by Raven Steele
“Stay,” he ordered.
“What can I do for you?” Mateo said quickly. “I have blood. Would you like some?”
Korin released me. “That’s very kind of you, but we brought our own.” He motioned his head toward the dark-haired woman. Her pale face was expressionless and her eyes, even worse. There wasn’t a spark of emotion anywhere. She’d been compelled. “Mateo, why don’t you have a go? Her blood tastes like freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“I just shared a blood bag with Samira, but thank you. May I ask why you are here?” Every muscle in his body was strained tight. I, too, grew nervous. Korin seemed to always place impossible choices in front of me. I needed to get out of here and fast.
“Naburus needs a fresh batch of humans from Hell's Peak,” Korin explained. “I’ve asked Michael to go with you to get them.”
Shock at this new information made me still. Mateo’s eyes flickered to Michael in disgust. “I don’t need his help. I have my own men to assist me.”
Korin’s expression darkened. “I insist. You will work with Michael. In fact, I want you answering to him from now on. He’ll be your boss for a short time.”
I sucked in a breath, knowing how deeply Mateo hated Michael. And to ask for humans from Hell's Peak? Very few people living there, including supernaturals, weren’t drug addicts. “You’re taking humans from Hell's Peak? I didn’t realize the Buio Sangre Coven no longer cares about quality.”
Korin chuckled. “That’s what I told Michael too, but he insisted the crops were ripe for the picking there, and he was right. Such pliable and agreeable humans. Mateo’s drug has cultivated them well.”
Michael folded his arms across his chest and smirked.
“Korin—” Mateo began.
Korin appeared in front of him, cutting off Mateo’s words. Mateo didn’t have a chance to look away before Korin stared into his eyes and compelled him into obedience. “You will do as Michael says and get me more humans. Preferably those on Scorpion’s Breath. Meet him at Winter’s Cove at sunset tomorrow night.”
Mateo’s mouth twitched in defiance, but eventually the word Korin wanted to hear forced through his lips. “Yes.”
Korin’s gaze slid toward me, then back to Mateo. “Thank you. Now celebrate and drink from every vein in this human’s body.” I opened my mouth to protest on Mateo’s behalf, but Korin wasn’t finished. He stared at me with a grin on his face, still talking to Mateo. “Be certain you fuck her first. Then drink her until she dies.”
“Korin,” I growled, my heart hammering against my ribcage. I tightened my grip on the knife that was still in my hand, the tip red with Korin’s blood.
Michael laughed and shoved the woman toward Mateo just as Korin stepped out of the way. Mateo caught her. His gaze flickered to me helplessly. He couldn’t fight Korin’s compulsion, and I didn’t have any shit juice with me, the formula Lynx had created to break a vampire’s compulsion. Maybe Mateo had some in his apartment. But how could I get it to him without the others seeing?
Gripping the woman’s shoulders, Mateo shook as he tried to resist. He wouldn’t last, and I already knew from past experience it was useless to ask Korin to take back his compulsion.
Before he could pierce her neck with his fangs, I darted across the room and jerked the woman free from his clutches. She tumbled to the floor. Mateo lunged for her, but I held him back.
Korin smiled. “This ought to be fun.”
Michael rubbed his hands together. “You’re going to have to kill him, Samira. Mateo won’t stop.”
Even as the words left Michael’s mouth, Mateo bolted around me. I barely managed to grab him before his claws raked across the woman’s arm. I tossed him across the room. He crashed into the wall, breaking drywall.
“I wish I could stay, but I have a meeting with the Phoenix,” Korin said. He cast his gaze my direction. “Why don’t you let him do what I ordered? Who knows, you might enjoy it. Give in to your darkness, Samira.”
I shook my head to block out his words. Killing evil humans was one thing, but I wasn’t so far gone yet that I condoned the rape and murder of innocent women. I never wanted to lose myself like that ever again, no matter the pain I was in.
But compelled as he was, Mateo couldn’t stop. Someone in this room was going to die.
Chapter 2
Mateo slowly came to his feet, his eyes lit with rage and a clear focus on the woman on the floor. I scooped her up and searched for a place I could trap her in away from Mateo.
