I grab the duvet off the bed, my brow furrowing at the contact. I can smell the dirt on it. Nevertheless, I wrap it around myself tightly. The burn on the ceiling is round. Like a blowtorch has been lit, and held, on this part alone.
Oliver strides back in. He’s dressed now, much to my annoyance. He chuckles as I frown further, and comes towards me, handing over some clothes. I can smell other people on them, but only faintly. There’s an overwhelming smell of perfume on them.
“Where did these come from?” I ask, pulling the jumper over my head.
He grins. “Don’t ask.” Oliver tries to busy himself around the room, but there really isn’t much for him to do. I catch him watching me as I bend over to slide black leggings up my long legs.
“You have seen me naked before you know, Ollie. It’s okay to look at me.” I stand back up and look at him.
He looks coyly at me. “I wasn’t looking at you, Mia. Did you want me to?” He feigns shock.
“Funny, Ollie,” I laugh back. My heart feeling lighter than it has done in a long time as we slip back into our old ways. Our familiar rapport a deep comfort.
He moves towards me, his hands hesitating above my shoulders, his lips part. “It’s so much more now than it ever was before.”
I know what he means. The feelings are heightened by hundreds—a million, even. The love I felt for him before is nothing compared to what I feel for him now. The lust inside bubbles away continuously.
“I don’t think I would ever leave this room if it weren’t for the whole mortal danger thing.” He says trying to be playful. He bites his lip, his eyes skimming over me. My body clenches deep down in expectancy.
“We have to go, Mia.”
“I know.” Neither of us makes a move from our positions. His handsome face looks into mine, his hard jaw clenching as he struggles to control himself. He rubs his thumb gently across my shoulder.
“If you could just see what I see…” He huffs out a breath and looks away, closing his eyes. My hand reaches up and strokes his cheek, the desire building in me, egging me on. I stroke a finger across his mouth and feel him shudder.
“Don’t Mia, we have to go. They will be coming for you—for us.” He swallows loudly.
I lick my lips, unable to stop the longing in my body. He turns to look at me.
“Stop it, Mia.” He pulls my hand away from his, taking a step back. “I can’t resist you. Not now.”
My body quivers for his touch, begging for it, for him. I lick my lips in hungry anticipation of him.
Looking into my eyes, his sounds out his words as if speaking to a child.. “I. Can. Not. Resist. You. Stop. It. Woman!” he laughs.
Images wash in front of my eyes. I don’t understand what I’m seeing. My forehead creases in frustration as I see the image of a woman. I gasp at her beauty.
“Beautiful Mia, you are a goddess to me. Don’t you know anything by now?” I understand that the woman I’m seeing is me. How Oliver sees me. I look at him uncertainly as he shakes his head. “No, this is you.”
The woman in Oliver’s eyes takes my breath away. Her beauty—my beauty—is insurmountable to any I have ever seen.
“What…”
He chuckles. “You see so much, and yet you are blind to something so obvious.” He gestures to the floor. “You were beautiful before, but now…” He holds me at arm’s length. “The ash, baby. That was our clothes.”
“What? How?” I look at the pile of ash in horror.
“I don’t really understand it myself, Mia. I don’t understand any of it, really. Definitely not the whole vampire thing, but I know that you are very powerful, and both Mr San and Mr Breckt want you.” His teeth clench together. “They both want you for very different reasons though.”
“But,” I gesture to the ash again, not caring about Mr-Damn-Breckt right now.
“That, I don’t know, I just know that you’re powerful.” He sees my face crease with worry and carries on. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Mia. I’ll die first.” I realise now that he already did die for me. He died trying to protect me.
At that thought, we both listen intently. A sound downstairs in the hotel lobby catches our attention. Someone is here for us. For me.
“We need to go, Mia. Now.” He grabs my hand and we climb out of the window. The drop is huge, but Oliver gently tugs my hand. “Jump, baby.” He pulls me with him when he jumps, and I don’t even have time to scream out before we land—albeit me with a little less grace than him, but we land—and nothing seems broken.
