by Trina M. Lee
Jenner made a noise, something between a gasp and a curse. I jerked my head up to find him watching me with blatant hunger. Oh shit. Bleeding in front of any vampire was dangerous, but bleeding in front of one who had tasted my blood and now belonged to me because of it, that was just downright careless.
“Jenner?” Uncertainty showed in my tone. I didn’t know him well enough to know how he’d handle this.
“Why the hell did you have to let him do that?” Pushing away from the door, he moved toward me with a predatory gait. His pupils were huge, a deep, drowning black.
“Back off,” I warned, a hand raised with a ready psi ball. “Don’t make me take you down.”
Jenner paused. His control was strong. It had to be. He was of our bloodline. At least, that’s what I told myself as I struggled to get up.
The bite throbbed in time with my heartbeat. It would heal within a day or two naturally. Even faster if Arys healed it. I willed the bleeding to stop.
“I’ve dreamed of tasting you many times since you left Vegas.” His sudden confession stunned me. “That’s what happens when you enslave a vampire. They never stop craving you.”
“Nobody is enslaved,” I insisted, sliding the dagger back into its sheath. Killing Jenner was just not an option, even if he rushed me. “You’re all so easily influenced by the power. It’s an illusion.”
His laughter echoed. “Illusion is it? Is it an illusion when you crave the touch of your forbidden lover? Certainly not. Is it illusion when a victim begs you for more? No. It is a very real, very undeniable desire.” He continued to press closer, stopping only when he stood within arms’ reach. “Our power is meant to enslave our victims. To make them ours in every way. Unfortunately, some of us are powerful enough to use that gift on each other. Lucky you.”
“Yes, lucky me.” I limped toward the door, keeping my distance as I passed him. “Come on; let’s get out of here.”
Jenner caught my arm before I saw him move. He brought my wrist to his mouth and boldly ran his tongue along the veins there.
“Don’t even think about it,” I murmured as apprehension flooded me.
“Too late. Would just a taste be so wrong? It would make being around you a hell of a lot easier.” Despite his actions, he was still himself. Jenner’s control was far better than Kale’s, and for that I was grateful.
Instinct demanded that I slap him with a blast hard enough to toss him across the room. Experience had taught me remaining calm was safer.
“I knew I couldn’t trust you. You should be helping me to the car not taking advantage of my injury.” I focused on keeping my energy calm. Reacting to him was not an option, but hot damn was the touch of his tongue ever sensual.
“I won’t do it without permission,” Jenner spoke against my skin. “But I am asking.”
Even as his words said one thing, his touch conveyed another. It was manipulative, enthralling, so much like what Arys and I commanded, only with a different flavor. I shuddered against the pull. This manipulative power was both my strength and my weakness. As they say, power doesn’t come without a price.
“No,” I managed to say though my voice wavered. “I’m telling you no. So stop the hypnotic incubus shit right now.”
“Nice to know I haven’t lost my touch,” he said with a devious laugh. “If I can get under your skin, I must be doing something right.”
To Jenner’s credit, he did pull away from the pulse beating in my wrist. Though much like his brother, he was reluctant to so readily accept defeat. Catching me completely off guard, he sucked my bloody pinky finger into his mouth.
My breath caught, and I watched with wide-eyed wonder as he gently sucked the blood from my flesh. I trembled as the power swirled around us, capturing us in the eye of the growing tornado. I would never stop being amazed by what the vampires in our bloodline could do. It took great effort to pull my hand away.
“I apologize, my queen,” he said emphasizing the word “queen” as if it were an inside joke we shared. “You ordered me to touch you once. I can’t help but recall that night and feel cheated that I never got to fulfill that command.”
“Yeah, well I’m not as much of a bed hopping vamp as you are. I prefer to sleep only with those I love. Besides, Arys would kick your ass.” I shoved him away and limped for the exit.
Something stopped me in my tracks, and it wasn’t Jenner this time. My senses burned. There were other vampires near.
