“You’re walking a very fine line,” Julius said threateningly, breaking from the supplier’s neck. “You’ll be lucky Sayer doesn’t kill you before the week is out. Or I don’t kill her. If she wasn’t meant to take your spot, she’d be dead in your arms right now. She’s out of control. I’m half tempted to send her back with Sayer.”
“You’re welcome to try.” I met his threat without pause. Ma minette wasn’t going anywhere. Not at Sayer’s order and sure as hell not under Julius’.
“You’re not close to standing a chance against me, Marko. Don’t think you are. My reaction to your blood isn’t what you assume.”
Maybe it was…maybe it wasn’t. I knew he’d been surprised and probably saw something due to his visions, but the lock in his limbs and the pain only told me my blood had given his one hell of a fight and he could deny it all he wanted, but I knew the truth.
“As you say. I’m not looking for a fight with you, Julius.” At least…not yet.
There was caution as he went back to feeding and I relaxed as Tessa’s lips kissed over my now healed neck. I could tell from her wiggling that she wanted me to cut myself again, but I refused. She’d made her point to whoever she’d wanted—me, Sayer, the whole fucking room. I was putting my foot down and she’d just have to get over it.
“My future concubine sings, correct?”
The Black Prince leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed in our direction.
“She does,” Julius answered. “Perhaps it’s time she gave us a show. It’s the least she could do,” he ground out, looking over at me.
Tessa’s head rose, a smile on her face as she turned toward our leader. “I’d be delighted. Will you allow me the chance to change first, or shall I sing to you all dressed as I am?”
Julius twisted his mouth and I could see his confusion in her personality. Fuck, I was confused, too. She didn’t like to sing in front of people—especially this many. Yet, she appeared eager to display her talents.
“Change. Make it quick.”
Tess bowed her head in a single nod and easily pushed from my lap. The sway of her hips while she walked toward the dark tunnel by herself almost had me going just so I could spank her for the scene she was causing. But I knew I wasn’t meant to leave. Besides…she’d get her punishment soon enough.
Chapter 19
Hunter
Dead. Thatcher and Waters hadn’t even made it to the hospital before they passed away. The night had been one of the worst in my life and even now, as I traveled back through the darkness of the underground, revenge was the only thing on my mind. I’d seen the bastard who’d killed those soldiers and I had every intention of making him pay.
Where I expected news crews and police to be swarming on the vampire attack, the men’s incident was brushed under the rug. Soldiers who’d risked their life for this country treated as if they were no one. The cops told us we must have been mistaken. Animals attacked all the time and surely we’d gotten confused over the matter. It had been dark. Our imaginations had to have gotten the best of us. It made me sick and enraged. It led all three of us to the local news stations. Even there, we were told to leave. No one wanted to touch a story about a vampire attack, despite the fact that I could see their fear. Things were getting out of control and the buzz online told me I wasn’t the only one fighting authorities on these matters. Question was, what did we do about it? Others might not know, but I wasn’t giving up.
Voices hummed in the distance and I made a right where the tunnel branched off. My bow stayed tightly in my grasp and I kept the light I mounted on top on as I jogged through. The more the elevation dropped, the louder the talking grew. Light was ahead and I slowed. My skin was prickling in warning and I couldn’t stop the fear engulfing me. This was it. I knew it in my heart, but what would I see? What would I discover?
“May I have your attention please?”
The loud voice stopped me in my tracks. My heart swelled and my eyes closed for the briefest moment as I said a prayer of thanks. There was no doubt in my mind who I was listening to and it wiped away the anger immediately. The power behind the soft tone…Tessa.
“I’d like to give our new guests a welcome they’ll never forget. There are a lot of nationalities here so some of the songs I plan to sing will be in different languages. Some of them will be mixed with two. Let’s try to have a little fun.”
Confused at her strength and enthusiasm for singing, I walked forward, stopping just where the light broke into the tunnel. I could see the end of a large opened room before me. I crouched and looked up. It had to have been a good three to four stories high. And big. The distance to the other side was half the size of a football field. At least. I swallowed hard, moving forward. A group came into view and Tessa stood there in a red dress, more toward me and two smaller tables resting away from a good dozen and a half longer ones.
Fuck. My breath wouldn’t come at seeing her so close to the mass of vampires. A lot had what looked to be humans sitting at their feet. The surreal feeling that swept through me was unreal. There had to be…hundreds. Maybe thousands, given I couldn’t see all the way back.
My stare returned to Tessa. She and the group of musicians turned and began walking deeper into the room, right toward me. Everything in me said to hide, but I couldn’t. The fact that she was alive mixed with how beautiful she looked locked me into place, keeping me entranced as she swayed her hips seductively, growing closer. As if she felt my presence, her eyes cut over, right to me. There was a hesitation in her step, but she didn’t stop. Instead, she turned around, facing the large crowd before her. For a good minute, she stood silently. The appearance of deep breaths left me wondering what she was thinking. I knew she had to have seen me.
“I’m going to start off with a very special song. One that means a lot to me.” Her hand rose and she reached to the side, touching a vampire’s temple without so much as turning toward him. He held a violin, where others had an array of different instruments. Her actions left me confused, but I couldn’t even think to question what she was doing as I stared at her in awe.
