by Raven Steele
I squeezed Mateo’s hand, then turned to Aris. “We’ll tell you everything soon. Let’s get out of here first.”
Aris nodded. I’d trained Aris when he’d first been turned into a full vampire. He was unlike any vampire alive, made genetically when his father and mother, both scientists, had found the grave site to the Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory, history’s most prolific female serial killer. That’s what humans believed, anyway. The truth was she was a mad vampire. It was a good day for everyone when I finally killed her.
I turned towards Briar, worried. “I need to go see Briar. She was shot with a liquid-silver bullet.”
Careful where I stepped, I returned to Briar and widened my eyes when I saw what Angel was doing. He had his wrist pressed to her lips while she drank his blood.
“What are you doing?”
“What I had to,” he snapped back.
Briar continued to drink, holding his arm to her mouth. I moved to stop them, but Mateo grabbed my hand, surprising me. “Leave them. Angel knows what he is doing.”
“If he turns her—”
Just as I said it, he jerked his hand free from her lips. Briar tilted her upward and sucked in a great breath, her eyes glazed over. I looked at her thigh. The wound had completely healed.
“She won’t turn,” Angel said back at me, his voice quiet. “I just gave her enough to heal. She needed more than my saliva.”
Aris leaned toward me and whispered, “What kind of show are you running here?”
I hushed him and watched Briar as clarity returned to her eyes. She glanced down at the wound, then Angel. She touched the blood staining her lips. “I feel incredible.”
“Because Angel did something he shouldn’t have.” I lowered and helped her to her feet, moving her away from Angel. He may have just saved her life, but he’d also brought her dangerously close to a death I never wanted her to experience.
Angel didn’t try to stop me, only stared at Briar with an intensity that reminded me of the way Mateo sometimes looked at me. Speaking of which, he had come up behind me. I could feel the heat from his body pressing against me. My flesh warmed at his close proximity.
“We should go,” he said. “Korin may send more men.”
“I agree,” Briar said, her voice not quite her own yet. She was staring back at Angel in wonder.
Mateo touched my elbow lightly. “You can come to the hotel where I’m staying.”
“Too risky. Korin could look there,” I said. “Besides, as far as we know, he doesn’t know you and Angel were part of what happened at the college.”
Briar cleared her throat and tore her gaze away from Angel. “Fire Ridge. You guys can stay there, and we’ll figure out what to do tomorrow.”
“I’m coming with you.” Mateo spun me around, his forehead creased. “He got too close to you tonight.”
I smiled faintly. “I’m alive.”
Briar’s gaze shifted to Aris and looked him up and down. “Aris Crow, huh? Anyone tell you have a kiss-ass name?”
Aris chuckled. “You must be Briar.”
She looked over at me. “You told him about me? That’s so sweet!”
“I warned him to stay away from the loud mouth who only thinks about one thing.” A sharp pain stung my stomach. I needed to drink more blood soon. The fight had heightened my hunger. I turned to Mateo. “Let’s go.”
Aris moved to follow me but just as he did, Briar slapped him on the ass. “It’s a good thing you showed up when you did. Sammie and I might not have made it out alive.”
Aris’s face reddened, and he caught up to me with Mateo falling behind, glancing back nervously.
“She’s mostly harmless,” I whispered to him.
“Am not!” she called up, then her voice lowered as she spoke to Angel. We weaved our way through the dead Hydes, and I made a mental note to call a clean-up crew when I got my phone back. With what happened at the college too, they were going to be busy.
A grunting sound had me glancing back. Briar had tripped over one of the dead, but Angel managed to catch her before she reached the ground.
“What the hell happened in here?” she said. “It looks like Ted Bundy’s closet.”
I ignored her and turned left to continue following the tunnel that would lead us to the graveyard. I couldn’t hear Mateo behind me, but I could feel every part of him. So could the darkness within me. It yearned to be with him in every way imaginable. When Mateo brought up our blood bond, the Kiss inside me had perked up, needy and calling for his blood, knowing the kind of emotions I’d have if I was with him. I want to devour him.
