I tried to crawl toward her, but she recoiled from me. I couldn’t blame her, but it still stung.
Sitting back on my heels, I raised my hands in the air. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” I inched toward her, ready to stop again if she seemed scared. “I’m sorry I bit you. I didn’t know it was you.”
She sat forward, and I got a good look at her. Blood was streaming down her neck as tears streaked down her face. My heart broke in my chest because this was all my fault.
“I tried to get you to stop, but you wouldn’t listen,” she said, her voice cracking.
I scooted a little closer until I could reach her hand. I took it in mine and squeezed softly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was too thirsty.”
Which were all poor excuses.
Was sorry really enough for biting your friend without their consent?
Was I wasn’t thinking clearly enough for not stopping when she said to?
Was I was too thirsty enough for almost draining her dry?
Even now, I could tell I’d taken more than I should because of how pale she was. Her hands shook, and there was a sheen of sweat covering her face that made her look even more sickly.
“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to.”
She shook her head and swiped at her tears with a rough hand. “That’s what Massimo wanted.”
I frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t remember what he said when he locked us in here?”
I shook my head slowly.
She scoffed and rubbed at her runny nose this time. “He said you’d wake up hungry, but he left a snack for you because he cares.”
The anger was so swift it almost overwhelmed me.
It was one thing for Massimo to hurt me. He was my problem. But for him to hurt Charlotte like this? To make me hurt her like this? To endanger her life?
He’d gone too far.
“I won’t let that happen again,” I said slowly, wondering how in the hell I was going to keep that promise. “We’re all we have now, and we need to stick together and find a way out of this.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “You don’t remember that either?”
“What?”
She crept toward me and lowered her voice until even I could barely hear it. “They’re alive.”
I jerked backward, my eyes widening until they felt like they might pop out. “What?” I breathed. “How do you know that?”
She put her hand over her stomach. “I can feel Alexander through our blood claim. He’s gotten angry enough a couple times that he came through loud and clear.” Her eyes filled with worry before she looked away. “I’m sure that means he’s been able to feel me too. And I bet that hasn’t been fun for him.”
All I could think about was Nicholas and the fact that I might not have actually lost him. Even if I was currently lost to him.
“Are you sure they’re alive?”
She shrugged, her expression soft. “I can only feel Alexander, but if he was somehow saved, that means Nicholas was too.”
My chest lightened at her words. “How does it work?”
She shrugged. “Since he claimed me, we can both feel each other’s strong emotions.”
I wondered if I’d bonded with Nicholas, if something similar would have happened between us. But those thoughts were too painful to entertain for long, so I pushed them aside.
“Can he track you through the blood claim?”
She shook her head slowly. “No. I don’t think so.”
Well, damn.
It was worth a shot.
Charlotte swayed softly, and I caught her just before she could topple over. “Hey, are you okay?”
She shook her head, her complexion turning green. “I don’t think so. I feel so weak.”
Guilt immediately ate away at me as I felt the strength from her blood flowing through my body.
I’d taken too much, and now she was sick because of it.
I brought my wrist to my mouth and bit down until I could taste blood before pushing it toward Charlotte. “Drink.”
She shook her head, lips pressed together. “No. You need your strength more than I do.”
“I have more than enough to share.”
She shook her head again.
“Charlotte, if you pass out here, Massimo might just kill you and save himself the trouble. Let me heal you a little so we can both be strong enough to face whatever he has in store for us next.”
Her big eyes met mine, and I watched as a dozen different emotions fluttered behind them. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”
She grasped my wrist and brought it to her mouth before sucking on my wounds.
It felt weird having someone besides Nicholas feed from me, but this was necessary. I couldn’t have her be that weak when we had such strong adversaries.
But the longer she drank, the more my fangs ached in my gums. I clenched my jaw and fisted my hands, but it was getting harder and harder to resist the longer she fed from me.
Finally, I struck.
I didn’t even consciously do it.
One second, I was sitting beside her, and the next, my fangs were deep in her neck. She tried to push me away, but I was too strong, and my instincts had taken over.
Her blood flowed into my mouth as mine flowed into hers, and suddenly, something clicked between us. It was such a strange feeling it broke me out of my feeding frenzy, and I sat back with wide eyes.
“What the hell was that?” I asked her.
Charlotte was panting, her eyes wide and anxious as she looked at me. “I think you just claimed me.”
Chapter 11
Charlotte
“What do you mean I just claimed you?!”
I held onto my still-bleeding neck as I tried to catch my breath. “That’s what it felt like when Alexander claimed me.”
Her wide eyes met mine. “So, what does that mean?”
I shrugged. “You’ll want my blood more than anyone else’s and we’ll feel each other’s strong emotions now.” It took until that moment for the consequences of her actions to really sink in. “That means I won’t feel Alexander anymore and he won’t feel me.”
I could only imagine what that would do to him. He’d told me before how clearly he’d felt when I was scared or in pain, and I was sure he’d had a lot of that from me in the past twenty-four hours. I had no doubt he’d be losing his mind over our broken connection. I just hoped I could get back to him before he noticed.
