18. Jealousy and Piggyback Rides
Chapter 18
Jealousy and Piggyback Rides
F acing off against people who I fought beside, laughed with, shared secrets with, gotten to know and even regarded as close friends was an endless burn in my chest. But if it was one thing Grams and Phillip both taught me, it was that anyone could betray you for any reason. This was the world we Hunters lived in.
The world I, a genetically altered human, lived in.
As a Hunter, it was kill or be killed, and I didn’t have the luxury to reminisce about our time together. Because it was clear at some stage, whether it was from the beginning or somewhere along the way, Tiff and Topher chose to become my enemy.
Who the fuck really knew.
Tiff’s fully transformed wolf, which had patches of blonde and grey, growled low in its chest. The beast’s blue eyes were homicidal orbs, glinting in nothing but firelight. She was easily the size of a bear, and if I wasn’t already well-acquainted with the look of them, I’d have some trouble adjusting to the sheer size of Tiff transformed.
The fabric of Topher’s clothes ripped and fell apart, some fluttering to the floor and catching fire, as he shifted into an all-black wolf with silver eyes .
Funny how I used to find Topher’s wolf form hauntingly beautiful and by far my most favorite out of the entire pack. It appealed to me visually, and I always looked for it when the pack was in their wolf forms—the powerful body covered in nothing but abyss-black fur and with ethereal eyes the color of silver metal. The sight hit like a supernatural dream.
I’d never once been terrified to see the pair in their beast forms. Granted, that was before I ever considered I might one day have to fight them like this.
The grip I had on Phil’s sword tightened as Topher snapped his saliva-coated teeth angrily at me, a low rumbling growl leaving his snarling muzzle.
Honestly, it still rattled me to see them the way they presently were, knowing their entire intention was to tear me apart from limb to limb and end me right here, right now. I’d never faced a werewolf, let alone two, and I hadn’t expected that my grand escape would be barred by two terrifying wolves I knew.
This is some bullshit.
My body throbbed forebodingly like it did every time something happened I didn’t have any control over. But for some reason, it felt like I summoned it this time—summoned my power to do what needed to be done to end this fight before it ever truly started. The sensation of my magic overwhelmed and consumed me before radiating out in a circle around my body, a solid weight moving like a phantom through the air.
Tiff leapt at me, already halfway across the space between us, and Topher was sunk close to the floor, ready to do the very same thing. Their powerful bodies were tense, the intention to kill me in every strained muscle and bristled hair on their fur-covered forms. But as the hazy, translucent power hit out at them, the world slowed to a stop, suspending Tiff mid-air and keeping Topher perpetually frozen to the floor, a second before lunging.
Gripping Blood Slayer and finding strength in the phantom presence of my Hunter companions whose fates were still unknown, I moistened my lips, knowing this was my one chance. I wouldn’t get another. If I hesitated, Tiff and Topher wouldn’t fail to do whatever they could to kill me.
Taking the first few steps and stopping right in front of the airborne wolf, I lifted my sword, then cut straight through Tiff’s thick wolf neck, severing her head without any trouble. Then, without pausing, I twirled and sliced through Topher’s wide, heavily muscled nape. His didn’t give me trouble either. It yielded to the sharpness of the sword same as Tiff’s did.
It was almost too easy for all this was—betrayal, two wolves against one Hunter, the end of a friendship, the beginning of second-guessing every person in my life. I expected maybe there’d be something that stopped it, whether it was the sword failing to cut through or perhaps time moving again, but nothing did.
Just slice, and that was the end of their story.
As the sword’s blade fell and clanged against the tile floor, frozen hellfire licking up the walls, the realization that I could simply defeat two powerful creatures like these Shifters inside paused time made it feel like this power I wielded was too much for any one person to own. It was too simple, too strong, too destructive. But I was grateful for it in that moment because it put an end to things quickly.
They were both given a clean death, one they wouldn’t ever feel, and that was about all I could do for them despite wishing it never came to this at all .
Frozen like they were, neither head moved from its place, but I knew once time started again, they’d be dead. Shifters, like other creatures, couldn’t recover from decapitation and didn’t heal the way Phil, Sloan, and I did.