“Let’s go, Michael.” Korin opened the door. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon, Samira. Don’t fight this.”
I spotted a front hall closet. With a triumphant glare, Michael closed the door behind them, and I sprang into action. Dragging the small woman with me, I hurried to the hall closet. Before I could get there, Mateo slammed into us. We fell to the floor, Mateo reaching for the woman and me trying to stop him. The knife fell from my hands. I maneuvered my body between them while I tried to push her away with my legs.
“Get inside the closet!” I shouted at her. Something snapped, and she became a torrent of emotions. She screamed and her whole body shivered, fear immobilizing her from escaping. Her arms flayed, trying to grab me for safety. Growling, I pushed her off me, while still struggling with Mateo.
The sudden change in her demeanor, turning to that of prey, excited Mateo further. He hissed, fangs dripping with saliva. I elbowed him in the jaw, slamming his head back, and jumped to my feet. I risked a quick second to fling open the closet door. Mateo scrambled upwards and lunged just as I shoved the woman inside the closet. She clung to me, fat tears streaming down her face.
“No, no, no.” She shook her head, and her nails scratched along my arm as I shoved her inside.
Mateo made one last grab for her, his fingers raking her chest, tearing open her shirt. I kicked at his midsection, crashing his body into the wall. I slammed the door shut and stood in a defensive position in front of it. She pounded on the door, screaming for me to let her out.
“Stop, Mateo. Think.”
His murderous gaze didn’t change. He slowly rose to his feet.
“Please. I don’t want to hurt you.” I quickly picked up the dagger off the floor. Unable to hear my words, he rammed his fist into a nearby lamp and grabbed the largest shard to hold as a weapon against me. He leapt into the air. I tried to swat him away with my free hand, but he spun at the last second and slashed forward. The tip of the sharp porcelain cut into my shoulder. It didn’t slow me down as I struck the blade forward and embedded the steel into his sternum. His eyes widened, then dulled.
I swiped his feet out from under him and straddled him, making sure my hand remained on the blade so he couldn’t try to remove it. As long as he was in intense pain, I might be able to get through Korin’s compulsion temporarily.
“Look at me!”
His eyelids flickered, and he drew his gaze to mine, his face pinched in agony.
“Do you have any SJ in this place?”
His pupils dilated, and a moment of clarity filled his eyes. His gaze found my wound where blood flowed down to my hand. Anguish filled his countenance. “Samira, I’m so sorry.”
“Answer me!” I needed to keep him focused. This break in the compulsion wouldn’t last.
He closed his eyes, thinking hard. “My bedroom. Nightstand. But if you try to get it, I’ll kill the woman.”
Even as he said it, his hands were going for the blade in his chest.
“Call Angel,” he grunted. “I can’t. The compulsion won’t let me.”
I twisted the blade into his chest to stop him from trying to grab it. He cried out and dropped his arms while my free hand fumbled with the phone in his pocket. I found Angel’s name, clicked call and activated the speaker mode.
He answered on the first ring. “Are you ready to go out this soon?”
“Angel,” I said. “Get up here now.”
I wanted to say more, but Mateo’s balled fist crashed into t
he side of my head. Lights exploded in my vision, and I lost my hold on the dagger. He latched onto the handle, but I slammed my hands back onto it. His legs came up and tried to knock me off him. I quickly readjusted my knees, making a wider base.
The front door flew open, and Angel took in the scene. He was fully dressed in a suit and tie.
“He’s compelled,” I blurted before Angel thought I was trying to kill Mateo. “Grab SJ from his nightstand in the bedroom. There’s a human in the closet he’s trying to kill.”
Angel didn’t waste a second. He returned just in time to stop Mateo from smashing his head into mine. With a hand still on the handle of the blade, I used the other to pry Mateo’s mouth open so Angel could pour the SJ into his throat. Within a few seconds, Mateo’s body began to shake. Stepping off him to give him space, I jerked the knife free.
“What happened?” Angel whispered, his brows drawn together in concern.
