Ava pulled away, wiping her mouth. “You know, vampire blood doesn’t taste like I thought it would.”
“What did ye think it would taste like?”
She shrugged. “It was sweeter than I thought but with a nasty aftertaste.”
Alastor chuckled.
“Did I drink enough?”
Vivienne looked at her wrists again. “Yes, see, its already healing. But when you get home, I want you to consume something straight away. Drink orange juice or eat a cookie. Take plenty of iron supplements over the next few days, so you don’t become anemic.”
Ava nodded. “I will, Mrs. V.”
“Good.”
Hector strode up to them, offering his hand out to Ava. “Hey, I’m Hector, nice to meet you. Irish here has been telling me a great deal about you.” He tilted his head in Alastor’s direction.
Ava took his hand. “I’m Ava.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re one of Morgana’s brothers, aren’t you? Special Ops Division?” Her hazel eyes were brightening. Alastor’s heart soared at seeing Ava return to her old self. “I’d love to know more about that.”
Hector chuckled, slapping Alastor on the back, making the Daywalker slump forward from the force. “Al also said you’re quite the inquisitive one.”
“Aye, that I did.” Alastor rubbed his shoulder.
Gareth’s bellows could be heard behind them.
“I think they’re freeing Morgs right now, and Gareth just saw Ragnorok again.” Hector thumbed in their direction.
“Excuse me while I go tend to my daughter now.” Vivienne strode past them.
Alastor reached out and grasped her arm. “Thanks for tending to Ava first.”
Vivienne smiled. “She’s family, dear.”
Ava sniffled.
Alastor nodded letting go of Vivienne’s arm. He took Ava’s hand. “Come on, love, let’s go see Morgana.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
“Morgana.” Gareth entered the kiddie pool, sloshing blood everywhere in his haste to reach her again. “I’m so sorry. I’m here now,” he said, holding her head gently in his hands,
“I can’t believe you just left me.” Her shoulders hunched over, and she glared up at him through the matted hair falling over her face. There was still love flowing toward him through the bond, but underneath, there was anger and hatred. She was not going to forgive him easily for abandoning her. But her burning hatred was reserved for Ragnorok.
“You’re in the doghouse now, bro,” Hector called out.
“Not now.” Jonas shook his head. “And a terrible choice of words.”
“Sorry,” Hector mumbled to Oscar.
Gareth grimaced, turning his attention back to Morgana. “I’m sorry. I was just so angry at what he did to you.”
“How do you think I feel?” She could barely lift her head.
Gareth knew exactly how she felt. But this was one of those situations where it was obviously best to keep his mouth shut. He held her in his arms while Jonas snapped the silver chains releasing her. Morgana’s weakened body slumped further into him.
“We need to remove the silver bullets, so she can begin healing,” Oscar instructed.
They laid her on the blanket that Vivienne had found and spread out. “I brought this along,” Vivienne said, unfurling a small carrying case containing surgical equipment. She passed out tweezers to Jonas, Hector, and Oscar.
Hector whistled low. “Where did you get these?”
She looked up at him. “I like to be prepared for all situations.”
Gareth held one hand while Vivienne grasped the other. The others pried their tweezers into the bullet holes, extracting the pieces of silver. Morgana screamed and grunted, her back arching throughout the entire procedure.
Gareth’s gut twisted, and his anger was beginning to heat up again. He encouraged her to squeeze his hands, transferring some of the pain to him.
Morgana whimpered, her eyes squeezed shut. “It hurts just as bad as when they went in.”
“Sorry, sis,” Hector mumbled.
“It will be over soon, my dear,” Vivienne told her in hushed tones, smoothing the parts of her hair not covered with blood with her free hand.
When the last bullet was thrown to the ground, Morgana opened her eyes.
“Gareth,” she wheezed, her brown eye focusing on him. Jonas and Hector moved back giving them space, while Oscar and Vivienne remained crouched down beside her.
