Chapter 22 #2
“I want you to have a happy birthday. A pleasant celebration where you don’t have to worry about anything,” he said, giving me a half smile.
I returned his smile, but as soon as my gaze fell on the opposite lane, I noticed three black sedans with tinted windows approaching us, and an uncomfortable feeling formed in my gut. The cars drove in the same formation our SUVs did.
“I have a bad feeling,” I said and held the handle above the side window.
Something felt off.
Torin’s eyes widened as the first car got closer. Did he know who was inside?
I sent mental prayers for the vehicles to pass and go on their way.
As the car drove by us, I twisted my head to see anyone inside, but their tinted windows prevented me from seeing anything.
Abruptly, the cars skidded and swerved.
Now they played catch-up behind us.
Torin’s phone rang, and he picked it up via his car's hands-free button.
“Alpha, what do you want to do with them?” a deep male voice asked, and I assumed it was one of Torin’s warriors from the other two cars.
Torin opened his mouth to answer when a screeching sound of metal parts colliding echoed from behind us. I whipped around to see a black sedan pushing an SUV into the shoulder. They drove side by side, and our warriors reduced their speed, trying to get the car off them.
“Fall behind me,” Torin ordered.
He accelerated while the SUV in front of us made a way to pass by. Another black car, driving on the opposite lane, leveled toward the SUV behind us and trapped it.
The last sedan sped up and tried to catch up to us, but Torin kept on pushing the gas pedal hard.
Torin only took his foot off the gas on the sharp turns but still took them faster than my body liked. My stomach churned, and bile rose to my throat.
The next part of the road was bendy, cutting deeper into the mountain and forest. Torin cursed under his breath as he took his foot off the gas pedal and used the brake instead.
“They must have chosen this part of the road on purpose,” he said.
The black car caught up behind us, pushed our SUV's back corner, and fell back. We turned sideways abruptly. This maneuver was supposed to cause Torin to lose control and stop, but the SUV spun around three-sixty.
When my eyes finally focused again, I saw the sharp turn before us. At the last moment, Torin straightened the car, slowing it enough to take the turn and not fall to our deaths in the valley across the opposite lane. We were lucky no other cars were approaching.
More dizziness spilled over me, and I took deep breaths. Torin gave me a quick glance, and then the car slowed down.
“Torin, they’ll catch up to us.”
“In an accident, I’ll go unscathed but not you.”
I frowned.
“We’ll need to face whoever is in the car. If I fight them, we have a greater chance of survival than if we get in a car crash.” Torin slowed down and waited for the black sedan to catch up, but the car had to fall behind us as another approached from the opposite side.
Then the driver of the black car tried again. They drove parallel to us and lowered their side window. Two men with hungry crimson eyes appeared.
The driver shouted, “Pull over.”
“Are you seriously going to?” I asked as Torin slowed our car to the shoulder.
“If I don’t, he’ll make us crash, and I can’t risk your life like that, Anna. I can better protect you on land.” Torin parked the car at the side of the road.
“Who was that man?”
“The vampire General,” Torin said and exited the car, and I followed. “Stay close to me. We have to figure out what they want and what we’ll do next.”
The vampire woman I met at the London airport said the vampire General was the Queen’s mad dog and only showed up when his men failed to complete their mission.
A cold chill ran down my spine as I followed Torin to the first line of trees, away from the road.
By the time we arrived, all six cars were lined up at the side of the road.
All werewolves and vampires respected the unspoken rule to keep the supernatural existence a secret.
Our conversation had to happen in the shadows of the trees.
Torin’s warriors lined up in a triangle formation behind us, and so did the vampires. I counted twelve of them, all dressed in their usual white shirts with gray or black pants as if they were going to the office for a nine-to-five job.
One vampire looked different, and his crimson eyes aimed at me. He walked past his subordinates as if on the runway, and I did a double take.
That man must’ve been the vampire General, but he was anything but a military man. His long black hair fell to his elbows. A thick black liner encircled his crimson eyes, while his thin eyebrows were straight and at the edges curved up.
The vampire General stood only several feet away from us. He placed his hand over his heart and gave a slight bow, averting his gaze to Torin.
I was sure the General wore lipstick because I’d never seen a man with such bright-red lips.
His outfit was as if it came out of some futuristic fashion magazine.
I liked his black pants and knee-high boots, but the long leather blazer revealing naked muscular arms wasn’t something I’d wear to work.
Two metal belts made an intricate pattern and buckled on his narrow waist. The unbuttoned blazer revealed a smooth, naked chest.
My body went completely still. The vampire seemed on high alert but didn’t want to attack us. Not yet, at least.
“My Queen wants the book to see what the fuss is all about,” the vampire General said in a steady, low voice.
His voice sounded so casual that it caused goose bumps to prick on my neck.
The fact that I faced him now made my heart race faster, but I ignored my rising anxiety levels, curiosity burning inside me.
It seemed the crazy Queen didn’t know about the second book yet.
I took a tiny step forward, and Torin moved instantly to my side. I couldn’t help but ask questions as an uncomfortable feeling settled in my stomach.
“Did you order humans to attack me in my office and outside my London apartment?” I asked.
Crimson cold eyes aimed at me, annoyance flashing on the vampire’s face. “I may have underestimated you, Princess.”
