Furbidden Mate

by Jessica Snow

  “I… I’m free,” Violet said, raising her head. A slightly bloody tear trickled down her face, and she smiled at McKenzie. “Thank you, McKenzie. My nightmare is over.”

  McKenzie understood, saying nothing. In the moments that their minds have been joint, she had absorbed the horror that had been Violet’s transformation into a vampire. The way she had been ripped from her bed by pale, cold hands and hauled against her will in front of Viktor, who after turning her ordered her to serve him in his bedroom as well as his most loyal servant. Centuries of hatred, of being taken by a being that she despised… and now she was free. There was no way to communicate that sort of emotion, not in words.

  “Our nightmare isn’t over yet,” Annabelle said. “Viktor is still alive. Daisy… whoever the hell you are, will you help me kill him? Maybe I don’t want to die yet, maybe I’ll wait until I’ve lived a normal life span before I decide to go see a sunrise, but the first thing on I’m doing is killing that motherfucker. McKenzie, you think you could use a backup?”

  McKenzie nodded, looking at Daisy and Violet who nodded as well. “Let’s go kick his ass.”

  Theon growled, and bent down, picking up one of the other shattered chair legs and brandishing it. “Not unless I get to him first. He is a vampire Lord, from a very powerful sire, you’re going to need help.”

  Reba meowed, and McKenzie looked down. Help we’ve got. Let’s go find your sister.

  Chapter 58

  It was surreal. Every step that Liam took, his senses were being assaulted by things that were telling him that he needed to get out of there. The air reeked of the ashy, pale odor of vampires, while the walls dripped with their essence. This was beyond the Gothic nightclubs, beyond the area that any vampire would let a human come without them being their own prey. This was where the vampires existed for ages, and where his own werewolf instincts told him he should not be. One sniff of the air around him told him that he was outnumbered at incalculable odds. It was making him jumpy, and he could see on Zack and Carly’s faces that they were feeling the exact same way.

  Even Ashley, who was normally as unflappable in combat as a stone, looked nervous as they took another set of stairs down. Liam didn’t know how far they were underneath the earth now, the tunnels were a labyrinth. More than once he had lost his mate’s scent and had to backtrack, time seeming to both creep by as well as rush by, he couldn’t be sure he wasn’t too late even now. The amount of time it was taking, more than anything else, increased their nervousness.

  “This is really getting fucking tiresome,” Carly said nervously. “Why won’t they at least fight us? I can smell them all around us.”

  “Keep it together, Carly,” Liam said. “We’ve known for years that these catacombs extended all around the city, and we’ve known for years that they’d outnumber us in a fight down here. I don’t want a pitched battle, we’re here to get our people out. I’d rather not take on the entire vampire population of Bone City doing that.”

  There was a room up ahead, and Liam held his hand up to stop the group. Creeping slowly towards the opening, Liam opened the door, his claws already extended just in case there was a vampire nearby. Instead, he was greeted with the first sight of joy in hours, as he saw his beautiful Kat in a cage, her eyes turned towards him. “Kat!”

  A trio of familiar whines came to his ears and he turned his head, seeing Elizabeth and the triplets in the cage next to Kat, perplexing him. “Lizzie? What are you guys doing here?”

  “Liam!” Carly said urgently behind him, and he saw her and Zack struggling to free his mother from her silvery crucifixion. Liam crossed the dungeon in two steps, seizing one of the pegs in his head and wrenching it out of the post they’d strung Victoria up on, Zack getting the other before she sagged into Carly’s arms, and they laid her out on the ground. Carly found the catch and took off her silver spiked choker, throwing it away in disgust. “Aunt Victoria?”

  Zack bent his head to her chest, listening. “Her heart’s still beating, her regeneration should kick in now that the silver’s out of her. Let’s get the others free.”

