Chapter 31 Living Nightmare
LIVING NIGHTMARE
ASHER
My parents take turns reciting a speech in which they assure everyone present that they have all the best things planned for the future of the company, and they are so very pleased to be welcomed as the new leaders.
A few people are casting surreptitious looks my way.
When the despicable couple waves another man on stage to introduce him, I swear again.
“That little shit.”
I grab Raya’s drink and down that too, forgetting she doesn’t drink alcohol.
“Who is that?” she asks.
“My cousin, Chadwick. Still riding on their coattails, no surprise there.”
Many in the crowd seem to recognize him or his name, and there’s some genuine cheering when he steps up next to my parents.
They spend way too long sharing a list of Chadwick’s accomplishments, how much money he’s made for other businesses, various companies he’s propelled into the multi-billion dollar profit range, and proclaiming that he already has a plan to help them do the same here.
Which means raises, vacation days, and better employee benefits for everyone—supposedly.
This, of course, gets the loudest cheer of all.
Raya and I sit through the remainder of the speeches, listening to my cousin prattle on while my parents pretend to be good, decent people.
I’m not sure about Raya, but none of the words stick in my mind.
I’m left floundering, wondering how this happened and stunned at the effort they’re willing to go to entrap me again.
I’m also paranoid about what this means for Raya; is she in danger because of me?
They’ll have access to our files, all her information, they’ll know we’re dating even if we try to hide it.
The emcee comes back on stage a short while later and announces that the bar will be open for another hour, and a DJ starts playing in the background.
I lean back in my seat and swipe a hand through my hair. My entire body is tense, my muscles rigid with strain.
“What do you want to do?” Raya asks. “Should we stay? Do you want to talk to them?”
“No,” I growl, then sigh. “But we can stay if you want to.”
“That’s okay. I’d rather spend time with you than all these people anyway.”
We stand to leave, and I envelope her hand in mine. As we start to weave our way through the many bodies milling about and socializing, a man steps deliberately into our path.
My father is standing directly in front of me, feet planted wide and a look on his face daring me to try to push past him. My mother and cousin are standing on either side of Claude; Estelle’s expression hungry as she eyes me, and Chadwick looking smug, like he won the lottery and I didn’t.
“Son,” my father says, and it takes all of my power to hold in the grimace his voice triggers.
“Claude,” I reply. Distantly, I hear my own voice as though it’s someone else’s. Void and cold, detached. I also sense Raya’s heart rate kick up a notch.
Not good.
“Asher, it’s been too long,” my mother coos. She attempts to reach forward to smooth my lapel, but my hand flies up and traps her wrist before she can make contact.
She drops her hand with a sniff and tilts her nose into the air, doing her best to look down on me despite her shorter stature. Chadwick is still smirking, thinking he’s won the imaginary competition between us, until Raya adjusts her weight on her feet.
All three sets of eyes snap to where I have her tucked slightly behind me, and I stiffen.
I know I can’t do anything here in public.
I can’t cause a scene or attack them, and it would be best if they didn’t realize how much Raya means to me.
Despite knowing this, it’s nearly impossible to feign nonchalance, to force myself to step aside and introduce her.
Chadwick’s gaze rakes her from head to toe with a smarmy thirst in his eyes, and it’s all I can do not to bare my fangs at him. My father’s glare could melt iron, and my mother sneers down at her with another pointed sniff.
“What is a shifter doing here, Asher?” she asks, turning her attention back to me with disapproval and disgust lining her eyes. “I was under the impression this was a human agency.”
Raya butts in before I can respond.
“Apparently, I work for you now,” she says, tipping her chin up and holding my mother’s gaze.
My heart flutters with pride at her bravery before it turns to anger. The look my parents exchange says they’ll be doing something about that. Much as I don’t want her fired, that would be the least of her concerns when it comes to this family.
“She’s here with me,” I say, putting my arm around Raya and pulling her protectively into my side.
My mother’s nose wrinkles like she smells something foul.
“Now, son,” my dad starts, and I already know where this lecture is going. I heard it so many times as a teenager: how important it is that I make a good match with an old-blooded, “respectable” vampire family.
Before he can continue, I raise a hand between us and interrupt.
“No, I don’t want to hear it.”
My father glowers at the interruption, but Raya is the one who speaks next. She extricates herself from my hold and turns to speak to me, apparently having had enough of my family already. I don’t blame her.
“I’m going to go freshen up. Meet you by the entrance?” she says, and I nod, watching her walk away toward the side exit leading to the restrooms.
“Now, Asher,” my dad reclaims my attention. “You’ve had your fun, but you’ve been playing around for long enough—”
I snort, interrupting again, and relishing my father’s darkening complexion. Sure, I can’t start anything here, but neither can he.
“That is enough,” he hisses, leaning into my space. “Behave yourself, son.”
“I’m not your son.” I cross my arms over my chest.
My mother takes over, and my eyes meet her icy gaze.
“You’ve had your freedom, it’s time to take your place by our side.”
At that, my eyes dart to my cousin on the other side of my father, curious how he’ll take that declaration… only he’s not there. I narrow my eyes as my mother continues.
“We have a good match lined up for you, and now that this deal has gone through, we’re ready to promote you to the top of the company. You need to sign a few things, rejoin the family, and everything will be as it should be.”
