by J. C RIMELL
Kit stopped just a mere breath away, her body crumpled from exhaustion and she slumped to the damp, leafy ground. Her breathing was heavy and labored and her lungs felt like balloons about to burst. Her eyes blurred as they lingered over the soil and faded leaves she was kneeling in. She caught a glimpse of what looked like a moss- covered rock by her knee, but her gaze shifted the moment the tips of polished black boots intruded her vision.
The male crouched down and a cool finger forced her chin up to look at him. A faint smile creased his mouth exposing needlepoint incisors. “You have courage, I'll give you that much.” His voice was like a seductive whip against her senses making her shiver as he lowered his head a fraction so she couldn't avoid his gaze. It paralyzed her. His eyes glowed a disturbing blood red and she tried to recoil. But despite her revulsion, they did something to her. Made her body feel warm in places against her will. She didn't want to feel anything, not for him or anyone else but Cade.
“Let me go!” she spat, yanking her chin free from his grip. He laughed, a deep, velvet rumble that oozed seduction.
“I'm afraid… I cannot do that.” His French accent was heavy and enticing as he curled a strand of her hair around his finger and brought it to his nose. “Though, the chase is quite enjoyable,” he said, his voice low and at her ear, another erotic stroke against her senses making her heartbeat drum in her ears. Kit tried with increased effort to fight the heat flooding her veins. The effort drained every ounce of her waning strength. He brushed aside her hair and fully exposed the curve of her neck. “I think I will taste you. After all,” he chuckled, “finder's―keeper's.”
His grip tightened on her throat and her body shook harder with trepidation. Her struggle to fight against the deception of almost wanting him was almost impossible. She cried out, internally sparring with the reality he would inflict pain. Kit felt too weak, her head was hazy and her heart stilled in her chest as she felt his moist tongue slide along her neck.
Her hand fumbled for the rock beside her knee and she jerked at the threatening graze of his fangs. She tensed, claiming a firm grasp of the quarry just as his needles pierced her skin. The burning heat was an unbearable pain. She let out a gut wrenching scream. Bringing her hand up with everything she could muster. Kit struck the vampire on the side of his head, heard a sickening crack that knocked him off balance, his fangs shredding her flesh in the process.
Jack Henderson and his men had approached the large plantation-style house from behind and were now surrounding the building. The men with him were shifters, he couldn't afford to cover up any more deaths. The house seemed still and silent, but he picked up the faintest shifts in movement and detected there was at least one human, who's heartbeat was steady. There were several other occupants.
Jack raised his hand to give his men the signal to enter when a distant scream ripped through the air and sent birds fleeing from their nests.
He paused, one second, two… he gave the command.
Leon knew he was surrounded, but not by humans. He was intrigued and sent forth his invisible aptitude of detecting individual signatures. He was surprised to find they were supernatural beings, though, not vampires, and they did not bear the signature of his made subordinates. Then he realized, they were wolf-shifters. Everything about them indicated they were the same as the other two whom he'd tried to turn without success.
He took Josephine into his arms, a decision had to be made. He could just leave her or she may prove useful as bait, failing that, he could simply drink her dry and turn her.
The Chief of Police burst through the door and his men scattered. Entering with Barretas, Glocks and semi-automatics held in steady hands they checked every room. A shot was fired, skimming past Jack's chest as he ducked behind the sofa.
“Goddamn!” Holding his weapon in a firm grip and supporting it with his other hand, one of his men joined him, taking a bullet to the arm in the process. The shifter cursed and checked the flesh wound. It was clean, nothing that wouldn't heal.
Jack Henderson's wolf was already preparing to make an appearance. He edged closer toward the doorway to the kitchen and glimpsed a black, clad leg wearing a heavy combat boot. He aimed and took the shot.
Then all hell broke loose.
Glass shattered as the rest of his men who had waited at the back of the building, shifted and leaped through the window.
