Vampire Blood (Vampire Bite #2)

Chapter Six

Lucas

Five days.

It had been five days since they took her from me, but it felt longer. The hours stretched and bent under the weight of every second I hadn’t heard her voice. It had been five days since Kael disappeared into enemy territory.

Five days of silence. No word. No sign.

And it was driving me mad.

The cottage felt too small, the walls too close. The fire in the hearth crackled, but it didn’t chase away the chill that had settled in my bones. Nothing could. Not while she was out there, all alone.

I paced, each step echoing off the stone floors. My hands curled into fists at my sides, nails biting into my palms. The longer I waited, the worse it got. My mind wouldn’t stop conjuring horrible images… Annika bleeding, broken, calling for me while I sat here doing nothing.

The door creaked open, and Callum stepped inside. His eyes swept over me, sharp but cautious, like he was bracing for a fight.

“You need to sit down,” he said.

I didn’t stop pacing. “I can’t.”

“You’ll tear this place apart if you keep at it.”

“Let it burn.”

His jaw tightened. “Lucas.”

I turned to him then, and whatever he saw in my face made him hesitate. I felt it too, that simmering rage barely leashed beneath the surface. It had been building for days, pressing harder with every moment Annika wasn’t in my arms.

“I can’t wait anymore.” My voice came out rough, low, barely controlled. “I should have gone myself. I should have—”

“Kael will come through.”

I shook my head. “You don’t know that.”

“You chose to trust him. So, trust him.”

“He’s been gone five days!” My voice snapped through the room, and Callum flinched. “Five days without a word, without proof he’s even alive.”

The silence after felt heavier than it should have. Callum didn’t argue, probably because he knew I was right.

I ran a hand through my hair, pacing again. “I should’ve gone after her.”

“You would’ve gotten yourself killed,” Callum said quietly.

I stopped and stared at him. “And maybe that would’ve been better than this.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”

“She’s out there, Callum. Alone. Scared.” My voice cracked, and I hated it. I hated how raw I felt. “And I can’t feel her anymore.”

Callum’s expression softened, but it didn’t help.

I didn’t want pity. I wanted blood.

“I have to go.” I turned toward the door, but Callum stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

“You can’t.”

“Get out of my way.”

“No.”

My muscles tensed, sharp and ready to fight, but he didn’t back down.

“She needs you alive, Lucas,” he said. “Not charging into a trap because you can’t control yourself.”

“Don’t—”

“She needs you to think.”

I froze.

The words cut deeper than I expected because they weren’t wrong.

I wanted to run, to tear through that camp and rip every shifter and vampire apart until I found her, until I had her safe in my arms. But that wasn’t what she needed. It wasn’t what she’d want.

I exhaled slowly, fighting back the urge to lash out. “And if Kael’s dead?”

Callum didn’t answer right away. When he did, his voice was low. “Then we’ll find another way.”

I forced myself to stand still, even as every muscle in my body screamed to move.

Callum was right. Charging in blind wouldn’t help Annika. It wouldn’t save her. But that didn’t make it easier to stay rooted in this damned room, waiting for a sign that she was still alive.

I turned away from him, fists clenched, trying to breathe through the storm in my chest. My thoughts circled back to Kael. Five days. Too long. What if he’d been caught? What if he’d betrayed us?

I tried not to think about that. The truth was we didn’t know if we could trust him, but we did. And now it was a decision I had to live with.

That was when a knock interrupted us. It came hard and fast, rattling at the door. Callum and I both spun toward it.

The door burst open, and one of the guards stepped inside, breathless. His eyes flicked between us, wide and uncertain.

“There’s a messenger,” he said. “At the gate. He says he has a message for you, Lucas.”

I was moving before the guard finished speaking, pushing past him and striding into the hall. Callum was at my side, matching my pace.

“Who is he?” I asked.

“Don’t know,” the guard said, trailing behind us. “He wouldn’t give a name. Just said it was urgent.”

Urgent.

The word hit like ice in my veins, and I pushed faster. My boots echoed against the stone, each step sharp and deliberate.

We reached the courtyard in seconds. The guards were already there, forming a loose circle around a figure cloaked in black. The hood obscured his face, and he stood too still. Unnatural, even for a vampire.

“Who sent you?” I demanded.

The figure turned slowly, and when he raised his head, I caught the sharp gleam of fangs. A vampire. Not one of mine.

“I bring a message,” he said, voice flat, emotionless.

My eyes narrowed. “From who?”

The vampire reached into his cloak, and half the guards drew their weapons.

He froze, then slowly pulled out a rolled scrap of parchment, sealed with dark wax. Blood red.

I didn’t move. I didn’t trust him.

But I took the parchment.

The wax broke easily under my thumb, and I unrolled the paper, scanning the jagged handwriting.

She’s alive. For now. But the bloodletting has begun. I don’t know how much time we have. Here’s the map with our location. K.

My vision went red.

Callum stepped closer, reading over my shoulder. His breath hitched. “It’s a trap.”

I crushed the paper in my fist. “I don’t care.”

“Lucas—”

I turned on him, barely holding myself together. “They have her, Callum. They’re draining her. I’m not sitting here while they bleed her dry.”

Callum didn’t back down. “And if you go alone, you’re walking straight into their hands. You’ll die, and she’ll still be lost.”

Ignoring Callum, I turned to the messenger. “How I do I contact him?”

“You don’t,” he shrugged. “I was paid to deliver this message. I don’t want to get involved in whatever this is.” He lifted his hands in a sign of surrender, and a moment later, he stepped back into the shadows, adjusting his cloak.

I turned to Callum. “I’m going.”

His expression hardened. “Lucas—”

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t!” He grabbed my arm, forcing me to stop. “You said it yourself—it’s a trap. It has to be. They’re baiting you.”