Aris bumped my arm playfully, bringing me back. “I see you copied my tunnels.”
I grinned at the jab, grateful for the distraction. Aris had been raised in hiding in the old tunnels beneath Coast City until an ancient vampire tried to take over the city. I’d been there to witness the boy become a man, someone to be both feared and adored. “I did no such thing. I’ve only used these tunnels a few times because tunnels are for cowards.”
He shoved me into the wall next to me. I shoved him back, smiling.
“We shouldn’t waste time,” Mateo said behind us. He didn’t know anything about mine and Aris’s relationship. Ours was true friendship. Both our hearts belonged to someone else.
I glanced back at Mateo and opened my mouth to say something, but noticed Briar and Angel weren’t there. I focused my hearing in their direction and listened closely.
“I don’t know if I can stand by any longer, Briar,” Angel’s voice said. “It is harder than I imagined it would be.”
“You can’t leave,” her pleading voice answered.
I quickly tuned out, not wanting to infringe on her privacy. Mateo caught my eyes, sadness and yearning filling them, and I knew that he’d heard them, too.
“I agree. It’s almost impossible not to be with the one you love,” Mateo said, the words meant for me.
Aris looked back, frowning, but didn’t say anything. He faced forward. “Where’s the end?”
“Just up ahead there’s a ladder leading into a mausoleum,” I answered.
“Got it. I’ll jog ahead and make sure it’s clear.”
As soon as Aris was gone, Mateo took his place next to my side. He linked his fingers through mine, sending fire and ice all at once through my veins until it ended in my lower abdomen. A short and quick breath escaped past my lips.
“You could’ve died tonight. We both could’ve.” He stopped and pressed me to the wall. “We should leave the city first chance we get. There are places we can go where no one will find us.”
“No.” I placed my hands on his hard chest and stared up at him in the darkness. “I won’t leave until this is finished. Korin will pay for what he did to Faithe.”
His gaze dropped to my lips then back up at me. “But will your revenge be worth it?”
“I can’t give Korin free rein in the city.” Having his body so close to mine made the darkness within me swell until I thought my skin would begin to stretch. My mind tried to fight the sensation, especially knowing Korin’s Hydes could still be out there, but my body’s basic needs had been neglected, specifically drinking blood. I needed to eat. It was turning that basic need to a sexual one, wanting some kind of release.
I leaned forward to press into him, and my tongue snaked out to taste his lips. The motion caught him off guard, and he stared at me with wide eyes. Then he closed his eyes, moaning before his lips crashed against mine, our tongues tangling.
“Yes.” I managed to gasp out as his mouth devoured mine, his hands running down my side to my hips. Then he squeezed them tight, making heat shoot straight up to my stomach. He lifted me up, my legs coming around his waist, as he ground his large bulge between my spread legs. I gave in to the moment, needing to feel him, pressing against me and inside me. It had been so long since I’d felt anything, and Mateo’s passion would give me everything I ever needed. I skirted my hands up inside his shirt, feeling the
muscular ridges of his stomach. Moaning, I pulled at his shirt, trying to get it off him.
He dropped me, leaving me gasping for air. I reached to drag him back to me, but he pulled away, leaning down to press his head against my forehead and put his hands against the wall. “They’re coming.”
“Who?” I practically cried in frustration, but then my mind cleared and I remembered where we were. He stepped back quickly and adjusted his clothes as Angel and Briar rounded the corner.
Aris called back from the opening, “All clear.”
I sucked in a great breath trying to clear my head and calm the lust raging in my body, but it still pulsed, a bass drum pounding through me. I needed blood and soon, that would help. We moved quickly towards the exit and Angel caught Mateo’s arm. “I need to speak to you. In private.”
He turned to me, as if he might ask permission to go, but I simply said, “Go. We’ll meet at Fire Ridge as soon as you can.”
He nodded, and Angel and him walked away. I turned towards Briar, whose expression was pained. Could Angel really be leaving? I didn’t dare ask.
