The girl’s voice broke and a sob escaped her lips and before anyone could blink, Boyd was in front of her, pulling her into his arms, patting her back, and holding her close.
“It’s okay, we’ll help you, come inside,” his voice didn’t sound like his own in his ears, and he wondered how the female ended up in his arms.
“I need to find my mother...she’s all I have,” the girl was very near tears, and his heart lurched in his chest, a feeling of protection overcoming his entire being. A feeling he was very unfamiliar and uncomfortable with.
“Let’s go inside and we can talk,” he smiled down into her worried face, and he was reluctant to let her go, he had no idea why.
“I’m Marie,” she whispered, as if trying hard to control herself.
“Nice to meet you, Marie, I’m Boyd and this is Kyle and Sabrina,” he released her enough to start moving, and as he did, he saw the shocked looks on the faces of the other two. He scowled at them before moving towards the door.
His arm was still around the girl - woman - Marie - as he led her in the door, his reluctance to let go shocked him deeply. He needed to touch her, feel her underneath his fingertips, and he caught a glimpse of her lying underneath him, as he made her scream in pleasure.
What the hell? He shook his head, shocked at the direction his mind was going. Not only was it inappropriate at a time like this, but he absolutely never lost control of his thoughts. Not ever.
As he ushered Marie inside, he kept glancing at her and wondering who she was. At this moment, he had no idea, but he was going to find out.
As they entered the house, Sabrina went towards the kitchen, “I’m going to see what Cook’s making for dinner, hopefully it’ll be meat of some sort, and you can add that little extra for me,” she said this to Kyle, and he nodded, as she left them to tend to the surprise guest.
“So, Marie, your mother is missing, is that correct?” Boyd still had one arm around her shoulders, and he was loath to move it.
“Yes, sorry, I’m a bit emotional, I’m just so worried. We moved from Ireland, not too long ago, and it’s just the two of us. She would never go off somewhere and not tell me.”
Marie’s eyes were still red, but he could see she was trying hard to regain control. It tore at something deep inside him to see her upset, something he had no clue about.
“Why don’t we go to my office, where we can talk properly,” he said, and led her down the corridor, Kyle followed with a bemused look on his face, which didn’t escape him.
Marie stayed quiet until they were all inside and he had to let go of her, placing her in one of the chairs in his large office. He sat next to her, and Kyle stood against the wall, just watching.
“Well your mother came here and performed a spell for me, but she left safe and sound afterwards. I haven’t seen her since. Are you sure she didn’t leave a note or something?”
Boyd desperately wanted to take hold of one of her hands, that were now clenched in her lap, and only just managed to stop himself. Her scent was in his nose, in his brain, overcoming his senses, and he was finding it difficult to concentrate.
“No note, nothing, she got home from here okay and things since then have been normal, no dramas, no other jobs, then she just vanished. I’ve been to the local police, but my Italian is terrible, and I’m not sure they either understood or believed me. I know something is wrong, very wrong, and I didn’t know who to go to for help. I tried a locator spell and it said she was here, that’s why I came.”
“What? No, she’s not here. Your mother left and she didn’t come back, I can assure you of that.”
Boyd glanced at Kyle and saw the frown on his face, he guessed it mirrored his own.
“I don’t understand,” she whimpered, obviously distraught.
“Neither do I, you are free to search the premises, if you wish, but I can assure you, she is not in this house,” Boyd had a nagging worry, but couldn’t quite grasp it, mainly because he couldn’t stop thinking about this young woman. She was completely invading his senses.
“What if we get Petre and we check everywhere, even the grounds? Maybe she came back and had an accident and we didn’t know.” Kyle joined in and Boyd was sure that wouldn’t be the case, with their Vampire hearing, they would’ve heard anyone calling for help on the grounds around the house.
“We can do that, of course, but somehow I don’t think we’ll find her here. Kyle, we would’ve heard her calling for help. Especially you, you and Sabrina are outside all the time, either walking or teaching Sabrina how to shoot. You would have heard something.”
“I know, Boyd, call it gut instinct, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
Marie was looking between them, and he hated to see that fear in her eyes. He wanted to make that go away and have arousal in those deep depths instead.
Again he shook his head, trying to clear it, not understanding what was happening to him.
“Please, can we at least try?”
Marie’s words made an ache build deep inside him, and he knew he would say yes to her, he wasn’t sure he could say no to this beguiling female.
Just as he opened his mouth to answer, they heard several things all at once. First, a thud as if something had been thrown or broken, then there were several other noises, a gun went off and three shots were fired, and finally there was a very loud scream – Sabrina!
Kyle moved like lightning, opening the door and tearing down the corridor towards the kitchen, Boyd was right behind him, and he could also hear Marie running after them.
Kyle was first through the door, and the sight that greeted them stilled both their hearts.
The large wooden table that sat in the middle of the room was upended and Cook lay on the floor, her heart ripped from her chest in a bloody mess.
There was no sign of Sabrina.
“NOOO!” Kyle roared and started screaming for his mate, “Sabrina! Sabrina where are you! Boyd we need to find her, we need to find her now!!”
