Nicu (The Dark Shadows Book 5)

by Ariel Marie

  He turned back to the rogue. Snapping his neck, he threw the body to ground. He could imagine what he looked like to Samara, but it would be a cold day in hell before he would apologize for what he was.

  He was a vampire.

  With the rogue’s blood flowing through his veins, he instantly felt the effects as power coursed through him.

  With fresh blood, he would be unstoppable. He moved forward, grabbing Samara’s arm.

  “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Six

  Samara

  Vampires do exist. Oh. My. God, Samara thought to herself as Nicu dragged her behind him through the darkened sewer. The Rebels kept telling her they existed, but it was nothing like seeing a real, pissed off vampire emerge from a prison cell and kill two men before she could even blink.

  She had showed him the entrance that the Rebels had created from a sewer grate at the end of the hallway in the dungeon. He was so large, he barely fit, but he made it work.

  Nicu’s strides were so wide, that her shorter legs were having a difficult time keeping up with him, so she had to practically run to keep up with him.

  She couldn’t get the image of him fighting those two men out of her head, or the sight of him drinking the one’s blood. He defeated them without any effort. She swallowed hard. She knew she could sense the danger radiating off him, but she would have never imagined how dangerous he truly was.

  He was downright scary.

  Shit! She was about to lose her marbles. What the fuck did Stefan get himself into? Was he truly dead? But she knew the truth. Deep down, she knew that Nicu had spoken the truth. There would be only one reason why she couldn’t sense her twin. Only one thing in the world that would separate them for all eternity and leave her all alone in the world.

  Death.

  She bit back a sob at the realization that her brother was dead.

  “Stop,” she gasped, trying to pull her arm from Nicu’s death grip. “I can’t keep up with you.”

  Panic filled her chest. No matter how many times she tried to draw in a deep breath, it would get caught in her chest, leaving her lungs to burn from lack of oxygen. She tugged again, frantic to get free.

  She fell to her knees, just as Nicu released her. The contents of her stomach forced their way up. She gagged as the acidic fluid filled her mouth. Coughing racked her body as she spat out the last of the bile. Samara didn’t even want to think of what she could be kneeling in as a cold wetness seeped through her jeans.

  She took a few deep breaths, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. The burning in her chest dissipated just as quick as it appeared.

  “What is it?” Nicu’s deep voice penetrated the darkness.

  “Nothing.”

  “Panicking and throwing up is nothing?” The disbelief in his voice was very evident with his sarcasm.

  “I’m sorry. Just a week ago, I thought that humans were the only beings on the planet. I was sure my brother was just missing or kidnapped. Then I’m told there are others who have been existing alongside us and that my brother is dead.” Her voice ended on a squeak.

  She bit her lip to keep from crying. This was not the time to have a mental breakdown. She had to be strong, because that is what Stefan would want.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, but we have to keep moving before they realize I’m gone.”

  “I know.” She grimaced, feeling the warm trail of tears on her face that she didn’t even realize had escaped her eyes.

  Samara angrily wiped them away. She reached around and felt for the utility pack that Ty had insisted she wear around her waist. She dug around the small fanny pack and found her small flashlight. She flicked the switch, illuminating the sordid sewer.

  She stood and shined the light on the massive vampire waiting for her. She caught a glimpse of his eyes before he blocked the light from his face.

  They were no longer red.

  What the hell?

  “Why did they have you locked up?” she asked. Doubt crept into her mind. Maybe the Rebels were right. After watching him kill those two guards, she wasn’t sure she had made the right decision.

  “Because I killed their king’s son,” he answered without hesitation.

  Oh, boy. She didn’t question his answer. After what she witnessed in the dungeon, she knew that he spoke the truth. Again, she didn’t need to use her senses to see that.

  “Why?”

  “He held my sister and brother hostage, and tortured my brother. He intended to kill them, then captured and tortured the same brother’s mate within an inch of her life,” he bit out, not hiding his irritation at her question.

  “Okay,” she whispered with a nod.

  She understood it. She would kill for her family too.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked, reaching for her hand again.

  “Yes,” she answered, taking his outstretched hand without hesitation. He may be a dangerous killing machine, but he was honorable. Her doubt slowly faded.

  “Turn that light out. Your friends seem to have abandoned you.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” she muttered, stumbling along behind him. For people who wanted to help her find her brother and stand for the human race, they didn’t hesitate in leaving her behind.

  They continued to walk in a not so uncomfortable silence. The underground tunnel was about a mile long from the dungeon to the entrance point, where they had originally entered the sewer.

  “Can you see in the dark or something? Do vampires have super vision?” she asked. He seemed to be able to see fine in the pitch-black sewer. She jumped slightly as something squeaked and scurried past her foot.

  God, rats. Cat sized rats. She shuddered at the thought of what else was down there with them.

  “No. Vampire’s eyesight is like that of a human. Shifters have keen eyesight in the dark.” He stopped in front the metal ladder that would take them aboveground. “Is this where you entered?”

