Cass
Jameson left. He took a boat with Ulvic, Nadine and Mercy and headed off toward the horizon without sparing me another word. Night drew in and I didn't even bother to go wandering outside, despite the fact I'd been stuck in the house all day.
At least I know the truth now, I kept telling myself. It didn't help. In fact, nothing really helped. But I wasn't going to sit around and mope about being humped and dumped. It happened to plenty of girls. And Jameson had probably been responsible for a good portion of them.
The most gutting thing was, I'd bought into his act, even though I'd known from day one what he was after. Even though I'd considered he might do this, I'd never truly believed he would. Why had I been so damn stupid?
I lay in my favourite hammock on the common room balcony, swinging quietly back and forth, reading Wuthering Heights again. My eyes lingered on a quote; it was cutting and perfectly applicable to how I felt. I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death and flung it back at me.
My thoughts started to drift beyond this place. The Sanctuary didn't feel so homely right then. In fact, it was starting to feel smaller. And the idea of being there when Jameson returned, facing him every day, wasn't something I wanted to dwell on.
Perhaps I could head out into the world? Find somewhere new to live, then send word to Selena when she came home. God only knew where I'd go. I couldn't exactly head back to England and get a job in a coffee shop. But maybe I could head north, find somewhere the sun didn't shine all year round.
Selena had a new life to start with Varick anyway. And how long would they want to live in a house full of Immortals? They could go anywhere they wanted now. Buy a little house, start a family...
My stomach tugged uncomfortably. That was the kind of life I was never going to be privy to. Not unless Brendan ever let me take the cure. But it could be years before he refined it. If I left, I could stay in touch with him, come back when it was ready.
It wasn't just Jameson who had me wanting to leave, I'd gone through hell and back the past few weeks. Surely I deserved a bit of a break?
I dropped my legs over the hammock with the sole intention of packing a bag, when the balcony shuddered. The hairs on my arms prickled and stood to attention. I angled my ear toward the room below, hunting for the source of the vibration. Other Vampires were chattering down in the common room, evidently aware of the sensation, too.
I stood, walking to the edge of the balcony, gazing down at the crowd. Kodiak caught my eye from an armchair, his brow taut.
I placed my hand on the railing and a tremble tingled through my fingers.
“Drones!” someone yelled and movement flashed by the door. A Siren in a lacy mask ran into the room. “It's IDAHO!”
Before I could quite comprehend what I was hearing, the ceiling tore apart. My ears nearly bled from the sound that roared through the room. The world exploded around me as a bomb tore the place to pieces. I was thrown backwards by the blast, smashing into a bookshelf. Shreds of my favourite hammock scattered over me.
I rose to my feet and shards of wood and book pages cascaded to the floor. I was only upright for half a second before the balcony floor dropped violently away. I cried out, sliding across the smooth floorboards, shooting forward, catching the edge just before I fell. I dangled above the fiery common room, smoke billowing around me. Vampires were shouting out, telling everyone to hide.
My nails ripped through the jagged ledge of wood and it broke away in my palm. I yelped, even though I knew I could survive the fall. I hit the floorboards hard, dropping to a crouch, more gracefully than should have been possible.
Fire flared in front of me and I darted backwards at speed, my heart thumping out two hard beats.
What do I do?
A gash on my arm healed over as I turned my gaze to the sky. A loud, buzzing, thrumming noise filled the air and I gazed up at the black underbelly of a hovering drone.
Smoke was billowing through the hole in the roof. No – not smoke. Mist. A silvery fog was descending on us, filling the space. I covered my mouth, recognising it from the last V Games. If I breathed it in, I'd pass out.
“Cass!” Kodiak's voice caught my ear, sounding weak. I spotted him several feet away, bracing himself on his favourite armchair of gold and blue thread. His eyes unfocused as I ran toward him and he slumped backwards into it, unconscious.
A helicopter roared overhead and wind whipped violently around me, my hair flying about my shoulders. I heaved Kodiak into my arms, turning and running through the common room.
