Chapter 23
Leona stared down at the corpse beneath her while wiping blood off her chin. Slowly, she nudged the man’s body with her foot, turning him over. She had been hungry. It was the kind of craving that blood bags hadn’t been able to quench, so she informed Sebastian she’d be going out for a quick hunt and to have a bath running for her when she got back. She smiled to herself at the thought of him; he was so kind and generous, and she never felt more loved than when in his presence.
It had been almost six months since Gideon had invaded Labasque Manor and threatened them. She was beginning to become more relaxed with the situation, drunk on love, and had started to go back and forth more between the girls’ house and Sebastian’s. It was fun training Charlotte and Victor, and Sebastian had even seemed to come to terms with everything. She had been worried for a while, unsure if it would be enough to break the trust they had in one another. He had to understand that she had no part in that process, and she understood where he was coming from. Though, she was an advocate of having a choice. She could only warn them so much, but she would never take their autonomy away.
Leona grabbed the dead man’s shirt and began lugging him toward a nearby canal. She loved hunting in New Orleans because there was always a body of water nearby leading into the Mississippi River, a neighboring swamp, or Lake Pontchartrain. Her kills weren’t usually found where the scene of the crime happened, which gave her more immunity. Though, she didn’t have any fingerprints or DNA that would link to anything human, so she never worried about it anyway. As if the police could arrest her and send her to jail. Please.
She had been hunting in the Lower Ninth Ward, which was eerily quiet for this time of night. The crime rate had spiked recently in the city, which she used to her advantage. Not that she advocated for people getting hurt, but a woman had to eat, after all.
As she was about to make her way back home, the thin hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She stopped in her tracks and felt so paralyzed with fear, she couldn’t even turn around.
“Hello, flower.”
Gideon.
Her eyes widened and she stayed in place, as if he wouldn’t be able to see her or smell her if she remained motionless. A thousand thoughts flew threw her head, each more scared and hopeless than the last.
Gathering herself, she held her head high and turned around. He was not going to detect weakness in her today. She would not run from him any longer. He would not put the fear of God into her bones anymore.
“Your protector isn’t around. I’m surprised he doesn’t tail you,” Gideon laughed, stepping closer to her. He was dressed in one of his pristine black suits, as he usually was. There was a time when that had made Leona swoon, but now? She could hardly hold his gaze without feeling disgusted.
“He doesn’t have to in order to know that I’m going back to his bed. He doesn’t have to fear that I’m going to run,” she snarled, glaring at him. “Not that I owe you any sort of explanation, Valdis.”
“Valdis now, is it? That stings,” he teased, tilting his head slightly to the side. “Why are you acting as if you are free? As if you are not mine? Your infatuation with this human is laughable, pathetic. And quite frankly, I’ve had enough of this party trick. It’s time for you to come home.”
“Infatuation?!” Leona laughed incredulously. “I’m in love with him. I’m his. I don’t belong to you,” she said, though it felt like swallowing nails. The venom in her body was reacting to her blatant dismissal of him. She knew he was flexing his powers against her, trying to make her bend so hard she broke. That would not happen. Though she was happiest when she was away from him, her body couldn’t help but feel betrayal. She grounded herself and continued, “You have others. Why me? Why this obsession with me?”
Gideon answered by grabbing her throat and slamming her against a nearby wall, dust crumbling around them from the hit. He held her there while she struggled, her nails clawing at his arm and hand. “You belong to me, Leona. Don’t you dare even think otherwise,” he murmured darkly, his tone dripping with warning. Gideon slammed her head back against the wall, Leona crying out in pain. Her vision blurred for a moment, her body limp as he quickly whirled her around and shoved her face-first against the brick of the wall. His voice was hot by her ear, “I’ll show you how I know you belong to me.”
“Gideon, stop, you fucking bastard,” Leona gasped desperately, tears streaming down her face. “Get off me!”
She screamed and pushed back with all her might, but to no avail. He hadn’t even budged. She tried to use any of her powers against him, but her mind was clouded with the barrier their bond kept strong. Her body was almost actively going against her, responding in kind to the venom that was longing for its sire. She was hurting herself.
“I love Sebastian,” she sobbed. “I love him so much.” Gideon’s hand found its way under the dress she was in, his knees keeping her legs spread just far enough apart. “Stop,” she begged, willing for anything but this. Trying to push back at his hands, he responded with a tighter grip on her wrists; so tight that it actually caused her to wince in pain.