I stare up at the window we just jumped from in shock, and then look back to Ollie.
“Let’s go, sweet cheeks.” He grabs my hand and I feel that magnetic rush between us again. Smiling, he pulls me up to stand, and we set off at full speed into the forest.
*
The night has closed in around us. It makes no difference to either of us now though. The cold, the dark—none of it matters. But the lack of blood does.
“Ollie, I can’t go any further.” I pull on his hand.
“We have to, Mia. They’re too close. I can smell them.” He continues to pull me along, even as I drag my heels.
I can smell them, too, though. I know why he’s scared, but my stomach is creasing up with pain, scorching my insides with every step I take. The flames leap in me, all-consuming, until I cry out.
“I can’t, Oliver. I can’t.”
He turns back, stoops down, and picks me up off my feet. He continues to run at full speed, carrying me in his arms. I sag against him, barely able to hold my head up.
It’s no good. Every movement burns through me. I’m whimpering, sobbing into his chest, but there is no blood. My tears have dried up, there is no spare blood left in me for the tears I’m trying to cry.
I need blood. Now.
We have been running for hours. I have no idea where we are, or how close our pursuers are. Hell, I’ve no idea who our pursuers are. Mr Breckt or Mr San, and I realise how ridiculous this all is, how pointless. We can’t run from them, all we’re doing is delaying the inevitable. They’re older and stronger than us, we stand no chance…
“Stop,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. Oliver glances down at me in his arms, but continues regardless. “I said, stop, Ollie.” I cup his face in my hands, and pull it down to look at me, feeling his momentum slowing down.
“We can’t, Mia. We have to keep going.” He looks defeated. His shoulders slump dejectedly, his eyes dull.
“There’s no point, Ollie. You can’t carry me forever.”
“I can!”
“You can’t. Even if you could, they’re too close. I’m too weak, and they are too strong. It’s no use, don’t you see?” I hang my head, wanting to cry, but still nothing comes.
Stupid vampire, I can’t even cry.
Oliver finally stops. “I can’t lose you again.” His voice cracks on the last word. I reach up and press my lips to his.
“You won’t.”
We both look behind us at the sound of crashing. They’re nearly here.
We look back at each other, our eyes wide with fear. Fear of who is coming for us, fear that we will be killed. But the biggest fear is that we will lose each other again.
I wish I had the strength to carry on, but there’s nothing left in me. No blood means no energy; no energy means no strength. Nothing. I can barely stand, let alone run, and I know that Oliver is running low too. He tightens his grip on me, holding me closer to his chest.
“I love you so much, Mia. I just want to protect you. That’s all I ever wanted, all I’ve ever tried to do.”
“I know.” I hug him back. “Maybe it’s Mr San’s men? Maybe he can protect me from Shauna?” I think back to Mr San lying to me that Oliver was dead, and I know that he can’t be trusted either. It’s hopeless.
“Mr San helped me escape. Shauna helped me escape, Mia. I don’t understand why she would be working for him if she hated him. It makes no sense.” He frowns.
�
��She said she loved Mr Breckt, and that the Queen would take her back. That she never knew how hard it was going to be, blah, blah, blah.” I feign jokiness, but he sees through my charade. “Shauna helped you escape?” I ask with a raise of my eyebrow.
Oliver looks nervously behind us again. Voices are getting closer.
“Yeah. She broke me out, got me off the Island. One of Mr Breckt’s vampires—Pawns, I think he calls them—turned me. I woke up in my cell, half-demented from hunger. Shauna was there. She fed me and got me out of that place.”
We both look at each other. It all seems such an unlikely coincidence now, and he groans as he comes to the same conclusion as me. Shauna is working for Mr Breckt; she was working for him all along.
There’s no way anyone could have broken into Mr Breckt’s house and gotten Oliver out. Hell, they got me out afterwards. Surely security would have been even tighter then? Mr Breckt must be furious. That also means that Mr San has someone on the inside too. It’s a double double-cross.