“Korin came by with Michael and a human woman. He ordered Mateo to work with Michael to kidnap more humans from Hell's Peak, but when Mateo pushed back, he ordered Mateo to rape and kill the woman. I barely managed to stop him.”
Angel’s eyes flickered to the closet door. She wasn’t pounding on the door anymore but instead crying hysterically. It sounded like she was on the floor now. Just like me, he could smell the woman’s fear. The potent scent choked the air in the room. “We need to do something about Korin’s compulsion. One of these days, he’s going to order one of us to do something we can’t come back from.”
Angel was right. Lynx had been in the process of trying to create a spell that might work, but had yet to find a good solution. And now, she was in a coma. Maybe Detrand, my old friend and mentor, might know of something. I doubted it, though. That seemed like a secret he would’ve shared with me.
Mateo’s body began to relax, and the hard lines in his face softened. While he continued to recover, I opened the closet door. The woman was sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees while she quietly sobbed. “It’s okay. You can come out.”
She didn’t respond. I bent down and gripped her chin hard. I didn’t have time for this. “Look at me.”
She complied. When our eyes met, I ordered, “Get up. Go home and pack a bag. Leave Rouen and never return.” I moved to stand up but stopped myself to add one more command. “And live a good life, one that will make you happy.”
The words felt foreign on my tongue, but I knew they were the right thing to say. What the woman had experienced this night would leave scars on her soul. My compulsion would make them less noticeable.
I straightened and turned around. Mateo was propped up on his elbows, watching me closely with sadness in his eyes. Behind me, the woman scurried from the room, closing the living room door behind her.
I cleared my throat. “Feeling better?”
Angel helped him to his feet. Mateo stumbled and touched his head, but after a few breaths, he straightened, color returning to his face. “I’m better. Thank you for stopping me. ”
He stepped toward me, his voice and movements gentle. “Samira, I’m so sorry about Faithe. I can’t imagine … “
“Stop.” I held up my hand, gritting my teeth as rage twisted my stomach. “Just. Don’t.”
“What happened to Faithe?” Angel asked.
“Korin killed her.” Even though I was barely containing the wrath I felt inside, my voice fell flat. “The night we were searching for Lynx in the forest. He used her to trick me into meeting them at the butcher shop.” I couldn’t say her name.
“The one I own?” Mateo asked.
I nodded, and he winced.
“Kristina was there too. Hanging upside down, her spinal cord cut.”
Mateo’s eyebrows lifted. “He killed both of them?”
I nodded as my emotions threatened to choke me. I squeezed my eyes shut and allowed the Kiss inside me to emerge. Just a little bit. Just enough to stop the raging torrent inside me. I blinked in relief as the Kiss finally surfaced. The emotions burning through me were quickly kissed away by the darkness inside and turned to rage. When I opened my eyes, I knew they were black holes of emptiness, void of emotions.
“Yes,” I finally answered him.
Mateo whirled around and flipped a nearby coffee table into the air. Angel and I jumped at the suddenness of it. “I want him dead! All the lives he’s destroyed! He’s supposed to protect his coven, not kill members one by one.” He turned back around and pointed at me. “And I hate how all this is making you a robot!” He was suddenly next to me, grabbing my shoulders to grip me tight. “This isn’t you, Samira.” His voice was soft, despite the anger radiating from his eyes. “Fight against it, mi amore. I need you to be your old self again. Mi mancano i tuoi occhi. I miss the old way you used to look at me, the tenderness of your touch.”
I blinked, trying to keep a hold of my emotions. I couldn’t let them back inside or I would blow up in rage and vengeance and do something that would certainly harm those I loved.
Angel touched his shoulder. “Mateo. Let her go.”
Mateo’s hands suddenly released me, as if I was burning them. He turned away, his shoulders sagging. “I know.”
“What can we do to Korin?” Angel cleared his throat, trying to cut through the tension in the room. “There must be something that will harm him.”
“Could we attack him all at once?” I suggested, clearing my head from what had just happened between us. “Overwhelm him with numbers.”
