by HELEN HARDT
The door slammed, leaving me with only the darkness.
Until it opened once more.
Again, I could only make out a dark figure entering.
“Hello, Erin.”
A voice I recognized. “Hello, Zabrina.”
“I hear you didn’t eat your meal.”
“Not feeling hungry, thanks.”
“You need nourishment, Erin, if you’re to bear vampire children. Plus, you need to prepare for the harvest.”
“Prepare for the…what?”
“The harvest. You’ll only feel a slight prick.”
Damn! I couldn’t see! “Whatever you plan to do to me, think again! Dante! Dante!”
Fingers massaged my thigh. Was it bare? I had a shirt on, but my legs. God, they were bare! I hadn’t noticed until now. “Just a tiny prick.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Surely you’ve had an injection before.”
“I’m not scared of a shot, you lunatic. I’m scared of whatever shit you want to put in me!”
“Hormones, Erin. Simple hormones.”
I winced as the needle punctured my skin. “You crazy-assed bitch! The harvest is an egg harvest, isn’t it? You’re taking my eggs!”
“Oops. I must have hit an artery. Just a few drops of blood.” She inhaled, sighing. “You are a decadent treat, Erin. But your blood must be conserved for now, no matter how delicious.”
“You bitch. You bitch. You fucking, insane bi—”
My mind went blank again.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dante
My body thrummed, and I inhaled.
Erin.
Her blood.
She was calling me again, and I was powerless to resist. My father had disappeared—I still had no idea why—so he couldn’t lead me to Erin.
Eventually I would have picked up her scent, but now I didn’t have to. She was calling to me with her blood.
Carrying Erin’s pack, I stalked through the door, through the hallway, and then into the next wing of the underground hospital. Everything around was nothing more than a blur accompanied by white noise.
I had one objective.
Find Erin.
Take her blood.
Take her.
I finally came to the door that led into the dark part of this compound. The place where I’d found Abe Lincoln and the others.
The place I’d been kept for ten years.
I stalked through each hallway, making turns when my body told me to, each step bringing me closer to Erin.
With every inhalation I throbbed harder.
That dark chocolate. That musky truffle. That lusty red wine crisp with tannins and acidity.
Until—
“Ah, so you penetrated the shield. I can’t say I’m surprised. You have abilities I never dreamed of, Dante.”
She stood outside one of the doors.
Behind the door was Erin. Her scent was thick.
I had one advantage. She didn’t know I’d gotten through the shield because of the pin one of her thugs had inadvertently left at Em’s apartment.
“You have no idea,” I said, baring my fangs on a low rasp. “Move out of my way.”
“Of course.” She stepped to the side. “I must confess. I was almost sure you’d take longer to get here. I underestimated you. It won’t happen again.”
She had no idea my father had been spying for me either. She was a woman of science who didn’t believe in ghosts.
Good.
She also didn’t know I’d sniffed out Erin’s blood. What if Erin hadn’t spilled her own blood to call for me? What if—
With one hand, I flattened Bonneville against the concrete wall. “If you’ve harmed one hair on her head.”
She bared her teeth. “Kindly let me go if you want to see her.”
“Fuck you,” I said through clenched teeth, tightening my grip.
“You only think you’re in control here, Dante. At this very moment, one of my servants holds a needle inches from Erin’s thigh. It contains an antidote.”
“What?”
“You heard me. An antidote. To the poison he administered as soon as I saw you coming.”
Rage blew through me like a cyclone. “You what? You poisoned Erin?”
“Your strength has surpassed even what I imagined, Dante. I had to have some leverage, didn’t I? Even you can’t bring someone back from the dead. Trust me on that one.”
“You fucking bitch!” I squeezed her neck.
“If he doesn’t get a signal from me, he won’t administer the antidote. If you want her to live, you will let me go.”
“No. Not Erin.”
“Why not Erin?”
“You know why. If she dies, I die.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your blood bond is nonsense. An old wives’ tale. The only person you’re bonded to—will ever be bonded to—is me, Dante. You’re mine. You will always be mine!”
How I ached to tighten my grip, to squeeze the life out of this psychopath.
But Erin.
I couldn’t take the chance. What if she was telling me the truth? What if Erin died because of me?