The slow draw of the violin filled the space and I watched her take a shuddering breath before she inhaled and her voice filled the space. The note cut right into my soul and it wasn’t because of the power she carried. I knew this song. Once upon a time, I’d asked her to sing it for me. She’d refused then, but now…
Lyrics intertwined with the beautiful melody and I soaked in every syllable leaving her lips. If this was going to be as close to New York as we’d ever get, I wasn’t missing a beat.
The increase of the tempo had her turning to face me as she began the chorus. One that left my heart so far gone, the vampires could have been rushing toward me and I would have never known. Her words didn’t just seem like a message. To me, they were fact. Future. Where I’d only one day hoped to see the love through her performance, I never imagined how strong it would be as she sang right to me.
My heart was always yours.
A familiar beat behind closed doors.
To be the one you want.
I’ll fight to get us to that point.
Love me.
Leave me.
Breathe me.
My hand reached out to the wall for balance as she turned to face the massive group again. Twisting tightened my stomach and I fought not to rush out there and steal her away. We’d never make it out alive. At least, I wouldn’t. And I had to survive. Tessa loved me. I knew she did and I wouldn’t stop until I had her again. The words were what I needed to hear—an assurance we’d be together again someday. Had I been looking for a sign? I knew I had, and this was it.
More singing filled the room and I watched as her voice died off and the violin continued. She turned, licking her lips, and I couldn’t help but mouth, I love you. It slipped free without my control. Where I expected her uneasiness or possible rejection, I was floored by the smile tugging at the corner of her lips. For a minu
te, it didn’t look like Tessa. Not the shy girl I knew. She looked…different. Confident? Too accepting? I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting but confusion hit hard at the way she was practically eating me alive with her stare. She wanted me, and not just as someone to joke around with or be her friend. She wanted my cock. She wanted me as the man who burned for her in every way. Fuck, I wanted to give it to her. Show her how I’d make our future better than our past.
I shifted on my feet, fighting my lust and the need to go to her. One last look of hunger was followed by her biting her bottom lip and turning around. I knew I was wasting time. I had to go. I’d seen what I needed to. Tessa was alive. Safe. Now, it was time to flee the dangers underground, even if I didn’t want to. If she kept showing me attention, they’d become suspicious. I couldn’t risk that.
My feet moved back and the hardest part was leaving while she was still in view. The moment she disappeared from my sight, I turned and kept my steps light until I knew I was far enough away. I broke out into a sprint and rushed from the tunnels. But I still wasn’t safe. I put the grate down and jogged back toward Tessa’s. My pace slowed at seeing a figure sitting in the darkness on the porch.
I immediately placed my hand on the hilt of the dagger as I got closer. The slim frame rose and walked toward me. The long dress she wore blew to the side in a gust of wind and I side-stepped around her, closer to the door as the brunette eyed me, warily.
“You’re very well guarded, and by a beautiful protector,” she said, staying a few feet back and eyeing the dagger.
“You have to be these days. You’re Marie, the one who took Tessa underground with you and all your men. What are you doing here?”
Her head lowered and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m also the one who gave her that dagger. And I have no men anymore. Marko killed them.”
I paused at the sniffle that followed her words.
“I hate him,” she ground out. “I hate him and I want him dead, just as you do.”
My feet carried me closer to the door and I never took my hand from the hilt of the weapon. Her words pulled me in, but I wasn’t going to fall for any tricks I was sure she was full of.
“I have to know, if I kill Marko, will Tessa die?”
Marie looked up, wiping her tears away as she did so. “Yes. She will die.”
I shook my head, feeling my heart drop.
“Don’t fret, my friend, we’re in luck.”
“First off, I’m not your friend. I don’t trust you and if I weren’t battling whether to look at you as a creature or woman, you’d already be dead. Your kind are responsible for a lot of bad things and I plan to put an end to it.”
“I know,” she said, lowly. “But you have nothing to worry about from me. Not yet, anyway. You see, I have a gift. I can see the future. Since I’ve lost my men, it’s shown me a lot. The biggest threat I see though came before, and it hasn’t gone away. And you have to know. Have to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
She paused. “You will end up killing Tessa.”
A sarcastic laugh came from my mouth. “Me, kill Tessa? No, your gift is way off. I’d never hurt her knowingly. Ever. I love Tessa.”
“I know you do,” she said, stepping forward. “And it’s your love that kills her. You stab her, right in the heart. Right in front of Marko. You yell to him, ‘if you can’t have her, no one will’.” Still, she came closer. “That is your future, Hunter. You will kill many vampires and you will have an army behind you with the likes you can’t imagine. But you will kill her, just before you are killed yourself. And you will die, by Marko’s hand, no less.”
Nausea plagued me and I wasn’t sure why I believed this vampire. She could be lying for all I knew, but I didn’t think so. Her hate for Marko…she wanted him dead, just like me.
“You may speak of what you saw, but just so you know, I would never kill her.”