  Liam, Zack, and Carly attacked the cages, the locks snapping under the combined yank from three werewolves, and Liam embraced Kat, both of them doing their best not to let their emotions overwhelm them. Together, they quickly freed Elizabeth and the man that was obviously Big Mike, although Liam could tell that after spending so many months in Warden and vampire custody, he wasn’t sure if the man could classify himself as big anymore. “Sir, I’m Liam Greyson, and I guess…”

  Mike cut him off with a casual wave of his hand. “Son, it’s good to meet you, but let’s save the formal crap until we get out of here. Tend to your mother. And where’s my other daughter? And my wife?”

  Liam told them about the trapdoor, and Kat and her father exchanged looks. “That must’ve been what pulled Violet away a few hours ago, she said something about a visitor. We need to find them.”

  “What about Victoria?” Carly asked. “She doesn’t look like she’s strong enough to fight. And we sure as hell can’t leave her here.”

  “I… I’ll be fine,” Victoria rasped, her eyes fluttering open as she awoke. “Now that the silver is out of me, I should be able to regenerate. Just don’t ask me to be doing anything Olympic level anytime soon.”

  “No, Mom,” Liam said, helping his mother to her feet. “Actually, what I need you to do is watch the triplets. You and Elizabeth keep them between you, and maybe you too, Mike. No offense but you look like you’ve been through hell, and I’m not sure you’re strong enough to handle a transformation or a fight right now.”

  Big Mike looked like he was about to argue but then nodded his head. He looked over at his daughter and smiled gently. “Seems like your man knows a little bit more about us than I thought he would. All right, I guess grandma and grandpa get to play babysitter. Victoria, is it?”

  Victoria nodded before the alpha female and one of the last werebears shook hands. Zack interrupted his voice tense. “Guys, this is all well and good, but where the fuck is McKenzie? We have to find her.”

  “We stick together, Zack, and we will find her,” Kat said. “I know you care for her, but she’s my sister. There’s nobody that cares for her more than I do. Besides, knowing her power, we might just have to follow the explosions.”

  The group moved off, Zack and Carly taking the lead for front security while Ashley covered the rear, keeping Elizabeth, Victoria, Big Mike, and the triplets between them. Liam exchanged glances with Kat, wondering just how much she information she had exchanged with her father in the time that they were both captives. He guessed it didn’t really matter, although this was a hell of a way to meet his mate’s father.

  The corridor continued for a distance before making a T-stop, Zack and Carly pausing to look in each direction. Liam approached them, dropping his voice to a whisper. “What do you sense?”

  “This way, there’re a lot of vampires, more than I can give you a count on,” Zack said, pointing to his left. “But to the right, I’m getting a smell I’ve never gotten before. It’s like a vampire, but it’s amped somehow, like whatever is that direction is really powerful, but there’s only one. I don’t know which direction to go.”

  Liam thought, then pointed to his left. “I don’t care how strong he is, I’d rather take on one than a couple dozen. You guys be ready to transform but stay in human form for as long as possible. These walls are way too damn tight for us in wolf form.”

  The corridor continued, before opening into what could only be described as a throne room. A rich chair made of what looked like gold and maybe obsidian sat against the wall, and in the chair sat a creature that Liam wasn’t sure just how old it was. He looked like he was perhaps in his middle fifties, lounging against the padded back of his throne, his body clad in black trimmed in purple and blood red, but he gave off a presence that was older than time itself somehow. “Welcome to my throne room. Glad to see that you didn’t need a further escort. Ho
wever, I can see in your eyes that you don’t have polite intentions in mind, so...”

  The man snapped his fingers, and suddenly from hidden doors, nearly two dozen vampires appeared, enveloping Liam and his people. Liam and Kat circled, keeping the triplets in the middle of their group as Ashley raised her shotgun, her eyes showing no fear at all. “You have no idea what not polite can be,” Ashley hissed, Liam added his own threatening menacing growl. “Liam, you want me to perforate these fuckers?”

  “Let’s see if… Viktor is a reasonable being,” Liam said, extending his claws. “It is King Viktor, correct? I doubt a creature as powerful as you would be anyone else.”

