CHAPTER 22
Slade
“Change of plans. Meet us at the cabin now,” Kathan snaps in my ear and my fingers tighten around my cellphone. There’s a sharpness to his tone that instantly sets me on edge, and I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, but my response is cut off as he abruptly ends the call.
A growl sneaks its way up my throat as I stare at my screen until it turns black, not believing my own eyes. The batard actually hung up on me.
“Sac à puces,” I curse, my voice barely a wisp of air. These damn wolves have no clue who they’re dealing with. There’s a beast underneath my skin, ready to come out and play at any moment. It’s only the humanity I’m barely clinging to these days that keeps him at bay.
Even still, he manages to escape from time to time and that’s usually when someone ends up dead at my feet. That thought has him peeking his head up to let me know he’s watching, always watching.
As I shove my phone in my suit pocket and straighten it, I curse Kathan again. Next time I see that grumpy fleabag and his cohorts, I’m giving them a piece of my fucking mind. We may be the same rank according to supernatural law, but I’m centuries older than they are. They were in fucking diapers while I was running an entire vampire syndicate.
But even I must admit they’ve adapted quickly to this new era, where supernaturals and humans collide on a daily basis. I was amazed when they came to me with the idea of combining our forces to tackle this ever-growing feral headache, and I thought to myself, finally, someone showing the promise of innovation.
The vampires can only do so much on our own and the witches certainly aren’t leading us toward a better future. A vain one, most definitely. But better? Absolutely not. The fae could give a fuck less and rigidly stick to neutrality. Meanwhile shifters are natural protectors, and the vampires are left fending for ourselves. So as long as they continue scratching my back, I’ll return the favor.
Before I can decide if I should take my car or phase, there’s an echo of something under my skin, urging me to get there faster. It’s as if my emotions aren’t my own for a moment, like my essence is mixing with someone else’s.
It’s a strange sensation, one I’ve never felt before.
Well, except that little flutter inside my chest as I let that gorgeous little witch drink my blood. It’s like she crawled into my system through my veins and fused to my very bones. I can’t get her bright blue eyes out of my mind. Or the bravery in her gaze when she stood with a stake poised to strike my heart. Or the way her eyelids fluttered when she came undone with my fingers deep inside her pussy.
Merde, even thinking about it has my dick tenting my pants.
The wind rushes by me as I phase outside the gates of the manor, knowing I’ll get to their little honeymoon cabin a lot faster this way. It’s almost a straight shot as the crow flies and I won’t have to deal with traffic. Not to mention I already know the way.
Since my little encounter with the witch, I’ve found myself outside of their cabin more times than I can count to check on her. Creepy? Probably, but I don’t give a fuck in the slightest. Stalking is in a vampire’s nature. It’s how I knew something was going on last night. Her little heartbeat was fluttering so hard inside her chest as she worked herself into a frenzy. Making her come apart… That’s easily been the best thing that’s happened to me in a damn decade.
The little temptress has consumed my thoughts and I want to be close to her. The obstacle is the wolves. They seem to be holding her there, but not as a mate that I can tell, which is interesting. What’s their obsession with her?
I know what mine is, she’s different, intriguing. And for a moment, I swear my long since silent heart began to beat in her presence once more—a sign she might be my soulmatch. The one whom I’ll share my soul with. If she is, then I have a claim on her per supernatural law, and those wolves will be forced to take their grubby little paws off her before someone loses a fucking limb. Or a head. I have no qualms about killing for what’s mine.
That same echo intensifies tenfold, and the urgency has me sucking in a breath, which is a strange sensation for someone who doesn’t have to breathe if they don’t want to. What sort of witchery is this?
I urge my legs to go faster. The trees and wildlife are a blur around me as I phase, and I’m attuned to everything. There’s the heartbeat of a deer about forty yards to the left. The sound of the frogs croaking near the swamp. The haunted coo of a mourning dove.
Nature is beautiful but also deadly. Like vampires in a way. The difference is nature continues to grow whereas we’re frozen in time, ageless, but striking in beauty. The perfect apex predators.
I’m too lost in my thoughts to notice the incoming puddle in front of me, and it’s too late to dodge. My shoe sloshes in the swampy water, fouling my mood. But when a spike of fear hits me so squarely in my chest that it’s enough to make my head spin, I continue making my trek through the marshy underbrush, and ignore the wet squish of each step. “I’m coming,” I murmur to the forest, hoping Rue hears it even though I know I’m too far away.
Merde. I’ve never felt this much secondhand panic in my life, and it makes me want to take it all away from Rue, to make her feel safe. I need her to be closer. Which is another reason I think she could be my soulmatch. I should be worried she bewitched me or something, but I’m not. Not even in the slightest. Anyone who looks at her can tell there’s not a malicious bone in her body.
The forest opens in front of me, and the sight makes my already cold blood turn frigid. There are at least four ferals standing outside the front of the cabin. Considering there are trickles of evening light still fluttering through the trees, it’s… beyond strange. Normally, they won’t come out until late at night when it’s pitch-black outside. Where they can hunt unsuspecting victims under the cover of darkness.
Channeling my unnatural stillness to keep from drawing attention, I stop and take a deep inhale. The awful metallic scent of the ferals reach me, along with wet dog which has my nose twitching. Hidden underneath it all is something slightly sweeter like honey, but there’s a sour edge to it from fear. Rue. My eyes widen. I need to get to her.
