She’d been jealous.
It was the stupidest thing he’d ever heard in his very long life. Katya risked finding Jolie Harcourte because she thought he’d be attracted to the witch.
He couldn’t believe the idiocy of the people around him. It was unbelievable.
She’d hoped that Alexzandre would kill the woman, and she’d gotten her wish.
Well, he’d gotten his revenge.
Katya wasn’t dead, but she was a hot mess. He’d abused her, raped her, and then left her on the floor in a broken heap.
It was her punishment for being selfish.
Her punishment was very reminiscent of what Goethe liked to do to his conquests.
That made him think about Jolie Harcourte. Katya would have to die before he took Jolie into his possession. If she got the woman alone, she’d kill her.
Katya would destroy his plan.
He couldn’t let that happen.
She was going to be his, and she was going to give him the child he needed.
Staring up at the ceiling, he couldn’t help but wonder what Jolie Harcourte was doing at that very second. Would she be lying in her bed, scared of things that went bump in the night?
He hoped so.
She didn’t know fear—not yet.
It was coming.
How he longed to see her face when she finally figured out who was behind this hunt for her. It would be fun to see the scared look right before he cut the two babies from her body with a dull silver knife.
He could feel himself getting excited and reached for his phone.
“Is Katya healed?” he asked his assistant. “She doesn’t have to be completely healed. I just need her usable.”
“Yes, she is, but I don’t think she can handle another session like that right now, Master,” said the voice. “You did a number on her. Katya is weak and isn’t her usual…maniacal self.”
He didn’t care.
He had needs, and it was her job to satiate them. Thinking about Jolie Harcourte being his possession had turned him right on.
Gradius needed a release.
“I won’t be torturing her this time. I’ll be using her to pleasure me,” he growled, picturing himself taking Jolie Harcourte. “Besides, I don’t need your permission—just send her in.”
Gradius leaned back on the pillows and waited for the party to come to him, just like Jolie Harcourte eventually would.
When he got his hands on her, she’d never forget it.
It was going to be one hell of a party.
That was for sure…
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
She found him pacing the family room. When Death returned her, she placed her on the couch. As he stalked back and forth, lost in the anger, she knew it was time to work this out.
“Rinnon, we need to talk.”
He stopped not far away.
When he spun, Jolie saw how angry he was. She could see the fury in his black eyes. Flynn was nowhere to be seen. The angry demon was going to be driving this fight.
Good.
She needed him to hear her.
“You’ve come back.”
“Yes, I have.”
He didn’t move.
“I’m sorry I struck you,” she said. “You were right. I shouldn’t have put my hands on you in anger. This is new for me too. I’m used to Flynn, but you’ve amped up his responses. He was protective before, but you’ve made him more crazed.”
He glared at her.
“I shouldn’t have hit you. I hope you believe I’m sorry, and you’ll forgive me. I don’t want you mad at me.”
He moved toward her.
It was smooth, catlike, but with the sound of ruffled wings all around him.
He pulled her to her feet.
Jolie didn’t fear him.
“You think that’s why I’m upset?” he asked. “Because you slapped me?”
“Yes.”
He kissed her.
It was heated, hard, and with no regret. He plumbed the depths of her mouth, making sure this was indeed the woman he loved and not a trick by Death to screw with him.
When he pulled away, she was staring at him as if he was crazy.
Maybe he was.
“Why are you angry then? If I remember correctly, Flynn, you forced your will on me.”
“Flynn didn’t do it. It was me,” Rinnon stated. “This was my conscious choice, not his. He told me it was a horrible idea. I see he was right. Still, I’d do it all over again. As for me being angry, I thought I’d lost you.”
She saw the fear.
Jolie thought back to the hell he’d lived for all those thousands of years. It had to be hard.
It had to have been brutal.
“It was. I see Death told you about me.”
She hugged him. Jolie knew it was Rinnon, and that he was freaked out, simply because she could feel the cold kiss of the invisible armor on his body. When it was Flynn, there was nothing there.
“Now that you know the truth, will you leave me?” he asked.
“Never. I won’t leave you when you do stupid things, Rinnon, just like I won’t leave Flynn.”
“Will you stop loving me?”
She touched his cheek. “Never. You’re my mate. You and Flynn are important to me. You screwed up. I get why you did it. I don’t like it, but I understand it.”
“I don’t want you to ever leave like that again.”
She laughed. “You’re in trouble. Trust me when I say that you’re in no position to be bossing me around.”
He closed his mouth.
“I understand why you used compulsion, but now I want a promise from you.”
“What?”
“You won’t do it again.”
He thought about it.
“Really? You need to ponder it?” she asked, laughing at the look on his face.
“I can’t make a promise to you that I know I might break. I don’t lie. We don’t lie.”
She was aware. “Do you promise to love me forever?”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Jolie, we were made to love you. I’ll never love anyone else. You’re my mate, my woman, and my wife.”