  “Quite so,” Viktor said, sitting up and bowing mockingly. “And I have no wish to kill you if I don’t need to. It wouldn’t be worth the effort to my guards to dismember you. If anything, the cleanup would be more trouble than the actual fight.”

  “Who are we to inconvenience you?” Kat fumed. “I’ll make you an offer then. Point us the direction to my sister, and I’ll let you and your people live. I’ve got no beef with you beyond the fact that you keep fucking with our lives. Leave us in peace, and I’ll leave you in peace.”

  Viktor thought about it for a moment, then shook his head, laughing under his breath. “You know, when I first heard about you, Katerina, I was sure that you were more myth than legend. A bear, after all these years? The most powerful being from the light side, and apparently living in my city for years without me knowing about it. I must say, I was highly displeased when I found out, and I punished the appropriate members of my coven for their oversight. But… I took advantage of the events as only I can. Centuries of tactical experience can far outstrip physical advantages. But still, I seek more than just experience. I want total power.”

  “Hmm... megalomaniacal king who wants total power. Who else saw that one coming?” Liam growled, assuming a combative stance. “Nobody can hold total power, not even an alpha.”

  “And I am far more than a pathetic wolf alpha,” Viktor replied. “Enough with the banter, I tire of this. Here is your ticket out of here, and my offer is non-negotiable. Katerina, if you and your father both submit to my will and become my mentally bound servants, I will let the rest of your pack go. If not… I will kill the abominations that you call children. Wolf-near hybrids… disgusting.”

  Liam was about to attack when a sound came from down another corridor, and Theon, holding Reba in his arms, appeared along with three women, dragging a struggling McKenzie with them. “My King, just a moment!”

  Viktor paused, tilting his head. “Theon. Where is Cole? Ah well, it’s no matter. I see you’ve gotten the witch. And her familiar, I assume?”

  “Yes. She put up a fight, wounding Cole, but we were able to subdue her. We bring her to you as a gift and an offering. Highness, she is more than a witch,” Theon said, and Kat surged forward, three vampires rushing to grab her and restrain her as she screamed.

  “You bastard, Theon! I’ll tear your fucking head off!” Kat screamed, and Liam was about to fight to free her when five of the guards raised weapons, their silver spears pointed directly at his throat and he froze.

  “Kat, wait!” Liam said.

  “You should listen to your mate,” Theon said, and Liam froze when Reba turned her head towards them and actively winked at them. Kat also saw the wink and sagged, putting her trust in her mother. Theon turned back to Viktor, setting Reba down. “There is something else about the witch you should know, my Lord. In addition to being a blood offering to you… she’s a virgin.”

  Viktor grinned, tenting his fingers underneath his chin. Liam watched in horror as the struggling McKenzie was dragged in front of the vampire king, and even Reba was powerless to do anything about it, staying near her daughter’s legs, but nothing more. Viktor put his finger underneath McKenzie’s chin, lifting her to look him in the eyes. “An eternal virgin bride for me, to break in eternally night after night? Oh Theon, you have pleased me very, very much. I wonder, will her magic survive her changing? It is no matter, she is lovely as she is now. Very well, after her sister gives me her answer, we shall get to know each other better.”

  Chapter 59

  Kat struggled against the powerful, cold hands that gripped her arms and shoulders. Despite the wink she imagined her mother had given her, hearing Viktor’s words was too much, she couldn’t be sure that whatever scheme Reba was trying to warn her about could work, and she released all her rage and anger in a single burst of emotion. With a powerful roar, she felt her body start to shift as she threw one of the vampire guards across the room, his head impacting with the stone walls so hard that his skull shattered and he turned into ash. She swung another mighty paw, the razor-tipped claws of rending vampire flesh from vampire bone, but there were so many of them that she could not make progress.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw Liam, Zack, and Ashley leap into action, attacking the vampire guards with every skill that they had. Meanwhile, Carly transformed, dropping into a protective stance around Victoria, Elizabeth, her father, and her children. “Get them the hell out of here!” Liam yelled to his cousin. “We’ll find you!”

