’ll have to merge your mind with mine to see her.”
He was requesting her consent rather than just doing it. That was good, right? He could easily overpower her mind and do as he wished with her. No. Do not even consider it. It’s a trick. He’s misleading you. You’re protected. He knows that he cannot touch you unless you allow it. She knew Nikolas was talking about the necklace. Until that moment she’d always believed that the power in the necklace was absolute. She’d been convinced that she couldn’t even take it off.
“Don’t feel bad. Of course you fell for it. You aren’t the first. Scores of women have fallen for Nikolas’ lies and they have allowed themselves to be enslaved by the charm for thousands of years.”
No other woman has ever worn the necklace. I wore it. It was a gift from my father. It isn’t meant to control you or anyone. It’s to ensure we are connected at all times. It’s for your protection.
Ignoring Nikolas, she gripped the emblem in her fist. “What do you mean?”
Don’t listen to him, little one.
The endearment, little one, irritated her more than ever before. He truly thought of her as being less than him. Small. Weak. Unworthy of being his woman. No. Not undeserving. She was a child to him. In his mind she was incapable of being his woman.
That isn’t true.
“The charm is a very useful tool when it comes to ensuring an immature and willful female’s absolute submission, until a male is able to properly train her to follow his every command.”
If I wanted to control you I wouldn’t need a charm to do it.
What had caused her to stoop so low in hopes of gaining his respect…his affection? She’d lost herself for him. He didn’t need her. He needed to control her. He needed to dominate her will, to train her to do as he wished. Why had it become so important to prove herself worthy of being his woman? She truly was a child in his eyes. He would never want her at his side. He would keep her behind him, safe and sound in his shadow until the day she died.
The thought of even allowing Demetri to touch her mind scared her. She knew he was dangerous. To willingly merge her mind with his would give him access to her deepest thoughts. It would give him the ability to take control of her mind, her body. Regardless of what happened, if she could learn what had happened to her sister it would be worth it. She would never love another man other than Nikolas and he would never choose to be with her. She had nothing to lose.
She yanked the necklace from her neck and dropped it. “Do it. Merge with me. Show me.”
“Give me your hand.”
A brutal gust of wind blasted into her and nearly knocked her off her feet. It would’ve landed her on her butt if there hadn’t been a wall behind her to catch her. Nikolas was furious, but his temper wouldn’t sway her this time. She didn’t care. Let him be mad. Let him feel what it was like to not get his way. She wasn’t his slave. She wasn’t his child. He’d lived several lifetimes. He would live several more after she was gone. This was her one life. She would no longer live it to please him. She wouldn’t be his slave. If she had any hope of finding her sister this was it.
You think I’ve treated you as I would a slave. You have no idea how cruel of a master I can be. If you survive this you will know…you will experience what it means to be my slave. She couldn’t detect any anger in his tone. She couldn’t detect any emotion at all. Immediately, she understood why. She couldn’t feel him at all. He’d shoved her out of his mind.
Another gust of wind slammed into her with enough force to cause her breath to burst out of her lungs. It held her there, pinned her backside to the wall. She clenched her teeth together. Her heart accelerated. Anxiety filled her. The walls, the floor and the windows shook violently causing things to crash down all around her. It felt and sounded as if a freight train was barreling through her bedroom. Resisting the force of the wind she pushed herself off the wall, and struggling to stay on her feet, she offered her hand to Demetri. A loud explosion echoed all around.
Demetri captured her hand. Everything went still and silent. She felt him in her mind, but she didn’t reach for his. “For this to work you need to need to reach for me. You need to allow our minds to fully merge.”
She blinked twice before his face came into focus. Once she reached out there would be no going back. Tilting her head back she stared up at him. She studied him. His eyes were dull dark brown, nearly black. She saw utter emptiness. A deep black of nothing. What would he, a demon rumored to be one of the most powerful immortal warriors in existence, ever have to fear? His hair was as black as coal with a few streaks of gray. It fell a few inches over his shoulders. His face, with the exception of subtle signs of aging, was flawless. She knew demons didn’t age. It made her wonder if it was because of him turning evil, turning against his kind.
