CHAPTER TWENTY
Davien
I’D MANAGED TO figure out that she’d teleported us no less than two hundred fucking miles away.
It was lucky that we’d remained within driving distance.
I’d be pissed if I wasn’t so fucking impressed.
She had no idea how powerful she really was, and I knew this was only the beginning.
No wonder those beasts had hungered for her.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, still rocking a semi from the consumption of her blood. At least that’s what I told myself. It definitely wasn’t from thinking about her being ‘soaked’. No—not in the slightest.
I really needed to get a hold over myself.
But it felt impossible. I hadn’t dared look at her for more than half a second since we started driving.
Even now, covered in blood, dishevelled from our not so little adventure, she was so fucking beautiful.
That fact was not making any of this easier.
It’s not like I could act on that attraction, even if she didn’t hate me.
Which she definitely did. The hatred practically vibrated off of her.
She was no doubt plotting something, and I worried about what she’d do next.
I wasn’t sure if she hadn’t grasped the seriousness of all of this, or if she was playing me.
When I’d heard the commotion in the pub and returned to find her covered in fresh blood I saw red. I didn’t even think about killing them, I just did it.
My one and only thought was about her safety.
I hated how much she got under my skin.
I felt my control slipping from my grasp.
This wasn’t at all going as I had planned.
I needed to get in contact with Marlette and figure out just how much shit I was in.
The call I’d tried to make back at the pub hadn’t connected.
How long had Zack’s team been following me? Were they on our trail now?
I needed to get her out, needed to train her. Force her to realise her power and potential and claim it. But she didn’t trust me. For good reason I supposed but I was at a loss at how else to approach it. I couldn’t give her the choice of making her own decisions.
I groaned internally. I’d been so foolish to think we had time. I should have hidden her and cut ties with the Ninth from the moment I suspected who she was.
My eyes were firmly on the winding country road ahead when I suddenly felt a brush of chill air to my side.
I turned just in time to see her door swing wide open.
And then she was gone.
For a single, disorienting heartbeat I was rendered immobilised. I watched her body hit the tarmac and roll toward a ditch of overgrown wild blackberry bushes, then she was on her feet and in a blur of speed as she climbed a cattle gate and ran into a field.
Fucking Hell. This woman.
I swerved the car to an abrupt halt and I took off after her in pursuit.
I angled the cap down to shadow my face from the fucking sun that was now burning in the sky.
It wasn’t high yet, but it was there, nonetheless.
I could already feel it, the slow, creeping burn along my skin, and I pulled my hood up over the cap as I kept to the shadows of the hedges.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
That bitch.
She’d timed it.
She’d waited until sun up deliberately.
Clever.
Fucking fuck.
My eyes tracked where I’d seen her last, and there she was.
She was cutting across the field at an angle, long grass brushing against her legs, uneven ground slowing her pace just enough.
Beyond her, the land stretched open—rolling fields bordered by dry stone walls, patches of gorse and hedges breaking the landscape, nowhere near enough cover to hide from me.
Thank fuck.
She didn’t stand a chance.
I wouldn’t last more than a few minutes in the direct sunlight. But I wouldn’t need more than that.
The sunlight bit harder the moment I stepped beyond the shadows, a searing sting that crawled over my exposed skin, but I pushed through it, closing the distance between us fast.
She was quick and clever.
But she was untrained.
I had centuries on her.
I took seconds.
I caught her from behind, my hand fisting in her hair as I dragged her back against my chest, her momentum snapping her short with a breathless sound. She struggled instantly—twisting, kicking, clawing at anything she could reach—but it made no difference.
“Enough,” I snapped, already hauling her back the way we’d come, ignoring the burn climbing steadily up my neck and across my hands.
She fought the entire way.
“Fine,” I said, breath tight, irritation cutting through every word. “Have it your way.”
I slammed her body against the side of the vehicle, the impact solid enough to knock the fight out of her for half a second.
I twisted her arms behind her back, forcing her still beneath my weight as I reached into my pocket, pulling free a heavy duty chain I’d acquired at the petrol station just in case the need arose for a situation like this.
I secured her wrists in one swift motion, making sure to wrap the metal around her tightly several times.