My eyes flick between my parents, taking in their stone faces. For some reason, my heart is pounding, and a sense of dread is filling my chest. What my parents are saying is nothing new. I’ve gotten used to tuning them out and ignoring their demands, so why is it hitting me harder this time?
I absentmindedly rub the heel of my palm into my chest, pursing my lips as my mother keeps talking even though I’m no longer listening.
I scan the crowd, looking past my parents at the exit to see if Raya is ready for me yet. She’s not there, and I don’t see her among any of the groups of coworkers I’d expect her to chat with. My eyes flick back to my parents.
“Are you even listening to your mother?” My father’s voice is dangerously low, and I know I’m pushing my luck.
“Yes,” I say, “I’ll think about it.”
I can’t ignore the fear and adrenaline crawling up my spine. Something’s wrong, and I’ll say anything I need to say to get away from them right now.
“Very good,” my mother preens, stepping back and slipping her hand around my father’s elbow.
I take that as a sign I’m dismissed, so I give them a quick nod and stride away. My eyes scan the crowd around me, but there’s no sign of Raya. Alex is chatting with a few others near the hallway to the restrooms, so I veer in their direction.
“Hey, have you seen Raya come this way?” I ask.
They nod and gesture with their drink to the hallway. “Yeah, saw her head through there a while ago, not sure if she came back through yet. There might be a line at the bathroom or something.”
“Thanks.”
I’m already moving before the word fully leaves my lips.
I’m pushing through the doorway in seconds, looking both directions and seeing only empty hallway.
Following a calligraphy sign on the wall pointing to the restrooms, I turn right and stride down the hallway.
I can still hear the music from the event back here, and it makes it difficult to listen for anything else.
Coming to a stop outside one of the restrooms, I knock but get no reply.
After twisting the knob, it opens easily, and I glance inside to see a very elegant, very empty bathroom.
Pursing my lips, I turn around and knock on the next door.
A feminine voice calls out “one minute” and it’s clearly not Raya, so I move on to the third, and last, restroom. As with the first, it’s empty.
My heart is pounding and I’m starting to sweat.
Where is she?
Deciding I must have missed her, or maybe she’s been waiting outside for me this whole time, I stride back down the hallway toward the event room. As I’m about to pull the door open to go back in, my ears catch a scuffle from further down the hall.
I tilt my head to listen, and there it is again. My eyebrows pull down and my heart starts to pound in my chest, my instincts hounding me to hunt.
Picking my pace up to a jog, I round the corner at the end of the hallway to see a flash of gold disappearing behind another door. With a snarl, I tap into my vampiric speed and am at the door in a flash, ripping the knob completely off and throwing the door wide as I fling it open.
The door slams into the wall and bounces back, but I’m already through, and it slams closed on the rebound.
I’ve entered a meeting room with a set of chairs, a bookcase, and a desk.
Scattered on the floor are two black stilettos that my eyes quickly track.
Against the far wall is my little shifter, and pinning her to that wall is my cousin.
Chadwick’s hand is over Raya’s mouth and his nose is trailing up her neck.
His other hand has her left wrist pinned against the wall by her head, his hips are pressed to hers, and his fangs are fully bared as he scents her skin.
Her body is effectively trapped and immobilized by his much larger and stronger stature, and although her free hand is scrabbling at the one covering her mouth, it’s doing her little good.
I take in all these details in less than a second, and Raya’s eyes find me immediately.
They’re filled with pain and fear, a hint of rage simmering underneath, and that’s all it takes for me to snap.
My sight bleeds red and I slam into Chadwick from the side.
The surroundings are a blur as I let my inner vampire take full control; I’m fairly certain I’ve never moved so fast in my life.
Even at my full strength though, Chadwick isn’t easy to beat.
One of the reasons old school vampires—mainly composed of the traditionalist, old-blooded families—still choose to feed straight from the vein is because the more fresh the blood is, the more power it grants.
My family, Chadwick included, adheres to the barbaric practices of old and they exclusively drink fresh blood.
Whether the victim is willing or not is of no consequence to them.
I, on the other hand, have not had a drop of fresh blood since I moved out of my parent’s manor at age eighteen, and that was over a decade ago. All this to say, we’re much more evenly matched than I would prefer. Fortunately for me, my protective instincts seem to be giving me an edge.
We trade blow for blow, neither getting the upper hand until I dodge a punch aimed for my head, then use Chadwick’s momentum to fling him across the room.
He flies through the air and slams into the far wall, leaving a body-sized dent and sliding to the floor.
I’m on him before he can so much as twitch.
My fists pound into Chadwick’s throat, face, and abdomen, then I flip him onto his stomach, wrench an arm behind his back and bare my teeth against his neck, ready to rip his throat out.
“STOP!” Raya’s scream freezes me in place as Chadwick shouts at the same time.
“I submit!”
The words are garbled. Likely his throat is crushed, and he may be missing a few teeth. My eyes find Raya’s and the red haze recedes. She’s trembling, but standing tall with her shoulders back.
My brave little shifter.
I force my fangs back and stand, hauling my cousin with me and hopefully dislocating his shoulder at the same time, if his pained yelp is anything to go by.
“Stop,” Raya says again, quieter this time, but no less determined.