Soul Mates: Sacrifice

by Jourdan Lane

  Doc frowned. "I could have sworn he said you'd think about it."

  "If, and only if, the serum was tested and retested and didn't have the withdrawal effects that it had before. I think it's dangerous and unstable and just any vampire shouldn't have access to it. Imagine a vampire with an agenda or a vendetta that was free to roam in the light of day."

  "As Lucien has experienced firsthand, that's a dangerous combination."

  "Exactly," I said with a nod. "Some day in the far, faraway future? Things may change. But for now we're pretty damned happy being 'left in the dark'."

  "I understand." He stood and pushed the cart to the other side of the room. "Do you want to hang out for a bit and let me run a few initial tests or would you rather get the X-ray's done so you can get out of here?"

  "Well, Lucien was going to get someone to stay with me while he ran around and gave orders, but since no one's shown up, I guess I'm free to do whatever. I am not, however, going to spend more time up here than necessary." I got off the narrow treatment bed and made my way to the couch on the far side of the room. "If I fall asleep, just wake me up when you need me."

  "I was going to point out that some sleep might help you."

  "Yeah, yeah." I lay down and got comfortable, then realized it was a little chilly. I so didn't want to get back up. "Hey, Doc? Toss me a blanket?"

  * * *

  It was dark when I opened my eyes. I had a second or two of trying to remember just where the hell I was. The smell of antiseptic was strong so I was pretty sure I was still in the treatment room. Someone brushed against my back with an arm or a hand and I realized I wasn't alone.

  Blindly, I searched behind me. My hand landed on someone's head, the hair long and soft. Tiny horns rose up beneath my fingers and I smiled.

  "Sabaan?"

  "Hey there, sleepyhead." He moved up to kneel above me. "Scoot over a little and let me in."

  I scooted as far into the back of the couch as I could, lifting up the blanket. It was only then that I realized I was naked. I dropped the blanket and held a hand up to stop him from sliding onto the couch beside me.

  "I know I went to sleep with a robe on."

  "You had some kind of seizure while you were sleeping. Doc had to do some work on you. If you'll pay attention, you've got some chest pads still attached."

  It was too dark to really see, but I ran a hand over my chest. "And the fucking drama never ends."

  "Pretty much."

  I lifted the blanket and scooted back again. "So, what are you doing here?"

  "Last resort," he said before placing a kiss to my temple. "Lucien's got everyone busy doing shit for something tonight. I offered to stay with you a while so he could go give orders."

  "That was nice of you."

  "How do you feel?"

  "Numb. Like I might have actually slept longer than an hour."

  "Try five."

  "Oh, shit!" I started to throw the blankets off again. "What time is it?"

  "Relax, Peter. It's not even six yet." He pulled the blankets back over us. "You might as well get comfortable and try to get some more sleep while you can."

  I tried to settle back down, but the material of Sabaan's robe was irritating my skin. Even as soft as I knew it was, it still felt scratchy and rough.

  "Well, if you're gonna stay?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Take off your robe. I don't like the way it feels against me."

  Sabaan laughed, the sound rich and deep, vibrating against my back. "Only if you promise not to go humping me in your sleep."

  "You fucking wish."

  "Well… yeah." I elbowed him hard, making him yelp. "Okay, okay. I'll be good. I promise."

  Uh-huh. With fingers crossed, I was sure.

  * * *

  I woke with a sigh, kicking the blanket off me. Oddly, I'd gone back to sleep in Sabaan's arms, but I was alone on the big, wide couch. It was hot. Sweat drops ran in thin lines from my hair and down my neck, making me feel as if I was stuck to everything I touched.

  "Peter? Everything okay?"

  The voice was definitely not Sabaan's, but it was familiar. It took me a second to place it.

  "Logan? Geez, what happened this time?"

  "I'm not sure what you mean."

  "I had a seizure the first time I went to sleep. I went back to sleep with Sabaan lying beside me and now he's gone and you're here. Something happen?"

  "Not… exactly." He got up from wherever he was sitting and walked toward the couch. He sat on the edge, careful not to touch me. "Lucien came to check on you while you slept and I think he had issues with Sabaan being so close to you."

  "That's it?"

  "I know he's your friend, Peter, so forgive me for being out of line. But, sometimes… Sabaan just doesn't know when to shut up."

  I smiled a little at that. "No. He doesn't. Especially when it comes to taunting Lucien. Lucien didn't hurt him, did he?"

  "Oh, no. He didn't get the chance." Logan chuckled. "Though, if he'd have laid hands on him, Sabaan might have been in a little bit of pain."

  "And enjoyed every second of it." I rolled my eyes. "What time is it?"

  "A quarter to eight. Lucien said that the next time you woke it'd probably be a good idea to escort you to the shower and all."

