Come for Me 2 (The Hunt #2)

Chapter Nineteen

Dax

T hey saw me the moment they turned the corner. As much as I wanted to jump out the window and run, they’d follow me, and I’d be leading them right to her.

I could’ve taken the vampires. I could feel their auras combined weren’t a match for me.

Once Alaina was outside the castle walls, safe again, there was a sense of fulfillment as her protector. This was when I was ready to become Dax the Strategist again, ready to risk it all for my men. I couldn’t leave them behind.

Olivia’s guards’ intentions were simple: Present me as a prize and reap whatever reward comes of it.

A perfect opportunity to avenge my queen.

I moved quickly away from the window, wanting them to think I was alone, giving Alaina time to escape.

Five of them swarm me, two behind, three in front in a triangular formation, caging me in, and I let them. They underestimate me, and their arrogance will be their downfall.

I gather the vampire with the buzz cut at the point of the triangle is likely their leader, leading his platoon to the victor. He has scars consistent with that of a soldier. The man was tall, maybe six foot two, but not quite as tall as me or as big. The way he walks tells me he’s a tool, like he thinks he’s more muscular than he actually is. His arms are out to his side as if his lats are “too big” to put his arms down. His aura is different from the others, which makes me believe he’s older.

But he’s not the one I smelled on Alaina. None of them are. I want him .

I feel a shove on my shoulder.

“Walk,” the vampire minion says.

I turn toward him, walking backward while facing him. With my hands up in a fake surrender, I give him the cheesiest smile I can muster—or as my men know it, the I’m-going-to-enjoy-killing-you-later smile.

He’ll be the first one I kill.

They continue to push my back every so often. I keep a record of who and how many times they put their hands on me to calculate how many seconds I’ll make them suffer before I completely end them. I know from my tortures that seconds can feel like hours if done right.

Several shoves later, we make it to the great hall, and my men are still on their knees. Some men look perplexed, probably wondering what I’m doing here. Others seem to stifle a laugh as I flash them my award-winning smile. It’s not the first time I’ve played the part of the fake captor. Although, this is the first time I’ve played this part with the strength of a completed mate bond to aid me. I imagine my men are eager to see what I can do next.

I praise my men through the mindlink. Wanting them to be proud of themselves as they successfully rescued their queen. They accepted this mission and were prepared to die for her, but I won’t let that happen. My men straighten at the approval. Now, their ruthless king has returned. And he’s pissed.

There’s another emotion that splays over their face—relief. Although their relief could be for many reasons. Relief that my return without their queen means our mission was complete, and she got away safely. My return also brings relief as it means we can finally put an end to this.

The same minion pushes me again. That’s five seconds.

Then I see Olivia.

“Dax, how nice of you to visit me,” Olivia says.

I remain lighthearted at Olivia’s casual greeting even though she kidnapped, drugged, beaten, and starved my mate.

Alaina has seen my many stages of my anger for when I kill. If she were here, she would call this stage the “pompously angry” stage. When I asked her what that meant, she explained it meant I had a cockiness and arrogance about me.

My mate gets me.

“I came to kill you,” I say matter-of-factly, matching Olivia’s cool, calm, and collected tone.

Olivia’s jaw drops but quickly recovers from the direct hit. Getting the exact reaction I wanted, I smirk at her.

“You don’t want to do that,” she explains, averting her concentration from me to picking at her nails. Once she picks her cuticle, she crosses her hands, one over the other, on the arm rest. She leans forward slightly to expose her cleavage.

I cross my arms, waiting for her to continue.

“Caleb is willing to mate with Alaina,” she says. “You will let him.”

Over my dead body.

I remind myself this was part of the plan and tell my wolf it’s not in our best interest to tear Caleb in half. He’s following instructions and obviously played the part of the revenge-seeking-alpha well.

Staying silent, I raise my eyebrow in protest.

“You and I both know I will never stop hunting her, and you can’t always keep her safe. This way, you’ll be able to expand her protection to the vampire population under our rule and, of course, from me.”

That’s it? That’s her big plan?

Olivia doesn’t think ahead, and she underestimates her opponent, the very same person she expected to rule beside her. Olivia also forgot secret option C, showing she doesn’t know me at all: Kill her, leave here with Alaina as my mate, and Caleb continues to rule mateless and ugly.

