34. Catalina
THIRTY-FOUR
catalina
I was going to throw up. Calliope ripped the human’s hand off like it was a piece of paper. My stomach heaved and I swallowed repeatedly, hoping the urge to vomit my guts out would disappear.
Throwing up in front of everyone was likely to get me the attention the guys didn’t want on me.
I was so desperate for support, I even turned to look at Alistair, but his attention was fixated on the scene, a creepy little smile on his lips.
I rubbed my palms against my sides, rubbing the dampness on the lace.
“The human has betrayed us.” She paused and flicked her finger. Two large males dragged a woman onto the stage. Her fangs flashed as she grappled between them. “And one of our own, my Progeny, has had a hand in it. Because of her stupidity.”
“Sire, please have mercy,” she begged.
“Silence.” Calliope slapped the female so hard I clasped my own cheek. She turned to look at the silent crowd. Smiles littered the fascinated faces as they watched the ‘show’. “Let this serve as a reminder. Humans with knowledge of us must be controlled until the time comes to discard them.”
I struggled to breath. When, not if.
Calliope’s gaze settled on me and my stomach dropped. How had she found me so easily through the thick crowd? My God, I wanted to run.
Without taking her gaze off me, she yanked the crying human male closer and rammed her nails into his throat. Blood spurted over her arm, splashing her body as he choked and struggled.
A scream almost pushed free, but a hand clasped over my mouth. Or what felt like a hand. There was nothing I could see touching me. My heart raced, painfully pounding in my chest.
A second touch clasped my side. I tried to turn around.
“Settle,” Asher breathed against my ear. So incredibly low. I stopped trying to move and embraced his hug. A sob of relief built in my chest, but I swallowed it down.
Asher’s hands grazed down my sides. The soothing caresses calmed my rampant heart, until he cupped my boobs.
“Asher,” I hissed between clenched teeth.
Teeth sank into my earlobe. I stifled my groan.
“—news anchor writing an expose on us,” Calliope spat. “As the head of my Coven, I will use this as a warning.”
My burgeoning lust abated and the sick feeling in my stomach returned with a vengeance. Even Asher tensed against my back. If humans found out about vampires, it would be madness.
“You endangered us all.” Calliope addressed the vampire kneeling before her. She held her hand out and Freya placed a metallic stake in her palm.
“Now you will bear the consequences. You are lucky we no longer live in the times when vampire hunters existed.” Calliope’s lips peeled back.
Without hesitation, she shoved the tip into the vampire’s chest. She began decaying. Bit by bit, her body fell apart and into a pile of ash.
Calliope returned to look at the limp human male still being held up. He’d died at some point and he no longer gushed blood in spurts. Now it just leaked, causing a huge puddle at his feet. She shoved her fingers into his chest, opening a cavity in the depths. She yanked the heart out.
A scream built in the back of my throat, but before it could burst free Asher’s palm covered my mouth again, muffling my scream. Elated shouts rang throughout the crowd as I was dragged backwards. I clawed at the back of the hand, blinded by the tears sheening my eyes.
“Shhh, ?lskade .” I went limp against him, sobbing against his palm. My surroundings blurred. Both from tears and the speed he’d picked up. A door slammed shut and he turned me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his midsection, burying my face into his chest.
The image of the ligaments and bones snapping wouldn’t leave.
“What did you do?” Jax said, his accent thickened.
“Calliope ripped a human heart out on her stage.” Asher sighed.
Teeth audibly clicked.
“Can you make her stop?” Jax said gruffly, his hand smoothing down the side of my head.
“Why couldn’t she just compel him to forget? Why?” I cried. “I thought a council was called to vote when there was something like that.” I would be surprised if he understood what the hell came out of my mouth. Jax continued rubbing the back of my head in soothing little circles.
“Because it did not need to be escalated. Calliope was that vampire’s Sire; she has chosen to handle it in-house,” Ren’s voice interjected.
“We should have anticipated a move like this from her.” Asher’s arm fastened tighter around me with his words.
“Hand her to me,” Ren demanded. “Cat.” His voice rumbled and he pinched my chin, lifting my face high to look at him. He blurred behind my tears. “Nothing will happen to you.”
Tears continued to drip down my chin.
“She seems catatonic,” Asher said gruffly.
Jax muttered in his language. He didn’t sound happy.
“Catalina,” he snapped. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. He shouldered Ren out of the way, stepping within my sight. Instead of saying anything. He ripped his t-shirt off and unbuttoned his slacks. Sex was usually the answer, but right now I couldn’t stop thinking about gushing bloo?—
Jax’s muscles rippled and shifted and changed. Fur sprouted and from one moment to the next, Binx sat on a pile of clothes.
I gaped. This—the—I shook my head.
I held my palm to my chest.
I’d asked him earlier what his ability was and he’d seemed to want to avoid it. He changed into a cat. . . a cat that had spent quite a lot of time with me. Time I’d been very vulnerable in.
I could only blink.
“H-he.” I couldn’t get any damn words out.
“Now you broke her.” Ren frowned.
“Your mouth is hanging open, Pet.” Asher closed my mouth.
“You’re Binx?”
Ren laughed. Jax, in cat form, hissed at him. His body started rippling until Jax stood a few feet away.
“Binx,” he grumbled. “You couldn’t have chosen a less stupid fucking name.”
I scoffed, offended. Binx was a fine name!
“I should be the angry one, you watched, no, spied on me!” Awareness dawned. “Oh my God, you’ve watched me shower!”
“Don’t get too worked up.” He scowled. “You tried to put a collar on me.”
“And you scratched me for my efforts,” I retorted. His lips pursed.
“What is going on in here?”
I whirled to look at Tobias in the large opening.
“Him.” I pointed at Jax accusingly. His teeth clicked together. Now that I wasn’t blinded by tears, I saw we were in an entertainment area of sorts. With all the ‘man-cave’ fixings. A pool table, a large, oversized television, recliners . . .
I marched over to Tobias. “You knew that he was Binx. All of you did.” I huffed, shaking my head. “Did you guys enjoy making a fool out of me?”
I thinned my lips.
Tobias took hold of my shoulders and rubbed his palms down my bare biceps. The smooth rub of skin lifted goose bumps.
“We can address your dissatisfaction at a later time, Love. We have an issue.” He looked over my shoulder at the rest of them. “There will be a game. Each Coven present is to provide a human.”
I could hear a pin drop. Something was wrong, but I didn’t understand . . . a game? And they had to provide a human to play it?
They’d only brought me.
I didn’t bother asking what had them so on edge. If it was a game and they were vampires, I was sure it had a lot of death involved.
My throat seized like someone had wrapped their hand around my throat.
“We have to get her out of here,” Jax snapped.
“If we leave now,” Tobias started and paused. He ran his hand through his hair.
“She will be even more of a target.”
I jumped and immediately cringed into Tobias at Calliope’s approach.