A pang of guilt erupted inside of me, growing in intensity with every step he took toward me, until he was standing under the bright light, a foot away from the glass, and all of his bruises across his neck and face were painfully visible.
“I’m so sorry.” Tilting my head down so he couldn’t get a good look at my fangs, I looked at him through hooded eyes. “I shouldn’t have grabbed the wheel.”
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have.” His left eye twitched, a sure sign he was lying. Which didn’t make any sense.
Scrutinizing him, I wondered if it was the hit to his head that was causing involuntary spasms, yet another thing I was responsible for. But apart from that one twitch, he appeared fine. “How are you?”
He gestured to the side of his head. “The stitches come out in four days, and then I get to see the hot nurse again.” Keeping my back as much to the camera as I could without seeming obvious, I rested the side of head against the glass and rolled my eyes as I bit down on my smile. “Good to see you’re back to your chauvinistic ways.”
He feigned being hurt, clutching a hand over his heart. “Such hurtful words for your injured brother whom you’re responsible for.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure you loved the attention.”
Mason leaned a shoulder against the glass. “You know me.”
I dropped my smile. “How are Dad and Ash?”
“Dad will be fine. Just a broken wrist. And Ash broke her collarbone and got a concussion. Her parents have taken her home.”
Gut-wrenching sickness and guilt enveloped me at the thought of what I had done to my best friend. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t belong in this world of hunters. But I had gone ahead and dragged her in for my own selfish needs.
I hated myself for it.
“She doesn’t blame you,” Mason said.
“She should. It was my fault.”
He shook his head. “No. It was the cat in the middle of the road that Max swerved to miss.”
There was no cat in the middle of the road. It was our mother, who was nothing but a figment of my imagination, a desire of what I no longer had and missed more than anything.
Not wanting to lie to him, I dropped my gaze to the smoothie as my stomach lurched with hunger—for blood. “Did you bring me breakfast?”
“Dinner actually.”
I drew my brows together in confusion.
“You’ve been locked in there for the past three days.”
My eyes widened in horror. That meant I only had two weeks to go, and I was spending the remainder of my days in this shit box. “Mother fuckers.” I slammed my hand against the glass.
Mason did everything he could not to laugh, which made me even more furious.
“How would you like to be in here? I’ll happily trade places with you.”
His eyelid did that twitch thing again. “Maybe you should try showing you’re a team player and can be trusted to do the right thing.” He glanced up at the camera. “Who knows? Maybe they’ll let you out of here for good behavior.”
I didn’t bother pointing out that he practically begged me to take him with me. Actually, there was no practically about it. And he also added blackmail to the mix. But who was keeping score?
Mason walked over to the door and placed the smoothie through the flap, sending my insides into a frenzy of desire.
He’d brought me blood just as Max had. Which got me thinking why Mason’s eye was twitching. I replayed his words in my head, but for the life of me, I couldn’t work out any clues.
“Drink up.” He righted himself. “You need to keep up your strength.” He gestured in the direction of the camera that I didn’t dare look at. “Show them you care.”
Care I did. And I drank every single smoothie they brought me—including the one void of any blood that Lana had given me on her latest visit. She’d tried her best to break the awkward energy between us, hoping we could go back to the way we used to be. But the problem was, I no longer trusted her. She stood for a law that did shit like this to innocent girls. Okay, so maybe I was the first, but it stung nonetheless.
Over the next few days Kade, Max, and Mason had regularly visited smuggling me vampire blood in the smoothies, but still, I hadn’t heard from Finn. He was ghosting me. Typical overbearing brother, wanting to teach me a lesson or some shit.
I would teach him a lesson the next time I saw him.
The constant supply of blood was good for the soul. It took away the emotional ups and downs I had been accustomed to before. Now, I could think more clearly, and I was plotting a way to kick Lana’s parents’ asses the second I got out.
Orphelia was going down as well. She’d said she was there to serve me. What a load of shit.
The door clicked, and Mason walked in holding another smoothie. I could almost taste the vampire blood contained within, which was something considering I was stuck behind one-inch thick, bulletproof glass.
My senses were either getting stronger, or I was delusional after all this time spent in solitary confinement. Sure, I had visitors, but they never stayed long. Their visits were always brief, just as I knew this one would be.
Mason stopped in front of the cage, his bruises almost completely gone. “How are you feeling, Kali?”
“Hungry.” I eyed the straw, trying to catch a glimpse of the blood. But it was too well concealed. “How’s Dad?”
“He’ll be getting out later today. Finn’s over there with him to make sure Dad doesn’t head straight to the liquor store as soon as he’s released.”
Yeah, that would be right. Drying out our father wouldn’t work without fixing the cause of his issues. And I was pretty sure none of the doctors were into raising the dead. Getting over mom’s death was the only thing that would help him, but that wasn’t going to happen. Dad wanted to die along with her, refusing to acknowledge that life did go on—no matter how hard it was.
I nodded. “Where will Finn take him?”
“Home. The Osmonds won’t let Dad stay here.”