“I’m here.” Gareth held her tightly in his arms, stroking her hair. “What do you need, Morgana? I’ll do whatever to make it up to you.”
She pulled back, looking up at him. “Blood, Gareth. I need your blood,” she whispered. The way her eye glared hungrily at his carotid artery in his neck, made his body twitch. But for Morgana, he’d willingly give his blood, his life.
“Take it, then. Take anything you need.” He’d barely finished speaking when he saw the feral look in her eyes and her fangs sinking into his neck. He ground his teeth together, trying not to cry out. Hector and Alastor would never let him live it down if he did.
But that shit was painful. Morgana was also using her bottom teeth, and it was tearing out his flesh. She held the back of his head, pulling him closer to her mouth as she drained him.
“Wow, she’s really chowing down on his neck,” Hector commented.
“Son, there’s a time and place for your sense of humor,” Oscar said sternly.
Jonas barked out a laugh.
Gareth was ignoring them all. The whole ordeal took him back to the days when Mariza used to bite him. Now it was the other sister.
How full circle he had come.
She tipped her head back, licking her lips, a deep, gratifying sigh escaped her mouth.
“Have you had enough?” Vivienne asked, holding out her wrist.
“The wounds are healing,” Oscar said. Indeed, the color was returning to Morgana’s pale cheeks. The purple puffiness around her eyes was fading and receding. His eyes inspected her body watching the flesh and skin in her open wounds fuse back together through the torn holes in her clothing.
A throat cleared behind them. Batheras’ voice captured their attention. “We’re ready to execute Ragnorok now.”
The agonized cry of their enemy rang in the stunned silence.
Gareth turned to see most of the Primus standing in a semi-circle around Ragnorok who was being held up by Gregorus and Hammadi. The Forest Clan leader’s gray eyes were blazing with hate.
Gareth looked between the fallen Forest Clan leader and his mate, torn between which direction to take—revenge or love. The anger spiking at him through the bond helped make the decision, and he turned toward revenge for his love.
***
Morgana wiped her mouth and looked toward Ragnorok.
“Let me at him,” Gareth growled, his fists curling at his side.
“Aye, I’d like a crack at the bastard.” Alastor gripped a stake in his hand raising it up above his head.
“As the Council Elder on this mission, it is only fitting—” Oscar began.
“No,” Morgana growled.
All three of them turned to her. “Ragnorok is mine.”
Alastor looked back and forth between them, glancing at Ava who nodded. He lowered his stake and flipped it around in his hand, offering the blunt end to Morgana. “Aye lass, he’s yers.”
Oscar grimaced but nodded. “Yes, of course, daughter.”
Gareth held her head in his hands, searching her eyes. “Are you sure you’re properly healed to take him on?”
She nodded, pleading silently with her eyes. She needed to do this.
Gareth kissed her forehead. “Then he’s all yours, my love.”
She let him go, rising to a standing position.
Gareth wobbled in his crouched position, falling back, his face pale from the blood loss.
Steady hands reached out helping him stand. “Aye, I got ye.”
Morgana glanced back with remorse for taking so much blood, b
ut her bones were still mending, muscle and sinew were fusing together as skin grew back over the bullet and stake wounds. That much blood had been required.
Her gaze drew back to the vampire who had inflicted all the injuries.
A cruel smile spread across Morgana’s face. She faced Ragnorok, stalking toward him. She strode straight over to him, punching and shattering the bridge of his nose. She pummeled into his stomach. “I’m no one’s fucking blood bag!” she screamed, her fists flying back and forth, punching all her hatred into him. Morgana pulled back, huffing from the exertion after she’d only just begun healing. The Forest Clan’s leader’s gray eyes glowered out from the splatter of blood across his face.
Morgana narrowed her eyes and plunged her hand into his chest—his flesh tore and ribs cracked as her fingers dug through muscle and lung tissue. She wrapped her fingers around his heart, ripping it from his chest. She held in her hand, his lifeless heart, the arteries hung limply over her blood-coated hands.
