by K Loraine
Sure enough, as soon as we turned into a dark alley, he had me up against the wall, one hand on my throat, the other between my legs, trying to ruck up my skirt.
“No, please, stop,” I muttered, apathy dripping from my words.
“Oh, you like it rough? I knew you were a naughty minx the moment I saw you.”
I rolled my eyes and waited for him to be in just the right position. A little closer. A little more. Then I struck. My claws sank into his side, deep enough to make him lose his footing, but it was my fangs that did the dirty work. I penetrated his throat with a viciousness reserved for a wild animal defending itself. I fed from him, then left him crumpled in a pile for the trash collectors to gather tomorrow morning.
Wiping my face, I stepped over him and looked back to say, “Thanks for showing me around.”
Then I skipped through town, not caring about bringing attention to myself. No one could touch me. I was fast. Strong. Wild. But most of all, I was free.
“Did you find him?” Kresley, the young, pretty barmaid asked when I walked into the small pub where she worked. This hour of night, no patrons remained, and she was just finishing mopping the floors. She was wide-eyed and fearful, her makeup badly camouflaging the bruises on one cheek and around her throat. A battered woman, desperate for her own freedom.
I nodded.
“And he’s…”
“Removed.” I held out a hand, waiting for her to make good on her payment.
“Will they know?”
“Animal attack. Nothing more.”
Relief filled her eyes. “Thank you. Oh, thank you.” She grabbed my hands and pulled them to her. I could feel the hurt from every moment he hit her in her touch. The sensation rushed through me at the contact of our palms. It took everything in me not to jerk away and gasp in pain. “You’re my savior.”
“No. I’m the assassin you hired to take out the asshole who’d been beating you bloody.” I backed up, slipping my black leather gloves over my hands. “I’ll take that payment now.”
“Oh, of course.” She pulled a wad of cash from her apron and shoved it at me. “You don’t know what you’ve done for me.”
“Don’t find another like him. I can’t guarantee I’ll get to him before he kills you.”
She nodded and tried to hug me before I jerked away from her hold and left. I had enough money to buy supplies, get back to the house, and get out of sight before my wolf took over. I had more and more control every day, but I was still a fledgling. Unsure of my own strength and of how to manage my power and the twin beasts that fought within me. One a vicious killer, the other a feral creature. Both strong and warring for full control over me.
I ran through the brush and into the deep woods, not willing to let either the vampire or the wolf take complete hold. I might never come back to myself if I did that. I had other creatures waiting for me. Others who depended on me. Who looked to me to keep them safe. I couldn’t be lost for who knew how long as a wolf, or slave to my hunger if my vampire side won out.
I knew something was wrong the instant I smelled it. Bergamot on the breeze. Stopping in my tracks, I listened, letting my senses sharpen with focus. The beating of a heart in the distance, or was that my own? No. Mine stopped beating long ago. Dread curled in my gut. The last time I smelled him…I died.
“Lucas,” I whispered.
He was in front of me in a blur of motion I wouldn’t have been able to see had it not been for my vampire senses. “Briar,” he said, my name like a prayer on his lips. “You’re…it’s really you. I thought…when I heard you were still—”
“If you say alive, I’ll rip your balls off and bronze them to keep as a souvenir.”
“My, that’s quite a threat, love.”
I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. I couldn’t let him see the pain in my heart. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Neither did I.”
Gritting my teeth against the rage boiling in my chest, I turned away from him, but he was in front of me in an instant.
“Don’t do that. Don’t deny me your eyes after so long without them.”
Tears burned, and I wanted to do anything but cry right then. “You don’t deserve them. You left me to die. Then you turned me into this and never came back.”
“Briar, I—”
I turned on him and set a blazing gaze on his beautiful face. God, my silent heart ached. It fucking ached for him. “You don’t get a second chance with this. I will never be the same. Your father got what he wanted in the end. I’m ruined. My pack abandoned me, my family is gone. Pack Dumond is nothing more than ashes. Congratulations.”
“You can’t believe I’d willingly leave you. I had no idea you were alive.”
I rushed him, grabbing him by the throat and running until he slammed into a tree, a soft grunt of pain leaving him. Looking down, I saw a broken tree limb sticking out of his side.
He coughed and let out a laugh. “You’re stronger than I remember.”
He’d be fine. “Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, Lucas. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“There was a time,” he started, coughing up a small bit of blood as he worked to remove himself from the grip of the tree, “when you couldn’t get enough of me, wild wolf.”
“Yes. And I was a child then. I’ve seen hell and come out the other side. You were the reason for it all.”
“You have to come with me.”
“Why?”
“You’re reckless, working as an assassin. Leaving bodies in the open. The Vampire Council will find you. All it will take is the right offer, and you won’t be able to refuse them. You haven’t the resources I can provide you.”
I scoffed and backed away. “Why do you care?”
“Because you’re mine. You belong with me.”
I shook my head. “No. It was all a lie. You manufactured everything to get to me. I was the fool who put myself in the path of the stake meant for you.”
“You did that because you loved me.”