They are closer now. I can smell them even stronger. They aren’t even bothering to run anymore; they know that we have stopped. We are in more danger than we had realised. There is someone else in the picture that we are yet to see. Someone else who seems to be in on everything.
We both look up as Donovan comes out into the clearing. His dazzling smile reflects from his dark face, his eyes aglow. He has a crazy look about him. Thunder rumbles in Oliver’s chest.
One of Mr Breckt’s other Pawns steps into the clearing too. She isn’t smiling, but she looks just as insane.
The pain is scorching my insides, and it’s all I can do to not scream aloud as Donovan steps forward and Oliver tightens his grip on me.
“Stay back.” Oliver’s voice is low and threatening, but we all know that there is nothing behind the threat. There's nothing that either of us can. These vampires are far too powerful for us. It’s over. We are over.
My head spins, the world unfocusing, and I slump in Oliver’s arms. I hear him roar out my name, I feel myself being pulled, but the world has turned black. My senses close down. There is not enough left in me to keep me going.
Thirty-Five
Mia
A loud crash startles me awake, and my eyes open. I look up; Oliver is standing with his back to me. I’m in a heap on the floor by his feet. His shoulders are stiff and his breath is coming in short, quick bursts.
“Ollie?” I croak out his name. I feel awful, but so much better than I did before I…before I passed out.
Dread hits me. My throat is suddenly too tight as realisation dawns that they have us and I have been fed. Ollie turns around and helps me stand. Our fingers intertwine and lock eyes before he gives me a chaste kiss. We turn around, ready to take our punishment, together.
Mr Breckt stands in the doorway, watching us, his vivid green eyes wild and alert with an intense ferocity that makes me shiver and cower in fear.
The door, which he has just thrown open, swings precariously on its one remaining hinge before it gives up and falls, hitting the cool marble flooring with another loud thud.
Mr Breckt surveys the room, his eyes passing over us with disdain. He glances at our hands, and his eyes blaze in further anger. His fangs drop down, his hands clenching and unclenching by his sides. Silence echoes around the room. Oliver steps forward, he tries to pull his hand free from mine, but I won’t let it go. He looks back to me, and then at our hands clasped together before relenting and staying by my side.
“Mr Breckt . . .” Oliver looks at him, meeting his powerful gaze, his voice breaking slightly. “I . . .” He pauses, sensing our imminent danger. “ We . . . we love each other.” he pleads for us. “We always have, even before . . .” He looks towards me, our eyes meet fleetingly, and then he looks pleadingly back to Mr Breckt. “Even before any of this happened—before you.”
We are both thinking the same thing—he hears me and I hear him. We loved each other before Mr Breckt showed up and tried to destroy our lives.
“You love her? And you, Mia?” He spits the words out. “Do you love him?” He raises an eyebrow at me, and I step closer to Oliver’s side in an attempt to show the sincerity and conviction in my words.
“Yes, Mr Breckt. I do. It’s always been him. You know that.” I squeeze Oliver’s hand. Our shoulders touch, and the current of fear runs back and forth through us.
“Well, isn’t this uncouth of me then,” Mr Breckt replies. “And here I was, sending my Pawns out to bring my princess back to me, Oliver. I hadn’t realised that you had decided she was yours.” He sneers. “And, Mia, for the last time…call me ROBERT!” He yells so loud I think the windows might break, and I shudder.
I look away from him in worry. I don’t want to anger him any further, but I’m not going to back down—I can’t back down now, and I won’t call him Robert. It goes against everything I believe and want. It’s too personal too intimate for someone that I hate so much.
“It's not like that,” Oliver pleads, his voice strong.
Mr Breckt runs a hand through his hair. “That is exactly what it is like. You have stolen her. You have laid your filthy, wretched hands upon her, and touched what is not yours. She is my princess. Mine, Oliver. I made her for me. And you…” He glowers at us both. “You both act like it doesn’t matter. Like my retribution isn’t something to be feared.” He storms forwards, sending a dark ripple of his aura reaching towards us like the black hands of death, I pull Oliver with me as I step back away from it. “Well fear me you will!”