Standing with caution, Jack saw two men trying to fight off a large golden wolf who he knew was Remi Skye, one of the Sentinels. Another was Jake Gray, a massive white/gray wolf who had a male by the throat, throwing him around like a rag doll. But that wasn't what caught Jack's attention. His gaze shifted to the door toward the back of the kitchen. Past the fighting and limbs being torn from bodies, to a dark, haired male. He held Jo against him and surveyed the scene before him with a strange interest.
Jack aimed his gun directly at the assailants head, figuring he had a split second to take the shot. His finger squeezed the trigger just as four more males dressed in black blurred into his vision. His temple exploded when the surprise attack of a heel from a heavy boot connected with the side of his head.
Cade's heart stopped beating. The pumping muscle literally died temporarily in his chest when he heard her scream. It was like the earth had been torn away from beneath him, like the most painful blow to his stomach. His paws grazed the dirt floor roughly, tearing the soft pads as he skidded to a halt and watched the crows scatter across the sky through a gap in the canopy just up ahead.
A second later he had shaken off the dread that engulfed him and picked up his pace again, refusing to believe anything had happened to Kit. He followed the scent of her, it became stronger, more fragrant in his nose. He whined feeling her pain, but it was soon replaced by the anger that was eating him alive. Running so hard he blurred with the speed until he reached a small clearing moments later where a male was kneeling in front of Kit.
Cade saw the red rivulet of blood on her skin and the puncture wounds in her pretty neck. A beast erupted within him that neither he nor his wolf could control.
Kit was holding a large stone in her hand which suggested she'd used it to strike the blood-sucker hard and knocked him away from her. Cade felt a pang of pride at her courage and strength. The male turned and struck Kit's face hard with the back of his hand before catching sight of the big, black wolf standing a short distance away.
Kit fell aside, the blow to her cheek had been hard. She felt something crack and pain exploded behind her eye before everything receded and it all went dark.
Thunder crashed through Cade's veins. Someone had hurt his woman and that son-of-a-bitch was about to regret the day he'd been spawned into his existence. He had fought many men, even shifters, but never a vampire before. He didn't know if they had superior powers or were physically stronger than him, but the bloodsucker was no match for his pissed off wolf. The vampire didn't have time to even stand before Cade lunged forward. Out of nowhere someone else joined in the fray. The blonde-haired male came from behind the bloodsucker, catching him by surprise he pinned him to the ground.
Cade recognized Aden Black and was grateful for the help, but he'd be even more pissed if he didn't get to kill the bastard vampire himself. Meeting Aden's glare, something flashed in his eyes that seemed to understand this had to be the wolf's kill. Black moved aside as the huge wolf pounced in an unforgiving attack. He stood by and watched as the animal held the vampire down beneath heavy paws before ripping out his adversary's throat without a moment's hesitation.
Cade wasn't a hundred percent sure how to kill a vampire. But tearing apart most of its neck so it hung on by the tiniest slither of flesh pretty much debilitated the fucker. He stood over the gurgling corpse who's eyes were fading from vibrant red to obsidian. Yeah, he wasn't going anywhere soon. And if there's one thing Cade wanted more than anything in the world right now, was to see the thing suffer the most excruciating end to its immortal life.
Cade refocused, leaving the body writhing
in pain and looked around for Aden, but the male had gone. Shaking the urge to ponder on the aloofness of Aden Black, his attention turned swiftly back to Kit. Shifting, he went naked over to where she was laying on the ground. His spirit sank, his breath caught in the back of his throat and his heart cracked clean in two.
The world turned upside down. How could he have let this happen? He should have been here sooner. He should have protected her. Checking her pulse, it was weak and her heartbeat only just audible even to his sensitive ears. He took her body into his arms with care and tenderness afraid he'd damage her further with his big hands and pulled her in close to the heat of his chest.