Mother fuck… It took everything in me to stop myself from slamming my fist into the glass. Everything I’d done was for nothing. Ashley had been hurt and was now back with her parents, Mason had survived with a few well-healed injuries, and my father was being sent back home, where the vampires would probably rip him limb from limb after what I did to them. And I was stuck in this damn cage, unable to help him. “Finn can’t take him home. It’s not safe for him there.”
“He’ll be fine. Finn will take care of him.”
I waited for the twitch in his eye, but it never came. He was telling the truth.
That didn’t make any sense. Finn couldn’t protect him without leaving the Society, and I couldn’t imagine Finn leaving the group that he was so passionate about.
Frustration boiled inside of me, and I wished I could have a minute with my little brother without having to worry about people listening to our conversation.
Mason opened the latch and placed the smoothie on the ground, the smell of blood assaulting my senses, wishing I had more than what was in the straw. I wanted to drain the life out of a vampire, devouring every last drop of their tainted blood.
But it would have to do.
“I’ll be back later.” Mason gave me a small smile and retreated out of the room.
I casually walked over to the smoothie and snatched it off the floor. Putting the straw to my lips, my mouth watered, ready to consume the very thing my body craved.
Turning away from the camera and heading to the wall, I sucked a mouthful of blood, trying to contain the euphoria that came with it.
I needed to play it cool, but damn, it was hard.
Sitting down, I leaned my back against the wall and forced myself to drink the remainder of the gooey green crap that tasted a whole lot better than Lana’s version.
I was halfway through the drink when my eyes became droopy, my lips breaking away from the straw as my head swayed, unable to keep still.
My vision became
blurry, and the lights stung against my eyes as I tried to keep them open. It was then that it hit me.
I’d been drugged.
18
With groggy eyes, I woke up to the top of my head smashing through a pane of glass, shards slicing through my delicate flesh. The strong arms that were holding me were somewhat comforting despite the situation I was finding myself in.
My body jolted as whoever was carrying me landed on the ground. Then I was being flung over a broad shoulder as blood dripped down my face. Only it wasn’t my blood. And the smell didn’t arouse my demonic desires.
My vision was a blur as I tried to focus on the grass passing below me, my head bouncing from the lack of control I had over my body. Thick, dark clouds moved beneath me, snaring my kidnapper’s feet as the sound of gunfire exploded around me, jerking me awake. Well, partially. I was like a drunk, unable to focus on anything for too long, and everything was coated behind a thin layer of “I don’t give a shit.”
I had to break free. I had to snap out of my drug-fueled daze.
Blood exploded into the air above me as a bullet whizzed past my head, the smell arousing another part of me I hadn’t felt since the day we rescued Mason.
Anger and fear rippled through me, along with the desire to protect the ones I loved. But I still didn’t have control of my body, and we were going down as the thick tendrils of smoke snaked their way up my runner’s legs, en route to enveloping me.
Falling to the ground tuffs of grass exploded around us as more gunfire blasted through the air.
Lifting my head, I swiveled it to the side, my eyes bugging out when I saw my assailant.
Max.
Rolling to the side, he let go of me, got to his knees, and crawled over to me. Blood dripped from a nasty cut to his face, and his upper chest had a hole in it. His desperate gaze scanned me as he scooped me into his arms, ripping me away from the cloud of smoke spreading a thick veil over my body.
Standing, he stumbled into a run, only making it a couple of yards before smacking into a thick wall of black smoke, which was growing denser by the second.
Max spun around, allowing me to see my attackers.
Orphelia
She stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the building, her arms outstretched and a devilish smirk on her face. Guards flanked her sides, slowly moving forward as Orphelia floated toward us. “Your efforts are futile. You can’t take her. She is ours, and I am too powerful for you to win.”
Almost as soon as she spoke her last word, an explosion rippled through the wall behind us, sending the smoke billowing into the air.
Max spun around and tore across the compound’s grounds, heading toward the boundary where there was a gaping hole in the fence and two men and a woman stood in front of a black van, hands outstretched and bolts of blue energy pulsating from them, keeping the black smoke at bay.
They had to be witches.
Blue light meant good, right?
Bounding through the broken fence, Max rushed past the freaky, hand-glowing people and slipped into the open door of the van, collapsing onto the floor, holding me tightly against his heaving chest.
The three unknowns followed us a second later, and the van rumbled to life, its tires screeching as it pulled away from the curb.
“Is she hit?” a familiar voice said, reminding me we weren’t alone.
I rolled my eyes to the side, confusion sweeping over me as my gaze landed on not only Kade, Mason, and Finn, but also my father, who was out cold in the back corner with a cast reaching halfway up his forearm.
Max swept my hair away from my face, stealing my attention from my family, tenderly caressing my cheek with his fingers. Blood soaked through his shirt from a bullet wound just below his collarbone, yet here he was, worried about me.
“I think she’s okay.” Max adjusted me in his arms, his body going rigid as his hand swept across my back.
Pulling his hand out from under me, his face paled as he stared at the blood coating his hand. “Kali’s been hit.”
“Shit,” both Finn and Mason said, in unison, Kade remaining unusually quiet.