“What do we do now?”
I shrugged. “Nothing we really can do.”
That sentence alone brought to life how helpless our situation seemed. But I wasn’t going to give up hope. I’d lived with an evil man before and I knew for a fact, they’re not infallible. Massimo would eventually make a mistake and I’d be waiting to take advantage of it.
Adrienne gasped softly, and I turned to ask her why, but she held a finger in front of her lips, and I fell silent instead. It was another minute or so before I heard what she was hearing.
Footsteps sounded in the room next to us before I heard the heavy scrapes of wood against wood and the door was flung open. On the other side stood Ivan, his face only slightly less anxious than usual. That was probably due to the fact that Massimo was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s go,” he said.
We both stood up and followed him out of the closet. I had a hundred questions floating through my head but was too scared to voice them. Thankfully, Adrienne didn’t have that same problem.
“Where’s Massimo?”
Ivan glanced back quickly before ushering us into the hallway. “He went to find a vehicle.”
“And he left you in charge?”
Ivan’s shoulders tensed, but he didn’t look back again as he answered. “Yes. And if you give me any problems, I’ll make sure he knows about it.”
“Why are you working for him?” she asked.
“He’s my maker.”
“Bu
t he treats you like shit.”
Ivan shrugged, but his steps slowed on the way down the stairs like he was actually considering her words.
“My maker has never been anything but helpful and supportive to me. He would never hurt me like yours does.”
Ivan spun around with a sneer on his face. “Massimo is your maker.”
Adrienne notched her chin in the air and stared him down. That was made easier by the fact she was several steps above him. “No. He’s not. He bit me and left me to fend for myself. Nicholas is my maker.”
Ivan shrugged again, his lips twisted into a cruel smile. “Talbot is dead. The only maker you have left is Massimo, so you might as well learn to accept it.”
She opened her mouth, and I knew she was about to admit we knew they were alive, but I kicked her in the ankle before she could speak. Adrienne turned to me with a frown, but I just subtly shook my head.
“Keep moving,” Ivan said as he continued down the stairs.
I followed Adrienne, thankful the conversation was over. I’ll admit, I was curious as to Ivan’s motivations as well, especially after seeing how Massimo treated him, but not enough to ask. In fact, if I could avoid speaking to either of those vampires, I had a chance of making it out of the situation alive.
We’d just made it to the bottom of the stairs when Massimo burst through the front door. His eyes immediately darted from me to Adrienne where they finally settled. “Wife. I did not expect you to let the human live. You must be stronger than I gave you credit for.”
Now this was a sticky situation.
Gaining Massimo’s admiration wasn’t a bad thing, but giving him the impression that Adrienne was strong wasn’t a good move. I’d learned quickly that leaving your enemy thinking you were weaker than you really were was always a good thing.
But it was clear Adrienne wasn’t of the same mindset.
She took a step toward him, her shoulders squared and her chin in the air. “No thanks to you. Why would you do that? Why would you want me to kill her?”
Massimo’s eyes narrowed as he stared her down. “I left you a human to feed from when you awoke, and this is how you thank me?”
“No. You left my friend at the mercy of a hungry vampire.”
His eyes flashed as they bounced from her to me and back again. I swear, I could have slapped Adrienne in that moment for letting that much slip. “I didn’t realize you two were so close. That changes things.”
My insides clenched as I tried to look as unassuming as possible. I really wished that the sadistic vampire didn’t know our connection, but there was no helping it now. We just needed to play the cards we were dealt and hope we made it out of this.
Massimo finally looked away, and I breathed a silent breath of relief.
“Do you have everything?” he asked Ivan.
The younger vampire patted the black bag slung over his shoulder. “Yes, sire. Ready when you are.”
“Good. I have our vehicle out front.” He turned to leave, and Ivan ushered us after him.
When we got out front, I understood why Massimo always had Ivan drive.
There was a dark-colored minivan parked crooked near the curb, with the front tires up on the lawn and the back tires still on the street. I had no time to wonder or worry about where he’d gotten the van from as we were herded into the back.
Once Ivan was behind the wheel, he took off into the night, presumably toward the city. I leaned back in my seat and watched the scenery fly by the windows as I tried to think of a way out of this.
If I could just somehow contact Alexander, I knew everything would be all right. He’d be there in minutes to rescue me like he always had in the past. But without our phones or any other way to communicate with him, the possibility of my knight showing up was slim.
So, that left it up to us.
There were two vampires against a vampire and a human. Some would call those bad odds, but I had a feeling we could flip Ivan if we were given enough time alone with him. That didn’t seem likely, but it was all I had to go on at that moment.
Soon, the highway gave way to city streets and traffic as Ivan navigated us who-knows-where.
“How much farther?” Massimo asked, breaking the long stretch of silence in the vehicle.
Ivan glanced at his phone before returning his eyes to the road. “About five blocks.”
Massimo nodded. “You’ll go first and break us into his apartment. We’ll set up and wait for him before continuing with the rest of our plan.”