“They have her.”

“And if you die trying to get to her, then what?”

I shook him off, the heat in my chest rising fast. “Then I die trying.”

“Don’t be an idiot!”

I spun on him, the sharpness in his voice slicing through my control. “What would you do, Callum? Huh? If it was your mate? If you knew she was locked in a cell, bleeding out for their sick rituals, what would you do?”

He flinched. He didn’t answer.

“Exactly,” I said, my voice low, shaking with the weight of it all. “You’d burn the world down to save her.”

Callum stared at me, jaw tight. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“No,” I snapped. “I’m feeling clearly. And that’s the only thing keeping me from losing my damn mind right now.”

“Lucas—”

“I have to go.”

The words came out sharp, final, and Callum stepped back like he felt the wall I’d just thrown between us.

I didn’t want to shut him out. I didn’t want to lose him, too. But this wasn’t his fight. It wasn’t his mate.

It was mine.

Without allowing him to say anything else, I turned around and headed back to my cottage. I needed to get my gear, to ready my horse. In less than half an hour, I was already on my way, galloping through the forest. Branches clawed at my cloak, and the damp earth sucked at the horse’s hooves. The moonlight barely cut through the trees, leaving the path ahead shrouded in shadow. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need light to find my way.

After what seemed an eternity, I left the horse tied to a gnarled tree at the edge of a clearing, brushing its head before stepping away.

“I will be back for you, girl,” I whispered.

She snorted softly, stamping her hooves as if she sensed what lay ahead. I felt it, too.

The pull. The sickness in the earth. The taint of blood and magic clinging to the air.

I moved quickly, each step deliberate and soundless. The closer I got, the quieter the world became. There were no birds, no insects. Just the wind curling through the trees like whispers.

Annika’s scent still lingered. Faint but there. I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.

The terrain shifted. It was rockier, more uneven. The trees thinned, revealing jagged stones jutting out of the earth like broken bones. The ruins on the map Kael drew were just ahead.

I stopped, crouching low behind a boulder. My eyes swept the shadows, searching for movement. Nothing.

But they were here. I could feel it.

I ran my thumb along the edge of my blade, sharp and ready. My instincts screamed to keep moving, to tear through them until I found her.

Then, a twig snapped somewhere behind me. I froze, my every muscle locking in place.

The sound repeated, closer this time. It was careful, measured. Someone was moving through the trees. I was sure of it.

I drew my blade, sinking lower into the shadows. My heart was hammering inside my chest, but my hands were steady.

Another step, louder than before.

I shifted silently, slipping through the trees like smoke. My breath barely stirred the air. The scent hit me first. Earth, sweat, blood. But it wasn’t Annika.

A shifter.

I moved before I could think. The blade flashed in the moonlight as I lunged, slamming the figure to the ground. I could hear a grunt as my knee pressed into his chest, pinning him down. My sword hovered at his throat, ready to make a clean cut and end his miserable life.

Then…I saw his face.

“Kael?”

His eyes widened. “Lucas—wait!”

I yanked back before the blade could cut. My pulse roared in my ears as I stumbled off him. “What the hell are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you,” he replied, still breathing heavily.

I allowed him to get up, his eyes staring at me blankly while his hands nursed his neck.

“I needed to talk to you,” he continued.

I frowned. “No time for talking. We need to act. Now.”

“We can’t,” he said without flinching.

I took a step closer, my voice low, sharp. “You said she’s alive. You said they’re bleeding her. Testing her.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth. “And now you’re telling me I can’t save her?”

“Not alone.” Kael’s gaze didn’t waver, but there was something in it… regret, maybe. Or pity. I hated it.

“She doesn’t have time for us to sit here and plan, Kael!” My voice cracked. I didn’t care. “Every second I stand here, they’re draining her.”

“And every second you don’t listen is another step closer to getting her and yourself killed!” Kael snapped back.

I bared my fangs, the predator in me clawing for control. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

His words hit like ice, sharp and cutting.

Kael stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I’ve seen their numbers, Lucas. The camp is crawling with shifters and vampires. Not just rogues—trained fighters. Guards, watchers, scouts. They’re prepared for you.”

I shook my head. “You think I care about their numbers?”

“You should.”

“I don’t.”

Kael exhaled, frustrated. “Damn it, Lucas. She needs you alive.”

His words cut deeper than I expected. I looked away, my jaw tight.

“She’s too well-guarded,” Kael said, his voice softer now. “You can’t walk in there and take them all down. Not even with me at your side.”

I turned back to him, my hands trembling. “Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

Kael’s eyes darkened. “We wait. For now.”

I shoved him back, fury roaring through me. “Wait? While they bleed her? While they prepare their damned ritual?”

He didn’t fight back. Just stood there, letting me burn.

“I can’t wait,” I said, my voice breaking. “I can’t—”

Kael grabbed my shoulder. Tight. Steady. “You can.”

I tried to shake him off, but his grip held firm.

“You have to,” he said. “Because this isn’t just about Annika anymore. If they finish this ritual… if they wake Aurelius… this world burns.”

I froze.

I hated him for saying it. Hated that he was right.

Annika was my world. But if Aurelius rose, there wouldn’t be anything left to save. Not her. Not me. Not anyone.

“Go back and seek allies,” he urged. “As soon as you can. As many as you can.”

“But they’ll kill her,” I shook my head desperately.

“They won’t,” he assured me. “They need more blood than you can imagine for their wicked machinations. They bleed her every few days, then they let her rest.”

“I’ll kill them!” I roared, feeling rage take hold of me.

“And you will,” he assured me, tightening his grip on my shoulder. “But only if you are smart.”

I stared at him, every instinct screaming to push past him and charge into that camp right now.

But I didn’t.

Because I couldn’t risk losing her.

Not yet.