Chapter 17 – Thorne
No fucking way.
“Way,” Rorik says, answering my words that I didn’t realize I had voiced. I’m confident I didn’t say them out loud. “I’m intrigued by this unveiling plan. Thought I’d make an appearance to assure you all don’t fuck it up.”
Vara scoffs, but Layla holds her head up high.
“Well, you see tonight went off without a hitch. Convinced yet?”
The corner of his mouth tilts up slightly, and I wonder how many vampires are brave enough to stand up to him.
“Not yet. Humans are too unpredictable. To be honest, so are we.” He tilts his head. “You’re not worried, are you, Queen?”
“It’s Queen Aldana, Rory,” Vara hisses. “What kind of name is that anyway for an elder vampire?”
Rorik narrows his eyes at the sphinx. Why is she provoking him?
“I’ve gone by Rory since I was a child. Sometimes I go by Rorik. You, more than anyone, should know that to survive this long is to adapt. To change with the times. That includes names, Varalin.”
Vara’s eyes widen, and Rory chuckles.
“You think I didn’t know your full name? I know every supernatural being in this city.” He turns to me. “Even the silent ones.”
I blush, which only amuses the vamp.
“Like I said, I can help you three get answers. Unless you don’t want to know what happens when you complete the bond.”
He turns to walk away.
“No, wait!” Layla says, stepping forward to grab his arm. He looks down as if no one has touched him in decades.
Maybe no one has.
“Of course we’d like your help. I’m sorry about Vara. She can be bitchy sometimes, but you already know that, don’t you?”
He glances at Vara, and she snarls at him.
“She’s just protecting her mates. She doesn’t trust me and that’s fair. I can’t expect my community to accept me when I’ve been hiding in the shadows, wallowing in self-pity.”
“Old emo ass vampire,” Vara mumbles.
Rorik shakes his head at Vara, amused. “Would you three like to set up a time next week to meet?”
“Yes,” Layla says, eager with the prospect of getting some answers. “We’re all free Thursday night.”
Rorik nods. “Then let’s do Thursday at midnight.”
He reaches out a hand, and Layla accepts it. He gives her a firm shake before offering his hand to me and Vara.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are some witches here I’d like to terrorize.”
He turns but pauses and pivots back towards us.
“Joking,” he says with a wink. “Mostly.”
And he walks away chuckling.
“Did that really happen?” Layla asks in awe as if she’s just met a celebrity. I suppose for her, she did.
“He’s an asshole,” Vara grumbles.
“But an asshole with answers,” Layla says.
“Okay, let’s go dance and socialize so we can get the fuck out of here,” Vara says. “Rory got me all riled up and now I’m horny.”
Same, to be honest.
The event will go on throughout the night but after another hour of mingling, Layla and Vara have had enough.
We make a final round to say our goodbyes, then hop into the SUV to take us back to Layla’s penthouse about ten blocks away.
We could have walked, but we’re more vulnerable that way, even if I’ve made sure Layla’s security team could adequately protect us.
Layla has also expressed how she doesn’t want us to fly her around. I think she’s a little scared of heights. Hopefully, we can convince her to participate in sky sex at least once.
We make two turns before the team in the SUV behind us notifies me that we’re being followed.
I bark at the driver to make an unexpected turn.
“What’s going on?” Layla asks from the backseat, panicked.
Before I can explain, the SUV behind us explodes, catapulting us forward.
Our SUV lands on its side, glass shattering and metal grinding.
My ears ring as I hastily work the seat belt.
Supernaturals, especially vampires, quickly learned that heads can be decapitated, and hearts can be impaled when thrown out of a vehicle during a crash.
Seat belts are just an extra precaution.
Once undone, I crawl into the back to help Layla and Vara.
“Are you two okay?”
“Yes, I think so,” Layla says, her voice shaken.
“I’m fine, but my dress is ruined now,” Vara growls, and her humor in this high stress situation somehow eases me.
One of the bodyguards from the SUV that was driving ahead of us appears and helps Vara crawl out through the broken window while I work on Layla’s stuck seat belt. Despite my supernatural strength, it’s not coming free, so I use the knife from the holster on my ankle and cut her out.
When we emerge on the street, bullets fly.
We fall behind the crashed SUV for protection. I pick up a bullet that fell to the ground after hitting a light pole next to me.
Wooden bullets.
That means whoever is attacking us knows Layla is a vampire. They’re trying to assassinate her.
I vaguely register a sharp pain in my side as I grab Layla by the waist.
“Vara, up,” I growl, catapulting us into the air.
