Chapter Six
Meg
Terror sparks through me as the second horn blows and
the vampires charge Beck. “They didn’t get in a circle.”
I hate the fact that he’s out there and so completely
outnumbered. I can’t see any possible way he wins.
“No, they seem to have figured out that won’t go well for
them.” Dante’s sunglasses cover his eyes, but there’s concern in his tone that
wasn’t there moments before.
“Is he in trouble?” A stupid question. He’s one man versus a
whole bunch of vampires. Panic threatens to take over, and it doesn’t make a
lick of sense. I barely know the man.
And if he dies, you’ll get sent off with one of those
vampires. Wouldn’t it be better to end up with the man you feel something for?
“No, not from the vampires,” Dante says, not taking his eyes
off the fight.
Beck seems buried under the group of vamps.
“It looks like he’s in trouble to me.” The thought sends a
wave of nausea through me. Will I have to watch the gnomes take his big,
gorgeous body away? Will they drag him across the sand and declare one of the
vampires the winner?
Dante finally turns my way. “Yes, he’s in trouble, but not
in the way you think. You remember I explained about the symbiotic twins
thing?”
I nod. “Yes, he needs a bondmate because his brother is
dying.”
“It’s beyond that. Beck is the warrior half of unbonded
symbiotic twins. He needs Cian to balance him,” Dante explains, leaning in so I
can hear. “Cian gets lost in his thoughts. He’s the intellectual half of the
man. Beck gets lost in something else.”
My stomach turns as there’s suddenly blood all over the
sand. Not Beck’s. He’s knee deep in bodies and blood, but he seems to simply
keep going. Almost as though he’s enjoying it. I suddenly understand the danger
he’s in.
“He can’t control his rage.” He was so controlled with me
only hours before. He took what he needed and nothing for himself. I would have
let him have me in that moment, but he walked away.
Now there is no mercy or kindness in the man who might be
king.
One of the vampires tosses down his weapon and seems to be
trying to talk to Beck. “Isn’t this the part where he backs down?”
It’s easy to see the vampire is trying to surrender, but
Beck isn’t listening.
“Shit.” Dante looks down at the railing, seeming to be judge
the distance to the floor of the arena. He looks back and takes my shoulders in
his hands. “Okay, sweetheart, I’ve got two choices here. I can pray that Beck
gets his shit under control or I can ask you to take one for the team.
Actually, there are three, but I can’t accept choice number three.”
The crowd roars around us. Beck begins to prowl toward the
vampire who keeps pleading. The gnomes start to creep out, and they have
weapons in their hands.
“They’re going to go after Beck, aren’t they?” I ask the
question despite the fact that I know the answer.
“They’ll try to contain him, but they’ll fail.” Dante’s
mouth turns down. “They’ll die, too, and I’ll have to put Beck down. It’s
stupid but I actually carry around something that will do the trick. That’s how
serious this is. If he starts, he won’t stop until he’s dead, and then all is
lost. Look, I owe my cousin everything. I’m going to beg you to help him.”
“Me? I can’t fight…” The connection. I’m the bridge. “How
can it work if his brother isn’t here?”
“He is nothing but instinct right now,” Dante explains. “His
instinct is to kill, but there are other instincts. You are very important to
him. You have to get him to see you, to need you. He’ll want to protect you,
but beyond that he’s going to want to claim you.”
“I thought that was what this whole thing is about. He has
to win and then he gets to…” Does he mean what I think he means? “Are you
talking claiming in a biblical sense?”
“I don’t know what that means,” Dante admits. “I’m talking
about sex. There’s a ritual. Beck has to prove he can physically claim a mate
or he can’t take you with him. Women and men who can form the bond are highly
prized. If he doesn’t have at least a shot at making babies with you, you’ll be
given to someone who does.”
“I’m a human being, you know.” I feel like I have to point
out a few of this plane’s inequities.
“Yes,” Dante agrees. “It wouldn’t work if you weren’t.
What’s it going to be? Because we’re minutes away from me having to take out my
cousin. I’m begging you. You’re the only one who can save him.”
I look back to the arena, and Beck has the vampire against
the wall. He’s going to do it. He’s going to kill the vampire who’s begging for
his life.
But he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to be this man, this
rolling ball of pain and rage that will someday suck everyone into his hell.
I’m not sure how I know, but this isn’t Beck. He isn’t a
killing machine. He’s a man trying to save his brother, and I’m the key.
