Undone (Vampire Awakenings, Book 5)

by Brenda K. Davies

  The guard’s hand trembled on Brian’s when he bared his fangs at him and snapped his teeth. “Don’t,” Abby pleaded. “Don’t hurt him anymore.”

  “Then come, I’ve a present for you.” Drake slid his hand over his erection again.

  His one eye rolled in his head as he licked the side of his face that still had lips. He was the most hideous man Abby had ever encountered, and that hideousness had little to do with his looks. The rot within him made him truly disgusting. She’d never smelled anything worse than the way Drake smelled. The main source of the decaying stench they’d been following through the tunnels had been coming from him.

  Her gaze slid to the asshole with the crossbow again. She could get to him, take him and maybe the two next to him out, but the two still holding Brian were a problem. Then there was Drake. She could feel the power oozing off him. He was another pureblood, capable of anything. She looked to Brian again, coated in blood, with sweat beading across his brow and his fingers bent in a way they were never meant to go.

  His reddened eyes held hers, his fangs shining in the light beating on him. There had been no spoken words of love between them, but she did love him. She would die for him and she would die without him. Even if there was no love on his part, she knew he cared for her. She could hand herself over to Drake now and wait for an opportunity to escape. It may destroy something within both of them, but they would find a chance to break free, and they could be with each other again once they did.

  They may be different afterward, but they would survive it. Everyone was changed by life at some point in time. If they weren’t changed, then they weren’t living.

  Brian watched the emotions flickering over Abby’s face. When her gaze slid to Drake, then back to him, he sensed a wavering within her. No, Abby, don’t ever give into him. Tears swam in her eyes as he finally succeeded in penetrating the haze that had been enshrouding his mind to communicate with her.

  The guard’s hand tightened on his. “Don’t,” Abby said to him. “Don’t. You win.”

  Brian’s heart pounded against his ribs. He strained against the bonds as Abby held her hands up and took a step closer to the three who had chased her in here. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before opening them again. Resolve and something more glistened in her eyes when they met his. The lethal look in her gaze caused his heart to stop for a minute.

  Then, the guard released his hand and bashed his fist against Brian’s face again. Blood exploded from his mouth, and he snarled at the guard who smiled back at him. “I’m not fucking with much,” the guard said with a dismissive glance over Brian’s body.

  The fresh scent of Brian’s blood on the air and the sight of his torn skin caused something to swell within her. He was her mate, and they were abusing him. His hand, his bones… Her fangs pricked and extended. Saliva dripped from the ends of them when her lips skimmed back. She’d heard about bloodlust, but she’d never truly experienced it, not until now.

  Now she could feel it thrumming through her veins, pulsing throughout her body. Red shaded her vision and her fingers curled as the room around her became strangely serene. No one moved, even the heartbeats faded away until there was nothing but stillness and her need to kill. Then a single drop of Brian’s blood landed on the ground with a plop that unleashed the growing frenzy within her.

  When one of the vamp’s stepped toward her, she spun so swiftly that Brian never saw her move before blood was spurting from where the vamp’s throat had been. The vamp holding the crossbow fired a round a split second after the crossbow was jerked up in his grasp. The breeze the bolt created blew against Brian’s ear and sliced his flesh when he twisted his head to the side in order to avoid taking it in the face. It hit one of the guards behind him in the shoulder, knocking him back.

  Abby reloaded, spun and fired the crossbow at one of the guards trying to hold him down. Clawing at his chest, the guard fell back as he struggled to tear the bolt free. Brian surged forward against the bonds. Metal pings reverberated around the room when more bolts gave way. Jerking his right wrist free, Brian tore at the bonds holding his other wrist as the two other vamps who had chased Abby into the room ran for the door. He felt the movement of air from her passing more than saw her as Abby leapt onto the back of one and sank her fangs into his throat.