It’s comical, really, how wrong Olivia is for me. And how blind she is to it. Olivia successfully infiltrated my pack and had the opportunity to gain insight into everything . Me, my pack, and Alaina. She then executed a series of attacks that resulted in the kidnapping and mistreatment of my mate... Despite all this impressive success, she still is going to fail miserably. It’s unfortunate. Olivia’s success showed promise for a ruthless strategist. Too bad she harmed my mate. Now I have to kill her.

I didn’t even realize I was laughing out loud at her misfortune. My laughing slows to a stop and my wolf surfaces, making my eyes glow. My chin dips slightly while locking in on my target.

I take out the first bloodsucker who dared to lay his hands on me by tearing out his heart. Holding the glowing red flesh in one hand, I crush it in front of Olivia until it dims.

The next one is stupid enough to charge me after watching what I did to his friend. Moving out of the way of his fist, I grab his extended arm that was meant to pulverize me and throw him across the floor. The man lands into a column. I’m on him before he can recover and smash his head till he’s unrecognizable, his flesh plastered on the column. The last one tries to jump on my back when I’m not looking, but I grab him midair, slam him to the floor, and crush him with my foot. His head is a smashed mess, while his body is still twitching as the blood pools out of him.

I look around, and my men have taken out the other vampires holding them hostage. My men knew to wait until Alaina was no longer able to be used as leverage against us before they made a move to kill their captors. My pack makes their way behind their king.

I can hear Olivia’s unsteady breathing. Caleb moves from beside Olivia and steps down from the podium, pep evident in his step. Caleb makes his way toward beside me, turning to face her, his hands behind his back, revealing his deception. Olivia knows she’s trapped. She looks around the room frantically, searching for someone to rescue her.

I march up to the podium. She doesn’t intend on running. She’d rather sit and see how this plays out.

I tower over her as she sinks back into the throne. Her head tilts all the way back, her mouth open in disbelief. I grab her by the hair and throw her down the steps that lead up to this dramatic display of false power and authority.

She lands at the feet of my men, who growl and snarl at her. Surrounding her much like... well... a pack of hungry wolves. They all want to kill her for harming Alaina. Threatening to destroy the strength of their queen also meant taking strength and protection from their pack, their homes, and their families.

But they know Olivia is mine to kill. Alaina is my mate first before she is their queen.

My men part, sensing my murderous aura as I approach behind them.

Olivia’s lying on her side, perched up on her arm, her beady red eyes widening further as I draw near. My canines slowly emerge from my gums, elongating as I stare at Olivia. I draw it out, despite my wolf wanting to make for a quick kill. It’ll be the last thing she sees is my well-thought-out—and easy—decision to kill her.

Right before I get the chance to lunge at her, fire engulfs outside of my men who have formed a circle around Olivia and I. Flames so bright they’re practically white as they surround us.

And I see Ash himself, intent on stopping me. But I can tell it’s not because he cares for Olivia, so why does it matter to him if I harm her? What does Olivia have on him? I hoist Olivia up by her throat. One arm pins her to my front, the other piercing her artery with my claw. I’m ready to slice at any moment if he doesn’t drop the wall of fire moving toward my men, seeing Ash’s intentions are to avoid cooking Olivia from the outside in.

“That’s enough, Dax,” Ash says calmly. “Don’t make us hurt Alaina.”

I scoff, thinking Ash is also unaware Alaina is safe, likely miles and miles away from them now. It isn’t until I see two male vampires appear with the only leverage to ever exist since my mother, being handled like you would a traitor. At the sight of Alaina being dragged in on her knees looking more beaten than before, I dig further into Olivia’s throat, her blood starting to trickle down.

I’m going to spank Alaina’s ass raw once I figure out a way to get her out of here. She won’t be able to leave our bed for weeks. I know she can feel my aura hitting her.

“You’re in so much trouble. What the fuck are you still doing here? Why didn’t you run?” I growl through the mindlink.

They have her, which means they have me.

Alaina sobs. “I’m sorry. I tried.”

And it’s then when I see blood coating her teeth.

And red blurring my vision.

I memorize the faces of the men that seem all too comfortable holding my life in their hands, their faces soon to be unrecognizable once I’m done with them.

“What do you want?”

“Let’s revisit the deal Olivia initially presented. We let her leave with Caleb,” Ash says.

“Not fucking happening. She leaves with me and only me.”