The Forest Clan leader’s face turned ashen, his eyes large and wide.
“Jaysus, how is the bastard still alive?” Alastor asked.
“The heart doesn’t keep you guys, human-turned vamps, alive,” Jonas answered. “It’s the vampire blood that does. We’ve never determined exactly how it works. The loss of that organ will send his body into ‘shut down mode,’ though, and if he bleeds out, he will eventually shrivel up. But even then, he could still revive.”
“Even without a heart?” Ava stepped forward.
“Yes, but he wouldn’t have much of a life,” Jonas answered her.
“Fascinating, yet horrifying at the same time.”
“Yeah, vampire anatomy isn’t for everybody.”
Ava nodded, looking away.
Morgana ignored them. Her sole focus was on Ragnorok as she squeezed his heart in front of him. “Wouldn’t that be a fitting punishment if you bled out, Ragnorok?”
Ragnorok’s eyes glazed over, his pallor paling further as blood seeped from his wounds.
“Feckin’ hell. I never thought I’d see that look on a vampire again.” Alastor also turned away.
Ava reached out to him.
Morgana averted her eyes from Alastor, wishing she hadn’t made her friend recall his horrifying memories of finding Gareth. She’d apologize to him later, but right now she needed her vengeance. As she focused on Ragnorok, nothing else seemed to matter. She gritted her teeth, her muscles were tightening, intent on watching his demise.
“I think I want a different taste for my revenge,” Morgana snarled and ran her tongue over the bloodied organ, lapping up Ragnorok’s blood. Disgust and fascination from Gareth flowed through the bond at her antics. The sounds of retching and the smells of human vomit filled the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Ava puking up the remaining contents from her stomach. From the smell, there was only bile left.
Morgana wanted to do the same. She spat. “The taste of your blood is as rotten as your core.”
“I’ll kill you and every single one of your brethren,” Ragnorok growled, his eyes full of hate.
She smiled with malicious glee at his desperate attempt to salvage his pride.
His gray eyes widened in recognition at the payback.
“Will someone shut him up?” she said.
“Aye, with pleasure.” Alastor swung a right hook into the Forest Clan leader’s jaw, the sound of more bones cracking mingled with Ragnorok’s cries of agony.
“Stake,” she demanded, holding her hand out, never breaking eye contact with Ragnorok. “I told you when we first met that I’d be putting a stake straight through your heart.” A cruel, cold laugh erupted from her as she plunged the stake through the organ, the tip jutting out between her splayed fingers.
Ragnorok’s head slumped forward, and the Elders let go of his arms. His body dropped to the ground.
Oscar flipped Ragnorok onto his back, then turned to Morgana. “We’ll need to put the heart back into the body for it to burn before he starts to revive.”
Morgana nodded, handing him the staked heart. Oscar held the base of the stake and placed the heart back into the open cavity.
He flicked open his lighter, but Morgana placed a hand on her father’s shoulder. “Please, allow me.” She snatched the lighter from him and crouched down. Her eyes glowed with cruel glee, lighting the end of the stake. The body was soon engulfed in flames, quickly turning to ash.
Warmth spread through her body—the mission was done. It was over. But there was one more thing she had to do to Ragnorok first. Morgana stood back, twirling around, clouds of ash floating up around her as she kicked her feet up. She threw her head back and laughed. It was freeing to glorify in his death. “I told you I’d dance in your ashes.”
***
“What’s happening to her?” Gareth said, asking no one in particular. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing or the strange joy coming through the bond. “What’s she doing?” He stepped forward to stop her.
“Don’t.” Vivienne grasped his upper arm. “She needs to do this.”
Gareth looked back at his mate—the one he thought he’d lost. This was a side of her he’d never seen before. He found it alarmingly arousing.
Her blood was matted to her skin and torn clothing. Her long dark hair was desperately in need of a good shampoo and brushing. But as she twirled in the ashes, to him, she’d never looked more beautiful. He nodded in understanding, and Vivienne let him go.