“I did it because I thought you were my mate. I was wrong.”
“I am.”
He was almost free. So close, and soon I’d be helpless to escape him. I could already feel the magnetic pull of his eyes. No. He wouldn’t use that on me again. “If I’m your mate, Lucas, tell me, why is my heart silent in my chest?”
His eyes went wide and he stilled. Listening. Brow furrowed, he pressed his palm to my chest and waited. “It should be beating. It should recognize mine.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t. You are nothing to me. Now get out of my life. You don’t belong here. I’ll take my chances with the council.”
I had to leave. I had to leave right then and there or I’d collapse from the pain of seeing him again. The man who’d haunted me in my dreams, in my hallucinations while Nik held me captive, and then, in my nightmares.
“Don’t come for me. You won’t like what you find,” I said, before running as fast and as far as I could.
He’d find me if he wanted to, but from the look on his face, I hoped he would let me go.
I’d just crushed him.
Finally.
He couldn’t discover the base. We’d have to pack up tonight, and I’d do whatever necessary to throw him off our trail. But Lucas Blackthorne had my scent now, and I was sure he’d find me if he wanted to. I just had to hope I’d driven home my hatred for him enough to discourage his search. I couldn’t risk the rest of them. We’d worked too hard over the last year to come together. They’d sacrificed too much for me. I owed my life to my crew and I wouldn’t let a Blackthorne in to destroy it all again.
“Pack up. We have to go now.” I opened the door of the bedroom where a mated pair of my makeshift pack slept. Desi sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Her voice was still thick with sleep and annoyance. “Briar, it’s the middle of the night.”
“I’ve been found. We have to go before he tracks me
here.” Panic clawed at my chest. Lucas and his family destroyed everything they touched. If he had the chance, he’d ruin this too.
“Who?”
“A Blackthorne.”
She got out of the bed and ran her hands through her hair. “Wake up, Jess. We need to pack.”
Her mate groaned and sat up, looking at me with blazing eyes. “What’s all this about?” he asked, his Northern English accent stronger with fatigue.
“Get your ass up and help me pack our stuff. The Blackthornes are coming.”
He shot to his feet, fangs extended, his dragon warring with his vampire side. I knew the feeling. “How? We’ve been careful.”
“I didn’t think he’d come looking. It’s been too long. I thought he’d forgotten me.” My voice wobbled just enough I felt like that naive girl I’d been when Lucas stole my heart.
“Who?”
“Lucas Blackthorne.”
Desi scoffed. “The bastard prince? He’s not a threat. He’s powerless. We could take him down easy.”
“Don’t underestimate him, Desi. He’s manipulative, strong, and who knows if he’s been feeding on humans.”
“How did he find you?” she asked.
I didn’t want to meet her eyes, but I had to. They didn’t know anything about me other than the fact that I was one of them. An abomination. A creature straddling two worlds. Fighting an internal battle. Destined to lose to one side or the other and lose myself in turn.
“He turned me.”
Jess growled. “You can’t be serious. Your sire is a Blackthorne vampire? You practically brought him to our doorstep.”
“He left me for dead.”
“And now he’s come to collect what he’s been missing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Me.”
Jess wrapped his arms around Desi and pulled her close, pressing his palm to the barely-there evidence of her pregnancy. “I won’t put my mate at risk for you. Not when you knew this was possible all along.”
“Stop it, Jess. It’s because of Briar we have this pack at all. Any one of us could have to face our sires finding us. You know it.”
He sighed and his shoulders slumped. “We can’t run. He’ll only track you wherever we go.”
“I know.” I gathered my strength and took a steadying breath I no longer needed. “That’s why I’m leaving. But you have to leave as well. He’ll find you and there’s no telling what he’ll do to you if I’m gone and you’re still here.”
“No, Briar. You can’t leave. You belong with us.” Desi’s eyes were wide and pained.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you all. I’d never forgive myself.”
“If he’s coming for you, we can use that to our advantage.” The rough, warm voice filled the room and made me turn toward the sound. Sebastian stood with his arms crossed over his chest, a sly smirk on his handsome face.
“What are you talking about?” The confusion in my tone was impossible to disguise.
“We’ll give him what he wants. Use you as bait. He can come for you, then we’ll get him.”
“Trap him?” I asked.
“Exactly.”
“And what are we going to do with him once we trap him?” Desi cocked her hands on her hips.
“We’ll hand him over to the witches in exchange for protection. We can finally settle down in a real home. Have strong wards put up. No more hiding, no more fear of discovery. With wards, we can live without fear.”
I had to admit, that sounded wonderful, if not too good to be true. “Who’s to say the witches will help? You’re a witch, they haven’t helped you yet.”
He flinched at the mention of his origins. Just like the rest of us, Sebastian lost his family. But he lost them because he let his wolf shifter side take over and he killed them. While most of us were half shifter half vampire, Seb was a rare wolf/witch combination. He had more control than the rest of us. More experience. But I was stronger than all of them. “Lucas Blackthorne will be a prize for any coven. The Blackthorne name is still a bargaining chip when it comes to those with magical power. They’re infamous for the damage they caused in Salem. It will work.”