“Let’s see if we can renegotiate. Find an outcome that works for all of us,” Ash says.

Olivia nods quickly in my arms.

“I’m not negotiating shit.” I throw Olivia to the wolves, literally, and lunge through the fire, embers searing my skin. I punch straight through the guard’s skull that was holding Alaina, grabbing his shoulders and crashing him into a wall.

He’s baring his teeth and hissing at me, and I, the same. I end his snarling with my teeth chomping out the flesh of his throat.

The other guard throws Alaina across the room, crashing into a column. It cracks from the impact, and she’s unconscious.

I set my sights on the vampire who threw Alaina. I call on my wolf, my canines elongating, the fur starting to sprout from my back. My bones crack, the pain igniting a match in me, and the need to protect my mate fuels a fire bigger than Ash could conjure up.

I crouch, reaching such a point of my shift. Certainly, I look like something from an exorcist based on the vampire’s expression. My wolf is bigger than any he’s seen in his long, pathetic, immortal life.

I’m ready to prowl onto him, when my nostrils are distracted by the smell of the very vampire who has been feeding on Alaina. The same powerful aura I felt before I tumbled over the cliff fills the room, and I can no longer move.

The presence appears, and it takes all but a second to put two and two together. The resemblance between them is too obvious. This is Olivia’s mentally unstable brother.

Colin Jameson.

I was aware Olivia had a powerful brother. My father used to tell stories of the vampire who was marked unfit to rule. Olivia never spoke of him. Not to mention, no one had seen him in centuries.

If the stories were true, Colin’s family, with the generational power of cryokinesis, the ability to freeze anyone and anything, had a competitive history with Ash’s pyrokinesis. Colin’s family was second best to Ash’s for centuries. In Ash’s prime, only someone with a death wish would challenge him. After Ash’s mate died, he didn’t want the throne, and his powers were not what they were. When he was king, Ash gained many enemies. To find out he was weaker was putting him at risk.

Colin came into his power when his parents had taken their eternal rest. A battle to take Ash’s place was held, and Colin won. But the council denied him and instead chose Olivia, his younger sister, to replace Ash.

As far as politics go, this could’ve been a grave mistake on the council’s part. They chose to piss off one of the most powerful men because he’s unstable by offering to keep the throne in the family. Instead of the council giving the powerful and unstable man what he wants, let’s piss him off instead. Because that makes sense.

And If I remember the story correctly, Colin didn’t retaliate against the council, not like I would have. They put me on the throne. So, how unhinged could he possibly be?

I’m briefly distracted when I hear Alaina groaning as she wakes up. Still barely able to keep her eyes open in her current state.

Colin also looks toward the direction of Alaina, and I panic. Straining as much as I can to get to Colin before he can get to her.

Colin moves toward her and leans down— he touches her, fucking touches my mate —and moves the hair off her neck, checking for a strong pulse.

“Dax,” Alaina mindlinks me, unaware of the vampire prowling toward her.

My eyes move from Alaina to Colin.

“Get away from her!” I boom.

Colin can’t hold this freezing shit up forever. And while I have no patience when it comes to Alaina and keeping her safe, I have all the patience in the world when it comes to killing those who harm her. There aren’t enough places in the world for this bloodsucker to hide from me. No boulder left unturned or pulverized until I find the snake hidden beneath and skin him alive.

Colin looks at me with his head cocked, and his beady red eyes look me up and down, his metallic-smelling breath getting too close for comfort, inspecting my face. After a moment, he stands, his hands behind his back. “What does she see in you?” he says to himself.

My nostrils flare, but I don’t move. I can’t move.

The outbursts from my men in the mindlink tell me they can’t move either.

Colin tsks as he gives me his back, looking at the vampire guard I, regrettably, didn’t get to kill. He stops in front of the guard and wipes blood—Alaina’s blood—off the guard’s collar. Black veins crawl up Colin’s neck and then disappear. “I see you roughed up my bride.”

Bride?

“Bride?” The guard gulps.

Colin gives the man a half smile before reaching into the guard’s chest and pulling out his heart. It glows bright red in his hand. Colin’s smile never falters. He doesn’t look away as he crushes the guard’s heart in his hand, quite literally crushing the life out of his own kind. This guy’s insane. The ashes of the remnants from the guard’s heart fall to the floor.

