Come for Me 2 (The Hunt #2)

Chapter Sixteen

Alaina

T he faint jingling of keys and the door unlocking fills the deafening silence. It isn’t until the echo of the final latch do I bother to turn my head toward the medieval frame. A sandy blonde-haired vampire emerges with an over-the-top smile.

Power vibrates through the room with this new presence, reminding me of Dax.

“Hello, Alaina,” the presence greets me.

I step back, expecting the chain to allow me to at least hide deep into the corner, but my feet are frozen—and not because of fear or the chains. I strain myself, trying to make my limbs move, but I remain stagnant.

Panic sets in when I realize who I might be dealing with.

When I was studying the notes from past meetings, I briefly recall reading about the vampire with molecular immobilization powers.

Colin.

As king, Ash didn’t have any heirs, therefore, the royal council had to find someone to succeed him. With Colin inheriting his mother’s molecular immobilization powers, he was initially favored by the vampire community.

Unfortunately, Colin was deemed mentally unstable and, therefore, unfit to rule, making Olivia next in line. Colin was distraught, and at the rejection, he vanished, and no one knew what happened to him.

Until now.

Colin must sense my unease because his red eyes are in front of me before I can register, caressing my face.

“Shh... Don’t be scared, love. I’m not like my sister, and I know she has been cruel to you. She’ll pay for that, I promise. But I’m here now. She can’t hurt you.”

Colin sighs and runs his hand over my cheek. “I hate having to do this to you—I really do. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but I’ll make it up to you in every way possible.”

He is eerily gentle and soft with his words. None of which have the soothing effects he means to elicit.

Circling me, he stares at my mark with disappointment. “He never should’ve marked you without your permission. And in a dungeon where your beaten ex-lover was?” He tsks, shaking his head. “Not very romantic.”

How did he know about that?

“I tried to get you out sooner, but he practically made you a prisoner. But I’m here now, mate .” Colin smiles before disappearing behind me.

He’s making a mockery of our mating , my wolf says.

And she’s right. Vampire mates are rare—something his kind have always been jealous of. Most vampires engage in creating eternal bonds, the equivalent of a chosen mate among werewolves.

Unless he’s not mocking me and truly believes I’m his mate, then he’s more delusional than I thought.

Does Olivia know that her brother thinks I’m his mate?

No. That wouldn’t make sense. She was just nagging me about how it’s my fault she has to kill me. Olivia was all too proud when she mentioned her brother was here for me. If she knew he treasured me, she wouldn’t have been happy about his plan to keep me... Unless she thought that meant having me out of the picture would clear the way for her to have Dax.

A slight sting on the back of my neck pulls me out of my thoughts. I touch my mark and inspect my fingers to see I’m bleeding.

Colin is standing in front of me. His face, covered in black veins crawling up from his neck to his cheek bones, proves my blood is sending him into a frenzy.

Black orbs with red irises replace the whites in his eyes. Colin kneels, taking my fingers in his cold, dead hand. The vampire’s tongue licks the trail of blood to the tip of my finger before taking it completely in his mouth, all while he stares at me.

I watch in horror, unable to move.

He doesn’t want his prey to run.

I shiver at his crude act, my heart pounding out of my chest. Colin must hear it, too, when he places his hand on the ridge of my breast and smiles.

“Such a frail thing, your heart. Once I make you into a vampire, you won’t be so easy to kill.”

“Dax will come for me. And you. All of you.”

Colin stares at me with such possession and fixation. This vampire may be just as powerful as Dax. I don’t doubt Dax’s abilities, but I don’t know if he’s encountered someone like Colin before.

Or if anyone has, for that matter.

“Don’t worry, love. Nothing bad will happen to me,” Colin coos. He strokes my hair, still keeping me frozen in place under his touch.

I still can’t tell if he’s delusional and truly believes I care about him or if he’s being condescending. Looking into his eyes, I’m leaning toward delusional. This superhero complex he’s conjured up could cost me everything.

It could cost me Dax.

My wolf paces inside of me, baring its teeth, wanting to rip this threat to our mate bond apart limb from limb. Despite what I’m feeling, I stay silent and take a deep breath to calm my seething anger.

Colin already views Dax as a threat, so I don’t want to add to that by showing how protective I am of my mate and our bond.

“You are my mate. You were meant for me,” he hisses softly. “Not him.”

His voice resembles nails on a chalkboard.

I’ve seen this look of possessiveness and pure frenzy on a ticking time bomb before. It’s the same way Dax looks at me, melting me into a mere puddle at his feet.

But the terror this man instills doesn’t make my wolf purr at his show of dominance.

I bite my lip to fight off the tears. I can’t pinpoint whether I’m crying for Dax or the helplessness from the predicament I’m in.

