Chapter 4
Thorin
There’s a party at the clubhouse—honestly, when isn’t there one?
The club girls keep coming for me, no matter how many times I shut them down. It’s wild, but being with them just doesn’t hold any appeal anymore. Since Delaney left, my appetite for anyone other than her has gone.
Deep down I know that this should have happened years ago, but fuck, my stubborn ass kept me from claiming her and pushed me to hurt her.
In my years after I was turned, I was in deep with my vampire side, fucking and feeding. Then I fell for someone, and the cunt who sired me killed her right in front of my eyes, just to prove a point that she had the power over me to do so.
That sent me into a blood rage, and I killed many humans who like to protect the vampires to be in their favor, and then I turned on my coven. After killing most of the vampires who resided there, I then also killed her.
When I moved here to the US, I was filled with rage, then it settled and I became bitter toward any woman. It was my shield to stop me from falling for anyone ever again.
Seeing friends lose their loved ones added strength to my wall and my decision.
Then Delaney was put in my path, and everything started to crumble. After hearing her have a nightmare at the club, I knew that I had to cement my walls to make sure that she could not break through.
“You good, brother?”
I turn my head to see Pres sitting on the stool next to me.
“I’m good.”
“I would say that you are all good, brother, but that is the fourth club girl you have turned away. Fuck, you made the new girl cry.” He chuckles.
“Then they need to fucking learn the meaning of ‘no.’ Consent matters, you know.”
Sipping from my whiskey, I look back to the back of the bar, seeing my brothers have a good time in the mirror. Camo is chatting with Rush and Halen, while Skyla is on his lap, talking to Oryn.
“Consent is everything, Thorin. You know that we stand by that, but if you are not fucking or feeding from the girls, where are you getting your dick wet?”
“Since when is my cock a subject for chatter in the club?”
“Since you like to fuck in front of anyone and everyone.” He dips his head.
Fair; he has a point.
“I had a delivery of bottled blood. My dick is dry, for now.”
Sighing, I turn to look at my brothers: some are fucking, some are just chilling. Cotton is getting his cock sucked by the new girl, who I apparently made cry. Looks like she got over my rejection pretty damn quick.
Cotton winks at me, I raise my bottle in acknowledgement. I shake my head, smiling at the fucker.
“Have you seen her?”
His question has my head spinning in his direction. Glaring at the man who gave me a chance, right now I want to rip his throat out.
Arching a brow at me, he waits for me to answer. Winger is a great president; I know he will not let it go. He likes his men happy, so they can work for the club to the best of their ability.
Shaking my head, he sighs.
“Brother, you are throwing yourself into some dangerous runs for the club. You have always had this reckless streak, but lately it has gotten worse. Do you want to die or something?”
“Vampire, remember? I cannot die,” I retort.
“Oh, but you can, Thorin.”
“I am fulfilling my duty in the club; being the Enforcer, I get to do the most dangerous job.”
“At what cost? Thorin, you are turning club girls away; you are not fucking or feeding. That in itself is a sign that something has changed in you. Since Delaney left, you have not been yourself. Go and see her.”
“She has moved on.” As I say the words, I know that I hate them; they taste like ash in my mouth.
My mate is not dating anyone; I know that for a fact.
I may have been keeping watch on her since a few nights ago, when I was informed that an incubus tried to lure her out of the club where she works.
Now that fucker is dead and buried in a grave, along with some old man who died of a heart attack and his family gave him a wooden cross to mark his grave.
I knew that no one would go looking there for the fucker who touched my woman. He arrived alone, checked into a motel on the edge of Salem and kept to himself. His plan was to prowl our town and take women for his own pleasure, from what we found on his phone.
“You are way too fucking old to be pulling this shit, brother. Aren’t you lonely?”
Before I can answer, his eyes go white, and he freezes.
“A vision,” I call out.
Camo and the men gather around, waiting for Pres to come out of his vision and tell us what we have to do. Good, the need to kill and maim fuels my need for some blood therapy.
Winger’s head snaps down, then he blinks and breathes in deeply. His gaze connects with mine, and I know it is bad from the look he is giving me.
“Fuck. Maybe you want to sit this one out.”