Colin takes out a white handkerchief from his lapel and wipes his hands clean. He turns and looks at Alaina, who’s on her stomach, perched onto her elbows, her legs splayed out to her side. She’s more alert now, but in no shape to defend herself. Colin walks toward her.

He squats, grabbing her chin and turning her face toward him. “You’re with the wrong king.”

His fangs prick his lip.

Alaina bares her canines at him. “I don’t see another king in here.”

Even after being beaten, silver and other drugs flooding her system, Alaina is still as fierce as they come with that mouth of hers. It’s still her strongest weapon.

That’s my girl.

But I want her to stay my girl for longer, so I chime in, with hopes his attention comes back on me. “She’s right.”

Olivia was only considered a queen under regency with Ash as the regent. Ash had stepped down, making him no longer a king, but a former one despite what others may still choose to address him as, with an agreement of protection from the next in line. The council agreed to this only if Ash would act as Olivia’s advisor or “regent” while she learned the ropes. Again, another sting to Colin, who had been preparing to take over the throne if the day were to come since he was born. Any and all changes in power are meant to go through the vampire council’s approval first.

The only king here is me.

Colin looks at me. I can see he doesn’t intend on letting me go nor does he want to let up on his force any time soon, and my blood boils. I haven’t felt helpless since boyhood.

But I still have one more card to play.

I mindlink my men.

Olivia becomes visible behind the dissipating flames with two of my men holding her. At my command, they break one of Olivia’s arms, and she screams in agony.

“Touch what’s mine, and I will break what’s yours.” I raise an eyebrow to Colin.

Olivia pleads, “Colin, do something, please!”

Yes, Colin. Save your sister , I mock in my head.

Colin pays no attention to his sister in pain. To my horror, he continues to stare at my mate.

His intentions have my wolf pacing inside of me like a caged animal. His plans toward Alaina are possessive, permanent, and reserved only for me. Alaina will only bear my pups, my mark— my brand.

I order my men to break Olivia’s other arm in a desperate attempt to divert his attention from Alaina, to entice him to bargain for his sister’s life.

Come on, you motherfucker. Focus on me. Not her.

“We had a deal!” Olivia screeches as my men break her other arm. “I capture Alaina for you. I bargain with Dax. He and I take the throne, and you end her!”

“I’ve got a better idea. I kill you for trying to reach for the throne and failing. Take Alaina as my own and kill Dax instead. Then you can be with him in the afterlife.”

Olivia’s jaw drops.

“Thank you for getting her here. Your part in this was”—he moves his head side to side, contemplating— “almost flawless.”

No. Olivia was just a pawn.

Which means I’m out of moves.

“You’d kill your own sister?!” Olivia screams, thrashing in my men’s hands.

Colin doesn’t pay her any mind, which only pisses her off even more.

Olivia continues to spout how Colin used her as a pawn for his own gain, how he betrayed her. Colin obviously finds her complaining a nuisance as he plans to ask me to finish what I started with Olivia for two reasons. One, to eliminate competition for the throne and two, revenge . Revenge for harming Alaina.

He cares for her. More than his own sister. Which means...

“Dax?” Colin drawls.

And I know what he’s asking. Colin knows I want Olivia dead for what he did to Alaina. I don’t waste the opportunity to cut down a threat to Alaina’s life. If it’s the last thing I can make happen for her. While I wanted it to be me who gets to kill Olivia, I don’t want to risk giving my back to this guy. And there’s someone else who deserves it more.

Keeping my eyes on Colin, I turn my head to my men holding Olivia. “Hold her.”

Their hold on Olivia restricts her until the only thing she can move is her head and neck. I look at Caleb. If it doesn’t get to be me, then he should do the honors. I nod to Caleb, who nods back before stepping in front of Olivia.

Caleb grabs hold of Olivia’s head, and with one swift pull, detaches her head from her body. I savor seeing Olivia’s decapitated head in Caleb’s hands, her mouth still trembling, her beady eyes glossing over.

My men throw her body to the other wolves, tearing her to bits.

Good riddance.

The moment is ruined when Alaina’s crying out for me, and I see Colin approaching me, but all I can do is watch.

Colin kicks me in the stomach, and I flop to my side like a mannequin. Colin lands another blow at my jaw, and my tooth goes flying. Colin is brutalizing me, each blow met with Alaina’s screams, begging Colin to stop. I want Alaina to stop because as long as Colin’s focused on me, he’s away from her. But Alaina is hard for anyone to ignore.