I swallowed the gasp that threatened to escape my mouth. “Then did you also order your men to kill my friend?” I held my breath while the man furrowed his thin brow. “An elderly woman, my neighbor.”
“Clearly, she was in the way of my men’s mission to find the book. She could have been alive if she hadn’t meddled.” He blinked. “No, not even then.”
Blood rushed to my face, and I stepped forward. “You bastard—”
Torin’s hand gripped my waist, pulling me back. I snapped my gaze to my mate. How could he remain calm when we’d found out who Lisa’s killer was? I wanted to shred this vampire into pieces. But Torin’s calm demeanor made me wary.
“So she only wants the book?” Torin asked, his face stoic.
“I’m extending her polite invitation for you to bring the book to her castle by yourself,” the vampire said.
The castle? Was it the same one from Torin’s dream realm? Nausea overtook me as I thought about the bedchamber and Torin chained and on his knees there.
I shook my head, but the disturbing thought about Torin sleeping with the vampire Queen didn’t want to leave my mind. It couldn’t have been consensual. Torin hated anything that had to do with vampires. He was chained in his dream realm, and scars had formed on his shoulders.
No, it couldn’t be, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Torin was abused in the worst way possible.
I glanced at Torin and pressed my side to his.
Then I lifted my chin, glaring at the vampire General. “If I give you the book, will you leave us alone?”
The General tilted his head to the side, studying me. “The book is only an added bonus. She wants him,” he said, glancing at Torin.
“Why?”
The vampire’s gaze darted between me and Torin so many times that I thought he wasn’t going to answer, but he finally spoke. “My Queen wants Alpha Torin as her chosen mate. He’ll be her King.”
I sucked in a sharp breath of air as my mind processed the vampire’s words. Chosen mate? Then what happened to her fated mate? I couldn’t believe the Fates would bless this madwoman with a destined partner.
And why exactly Torin? Couldn’t she make another hybrid if she wanted to? Did she have some unhealthy obsession with the Alpha, or was there more I didn’t know about?
My curiosity burned in my chest as if I had acid reflux. I didn’t expect Torin to shed light on his history with the vampire Queen soon, so I remained silent.
Torin fidgeted next to me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Torin snapped at the vampire General and let out a low growl in warning.
The vampire stared at him. Was he unsure what to do next, calculating his chances of taking Torin by force? His aura was that of a powerful vampire, but his eyes held secrets and sorrow, reminding me of how Torin sometimes looked.
The General had a leather choker buckled at his Adam’s apple, and a short black chain hung down, touching his smooth chest.
But it didn’t look like an accessory. More like a leash.
He finally spoke, determination in his eyes. “Then my orders are to take you, Alpha.”
The General looked at me with hungry eyes, and Torin moved in front of me, shielding me. I could sidestep Torin and face the danger, but I remembered Dad’s threatening words. Torin had a lot to lose, including his life, if he let me get hurt one more time. The vampire General had the worst timing.
I remained in my spot behind Torin while the vampire took a fighting stance, feet planted wide, hands in fists.
But before he could attack Torin, the whistling sound of an arrow echoed around us.
Then a silver-tipped arrow whooshed between the General and Torin’s faces and landed close to the parked cars.
It was a warning shot. It hadn’t aimed at anyone.
I couldn’t believe how much worse our situation had become—from dire to desperate.
Many hunters appeared among the trees with their crossbows, and arrows flew everywhere. I couldn’t tell who they aimed at.
Regardless of who our enemies were—vampires or hunters—both groups outnumbered us.
Chaos broke free, and I couldn’t tell who was fighting whom.
The vampire General used the distraction and threw a punch toward Torin’s face. But the Alpha blocked it and immediately grabbed the General’s hand, pulling him toward Torin’s body.
The Alpha kicked him hard in his stomach, and the vampire fell to the ground.
Torin shifted into his vampire in an instant.
“Anna, I need you to run to the car and stay inside until I return,” he said in his deep voice.
Torin should have known better. I didn’t run away from a fight, but I also distracted Torin from fighting since he kept glancing my way. I realized I’d left my leather bag on the back seat of the SUV anyway.
My books.
Running toward the car, I looked over my shoulder to check on Torin. The General jabbed Torin’s face with a swift strike, making the Alpha release a loud growl that shook the trees.
C’mon, Torin. Don’t let him take you away.
The sick vampire Queen couldn’t hurt him again. I wouldn’t allow that.
As soon as I retrieved my bag, I would be back by Torin’s side. Breathless, I yanked the back door open and reached for the bag with my book on the floor.
I scanned the floor and the seats for any tools that I could use as weapons. I opened the console between the seats, but nothing useful could be found.
Suddenly, a force shoved my whole body inside the car, and someone slid into the seat next to me. The door locks clicked, and I swallowed the dryness in my mouth.
When I turned to face my attacker, I was confronted by the hunter leader.
“Not you again,” I said, letting my gaze travel over him, scanning for weapons.
His presence alone sent shivers down my spine. I took a sharp breath, steeling myself for whatever was to come.
“What do you want, hunter?” My voice shook at the end, betraying me.
At least he wasn’t pointing an arrow toward my chest like the last time I met him.