She hugged him.
“Call Jacques. We need to discuss this mess. His father is being held, my brother is missing, and we need a plan.”
He was aware.
He sent out the call for their mate, and then retired to the couch. Jolie curled into his lap, and Flynn thanked the universe.
Rinnon was going to get their ass kicked.
One day…
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Alexandre pulled away from the darkness. In the corner, not far from him, was his woman. She was shallowly breathing and still deep asleep. He still couldn’t believe she was real. For the last week, he’d fallen in love with a figment of his imagination, only to find that she did exist.
He couldn’t believe it.
Moving closer to her, he took in her scent. There was a warm rush as his heart beat in his chest. It aligned with hers, and they began existing as one.
She was his mate.
His true one.
After mating with Arian, pretty much out of necessity of survival, he thought he’d never have this experience, but here she was. The signs were all there.
She wasn’t afraid of him, as if she knew what he knew.
Kiera found him and offered her life for his.
The taste of her blood had called to him.
She was the one.
Alexzandre slipped into her mind, and found it calm and back to normal. She was healing from the damage he had done the night before. He was ashamed that he’d been so rough with her. His only excuse was he had been out of his mind.
Now he’d protect her. She couldn’t leave him. She was tied to him. Alexzandre owned her heart.
Mind.
Body.
Soul.
The reality of that was staggering.
At the sound not
far from them, Alexzandre glanced over. The other vampyre in their cell was also slowly pulling from death. They didn’t have much time. They needed to get the hell out of there.
“We’re still together?” asked Mordechai, as he stretched out his stiff limbs.
“Yes, we are. I don’t know if they came back to check on us while we were with death,” he said, staying close to Kiera.
“At some point today, they will come here and realize that she’s not dead, and they will take her for interrogation,” whispered Mordechai.
That made him sick.
They couldn’t have her.
She was human, merely in the beginning stages of bonding. She was still fragile. His Kiera could still be hurt, and he couldn’t let that happen.
She was his to protect.
Alexandre was well aware that this was his fault. She was now going to have to survive the female vampyre’s torture methods.
Damn it!
What had he done?
Kiera had to be protected, even if it cost him his life. He didn’t want this woman to be touched by Gradius and his guardians.
He was a sick animal. While he’d survived the torture, she wouldn’t. It was beyond horrific. It would destroy her mind, body, and soul.
“We need a plan,” said Mordechai, coming to sit closer to the vampyre so they could speak softly.
“No one knows where we are.” He paused before continuing, “Do you know where we are?” he asked hopefully.
Mordechai only wished. “We are somewhere in Paris—that is all I know. Our family home is ten minutes outside the city. It was a short drive when they took me.”
He stopped and rubbed his face in frustration.
“What is it?” asked Alexandre. He could feel Kiera beginning to wake as his heart matched hers.
“I’m worried about my mate, Morganna. They separated us when they entered my home. I don’t know how they got in, but I can’t feel her. I keep reaching for her and hitting a wall.”
He understood his anxiety.
Alexzandre was feeling it too.
“I’m sorry, Mordechai. We’ll get out of here, find my sister, and then locate your mate,” he said, resting his hand on his shoulder in solidarity. “As soon as we can, we’ll search for her.”
The man laughed.
“What?”
“You’re just like Jolie,” he said softly, “She has this optimistic attitude that’s infectious.”
“She was a lot like my mother. My father had his hands full with the two of them,” he said grinning. “We’ll get out of here. I can feel it. We need to find out where the hell we are, and then find a way to reach Jolie.”
“She’s your sister. Can’t you reach for her?” Mordechai asked.
He tried again.
“No. Something is blocking me.”
Mordechai tried for his mate, son, and daughter.
Nothing.
“It has to be a spell.”
They looked around. Outside the cell, there were some markings on the wall. Beneath them sat bottles of water. Water they’d been drinking. While Gradius didn’t give them blood, he had doused them in the water and let them consume it.
Well, shit.
“Voodoo.”
“Does that mean we’re trapped?” Kiera asked.
At the sound of her lilt and sweet voice, Alexzandre held out his hand. She immediately took it, and he pulled her into his body to rest against him.
“We’ll figure it out, Kiera, my sweet. Have faith in me. I’m very old, and I’ve gotten out of worse.”
“Spoken like a true Harcourte.”
Alexzandre was proud of that. He and his sister were fighters.
“How do you feel?” Alexzandre asked.
She touched her throat.
It felt like it was healed, but how?
“We’re bonded now, Kiera. When you fed from me, we became one.”
“So I have to stay with you?”
“Yes.”
It was a lie. She didn’t have to, but he wanted her to stay. For some reason, fate opted to give him his true mate when he was near the end of his life.
She was a bitch.
“Every day, you’ll need to feed with me—from me—and that will keep you healthy and alive for a very long time.”
“As in…?”
“As long as I live.”