  “Yes,” she answered. Jeremy had instructed everyone that the entrance point to the sewer was the closest to the building. The blueprint of the sewer system he had shared with the group showed that they went for miles. “It’s woods up there. We parked about a half a mile away from here.”

  “I’ll go up first. Stay close to me. Once I get up there, let me make sure that it’s clear before you exit.”

  She nodded, not wanting to argue with him.

  “If you nodded, I couldn’t see it. I need you to verbalize your understanding of my command,” Nicu said.

  “Oh.” Duh. She could feel her cheeks warm, and was thankful for the darkness. “Yes, I understand,” she answered, clearing her throat.

  The sounds of him climbing the metal ladder filled the air. She was careful to stay right behind him. He paused once he reached the top, then began to make light work of the heavy cast iron plate that covered the entrance. He flung it open as if it weighed no more than a piece of paper. Earlier, she had watched as two of the guys pried it open, and it took their combined strength to do it.

  “Wait here,” he ordered as he climbed out.

  Silence surrounded her as she impatiently waited for him to return.

  What if he left her?

  She swallowed hard. Her eyes were wide open now. There were certainly things that went bump in the night, and she knew she would have to avoid them at all costs.

  “Come on.” Nicu’s voice appeared suddenly, causing her to jump.

  Her foot slipped on the rung, almost causing her to tumble off the ladder. She pulled herself back up, tightening her grip on the ladder and carefully made her way out of the sewer. Nicu pulled her out through the manhole.

  “We need to keep moving.” His voice was gruff as he looked around.

  “We need to go this way.” She pointed in the direction that the Rebels had parked their truck. The clear midnight sky allowed the moon to provide them with enough light to guide them away.

  Nicu’s intense gaze traveled over her, leaving her feel
ing a little flushed. She had to fight to keep from squirming at his inspection, and silently cursed under her breath. There was no telling what she looked like after trudging around in a sewer and a dungeon.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’re human,” he stated as his eyes made their way up to meet hers.

  “I thought that was a given,” she snorted. If there was a time for her to remember she was human, it would be tonight.

  “I can move quicker than you. It will be best if I carried you,” he said, stepping over to her.

  “What?” she gawked, stepping away from him.

  “I can use my vampiric speed to put more distance between us and the necromancers.”

  She continued to stare at his outstretched hand before her eyes drifted back up to his.

  “Trust me.”

  Chapter Seven

  Samara

  Samara opened her eyes. She lifted her head from where it had been buried at the nape of Nicu’s neck. Once he had assisted her onto his broad back, she’d hung on for dear life as he raced through the woods, dodging tree limbs and overturned trees.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as he slowed to a halt.

  She became blatantly aware of how tight her legs were wrapped around his trim waist. Her breasts, squished against his hard, muscular back, suddenly became quite sensitive and fully aware of the male carrying her.

  And Nicu was certainly all male.

  An alpha male.

  “Um, yes. I’m okay,” she said as she slowly slid down his back, holding in a groan.

  This was not the time to turn into a horndog. It may have been a while since she’d had sex, but this was not the time to even think of imagining Nicu sliding in between her legs.

  Down, girl.

  Do vampires even think of humans in that way? She wondered to herself.

  One look into Nicu’s eyes as he gradually turned to her, she had her answer. Lust burned bright in his eyes. She froze in place as he took a step closer to her, staring down at her. With his height, she had to cock her head back to return his gaze.

  What the hell was this? Her breath caught in her throat as his hand froze in place, just an inch away from her cheek. Samara ached to feel his touch, but he resisted. He blinked his eyes, and it was as if someone took an eraser to his face. All emotions were now gone.

  “Looks like your human companions left us,” he said with a cough. Nicu turned away from her and walked toward the clearing where the vehicles had been parked.

  “I see,” she said, confused on what just passed between them.

  She cursed Jeremy and the others. They had basically left her for dead.

  “Where are we?” Nicu asked, turning back to her. He was back to using his commanding tone.

  “Kentucky.”

  Nicu’s head snapped back to hers, disbelief in his eyes. “What?”

  “Where are you from?” She walked over to him.

  “Cleveland.”

  “Really? I am too.” She paused, not sure what else to say. She was stranded out in the middle of nowhere with a dangerous vampire who had just killed two people, drank one’s blood, and would be wanted by those necromancer people. She sighed at the realization that she was totally screwed.

  “How far away is the next town?”

  She racked her brain as she tried to remember that last sign on the highway that marked the distance to the next town.

  “I think about ten miles,” she answered.

  “Let’s go,” Nicu said, offering his back to her again.

  She sent up a prayer to the higher being that her libido would stay down. One touch of her hand to his warm shoulder and she knew that her prayer would go unanswered.

  “How did you do that?” she asked again as she waited for Nicu to open the motel door. A ten-mile jog for a vampire carrying a full-grown woman must be an every day thing for Nicu. He hadn’t even broken out in a sweat.