With that Kyle took off again and moved towards the open kitchen door, as they moved passed it and outside, he could hear Marie’s scream, as she came upon the body of Cook.
Boyd had to fight every fiber of his being not to stop and return to her, but he kept on, right beside Kyle, as they ran outside to try and find his mate.
Boyd could feel his fear, his unadulterated terror, that somehow Raige had gotten hold of his mate. Boyd was only just beginning to understand how he was feeling, as they tore out into the darkening night.
Chapter 20
Sabrina's cuts and scrapes began hurting more on the journey home, so she left the men to deal with the woman and made her way towards the kitchen, finding Anna as usual, hurrying around preparing far too much food for one human.
“Hey,” she said, as she entered and Anna turned and smiled, genuinely happy to see her.
“Hello there, did you...oh my, what happened to you?” Anna moved over to her and started to check her injuries.
“Some huge lump sent me flying. They’re not too bad, just nippy. That’s the reason I’m here, Kyle wants to add some of his blood to my food tonight, so that they’ll heal quicker. What’re you making?”
“That’s fortunate, beef stew, the taste will be completely unnoticeable, tell him to pop along in a bit and we’ll add it for you. It’s always better to add blood to red meat dishes, doesn’t work with white meat.” She was still fussing, checking all of the little cuts and scrapes.
“They look sore, Sabrina, how on earth did someone knock you down so hard?”
“I’ve no idea, one minute I was on my feet, then I went sprawling, hurt like a bugger, truth be told, but I wouldn’t tell the guys that!” She laughed, and Anna joined her.
“Oh, I know what you mean, we don’t like to show weakness, do we?” Anna had moved to the sink next to the door leading outside, when it crashed open.
Sa
brina knew logically that what happened next happened in seconds, but it felt like hours.
A large figure burst in, and her heart nearly stopped, as she realised it was Raige. How? Christ, where were Boyd and Kyle? They should know he was there…they should BE here!
Her hand automatically moved to retrieve the gun, and she was amazed that she got it out and in her hand first try. She moved into her shooting stance and raised the gun.
Dammit! Anna had gone straight for the man, her fangs down, snarling and almost growling like a dog. The sight was scary as hell, and her mind couldn’t compute this animal being Anna. She watched as Anna flew at Raige and leapt up onto him, her hands trying to get a grip on his neck.
The large Vampire hissed through his descended fangs and easily removed Anna with one hand around her own neck, holding her up so that her feet dangled in the air, kicking futilely. His other arm moved back a bit, but Anna’s body was in the way, she didn’t have a clear enough shot to take.
The next two seconds seemed to go on for an eternity, as she watched, terrified, as his arm came forward and back and Anna’s body dropped to the floor - her chest ripped open and her heart in his hand. Her eyes were drawn to that hand and it wasn’t until the next second, when he dropped the bloodied heart on the floor and raised his eyes to lock with hers, that she realized she could now shoot.
Her trigger finger moved and she got off three shots, the first as he took a step towards her, the second as he threw the table out of the way, the third as his hand moved quickly and knocked the gun violently out of her hand.
Her arm was thrown off to the side and she thought she heard her wrist break at the contact. Her mouth opened and a loud, long, terrified scream tore from her throat, as he picked her up easily, turned around, and ran out the door.
Her whole arm was in pain, and she could barely move it, something was definitely broken and it hung loose and useless. She used her other to try and punch, scratch, poke, anything to get him to release her. All she got in return were those eyes boring into hers and his laughter.
She opened her mouth to scream again, to let Kyle and Boyd know where to go, they must’ve heard the shots and would be coming by now, but he used only one arm to hold her and the other closed over her mouth and nose.
She couldn’t scream, but neither could she breathe, and she knew she was going to pass out, the last thing she saw before darkness took her was those insane eyes staring into hers.
*****
Kyle’s heart felt as if it was being ripped from his chest, and he could barely breathe, as he sent his senses out to find his mate. He felt Boyd’s hand on his arm, and he stopped running and turned to his Sire.
“We need to stay calm and find her, my boy, fear is clouding your senses - breathe, relax, send your senses out. You have a far greater connection to her than I, so use that! Use your bond and love to find her, Kyle. You have to and you have to do it quickly, or she will be lost to you forever.”
His Sire’s words penetrated the terror that had taken hold of his entire being and he nodded, “Okay, I'll try.”
“Do not try - do!”
The command from his Sire had the desired effect, and he focused on his mate, her scent would be the best way to track her, so he sniffed the air around him, and again, he could almost taste her, as his head swivelled all around.
Petre had appeared from the house, his face a mask of cold hatred...he had obviously seen Cook’s body. The large Vampire stood deathly still and said not a word.
Kyle ignored him, ignored Boyd, and ignored the footsteps he heard running from the house in their direction, Marie. He only focused on his mate’s scent and finally weeded out the general scent of her in the area and found one that was slightly stronger. His head swung round – “That way.”