“Nah, brother. Not fucking happening. I am going.”
“Shit.” He looks to Camo and Rush. “You stick to him like fucking BBQ sauce on ribs. Do not let him out of your sight.”
They both nod, and we rush from the room, climbing on our bikes and firing up the engines. The roar of our bikes fills the air, and the sound vibrates through me, making my balls ache and my cock hard.
“Do not do anything stupid,” Camo calls as we start to pull off behind Pres.
I flip him off, and he shakes his head, but I push it away, riding toward some fucks who are about to bleed and die at my hands.
We have no fucking clue where we are going, but we will follow Pres to purgatory if we have to. He will lead us in the right direction.
He turns down a small road that leads into the part of the cemetery where we know that some kids hang out. I sniff the air, my spine turning to steel when I smell vampires inside of the building.
I pull my bike up alongside Camo, and all of the brothers are looking toward the building.
“Vampires are in there. I smell two human men and something lingering.” I sniff the air again, trying to figure out what the scent is.
Then a hint of anise hits me. “Furies,” I growl.
I fucking hate Furies. They torment men, helping women to kill or hurt men who have wronged them. According to legend, there were always three Furies in Greek mythology. They were the sisters and goddesses of vengeance: Alecto (anger), Megaera (jealousy), and Tisiphone (murder).
Over time they became scorned and vengeful with how times changed, so they took their vengeance on men who had wronged them, helping other women to do the same.
“Shit, they creep me out, man.” Rush shivers.
“We stay close and for fuck’s sake, do not let this prick kill any of them. I have heard about their wrath, and I do not want that on the club.”
I growl, ignoring Winger’s warning.
“Move.” Camo pushes me, keeping me close. I sense Rush on my other side.
We move around the dilapidated barn. The stench of rotting flesh and blood hits my senses as we push through a hole in one of the walls.
Peeking around the wall, I see three Furies all dressed in black rags and lace. They appear to men as beauties, but deep down when they remove their glamor, they are ugly as fuck with warts and all.
One man is strung up, dead from the color of his skin. The other man is writhing in agony as one of the vamps slices into his body, drinking from each wound. One thing I hate is innocent people dying at the hands of a supernatural, especially vampires.
Take the bad fuckers out if you need to feed.
I do not know if these men are innocent, but they could possibly be, or maybe they are simply caught up in a Fury’s wrath.
“We are no longer alone, sisters,” one says creepily, and Rush whines next to me.
“See, I fucking told you, man.”
“Pussy,” I grunt, then push past Camo, who tries to grip the back of my cut, but I am faster.
The three Furies smile at me, and the vampire stops feeding, his eyes going wide as he takes me in.
Yeah, fucker, you know who I am. Vampires far and wide know about me, the one who killed his coven.
“Kill them,” one of the Furies cries, pointing her finger at us.
They storm at us, their speed not quite as fast as mine, as I am older. The older vampires like me are better, stronger, and faster. Ripping its head clean from its body, dropping it as it ignites into flames, I hear footsteps scattering and more vampires flood into the room.
“You are a traitor to our kind,” one screams, running at me.
I grin, bracing my body for impact, then I move in, dragging my nails across his neck, ripping out his throat.
He gurgles, falling to the floor, then I reach for my brand-new dagger before I drive it into the fucker’s heart. He screeches, flames taking over his body until there is nothing left but ash.
I can hear my brothers fighting, but I head towards the Furies. They are holding the possible human man hostage. The sound of their cackling would make most men cower, but it only fuels my rage.
“Help me,” he whispers, blood coating his body.
As I get closer, one of the sisters makes her move, with her hand held high, a black dagger in her palm.
“Thorin. NO,” gets barked, but I am already moving toward her.
We collide, her dagger slicing through my bicep, but I ignore the burning sensation; my skin will heal on its own.
“Sister, kill him,” is screeched.
I fend off another lunge from her, her hair whipping around her face, her eyes red, showing her anger. I grin, moving around her, circling like a lion hunting his prey.
Snarling at me, her teeth bared, she brings the dagger up one more time, ready to drive it through my heart. My death is all she sees right now.
I growl back at her, and it is like time starts to slow.