“We don’t have long. Merge with me.”
Nodding, she closed her eyes to focus. Taking a deep breath she reached for his mind. She felt the sensation of being weightless, of floating further away from her body. It felt good. It was peaceful. She was so relaxed, so unafraid that she didn’t resist him even though she knew he was removing her soul from her body.
The first sign that something was wrong was a subtle wave of tenderness between her eyes. Anxiety caused her stomach to clench. The pain slowly moved from her head to her feet until she felt it in her entire body, deep in her bones. Her head started to pound. It was more of a discomfort than actual pain, but the severity steadily increased.
Hearing the sound of Demetri chanting in a language she didn’t know, she opened her eyes to look at him. Startling her, his eyes were entirely black, cold and merciless. He stared at her, his jaw set in a stern scowl. No. Not stern. Pain. He was in utter agony. His forehead was damp with sweat and tiny drops of blood as he continued to chant.
In her gut she sensed that something really bad was about to happen, but she didn’t pull away from him. She wouldn’t. Her time with her sister was the best time of her life. As long as there was a hope she’d see her sister again she would endure anything.
“That’s what I was counting on. I will shield you to the best of my ability.”
“From what?”
“Pain. This experience is about to get very unpleasant.”
“I don’t care about the consequences. I just want to find her.”
He smiled. As odd as it seemed she believed it was a real smile. “No matter what happens do not try to pull away from me. We can do this. We can find her together.”
How did she forget he was evil? “You don’t know where she is?” She didn’t understand. He had to know. From what she’d heard he was responsible for whatever fate Sara was suffering. She’d even heard that he’d murdered her to be with Mary. Never once had it occurred to her that he might not know where her sister was at. Was it possible Sara was hiding from him? Was he using her to find and kill her own sister? “Oh God. No.” She tried to pull her hand away from his but his grip but it was unbreakable. “No!” She tried to pull her mind from his but his mind held onto hers and wouldn’t
let go.
“Be calm. You must be calm or she will know.”
A blinding flash of light left her in utter darkness. An explosion caused her ears to pop and then ring. Simultaneously, the pain became more intense than any she’d ever experienced, every muscle in her body cramped. The severity of it slowly increased until it developed into excruciating agony. She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn’t get a sound out.
Stop! Not through her! Never her! Let her go, Demetri!
It was her sister’s voice in her head. She reached out to her, but it was nearly impossible to focus on anything beyond the pain she was experiencing. Sara! She tried to force her mind to disconnect from the pain to connect with her sister.
Let her go, Demetri! You will not hurt her to get to me!
Everything went silent. The pain ceased. Demetri was gone. She felt weak. She tried to take a step but lost her balance and, striking her cheek on what she thought was the edge of her dresser, she fell on her floor. Unable to see, she wasn’t sure where she was in her room. She put her palms flat on the floor to push herself up. Shards of glass cracked beneath her hands, cutting deep into her skin. Once on her feet, her head was spinning. Disoriented, she stumbled and started to fall. Before she hit the ground, strong arms wrapped around her and scooped her up.
***
In a matter of seconds, Nikolas had shifted with Brianna to his home. He was determined she would never take a single step off his property again. His body shaking with pent up rage he stared down at her covered in blood and unconscious in his arms. Everything in him wanted to go after Demetri. He would. But for now just the sight of her caused his blood to boil, he needed to take care of her. He just needed to be near her. As near as possible.
She remained limp as he lowered her onto his bed. A growl rumbling deep in his chest, he pulled her hair back. The right side her face was covered with blood. It had dripped down the front of her upper body and part of belly. Normally the gash on her cheek would’ve required several stitches. Touching her face he sent all of his healing power into her body, closing the wound within seconds. “I am what I am. I promise we will both regret your defiance, little one.”
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