Chapter 22
DRAVEN
I ’m going to fucking kill her.
“Let’s go. You’re moving out of that house tonight.” I grab her by the wrists and drag her up the stairs, leaving Aries to take care of his hard cock on his own.
She screams. “You are out of your fucking mind.”
I yank her across his marble floors, her slippers sliding easily over the slick surface. “Yeah, I am. Because of you,” I scream back at her.
As we near the door, I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. She kicks at my stomach and pounds her fists on my back. “I’m going to kill you!”
My driver-slash-only father figure I’ve ever known arches an eyebrow at me. “Sir?”
“Pop the trunk, Rodrick.”
He sighs but does as I say. He knows me better than anyone. Even more than Aries and Bones. He knows when I’m in this state it’s best not to argue with me .
I toss Mia in. “I warned you. This is what happens when you don’t take me seriously.”
She screams again as I slam the trunk down.
I slide into the back of the town car and undo another button of my shirt. “Drive. Harker Mansion. Now.”
As we wind our way there, he glares at me in the rearview mirror.
“What is it?” I snap.
“You don’t have to be like your father or your grandmother. You don’t have to be like any of them. You’re still a Blackwell.”
I snicker. “You know better than that, old man. This is who I am. Who I was always meant to be.”
He shakes his head. “You can still fight the darkness. It doesn’t have to consume you.”
“It already has.”
As he nears Harker Mansion, he slows the car. “There’s still time to let her out and drive away.”
I shoot daggers at him, my silence giving him all the answers he needs.
“I’m grateful you’ve kept my secret all these years, but you will never understand what it’s like to have a soul like mine. To have this part of you that is always stretching toward an empty abyss.”
He blows out a deep breath as he turns down Mia’s road. “And you think forcing this woman to give you her land is going to ease that burden? Control is an illusion. That poison is a temporary high and when it wears off, your soul will be far darker for having done this.”
I don’t fucking care. “I’m not trying to ease my fucking burdens. I’m embracing them.” The Harkers are the reason I even fucking exist. It’s time for them to answer for their sins too.
He looks back at the road and nods. “Very well.”
I hate it when he dismisses me. I can feel the disappointment oozing off him, and it stings worse than nightshade .
When we pull up to the gates of Harker mansion, I lean out the window to punch in the code. A breeze of jasmine envelops me, and my heart flutters. The creaking of the iron stretching and shifting to beckon us forward sends my pulse racing even more. I curse under my breath, dreading the hold that this place has on me. That she has on me.
“Stay in the car, and do not move, no matter what you hear.”
Rodrick nods but says nothing. It’s far worse than when he scolds me. But I’m glad that he remembers his place. Despite his help raising me, he is still under my employ.
I hop out and gaze at the baneberry fields for a moment. Even in the dark of night I can see their silhouettes dancing in the wind, illuminated by the moonlight. And for a split second, I wish that they belonged to anyone else but her. Not that it would make any difference. Monsters like me don’t deserve love or kindness or romantic gestures. I drink, I fuck, and I wallow. No woman would ever choose to endure that.
I motion for Rodrick to pop the trunk.
“Motherfucker!” Mia swings both her legs out and kicks me in the chest.
“Fuck,” I grunt out as I stumble back.
She barrels out of the trunk and breaks into a sprint toward her front door.
The black sludge in my veins swirls, fueling my rage. “You can run, but you can’t fucking hide, Mia,” I yell back at her.
If I wasn’t trying to stifle this woman, I might be impressed by her fire and determination. Her stubbornness. I never have liked a demure, helpless woman.
I chase after her, reaching her before she can turn the key. I embrace her from behind, pin her arms to her sides, and yank her back. “After you sign the papers, I’m going to bury you in the crypt with the rest of your wretched family,” I growl in her ear.
She kicks up her legs and uses the door as leverage to push against. We go flying back and land hard on the wet ground below the stairs. All the air whooshes out of my lungs, and I lose my grip on her.
“Bones isn’t the only one who knows how to fight, fucker.” She scrambles up the stairs and manages to open the door this time while I’m still wheezing on the ground.