She writhed against me with all her might, but she was no match for me. She might have been powerful but she didn’t know how to wield it and her physical strength was nothing compared to mine. With the chain secured I took hold of her by the hair and yanked her back against me once more.
“This is what happens when you don’t listen,” I grunted into the shell of her ear. “I warned you.”
I had expected some venom from her lips, but instead she laughed. Manically. And that really didn’t help my attraction to her. I liked them a little unhinged. And she was exactly that and more.
But fuck, was she testing my patience.
I opened the boot of the car and simply shoved her inside. She barely had time to protest before I slammed it shut, cutting her off mid-breath.
I stood there for half a second longer than I should have, chest rising and falling, the burning along my skin sharpening now that I wasn’t moving. It crept up my neck and across my hands—angry, insistent.
Fuck.
I dragged myself back into the driver’s seat, slamming the door harder than intended as I settled in. My grip tightened around the steering wheel, jaw clenched as the sound of her kicking echoed from the back, the dull thud of her weight hitting metal growing more and more frantic by the second.
I exhaled sharply then slammed my palm against the wheel.
“Should have fucking listened,” I called back to her, looking down at my crotch. Great. I was hard as a rock again.
Another thud.
Another.
I scrubbed a hand down my face before reaching for the radio, flicking it on. Static burst though at first, then some half-tuned station crackled into life. Music spilled out loud enough to drown out the worst of it.
Not all. But enough.
I shoved the car into gear, tyres grinding against loose gravel as I pulled away too quickly, the engine responding with a low, strained growl as we shot back onto the road.
The countryside blurred past once more.
But still, she didn’t relent.
***
I punched in the numbers and sighed as I waited for the call to connect.
One. Two. Three rings.
Pick up Marlette, damn it.
“Yes?” the voice at the other end of the receiver queried.
“Why does it take you so long to answer the phone for fucks sake?”
She let out a laugh. “I’m wonderful, Davien, thanks for asking, and you? Calling to check in on me? You know, I am capable of doing my job and covering for you.”
“It’s hardly a time for jokes Marl,” I said with exasperation. I was so fucking tired. Tired of all of this shit.
“Why? What’s going on?” She asked, her tone much more serious now. “Did you get the blood analysed?"
“No,” I hesitated momentarily. I knew I could trust Marlette and I knew she wouldn’t willingly betray me, but I had to think rationally.
They’d found my location somehow so I needed to be careful.
I’d been careful to cover my tracks. Which left me to only one conclusion; someone had followed us by air, that someone being Zack—a true born with the gift of wings.
“It’s better we meet. How about a coffee? ”
‘Coffee’, being code for the line isn’t safe, move with care and meet at our pre-discussed safe location. I didn’t drink coffee. I grimaced at the thought. The stuff only gave me a headache.
“Sounds great,” Marlette said, her voice chipper again. “See you in, let’s see, how about an hour?”
I hung up the receiver without another word and dragged my hand down my face.
How had I landed myself in this position? I mean, I’d always known this would eventually happen—that had been the plan after all—but fuck, after so many decades, I was beginning to doubt the prophecy. Now, all those years of work were finally worth something. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
Everything was going to change from here on out.
I drove Ailsa—still in the boot—and I to the meeting spot. I ignored her verbal insults and occasional kick at the boot and backseat. I couldn’t leave her in there.
I knew that.
But I needed a plan first.
I honestly didn’t have the energy to deal with her running again, and I needed to feed. The taste of her blood still lingered in the back of my throat and I fucking loathed how much it affected me. I’d only known her—what—twenty-four hours and she’d already crept under my skin.
My attention snapped to the sound of a bike in the distance—Marlette’s to be exact—and I hastily got out of the car, looking over my shoulder while I made sure to lock it.
Thankfully, the sun had set again so at least there was that.
I was pretty sure we were alone. At least as far as I could tell.
The land stretched open in every direction, nothing but uneven ground and low shrubbery breaking the horizon. We’d chosen this place deliberately. There was no cover, no blind spots. Anyone approaching would be seen long before they got close.
And tonight, the skies were clear. No shadows to hide in.
