We Shall Rise

by J. E. Hopkins

  “That’s exactly why I have to do this. He is too dangerous. All of us together wouldn’t have the power to stop him. I need to get him away from the others.”

  “We’ll do it together.”

  Reysa appreciated Kaden’s valiant attempt to stand by her side, but this was not a time for chivalry. “You will just make it worse. Christian isn't exactly a fan of yours. I’m sure his beast likes you even less. You’re a threat that he will eliminate with ease if you get in his way. He won’t kill me.”

  “Maybe Christian wouldn’t hurt you, but Christian isn’t in control of that thing out there. I don’t trust that beast.”

  Reysa sighed in frustration. Kaden was partly right, but it didn’t matter. She had no other choice and time was running out. She turned to Alejandro who seemed to know exactly what she needed.

  “I’m sorry Kaden, but I don’t have time to argue with you about this. Forgive me.”

  Kaden reached for her, but Alejandro stalked behind him and stabbed him in the neck with a long needle. Reysa caught him and laid him on the ground.

  “The tranquilizer should keep him out for at least ten to fifteen minutes. I suggest you get started. When he wakes, he will come after you—after both of you and if Christian is still shifted, Kaden won’t survive the encounter.”

  Reysa knew Alejandro was right. She needed to move. She motioned to Anastasia who had gathered the girls.

  “Reysa are you sure about this?” Anastasia asked. “Are you sure he won’t hurt you?”

  Reysa wasn’t so sure, but she knew it didn’t matter. Her course of action was the same. “I just hope he doesn’t for his sake. He would never forgive himself if he hurt me.”

  Reysa yelled out to Christian. She needed to focus him on her and her alone. She closed her eyes and released her scent. A swath of pheromones filled the air headed straight towards Christian. He roared in acknowledgment as his amber eyes zeroed in on her. She was his sole target now. “Give us a five minute head start, Alejandro, and then follow behind us. Don’t engage unless it looks like he may cause some permanent damage. Tranq him with all you’ve got. Hopefully that will slow him down a little.” She could see the look of doubt in Alejandro’s eyes. “This is the only option.”

  “You’ve lost blood. You’re weak.”

  “I’m strong enough.” Reysa removed her knee length coat, turned and ran with all the supernatural speed she had left in her down the mountain range. She heard Christian’s roar as he chased her. Lycans loved to chase their prey and she had made herself his target.

  She could sense he was close behind. Trees bristling in the background as she shoved through the forests of Lake Tahoe. Even if she had her full strength, she could not outrun him.

  Tonight, her tank was practically on empty as she panted, harshly trying to catch her breath and keep her balance. He could always catch her. Just like when they were children, no matter how far she ran and how fast she moved, Christian was always there lurking in the background so close behind her, but never surpassing her. He always allowed her to take the lead and never allowed her to fall behind him. That was his way of protecting her. He had her back since they were kids.

  Reysa was determined to help him find his way back. She would risk anything and everything for him as he had done for her all their lives. She just needed to get him far enough away from the others, especially Kaden. She hated having Alejandro drug him, but there was no choice. Kaden would follow and try to stop Christian, but he didn’t understand there was no stopping Christian when he was like this. He would kill Kaden and Reysa knew she would die as well if not physically, mentally and emotionally as all would be lost. Her heart would no longer beat without Kaden and if Christian were the one to kill him, she would lose him too. Their relationship couldn’t survive this. This would be the one thing they couldn’t come back from. No matter how much she tried to fight it, Kaden was becoming an indispensible part of her life. Denying it was pointless. The truth was buried in her soul, no matter the lies her mouth uttered. Kaden was the one. He was her mate. May the gods help them both.

  As she approached the lake, she tripped over a tree limb and landed face-first at the lake’s edge. “I can’t believe I fell like some sorry chick in a B-rated horror flick.” Reysa tried to stand, but Christian pounced knocking her into the lake.