So, I offered the two one last fleeting glance, punishing pulse in my ears, acid in my throat, stomach in knots, before walking over to the door Tiff once blocked. It’d been so easy to end their lives, but inside I was a twisted mess. I couldn’t even begin to unpack the emotional turmoil simmering in my throat. Instead, I focused on what I was there to do.
With a little calculated effort, I broke through the heavily barred door and retrieved the scared humans cowered in the corner. It was an awkward as fuck haul with them stiff and still crouched in my arms. I begged whatever magic deity had stopped time to stay that way a little longer as I fled. And by some act of Buddha, I made it to the elevator.
Cursing, I set all the scientists I carried onto the floor in front of the elevator like a pile of luggage and tried poorly to call on the powers within to restart time so I could get the fuck out of this death trap—the place where friends became foes and my tragic history was confirmed.
When nothing happened, I sighed loudly. “Fuck my life!”
Like the words had summoned action, time moved again and the doors to the elevator pinged with the keycard I used. I didn’t wait. Without even bothering to explain how the terrified humans got there, I ushered them into the elevator and hit the button for the top.
They rushed to flee when we took a long, low-lit corridor to the outside world and nothing but dry and brown earth met my eyes. The sun blazed down from the sky, not a cloud in sight, and the temperature was easily over a hundred degrees. Useless perspiration had already formed all over my body during the intense escape, but I’d likely be doused if I spent too long in this heat.
I hardly cared at all when the sight of four familiar figures surrounded by a group of terrified scientists came into view. A tear escaped my eye, and I struggled for a second to figure out how and why they’d come.
I dropped the sword I held, and Phillip came rushing forward. His eyes fell to his favorite weapon, suddenly perplexed. “You wielded Blood Slayer?!”
I swallowed around the lump in my throat, unable to figure out what to say first. “Oh, like it’s hard? No, wait…what the fuck do you mean by asking about the sword first, you jerk?!”
His gentle smile was full of unspoken affection and his light eyes beamed with ill-repressed pride, but the Austrian didn’t come any closer.
For good reason.
Because the second I finished chastising the man, a woman whose smell haunted my very dreams took me into her arms and didn’t let go. “I missed you, Vivienne. I’m so proud of all you’ve done, and I knew if anyone could do it, it’d be you who’d find a way out.”
“Grams…” I barely smothered the audible cries of relief, enveloped in her familiar scent and pressed against her frail but somehow strong body. “I missed you so damn much, you wily old fox.”
Her arms tightened around me, holding me impossibly close, smooshing my face into silver hair that smelled like cake and cookies. “You did good, kid. You did good.”
Fuck, I could never hate this woman. I love her so much.
I barely contained the pure joy and relief streaming from my eyes as I embraced the weapon-heavy woman back, holding her body so tight I was worried I’d break her. It made me smile just to see her carrying her favorite spiked bat. I nearly laughed out loud when I saw it strapped to her back.
And as if no time had passed, Grams simply ran her fingers through my hair the same way she always did when she wanted to comfort me. “I have a lot to say sorry for, but I’m just so glad I got to see you at all.”
Pulling away, I caught her hand and pressed a kiss to it, shutting my eyes and desperately hoping this wasn’t some drug-induced dream. “Water under the bridge, Grams. I love you, and I’m just glad you’re alive.”
The time etched into her face was more visible today than it had ever been. She looked world-weary and a ghost of her usual self. I’d never seen the woman look anything but confident, but the way she looked today spoke volumes about how what transpired between us had weighed on her mind during the months we were apart.
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to find another set of familiar light blue eyes. “I hate to put a pause on the reunion, but we need to get everyone to safety and ensure their families are taken care of. We don’t have time, sadly. I assume you have somewhere they can go, Rose?”
Sloan’s striking smile eased the tension in my chest and my lips lifted in return, not aware how much it relieved me to see him safe and unharmed. Donna was beside the Brit, her wounded arm already wrapped in bandages, and I breathed a small, thankful breath.