A pang of unease squeezed my chest. Sebastian was confident, maybe overly so. What if something happened to them because we tried and failed?
“I’ll catch him. You find the others and get out of sight. I have more of a chance of overpowering him.”
I could see the desire to argue in his eyes, but he knew I was right. My father was a pack Alpha. My mother from a strong line as well. That, plus the Blackthorne blood that changed me into what I was made me the most powerful of all of us. It was a responsibility I didn’t want, but couldn’t deny.
Sebastian turned his gaze to where Jess and Desi stood. “Go now. It won’t take long for him to track me.”
Jess nodded and stared at Desi, then the two of them started shoving their possessions into tattered backpacks. I sighed. We’d finally settled in this big empty house, finally been able to rest. A few of our pack were dangerously weak. Their vampire sides demanded blood but their other side refused to allow them to feed. We’d lost two of them to starvation already. We needed a way to bring their two sides together in harmony. A way to help them live. None of them chose this life. They deserved more than what their vampire sires left them with.
Desi pulled me into a hug and whispered, “We’ll wait for the all clear. Then come back to help you with him.”
“Go. Get Rami and Petra. They’ve been sick. They need to get a head start.” Sebastian entered the room and placed his palm on the small of my back. A slight gesture, but one that wasn’t unwelcome.
Desi nodded and released me. In the span of a few minutes, the house was empty and silent, save the creaks of the old wood settling and Sebastian at my side.
“You should go,” I whispered.
Sebastian tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and sighed. “You’re powerful, but I can see the hold he has on you. I should stay close. Be ready in case he overpowers you.”
“You can’t always be my savior, Seb.”
“I could be more than that.”
I shook my head. “I’m not ready to have that conversation.”
“You know what I want. I’ll wait.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my neck. The contact made me shiver. I’d been on the verge of something with Sebastian since he rescued me from Nik. The man taught me everything I needed to know. How to be what I am when the one person who was supposed to show me left me for dead. How to exist in a world where I wasn’t wanted. He gave me my life back. He gave me everything Lucas stole from me.
His fingers trailed over my forearm, touching the tear in my sleeve caused by my scuffle in the woods with Lucas. “Don’t make me wait forever.”
Then he left and quiet filled the house, almost like another being watching me. But I knew Seb was close by. Waiting. Ready.
I sat on the top stair, letting my mind drift back to the moment Seb had come into my life. The freedom he helped me gain. If he hadn’t shown up in that drafty Scottish castle when he did, I was pretty sure Nik would have finally killed me in his madness. Instead, Seb broke my chains and I got revenge on one of the two men who ruined me.
One down. One to go.
And the man in question was on his way to me.
I sensed him. Lucas was near. He’d be on me any second. Getting to my feet, I forced myself to ignore the hum of nervous energy running through me. He wouldn’t get to see how he affected me.
His voice washed over me like a warm blanket, soothing and seductive at the same time. I hated myself because I wanted him. I always wanted him. But I hated him more.
“Briar. You can’t hide from me.” He stepped into the moonlight that spilled in through the open door. “We have a lot to discuss, my wild wolf. And…you ruined my shirt.”
5
LUCAS
Briar stood at the top of the stairs, all leather and defiance. She looked like a damned
fallen angel sent to collect my soul and take me to Hell. I’d let her as long as it came with the promise of delicious torture at her hands.
“Still as vain as ever, I see.” Her voice held no hint of the soft, tender-hearted woman I’d known. The last century had changed her. If I hadn’t been certain of that when we met in the woods earlier, I was now.
“You know you love me for it.”
There wasn’t a spark of amusement in her eyes. Nothing but defensive anger rolled off her. “The only place I’ll ever love you is in your memory, Lucas.”
“I’m not leaving here without you.” That was clearly the wrong thing to say because she let out a growl that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Then she was on me. She must’ve leapt from the stairs, but I didn’t have time to register her speed.
Her claws dug into my biceps as she threw me across the room, the pain blossoming into arousal already. It never took much with her to turn me on. This woman, this fierce and deadly creature, was the one thing my body craved more than anything else.
I slid across the hardwood floor before crashing into the corner with a bone-jarring thud. Popping up onto my feet, I stared at the woman I’d loved and lost. I wouldn’t let her get away. Even if she didn’t want me anymore, I had to save my brother.
“You’re coming with me, darling. Don’t fight it. You know where you belong.” I ran at her, pressing her up against the wall, pinning both wrists above her head.
She struggled like it was her job. “I belong here. Not with you. Never you.”
“I think you protest too much, my wolf.” Leaning in, I ran my nose up her throat, inhaling her scent. She smelled different. Still her, but…somehow not. Was that because of me? Because of my blood running in her veins?
“I. Hate. You.” Her hips wriggled as she tried to break free of my hold.
“I don’t bloody care if you hate me.”
Eyes sparking, she fought against my grip. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Yes, we’ve established that.”