Ropes dropped to the floor before me, five, ten, twenty of them. I gritted my teeth, jumping over Vs' bodies, weaving through chairs. My clothes were being devoured by the fire, but the lick of the flames did nothing to my skin. I spotted Vampires in the corridor ahead, darting around the corner out of sight.
I increased my speed. A man landed before me dressed in riot gear, his face concealed by a huge, silver mask. Two beady eyes stared at me from within it.
I gasped, sucking in a mouthful of mist. Cursing myself, I stumbled back, adjusting Kodiak so he dangled over my shoulder instead.
“Get back!” I screamed, raising my free hand, ready to rip out this guy's throat.
He took a weapon from his belt: a gun. I moved in a flash, trying to snatch it, but he was as fast as I was, darting sideways, avoiding my attack.
My vision grew fuzzy from the amount of mist I'd breathed in.
My legs wobbled and a sharp kick to the back of my knees sent me sprawling. Kodiak fell heavily beside me, his arm tangled awkwardly around mine.
I pressed my palms to the floor, determination flooding through me. I wasn't going to be anyone's prisoner ever again. But the fingers wrapped in my hair made me doubt that. The slice of a needle in my neck tripled those doubts. And my vanishing vision confirmed I was completely, utterly wrong.
*★*
“She's waking up,” a female voice rolled into my ears, sounding strangely close and far away at once.
Pain burrowed into my chest, right into my heart. I tried to drag myself from the dark abyss I was lost in, but my eyes wouldn't open, my limbs wouldn't move.
“Increase the sedation,” a male voice answered and the world began to fade again.
A few more words followed me into oblivion, words I didn't understand but made fear spread through me like acid. “None of the others have survived the process...she probably won't make it either...”
*★*
Beep. Ba-Beep. Beep.
The repetitive noise woke me, but my eyelids felt too heavy to open. I was on my back. My wrists were clamped in cold buckles. It wasn't burning. So it couldn't be silver. And yet I was unable to break it. My heart was beating an unusual rhythm. Fast, then slow. Fast, then slow.
My body felt weighted with lead. I could taste something sharp on my tongue. Blood. I'd fed. But when? And why didn't it taste as sweet as usual?
A mechanical sound filled the air then footsteps drew close. “We're pulling her out of the coma slowly,” said the female voice I'd heard before. “Waking them up faster seemed to trigger some of the fatalities. Heart attacks, aneurysms. We've got a lot of dead bodies on our hands.”
Panic made my heart quicken, and the sound was echoed on the monitor. Beep-ba-beep-ba-beep.
“We've dealt with more than this in the past,” the male voice was cold, void of emotion. “Keep this one alive, Miss Rakefield. At all costs.”
“Yes, sir.” A hissing sound filled my senses then darkness pulled at me again.
“W-aai-t,” I slurred, my lips barely moving.
“Shh, rest now,” the woman whispered, her breath on my face. The lasting smell of peppermint followed me into the abyss.
*★*
My eyes flickered open, my lashes framing my vision. A glaring white light hung above me, burning my retinas. I squinted, trying to block out the blinding light. I was in a white-walled room full of expensive-looking medical equipment. My ears took in a hun
dred tiny sounds. The beeping of my heart monitor, someone dropping a pen beyond the room, the sticking of my dry lips to something plastic.
A sucking, hissing sound overrode it all. To my left was a ventilator, the huge machine looked like it had an accordion rising and falling inside it.
A tube was sticking out the corner of my mouth. A worried noise escaped me. I dropped my eyes to my chest which was covered by a sheet, but I could see it rising and falling in time with the ventilator. Why was someone making me breathe? Was I in a hospital?
I tugged at my wrists, but they were still bound. Why couldn't I break the binds? I tugged again and this time they gave a little.
“There, there, keep calm.” The woman from earlier entered and I finally put a face to her voice. She was blonde, a little plump and had warm, blue eyes. “No need to panic. I'm Nurse Rakefield, I'm here to look after you.”
“Yoush shure?” I asked around the tube. “Cosh I beg to differ.”
“I'm going to remove the breathing tube and we'll see how well you do on your own.”