She didn’t flinch when he reached for her. She felt all warm and safe as he pulled some straw from her hair.
He was pleasantly surprised when she wasn’t afraid of him. Had he been in her situation, he couldn’t say he would have been as trusting as she was with him.
Look at what he did when he thought she was working for Gradius.
“We have to get out of here. Jolie’s in danger,” Kiera said. “I can feel it.”
Mordechai didn’t say anything.
Vampyres and witches weren’t friendly. They were two opposites who often got in each other’s way.
“I wish I could get out of these chains,” Alexzandre stated. “If we have to fight, this is going to make it harder.”
“I can help you,” she offered.
Both men looked at her.
“You know a spell that will open them?” Mordechai asked. “That would come in handy right now.”
She laughed. “No, but I have a bobby pin, and I can pick a lock. I’ve been locked out of my home a few times.”
Alexzandre grinned. “Then try.”
As she sat in his lap, he raised his arms over her head so they were in front of her. Kiera slid her fingers through her hair, trying to find a pin. She could feel his eyes on her.
Alexzandre could smell the flowers from her shampoo. It was making him crazy. He wanted to taste her in the worst way. His mate was beautiful.
So…
This was real love.
She found the bobby pin, and began working at the lock. It was hard to focus with the vampyre breathing on her neck. To make it even more of a challenge, she was sitting in his lap, and someone was aroused.
Okay, make that two of them.
‘It’s because you’re mine, Kiera. We’re mated—a matched set. You bring me alive, and I’ll do the same for you.’
Her heart skipped.
Oddly, she could hear his do the same.
Suddenly, there was a click of a tumbler, and the first manacle fell off.
He grinned at her.
“Give me a few seconds to get the next one, Alexzandre.”
“Alex. Please call me Alex.”
The heat in his voice made her flush.
“Okay,” she squeaked.
Then he was free.
“I’ll work on you next,” she said, crawling out of his lap. When Mordechai held out his wrists, she went to work. It didn’t take long for her to get it open. Thankfully, they were very old cuffs, and the tumblers were simple.
“Now that we’re free, we can fight our way out.”
Mordechai agreed.
“If we were at full strength, but I need to feed.”
Alexzandre did too.
“I’ll feed you both,” volunteered Kiera.
Alexandre shook his head. “You aren’t fully back yet. I took way too much yesterday.”
“You are just like your sister,” she admitted.
His smile was infectious, and that accent…
Yeah, it was hot.
“Are you saying I am as lovely as my sister?” he asked grinning in jest.
Kiera knew he was teasing her from the handsome grin. “Yeah, you’re pretty and stubborn. Use it to get us out of here.”
Mordechai laughed. “I like her. She’s feisty.”
He liked her too.
A lot.
“They think I’m dead, so use that. Both of you can feed. Take me to the edge, and after you get us out, save me. It’s going to be our only chance.”
He hated that idea.
“Alex, I came here knowing there was a chance you’d kill me. I put my faith in th
e man I knew you to be, so feed from me and then you will both be full strength.”
‘You are brave, my little witch.’
‘I want to get out of here, preferably alive. I happen to enjoy life.’
He didn’t blame her.
“Okay, we’ll use that to our advantage.” Alexzandre touched her quivering lip. Something in him, which had been dead since finding his mate betrayed him, was coming back to life.
“I won’t let you die.”
“I trust you,” she said, touching his cheek. “I believe in you.”
His heart skipped.
“Mordechai will feed first. I’ll know how close you are to death, so I’ll go last.”
He hated saying that.
It was horrible, and honestly, it made him sick.
“I know this is lame, but it won’t hurt, right? I don’t like the pain.”
Mordechai smiled at her. “I won’t hurt you. I can haze your mind as I feed.”
“Thank you.”
She moved toward him.
“Her wrist only,” inserted Alexandre possessively. He stared at the other vampyre and a message passed between them. “Please,” he added when Kiera looked over at him.
The other vampyre smiled.
He got it.
Someone was in love.
Mordechai took her wrist. “Kiera, thank you,” he said as he crept into her mind. While there, he planted a few memories of Jacques telling the woman that they were going to Germany just in case she was taken before Gradius. It was better to be safe then caught off guard.
Kiera watched him bite down, and she immediately forgot what she was thinking.
It was as if time stopped.
When the fog cleared, she was sitting in Alexandre’s lap as he cradled her in his arms. She could feel his hair tickling her face and his eyes watching her.
“I have you,” he said, his voice soft against her skin as he took in her scent. It called to him, and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do next. Here was this human, a witch nonetheless, who was so brave she let herself be abducted so she could find him and feed him.
Kiera was glad.
She liked being in his arms. At first, she thought Jolie’s mates were the handsomest men she’d ever seen, but she’d been wrong. Even when he limped out of the dark, to hurt her and feed, she saw that they didn’t come close.
Dangerous Sacrifice (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 6) Page 43