“Not yet you aren’t. Give it a few more decades,” he quipped. “You’re right though. Arys is not the forgiving type when it comes to you.”
“Do you feel that?” I asked, slapping his arm to get his attention.
Jenner grew quiet, and I felt it when he reached out to appraise our environment. “I don’t think we’re alone here anymore.”
“Vampires,” I breathed. “A lot of them.”
“These aren’t friends of yours I take it?”
“Sneaking up on me while I’m conveniently trapped in a warehouse? Not likely.” I didn’t doubt this had something to do with the rebel vampires Kale had dealt with. This must be their answer to the open message I’d issued.
Jenner took the lead, hesitating for a moment at the door. “Let’s try to get to the car. If we don’t make it, we fight.”
“Right.” I nodded, but my stomach turned. A fair fight I could handle. A gang beating was nobody’s friend. I’d only survived the last one because of Willow.
I followed Jenner outside, my hand ready on the hilt of the Dragon Claw. At first the warehouse yard appeared empty. Looks were deceiving. They were close. I could feel them.
One by one they emerged from the darkness. I stopped counting at twenty. At least a dozen stood between us and the car. And really, fleeing would only encourage their behavior. It would do nothing to enforce the role I claimed.
A shock of pain stabbed through my leg. They would smell the bite and know I was injured. We would definitely have to fight.
Jenner and I stood back to back, watching the circle of vampires form around us. We were surrounded.
Chapter Eighteen
None of the vampires were well known to me. I found some relief in that. It promptly died when I saw that they had Owen. He hung between two of them, having been beaten into submission.
Blood trickled from his nose and mouth. Still, he glared fiercely at the two holding him. Admirable. I couldn’t help but worry that Dayne would blame me for this. I could not let Owen die here tonight.
I expected one of them to act as ringleader, maybe toss out some lame movie bad guy lines. Jenner didn’t give them a chance. He immediately went on the offensive, hurling shot after shot at the ring surrounding us. His aim was true and deadly. Two of the vamps he hit exploded in a cloud of dust.
That was all it took. The fight was on. Those with power of any kind were quick to use it while others came forward ready to rip us limb from limb.
Having no other choice, I followed Jenner’s lead. The nearest vamp baring fangs at me took a blast to the face. It maimed but did not kill.
“Focus your intent,” Jenner hissed as he fended off three at a time. “Kill them in your mind. No mercy.”
My concentration was scattered as I sought to watch all of them at once. It was impossible. They came too fast. I was overwhelmed. The pain shooting through my ankle didn’t help.
The Dragon Claw felt good in my hand as I plunged it into the guts of one vampire who mistakenly lunged at the wrong time. A second one met the same ending. The victory was short-lived. Half a dozen descended on me using both fists and power. I went down beneath them, holding the dagger above me to protect my head.
‘Arys,’ I cried out in my thoughts, reaching for him in desperate need. Unable to form a coherent thought while fangs slashed at my arms and fists pummeled my head, I let him see and feel what I was experiencing.
‘I’m on my way. Willow’s coming now. Throw everything you have at them. No mercy.’
I would have found
his words funny, as they echoed Jenner’s perfectly, if I hadn’t just taken a knee to the stomach. I rolled onto my side, clutching the Dragon Claw uselessly. The blows never stopped coming as both my back and my front received a flurry of hits.
Jenner was fighting hard, doing a far better job than I was. Still, he too fell victim to the sheer number of them. On his knees beside me, he groped for my hand.
The connection sent a surge of strength through me. I envisioned every vampire surrounding us flying backwards as if a bomb of power had gone off amid them, and then it happened. The power followed my intent, sending vampires sailing in several directions.
The simple act gave me a greater appreciation for Arys’s bloodline. Together we rose. Pain shot through my ankle, and I whimpered.
“Give it everything you’ve got,” Jenner ordered. “Don’t hold back.”
I struggled to fill my lungs with air. I ached in places I didn’t know could ache. Our reprieve was brief. For every vampire we killed or beat down, three more took its place.
