“Can’t you go to lunch or something?” she called out.
“No, I have sworn to protect you and that is what I shall do.”
“Fine, but could you at least take a break to eat and bring me something while you’re at it? I’m craving just about anything sweet, so take your pick and I’ll eat.” She turned to see him closing in on her.
“As much as I would love to assist you, Doctor, I was instructed to stay with you at all times.”
“By whom?”
“Too many names to list. I can assure you that all have your well-being on their minds.”
Marisa didn’t like the idea of a permanent babysitter, but couldn’t deny that the stories she’d heard of Stegian, the vampire, terrified her. “The suns are high in the sky, Pheebes, and you yourself told me that the compound is safe, so why can’t you take a minute to bring me lunch? Oh, I bet Lorelei would be thrilled to have someone bring her something as well. She’s nursing twins and needs all the nourishment she can get.”
Pheebes seemed to mull over her words. His gaze darted toward the village and she knew that she had him. Laying it on thick, she ran her hand over her swollen belly. “Oh, the baby kicked. I bet he knows that Uncle Pheebes is going to make his mommy happy.”
“You will go straight to the Devi’s home?”
If Lorelei hadn’t told her that the natives called her Devi, she’d have been lost. “You have my word that I will go straight to the Devi’s house.”
“Very well. I will meet you there.”
She exhaled as she watched Pheebes walk away. With a light skip in her step, she headed for Lorelei’s.
“Marisa.”
She glanced over toward the compound fence, looking for signs of life. Something moved in the brush, and she was just about to scream when Peter walked out. His clothes were tattered and torn, and his hair was a good deal longer than when she’d last seen him. She’d assumed that Christian had killed him, but she’d never outright asked. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to.
“Peter? I thought you were dead.”
His eyes locked on her. “I got away. I was wrong to do what I did to you and to Bradi. I was wrong to threaten you. I know that now. Marisa, you have to help me! I tried to board my ship and these things attacked me. They’re coming for me. Help me, please!”
She eyed him warily. It seemed odd to her that Peter, a man who prided himself on his fine upbringing, would have enough survival skills to last in the wilderness for any length of time, especially when she knew firsthand just how dangerous the jungles could be, but she couldn’t in good conscience leave him out there with the likes of Stegian’s goons. It stood against everything she’d sworn to do when she’d taken an oath to be a doctor.
While there were no true security gates near her, there was an older looking gate that she wasn’t sure was operational any longer. She positioned herself near the computer panel there and began keying in security codes that she’d seen Christian use in the past. On the fifth try, the gate slid open, and she motioned for Peter to come inside. He took a few steps toward her, then tumbled to the ground.
Instinct took over and Marisa raced toward his fallen body. Her swollen stomach made her kneeling next to him take longer than it should, but she made it. He swung around and knocked her to the ground.
Landing with a thud, pain shot through her back. “Peter?”
Peter leered down at her. His eyes seemed to scorch her with no more than a look. When they got to her swollen belly, his eyes narrowed to slits. “Get up.”
Marisa opened her mouth to yell for help, but stopped when she felt something cold and hard pressing against her stomach.
“One sound and I will cut this abomination from your body, Marisa.”
Unsure if he was telling the truth or not, Marisa froze.
Peter touched her neck, the blade still in his hand, and ran his rough fingers over her skin. His touch used to bring her joy; now it made her skin crawl. There was something about him, something different…
It was his eyes. Where once they were brown, now they were gray.
“So soft, Marisa. Always so soft,” he whispered.
She didn’t dare move. Whatever had happened to Peter had left him wild, untamed, frightening.
“You’ll come with me.” When she didn’t respond to his command, he put the knife to her throat and sneered at her. “He promised I could have you.”
Who? The question was on the tip of her tongue, but she knew better than to ask it.
Marisa stiffened as he jerked her to her feet. Wanting to run, shout, anything that would grab the attention of the villagers, she twisted slightly, preparing to run.
Peter seized hold of her hair and yanked her back to him. His hot breath hit her cheek as he spoke. “I will gut you, Marisa—know that. And when your screams bring Bradi, the others that lurk around me will hold him down and make him watch as I cut you to pieces, then we will tear him limb from limb. It is as the Master wishes it to be.”
The Master?
It hit her then who he spoke of. “Stegian,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
*
Bradi took another sip of wine and rubbed his temples. If they continued to sit in here spinning their wheels, they’d be too old to go after Stegian. All he wanted to do right now was attack and assure that his family was safe. He needed to get back to his pregnant wife. He needed to be near her, not hashing out more plans.
Kill the evil vampire.
Seemed simple enough to him.
The door to the conference room burst open and all eyes went to it.
When Bradi saw Pheebes standing there, he knew that something was wrong. “What has happened? Is it the baby?”
Pheebes paled and shook his head.
“Then speak,” Christian commanded.
“She is gone.”
“Who is gone?”
“The doctor. She was hungry, so I went to retrieve something sweet for her, and she was to go to Lorelei’s, but she never arrived,” Pheebes said, hanging his head in shame. “The men are tracking her scent as we speak. I did not stay to see what they found. I thought that you would want to know.”