Instead, I gave her something to take her mind off of him. “Take Aris to Fire Ridge, catch him up on everything. I’ll meet you there. And call Teddy. He’s been recuperating at our house for long enough. Tell him to meet us at Fire Ridge, too.”
Briar grinned. “I’ll say. He’s drunk half of our alcohol, and hell-bent on getting his hands on the rest. What did Oona do to him?”
I frowned, not wanting to think about it. “It doesn’t matter. Now that you’re here,” I looked at Aris, “you can compel him so he doesn’t tell Korin the truth about what we’ve been up to. After you do it, he can return to Winter’s Cove to be our spy.”
Aris nodded. “Will do.”
Briar raised her eyebrow at me. “And where are you going?”
“To get my phone. I’ll grab yours, too.”
“Why don’t we go with you?”
“No.” I cut her off quickly. I didn’t want her to know I was going to eat as well. “It’ll be quieter with just me.”
My hands began to shake with want. I quickly moved them behind my back away from her scrutinizing gaze. Briar didn’t say anything, but turned to Aris instead.
“Come on.” She motioned toward her motorcycle. “You’re about to have the experience of a life time. You get to feel me between your legs.”
My fingernails dug into the leather of the steering wheel as I drove toward Hell's Peak. My stomach felt like a creature with claws and sharp teeth trying to eat its way outside. I stared longingly at every human I passed, nearly stopping my car each time to feed on them, but I forced myself to continue on.
It was eerily quiet in Hell’s Peak for this time of night. Usually as soon as the sun set, the addicts, dealers, pimps and prostitutes set up shop, but I only spotted one man stumbling down the sidewalk. Where was everyone?
I parked in front of Nine Lives. Music blared past the brick exterior, but there was no line in front. It may still be late for club goers, but not for a Friday night. There wasn’t even a bouncer out front. Something was wrong.
Inside, only a fourth of the usual crowd sat around the bar, and the dance floor was mostly empty. I spotted Spike at the back of the room, sitting with a drink in his hand with three others, all human. As soon as they saw me coming, they scrambled away. All but Spike.
I lowered into the chair next to him. “What happened? Where are all the people?”
He stared at his drink, a literal bloody Mary by the smell of it. “They’re gone. All of them.”
“Who?”
“Lots of them. Humans, supernaturals. All taken.”
“When?”
“It started late last night and into the day. People just started disappearing.” He lifted his head and scanned the club. His voice lowered. “They’re calling it The Cleansing.”
“Where’s Rocky?”
Spike nodded his head toward the back office. I backed away slowly, a growing sense of dread spreading throughout me. The Phoenix must’ve taken them.
I opened the door to Rocky’s office. He sat at his desk, holding a pencil, with three of his men gathered around him, staring down at map. But when they saw me, three guns pointed my direction.
I gave Rocky a serious stare, and he nodded his head. All three guns lowered.
“I was hoping I’d see you.” Nostrils flaring and eyes blazing, Rocky rose to his full height, towering over everyone in the room. It was a good thing he was human because he’d be one hell of a scary supernatural.
“Tell me what’s happened,” I said.
“I shut Hell's Peak down, that’s what’s happened. I know to most people on the outside, the people here, druggies and whores, aren’t worth saving, but they’re my people. My people! Do you understand that? And now someone’s taking them.”
I studied him for a moment, my unlikely ally. He was the friend I didn’t know I wanted until now. His soul, dark and tainted, had fire burning at its core. Fire was still light. It just burned more violently and uncontrolled.
“They’re at a place called the cathedral,” I said, deciding to share my information.
“Where?”
“Near the place I told you to watch. Raven Street, but you can’t see it.”
He pursed his lips. “What supernatural has the power to do this?”
“A powerful fae, the likes of which the world hasn’t seen for centuries, and she’s preparing for something that could destroy our world.”
His eyes lit up in rage, and his hand clenched around his pencil, snapping it into two. “First thing first. How do I get my people back?”