The air moved unnaturally, and Willow appeared beside us. I breathed a sigh of relief. His silver wings flared wide, and he drove back the opposing vampires. I thought it was over, that he had saved me again. I thought wrong.
No sooner had Willow appeared than the air rippled once again, and Brook stood there smirking with black wings spread like shadows behind him.
“Sorry, Willow,” Brook said, his voice oily and his black eyes gleaming. “Can’t let you interfere this time.”
“That’s not your call to make.” Willow faced off with the demon. “Why concern yourself with the activity of vampires? What’s it to you?”
The remaining vampires still outnumbered us. They all seemed a little too pleased to see Brook, like they’d been expecting him.
“A shared interest.” Brook’s hateful gaze flicked to me and back to Willow. “They seek to keep her from rising to greater power as I seek to keep Shya from the same. Therefore, a partnership.”
Willow scoffed. “You’re all idiots. The only one that can keep Shya from rising to greater power is Alexa. You all need her. You should be backing her, not trying to kill her.”
Only one vampire dared to speak up. “We won’t be ruled by a hybrid. She isn’t worthy of being called one of us.”
“That’s because she’s not,” Willow snapped. “She’s better than every one of you. That’s why none of you will survive this night.”
Slow, even breaths. I had to make a conscious effort to keep breathing. Every intake of air was agony. I suspected that more than one of my ribs was broken.
Brook wasn’t interested in playful banter. He rushed Willow with a war cry. The impact as they collided produced an earth shattering boom.
It was all the vampires needed. Inspired by the demon’s actions, they came at us again. With Willow preoccupied, Jenner and I were left to defend ourselves.
We stuck together. I was careful to keep Jenner at my back so he wouldn’t accidentally come too close to the dagger. As I swung the deadly blade, I drew hard on the power I shared with Arys. It spilled into me like the breaking of a dam. Opening myself up to it, I felt that familiar rush and heard that white noise in my ears. It felt right, like it was me and I was it. I became one with the inhuman metaphysical entity as it thrummed through my mortal form.
The dagger fell from my grip as the force commanded me. With both hands outstretched before me, I unleashed a torrent of power. It cascaded over each vampire in turn, and like dominoes they all fell before me. Blood gushed from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. On their knees, some of them clawed desperately at the ground while others attempted to plead for forgiveness of their error. One by one they burst into ash and dust.
As great as my power was, it was only at half-mast without Arys. Drawing on him enabled me greater strength, but it was limited by my weakened mortal frame. Though most of the two dozen or so remaining vampires fell under my assault, not all of them were destroyed.
Jenner fought hard at my side. Many died at his hand, and as crazy as it seemed, he appeared to enjoy the fight. Brook and Willow were still engaged in a battle of wills, throwing one another around with ease. It was nothing more than a distraction meant to keep Willow from coming to my aid. It worked.
I saw Owen on the ground several yards away. He was bloodied and incoherent but alive. If I could get to him and make a circle, I could keep him safe.
That was easier said than done. I couldn’t stop the flow of energy that was coursing through me. When I tried to, I realized with great concern that it was running wild on its own accord. It was beyond my control.
It didn’t take long for my physical strength to fade. My body was not meant for a force this strong to last this long. With every vampire I took down I found it harder to focus, harder even to breathe. The wolf inside rebelled, seeking to break out. I fought back the beast, knowing I had no power in that form.
“Alexa, get up.” Jenner’s hand on my arm brought me back to myself. I hadn’t been aware I was on the ground. “It’s not over yet. I need you. Get up.”
He jerked me to my feet where I swayed, fighting to regain a sense of balance. Blood ran from my nose and a blinding pain smashed my skull behind my eyes. This was it. The moment Shya had feared. The power was going to kill me, and he was going to miss it.
A laugh sounded especially loud in my ears. I was vaguely aware that it was me. Jenner’s face swam into focus. He was bleeding from a gash on his forehead but otherwise looked pretty good.
