Scorned by Venom (Argentium Vampire Hunters Trilogy #2)

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sage

The night air was chilly, making the crisp wind that smacked against my skin almost unbearable. Not wearing my leather jacket and boots was my first mistake on this personal mission, but I would be lost without the prize.

Headlights appeared behind me on the once deserted back road, and when I looked in the mirror, barely seeing a black Venom van through the blinding lights, I knew someone found me.

The driver approached rapidly, blaring the horn, commanding me to stop.

Instead, I loosened my grip on the throttle, pulled the clutch in, and lifted the shift lever with the toe of my tennis shoe, popping the Harley into fourth gear.

I eased out the clutch and twisted the throttle, praying to whatever god listened that I didn’t die from my stupidity.

The pavement beneath my tires was wet from thunderstorms that had passed through earlier in the day. Because of that, and the fact it was my first time ever driving a motorcycle, when I swiftly approached the bend in the road, the bike began to wobble.

Shit! I should’ve watched more instructional videos on how to ride this damn thing.

With no idea what I was doing, I attempted to realign the bike I’d stolen by yanking the handlebars, but it refused to cooperate and I spun out of control.

The bike tipped, the ground approached rapidly, and I knew death stood over my shoulder like it had for months, ready to claim my foolish soul.

Winnie’s beautiful dark-blue Harley hit the pavement first, then I slammed into it. The impact propelled my body across the asphalt, the surface eating away at my skin until I skidded into an embankment on the side of the road.

My heart thundered in my chest and my head spun as I sank into the cold mud wearing Luka’s T-shirt and sweatpants. They were one of the few things I had left that still smelled like him, and my stomach knotted knowing I’d just ruined two of them.

That’s just fucking great.

The van squealed to a halt, and I kind of wished I hadn’t worn a helmet. I preferred dying from the road rather than being killed by any Venom member. Or worse, them taking me to my father.

The door flung open, and my breath caught in my throat as I instantly recognized the person on the other side.

Shit.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Winnie yelled, running to my side. He kneeled next to me and flipped open the shield on my helmet, his eyes boring into mine ready to scold me. “You could have fucking died, Sage!”

Marcus pointed a flashlight at my face, blinding me for a second. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Even though my captors weren’t Venom, getting caught still angered me. I let out an exasperated sigh, feeling the weight of frustration settle in my chest. I attempted to push myself into a sitting position, but my body refused to cooperate.

My right arm hung motionless, completely paralyzed. The thought of it being torn off in the accident sent shivers down my spine. Reluctantly, I glanced downward and saw it was still with me but covered in road-rash and probably dislocated.

Seeing the damage I had caused, my body finally decided to announce all of my injuries. Every muscle and bone in my body throbbed with excruciating pain, starting from the crown of my head and cascading down my entire back, shooting sharp sensations through my legs.

I let out a wail, and Winnie shoved on my chest, pushing me back into the mud. “Stay down. You need blood.”

Even with the severe pain, a weird tingle of shame ran through me, and I bit my lip, attempting to hide my feelings.

I’d never taken blood from anyone other than Luka, and despite it not having the same orgasmic intensity as vampire bites, it made me feel like I was being unfaithful to him.

As I thought about the last time I ingested some—when Mannie almost killed me—I knew I’d feel better once my wounds healed. But when I vaguely remembered the intense state of euphoria it provided me, I pushed aside my feelings.

Aware of that side effect, I had to make sure I got to keep what I went on this mission for. I hurriedly focused my attention on Marcus. He had a look of concern for my safety mixed with disappointment that made me feel horrible for my actions.

“I need my backpack,” I groaned. “I had it strapped to the back of the bike.”

He nodded and turned his flashlight away.

“I have to pick these rocks out before I feed you,” Winnie said, bringing my gaze to him.

Though I knew it would hurt, I looked down at my arm and steadied my breathing, ready to get it over with. He pulled the first one from my wound, and I winced from the sting. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t go to Luka’s house.”

“How did you know where . . .” A realization dawned on me. “You have a tracker on my phone!”

“I do. But when I woke up and my bike was gone, I already knew it was you and where you went. I told you last night we couldn’t go back there because we don’t know if it’s being watched or not, and you still didn’t listen.”

After Winnie denied my request, I snuck into his cabin while he was sparring and found the keys in a cup on his desk. I actually thought they were for Luka’s Harley and that’s why I swiped them.

Not knowing shit about motorcycles, I watched some YouTube videos on how to ride and shift gears until the sun came up, then mapped out a route. I set my alarm so I’d wake up before everyone to execute my flawless plan. When I attempted to steal Luka’s bike, the keys didn’t work. I’d almost given up, but decided to check Winnie’s next and hit the jackpot.

It was quite a challenge to silently push Winnie’s bike a mile away just to start it. Once I mounted the Harley and took off on my slow journey under the setting sun, I realized how much time I had wasted, which proved to be my second mistake.

“You guys went and got Annie. What’s the difference?” I asked before gritting my teeth as he picked out another rock.

“We used a team of people and were careful when we went to get the dog. Obviously, you weren’t since we easily found you without even using the tracker. You’re lucky it was us.” He shook his head, picking out another rock as I held my breath. “Had Venom found you first, they might have used you to breach the wards, and people could have died.”

I thought I’d planned everything perfectly, mapping out my entire ride only using back roads and making sure to get in and out of Luka’s house quickly. My safety wasn’t important to me anymore, so if I’d gotten killed, I was okay with it. My suffering would have finally ended.

But what I never considered was the many lives of others. Because I didn’t understand how wards functioned, I was unaware that someone could manipulate me to bypass the barriers protecting the camp.

More people would be dead because of me . . .

“So tell me, Sage, what was so damn important?”

It might appear foolish to Winnie and others, but I didn’t have a choice but to go to Luka’s house. Having his scent still on his clothes allowed me to be near him when I wore them. It was the only thing that brought me comfort. And although my stupid mission had scored me one of his T-shirts, two pairs of sweatpants, I’d ruined the ones I was wearing.

My chest tightened, and it wasn’t from the impact of my crash. “This was the last set of clothes I had that smelled like Luka, so I went to get more.”

Winnie let his head fall back, looking toward the dark night sky. He let out a long sigh that let me know he was done with my shit. “You’re an idiot.”

I ignored his candid remarks. “Whatever.”

“Found your backpack,” Marcus shouted from a distance.

When I turned my head to look at him, pain shot through me and I screamed.

Winnie’s whiskey-colored eyes and unruly black hair came into my field of vision. “All the rocks are gone. Are you ready now?”

Unless I wanted to go to the ER and risk more lives, this was my only option. I nodded.

Winnie lifted a wrist to his mouth and bit into it, then held it in front of my face. I took a deep, painful breath before latching on to it.

With every sip, my weary body found relief, and I silently wished for my broken heart to be mended as well.

Winnie unlatched my helmet as the euphoria spread through me. Once his blood took over, my eyelids drifted shut, my mind falling into a state of ecstasy, landing softly into a fantasy world.

The mud below my body turned into a soft bed, and Luka was now wrapped in my arms, his blue eyes sparkling brighter than a star in the night sky.

And when he smiled at me, his fangs slightly showing between his lips, it was the happiest I’d been in a long time.