  They had made it to town and found a small motel. It was late, and she figured they wouldn’t be able to get a room to stay in. But, Nicu proved her wrong. Samara stayed quiet as she watched him walk right up to the counter and speak in a low voice to the desk clerk. The woman’s eyes appeared glassy, and within seconds, she was handing Nicu a keycard for a room.

  Nicu opened the door to their basic motel room and waved her in. Samara’s nose instantly scrunched up at the musty smell that permeated the air. The room was a perfect image of an old and rundown country motel.

  There was a king bed with a drab floral print comforter, a dresser with an old television on top and two night stands sitting on each side of the bed. A small wooden desk sat in the corner near an open door that she assumed led to the bathroom. Even the pictures on the walls screamed cheap motel.

  “There is much that you don’t know, human,” he said as he closed the door.

  “I have a name.” She turned to him with her hands on her hips. “It’s Samara. Why didn’t you get two rooms?”

  She hoped he didn’t think they were going to sleep in the bed together. God couldn’t be that cruel to her. There’d be no way she would be able to lay in a bed next to him and get any sleep.

  “I know your name,” he snapped as he began to search around the room. She watched wearily as he ran his hands along the back of the single dresser, peeked beneath the single desk in the room, then headed over to the nightstands. “We don’t need two rooms because we won’t be here long. I need to make a call home and my brothers will be here today.”

  “Oh.” His answer took the wind out of her sails, since she was ready to argue about their sleeping arrangements. She sat in the chair in front of the desk as he continued his inspection of the room.

  “Go ahead and grab a shower,” Nicu said, coming out of the bathroom. “I’ll be back with fresh clothing. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’m taking the key with me.”

  She nodded as she stood and watched him walk out the room, slowly closing the door behind him. She grimaced as she made her way to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Her jeans had become almost too stiff to walk in.

  “Holy mother of God,” she exclaimed, taking in her reflection. The sight of her would send a blind man running.

  Chapter Eight

  Nicu

  Nicu had to get away from Samara, put some distance between them. He couldn’t explain why his body was drawn to hers. The feel of her plump breasts crushed against his back, and her legs wrapped around him had him imagining her naked, drawing him deep into her.

  Even caked in dirt, she was the most beautiful creature that he had ever laid eyes on. He grunted at the thought.

  She was human.

  For years, the vampire council had instructed the Olaru’s that they would need to mate with a strong vampire from a prominent family to strengthen the family lines. Nicu had always been a warrior for his people, and figured if the time came, he would take a vampire bride, as would his brothers.

  In recent years, his brothers and sister all followed fate. They each had found the one that had been destined to be their perfect half. The king and queen had been fighting against the council to allow their children to mate with whomever they chose.

  Their destined mates.

  His younger sister, Nadira, had mated with Cooper, a human detective, and chose to turn him at the risk of losing him forever. Toma was mated to Anika, a human, and Nadira’s best friend. Teague was mated to a Valkyrie demigoddess, Bella. Most recently, his brother Adrian had mated with a pretty woman turned vampire, Angel. It was when they were attempting to rescue Adrian’s mate that Nicu was captured. He prayed that his family had been able to successfully save Angel.

  A vampire separated from their mate by death, was known to follow their mates in death. Nicu knew the legend was true. When Teague’s mate was killed, the entire family could see that Teague was slowly wasting away. Months later, it was discovered that Bella was returned from the Heavens as a demigoddess and saved Teague.

  Just thinking of m
ating had one caramel vision coming to mind.

  Samara.

  He swallowed hard. He shouldn’t be running from a human female. He was a warrior, the mighty Nicu Olaru, next in line for the vampirian throne. He would be king one day. For one of the first times in his long life, Nicu Olaru was scared.

  Scared shitless.

  Of a female.

  There was nothing he could do right now. He needed to get in touch with his family. He finally had the location of the necromancers, and it was time to put a stop to this war. He didn’t have much time.

  Nicu walked through the front door to the small motel’s lobby. The air was stale as he walked up to the courtesy desk, finding the same woman sitting there. She looked up from her computer with a smile. One look into the female’s eyes, he instantly had control of her mind.

  As a vampire, he could compel a person to do as he needed. Right now, he needed to know who else had checked into the hotel and ensure that he and Samara were not followed there. He dove in and immediately erased the memory of himself walking through the glass door. He didn’t want her to have any recollection of him, just in case the necromancers found them.

  He snorted at the woman’s initial impression of him when she looked at him. Desire for him was in the forefront of her mind, but he pushed that aside and found that no one had entered the lobby since they arrived.

  Satisfied that no threats were present, he walked behind the desk and into the back room, finding an empty junk-filled office. His eyes locked on the phone. He instantly snatched it up and found a dial tone, and dialed a number from memory.

  “Yeah,” his brother’s voice came on the line.

  “Teague.” Nicu closed his eyes for a brief second. Being locked away in that fucking dungeon had him doubting he would ever hear one of his family members’ voices again. It was damn good to hear his youngest brother’s voice.