Again, I feel his pull, and I have to follow the call. Dante
goes first, gracefully jumping over the wall and then turning to offer
assistance. I’m not so graceful, but there isn’t time for me to do anything
beyond get over that railing by any means necessary. The vampire Beck is about
to kill has nowhere else to run and is seconds away from being skewered.
Beck will never be able to forgive himself. Not if he kills
someone like this.
“He asked for mercy, Beck. There’s no reason to kill him.”
Strangely it feels right to be here. In the back of my mind I know I should be
scared, but suddenly I’m certain I can handle him. Dante’s right. I’m the only
one who can handle him.
For the first time since I woke up here, I realize I’m not
without some power.
Beck stares at me long enough for the vampire to get away.
He shakes his head as though he has to force himself to look
anywhere else. He turns to Dante, his mouth a flat line. He’s splattered with
blood and points back toward the seats. “Get her out of here. How dare you
allow her on the battlefield!”
Dante puts both his hands up as though trying to show Beck
he doesn’t have any weapons. He also moves back a good five feet. “The battle
is done, cos. It’s time for you to come down now.”
“Not until I’m finished.” Beck’s voice is rough, and his
eyes narrow on Dante. “You should never have walked out here. Are you
challenging me?”
I really am going to have to save them all. “Beck, Dante is
not challenging you. No one is challenging you anymore. They’re all running
away. You scared the crap out of them.”
Beck looks around, and I can plainly see that he’s angry the
others are getting away. It’s time to step up my game or he’ll chase them all
down. I move in and place my hand on his chest, his skin under my palm.
Dante stays where he is, but he holds a hand out as if to
ask her to come to him. “Meg, he’s too far gone. You’ll have to…”
“I heard you in the stands.” It would be a terrible mistake
to try to walk away now. I’m not afraid for myself. If Beck thinks for a second
Dante is trying to take me away from him, things might take a bad turn. I
soften my voice, trying to sound vulnerable even as I weirdly feel empowered.
“Beck, I’m yours. Are you going to leave me alone to chase after the others?
Shouldn’t you take care of me?”
Dante shakes his head. “Not going to work. Meg, if you can’t
handle it, then I need for you to run. Run to the stands. I’ll distract him.”
“Shut up,” Beck barks in a deep voice. “You don’t talk to my
mate.”
Oh, he’s going to be such fun. If he wasn’t so hot and I
couldn’t feel how emotional he is, I would walk away. But something compels me
to stay even though I know I’m about to join the exhibitionism club. Well, I
wanted to explore my sexuality. “Fine, but you better be right. If I find out
this is a stupid joke, I’ll stake you myself.” I throw my arms around his neck
and mold my body to his. The minute I touch him my whole body comes to life.
It’s easy to go up on my toes and brush my lips over his. The sword he holds
falls out of his hand. “Please, Your Highness, I am yours. You have to take
care of me.”
I take a deep breath and pray that damn vampire is right. I
breathe deeply so my breasts swell against his chest. Finally, I have his full
attention.
He towers over me. His gray eyes were filled with anger
before, but now they gleam down, a mixture of the rage he’s fighting and
something else entirely.
“You shouldn’t have come out here.” He growls as he takes my
face between his hands. He shifts them slightly until they tangle in my hair.
He looks righteously masculine, and I feel my heart speed up.
It takes me a moment to form the words. “I had to come.”
He’s so close. His neck and shoulder are injured, the wounds
seeping blood. There’s a part of me that wants to shrink back, but seeing this
piece of him is important. He’s a warrior, and not the kind who drops a bomb
from above or pushes a button from miles away. He fights in close quarters. His
life is always on the line. He’s a knight, and I feel like his lady. He was
intent on destruction, but I stayed his hand.
It’s a heady feeling.
A low growl comes from his throat, and then his mouth is on
mine. The world falls away. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know that
others are watching us. I can hear the announcer call the battle in favor of
Beck. The crowd cheers, and then the announcer says something about a public
display of sexual compatibility, but Beck’s tongue sweeps inside my mouth and I
don’t care. He holds my head in his hands, and I’m deliciously powerless
against his assault. My skin tingles everywhere it meets his. He hauls me
tightly against his frame, allowing me to feel his desire. His erection presses
long and thick against my belly. His body moves against mine, and I find myself
rubbing helplessly against him.
Even as his body prods mine, I feel his mind playing at the
edges of my consciousness. It’s almost as if there are gates to my mind, and
like the marauder he is, Beck wants in. This is the connection I felt before,
the one that could be addictive. The one I want more than my next breath. I
relax and let go of any thought of keeping him out.
And then I’m completely overwhelmed.