He took off running, using every part of his immense power to move at a supernatural speed, as his feet flew over the ground, his strong thighs pushed his feet ever faster. Boyd was right beside him and he could hear Petre behind them. A small building came into view and they slowed, he frowned, not having been here before.
“That's Aldo’s place,” Boyd’s tone was one of surprise, and Kyle had no idea what was going on.
“Why do I sense her here?” Kyle was frowning, worrying, in case he had taken the wrong path of her scent. After all, she came here with Cook most days, so her scent would be lingering. It was more than that, though, he could clearly sense her as having passed this route recently.
His stomach clenched, as he heard a loud shout, “Stay back, if you come any closer, she’s dead!”
Raige! Raige had his mate, and he fought to control the anger, fear, and terror that was coursing through his system.
“What the fuck? Why didn’t we sense him? What's going on?” Kyle was muttering what was running through his head and trying to figure a way to get her back, unhurt and alive.
“I have no idea, maybe the disappearance of Kathleen has some bearing here. If he got hold of her, he could force her to change the spell and instead of alerting us to his presence, she could hide that from us. I’m not sure, but as she is missing, it’s the only thing I can come up with.” Boyd was frowning, as he spoke, and Kyle could feel the anger rolling off of his Sire.
“Boyd, you do know that if Raige kidnapped Marie’s mother then she, in all probability, is dead along with Aldo.”
“I know,” Boyd replied through clenched teeth.
“What shall we do?” Petre joined in, and his anger was also clear, in his tone, in the way he held his body, his huge fangs were now protruding from his mouth.
“We need to get her out of there!” Kyle was trying hard not to panic, but his utter fear for his mate was making it very difficult.
“We need a plan, and I have an idea,” Boyd said quietly before turning and walking away from the cottage.
“Where are you going!?” Kyle almost screamed, his heart lurching, as his Sire moved away.
“I am going to make sure we retrieve your mate - alive!” Boyd snapped, as he continued on his path.
*****
The first thing she felt was pain, her wrist and arm hurt like a bitch, but she bit her lip and opened her eyes, only slightly, trying to see just how bad the situation was.
As she looked around, she saw Aldo, lying in a corner and with the angle his head lay at, she was pretty sure his neck had been broken. With the paleness of his skin and the bloody mess of his neck, she thought it happened after he had been bled dry. Her heart skipped a few beats, as it ached for the old man, to get to such an age and be killed in such a manner was so very wrong.
His demeanor that day when she and Anna brought him his food now made sense. Raige was already inside. The conversation now took on a different light in her head. He wasn’t being rude...he was bloody terrified.
Pulling her eyes from his crumpled form she looked around a bit more, as it was getting dark outside and with no lights inside, it was a little difficult, but her eyes then found another body. This one had obviously been tortured and she wondered why. Then her mind placed the body and face, the Witch, Kathleen she thought her name was, and it began to make sense.
Kyle and Boyd had not sensed Raige, or they would have been in the kitchen by the time the Vampire burst in, and the only way that could happen was if the spell had been broken or changed. She guessed it had been changed to hide him from her mate and his Sire, and that Kathleen had not done so willingly, the state of her body was testament to that.
Poor woman, she thought, being tortured to force her to do his wishes, at least she had put up some kind of fight.
Her eyes were adjusting to the dim light and she wondered where Raige was, then she heard him, roaring, “Stay back, if you come any closer, she’s dead!”
Her eyes found him, standing near the small window to the front, in the shadows, so she could only make out his large form and no details. That soon changed, as he turned an
d stalked towards her, only taking him three strides and he was in front of her looking down. The look on his face almost made her lose control of her bladder...she had never been so scared in her life.
His eyes were cold, dark, but with that same insane look that haunted her dreams sometimes. One side of his mouth lifted in a parody of a smile and she curled in on herself, making her body as small a target as she could. His smile grew wider at her pathetic attempt to stay safe.
“So you’re his mate? The one that killed my partner, we were having so much fun, too. I would take the girls and feed on them, as he fucked them so hard that even my Vampire bite couldn’t stop the pain. The screams...so...perfect, such a nice sound, human screams, utter perfection. Then he comes along and takes him away, just when we were getting into a nice routine. That made me angry, very angry...so here we are, your mate outside and you in here with me. I’ll know if he takes even one more step closer, and if he does, I’ll simply snap your neck.”
Her skin was crawling as he spoke, as if his very words held evil in them, and she wasn’t sure she would get out of this alive. With his speed and strength he was right - he could kill her before Kyle took two steps.
She tried to calm herself, wanted to help Kyle any way she could. The only thing she could come up with was to give him as much information as she could through their bond. If he was outside, he should be able to hear her thoughts. That’s what she hoped anyway.
After more than a few deep breaths, she felt her body relax slightly, and she just replayed everything that was going on. ‘I’m on the floor at the back, right corner of the room, he’s in front of me just now,’ she pushed the thought and words towards her mate, hoping he could hear her - he had to hear her. She yelped, as a foot kicked her in the ribs, taking her breath away, as the pain engulfed her abdomen, tears pooling in her eyes, but not falling. She wasn’t going to cry in front of this freak.
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