She was cold, yet her brow was damp with perspiration, her breathing was soft and shallow. The vision of her snow, pale skin filled him with dread, and a deep sound worked its way upward from the very depths of his soul. The cry that erupted from him filled the silence like a detonation, shaking the boughs of the trees around them.
There was only one person he could think of that could help her now. He cradled her limp body in his strong arms, his wolf howled in desperation deep within. Focusing his energy inward, Cade hesitated. He'd never teleported over long distances before and wondered if he would endanger his mate further. But he had little choice, she was barely breathing and unconscious.
Forcing his emotions aside, he tunneled his vision and gripped onto the portal in his mind. It slipped free at first and he clutched at it desperately. Catching it again he held on tighter with the invisible hand in his mind and allowed himself to be sucked into the aperture with Kit. His destination was clear in his thoughts and Cade prayed to God they made it.
Limbs had been ripped from bodies, laying like debris across the parquet floor amongst glass and broken pottery. Shifters had been wounded but were still alive and Jack Henderson stood in the middle of the massacre that had taken place. The vampires had fought well; they were fast, exceptionally so, but only two had escaped along with the one that had taken Jo. It was gut wrenching painful he hadn't been able to stop the bastard taking her. The dark-haired vampire had moved with such speed he was a mist even in the chief's supernatural vision. The hunt was on now. They had to find Jo and kill the son of a bitch that dared waltz into his town, kill his officers and take an innocent woman.
“Let's get this place cleaned up and secure,” he ordered his men who were sat nursing their injuries. “The fight isn't over yet… not by a long shot.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Madeleine was sat at her desk in the medical room still in total shock. Her lips were blissfully bruised from a kiss that had zapped the air right out of her lungs and left her feeling as giddy as if she'd been on the Waltzers.
She smiled in a daze reliving the recent memory. His eyes were a burning image in her mind that refused to simmer down. She felt feverish. An ache so deep had encapsulated her entire body leaving her yearning for him as though he'd been gone years and not just the past few hours it had been.
“It's you...” Ryker whispered when he'd finally broken their kiss, his eyes melting longingly into hers as if reaching some foregone conclusion, “… it's always been you.”
A sudden crash of metal had her leaping out of her seat.
“Cade?” She hurried over to where his body had somehow landed against one the instrument trolleys. “What the?” He was nude and cradling a woman. “Kit?” She knelt down with caution beside his shaking body, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. He was a shifter and his potential mate hurt and in his arms, he'd be volatile. Madeleine guessed Cade had used his teleportation ability to get her here.
“I need to see her, Cade.” Madeleine kept her voice low and level, craning her neck to try to meet his gaze fixed on the woman nestled in his arms. “Cade, let me try to help her if she's sick.” Glowing, silver eyes lifted a fraction, and although glazed with tears yet to fall, they bored into her own with such intensity the weight was profound.
“Please,” he forced through clenched teeth, his jaw set rigid and his voice a deep growl. It made his plea no less tender as it ripped right through the very core of her as though not to do so would be like stabbing him through the heart with a dagger.
Madeleine nodded. “I'll do everything I can.” Her voice cracked as empathy knotted her throat. “I promise.”
Wearing a pair of pale blue scrubs, Cade paced back and forth beside the gurney where Kit lay, about to be examined by Madoc. He had every faith in the physician, but couldn't help feeling protective of the vulnerable woman on the bed. He desisted his pacing to look down at Kit's face. The bruise on the side of her cheek was deep blue against her porcelain skin which had long lost its golden glow, and the swelling was more prominent now. His incisors tore through his gums accompanied by a vicious snarl that was more or less directed at himself.
He was to blame for this.
Madeleine glanced up at Cade, she had never seen him so cut up and unstable. If her intuition was correct, he was actually afraid. His eyes were halfway between human and wolf, but there was no mistaking the fear clouding the normal vibrant silver of his irises.