“THORIN.”
My name is bellowed, so I turn to see Winger charging in my direction, but he is not running fast enough; it’s like he is running through quicksand.
A pain hits my shoulder, then Delaney’s face flashes through my mind, her smiling down at me, her hand cupping my face, her eyes golden like a pot of honey.
Gold? Her eyes are violet.
Realization hits me, and I come out of whatever fucking spell the Fury cunts were chanting. A deep throaty snarl rips from me. I wrap my fist around the hand holding the dagger and twist her wrist, plunging the dagger into her heart.
Her eyes flash wide, before an ear-splitting screech leaves her lips, followed by her sisters.
“NOOOOOO,” they cry. “Lyra.”
The room shakes with their fury, as the remaining vampires flee for their lives.
“You will die by our hands, bloodsucker. So will all of your loved ones,” they say in sync.
“Do your fucking worst.” I shrug, pushing their sister to the floor, keeping the dagger in my hand.
Inspecting it, I bob my head from side to side.
“This is a wicked blade.”
“Lyra’s blood is on your hands. Watch your back, bloodsucker,” one says.
I shrug. “I do not need to watch my back, bitches; my brothers will do that for me.”
“Fool. The one you love will fall at our feet,” they warn before vanishing.
My already cold blood turns to ice in my veins at the thought of them hurting Delaney.
Fuck, did I just put a target on her back? I shake my head. No, they could not know about Delaney; we are not bonded.
A hand grips my shoulder, wrenching me back.
“What the fuck did I say? No killing the Furies,” Winger growls at me, blood splattered on his face.
Rage and disappointment roll in his eyes, and guilt hits my chest.
“She came at me, Pres; was I supposed to let her kill me?”
He scoffs. “You can’t be killed, remember?” He throws my words back at me.
“You could have just knocked her out or something, brother.” Camo appears at our sides.
“Maybe. You would have all done the same if she came at you with a fucking dagger.”
“This fucking stunt you have just pulled now has the club on their radar. They are cruel and fucking vindictive, brother. Fuck knows what they plan to do to us.”
Halen steps up. “They threatened his loved one.”
My gaze snaps to him, and he shrugs, holding his hands up in a surrender motion.
“I am just saying. You fucked up, Thor.”
“Maybe this will make him step up,” comes from Shift.
Now it is Camo who scoffs.
“I do not want him for Delaney if he has to be forced to claim her. She is better than that.” Anger coats his voice as he stares at me with so much fucking aggression.
“Don’t you think I know that? She so fucking good, and I am bad.
We all fucking know that,” I snap, my anger boiling over.
“I kept my distance for a fucking reason, but all you cunts want to do is push me toward her. Yet, if anything happened to her, you would place blame on me. I had my reasons for not claiming her, but that is between her and me.”
“You have it all wrong, Thorin. We know that you would guard her with your life, and if anything happened to her, or you, your lives would be avenged. We are all bad in our own right, brother. Each of us standing here has killed, taken, and stolen. Fuck me, it comes with the territory, but none for us has killed an innocent. We may be damaged misfits, but hell, we protect those in need,” Winger declares.
My head drops, my chin hitting my chest.
“Can we please get the fuck out of here? This place gives me the willies,” Rush blurts out, making the brothers laugh.
My lips twitch at his humor, but I feel the anger vibrating off Winger.
“Get the fuck back to the clubhouse. The prospects will clean this shit up.” I nod to him.
“The man on the table died, Pres. His injuries were too severe,” Halen informs us. “I looked at his ID. He and the one hanging. They both have families, judging from their wallets.” I wait for the bad shit to be said.
“I will look into them, Pres,” Cotton adds. Winger nods to him and he leaves.
With one more look at the fucking bloodbath, and the two dead humans in the room, I leave. There is nothing else for me to do, but deep in my bones, the need to check on Delaney is strong.
Reaching my bike, I come to a stop, looking down at the black dagger in my hand. Blood coats the blade and the hilt, marking the death of its owner. I know what is to come, and I will be prepared to face off against the other two bitches if they come for me or mine.
Delaney will not see me watching her; I will remain her villain, but also I will be her hero in the shadows.