Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Noah
The world freezes. I can’t get my lungs to work as a tsunami of terror flows through me. Xander tenses and Harlan gasps.
Cole is crazed as he paces back and forth through the living room, leaving behind small puddles of blood in his wake.
The metallic smell of it fills my nose and has my head buzzing with dizziness.
But despite the large gash across his chest, Cole couldn’t seem to care less about it; his focus directly on Tyler.
“How?” Cassius is the first to speak.
Cole momentarily pauses his pacing as he grasps his chest and hisses through the pain, “I took my eyes off him for one second. It was waiting for us at the coven.”
“Why Tyler?” Ambrose bites at his nails. For the first time, this immaculate marble statue of a vampire looks terribly destroyed. His fangs have descended as he mindlessly rips at the skin around his cuticles.
Cole growls, his eyes widening, “The wards. Those fucking wards you forced him to put up were marked with his scent!”
The air in the house grows thick as Cole diverts his gaze to where I sit. His sneer is deeper and far sharper than Richard’s as he strides towards the couch. Xander is between us in the blink of an eye, his own hiss rattling the windows.
“Come a step closer to my mate and I’ll give you another thing to worry about!” Xander’s voice bellows around me.
“It’s his fault!” Cole roars back. “That thing is after him! Tyler was doing it out of the goodness of his own heart, and now he’s been taken from me!”
My stomach plummets, and I drop my head. Cole is right. It is my fault. Tyler was only trying to help, and this is where it’s gotten him.
“Tyler offered. Ambrose paid with a decade of his life. We aren’t at fault for this,” Cassius steps closer. The three vampires tower over the rest of us like three hulking giants.
“Then kill the damn thing!” Cole screams, reaching up to tug at his short hair. “These goddamn vampires.”
“Mind your tone, witch,” Cassius grumbles as he meets Cole’s hardened gaze. They snarl at one another, sizing each other up.
For a moment, I prepare myself to find a safe spot before the three men share blows and fangs, but it’s a quiet voice from the corner of the room that has everyone pausing.
“We’ll save him.”
Milo lifts his hooded head, his gaze darting between each vampire and myself as he chews on his bottom lip.
Ambrose drops his fingers from his lips, leaving behind a trail of blood from his torn cuticles. “Yes. We’ll kill the Soultracker and save Tyler.”
Xander sighs and steps back, his hands reaching for me, and I take his in mine. My touch immediately has his shoulders dropping and his posture loosening. “I’ll stay here with Noah. He can’t be left alone.”
Cole snaps his attention to me. “No. He comes, too.”
Cassius growls, “And what purpose would it serve to have Noah in harm's way?”
I shiver as all eyes turn to where I sit. It’s a strange feeling to be torn between utter shame and complete support. My heart thunders, yet my body lights up with warmth as each vampire gives me a small look of strength. Even Milo manages a tiny smile and a nod.
“We will kill the Soultracker. But we must protect our own,” Cassius nods in my direction. “Noah will stay here with Xander.”
Cole snarls, “It’s after him! It’s taken Tyler to get to Noah! Why can’t you see that? All it wants is your human!”
Xander’s chrome eyes meet mine, and a flash of sadness merges across his features. “We can’t put Noah in danger.”
Xander’s words are gentle against the raging anxiety that grows in my chest, but I can’t hide from the fact that Tyler is in grave danger because of me. Nothing sits right as I listen to them bicker back and forth.
“He’s destined to die! Tyler has seen it! The only way to get Tyler back is to use Noah as bait,” Cole’s voice thunders through the house.
The energy whirling between everyone grows thick, and I can’t breathe. I can’t think about anything else other than Tyler. He’s alone, scared, and hopefully still alive. My stomach clenches and saliva fills my throat with the need to be sick.
“He’s right,” I manage to choke out, clutching my stomach. “Use me as bait to get the… Soultracker away from Tyler.”
Xander rushes me, his arms circling my chest. “No, little mate. You won’t step foot beyond this house until it’s dead.”
“But…what about the doll?” Harlan whispers.
Xander tenses and Cole clenches his fists at his side, his entire body vibrating with shivers. “What doll?”
I sigh and slip my hand into Xander’s jacket, finding the pocket and the weight of the sticks and twine. Pulling it from its pouch, I show Cole, who doesn't make a move to touch the thing. Instead, he eyes it with disgust.
“A binding spell,” he spits, stepping towards the back door. “Good. That’s how we kill it. Noah will bring that thing with him. When we have Tyler, you’ll break the doll and Xander can turn you into a vampire.”