I fly us above the high-rises, and it takes less than a minute to arrive on the wraparound balcony of Layla’s penthouse.
Word of the attack has already reached the security team, and they’re outside waiting.
“Lock down the building. Make sure no one enters or leaves. Call William and Finna to help.”
Finna is a witch and a new member of the team. She can create a memory spell to help with the human residents in Layla’s building who might question what’s happening. William is a vampire who can also compel them.
Erebos lands ahead of us.
“Report,” I bark.
“Two guards dead, two more injured.”
I nod. “Call in a supernatural cleanup team to the street where the SUV explosion and shootout happened so they can help with witnesses and the human first responders.”
I turn to another guard, a vampire, waiting for instructions.
“Set up a perimeter two blocks in each direction. Question everyone who tries to cross. This is all hands on deck. Someone was shooting at us using wooden bullets. Everyone needs to wear their armor and activate the protection shields Finna cast.”
The vampire nods and leaves.
“Thorne,” Layla sobs. “You’re bleeding.”
One side of Layla’s dress is covered in blood where I had her flush against me as I flew us to safety.
I palm her cheek. “I’m fine, Bunny. It will be healed by morning.”
I glance behind me, and my stomach drops.
“Where the fuck is Vara?” I ask, panic filling my voice.
“I’m here,” she says, landing with a thud. She tosses an unconscious human to the ground. “I spotted the shooter on the roof of one of the buildings we flew over. Thought you’d want to question him.”
I approach Vara, and she takes a small step back. I can’t imagine the rage she must see exuding from me. If I didn’t need the shooter alive, I’d tear his heart from his chest right now.
When I reach the sphinx, I clutch her by the nape and claim her lips. The kiss is quick, possessive.
“You fucking scared us,” I growl, resting my forehead on hers.
“Did you forget that sphinxes are guardians too? We know how to fight.” She kicks the human on the ground. “This man threatened my mates. I wasn’t going to let him get away.”
“You think he's a hunter?”
“I assume.” Vara kicks him again. Since he’s unconscious, there’s no reaction.
I wave at one of the other vampire guards still on the balcony with us.
“Take him to the holding cell in the basement. Compel him to tell the truth and report back to me with his answers.”
I had the cell installed the first week as Layla’s head of security. It has a power suppressor so if any sort of spell has been cast upon the human, it will no longer work in the room.
Vara and Layla are hugging, bloody tears streaming down the vampire’s face.
“Thorne,” Vara says. “Worry about the human tomorrow. Let him sit in fear for a while and let us see to your wound. Let us take care of you.”
I cave, noticing the concern in Layla and Vara’s eyes. I give Erebos orders to watch over the human, then let my mates lead me through the balcony’s door. I dismiss the soldiers inside, instructing them to take their posts outside the entrance of Layla’s penthouse.
The vampire guard who has been staying in one of Layla’s guest rooms has long moved out since I’m here every night now.
Layla leads me into the massive en suite bathroom in her bedroom and sits me on the counter. Vara lifts my shirt over my head, the magic-infused fabric separating to clear my wings. Layla is on my other side, and her hands immediately fall to the scars across my chest and stomach.
I suck in a sharp breath when her cold fingertips trace over them. She does this sometimes when we’re lying in bed after sex, cuddling. Gargoyles can heal from their wounds, but if the cut is deep enough, scars will be left behind.
“The bullet didn’t go through,” Vara says, inspecting my wound. “I’ll have to dig it out.”
“I have a vampire first aid kit,” Layla says, turning to the door behind her.
“A vampire first aid kit?” I ask.
“Yeah, once hunters learned to make wooden bullets to kill us, some vampires decided to keep kits on hand in case we got shot and they missed our heart. Wooden bullets make it harder to heal, especially if one is left lodged in our body.” She frowns, taking the container out of the closet and handing it to Vara.
“I’ve never had to use it before. I’m so sorry, Thorne. ”
She leans in, taking my face in her hands and kissing me softly on the lips.
“I would suffer one hundred wooden bullets every day if it meant you’d never feel the pain of just one,” I say and kiss her this time, slipping my tongue inside her mouth to lap up her sweet taste.
I moan as her soft lips press against mine. So gentle despite the dangerous vampire I know she can be. So delicate for her large, broody gargoyle mate.
“Done,” Vara’s voice ends our quick make out session.
The wooden bullet sits on the counter next to me. I didn’t even feel her removing it. Guess the pleasure of kissing my mate overruled the pain.
“It’s already closing up,” Vara says, wiping an alcohol swab over my injury. She washes and dries her hands when finished.