With reluctance—a lot of it—I let her go.
“Good.” She smoothed her white coat. “Now, if you want the antidote administered, here are my terms.”
Fight or die in the arena.
I had no choice.
Those were her terms. Get dropped into the fighting pit once more and fight for my life.
My fucking life that wasn’t worth a pittance without Erin.
There can only be one who is undefeated.
I was so much more powerful now than I was when last I fought here in this dirt-covered arena. I’d moved things with my mind. I’d healed two people.
I could win this fight with a mere look.
And win I would, quickly, so I could get back to Erin and protect her from this place.
Once I won, I’d get Erin out of here. I’d get her to safety, and then I’d come back for River and my uncle.
I inhaled, gathering every last ounce of rage and letting it pour into my muscles.
Bring. It. On.
Someone dropped onto the ground with a thud.
My opponents had always been masked, but not this time.
“Fuck.” He stood and rubbed his behind. “Shit. Dante?”
I jerked. “Riv?”
Oh, hell, no. I would not fight my cousin.
“You think I’d pit Erin’s life against your cousin’s?” Her voice, from above. “I’m smarter than that. It will be two against one this time. And here is your opponent.”
Another thud on the ground, and—
I growled as the monstrous being stood, flexing muscles twice as big as mine.
River wasn’t ready for this. He was as strong and virile as any vampire male, but he hadn’t been trained for the arena, and certainly not against some kind of monster.
“Easy, Riv. I got this. Stay behind me.”
“No, I can help y— Oh my God! What the fuck?”
The monster’s gaze met mine.
Eyes I recognized. Eyes that were identical to ones now dead.
My skin chilled. “Oh my God. Uncle Brae.”
Epilogue
Zabrina
You’ve surprised me, Dante.
I never expected such power.
Even the prophecy doesn’t speak of its extent. Perhaps I should have done further research. Perhaps I shouldn’t have attempted to find the science behind it and bring it to life.
Bring you to life.
You—the chosen one.
But I did.
And you’re here. Your strength, your power, your agility—it’s all here.
You possess something that I do not, but I still have the upper hand, and I will control you with any means at my disposal.
That includes your little bitch.
And that weapon you don’t yet know about.
Prologue
&nb
sp; Dante
Fight or die in the arena.
I had no choice.
Those were her terms. Get dropped into the fighting pit once more and fight for my life.
My fucking life that wasn’t worth a pittance without Erin.
There can only be one who is undefeated.
I was so much more powerful now than I was when last I fought here in this dirt-covered arena. I’d moved things with my mind. I’d healed two people.
I could win this fight with a mere look.
And win I would, quickly, so I could get back to Erin and protect her from this place.
Once I won, I’d get Erin out of here. I’d get her to safety, and then I’d come back for River and my uncle.
I inhaled, gathering every last ounce of rage and letting it pour into my muscles.
Bring. It. On.
Someone dropped onto the ground with a thud.
My opponents had always been masked, but not this time.
“Fuck.” He stood and rubbed his behind. “Shit. Dante?”
I jerked. “Riv?”
Oh, hell, no. I would not fight my cousin.
“You think I’d pit Erin’s life against your cousin’s?” Her voice, from above. “I’m smarter than that. It will be two against one this time. And here is your opponent.”
Another thud on the ground, and—
I growled as the monstrous being stood, flexing muscles twice as big as mine.
River wasn’t ready for this. He was as strong and virile as any vampire male, but he hadn’t been trained for the arena, and certainly not against some kind of monster.
“Easy, Riv. I got this. Stay behind me.”
“No, I can help y— Oh my God! What the fuck?”
The monster’s gaze met mine.
Eyes I recognized. Eyes that were identical to ones now dead.
My skin chilled. “Oh my God. Uncle Brae.”
Chapter One
Erin
I floated in a cloudy haze. Where was I again? Couldn’t see. Couldn’t move my arms or legs. A puncturing growl as my insides churned. Hunger. I was hungry. When had I last eaten?
I inhaled and struggled against what bound me as panic churned in my gut. Was it rope? Leather? Not metal. It was pliable. Slightly.
Beef? Something. Some kind of food was in here with me.