  Kat didn’t have time to see if Carly obeyed her cousin’s orders, as she swung her paws, again and again, thunderous blows smashing into vampires that tried to attack her. One of the guards tried to shoot his weapon, a crossbow, but before he could pull the trigger Ashley actually tore him to pieces with her own shotgun, which was specially outfitted with wooden flechette darts instead of normal lead pellets, the vampire's body looking like it had been pierced by a thousand toothpicks momentarily before it turned into dust. Kat roared, surging towards her sister and the vampire king, but another vampire jumped towards her, and she was fighting for her life.

  Suddenly, McKenzie raised her eyes even more than what Viktor had forced her to do, and Kat could see her stare the vampire king in his face. Unknown words of ancient origin flowed from her mouth in a dusty, powerful stream, and somehow a beam of light started to flow from Viktor through McKenzie, and down into Reba. The cat glowed for a moment before shimmering and stretching, becoming before Kat’s very eyes, her mother. Viktor staggered to fall back into his throne chair, and Kat understood what McKenzie had done. With the physical contact between her and the vampire creating a link, she had used his almost limitless dark life energy as the fuel to reverse the spell that had been cast on Reba years ago.

  “That feels a hell of a lot better,” Reba said, her eyes blazing. She raised her hands and from each of her fingers, light began to spring, more intense than anything McKenzie had ever produced before. McKenzie, for her part, created great targeted gusts of wind that swept the vampires off of Liam and Zack, making them easy targets for Reba’s beams of light. New hope came to Kat’s heart when she saw the vampire guards impaled upon purifying light, and suddenly Liam dropped to his hands and feet, rippling as he transformed into his wolf form.

  Before that hope could bloom too greatly, though, fresh guards poured from the passageways. Still, they were nothing compared to the combined forces of two witches, a werewolf, and one very pissed off Kat in bear form. Zack joined in as well, but with a growl that even she understood, Liam ordered him back to defend Carly and the others while they took care of business. With a menacing growl that was born of a thousand generations of alpha wolf males, Liam stared at Viktor, even as Kat tore the head off the last of his guards.

  “Very impressive,” Viktor said, standing up. His eyes began to glow, and his teeth extended far beyond his bottom lip, almost all the way to his chin as the vampire king assumed his true form. “But that was just my guards. Sometimes, you have to keep true power to yourself.”

  Liam leaped at Viktor but was met with a thunderous backhanded slap that sent him flying into the stone walls, his shoulder breaking audibly before he crumpled to the ground. Kat roared in anger again as she stepped forward, swinging her paws as fast and as powerfully as she could. She could feel her sister and her mother trying
to send bolts of energy towards Viktor, to keep him pinned down so that Kat could damage him, but the vampire king was so fast that even their magical speed was somehow unable to keep up with his attacks. He was little more than a dark blur in the throne room, and Kat was hard-pressed to keep herself from being overwhelmed by his claws and fangs. He was powerful too, far more powerful than any wolf Kat had fought, making her stagger even as she blocked some of his attacks. Liam recovered, and jumped at Viktor again, while at the same time Kat threw another slashing blow with her left paw towards him, hoping to catch him in between their dual attacks. Kat was shocked however when Viktor caught both of them with one hand, and twisted, throwing them over his shoulder and sending them flying across the room. She crashed into the stonework, the impact stunning even her powerful bear body.

  “Magnificent,” Viktor gloated as he stared at his fallen foes. “Perhaps even, in time, the two of you might have been powerful enough to harm even me. It will be a shame to end your lives and trust me I will not be bringing you back. That much strength, that much force of will is not an acceptable risk to keep underneath my roof. Do you want me to give you a bit of advice? I’m sure you’re wondering right now, why is it that vampires don’t just take over the whole world? After all, you two can’t stop me. I’m not even the strongest vampire in existence, I’m sure my sire is still out there somewhere. And her sire was one of the Ancients, vampires so strong and so powerful that they would make me seem like nothing more than a mere child. So, why do we not just take over?”