  "Only if you'll hold me up and wash me."

  "If you wish."

  "Joking."

  "I would be glad to bathe you."

  I looked up at him then, meeting his gaze. Even in the dim light of the room, his blue eyes shone bright. In that moment, I realized something about Logan that both confused and pleased me.

  "You would do anything I asked you to, wouldn't you?" At his nod, I shook my head. "Why?"

  "As I told you before, I like it here. I want to stay here."

  "You don't have to be at my beck and call just to stay in the coven, Logan. In case you might have missed it, we've already accepted you here."

  "And I thank you for that." He inclined his head respectfully. "But you should know that I do consider you to be my master. Lucien, too. There is nothing that you can ask of me that I won't do."

  "You shouldn't be so accommodating, Logan. It's dangerous."

  "It's not accommodating. It's faith and trust in my master – masters – to take care of me in the way that they feel is best." He smiled a little. "Now, if you order me to castrate myself or something like that? Then, I might be a little hesitant."

  "You won't have to worry about that."

  I shuddered and grasped the back of his neck, pulling him down into an embrace. Touching him felt so intimate, so deep. It was an odd sensation that warmed me and made me feel complete. So protective. Was this what Lucien felt for the rest of the vampires in the coven?

  "At home, please don't call me master."

  "Unless we have company that warrants it?"

  I nodded. "You want to stay here at the mansion?"

  Logan looked up at me hopefully. "As in live here?"

  "Yeah."

  "I would love to, provided you allow me to contribute something to the coven. It wouldn't feel right to just stay here unless there was something I could do."

  "I'm sure we can find something. Just stay and we'll talk about everything else once things calm down a little around here." I pushed him back and sat up, feeling more than a little stiff from being in one place for so long. "May not need help with my shower, but I could always use the company."

  Logan got to his feet and offered a hand. I took it and let him help me up, feeling just a little bit woozy. Halfway across the room I looked down to see the little pads still on my chest.

  "Hang on, Logan. Help me peel these pads off."

  A mischievous grin graced his lips, but he didn't smart off like Nikolas or Sabaan might have. He helped, leaving me to pull off the one just beneath my right nipple. I peeled it off slowly, hissing as the damned thing pulled out hair.

  Logan watched intently, gaze traveling downward. He cleared his throat as he ste
pped back. "I'll find your robe."

  "I'd appreciate that." I watched him as he went back to the couch and retrieved my robe. When he turned around and saw that I was watching and waiting patiently, he smiled and hurried his step. "Nothing wrong with looking, Logan. Nothing at all."

  "Good." He laughed and held up my robe. "It would be a shame not to stop and admire the scenery every now and then."

  * * *

  When I came out of the bathroom, Simon and Logan were both standing near the closet talking. Simon looked up at me and smiled, stepping away from the wall. "You feeling better?"

  "Oh, yeah. Amazing what a little sleep and a shower can do. What are you up to?"

  "Everything," he said. "So much to do in such a little amount of time. But I'll get there."

  "I wish you'd take it easy, Simon."

  "Why? Nothing's changed. I'm still me."

  I know, but—"

  "Peter, please. If you're going to treat me differently, then I'm going to regret the day I opened my mouth."

  I stood there feeling nine kinds of chastised. I hated that feeling and if it were anyone but Simon, they'd have been in the floor with my foot shoved against their throat.

  "I won't speak a word about it again, if that's what you wish."

  "It is," he whispered, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. "Forgive me for being out of line. I just…"

  "I think I understand." After all, people were treating me differently left and right and sometimes the constant parade of well-wishers was just a little much. I pulled my hand away, pointing to the clothes he had laid over his other arm. "Those for me?"

  Simon nodded. "Lucien had specifics on what you should wear."

  "You're kidding me."

  "I think he wants a show of strength," Logan offered as he started across the room. "It's kind of an important night for the coven as a whole."

  "Logan's right. Everyone will be here," Simon said as he laid the clothes out on the bed. "Lucien also asked me to use a little makeup on you. Do you want me to do that before or after you dress?"

  "Maybe he's got me and Lilly mixed up," I growled.

  Simon held his hand out. "Come here."

  I took his hand and let him lead me to the bathroom. He flipped the switch for the light and walked me to the mirror, turning me to face it. I swallowed hard at what I saw. Gaunt and gray, I looked like I was a few breaths away from death's door. I looked worse than I had the last time I'd looked into a mirror.

  No wonder people were falling all over themselves to help me.

  "So… makeup?"

  Simon nodded. "Not much. Just enough to give you a little color. A little eyeliner for your eyes."

  I frowned. "I look evil when I wear eyeliner."

  "I think that's the point," Logan said from the doorway. "What would you like me to do?"