I cower, wanting to hide behind Oliver, to run and hide. But there is nowhere left to go, this is it.
A dead end. Our dead end.
“Leave us!” Mr Breckt screams when Ava and Donovan come into the room, his voice cracking on the words.
“Sir?” Donovan questions apprehensively, stepping forward.
“Leave us now, both of you.” Mr Breckt strides to a large, ornate wooden chair. His hand glides along the top, feeling the rich wood underneath his hand. His fingers trail the gold design etched along the top.
“Do you know how long I have waited for you, Mia? How much I have risked, for you? And you have just thrown it all away.” His hand moves to the chair next to his—smaller, and the gold more delicately carved.
“No, please, if you’ll just listen to me. I can explain . . .” I plead with him, my eyes widening as he comes towards us.
“I am listening, Mia. I have been listening the whole time that you have been gone.” He sneers.
He’s staring at me with a dark intent. I don’t know what he’s trying to get at, but he seems really angry about it. It’s something more than just the fact that I don’t love him, and ran away. Something much more. It seems like he has tipped over the edge now.
“Mia . . . I felt everything you felt. I made you. We are connected.” He puffs up his chest, a look of pure hate in his eyes. I look up at Oliver in repulsion, the same conclusion dawning on his face at the same time as it hits me.
Oh god. He felt us. I close my eyes tightly against the nausea that rises.
“Oh yes, Mia. I felt it all.” Robert leers at me. “I felt every thrust of pleasure rippling through your body. Everything.”
I swallow hard, forcing the ugly thoughts to the back of my mind. I can’t think about what he is telling me. It’s too repulsive to think of him sat there, feeling what I was feeling. The love, the pleasure, it’s too much and makes me feel sick.
“I felt it all, you bitch!” He says the words slower, driving them home. “You can’t just push it away—push me away.”
Anger rises in me, the blood pounding in my ears. “I love him, I love Oliver, you have no right to do this.” My teeth grind together, the feeling of hatred growing hotter.
He laughs, the sound hollow and empty. “Oh, you do, do you? Yes, I heard that also. Several times. So thank you for that.” His hands run through his hair, making him look wild and unkempt. He swallows before he continues. “But I don’t care, Mia.
I made you, you’re mine now!”
Oliver tugs my hand pulling me behind him. “No, Breckt. She’s not.” I’ve never seen such anger from Oliver. It’s the perfect time for it, but it’s still a surprise. His aura twists and turns around him, matching Mr Breckt’s. Rage is pumping from both of them. “We made a deal, and you lost.”
Oliver looks at me, his eyes soft and apologetic, before hesitantly turning back to Mr Breckt. “You had one week to try and get her to fall in love with you, and if she didn’t after that, you said that you would leave us alone.” His jaw is grinding on itself, mirroring mine. I can hear the bone and teeth, crunching noisily. “She doesn’t love you, she loves me. She’s mine.”
My heart—as if it were still living—seems to skip a beat upon hearing those words. A deal? A week to get me to fall in love with him?
“Ollie?” I tug his hand lightly to get him to look at me.
He turns, his deep brown eyes both sad and angry. “I’m sorry, it was the only way. I had to give him a chance or he was going to kill us anyway—kill you, and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? We could have…I don’t know,” I sigh out, everything finally falling into place—the nighttime phone call, him leaving so suddenly. Everything makes sense now.
His eyes look pink with unshed tears. “I couldn’t risk you—your life, Mia. You’re too important to me.” he leans down and presses his lips to mine. “I knew it would be okay though, I knew he never stood a chance.” Oliver turns back to Mr Breckt. “So, the deal?”
Mr Breckt walks slowly towards us. “Yes, yes, that was the deal wasn’t it.” He grins wider his fangs showing. “But I changed my mind.” He says calmly.
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