Alaina’s tears catch the attention of Colin, who looks pissed that my mate is crying for me.

The last blow obstructs my vision, and I have to fight to stay conscious. I’m able to pull myself back into focus to see that Colin is near Alaina, gripping her cheek and yelling in her face. “You still want him?!”

She flinches.

My darling is scared. Of him? For me? Or for her, I don’t know.

“Look at him, he’s nothing! I can protect you! Me! Not him!”

I spit out blood and rasp, “Get the hell away from her!”

“She is mine!” Colin hisses, baring his fangs at me. That’s right, focus on me.

Colin makes it over to me in a flash and pounds his fist square into my jaw. Something cracks. And I spit out blood.

The fur from my wolf ripples like a wave down my spine hearing him refer to her as his. He’s fucking delusional, but his comment enrages me still. I feel my beast pulling apart the steel bars to his cage.

Colin composes himself, and I see his plan play out before me. Colin doesn’t intend to have me suffer no matter how much he wants to. He won’t for Alaina, as he knows her love for me. He selfishly wants as much time with her as possible, and killing me quickly accomplishes just that. He justifies the quick death for her .

How romantic.

Colin lands another blow to my head, causing a severe headache.

He intends to love her, as I do and possess her in ways only Alaina allows me to. He knows this, and he’ll force her love by any means necessary. He plans to mark her as I have and turn her into a blood sucker like him. Not before having her swollen with his child, as I envisioned for her and me. He means to strip me from her in every way possible.

But that’ll never fucking happen. Our souls are entwined by the Moon Goddess Herself. I’m her devil, and she, my darling angel. I’ll find her in death, haunt her for years to come. Her soul belongs to me, and the devil always comes to collect. We’ll rule hell together.

I look at Alaina, my prey, and she’s pleading for me. Her sinner. Her predator. And my—

Colin lands a kick to the back of my head, and I faceplant to the floor. And although Alaina is screaming, I know that’s not why my ears are ringing.

Dizziness and fatigue are setting in. Even without Colin’s powers, I know I don’t have the strength to move my arms or legs. I gather enough strength to look at Alaina, and when my vision is doubled, I know immediately what’s happening to me.

My body is shutting down.

And I don’t need to use my powers to look at Colin to know what’s coming next. Instead, I stay focused on Alaina. My last moments will be devoted to only her.

“Darling,” I mindlink. “Look away.”

Yet, selfishly, I’m hoping she doesn’t. I want to soak up every bit of her that I can, with however much time I have left. I would welcome death if it meant drowning in her eyes.

Lucky for me, even as I’m dying, Alaina doesn’t listen to me and doesn’t tear her eyes away from me, letting me stare at her longer.

There’s no time for me to say what I want to say. All the things I should’ve told her and the things she’s made me feel. I send as much love and gratitude her way and try to harbor any pain to myself, so it isn’t the last thing she feels.

All noise becomes blurred in the background, and all I can hone in on is her. No time would have ever been enough with her, but I’m thankful for what I did have with her. To die hers is the greatest honor.

Even after everything she’s been through and the force of nature she’s seen from Colin, she’s still spitting out death threats. Vowing to destroy the asshole. Avenging her one and only mate. Even in this moment, when her king has been beaten to a pulp and the only way to protect her is to take the beatings from the monster who has her, she doesn’t waver. Alaina stays true and loyal to her mate. To her, I’m enough, even when I’m not.

In this moment, I recognize how truly lucky I am to have been loved by Alaina, whose stunning violet eyes burn into me as Colin’s shadow grows nearby.

The ringing in my ear blocks out any other noise, but I know Alaina’s mouth is moving a mile a minute, spewing out venom at Colin. It’s hard to watch her break at my failure, but I don’t look away. It’d be easy to feel rage, but all I feel in this moment is appreciation for her. I smile, for all things her and for the hell she’s going to give this guy when I’m gone. Because that’s my hellion.

“Keep fighting, darling, until, one day, you can come for me,” I say to her.

I’ll haunt her, scaring everyone away from her, so I have her all to myself. Possessing her, so she can feel me under her skin. Whatever is next for me, I’ll come for her in this life or the next. Alaina is forever mine.

“I love you... My queen.” And a final darkness envelops me.