I debate my options, but ultimately, even with as strong as I am, running in there half-cocked would be a death wish. They’d rip me to shreds before I could make a difference. A single venomous bite from one of those beasts will turn even the strongest vampire feral and that’s not a life I want for myself. I’d rather be dead than turn and lose myself entirely.
The slightest hint of wind tickles the back of my neck, and I curse under my breath. It’s coming from the southeast, which will blow my scent right to them and initiate a killing frenzy. I need to figure out how to get behind them without alerting them to my presence immediately.
Skirting around the edges of the property, using the other cabins to hide, I slowly make my way to the back of the alphas’ cabin, but the few seconds cost me valuable spying time and I’m completely lost as to what’s happening.
Like a tidal wave, a sea of emotions wash over me. My legs threaten to give out and I’m forced to grab on to the nearest tree as my vision blanks. In my mind’s eye, I can picture Rue, her stunning blue eyes, her button nose, that gorgeous neck I want to sink my fangs into again… Her features flash with horror, desolation, and then resolve. For a split second, shock crosses her face, and I swear she gazes deeply into my eyes, like we’re connected on another level, but it’s gone so fast I can’t be sure I didn’t imagine the whole fucking thing.
My vision clears and I angle myself to get a better view of the backyard. What I find confuses me further. A vampire I’ve never seen before holds a female vampire that seems vaguely familiar. I rack my brain and remember she’s a bartender at the wolves’ bar. She’s a lower-level vampire, not really one of note, but that doesn’t mean I want to see her killed. There’s already too few of us with so many turning feral. But Carla seems resigned to her fate as the unknown vampire pulls her head clean off her shoulders.
Death and gore have been a part of my life, my reign, for so long I don’t even flinch. But a certain dark-haired beauty isn’t as desensitized as I am. She crumples to the floor of their cabin, a sob escaping her lips having watched the whole thing through the glass of the back door.
Every instinct in my body electrifies, demanding I charge in, wrap her in my arms, stroke her silky hair, and distract her from the realities of this life, but I fucking can’t. Not if I don’t want to die. She’s safe from the ferals inside. Like the rest of us, they can’t cross the threshold, which is why they’re trying to draw her out. But why?
The unknown vampire tosses Carla’s head in my direction, not realizing I’m here, but I don’t pay it any mind. I want to know who this fucker is and what he wants with my witch.
Bon sang, when did I start considering her mine?
“This isn’t over. We’ll continue this little charade until you right the wrongs done to us,” the vampire states, a slight accent to his menacing tone. Who is this batard? And what does he mean by that?
Rue isn’t paying attention. She’s openly sobbing now as Caylix’s sister—what was her name again?—tries to console her to no avail. My chest aches with the knowledge of her pain and I rub at the spot absentmindedly. Again, there’s a flicker of a heartbeat, but there are also so many things happening at once, I can’t definitively say that’s what it was.
What is this feeling? Surely, it can’t be empathy? I thought I’d lost the ability to feel that a long fucking time ago, along with most of my humanity.
The distinct sound of tires squealing to a stop reaches me at the same time chaos erupts. Took them fucking long enough. Three gray-streaked wolves break into the backyard straight into the fray without hesitation. It’s something I admire about them. Their protective instincts are fascinating.
A fourth wolf bounds into the fray, tackling a hissing feral to the ground while his partner pounces. His big paws land square in the center of its chest, catching it off guard. The creature manages to get ahold of the wolf, but it doesn’t matter. In this instance, the wolf is quicker. He wraps his maw around its head, ripping it clean off with his razor-sharp teeth.
Well, they’re certainly efficient. If a little gruesome for my tastes. I much prefer going straight for the heart. There’s something about the feeling of gripping one’s vital life force in my hand before crushing it in my palm.
A battle ensues as Caylix and Rhys go after the ferals. Normally, the mindless creatures would be frenzied right now with all the killing potential, but it’s as if they’re trying to escape.
The tallest of the three alphas, Kathan, charges directly at the unknown vampire at full speed like he has a score to settle. The man phases away with ease, a deranged laugh spilling from his lips. Kathan howls in frustration as he gives chase. Wolves are fast, but nowhere near as fast as a feral vampire.
He won’t catch him.
I could. But it would mean leaving Rue. My gaze flickers to her once more, watching the fear in her eyes as she gazes at the wolves tearing into the ferals. One side of my heart wants to go to her and comfort her, but the other wants to chase after this man and tear out his fucking heart for threatening her.
I could bring it back to her as a gift. The thought has the bloodlust roaring in my veins and I take off after the unknown vampire. Kathan’s wolf nips at my hand when I pass him, but it’s more of a you’d better get the fucker than anything malicious. I don’t spare him another glance as the world passes me by in a blur. My vision narrows until it’s nothing but the man I’m chasing, my predator instincts kicking in. It also piques the interest of the monster inside me, and his hackles rise, lending me some of its extra strength.
My legs pump harder, eating up the distance between us. He’s so fucking close I can almost taste him, but surprisingly, he doesn’t smell like much of anything. Which is strange and should be my first clue there’s more here than meets the eye.
Right as I’m about to latch onto the back of his shirt, his face turns to the side and he fucking grins before stopping dead in his tracks. I realize too late what his plan is. At the last second, I dodge out of the way of his outstretched hand poised at heart level. A snarl leaves my lips as I tumble through the grass and mud before skidding into a fucking oak tree. My shoulder snaps out of place, but I hold in my howl of pain, leaping to my feet, despite being a little disoriented.
But it’s no use. He’s gone without a trace.
It doesn’t sit right with me.
There’s not a bloody chance in hell I’m letting this incident go either.
Someone better start talking.