“I’m working on it.”
“Whatever you’re doing, I want in.”
I nodded, understanding him. “Soon. The cathedral is impregnable at the moment, but I have people working on a way in. Until then, I think I might have something that can help you protect this place.”
I thought specifically of Oz’s invention. Some might not agree with me giving weapons to a known crime lord, but I didn’t care. The Phoenix was creating his own army.
Now, so was I.
Chapter 20
When I returned to Fire Ridge, there was a lot of activity. Groups of shifters were jogging into the woods, spreading out and throwing their clothes off. More shifters were driving in groups with others arriving by motorcycle, making parking a nightmare. Thank goodness I had a full belly, otherwise I might’ve unleashed my anger on some of them.
I hadn’t spent a lot of time in Hell’s Peak after talking to Rocky. I’d managed to find an inebriated human along the sidewalk to satisfy my hunger. His blood had tasted like cheap wine and salt, but his blood was enough to calm the beast inside me.
I got out of my car and headed towards the house, expecting Briar to be heading up a large army of shifters. But when I heard the sounds of fighting, grunting and the colliding of fists, I sprinted towards the noise. It was coming from the back of the home, and my heart slammed into my chest. Had the Phoenix returned? Who was I going to lose now?
Just as I rounded the corner, I came to a screeching halt before I ran into a crowd of shifters on the other side. They had formed a large circle and were shouting and yelling. There were so many voices, I couldn’t make sense of them.
I pushed my way through them until I reached the front. In the center of the circle, Angel, Luke, Aris and Mateo had torn off their shirts. Their muscular chests were smeared with dirt and blood. Angel had Luke in a headlock while Aris and Mateo exchanged blows.
I froze in surprise. Was someone making them do this? I stepped forward, intent on stopping them, but Briar snuck up behind me, grabbing my arm and smiling big. “Isn’t this the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen? I’m dying!”
“Why haven’t you stopped it yet? They’re killing each other.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Nah. They’re just burning off some steam. Look at them.”
I took in the scene again. This time I
noticed how each of them were smiling. Mateo undercut his fist to Aris’s jaw. Aris’s body flipped upward, but he landed in a crouch and looked up at Mateo, grinning. Luke had finally rotated out of Angel’s grip, and the two were back to wrestling.
“Isn’t it incredible?” Briar whispered, fanning her face with her hand. “I’m so hot right now. I can’t stop staring!”
I turned back to the men, this time watching them differently.
Briar was right. Each of them looked like Vikings of old, Greek gods, or angels fallen from heaven. It didn’t matter that they were dirty or sweaty, they were all man, and right now, I wouldn’t mind some of that action. Excitement poured through my veins, and my heart pounded.
Briar nudged me. “Should I jump in? Like take my shirt off too?”
I quickly shook my head, suppressing my own need to join. “You’ll ruin it for me.”
“Damnit.”
Just then, I caught Mateo’s eye. He stood there, chest heaving, and gasping for air. His eyes lit up, and he smiled. Tingles shot through me and heat flooded my chest as my desire for him swelled in my chest.
Then Aris punched him in the face so hard, he crashed to the ground, unmoving.
Aris had gotten stronger since I’d last seen him. It made me wonder how much he was tapping into Elizabeth Bathory’s powers. Her blood ran deep through him, and if he wasn’t careful, her insatiable bloodlust could transfer over to him.
Aris didn’t waste a second, turning back to face Angel. Together, Aris and Luke pinned Angel down until he tapped.
Laughing, they jumped to their feet and dragged Angel to a standing position with them.
“Looks like we won,” Aris said. He fist-bumped Luke.
Mateo groaned and opened his eyes. Aris was there to help him up also. “Good fight.”
“Same to you. It’s been awhile since I’ve had some good competition. Although I must say, you only won because I got distracted.” His gaze flashed to mine again, and my cheeks flushed.
Luke laughed out loud and picked up his shirt from off of the ground. “Weak excuse. We won fair and square.”