Chapter 50
H unger burned, my fangs hurt, longing to bite into flesh, to let blood gush down my throat. I had lost track of how many days had passed since Gabriela had shut me into a prison made to keep vampires. Chains hung from the ceiling, wrapping around my arms and neck. The invisible restraints of a magic wielder’s power blazed across my chest, pulled around me tight. Even the reinforced steel cage was sealed with magic. The only way I was getting out would be if Gabriela released me.
What I had done plagued me as all I had were my thoughts. I’d lost my gallery, including the painting of Quinn. I’d given in to bloodlust, and shame burned through me as I thought of how much I’d let her down.
I was too weak to move and stood motionless, head bowed. We were in the cells that Gabriela had built when we arrived in Melbourne. I’d never thought I would find myself caged. I would probably never leave. Footsteps approached, but I remained as I was, wondering how long she’d starve me. It took me a while to realise Gabriela was standing on the other side of the bars.
“Have you come to torment me again?” I asked, not bothering to lift my head. She had been doing this constantly, and I was tired of it.
“Look at me,” her voice was filled with ice.
I kept my head bowed, a deliberate attempt to disobey her. She’d caged me, I wasn’t about to make it pleasant for her. “What do you want?” I asked instead.
“I have something for you.” She unlocked my cage, stepping into it. “I think you’ll like this. I know you want it.” There was amusement in her voice.
“What do you know about what I want?” I snarled.
She tore my shirt open, still bloodstained from my feeding frenzy, her hands on my chest, trailing down to my abdomen. “Matteo, don’t you remember? Once Carlos taught you how to hunt, you were magnificent.” She brought her face close to mine. “Mmmm, I think he remembers, I see a stirring in your eyes.”
I snapped at her, my teeth clanking, biting nothing but air as she pulled from my reach. Once again hunger swelled, and I fell into the red haze.
“There he is!” Gabriela’s glee shone from her face. “I thought we’d lost you for a moment there. The feral in you isn’t happy about being caged. ”
“What are you trying to achieve?” I asked.
“I want to know why you let a human you claimed go. She made demands of you. You! That’s not our way, they do not have sway over us! We take what we want. Either their blood or their bodies, and when we claim one, we turn them.”
“What is it that really bothers you?” I demanded. “Was it because she’s human, or the fact that a human made me feel a way that no vampire you paired with me did?”
“You still belong to me,” her attempt to sound amused failed. I’d gotten under her skin.
“Not by choice. I may not have been in a cage, but you’ve still held me prisoner for six hundred years.” I wasn’t sure why I was baiting her. She could use her power over me to make me suffer. As the clan’s Queen, she had power over us all, and no one could resist her command. I wished I could leave, as did many others. “Let me go, and we’ll see what happens.”
“Do you really hate me that much?” She grabbed my hair and yanked my head back to expose my throat before she bit into it without warning.
The release of her venom hit my system, stronger than that of other vampires. I moaned, unable to control myself as warm pleasure rolled through my body. A growl rumbled from me. She slid one hand around my back, holding me in place as I rubbed myself against her, hard and full of desire. When she was done, she stepped back, watching me. I took a minute to snap out of what she’d done to me, and I bared my fangs, hissing. The chains held me back as I struggled to wrap my hands around her neck. The desire induced by her venom wore off, leaving me shaking with rage. She smiled as she watched me, a cold glint in her eyes, one of victory. My blood dripped from her mouth.
Blood trickled from where she’d bitten me, down my throat. She’d sunk her fangs in deep. Hunger flared in me, worse than it had been before.
“Carlos,” she said in a low voice, licking her lips.
Carlos walked into the cavern with a human in his grip. The rush of blood sang to me; a red haze rose up. Savage hunger tore through me, and I pulled at my chains, trying to break free. Just one drop of blood would make me go mad, but I wanted every last drop. Growls sounded from my throat.
Gabriela grabbed my jaw. “Stop,” she put command into her voice and my fight left me.
“You torment me only to taunt me with food?” I demanded.
“I bring you a gift.” She moved away from me, leaving my cage open. “Look at what I brought you.”
I shifted my gaze, catching green eyes. I know those eyes . I managed to push through the haze of my hunger, through the feral part of my mind. Red hair, and a face I yearned to hold. Currently staring straight ahead as if she saw nothing. Clearly an effect of Gabriela’s influence. It hurt to see her under the sway of another. I couldn’t protect her, couldn’t even reach her while she was like this. Her presence here was dangerous while I was in such a state of hunger.