I stared at her, wary as she approached. But I wanted that tube out of me. The more I thought about it, the more I could feel it running right down my oesophagus.
“Big cough,” she said, taking hold of it.
I glared at her for a second before complying. The tube slid out an inch, bringing some vile-looking mucus with it. “Once more,” she instructed and I did as she told me. The second it was free, I descended into a coughing fit. Rakefield quickly placed a bowl under my mouth, catching the yellow gunk that kept coming up from my lungs. I had to strain against my shackles to lean forward and ensure I didn't swallow it.
I wheezed as it stopped, gasping, my throat desperately dry.
“Drink.” She placed a glass of water beneath my nose and I gazed at it liked she'd just handed me a live kitten to eat.
“I can't,” I said, my voice raspy and raw.
She smiled, bringing the glass closer to my lips. “Trust me. You can.”
“No, you don't understand.” If I was in a hospital, how was I going to explain to a human that I couldn't drink water? I didn't think they'd be offering up the Type O with a straw on request.
“I do, my dear,” she said softly. “You're a Vampire. But things are different now.”
My eyes widened at her words. “What the hell is going on?” I demanded. My angry tone was somewhat lost by the fact my voice was hoarse as hell. I sounded like an eighty year old woman who smoked fifty a day.
“Just drink,” she pressed and I finally complied, unable to ignore my desert-dry mouth any longer.
I kept an eye on her as she helped me take a sip. Whoever this woman was, she was responsible for me being here. For kidnapping me. Which was just my goddamn destiny apparently.
The water filled my mouth, tasting heavenly. Better than any water I'd ever tasted. Fresh and crisp and almost sweet.
I tongued my fangs the moment I finished drinking. Definitely still there. So what on earth was going on?
“Good.” Rakefield promptly placed the glass down, then gently tugged back the sheet covering me.
I screamed. So loudly, so piercing that I would never, ever forget that noise. I was naked, but that wasn't the most pressing issue. Running from my sternum, right down to my navel was the most vile line of stitches I'd ever seen. Reddened and raised. I'd been cut open and sewn back together.
Panic consumed me. I writhed against my restraints. Tears forced their way from my eyes.
“What have you done to me?!” I screamed, unable to see through my tears.
“Hush now, we'll heal the scar today. We didn't see the point until we were sure the process had been successful.”
“What process?” I breathed, gazing down at my butchered body. Part of me didn't want to know what this woman had done to me.
“Shh,” she said, quietly taking a round tub from a trolley and opening it. The scent of jasmine filled my nose, floral and fresh. I instantly recognised the cream and frowned as Rakefield, pulled on a latex glove and dipped her fingers into it.
“This will sting a little,” she warned, then lowered her hand. I winced as she rubbed the cream into the inflamed skin, but a cooling sensation followed.
“Larkspur?” I questioned. “I don't understand.”
“You're a very lucky girl,” Rakefield said, offering me a little smile. “You're our first successful Hybrid of a Vampire and a Werewolf.”
Her words didn't quite compute. “What?” I blinked heavily, coming over dizzy. The pain was ebbing away as she applied the cream, but nausea was taking its place.
“I'll remove the stitches once you've healed a little more. Around ten minutes or so. Will you be alright until then?”
“Why are you acting so calm? Explain what the hell you've done to me!” I screamed, my burning throat protesting.
She frowned and little lines appeared around her eyes. “I'll make you up a Larkspur solution for your throat.”
“You're not listening to me,” I growled through my teeth.
Rakefield tugged the sheet up to conceal my nakedness. “Sweetie, you're our little miracle of the day. You're the first Werewolf-Vampire Hybrid we've ever successfully made.”
My brows lowered. I tried to absorb what she'd said, but my brain wouldn't process the words. “Hybrid?” I echoed.
“Yes, you now have a brand new heart.” She beamed and I noticed her teeth slightly overlapped at the front.
I gazed at her, dumbstruck.
“A Werewolf heart,” she continued, pressing her hand to my forehead as if concerned. “Your temperature is a touch high. But perhaps that's normal. We're not sure how your gifts will be affected yet. We'll run some tests later today.” She moved to leave.