  He watched as she crawled out and scrambled to her feet, which suddenly felt like lead. Her body ached all over as she as still losing blood from the bullet wound despite the bandage she used to conceal it. Reysa regretted not eating when she had the chance. It had been days since she last had blood. She could last longer than a pureblood vampire, but she spent too much energy today and had not replenished. She was no challenge for Christian.

  He made no motion to approach her. He just leered at her with those unblinking penetrating amber eyes. She hoped he was finally seeing her and that he would regain his control. She stretched her arms out in front him, a gesture showing her capitulation. “Christian, babe, it’s me. It’s Reysa. Your Reysa. I need you to come back to me. I know you’re in there somewhere. Let me help you find your way out.”

  For a moment she caught a hint of recognition, but then those eyes turned dark and the beast leapt towards her taking her to the ground before she had a chance to escape. He knocked her flat on her back causing her to whack her head on a rock. Blood oozed from the wound as Reysa’s head pounded.

  Christian launched himself on top of her pinning her to the ground. He bared his long sharp teeth showing his domination. She was his. He had won.

  Reysa tried to dematerialize, but she couldn’t muster the strength. She was trapped. Christian flipped her on her stomach and then forced her on her knees. He scraped his claws along her back shredding the back of her shirt. It dropped to the ground leaving her naked from the waist up. Reysa’s instincts were to fight him, but her body did not have the strength to free her from him. Fighting him would just make him more vicious. Sometimes it was easier to submit, even though that was against her nature.

  She tried one last attempt as he ran his sharp claws along her backside. “Mark me,” she whispered. His hand stilled. This time, she said the words louder. “Mark me. That’s what you guys do when you find your woman. Mark me. Make me yours.”

  He dug his claws in her aching right shoulder, ensuring she could not move. She called out to him one more time begging Christian to hear her plea. He sank his teeth in her left shoulder marking her as his.

  He released her with a shudder as if trying to erase the taste of her from his mouth. He backed towards a tree watching her as he shook convulsively.

  Reysa heard Alejandro appear, but she raised her hand to stop him from approaching. She slowly tried to pull herself upright the pain in both her arms making it difficult.

  Christian’s body started to transform. His body flashed from beast to man from man to beast as his bones snapped back in place. Within a few moments, it was no longer the beast shuddering in the corner, but a naked Christian shivering uncontrollably.

  He looked so lost and desolate that Reysa’s heart ached for him. She grabbed what was left of her shirt and wrapped it around herself. “Well, this makes a nice bikini top,” she joked hoping to lighten the mood but Christian was too distraught to respond. Reysa used the last of her reserves to crawl over to him.

  “I-I hurt you,” he acknowledged, the melancholy in his voice bringing tears to Reysa’s eyes.

  “I’ll survive.” She reached for him, but he tried to pull away. She grabbed his face forcing him to see her. “Don’t you dare push me away! I’m fine, Christian. No permanent damage. Nothing a little blood can’t cure. Don’t make this into something it’s not. We’ll get past this.”

  “What if I can’t?”

  “You have to.” Christian was feeling sorry for himself, but Reysa would not allow him to use that as an excuse to sever the bond between them. “You have to do that for me. I need you. I can’t lose you. That’s not an option for me.”
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  “I almost forced you. I couldn’t stop. I kept hearing you call out to me and I wanted to find my way to you but I couldn’t. Forgive me,” a tearful Christian begged.

  She pulled him into her arms cradling his limp body against her chest. “There’s nothing to forgive. Not between us. Christian, I know that you would never intentionally hurt me. I love you always. You’re my best friend always. You could only hurt me by abandoning me. There’s not enough blood in the world to help me heal from a broken heart, so I beg you don’t break mine because of some misplaced guilt.”

  She held him tightly urging him to return the embrace. He eventually surrendered to the comfort of her arms and wrapped his arms around her.

  Christian pulled away cupping her face in his hands. “You need to feed. My blood is ok. They didn’t drug me. They didn’t have enough time to experiment directly on me.”