I moved along the crumbling track to meet her as she brought her bike to a stop, the engine cutting out with a low hum. She pulled off her helmet, red hair catching in what little light there was as she studied me.
“You look like shit.”
“Thanks,” I drawled. “You would too if you’d just lived my past twenty-four hours.”
Her expression didn’t shift. “What the hell happened?”
“We were followed,” I said, already pacing a step, then another, energy still too high, too sharp beneath my skin. “Zack—”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face. “But listen, he’s the least of my worries. I’m fairly certain they killed Eve… and took the samples she’d taken before they burst in.”
Silence settled over us for a beat.
I didn’t stop moving, pacing in the dirt.
Couldn’t.
My fingers flexed, then curled, the need to do something clawing at me.
Marlette watched me closely. Too closely. She knew me too damn well.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
I stilled, just for a second, then glanced back at the car.
“She saved me,” I said finally. “She teleported us out, or well, rather herself I believe, but she was cuffed to me so I think she accidentally brought me with her… to the other side of the country. We’ve spent the entire day on the road, getting back up here.”
Marlette’s face paled. “So she is who we think she is.”
“I’m certain of it,” I said. “Blood hounds attacked us too, drawn to her magic.”
That landed. Hard.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah. And when I almost died, she saved me again. By feeding me her blood.”
“Oh fuck, no wonder you look so rough,” she said, eyed widening in surprise. “How are you in control right now?”
I inhaled through my nose, rubbing at my temples. “I’m not sure I am,” I admitted. The truth was, the thought of her had been driving me insane and I hadn’t felt this out of control in centuries.
“And her? Is that why she’s locked in the boot?”
I snorted a laugh. “No, actually, she’s not affected. She keeps trying to run from me.”
Marlette's lips thinned as she suppressed a laugh. “Come on, I brought blood bags. Figured you might be in need of them. Hadn’t considered this of course, but yeah, you may thank me later.”
I followed her to her bike and quickly drained the bag handed to me. It tasted like utter piss in comparison to Ailsa’s blood, but I was glad to have it and it took the edge off somewhat at least.
“You should probably feed your new friend, too,” Marlette smirked, handing me another bag.
I hummed my reluctant agreement.
I put the key into the boot lock, stopping to warn Ailsa. “Don’t even think about running. As I’m sure you heard, Marlette is here too and if you behave, she has some blood for you.”
Silence was my only answer and I opened the boot to find her staring daggers at me. She was as expected—furious, dishevelled, eyes bright with something she didn’t quite have control over. I caught her by the arm before she could try anything, pulling her upright with little effort.
“Behave,” I muttered, more out of habit than expectation.
I reached for the blood bag Marlette held out for me and I paused, having half a mind to worry that if she refuelled properly that she could teleport away again—this time without me.
But for some reason or another, I’d rather her have that ability than not.
I just had to keep control of the situation.
She still wasn’t aware of how her magic worked, so I shoved the open port of the blood bag against her mouth, not trusting her enough to untie her just yet.
“Drink.”
She hesitated, then took a sip.
Marlette stepped closer, studying her with open curiosity now, but said nothing.
For a moment we all stood there in silence.
“Listen,” Marlette started. “After your call I did some digging—don’t worry, I was careful, but you were right.
The Greystone is compromised. You need to disappear.
I had Merrick pack you and your guest a bag and arranged for him to leave a clean car at a petrol station ten miles up the road.
It’s an old black motor, you’ll know it when you see it. ”
“You trust him?”
“Implicitly.”
“What about you?”
“From what I’ve gathered, their interest is in you so I’ll stay at the Ninth, stay right under their nose—you know, forever invisible as a woman—and focus on the case while keeping my ears open. I’ll make contact when I can to keep you updated.”
“Okay then,” I said, putting an arm around her. She handed me two pre-paid burner phones. “Look after yourself, Marlette. I’ll be in touch.”
“It’s not me you need to worry about,” she said, nodding to Ailsa who was clearly calculating her next move. The woman wore her expressions on her face like she wanted me to know exactly what she thought of me.
I sighed as I looked Ailsa over, once again finding myself drawn to her. She had a way of mesmerising me that scared me.
Maybe I should tie her feet together too. Stop any lingering thoughts of running.