“She's running a fever. It could be the poison in her system,” Madeleine said, reading the thermometer. “Her pulse is weak, and although she took a nasty hit which appears to have fractured her jaw, I think it's pneumonia taking her strength. She's too weak to fight.”
“What?” Cade's head dropped onto his chest. “Aw, shit.”
“Something you want to share with me?” Madeleine prodded, straightening the blankets over Kit while Cade thrust a hand through his thick hair.
“It's my fault. I took her out, and we got caught in the rain. She was… Damn it!”
“Listen, none of this is your fault. Let me see what I can do.” Coming around to his side of the gurney she placed a hand on his arm, feeling it tense beneath her touch. “I'll use every ability I have to help her.” Madeleine could heal almost any injury, but she didn't know if she'd be able to save Kit from the venom flooding her veins. If her healing touch failed, it would be up to someone else to do the saving.
Cade nodded, the emotional knot in his throat felt like a stone blocking his airway stopping not only his voice but his pulse and his heart too.
“She means a great deal to you?” Madeleine asked, though it was more of an obvious assumption.
Cade reached over and brushed the untarnished side of Kit's face with a feather-soft caress. Then he turned to Madoc and gave a nod of his head pushing one word past the sorrow filling his throat, “Mine.”
Fleet stared through the window of the door into the exam room, watching as Madoc tried her hardest to heal the female. He had no doubt in her abilities and his concern deviated to the shifter sitting beside the woman on the bed. With his fingers laced through hers and his other hand caressing her face, Fleet's heart gave a gentle squeeze in sympathy. He knew what being in love looked like, hell, he'd even felt such a thing once himself and Cade Grayson had it bad.
As Alpha he set the boundaries, made sure the rules were adhered to. Shit. Even kept secrets that weren't his to keep. So when one of his pack was taking a mate he wasn't entitled to, it was up to him to put that shifter firmly back in his place. But Cade Grayson wasn't just any shifter. No, he was the grandson of the most powerful member of the Society. Truth be told, he had the strength and mental ability to knock Fleet on his ass and straight into next week, along with every other member of the pack.
He let out a heavy sigh before pushing open the door and making his presence known.
“There's nothing you can do for her right now, son,” he said, watching as Cade continued to stroke the young woman's snow white skin. “Let Madoc care for her. We've got a meeting to attend and trust me you'll want to be there.”
§
On the outskirts of Wilmington, Jack Henderson stood outside the main high-rise building belonging to the Society. Flicking through his contacts on his cell he found the direct number to Ryker's phone and punched call.
“Whass
up, chief?”
“Tell me what you've got, my man.” He listened as Ryker shifted position.
“We've found where we think the vamps are hiding out. A group entered the building earlier and...” he paused, “… one of them was carrying a woman.”
Jack smiled. “Good work. Keep tabs on them and hold out for backup before entering. Believe me, you'll need it.”
§
Leon had traveled back over the miles he had previously taken using little effort. Keeping within the shade of deep forests, Josephine remained sedated under his powerful trance. It was a few hours later when the air became cooler, and as evening descended that he and his few remaining men neared the coven's sanctuary.
Leon laid his sleeping beauty out on his bed feeling a bewildered stare settle on his back.
“Valerie, come here.” He sensed her reluctance but knew her curiosity would prompt her to obey him.
“So, you've brought back a human to play with.” Her voice was brusque as she stood and folded her arms across her chest. Leon chuckled at her play of jealousy, brushing aside the strands of hair that covered Josephine's face.
“Oh, she is much, much more than that.” He turned around, his gaze shifting to meet Valerie's. “Can you smell how un-tainted her blood is? Not only will she prove a delectable treat, but she might also be useful.” He studied Valerie for a moment. She had served him loyally despite being unhappy. While her body had always awakened his desires, standing beside her now, he no longer felt that attraction. Right now he had plans to make. But he didn't think he could resist the fresh, sweet blood he could scent pulsing just below the flesh of the woman laying before him for very long.