  Reysa’s fangs sprung eager for the sustenance Christian could provide. “Hungry girl, aren’t you?” Christian joked.

  Reysa smiled a little, embarrassed that her hunger was so obvious. Christian’s blood was strong and would heal her battered body quickly.

  He pulled her head down towards his neck urging her to bite. She did and she immediately felt her body strengthening.

  Her fangs receded as she rested her head on his shoulder allowing her body to fully heal. Christian held her tightly resting his head on top of hers. They had weathered this storm. They would get past this even though it would take some time for him to make peace with what he had done, what he almost did to her.

  “Sorry to interrupt this tender moment, but I actually thought you might be in trouble.” Reysa rose to her feet and faced a seething Kaden.

  “I needed blood,” Reysa explained. Her senses had been so weak that she hadn’t felt Kaden’s arrival. She really needed rest.

  Kaden could see the weariness in her body. Reysa followed his eyes and crossed her arms over her chest covering herself from his perusal. She wasn’t particularly shy, but his eyes were making her too uncomfortable.

  Kaden snarled as he stared at the remnants of her shirt barely covering her full breasts. Blood stains marred her delicate flesh. There was no doubt that Christian had hurt her, yet he still found her in his arms. Rather than beating him to a pulp like she handled those demons, she was nestled in his arms pressed up against his naked body as if she belonged there. That’s what hurt the most. The realization that maybe she did. He was the one that was the intruder. She was exactly where she belonged—where she wanted to be. But she belonged with him. This pup would not steal her away.

  Kaden launched his right boot into the side of Christian’s face snapping the lycan’s neck violently to the side. Christian shook it off, making no move to defend himself. He just sat there staring straight ahead as if Kaden’s boot barely nipped him.

  Reysa jumped between them and shoved Kaden back. Christian still was not fully in control. It was a full moon, his emotions were raw. He could shift again if provoked. Kaden was playing a most dangerous game with all of their lives.

  “You defend him after what he did to you?” Kaden’s rage rippling in a wave of fire along his skin.

  “I’m fine. Everything is under control. I was a little weak and Christian offered me his blood. Let’s not make an issue out of nothing.”

  “It seems like I’m always finding you in the arms of another man and it’s always innocent. At least that’s what you keep saying.”

  “Kaden, it’s the truth. I swear to you. I can understand how this must look, but don’t make more out of it than necessary. Christian has been the most important person in my life since I was a child. I had to do whatever it took to help him.”

  “He always will be, won’t he? It always comes back to him. What won’t you do for him? You’re even willing to fuck him into obedience.” Kaden knew he was out of line with that comment but seeing her in his arms like that set him off. Her defense of Christian time and time again was too much for his fragile ego. He was tired of playing second fiddle to Christian. This guy could do no wrong and in her eyes Kaden did everything wrong. She would never choose him over that damned dog, no matter how much he hurt her.

  Reysa’s temper erupted. “Nothing like that happened. This is ridiculous. You have to trust me. If not, there’s no hope for us. I shouldn’t have to defend myself and my relationships to you over and over again. This is certainly not the time for this. You have no idea what we just went through. The last thing I need is a jealous temper tantrum.”

  “Maybe I would have had a better understanding of what you just went through had you not drugged me and left me behind so you could go off and rescue your precious puppy.”

  Alejandro dropped from the tree. He had stayed in the shadows for much of this, but he did not like the rising anger he sensed. “I was the one who drugged you. Do not take it out on her.”

  “Another one of your men here to defend your honor.” Kaden glared at Alejandro. “She wanted you to do it and of course like a good little kitten, you complied.”

  “It was necessary,” Alejandro offered, not allowing Kaden to evoke his anger. “Reysa was the only chance to help Christian find his way back. Your interference would have made it impossible.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not going to interfere anymore.” Kaden stormed off ignoring Reysa’s calls as she urged him to come back.