Our little lamb’s been holding back.
I glance back to see Rodrick watching from the car. “Wipe that smirk off your face, old man.”
Fucking imbecile . And I mean me, not him. I should be more on guard with her.
“Mia!” I charge after her, wedging my foot in the door before she can close it behind her. She slams it against my foot and takes off running again.
This house is massive. There are hundreds of places to hide. But she forgets that I know the layout better than she does.
I catch a flash of her dark hair flying around the banister toward the wine cellar. “I’ve got you, little lamb. I’m coming.”
The heat in my body rises with my adrenaline. Along with my traitorous cock. This game of predator, prey is fueling the ache, the need to be buried inside her tight pussy. Fuck. I hold onto the top of the staircase railing while I adjust myself. The scent of jasmine is so thick I can barely breathe. I need to calm down. Stay focused .
I barrel down the stairs, my anger growing with every step. “Mia, stop trying to ruin my life,” I call out. Her silence is pissing me off.
I round the corner between the shelves just in time to see her slip out the back door and make another run for it. Fuck. She’s going to get herself lost on her own damn property.
The fog is thicker than usual tonight—a bad omen. But through the heavy mist, I spot her running toward the field.
Oh, no.
She’s heading straight for the baneberry .
Fuck.
“Mia, come back here,” I yell but my voice gets lost in the wind.
When she reaches the third row of bushes, she finally stops and turns around. As I make a move to bum rush her, my stomach sinks.
“Mia, what are you doing?” She holds a bottle of liquor in one hand, a cloth sticking out of it, and a lighter in the other.
Her blue eye is almost as dark as the brown one. She smirks back at me. “If I can’t have this land, neither will you.”
She’s lost her fucking mind. We did this. I did this. I fucking broke her, and now she’s out of control.
“Put the bottle down and come back to the house so we can talk about this.”
“Fuck you, Draven. For the last time, stop telling me what to do.” She flicks the wheel of the lighter and the flame sparks to life.
Now she’s riding my last fucking nerve. “Did your nightmare man tell you to do this, Mia? Hmm? For fuck’s sake come to your senses. Everything will burn if you light that. Including your house.”
She laughs and holds the flame closer to the bottle. “Oh, now it’s my house? Go fuck yourself. All you do is torment me. You act like you care one minute and then dismiss me the next. At least be honest. Admit that you don’t really want me. That all you care about is your greed. That’s the real reason why you won’t fuck me.”
Fucking hell. My stomach knots. I’ve done too good a job of pushing her away. She believes I hate her. That’s what I wanted. So why the fuck is it breaking my heart to see her look at me with the same hate?
I take another step closer, praying she doesn’t set us both on fire. “Think about your family’s legacy. I shouldn’t have put you in the trunk. We can still figure this out. Just please, put the lighter away.”
Tears stream down her face even as her smile remains. “What fucking legacy? They didn’t want me. No one wants me. Except him. Only Nox.” She lights the rag that hangs from the bottle.
Fuck. I get it. I understand why she won’t sell. How could I be so blind? I’m fucking stupid. “Mia, I want you to walk very slowly to me. It doesn’t have to be this way. I take it back. You can keep everything. I’m begging you, and I don’t fucking beg anyone. Please, come to me.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t believe a word out of your mouth. You’re lying to get what you want. Just like you always do. Well, fuck you, Draven. You can’t have me or my land because I’m burning it all down.”
She tosses the Molotov to her left and the first bush it hits ignites instantly.
“Mia!” I yell.
She darts out of the bushes as the first row catches. “Enjoy the show,” she yells.
“Fucking hell.” I sprint back toward the side of the house and grab the hose. “She fucking did it. I can’t believe it,” I mutter to myself.
As I run back, hose in hand, my heart sinks from my chest. She’s on the ground, hunched over. Fuck. I drop the hose and run to her. “Mia?”
On all fours, she gasps for air.
The fumes. Shit. I was so worried about the poison burning, I forgot what happens when it burns. I forgot that she’s not immune. Fuck.