He walked over to her, and Morgana turned to face him, lifting her chin, her eyes daring him to question her actions, her wariness coming through the bond.
“Madam.” He bowed and rose, smiling as he held out his hand to her. “May I have this dance?”
Her eyes may have looked manic and her smile crooked, but when she took his hand, he knew there was nowhere else he should be. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“Does this mean you forgive me?” he said, so only she could hear.
“For what?”
“Running off and leaving you behind?”
“I wouldn’t be in your arms if I didn’t.”
He smiled and shifted back slightly, so he could look at her. As he stared down at the woman in his arms, it was just like the night they’d fallen in love at the fundraiser ball where they had first danced in each other’s arms.
Only this time, the musical accompaniment was the satisfaction that came with their own taste of revenge.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Alastor watched his two best friends dance together in the ashes before turning to his own girlfriend who was swaying on her feet. He squeezed Ava’s shoulder. “Come on, love, let’s get ye home.”
She nodded but stumbled when she took a step. Alastor didn’t hesitate and scooped her up in his arms. It was about three in the morning, so the small town of Oak Wood Hills would be fast asleep. No one would be around to see him carry Ava to her apartment at high speed.
He raced through the streets carrying his precious cargo. Ava remained quiet the entire trip, which made him uneasy. She was always up for a chat. He took his spare key out of his pocket and unlocked her door, then set her down on the carpet inside.
“Are ye all right, love?” He placed his hands on her shoulders, but she merely nodded. “I’m going to take a shower.” She turned without another word, closing the bedroom door behind her. He frowned. That was something Ava never did with him, but he let her be. She needed time to recover.
A few hours later, Alastor hung up his phone just as Ava walked out of her bedroom. Her pallor, despite giving her his blood that night, was still pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes. “That was Mrs. V…” he held out a glass of orange juice to her, “… checking up on you. She also told me the Elders were impressed by Gareth’s and my fighting skills. They want us at HQ right away.”
Ava gave him a sad smile, averting her eyes. “That’s great news.”
“Love, what’s wrong?” He reached out t
o her, pulling her close to him. She stood between his legs.
“I’m taking the job in Summerville.”
“Aye? Well, that’s feckin’ great news. But, oh, aye… ye won’t be coming with us, then?”
“No.” Her head dropped to her chest.
“What is it, love?” Alastor placed his hand under her chin, raising it up, so he could look into her eyes.
“I can’t be with you anymore.”
Alastor’s hand dropped away, and coldness spread through his body. His heart felt like it was being crushed. Or staked. “What are ye sayin’, love?”
“I don’t want to be a vampire.”
“Aye, I’d never force ye to be want ye don’t want to be.”
“I know, but I can’t be there in that world anymore. Not after…”
“Aye, I get that.”
“This isn’t goodbye. Think of it as… see you later. Just much later.”
“Aye, but I love ye, lass.”
Ava placed her hand on his cheek, her hazel eyes shining. “I love you, too. But this is a big stepping stone to my dream job. And they are your coven. You need to go with them. And I need to stay behind.”
“They’re yer coven, too.”
“Maybe one day they will be, but I don’t feel like a part of it yet.”
“Since when have they made ye not feel a part of us?”
“Never, but being human in a vampire world, it feels…” she hesitated, “… lonely. And if I go with you guys, I’ll feel even more pressured to turn.”
“Nay, ye know I’d never pressure ye to do that, love.”
“I know, but the other agents will, and after being held by the Forest Clan, I don’t want to become a vampire anytime soon. For now, I just want to remain human. This break from each other will give me that opportunity.”
Alastor sighed. He knew this was coming after their conversation the other night. “Aye, I understand.”
Ava smiled. “Besides, if I do eventually change my mind and turn, we’ll be immortals and have all of eternity to spend together. So, in the grand scheme of things, five years will be a blink.”
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 57