  She jerked back with all her might. Brian’s fingers froze in the act of trying to tear the metal from his forehead when she tore the vamp’s head from his body. The one who had been holding the crossbow screamed and threw himself against the door when she dragged him down. Blood coated her, but beneath it, he also saw the subtle shift in hue on her skin.

  The change of skin color happened amongst the pureblood males when they’d been pushed to the edge, or when their mate was threatened. Usually, they were also much older. When Ethan and Ian had exhibited the trait at such a young age, it had been surprising. To see Abby doing it now was astounding. It was extremely rare for a female to exhibit the turning, but before his eyes, Abby’s skin was darkening and her eyes were becoming redder. She wrenched the head from the vamp’s shoulders as easily as if she’d plucked a flower from the garden.

  Brian tore the band from his forehead as she spun toward him. The last bonds gave way against his feet as the guard who had punched him tried to run past. Brian snagged hold of him and sank his fangs into his neck. He welcomed the hot wave of blood as it replenished the blood he’d lost and washed away the remaining effects of the gas. The guard thrashed in his grasp, trying to fight him off. Brian grabbed hold of his chin and wrenched his head to the side, ceasing anymore of the man’s struggles.

  “I told you I’d make you pay,” Brian snarled at him before throwing the drained vamp away from him.

  Abby bolted past him again. There was only one vamp left in the room for her to go for; one who was far more powerful than she was. He spun in time to see her vanishing through a door he hadn’t known was behind him. Instead of staying to fight, Drake had fled like the coward he was, drawing Abby into his convoluted tunnels.

  Leaping off the table, Brian fled down the hall after her. “Abby!” he shouted, but she didn’t slow as she ran heedlessly around the corners. He knew that she was consumed by bloodlust and all she could focus on right now was the fact that Drake must die. She wouldn’t stop to think that Drake could be luring her into a trap.

  CHAPTER 33

  Abby was nothing but a blur before him, one he was determined to catch as he poured on the speed after her. She had the strength of her pureblood and so did he. He drew on the flow of her within his veins, the flow of the many lives and power he’d harvested over the years. Never had he needed that strength as badly as he did now.

  He felt his muscles swell with it as he began to take her over. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifted her up and spun her away when Drake turned and charged at them. Abby’s displeasure beat against his mind as he set her on her feet beside him. Everything in him screamed at him to stand before her, to protect her, but she could hold her own, and standing behind him was not where she would be throughout the rest of his life.

  No, she would stand at his side from here on out.

  Panicked, Drake’s eye was red as he barreled toward them. Brian braced his legs apart; a smile spread across his face as he thought of everything he was going to do to this bastard. Before he reached them, Drake dashed to the left and toward a tunnel Brian hadn’t noticed in his urgency to get to Abby.

  “No!” Abby shouted and dove at the tunnel. Rolling across the ground, she popped up in front of it just as Drake hit her with the force of a Mac truck. Something in her shoulder gave way with a loud pop that echoed throughout the room. The fingers of her right hand went numb, but she swung up with her left hand and punched him in the temple.

  His fingers tore at the flesh of her arms when he snatched hold of her and threw her back. Unable to keep her balance, Abby stumbled and fell onto the concrete floor. Drake loomed over her, his fangs dripping as he glowered at he
r.

  She’d believed the roar in her head was from the blood pounding against her temples. She realized now it was coming from Brian as he leapt onto Drake’s back and clutched his head. Drake squealed like a rat. He reeled away from her and started to beat at Brian over his back. Abby scrambled to her feet as Brian sank his fangs into Drake’s throat.

  Drake squealed again and spun in rapid circles that became a blur to her eyes. Brian hung onto him, refusing to relinquish his hold. Trying to differentiate one from the other, Abby threw out her leg. She somehow managed to time it right enough to trip Drake with her foot. He stumbled forward before his legs gave out and his knees hit the concrete.

  Brian’s pleasure and assurance of victory beat against her as he grabbed hold of the back of Drake’s head and smashed it into the floor. The man’s arms and legs jerked out as his forehead caved from the force of the blow.