  Chapter 7

  “So how are you feeling this morning?” Reysa asked as she strolled into Christian’s room. It had been two days since they rescued him from the demons. Two days since Kaden walked out. No. She refused to think about him right now. He had acted like a jealous stubborn jerk. She was tired of defending herself and her relationships to him. If they had any hope, he needed to learn to trust her. She would never abandon her family or friends.

  She crawled into Christian’s California king size bed. He still looked so weary, but she doubted it was from any physical injury. She could still see the dreaded guilt in his eyes.

  “Never better, princess,” he smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his usually sunny eyes. They were just words to pacify her. All she wanted was to take his pain away. She missed his smile, and childish sense of humor. She missed his laughter. She missed her best friend. He was erecting this wall between them, but she would not allow it. She would claw her way through every day no matter how long it took.

  “I finally convinced Tatiana to go to school. She pouted the whole time, but I told her she couldn’t stay with you twenty-four-seven. You’ve really spoiled her rotten. She’s totally attached to you. I can't compete for her attention when it comes to you. You’re such a great father.”

  “Am I?” Christian questioned. The doubt echoed in his voice.

  “Of course you are!” Reysa spoke with a conviction that left no room for doubt. “Can’t you see how much that child adores you?”

  “That’s because she doesn’t know the real me. The crazed lycan who nearly raped her mother.”

  “Don’t ever say that. You didn’t hurt me, Chris.”

  Christian stood up needing to keep his distance from her. “But I could have. I wanted to—at least the monster inside of me did.”

  “But you didn’t Christian. You were stronger than the beast. You controlled him.”

  “It was your blood. It eased the insanity inside of me. Finally, I could truly see you and when I realized what I was about to do, I wanted to die. I would rather than die than hurt you.”

  Reysa eased off his bed and approached him cautiously. “You’ve spent your entire life seeing the beast as your enemy. It’s become the part of you that needs to stay hidden. Maybe it’s time you let him out. Maybe it just needs to be free once in a while. No animal wants to be caged all the time.”

  Christian looked at her incredulously. “You just saw what happened when I let him out or rather it forced its way out. Do you think it’s a good idea for me to unleash that evil around our family, around our daughter?”

  “Not now, bu
t when you learn to control him, it will be safer for him and for you.” Reysa rested her hands on his bare shoulders. “You have to stop seeing it as evil. It’s just another part of you and you’re the best man I’ve ever known. You have the kindest heart and soul. That goodness could control any darkness inside the beast. You just need to learn. I know how hard it was for you when we were kids. You never let it show, but I knew you were lonely. You needed to be around your kind and I couldn’t make up for that loss, no matter how hard I tried. Neither could Savannah. You needed the lycans. They rejected you because you were a hybrid. They cast you aside and refused to help you. But that was a different time. What if we could find a strong lycan who would help you now? Teach you the things you needed to learn as a young man.”

  Christian stepped aside and flopped down on his bed. For so long he had wished for what Reysa now offered, but he made peace with the realization that no lycan would truly accept him. They would tolerate him, but never welcome him to their clans. He could not change for them or pretend to be something he wasn’t. The vampire blood he possessed was just as much a part of him as the lycan blood. Together it created this unique breed that didn’t fit into either race. He truly was a misfit—an immortal with no home, no place. If only he could find another like him, but he had yet to meet another. He was alone in his immortality, but thanks to that gorgeous lady standing in front of him, he would never be alone in this life.

  “If you know of someone willing to help me, I’ll take it. It’s a bit embarrassing that I am eighty-two years old and can’t control my shift, but I will put my pride aside and get any help I can. I don’t want a repeat of two nights ago. That can’t happen again. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure it won’t.”

  Reysa jumped in his arms, knocking him flat on his back. She kissed him several times before rolling off of him and resting her head on his shoulder. She felt like a ton of stress was lifted off her shoulders. If only she could get rid of the other two tons courtesy of that stubborn vampire who left without a word.