When she felt him enter her, her entire world came thundering down around her. She sobbed as he violently took her from behind, her brain sending distress signals, but the venom evaporated them before they could reach her muscles. She thrashed the entire time, trying anything to get him to let her go. Her face was harshly grinding into the rough brick of the wall, her teeth feeling like they were going to shatter with the pressure of his hold.
She was back in Hell. How cruel the world was to waste her immortality by binding her to a monster who had abused her for more than 300 years. It didn’t seem like that trend was going to stop any time soon.
Was this all she was good for? To be his playtoy? To be the mat under his boot? She squeezed her eyes shut and thought of Sebastian, thought of the fact that he would probably never see her again. What would he think? Would he think that she just abandoned him? Would the girls tell him what happened when they inevitably found out? All she had wanted was happiness, a chance at a normal life — she felt like the naive little girl that had been so enthralled with Gideon the moment she laid eyes on him. She wished more than anything she could go back to that day when he’d waltzed into her father’s estate, asking for her hand to dance. She hadn’t recognized him, which had been a chunk of the appeal. A foreign lord asking for her hand? A lowly Abrin daughter? It was her dream come true.
Now, only nightmares festered between them.
Gideon fisted her hair and yanked her head back, her neck exposed and stretched out. He leaned down and harshly bit the skin, puncturing her jugular. He sucked hard, moaning into the crook of her neck. Drinking another vampire’s blood was not the same as a human’s. Much like a human being comprised of mostly water, though drinking regular water from a human body was impossible, the same was said for a vampire. Drinking another’s blood merely strengthened the connection between them and gave them a glimpse into their feelings. Gideon had gotten so used to overpowering his prey, he hardly noticed the pain Leona was in. His pleasure was too paramount.
“I hate you,” she whispered weakly, staring blearily up at the night sky. The stars shimmered, and she wished more than anything to be one of them. Nothing was worth this, no promise of eternal life or beauty — not even the love she felt for Sebastian. Because the pain of losing him would be her undoing.
Gideon drained her enough to weaken her. He didn’t need her fighting and thrashing on their trip back to England. He came hard inside her, Leona whimpering in discomfort as he growled obscenities in her ear. Pulling out of her, he did his trousers back up with one hand, the other still keeping her in front of him. “Who do you belong to, Leona?”
“Sebastian.”
Her cheek exploded in pain and her mind took several seconds to process his harsh punch. She crumpled against the wall, blood staining her dress.
“Who do you belong to?”
“Fuck you,” she spat, blood spraying over his face.
He wiped it off, smearing it over his hand and pale cheeks and neck. His crimson eyes flicked to her, and he retorted with yet another punch, her bones cracking beneath the blow. “Who. Do. You. Belong. To?”
Leona was practically choking on her own blood, unable to answer. She shifted her eyes to his, hoping her glare from hell would answer his question. Gideon practically snarled in response, a low and terrifying groan resonating deep in his throat. He snatched her by the neck and hoisted her in the air. “I will ensure you gag on your insolence when this is over. I will chain you to the wall and make you watch as I skin your little boyfriend alive. I will have him begging for a God that will not answer. He will only see your face as he reaches his end. Or perhaps I’ll turn him and have you watch his suffering for all eternity. He will look to you and yearn for the day before he met you. And you will only have yourself to blame when I finally put him out of his misery and dump his guts down your throat.”
Her eyes were wide with terror, her entire body quaking. “Don’t hurt him,” she said quietly. “Please.”
Gideon pulled her close to him, his breath so close it shifted her eyelashes. “You are in no position to bargain, flower.”
“I won’t ever leave again,” she pleaded in a broken whisper. “I will remain yours forever. Just… don’t touch him.”
Gideon smirked and gently trailed his nose up her cheek, causing her to flinch violently. He held her in place, his tongue moving to caress the deep gashes that had formed along her jaw. “Is that so?” he purred. “Your word doesn’t hold much weight anymore, my dear. How am I to trust you?”
“Do anything you want to me,” she cried. “I’m begging you. Don’t touch him. Take me back— back home, and forget all of this happened.”
“Home?” he repeated, pulling back to look at her. “Where is your home, Leona?”
She looked at him, bile threatening to come up her throat. In defeat, her shoulders slumped, and she finally broke. “With you.”
A wretched smile unfurled around Gideon’s lips and he nodded. “Never forget that again.”