Kissing my cheek, Grams whispered, “Don’t be afraid to live and love, sweetheart. Love is the greatest thing you could ever do in this godforsaken existence. If it’s the last thing I ever get to say to you, I want you to chase what you want and be who you are without apologies.”
I closed my eyes, another tear burning down my face .
“Don’t regret not chasing the things you want because you’re afraid of how it might turn out. You’d be surprised by what you can accomplish when you’re fighting for someone…or many someones,” she said, kissing my other cheek.
Someones?
When my grandmother pulled away, her eyes beamed intensely with unspoken support. She was cheering me on, telling me to live, to love, to be unafraid to do everything I wanted.
Naturally, my eyes glided over to Phillip, who kept a respectable distance, but his entire body was taut and his eyes were blazing with an emotion I hadn’t seen since the night he told me he loved me.
A look that hit me right in the feels.
Then I glanced at Sloan, whose smile wavered in a way it never had. The narrow stare the gorgeous Brit directed at me made it clear he wanted nothing more than to come over. But as if he was frozen to the spot, his eyes shifted from me to Phillip and his mouth thinned, the light in his artic-blues dimming. He shut his eyes, looking away. The tension in his body was visible through his clothes, and it was the first time I’d seen Sloan look apprehensive. Resigned, even.
But why?
I opened my mouth, but Sloan turned on his heels, sinking a hand into his dark hair, and then ushered Donna and the others to an awaiting helicopter. My grandmother’s soft hand touched my face. She nodded her goodbye before heading over to the military-issued helicopter. She, Kris, and Sloan helped the escaped scientists into it before I was left alone with Phillip .
“How did you manage to find me?” I finally asked, breathing out some of the tension from an impossible escape.
Phillip’s eyes dropped to the sword, and his lips tilted in their usual sexy way. “Well, had I known Sloan gave you a ring we could track, I wouldn’t have left my precious Blood Slayer here in this shithole.”
There it was—the spiteful, sarcastic asshole we all knew and loved.
The look the Austrian offered Sloan’s gift was all jealousy. He didn’t even bother to hide it this time. It was the same way he stared when Sloan smiled at me or I touched Sloan in plain view. Even with the ring being one of the main reasons they could find me, Phillip clearly didn’t celebrate its existence. And the way Phil spoke about the ring I wore dripped with bitter regret.
It was such a silly little thing that elicited such a strong reaction from the usually unaffected Hunter, and it intrigued me.
Honestly, I loved the ring I’d been given by the sweet Brit who’d picked up the pieces of my broken heart for weeks while Phillip was gone, and it was a weird knot in my throat when I thought about how Sloan left earlier. The fact that Sloan’s ring remained when he hadn’t made my chest pang spitefully. I couldn’t name the feeling, barely understood what about Sloan leaving hit so hard, but I decided maybe it was for the best.
My heart and head were in constant chaos, conflicted by all I’d learned, all I’d become, all that occurred. I craved normalcy, and Phillip was oddly normal for me.
After staring death and betrayal in the face, I was thankful for the familiarity of Phillip’s presence—the person who’d been by my side from the very beginning. Sure, he’d left, but he came back. He was here. And it was hell to be this close to the smarmy jerk and not to be able to kiss him for all he was worth.
When I saw Phillip standing there, covered from head to toe in artillery, ready to tear down walls to get to me, it took everything inside of me not to run and throw my arms around the stupidly large Hunter.
Of course he survived. He always did. Nothing could kill Phillip, I was convinced. Still, I’d been so afraid of losing him, worried that I’d be the entire reason the Austrian was wiped from the face of the earth, that tears poured from my eyes the second I saw the asshole was safe and basically the way I’d left him.
Except, Phillip looked at me like his world had come to a shrieking halt when I’d been captured by the enemy. Like he couldn’t believe I was standing right there in front of him.
His complexion was not as glow-tastic as it usually was. Phillip bore all the physical signs that he hadn’t slept, eaten, drank, or really done anything to take care of himself since however long I’d been locked away by Lux. And I wasn’t prepared to see the overflowing emotion in his eyes every time Phil’s gaze connected with mine.