  Turning Drake over, Brian grinned down at his one good eye. “I made you a promise,” he said as his hands dug at the vulnerable flesh of Drake’s belly.

  Abby took a step forward, drawing his attention to her before he could tear Drake open and shove his intestines down his throat. Brian’s hands stilled as he warred with his more vicious nature and stared into her reddened eyes. It didn’t matter how badly he wanted to torture Drake, didn’t matter he knew she would never turn away from him, or that she was more than capable of brutality. He simply couldn’t be that kind of a monster in front of her.

  Releasing his stomach, Brian drove his fist into Drake’s chest. Flesh and bone gave way beneath his hand. He winked at Drake as his hand wrapped around his pulsating heart and tore it from the man’s chest. Gurgling sounds escaped the vamp. Blood shot from his lips as he coughed and choked it up. Brian threw the heart aside and wiped his hands on his jeans as he rose to his feet.

  Abby ran to him and threw herself into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her sweet scent and savoring the feel of her body against his. She slid her legs around his waist as he pulled her head back to claim her mouth. A whimper escaped her when his tongue traced over her lips before greedily slipping inside to take in the taste of her. He couldn’t stop the shaking rattling him as she pressed closer, the hand on her good arm desperately grabbing him. He ignored the pains in the mending bones of his hand as he clung to her.

  Tears streaked through the blood coating her face when she pulled away to look at him. “You’re okay!”

  “I’m okay,” he said as he brushed her hair back from her face. Her eyes gradually returned to their beautiful emerald color as she gazed at him with a wonder that rattled him.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  His heart jumped in his chest and a lump lodged in his throat at those humbling words. His hand stilled on her face, cupping her cheek.

  “You have to know that. I thought I was going to lose you…” her voice broke on a sob. “You don’t have to say it back. I understand if you don’t feel it too. I know you love your wife—”

  “I did,” he interrupted. “Very much, but not as much as I love you.”

  She drew her bottom lip into her mouth as she stared at him with hope shimmering in her eyes. “Really?”

  He grinned at her, pulling her head down so her forehead rested against his. “Truly.”

  More tears spilled from her as she threw her good arm around him. Her fangs scraped against his neck as she snuggled closer. “Feed, Abby.”

  “No, you’re wounded.”

  “So are you. I need this.”

  So did she. Unwilling to argue with him, her lips skimmed back, and she sank her fangs into his neck. A mewl escaped her when his powerful blood filled her mouth. The fingers of her good hand dug into his shoulder as his love for her pulsed against her through the bond.

  The walls he’d erected between them crumpled, and he allowed his self-hatred, his anger, and the thrill he got from killing to pour over her. She’d known he was a killer, she’d accepted this, but she’d never realized how much he enjoyed destroying those who deserved it. He’d been afraid, if she’d known how much pleasure he took in it, she would turn away from him. Instead, she found herself loving him more. No matter what, he was her vampire, her mate, and she was never going to let him go.

  Brian’s good hand dug into Abby’s waist as he turned his head into her neck and nuzzled the hair back from her skin. He scraped his fangs over her flesh before biting deep. Her acceptance of everything he was swept over him as she allowed him to feel the love she’d been keeping locked away in order to keep her heart protected from him.

  Releasing his bite on her, he lifted his lips to her ear. “I will never break your heart, Abby. I treasure it above all else.” Tears wet the collar of his shirt as they slid down her face. “Shh, dove,” he whispered.

  He wanted to stand here and hold her forever, but that would have to wait until later. He had no idea how many of Drake’s men may still be wandering these tunnels. “We have to go,” he said.

  Disappointment filled him when she reluctantly retracted her fangs from his neck, but the bond between them remained open. Her mind brushed against his as she kissed him tenderly. Then, she bolted upright in his arms as she completely recalled where they were.

  “Aiden!” she gasped.

  She went to squirm out of his arms, but he held her in place. “No, not yet,” he groaned. “I just got you back.”