“Wait!” I gasped, horrified. “Why would you do this to me?” I demanded, disgusted that she'd mutilated me. And terrified of what had happened to the others. Had everyone from The Sanctuary been taken? She'd said people had died. What if my friends had been amongst them?
“You're now a patient here at IDAHO. We help Immortals like yourself reach their full potential.”
“How is this helping me? You've butchered me!” My pulse rose and heat flooded my veins in waves, my heart monitor was off the charts. It didn't feel right. None of it felt right.
Rakefield eyed me hopefully. “I do wonder if you'll be able to turn. It's rather exciting, isn't it?” She exited the room, and I answered the closing door with a furious scream.
Fear gripped my chest. Had my heart really been replaced? It felt different, it beat different. It definitely wasn't mine anymore. Was my own heart sitting in a jar somewhere?
I fell back against my pillows, nausea consuming me. I tried to fight it away and clear my thoughts, but it was nearly impossible.
I must be brave. I have to find a way out of here.
Jameson
The boat journey was predictably grim. But the catamaran was large enough that I could escape Ulvic most of the time. I kept to the bow during the day. It wasn't just Ulvic I was avoiding, it was Nadine. Every time I saw her I was filled with the urge to flirt, to kiss her, to press her against me. But internally, I was fighting every move my body made. I was trapped. In more ways than one. My body was a prison. And I couldn't even tell anyone what Ulvic had done to me.
Footsteps padded behind me and I caught Mercy's scent before she arrived. “Are you okay?” she asked, the sunlight catching in her golden locks. She looked different these days. She didn't wear makeup anymore and her clothes were simple, plain. She didn't want people looking at her like they used to, that was obvious. Specifically, men.
“No,” I admitted. My throat tightened when I tried to elaborate. I settled on sighing, resting my elbows on the railing.
Mercy laid a hand on my arm. “We'll get your friends back.”
Of course she thought that was why I was upset. Which it was partly. But mostly because I was a slave again, and that I feared what Ulvic could make me do.
>
I lifted a brow, turning to Mercy. “I'm surprised you agreed to help.”
She glanced away, her baby blue irises glazing over. “I felt like an outcast at The Sanctuary. At least here I can do something useful.”
My mouth twitched into a small smile, but my heart was too heavy for my usual grin. The only thing keeping me going was the fact that if I simply saw this mission through, I could figure out a way to kill Ulvic, break this bond between us. Then I'd be free. I could return to Cass and explain everything. Ulvic wasn't going to make that easy. And while I was in his company I was a servant to him. But somehow, I would bloody free myself.
“You seem kind of...off.” Mercy's eyes narrowed on me.
I nodded, my eyes pinned on where the sun was sinking toward a dark patch of land on the horizon. The sky was painted in strokes of mauve and deep pink, the colours melting into the water beneath it. I'd always loved a sunset. But now it might as well have been monochrome, for how many craps I gave about it.
We were heading into the Baltic sea, closing in on Norway. I didn't much care where we were going. All I knew, was that when I got there I'd be ripping off as many heads as it took to save Mekiah and Reason. The sooner we got them back, the sooner I could work out a way to escape.
“Hey, I made some lunch,” Nadine's soft voice bit into me. I stiffened automatically, fighting the urges already growing inside me. I'd never really known how deep Ulvic's 'pack leader commands' bullshit could go. But it turned out, it ran deep. Bone-deep. Soul-effing-deep. Deep enough to invade my goddamn emotions.
It wasn't Nadine's fault. But her presence made me want to knock myself out, just so I didn't have to witness my body doing what it was gonna do. Whether I liked it or not.
I turned, finding her holding out a tray of sandwiches, her brows tilted up. “Hungry?” she asked, giving me a knowing smile.
A grin took my mouth hostage. “Ravenous.” I moved toward her, slinking an arm around her narrow waist. “You should eat more,” I said seriously. “You've lost weight.”
Wolf Games (The Vampire Games Book 4) Page 5