It made me unnaturally fidgety for someone who’d courageously killed not only a group of elite magic-using Hunters without mercy, but two Shifters who I considered close friends. Someone who brazenly flitted to the rescue of a woman who was intimately connected to the reason why my parents were murdered.
“I hadn’t mentioned it before, but I can track Blood Slayer wherever it is. It’s a sword that’s never truly lost to its owner. Pretty cool, huh?” The Austrian explained when no one asked, his blazing light eyes floundering with something left unspoken and glinting in nothing but midday sunlight.
That one look made my throat constrict and stomach twist in a way far too wanton to be within eyeshot of the woman who raised me and all but been missing for nearly half a year.
“But I never imagined you’d be able to wield Blood Slayer.”
Curious, my eyebrow rose in question, but Phillip outright ignored it. I stole another look at the grumpy Hunter, determined to lighten the mood by teasing him a little. “Isn’t it just a sword?”
Phil’s eyes sparked hotly, taking the bait, and he let out an exasperated sigh. “Did you not listen to a word I said?! Blood Slayer only permits its master to use it. No one else can use it. Should they try, it would burn their wicked hands. My baby is a smart little thing, aren’t you?”
And now he was talking to it like a person. Great.
Put out, I tossed the sword over to the ridiculous man beside me. It was still covered in Tiff and Topher’s blood, but I tried not to think about it for the moment.
Too much had happened, and it was difficult to make sense of it all. I didn’t really know how best to react. First the issue of my birth and my mother’s betrayal and death, then Tiff and Topher turning out to be the traitors in my midst. Now with Phil, Grams, the lingering thing between Sloan and I, the sword, it was a bit too much for my brain to handle all at once, so I focused on the simplest of the bunch.
“Seems awful sketch, Phil,” I snarked, giggling when Phillip glared at me. “I mean, Lux and Bad Dudes Co. brought it here, didn’t they? No one got burned. Why wouldn’t anyone be able to use it? ”
“Blood Slayer doesn’t work like that. It knew it had to go with you, so it let them touch for a little bit. My baby’s smart.”
Apparently, over two hundred years of lone-dogging it meant you literally went cray-cray and started believing your sword could take commands like some sort of pet.
What a pitiful creature this Austrian was.
I rolled my eyes, very close to calling the man seven levels of insane. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say. I mean, I had it all handled with or without the sword. But thanks, I guess, for showing up after I’d done all the work.”
The Austrian’s expression was overtly sour, and it took every bit of control I owned not to outright cackle. “Not my fault I had to wait on Rose before coming for you. If I had it my way, we would’ve been here hours ago. I would’ve killed anything and anyone who got in my way.”
“Oh?” I asked, smirking.
Phillip cleared his throat and ran fingers through his hair. “It’s good to see you’re still the saucy little lass I’ve grown to love.”
“Love…?”
The Austrian’s eyes widened before he turned away, sword on his shoulder, and grunted. “You get them all then?”
I quieted, suddenly remembering who I had to kill to get here, and the lump in my throat returned. “Yeah. I got them all.” I crossed my arms, fighting off the creeping sensation of regret. “We were betrayed by some of our own.”
Phillip’s eyes found mine again. “By whom?”
I swallowed, watching all the scientists get situated in the large, double-blade transportation helicopter .
Kris was accompanied by Sloan and another Hunter I didn’t recognize in the task of getting everyone safely into the cabin. All I could make out about the new Hunter was his luminous dark brown skin and enchanting green eyes. Otherwise, he wore a mask over his nose and hid most of his features. Our gazes connected for a heartbeat before the strange Hunter shut the cabin door and disappeared.
“Tiff and Topher,” I finally muttered.
Phillip’s eyes blazed, and his jaw clenched before he sunk a tattooed hand into his dark hair, the muscles shaping his torso doing a seductive dance my eyes couldn’t help but watch. “Then the information about them was good. Both Sloan and I were aware and watching. It’s why you were never left alone with the pair of them. It seems they had connections to Lux, and they were likely feeding your location to him. Which would explain how Eros found us.”