Bradi couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Christian grabbed his shoulder and it was all the jolt he needed to run out the door.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Marisa pulled at her wrists to free them, but the manacles on them would not give. Each time she pulled, they only got tighter. Her feet barely touched the floor as it was, so she stopped struggling. She did her best not to think about the sound of the mice scurrying around her. The sound of boots scraping over the floor grabbed her attention.
“Ready to surrender yourself to me?”
Marisa didn’t recognize the voice, but had a good idea who its owner was. “I’ll not give you an inch, Stegian.”
In a flash, something was behind her, touching her, rubbing against her. She bit back a scream and kept her eyes forward. Cool hands gripped her neck and she felt fingernails digging into her skin.
“Ah, I know that you will taste divine. I do so miss a woman who tastes as good as she feels when my cock is in her—and you do want my cock in you, don’t you, Healer?”
She wanted to ask how he’d managed to pop up behind her, but she didn’t. “No.”
He rubbed against her back and she felt his erection digging into her skin. “The answer to your question is magik. I have always had the gift to wield it, but it was not until I became what you see before you that I truly knew how to use it.”
“Hmm, I haven’t seen anything before me, Stegian,” Marisa said, shocked that she’d let that slip out.
A cold laugh sounded behind her and she shivered. “I see why Raiden’s son likes you.”
Stegian moved around her slowly, but she didn’t turn her head to look at him. Instead, she let her eyelids flutter closed.
“You believe me to be hideous, do you not?”
Marisa saw little point in lying to
the man. “I have no idea what you look like, but I’ve heard of the things that you’ve done, and those are heinous crimes that are inexcusable.”
He grabbed her chin and she felt his hand warm a bit to the touch. “Look upon me, Healer. Let me see myself through your eyes.”
“No.”
He tightened his grip. “Look.”
There was a certain push in his voice that she could no longer ignore. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked upon him.
At first she thought it was a trick—another use of his magik—because the man she looked upon was not hideous. In fact, he was far from it. His long brown hair was pulled tightly back from his face, leaving nothing obstructing his high forehead, strong jaw and gray eyes. He was tall, taller than she thought he’d be, and a hell of a lot bulkier too. In fact, he rivaled Bradi in size and shape.
Why she had assumed that he’d be this hideously thin monster with scales was beyond her, but he was a far cry from it, and that made him even scarier.
His lips pulled into a smile. “I am pleased to know that you find me attractive, Healer. Most fear me so much that they do not dare look upon my face for fear that I will capture their minds with but a look.”
“Can you do that?” Marisa asked, fearing that she too would succumb to him.
“With most, yes, but not you.”
“Why?”
He laughed. “That I do not know, but I find it intriguing.”
“Why do you do it?”
He moved closer to her and touched her face lightly. “Why do I do what?”
“Why do you hurt the Shamenians?”
Stegian bent down and Marisa sucked in her breath as his lips came to her face. He flickered his cool tongue over her skin before flashing her an unnaturally white smile. “Because I can.”
“There’s a mature answer.”
He grabbed the back of her hair and jerked her head back. “You would dare speak back to me?”
Someone ought to, she thought to herself.
He tapped the side of her temple lightly and smiled. “I can hear you.”
Great. Gorgeous, psycho, and a mind reader.
“I like you, Healer, and I am not prone to liking anyone.”
“Like me enough to let me go?”
“I wish I could, but you see, I need to eliminate Raiden Janelle’s line, and the quickest way to do that is to keep you until Bradiainn comes, kill him, and then I am afraid that I will have to kill you as well.”
“No!” someone shouted.
Stegian turned and then looked back at her. “It appears that you have a rather brave admirer.”
“You promised that I could have her!”
“Peter?” Marisa asked.
Peter moved toward them and seemed to drink her in. It was unnerving and very un-Peter like.
“What did you do to him?”
Stegian laughed and shrugged. “When he first landed near my home, I greeted him as an honored guest. When news reached me he was being held by your people, I sent a retrieval party for him. He’s been my guest ever since. I helped him free himself of his inhibitions. Meaning, that if he feels the urge to fuck you like a dog, he will,” Stegian said.
Marisa tensed at his words and looked at Peter.
“I can stop him, Healer. I control him now. All you have to do is agree to help me and I will not allow him to harm you.”
“Pfft, you said you were going to kill me. Geesh, remember your threats before you go making promises.”
Stegian lowered his mouth to hers and she pulled her lips in, not wanting to kiss him. He didn’t seem to care. Squeezing her cheeks hard, he puckered her lips. His cool mouth pressed down on hers. His tongue flickered into her mouth and she considered biting it. He tightened his hold on her cheeks and she knew that he was scanning her thoughts.
How a man who seemed as though he could have it all had turned so violent was beyond her. It was clear by his actions toward the Shamenians that he could not be redeemed. It seemed a shame, because her gifts had always given her the ability to sense others like her, healers, and she sensed that in him. He had the gift to restore life, but instead had decided to take it—as often as he could, it seemed.