“Remove his chains,” Gabriela commanded her guards.
“What are you doing?” I asked. I meant my question for Carlos.
‘ I’m sorry,’ he spoke through our bond. ‘ You know I cannot disobey our Queen .’ His tone on the word Queen was filled with bitterness.
The chains were removed, but I held myself perfectly still, using every ounce I could to stay where I was. My body trembled with the effort.
“So, will you kill her or turn her?” she laughed.
Her words hit me hard, an arrow straight through my heart. “What?”
“Did you think caging you meant you would escape punishment?” All amusement disappeared. “You have us hiding like rats after what you did. Every hunter is scouring the streets for us.” Waves of anger pounded against me. “It all started with her, so it’ll end with her.”
She prowled towards Quinn, standing behind her, fangs on display and leaned forward, breathing in deeply. She brushed fingers over Quinn’s throat, a movement that mesmerised me. “Bite her,” she ordered Carlos.
He leaned over her, my most savage growl echoing from me.
I took a step forward without meaning to. “Get away from her. She is claimed. To harm her is forbidden.”
Carlos stopped, eyes wide that I’d growled at him. ‘ Matteo, calm yourself, I won’t hurt her. She is compelled, she won’t feel a thing. ’ He bit Quinn, and she didn’t react, unable to.
“Get away from her,” I repeated. “She is mine!” I wanted to tear them both apart.
Carlos lifted his head, the smell of her blood almost enough to floor me.
Gabriela lifted Quinn’s chin, pulling her into her power again. “Tell him.”
Quinn’s eyes moved, meeting mine, empty. Her mind was buried deep beneath the fog and darkness that was Gabriela’s control.
“I am yours,” Quinn murmured. “Drink from me, give me your blood. I’ll be with you, forever.” Her voice was flat, forced by Gabriela.
My fangs ached. All I wanted was to bite into her soft throat. “Stop,” I told Gabriela. “Release her.”
“Walk to him, little human,” she commanded.
Under Gabriela’s order, Quinn walked forward. She stopped just beyond my reach. Not trusting myself, I took a step back. Her heartbeat, and very scent of her pounded against me, my hunger begging me to feed. But there was another scent on her. Fainter. The human she had almost fed from, one whose desire had risen off him in waves the first time I saw him. It was like she’d punched me in the chest.
Gabriela’s impatient growl was soft. “Close her in with him.”
While Gabriela’s back was turned, I made an attempt for freedom. My run took me past Quinn, and I pushed down the temptation of her blood. I ran straight into an invisible barrier, thrown back. I got up, growling at Gabriela’s laughter.
“The Bloodking has ordered me to kill you,” she revealed. “I’ll need a replacement for my clan.”
I sensed alarm in Quinn, as if she were slowly becoming aware of what was happening. My need for her blood rose. It had been days, maybe a week since I’d fed. If they locked her in here with me, I wouldn’t last long before I gave in.
The door to my prison closed with a loud thud, and Gabriela led everyone from the cavern.
Quinn blinked. “Matteo?” She looked around. “Where are we?” She kept her distance, wary of me. “ Please don’t turn me.” The tremor in her voice tore at me .
I turned away from her again, wrapping my hands around the bars, to prevent wrapping my hands around her. “You’re going to die in here if I don’t.” I clenched my jaw. “I haven’t fed in days, and all my control is about to break. You’re locked in a cage with a starving, half-mad vampire, and neither of us can prevent what is about to happen.”
The tantalising scent of her fear wafted towards me. “Why does she want me so much? Why is she so determined for you to turn me?”
“It’s about punishing me,” I grunted. “ Mi amore , I’m so sorry.”
I couldn’t resist my hunger any longer. All I could hear was her heartbeat and the rush of her blood, her scent calling to me. She took a step back.
“No, please don’t. You promised,” she pleaded.
“I promised you I wouldn’t turn you. I will keep my word. Unfortunately, to satisfy the hunger, I need more blood than you can give. Just know that I fought this.” I felt my control slipping.
“What good will that fact be when I’m dead?! ” Tears welled up in her eyes, the scent of salt mixed with her fear. “Matteo, please don’t-”
I could no longer hold back and moved towards her, pulling her into an embrace as I bit down. Her blood tasted sweet, and I groaned against her throat, sinking into darkness.