Ivan nodded. “I’ll follow your lead, sire.”
Massimo reclined in his seat again. “Of course you will.”
My hand itched to slap the smug smile off his face, but due to years of practice, I was able to stop myself. I was not going down like that.
Ivan flipped the headlights off as we pulled into a dark alley. I was getting serious déjà vu from the last time I’d been in a New York City alley, but figured I was already with the most dangerous beings I could encounter.
Once the van was stopped, Ivan slid from his seat into the dark night before disappearing. The inside of the vehicle was chillingly quiet as I did my best to make my breaths as soft and even as possible. Being this close to someone so powerful and cruel was like something out of my worst nightmares.
I’d honestly thought with my father dead I was done being afraid for my life, but that just wasn’t the case.
Ivan was back a few minutes later, wasting no time pulling me and Adrienne from the vehicle. We all followed the nervous vampire to a thick metal door that he’d left propped open. It led to a stairwell so tall it made me dizzy just looking at it.
“Carry the human,” Massimo ordered Ivan as he pulled Adrienne into his arms.
I watched her recoil, but thankfully, she kept quiet. We didn’t need a repeat of what happened the night before.
The two men sprinted up the stairs, carrying us until we were at the top floor. As I entered another penthouse apartment, I had to wonder if all vampires were this rich.
They set us down once we were inside, but Ivan didn’t let go of my arm. “Where are we keeping them?”
Massimo turned to give him a dirty look. “Do you ever have thoughts of your own? Or do you just wait for someone to supply them to you?”
Ivan glanced away, his shoulders hunched and his pose submissive. Massimo sighed angrily as he grabbed Adrienne’s arm and dragged her through the apartment. “I guess I have to do everything myself,” he muttered.
Ivan took my arm and followed swiftly after his maker. Massimo stormed down a short hallway and opened the first door. He turned back to Ivan. “See, stupido? Was that so hard?”
Massimo tossed Adrienne into the room as she protested loudly. I wished I was close enough to kick her again.
Ivan threw me in after her before turning to walk away. But before he could get far, Massimo grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him into the wall.
“I asked you a question,” he spat.
Ivan’s eyes widened as his lips started to tremble. “No, sire. That wasn’t hard at all.”
“Then why couldn’t you have done it yourself?”
“I didn’t want to make a mistake, sire. I’m just following your lead.”
Massimo sneered before tossing Ivan away from him. The vampire just barely caught his balance in time. “Work on being less of a sniveling imbecile and more of an asset or I’ll just get rid of you.”
Ivan nodded over and over as he backed away slowly. “Of course, sire. I’ll go set the trap.”
Massimo nodded. “See that you do.” He watched Ivan leave for a few moments before turning back toward us. “If I hear a single thing from this room, I’m killing her,” Massimo said, pointing at me.
Adrienne opened her mouth to argue, but at the last second snapped it shut, and I breathed a sigh of relief. All he wanted was for us to be silent. That wasn’t worth a fight. We needed to save our energy for when it really mattered.
Massimo slammed
the door closed, and we were left alone in the dark room. I carefully picked my way across the carpeted floor until I found a corner and tucked myself into it. Moments later, Adrienne came to rest beside me, and we sat there silently as what felt like hours ticked by.
I must have fallen asleep at some point because a loud sound from somewhere in the apartment roused me. My eyes were wide as I looked around, but the room was pitch-black, and I couldn’t see anything. Heart pumping in my throat, I listened carefully to the chaos going on out there.
With our hands clenched tightly together, we waited to see who would come out on top of the scuffle we could hear, and if that would be a good thing for us or not. When heavy boots came thumping down the hallway, I had a bad feeling we wouldn’t like the outcome.
The door was flung open and Massimo stood in the hallway, his eyes bright as they found Adrienne. “Come, wife. I have a job for you.”
Adrienne took a second longer than I would have liked as she climbed to her feet and crossed the room. I pulled my knees to my chest and hoped he’d forget about me, but again, I wasn’t that lucky.
“You might as well come too. I think you’ll both learn something.”
I stood much faster than Adrienne and hurried to her side as we followed Massimo through the apartment. When we got to the living room, we found an older man with dark skin covered in a silver blanket on the floor. The only thing left exposed was his bald head. He wasn’t moving, but I didn’t think he was dead yet.
“What is this?” Adrienne asked softly.
Massimo chuckled. “You don’t recognize him?”
She frowned as she inched closer.
“It’s that bastardo who sentenced me to that ridiculous prison sentence. You remember him, don’t you, moglie?”
She crouched down beside the vampire, her eyes following the trail of smoke coming from his exposed skin. “Mr. Sutherland?”
Massimo spit in his direction, just barely missing Adrienne.
“That son of a bitch thought he’d lock me up for centuries and deny me my right to blood.” He stalked over to the man on the floor before pressing his boot against his cheek. “Now, you’re going to kill him for me.”
My gasp was quiet enough that it was swallowed by Adrienne’s. “No, I’m not. Have you lost your mind?” she asked.
Blood Lust Page 10