She coughs and heaves, her eyes bulging, as she claws at the wet grass.
Panic rises in my chest. My palms sweat, and I can’t swallow. “Mia,” I whisper.
Rodrick darts out of the fog. “Take the keys. Get her back to Blackwell Manor before the only woman you’ve ever loved dies.”
My stomach turns. Love? No. That can’t be right. But she will die if I don’t get her out of here. I look back and forth between her and the fields .
“Draven, now . We don’t have time. I’ll clean up this mess. Go.” He starts walking toward the flames.
“Don’t let it burn,” I plead. The fumes are so strong it makes even my throat burn.
I scoop Mia up into my arms and sprint toward the car. I slide her into the back seat and peel out as fast as I can. Thank fuck my house is just up the road.
“Damn you, Mia.” I slam my hands against the steering wheel. “I get to decide how you die. Not you or anyone else.”
Her cough deepens as she twists and contorts in the back seat.
She can’t die.
I don’t know what this is between us, but I’m not ready for it to be over.
“Everybody out,” I roar as I charge into the kitchen with an unconscious Mia in my arms.
My staff scrambles out without hesitation. I set Mia on the center island and rifle through the apothecary cabinets like a mad man. I grab all the herbs I need and a bottle of Blackwell gin. I tear the cork out with my teeth and take a big swig to soothe my throat.
As I mash all the ingredients together to form a paste, I pray that it’s not too late.
“All right, little lamb. Time to shed your coat and become like the wolf.” I rip her shirt open and slather the paste all over her neck and chest. That should shock her system into consciousness and start to pull the toxin out of her skin.
I fly back over to the cabinet and grab a vial full of liquid. As soon as I found out that she was Mia Harker, that she’s not immune to the very poison that surrounds her property, I had Bones make an antidote .
I tilt her head up off the counter. “Come on, Trouble. Drink for me.”
She whimpers and murmurs something I can’t make out.
I slap her cheek. “Drink, Mia.”
She parts her lips, but her eyes remained closed.
“Good girl.” I pour the liquid into her mouth and tilt her head back, forcing her to swallow.
She whimpers again as I lay her back down. “ I hate you… Slick .”
I press my finger to her pulse and breathe a sigh of relief as her heart rate slows back to normal. “I hate you too. But you’re not allowed to leave me.”
When there’s a normal rise and fall to her chest, I wipe off the paste with a warm cloth. She’s fast asleep now, her body fighting to heal itself. I’ve never seen anyone who isn’t immune to poison survive a blast of toxin like that before.
I watch her sleep for a while, afraid to move her just yet.
The thought of never getting to gaze into her eyes again makes my stomach clench. I take another swig of gin and dial Rodrick.
“How is she?” he asks.
“Alive. And you?”
“Just finishing up. You only lost three rows. They’ll grow back in time.”
I only lost three rows?
Even Rodrick placates me. It seems trivial now. She almost died for those three rows. Because of me. Despite all my threats, I never meant to hurt her.
“Thank you. I’ll send another car to pick you up.”
“You did a good thing, Draven. You didn’t let the darkness win tonight. I’m proud of you, son.”
Chills sweep my back. That’s the first time… I swallow hard to choke back a sob. I can’t fucking break now. Not like this. “Yep.” I click off before he can pry any more sappy emotion out of me.
I carry Mia up the stairs to my bedroom, relishing the way she feels against me. I suck in deep breaths of jasmine and traces of honey left over from the paste.
When I pull back the covers and lay her down on my bed, that familiar ache returns. The pain from not touching her. I gently remove her slippers and leggings, then the remaining fabric from her ripped tank top before pulling the black satin sheets and comforter up to her neck.
The blush has returned to her cheeks, but I can’t risk her freezing to death after I just saved her from poison. I pull a chair next to the bed and sit.
She whimpers softly as she sleeps. I wonder if she is with him now. With Nox. I pray he allows her this one night to rest. Because no matter what my feelings are right now, I’m not done being angry with her.
My troubled little lamb needs to feel my wrath. To know that she does not get to scare me like this again.