“No,” I mumbled, trying to shake my head but wobbling it instead. I tried to tell him I was fine and he was the one who had been hit—multiple times actually. It was his blood on his hands, not mine.
The woman with long blonde hair, who had shot blue lightning from her hands to aid our escape, hurried over to me as Max slipped his hand under me again and readjusted me, pulling my face closer to his chest, exposing my back to the unknown woman.
“She’s got a bullet wound to the right of her spine,” she said, lifting up my shirt.
“Did it pass through?” Finn asked, shifting closer to me.
Max lay me in his lap and lifted my shirt, exposing my skin up to my bra. He shook his head. “No exit wound.”
“The bullet is still in there,” the woman said. “We can get it out when we reach camp, but until then, keep your hand clamped over the wound.”
Camp? Nothing about what was happening made sense, least of all the fact that they were claiming I had a bullet stuck in me when I didn’t feel it.
Trying to move my hands to my sides so I could lift myself into a sitting position, I sucked in a sharp breath as I realized I couldn’t move and there was a very real chance the bullet was the cause.
The woman shone a small flashlight at Max’s shoulder. “You’ve been hit also.”
“I’ll be fine,” Max said, dismissing her, his gaze remaining on me, piercing my soul with the sheer intensity in his eyes.
She grabbed the hem of his shirt and peeled it down. Blood trickled out from a hole in his upper chest, further damaging his already scarred body.
Finn wrapped his hands under me and drew me into his arms. If I had control over my body, I would’ve punched him in the gut for ripping me away from Max.
Instantly, I felt guilty over my thoughts. Max needed attention, and he wasn’t going to get that while he was cradling me against his chest.
The man with glowing hands knelt beside me and placed a first aid box on the floor. “Let’s take a look at it.”
Rolling me over, Finn laid me onto the floor of the van.
Feeling humiliated at being treated like a baby, my gaze landed on Mason—or more so, what Mason held in his hand for me to see.
His hiking bottle.
He quickly undid the lid, letting the aroma of the vampire blood hit me. “Want some?” he mouthed.
That was the stupidest question of the century. I needed that blood like I needed air, deprived of the very thing that kept me alive. My insides begged me to consume, feed the beast within.
Mason shuffled forward and placed the bottle against my lips as the others attended to my wound.
He gently squeezed the bottle, shooting a spray of blood into my mouth.
My eyes rolled back as the blood coated my tongue, pulling me into the euphoria of the hit, the ecstasy that filled my soul with every drop I consumed.
Within seconds, I could feel my energy return, once again gaining control over my body as I ravenously feasted on the life of the damned.
“What the hell?” Finn said.
“It’s closing up,” the male voice said. “Hold it open, Finn. I need to get the bullet out.”
Although I couldn’t see what they were doing, I could sure as hell feel Finn pulling at my skin and the pain radiating through my back as whoever the hell this brown-headed guy was, tried to get the bullet out.
A second later he said, “Got it.”
The pressure around the wound disappeared as Finn fell back into a sitting position and shook his head at me. “You’re healing way too quickly. Next time, maybe lay off the blood until we’ve gotten the bullet out.”
I barely registered his words as I consumed the tainted blood, feeding my soul with the very thing I craved above all else.
“I think that’s enough,” Mason said, pulling the bottle away from my lips.
&n
bsp; My hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist. “More.”
He shook his head. “You need to keep some for later. I’m not sure how many vampires there are where we’re going.”
“We’ve only got one so far,” the man said. “We weren’t expecting Kali so soon.”
Expecting me?
The fact that I was surrounded by people I trusted was of little comfort. I had no idea who these other people were, where they were taking me, why Lana wasn’t with them, and most of all, why Max had essentially kidnapped me from the cause he had sworn his life to.
19
With every second that passed as the vampire blood flowed through me, I could feel my energy return until I was at full strength. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for Max. His face was pale, and the area surrounding the bullet wound was covered in smoky lines.
I pulled myself into a sitting position, no longer needing any assistance. “What’s wrong with him?” There were a million more questions I needed answers to, but this one was the most pressing. To see Max in this state was like someone was squeezing their hands around my heart, ready to rip it out at any given second.
“The bullet must’ve been laced with a spell. We need to work on a spell that will counteract this one, but first we must figure out what it is,” the man said.
The woman ran her fingers over the web-like pattern around Max’s wound, making him wince in pain. “I think I might know what Orphelia used, but we’re going to have to stop the car.”
I wanted to kiss her.
The thought of anything happening to Max was crippling. “Then stop the car.”
“No,” Max said through gritted teeth. “We need to get you as far away from them as fast as we can.”
“If we do that, you’re as good as dead.”
“Keep goi—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I said, jumping to my feet, my chest heaving with anger at how easily he was willing to put my life above his own. That was just stupid. And selfless. But mostly stupid. Because I wasn’t sure I wanted to live a life without him, the man I had loathed, the one who had wanted to rip my throat out the first time he met me, the one who had saved me, and the one who’d captured my heart.
Circle of Embers (Shadow Realms Series Book 2): A vampire hunter novel Page 11