A dizzy spell shook me and suddenly the ground was rushing up to meet me. Jenner kept me from hitting. Shaking me and shouting, he slapped my face. My eyes rolled back in my head, and I struggled to speak.
“Let go of me,” I gasped. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Before I could be sure he’d heard me, a vampire grabbed him from behind, and he was gone, fighting with an impressive command of both body and power. Never had I envied that until now, when my own mortal limitations threatened to kill me.
Arys’s voice echoed in my head. It hurt to have him there, breaking into my already tortured thoughts. His concern was heavy, but I couldn’t form a clear reply. It would take him a good thirty minutes to reach us. I would likely be dead by then.
The next few vampires that dared to come close enough to deliver a blow of any kind met a dusty end. The power went out from me, needing no direction. It was wild and erratic, targeting anyone who sought to harm me.
Unfortunately, for every vampire I destroyed, a piece of myself died too. As the power grew stronger, I grew weaker. The force needed me as a channel, and I was succumbing to the toll it was taking on me. My vision blurred, and my lungs burned. I collapsed heavily on the ground and prayed death would be swift. Anything to free me from this agony. The stabbing pain in my skull was too much.
Despite having kicked some serious ass, I wasn’t going to win this battle. The rebel vampires in their misguided quest had the advantage by having numbers and bodies that were beyond human mortality. Though there were very few of them left, the damage had been done.
I saw him coming. A dark haired, bearded vampire made his way toward me. Picking up my dagger, he smiled. I could only watch as he raised it high above my head. Cringing, I waited for the blow to land, hoping it would be fast.
A dark shape flew past me, hitting the vampire solidly in the chest. He hit the ground hard. A black wolf sat atop him, fangs tearing viciously through skin and tissue.
Raoul? My exhausted and wounded brain was momentarily confused. It was Owen, tearing my attacker’s throat out.
Using the last of my strength, I grabbed the dagger and swung, decapitating the vampire beneath Owen. He whirled to take on the next, but there was no one left standing. It had all happened so fast, and yet it felt like it had taken hours.
Owen came to me, his muzzle going crazy as he sniffed me, seeking out my various injuries. I clutched a handful of his thick, black fur and whimpered as my wolf sought to commu
nicate with him.
We were unknown to one another and yet he had come to my aid. After having the vampires renounce me as an unworthy hybrid, this meant a lot. If I survived to cry in relief about it later, I would.
Owen himself was fine for the most part. I slumped against him, thankful that Dayne could not hold the death of his enforcer against me. That would have blown my entire alliance plan to hell and back.
“Alexa?” Jenner knelt beside me. He took hold of my battered face and forced me to meet his gaze. A shiner outlined his left eye now. “Are you still with me? You’re not looking too hot, girl.”
I tried to speak, but the barest whisper came out. It hurt. I pressed my face into Owen’s fur and focused on his wolfish scent. He wasn’t my wolf, but it was a comfort just the same.
My eyes closed, and I waited for death to come. I was ready now.
‘Don’t you dare give up now.’ Arys’s demand broke through the fog in my head. ‘This isn’t how it ends. Remember?’
I smiled, and my face ached. ‘I remember.’
‘I’m coming for you, my wolf. You are not dying tonight.’
I believed him. Though I was ready for the crushing pain to be over, I knew he was right.
Jenner pulled me into his arms. “Take whatever you need. Blood, energy. Anything.”
Weakened as I was, just the mention of blood stirred my hunger. It wasn’t Jenner I wanted. It was mortal blood. Owen. The scent of heady shifter blood brought forth the bloodlust with a vengeance. I was too deteriorated to act as my hunger demanded.
It didn’t matter. The scent of sulfur brought with it Shya, standing over me in all of his unholy glory. I knew then that being dead was preferable to whatever he had planned for me.
“Enough,” Shya barked at Willow and Brook. With barely a gesture he separated them, violently flinging them apart.
His red gaze landed on Brook. Without a visible motion, he suddenly stood in front of the demon. Brook cowered before him.