  Abby stopped moving and dropped her head to his shoulder again. She was in no rush to be free of his arms yet either. He kept her close against him as he strolled through the tunnels, moving with single-minded determination as he was drawn forth by the essence of their friends and family.

  “Almost there,” he murmured.

  Turning a corner, he stopped and waited until Ronan came around the next bend in the tunnel. The older vampire stopped when he spotted them. Ronan’s eyes ran over the two of them before settling on Abby and widening when she turned in Brian’s arms to look at him. Brian set her on her feet when her brother appeared behind him.

  “Aiden!” she cried and ran toward him.

  He lifted her and hugged her close before settling her on her feet. “Are you injured?” he demanded as his eyes ran over the blood drenching her.

  “It’s only my arm,” she replied. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Well now, that’s unusual for a woman pureblood,” Declan said when he spotted Abby’s still mottled skin tone.

  Abby glanced down at her strangely colored arms and managed to raise her good shoulder in a shrug. “Don’t fuck with my mate,” she replied.

  Declan laughed and folded his arms over his chest. “Apparently not.”

  “Drake?” Ronan asked Brian.

  “Dead.”

  “Good.”

  “I say we get out of this place,” Declan said. “I have beers and babes waiting for me somewhere I’m sure.”

  Walking over, Brian gently took hold of Abby’s dislocated shoulder. “I can put it back in place, but it’s going to hurt.”

  She bit her bottom lip and gave a brisk nod. “Do it.”

  Brian’s hand remained on her shoulder, but he found he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Ronan stepped forward and brushed his hand aside. “Allow me,” Ronan said. Brian moved reluctantly out of the way. “Don’t attack me or I’ll knock you out, and then your mate here is going to get all pissed off.”

  “I won’t.” Brian’s teeth ground together as he fought to keep himself restrained. Declan and Lucien stepped in front of him when Ronan took hold of Abby’s shoulder.

  “Count to three,” Ronan told her.

  “One, two…” Snap.

  Abby barely kept herself from screaming when he shoved her shoulder back into place. Declan and Lucien grabbed hold of Brian, holding him back when he jumped forward. His eyes burned with the fires of Hell once more.

  Abby slid between the two men and toward Brian. He wrapped her up in his arms once more, holding her close against him as he sent a scathing glare at Ronan. She re
sted her hand against his cheek. “I’m fine.”

  His eyes bled back to their beautiful, ice-blue color as he kissed the tip of her nose and lifted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nestled closer to him.

  CHAPTER 34

  “You should go home, Abby.” Vicky swung her legs back and forth while sitting on the edge of the back porch swing. It had been a week since the events occurred in the tunnels, and the first time Vicky had brought up the idea of home to her. “The others should meet Brian.”

  “They have met him,” Abby reminded her with a nudge of her elbow against Vicky’s side.

  “Let them see him as he is with you. It will go a long way to melting the rest of their reservations about him. It has with me.”

  “They’ll meet him again, eventually.” Abby’s eyes scanned over the massive bushes of the maze before them. She still hadn’t made it to the center of the maze, something she’d become determined to do. “And they understand that I prefer to stay with you right now.”

  “And what does your mate prefer?”

  “Do you honestly think Brian is eager to plunge into the Byrne clan?” she asked with a smile. “You know how someone’s not a people person? Well, he’s not exactly a vampire vamp.”

  Vicky laughed and swung her feet out again. “He’s really not. I would like to be there when he is engulfed by that horde. I guarantee it will cause some good laughs.”

  “It will,” Abby agreed. “But you’re not ready to go home yet.”

  “I’m not.”

  “The family will understand you didn’t mean to kill her. The Stooges and Mom and Dad won’t even be able to smell it on you.”

  “It’s more than that.” Vicky took a deep breath as she lifted her head to study the gardens. “I want Duke dead first, and I can’t go back there when killing him is all I can think about. I’m not ready for family loving when all I feel is hate for him.”