Guess that proves Phil suspected Lux like I theorized. And also, that I was sort of bait to confirm their suspicions.
Ah, the life of a Hunter.
Stealing a look at him, I kept my voice even. “And Nigel?”
Phillip harrumphed. “He’s likely unaware they were traitors, so you can rest easy, maus.”
Maus? Yet another thing I’d have to Google when I found time after unpacking the shit from this entire series of unfortunate events.
“For now, he’s only a thorn in my side, the way the bastard has always been, but not in a way you have to worry about,” Phillip added, as if the very words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
What a grown-ass child, but I’d expect nothing less at this point .
I breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that Nigel hadn’t been aware they’d betrayed us, but the Austrian was quick to add, “But now he and the others are compromised. Not that it matters anymore.”
I watched the other Hunter head the direction of the helicopter. Before we reached it, its blades started to spin, preparing for flight. Confused, I followed, not sure what Phillip meant by his last statement.
I noticed Grams was now in the cockpit, already deducing she’d be the one taking us to wherever they planned to go. She was an experienced pilot and could operate a long list of transportation vehicles. It would be easier to say there were very few things she didn’t know how to operate.
It was a relief to have her back. Grams was my rock, but everything had gotten so complicated, I didn’t really know how I felt when it came to the deadly huntress who raised me under the guise of simply killing vampires.
Simply killing vampires, the good ol’ days.
What I did know was that my powers were beyond imagination and far too dangerous for any one person to wield. Yet, for some reason I sensed I was learning to control them. It wasn’t really clear how or why I thought so, but the same way I always knew what occurred when I did use them—those little theories—I knew I’d gotten better at summoning the chaotic power within.
Still, the more support I had from people I trusted, the easier it was to navigate this shitty minefield of realities and uncertainties.
I was curious to find out what Phillip discovered from what we stole from the archives, assuming he’d managed to keep it. Which, if they’d gotten away, I suspected they probably had.
To my befuddlement, the helicopter started to lift off the ground and ascend into the sky without us. I hurried after it, coming to a slow stop when it was clear we wouldn’t be joining the rest of them wherever they planned to go.
“Wait, why are they leaving without us?!”
Phillip’s sneaky smile met my next glance. “From here, it’s just you and me, mein Schatz.” Then, kneeling, he offered his back to me like I should automatically figure out what absolute bullshit he was on about. “Come on, V.”
“Come on, what? What the fuck are you doing right now?”
“Giving you a piggyback ride, obviously. You don’t know where we’re going, and you might hide it well, but you’re weak. I can tell. So this just makes things easier.”
Unfortunately, I was weak. My legs shook, my head was woozy, and I was seconds away from collapsing. All signs pointed to too much power use, and I’d be lucky if I lasted any longer on my own two legs. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to fight him about it.
“The fuck it does!” I folded my arms across my chest, and Phillip heaved a great sigh.
“So you’d rather just hang out here until Lux deigns a reason to return?”
Suddenly uncomfortable, I swallowed my pride and climbed onto the Austrian’s back. “You’re a fucking asshole to do this to me when I haven’t any way to argue.”
Phillip’s happy laughter reached my ears—a sound I’d missed so much it made me smile against my will. “Hold on tight, maus. Wrap those strong, skull-crushing thighs around my waist and press that erotically soft body into my back like you missed me.”
When I went to smack him, the Austrian captured my wrist and kissed my open palm. It paralyzed me when those sinfully soft lips caressed my sensitive skin, dredging up feelings that hadn’t any business surfacing after I’d been held hostage and forced to kill people I considered friends, then unceremoniously reunited with the grandmother I’d been so sure was killed at some stage.
“You jerk—”
“Hold on tight, pet,” Phillip whispered, his voice thick with sinful insinuation. I’d know that bedroom inflection anywhere. Bouncing me into place, he wrapped his large hands intimately around my thighs, grasping. “And try not to rub up against me too much, yeah? Even I don’t have that much willpower.”
What the actual fuck…
I let out a sound of protest before we were flying across dry, cracked earth so fast the world around us moved in slow motion.