  "You might as well go on and get dressed. I'm sure Lucien will be here by the time Simon finishes up with me. Come find me when you get down to the staging area. I'd like you to stay close."

  "As you wish." Logan nodded and backed out of the room.

  "Alrighty, then." Simon hummed. "Let's turn you from the ghastly Peter into the evil overlord."

  "So not funny, Simon."

  Chapter Eleven

  I looked into the mirror for what seemed to be the hundredth time, blinking. The makeup was light, but it'd made me look ten times better than before. With the right kind of shading and eyeliner applied just so, Simon had turned the gaunt into the sharp and I looked positively evil.

  Truly.

  And I might have liked it just a tad too much.

  I'd sent Logan to get dressed and Simon had been called away by someone who had apparently broken something. Alone in the bedroom, I was getting antsy. I looked at my watch. It was nearly ten and I hadn't seen Lucien since he'd woken earlier in the day. He'd seen me on several occasions, as I'd been told, but that just wasn't the same. I wanted him here—needed to have him close.

  "Lucien?" I tested the connection between us. "You there?"

  "I'm always here, lover. What is it?"

  "I'm ready, missing you, and about to start pacing the floor. You'll be here soon?"

  "I'll be there as soon as I can." There was a pause. "Can you do me a favor?"

  "Anything."

  "Would you find Xander and tell him he is NOT eligible for this fight? I do not want any surprises."

  "I can do that." I had a feeling I knew where he was anyway. "Anything specific I should tell him?"

  "Just that, as leader of the pack, he is excluded from leading the team as well. Keep it simple. If you have any problems with him, call me. I'll be up to the house to get you soon."

  Before I managed to fit in a simple 'love you' he was gone, the connection not broken, just faded. I sat for a moment longer, not particularly interested in having to go down and speak to Xander. Even if part of me just wanted to run down and pull him into my arms and forget everything that had happened between us.

  Sadly, as much as I wanted that, it'd never happen. One moment we were so close, so right, and the next like enemies. I forced myself up and out of the bedroom. Each and every step that brought me closer to the dungeon was harder to take than the last.

  Never let it be said that I was a fan of confronting someone after a fight. It was so much easier to let them come to me. I entered the main part of the dungeon and our captive hunter was sitting on his bed without a shirt. He was tearing his shirt into strips, a long length of it pooled in his lap.

  I stopped in front of his cell. "What are you doing?"

  "Fuck you," he mumbled, not bothering to look up from his task.

  "If you want to die, hanging yourself isn't necessary. I'm sure that one of us could be persuaded to help you out."

  "Fuck. You." He met my gaze with a glare, but his expression faltered. He went back to tearing at his shirt. "If you were going to kill me, I'd be dead already."

  "You think so?" He didn't bother to answer. I couldn't very well leave him to hang himself with a makeshift rope. "Strip for me."

  "No."

  "Stand up, bring all of the materials you've ripped from your shirt and drop them outside the bars. Then I want your pants, your belt if you're wearing one, and your boots—both laces included. You can keep the underwear."

  "You hard of hearing, pretty boy? I ain't stripping off my clothes so you fuckers can get off to it."

  Hrm. Without a word, I turned on my heel and walked back up the corridor to Nikolas' private play room. I knocked once on the open door out of politeness, even though I knew he wasn't there. I went straight to the desk on the far wall and opened the second drawer. Beneath a stack of photos of men in a variety of sadistic poses there was a hidden panel.

  I lifted it up and retrieved the .45 out of the velvet-lined box. I checked the safety and popped the clip, finding it full. I pushed it back in and chambered a round. I then turned and walked back out of Nikolas' room and down the hall. When I stopped in front of the hunter's cell again, he looked up at me with bored eyes.

  "Give me a break."

  "Stand and strip. Those are my orders."

  "Whatta'ya gonna do?" He stood, looking defiant. "Shoot me?"

  "I've shot people for less." And that was the truth of it. Though the last hunter I shot was because he refused to stand. Of course, that was hard to do with a broken leg.

  "I don't believe you."

  "Really? 'Cause, see? Here I am with my loaded .45 and there you are with your… ripped up shirt tied into a makeshift rope. But know this: if I shoot you? I won't be shooting to kill you. I hear there's nothing worse than being shot in the knee. What do you think?"

  "I think you're a fucking pansy who wouldn't know his ass from a hole in the ground."

  I aimed and shot, the round hitting the floor about an inch from his right foot. He jumped about three feet into the air before stumbling back.

  I smirked.

  "I didn't miss. Now. You've got to the count of five
to get out of those clothes and throw them out of your cell. Next time? You'll bleed."

  Three was the magic number. He stripped off and tossed his clothes out of the cell faster than I could have ever imagined. Standing there in his blue and white plaid briefs, he looked positively scared.