Stegian dropped his hand from her face and backed away. He wiped his mouth and let his finger linger over his lip. “Your powers are strong to be able to persuade me so easily.”
“Persuade you? I didn’t ask you to kiss me.” She wanted to smack his face, but her bound hands prevented that. The blood had long since drained from them; her hands were now numb.
Peter moved closer and looked as though he intended to touch her. Stegian’s hand shot out and he grabbed Peter by the throat. “Do not touch her.”
“She’s mine.”
“No, she is not.”
“You said you wanted the baby dead and I could have her!” Peter spat.
Stegian backhanded him, sending him hurtling into the wall. Marisa closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see what Stegian would do to her now.
“I regret,” he seemed to choke on his words, as if he’d never spoken even semi kindly to a soul in his life, “having to do this, Healer, but the child cannot be allowed to survive.”
Marisa bit back a cry and just stared at him.
“Hag.”
There was a bright light and an old woman appeared before them. “Yes, Master?” Her eyes appeared to be covered with a white film, yet they fixed on Marisa. “Oh, you have brought the child closer for me to drain with more ease.”
“Drain?” Marisa asked. “More ease? What have you done to my baby?”
She smiled and it was evil. “What I did to the others as well. I have been stealing power from your unborn babes from afar.”
Stegian’s face dropped. “Do what you must, Hag.” With that, he stormed out of the room.
Marisa found herself wanting to call him back. It was odd that the leader of evil had seemed less of a threat to her than the old woman and Peter. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Peter struggling to stand. His eyes locked on her as he wiped the blood from his mouth.
Heat flared through her stomach and brought Marisa’s attention back to the old woman. She stood with her hands out, chanting something softly. Cramps rippled through Marisa’s body and she cried out.
Peter pushed his body against the back of her, and she felt his erection. Lifting her dress in the air, he pulled her hips back to him.
“Please, Peter, stop this! Stop her. She’s hurting the baby,” Marisa cried out as pain shot through her body.
“No,” Peter said, his voice harsh. “She’s ridding you of that abomination.” He clawed at her hips and rubbed his body against hers.
The hag’s eyes lit like fire and an orange light shot forth from her eyes to Marisa’s stomach.
Marisa screamed as her stomach cramped again.
A loud growl caught her attention as the weight of Peter’s body was suddenly ripped from her. She looked up to see Christian standing before her. She tried to ask him where Bradi was, but when she heard another growl, she knew.
Christian cut her wrists free and caught her as she fell forward. She clung to his arms, and cried out as another cramp ran through her. “The hag… She’s doing this. She’s the reason Lorelei had such a hard pregnancy, and she’s what has been wrong with mine.”
“Sevan, kill the witch!” shouted Christian.
*
Bradi moved off Peter’s limp, dead body and focused on the old woman. He watched as Sevan charged her, his sword drawn. The witch cackled and turned a hand to him. Sevan’s body flew through the air and Jordan did a partial change, catching his brother before he hit the ground.
The witch turned and looked at Christian. She put her hand up again and Bradi leapt into action, snatching up Sevan’s sword and bringing it down hard and fast. The witch’s arm went one way and her body went another. She screamed, but Bradi didn’t stop his assault.
He seethed with fury. The hag was the reason his baby had suffered. Sh
e would die. The animal within him was in complete agreement with the man.
With a flick of his wrist, he turned the sword around and backed into her, effectively ramming it in to the hilt. He pushed her off the end of the sword and turned to Christian. He held Marisa’s still body in his arms.
“Whatever the hag did has caused great stress to both mother and child,” Christian said softly.
Jordan and Sevan moved up next to him. Jordan’s face said it all. This was very bad. “Let’s get her home.”
Bradi scooped his wife into his arms and drew in a sharp breath. She was so weak, so unlike herself. Christian touched her forehead and her eyes closed slowly.
“Thank you,” Bradi said, knowing that Christian had just eased Marisa’s pain.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bradi sat with his head down, afraid to move. His life had changed so much in less than a year. He was a father now, of a healthy baby boy, who was nearly a week old. While his son was thriving, his wife was not.
Upon getting Marisa back to the compound, she’d gone into labor. He’d been terrified and he’d thought for sure that the babe was too young to arrive, but he’d been born healthy and full term.
Marisa had not faired as well. She had been in and out of consciousness during the delivery, needing the aid of Lorelei and Christian’s magiks. And she’d barely moved at all in the week since the birth of their son. All she did was lie in a deep sleep.
The rustling of a chair moving behind him caught his attention. He turned and smiled as Christian sat.
“How’s she doing?” Christian asked.
“You tell me. She doesn’t seem to have changed a bit in the last week. How can that be?” Bradi looked down at Marisa and touched her cheek gently.
“She’s only at rest because I keep her that way.” Christian exhaled. It was clear to see the Shaman cared for Marisa. As it should be. “She requires healing rest. Her body needs it. Whatever the witch did, your mate funneled her resources and protected your son. It was at a great cost to her.”
Bradi: Paranormal Shifter Fated Mate Galactic SciFi Military Romance (Interstellar Alphas Book 2) Page 13