“Shhh. It’s just the mate bond causing you to feel emotions you were never meant to feel.” Colin strokes my cheek lovingly.

I endure the shiver crawling up my spine menacingly slow without my body being able to react normally by shaking and jerking.

The tears pour out of me.

This is wrong. He is wrong. This is not my mate.

“You’ll be free of him soon,” he adds. “After I’ve ended him, I will replace his bond with my own, saving you from the grief of severance.”

No!

“Trust me, love. You won’t even miss him. He’s kept you from being the vampire you were always meant to be. It’s better this way. You’ll see.”

“You’re talking about making me a hybrid. The council doesn’t allow crossings between species. It’s against the law.”

“You seem to forget that my sister and your... mate ”—Colin grinds his teeth— “were arranged to become hybrids once before. The council will come around to our union once we’ve rid the world of the rogues and vampires together... And of course, heirs can only strengthen our cause.” He smirks.

I do my best not to throw up at the suggestion that I’d let him near me, let alone inside me.

I shiver at his power.

This man redefines what it means to be unhinged. Dax may lose his temper now and then, and sometimes, he’s unfair, but he never seems to lose control.

Rather, Dax becomes the top predator, with his calm demeanor, devilish grin, and laser focus.

He stands, and I still can’t move. “I have to go. I hate keeping you in here, but I need Olivia to think I’m still on her side before I punish her. A gift to you, my love, for how awful she was to you. But don’t worry, that’s just one of the many unimaginable ways I will make it up to you.”

At least he’s leaving.

“But before I do . . .”

Shit.

Colin digs in his pocket and pulls out a syringe. Inspecting it, he pushes on the plunger, letting some clear liquid products shoot out. “Unfortunately, I can’t have you remembering what we’ve talked about.”

If I could move, I’d hiss at the pinch of the needle piercing my neck, but all I can do is stare as this man injects some unknown drug into me. This time, it’s not silver but something more medicinal.

Almost instantly, my eyes grow heavy as they flutter. I fight as hard as I can to stay awake. I don’t want to be any more vulnerable than I already am.

“You won’t remember us meeting like this. Or how much it meant to me to have you near...” His exhale is somber.

His frozen hold on me finally lifts, but a new state of paralysis takes over with the concoction flooding my bloodstream.

The vampire sits himself behind me, and I am engulfed in his arms as my body goes limp.

He brushes the hair from my neck, placing light kisses behind my ear. He sighs from the euphoria.

“I regret that I must continue to play the part of the dutiful brother. Which means I have to make this believable so she doesn’t suspect anything. You won’t feel a thing, though,” he says proudly.

Does he want me to thank him for drugging me so that when he chomps at my skin it doesn’t hurt?

Yet the thought doesn’t seem so crazy when I’m out before I can fully feel the painful effects of him piercing my wrist with his bite.

* * *

I wake up, panicking and searching for something. For what, I couldn’t tell you. To make sure I’m alive, perhaps? My body is being poked with pins and needles as if I’d been sat on for hours, and my head is, once again, groggy.

I can’t remember falling asleep or much of anything. The last thing I remember is Olivia meeting me. Everything else after is blank.

Something happened, though, a violation making me want to curl into myself. It’s all overwhelming and confusing. But I don’t cry. I won’t cry. I’m just angry.

My anger must’ve taken the last bit of energy I had left in me, as I pass out on the cold floor, darkness embracing me once more.

* * *

Days have passed, I think . Without windows, clocks, or even a consistent mealtime to tell me if I’m receiving another breakfast or dinner, there isn’t a way to tell. The guards don’t feed me, but the hunger is nothing compared to the pain of not being near my mate. My mate is probably burning every pack searching for me. That hothead of a man. My loveable hothead, to be exact.

I tried to mindlink him, but the consistent doses of silver are too strong. And I imagine even if I wasn’t impaired, he’s likely too far out of range for me to reach him. I’m left here with my thoughts. No one visits me except Olivia, who enjoys cackling at my pain, trying to bait me, to get a reaction out of me. But I refuse to give her the satisfaction. My mate will come for me, and only then will I let my rage consume me and retaliate.

When Olivia isn’t spending time taunting me, I swear I’m being watched. There’s no light in the room, nor is there the sound of footsteps, heartbeat, or breathing, but I can feel eyes burning into me. The power the being emits is impossible to miss. I look at the darkness. Something, someone is out there, watching me. But with these chains, I can never move to get a closer look.

It’s likely the same guards or whoever Olivia has been letting feast on my body while drugged. The bite marks all sting.

Instead, I lie on my back and stare up at the ceiling, counting the stone blocks. I do this until the effects of the silver take hold of me again, and I’m out once more.