Mateo was shaking his head before I was finished. “Ten years ago, I witnessed him take out a smaller coven in Europe single-handedly. Dozens attacked him, and he squashed them as if they were nothing more than ants at his feet. That was when he was first given his powers, especially his control over fire. It was his first test at using his new abilities. He had become faster and stronger and could sense movement from over a mile away. It’s impossible to sneak up on him.”
I narrowed my eyes. “But you were going to do just that when we had plans of setting Winter Cove on fire so we could grab Faithe. Are you saying you knew it wouldn’t have worked? That he would’ve killed you?”
The knot on his throat bobbed. “I hoped to distract him long enough so you could grab Faithe.”
Angel groaned. “I’m glad that moronic plan didn’t go through.”
I stared at Mateo. He had been ready to give his life so I might have a chance at rescuing Faithe. I opened my mouth and said the words I knew I should. “Thank you.”
But the Kiss devoured all feelings attached to it.
He frowned, knowing something wrong. “You’re welcome.” Then Mateo’s gaze flickered to Angel, as if he were embarrassed. “Plus,” he said quickly, “Korin has the ability to manipulate fire. He will be extremely hard to fight.”
I tried again, not wanting to dwell on what Mateo had almost done for me. “What about magic? Maybe there’s a spell that can be used against him.”
“I don’t think so. I’ve seen him break through numerous spells. Honestly, I was worried about Lynx’s SJ working, but it did.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Maybe Lynx could create something strong enough, but I’m not sure we have enough time to figure it out.”
Angel began to pace the room. “Instead of trying to figure out how to fight Korin, we need to figure out how to cut his power from the Phoenix somehow. This could make him beatable. Maybe that’s something Lynx could work on, when she recovers, of course.”
Mateo thought about it. “That could work but will also take time. What we need is a vampire who is just as old as Korin with strong compulsion abilities, but who isn’t an evil dick.”
A spark ignited my thoughts. “What did you say?”
He shook his head in frustration. “There was one vampire who fit that description in Coast City, but he was just as bad Korin. Thank goodness he’s gone now.”
“Bastian,” I whispered. The memory of him pained me. For with it, came the sharp reminder of my friend who had died taki
ng Bastian down.
Mateo stared at me. “You were there, weren’t you? Fighting alongside Aris?”
I nodded. Every vampire had heard of Aris’s triumph over Bastian, one of the world’s oldest and most powerful vampires. But no one knew exactly how it was done. The Ministry made sure it stayed a secret. It was too big and dangerous. Exactly what we needed right now.
“I think I may have solution to our compulsion problem.” I looked up at each of them. “Aris Crow.”
Angel scowled. “How can he help? Isn’t he on the Ministry now? We can’t trust him.”
“You can trust him,” I said, but my words held a lingering doubt. Aris had a good heart, but his blood had been genetically mixed with Elizabeth Bathory’s, one of history’s most psychotic and bloodthirsty vampires. He had almost lost his humanity, but in the end, he had remembered the people he loved and cared for. I hoped that remained the same even though he held a position on the Ministry. “I’ll call him soon and see if he can help.”
In my hand, the screen of my phone lighting up caught my eye. I glanced down at the bright message, and my heart skipped a beat.
If you don’t call me back, I swear I will rip off your leg and kick your ass with it. It’s about our better third.
I dialed Briar’s phone, feeling this threat was different than all the others. She answered immediately and said four words that changed everything.
“It’s Lynx. She’s awake.”
Chapter 3
I raced across town, my palms sweating against the steering wheel. Lynx was awake. I was terrified to find out if her mind had been harmed in any way. The magic she had used to track the Phoenix had been dark and extremely advanced.
Mateo had offered to come with me, but I couldn’t be around him. Not when he looked at me with such pity and sadness. I needed none of that right now, especially when I hungered for blood and death.
I reached the Morgan mansion and stared up at the monstrosity with its large, thick pillars and looming roof lines. I hated that Lynx was here. I offered many times to pay for a nurse where Lynx could get care in her own home, but Cassandra wouldn’t hear of it. She wouldn’t even let Briar and me come visit until Lynx woke up. Briar was right when she said Cassandra needed someone to remove the spear from her ass. I was inclined to do so, then ram it down the other end.