Even as I said it, I knew it was a lie. It was enough to make me feel even more sick. If I knew I was going to die and there was no way around it...fuck. I would kill her to save her from the life of living with him and those monsters. “How can I kill him and not kill her? You said we’re in luck. What does that mean?”
Marie stopped at the first step and turned around, sitting down before me. She stared ahead, not appearing threatened by me blindly having her back. I could easily pull my dagger out and stab her. I could end her life, and a big part of me wanted to.
“There’s a vampire. One of the strongest in the world. He and Tessa share blood. Sayer plans to break her and Marko’s bond to place his own. They’ll no longer be bonded. You can kill him then.”
“Why does anyone have to bond with her? God, this shit just doesn’t make sense to me.” I collapsed down too, sitting on the top step, leaving a good foot between us.
“Her blood is what draws us. If Sayer bonds with her, he’ll become even stronger. As will she. He plans to change her into a vampire and make her his concubine. That’s wife, by the way,” she said, glancing back. “That you can’t change. It’s the only way to separate her and Marko. She’ll forever have vampire blood in her and you’re going to have to accept that.”
“Bullshit. I want her back, unbonded. How do I get that?”
A small laugh came from Marie. “You can’t. It’s impossible. The only way to unbond a bonded slave is through the blood of a stronger vampire. Sayer is your ticket if you want to kill Marko. Besides, you lucked out even more. He doesn’t want her body. He prefers men, if you know what I mean. She can take you as her own slave, Hunter. You can both still be together. It just won’t be with the white picket fence you imagine. Think it over,” she said, standing. “But not for too long. You only have few hours before your life will alter. Stop looking at us as the enemy and submit to our future leader. Her. She loves you. More than you know. I’ve seen how your lives can be. And you’re both very happy.”
Dark hair blew back from the wind and Marie turned, walking in the direction of the grate. I couldn’t breathe past what she was asking. Tessa…their leader? Jesus. This couldn’t be how our lives were meant to turn out. Me, as her slave, just like she was to Marko? I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let them change her to begin with. I didn’t want her lusting for blood nonstop while I became some sort of zombie just for her. Wasn’t that what she’d pretty much turned into before she was taken? All day, she’d look out the window and think about Marko. I couldn’t even hold a conversation with her because she was so consumed. But…would that be so bad if it was for her? God, I was torn. There were so many things to take into account. Bonds, blood, and bitterness. What did I chose?
Chapter 20
Tessa
Pieces of conversation filtered through and I knew I was laughing at whatever Sayer and his second chair, Armand, were saying, but I had no idea what the topic of conversation was. I could feel Marko’s negative energy coming from behind me as I sat on his lap. Sayer and his second had, at some point, moved their chairs away from the table to make a U-shaped area between Julius and us. I had no idea how I knew Armand’s name or that he was second. I just knew, obviously discovering it while I, once again, blacked out.
My body began to tremble and I turned back to look at Marko. The fear left me breathing heavily and I searched his eyes to gauge how he was doing. From the tightness of his features, he was angry and ready to be finished with the façade we were all putting on.
“You were just phenomenal, Tessalyn. I’m amazed. Three hours and your voice was just as beautiful from start to finish. And those songs. Who knew you could speak so many languages?”
I turned back to them, even more confused. “How many did I…?”
“Four,” Marko answered. “All of them being ones you know from me.”
The words were spoken through gritted teeth and I shifted in his lap. The movement had him grabbing my hips to still me, almost as if he were afraid for me to get even the smallest fraction away from him.
; “The sun should be up soon. I’m afraid it’s time we retire. Tomorrow, you’ll sing again.” Sayer threw me a smile and stood. The tension in Marko immediately eased. As the vampires said their goodbyes to Julius, Marko was already rising to stand. I nearly fell from his lap. Had it not been for Armand’s quick reaction, I would have.
“She’s fine. Keep your hands off her,” Marko snapped, jerking me to the side. His arm tightened on my bicep painfully and he began pulling me toward our hall, faster than I could keep up in the heels I was wearing. By the time we reached the door, he was all but dragging me. Anger flared and half the room disappeared as darkness swept in. I blinked past the panic of fading out again. I hit the floor hard as he literally tossed me inside. Cement burned my forearms and fear took over as I spun around to see him stalking toward me with his fangs bared.
“Who do you think you are?”
The look he was giving pinned me to the floor. My mouth opened only to close. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Weak. God, I sounded so…little.
“You don’t know?!”
Fabric tore as he gripped the front of the dress in his fist and lifted me, slamming me into the wall. The air rushed from my lungs, leaving behind an ache so severe, I clawed at his hands. Fingers crushed into my face brutally and he pushed into my chest harder. Tears filled my eyes at the violence and pain. I still fought to get my breath back and it came in a fire that seemed to singe my lungs. I internally fought whether I should get physical, too. I knew it would make him worse, but I wasn’t raised to submit to treatment like this. Before I could decide, something changed in his face and some of the anger faded as his grip loosened.
“Oh…God. Ma minette.” Marko pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly as he stayed perfectly still. A sob left me, regardless that I’d tried to hold it in. I was so scared. Not only of him, but what kept happening to both of us. Who were we becoming? “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I…can’t think, and I hurt you.”
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