“Wait!” I cry and throw myself from the couch, practically running after Cole. “Couldn’t we break the doll now? Then Xander could change me here.”
Cole watches me closely, his brow furrows. “That doll is what’s keeping that thing strong. When you break the doll, it’ll weaken the beast. But I’m not risking that thing retaliating and killing Tyler before we can get to him.”
Striding past me, Cole pulls the back door open and steps into the dim light of the sunrise. “When you break the doll, you’ll die. The spell can't be destroyed if you’re immortal; the doll has to be broken before you’re turned. And no one but you can do it.”
Xander clutches at me, his warmth surrounding me. “Then Noah stays by my side. Harlan was only able to be turned after death because his maker was with him.”
Cole nods. “Then it’s decided. Let's go.” He doesn’t say another word as he strides onto the back porch and through the garden.
Ambrose is hot on Cole’s heels, and the rest follow suit. Cassius cracks his knuckles as he passes, giving Xander and I a small nod and a shallow smile.
Xander cups the doll in my grasp, his thumb swiping over the back of my hand. “Little mate. Do you understand what is at stake for you? For us?”
I swallow as I feel the way my heart shakes my ribcage. But I manage to nod. “I’ll die.”
Xander sucks in a breath and holds me tighter. “Is this what you want?”
The weight of his question settles over me, heavy enough to steal my breath. Between the distant sounds of the group outside and the nervous energy burning beneath my skin, all I can do is tighten my grip on the doll. “I want to be a vampire. I want to be with you for eternity.”
Xander’s smile is sad, his eyes welling with unshed tears. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, he cups my jaw with gentle hands. “Harlan is an anomaly. His maker killed him before his death. A cult ritual. But it’s not always that straightforward.”
My brow furrows as I turn from Xander to see Harlan speaking with Milo in the garden, their gestures clearly outlining a plan of attack.
“There’s a window in time the size of a second from the moment you die to me turning you,” Xander begins, his voice cracking as he shakes. “If I can't turn you fast enough. If we are separated… you’ll stay dead. You won't turn.”
My stomach revolts, but the echoes of calls from the garden fill the house as the group turns for the forest. There’s no time left.
Clasping Xander’s hand in mine, I hold our hands close to my chest. “I trust you, Xan.”
His eyes don't match his smile, and I know he’s torn between emotions. But Tyler is in danger, and we must kill the Soultracker. There’s no other options left.
I stand and let Xander lead me from the house into the garden. Cole waits impatiently, and the moment we emerge from the house, he’s darting into the forest.
“The beast took him in this direction,” Cole shouts over his shoulder as he disappears behind the foliage.
Xander scoops me up and holds me against his chest. One by one, each vampire speeds in Cole’s direction. With a final gentle kiss to my lips, Xander tightens his grip on me and slides his tongue across my lower lip. “Are you ready, little mate?”
I nod as the world blurs around us and the wind whips at my skin. Xander races after Cole and catches up with ease. “I’ll follow the Soultracker’s scent. It’s already getting stronger.”
Cole nods and somehow outruns Xander. Darkness licks up Cole’s legs as he propels deeper and deeper into the forest. Beyond fallen logs and quiet streams, we pass the dilapidated cabin and climb the steady slope of the mountain.
Higher and higher, the group pushes on as the sun kisses the tip of the mountain. Golden light refracts through the trees and casts shadows that dance across the forest floor. It would be beautiful if it wasn’t for the faint echoes of distant screams and cries.
Everyone stills, silence falling upon us.
Xander sucks in a deep breath, his eyes scanning the forest. I clutch the doll tight to my chest, my fingers digging into the twine and sticks. Every instinct within me screams to break it now. To weaken the beast and stop it from doing anything else to Tyler.
A scream explodes above us. It’s dry and curdled with agony. I wince. Cole growls, clutching at his chest as another glob of thickening blood seeps between his fingers. “I was right. It’s holding him hostage.”
Ambrose is gone in a flash, his white hair darting between trees as Cole chases after him. The rest of us follow, my heart pounding in my throat. “Please let him be okay,” I whisper against Xander’s chest.
The air grows cooler as we ascend the slopes of the mountain, and the trees thin. “There’s a cave system at the top of this ridge.” Xander slows, and so does the rest of the group. “It’s likely the Soultracker has made a den in one of the hollows. Tyler will likely be inside.”
“Track him,” Cole spits. His breath coming in short gasps as he shakes, his eyes darting around the ridge.