I arched my back, stretching my pectorals. Ouch! My breasts. So tender. What the hell?
Then more stomach cramping.
Hunger…and something else.
Hazy memories tried to surface. I licked my parched lips. My mouth was dry. Water. Needed water.
“Hey!” I yelled. “I need water!”
No response. Not that I expected one.
The muscle of my right thigh ached, kind of like the twinge in my arm after a tetanus booster.
A shot.
Someone had given me a shot.
“Damn it! Dante! Dante, get me out of here!”
But nothing. No one came.
A sliver of light poked through as the door opened.
“Erin?”
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me. Logan.”
“Logan! Thank God! Get me out of here!”
He flipped on an overhead light. “I can’t. I’m so sorry.”
I squinted against the harsh illumination. “What do you mean you can’t? Are you crazy?”
A heavy sigh. “I think I am.”
“Please, Logan. You’re not crazy. Untie me and get me out of here. Dante is in trouble. I know it.”
“I wish I could, Erin. I want to. I want to do the right thing. You have no idea.”
“Don’t let her control you, Logan. You are in control. Not her.”
“I hate the bitch.”
I scoffed. “And you think I don’t? All the more reason to let me go.”
“I’m here to examine you, Erin, and to take some blood.”
“You’re not taking any of my blood, Lo—”
“What?”
“Never mind. Sure. Take my blood. In fact, cut me open. I want my blood to spill.”
“Are you nuts?”
“I’m as sane as ever.” If I could get him to cut me—to open the door—Dante would smell my blood and come to me. Quickly, I hoped.
I gasped as the cool end of a stethoscope touched my chest.
“Any breast tenderness?” Logan asked.
“Yeah. Like two cannonballs.”
“Good. That’s good. Cramping?”
“From hunger or from gas?”
“Funny, Erin. You know what I’m talking about.”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t, Logan. I’m on the pill, and I’m not due for a period for—”
A memory speared into me.
The harvest.
Not an autumnal harvest, but a harvest of my eggs. The injection. Dr. Bonneville.
“No. You can’t let them do this to me, Logan. You’re a doctor, for God’s sake. Stop this!”
“I would if I could.”
“You can! You’re a vampire descendant! Resist the glamour, Logan. You can do it. I’ve seen you do it!”
“You’ve…what?”
The memory slammed into me like a ton of concrete blocks.
River and I questioning Logan in the car.
“Exactly. If he was taken by vampires, and it seems likely that he was, given that he has no recollection, and also given that the other patients disappeared without anyone realizing it, we want to know why. Was it to perform surgery? Probably. He thinks he did. Was it because he has B positive blood? Probably. All the rest of the missing people have it. What if there was a third reason? What if—”
Logan turned to me, his pupils dilated.
“What if you’re right, Erin? What if you’re fucking right?”
What was the third reason I’d been thinking of? I grappled inside my brain, searching, searching…
“She’s studying you too, Logan. She could have glamoured any surgeon into coming down here and doing her bidding. But she chose you. Why you?”
“I think…”
“What?”
“I think…I’ve hurt people, Erin.”
“Yes, you told me that. You’re a good man, Logan. If you hurt someone, it’s not your fault. You were glamoured into doing it.”
“I…don’t know. I can’t think about it. I’m here to examine you. That’s what I need to be doing.”
The third reason. He’d said I was right.
Logan wasn’t clairvoyant. At least I didn’t think so. We’d have seen some evidence of that before now if he were.
And I remembered.
I hadn’t been thinking of a third reason at all.
Logan had interrupted me just as I was going to say, “What if it’s something else?”
I inhaled. Nothing. Of course nothing. I wasn’t a vampire. But River had said Logan had a noxious odor. Something had tainted his normal scent, the scent of his heritage.
No. Something had been layered over it. That’s what River had perceived.
Something wicked had hold of Logan. Something outside his control.
Goons. Dante had mentioned the goons who tortured him, said they had a horrid smell. A smell that was normal at first, but gradually became…
“Logan, you’re a good man. A good doctor. You saved Patty’s baby.”
“It was a double hernia, Erin. Hardly a life-threatening condition.”
“You saved Patty.”
“Your boyfriend saved Patty.”
“He saved her uterus. But you were going to save her. You were going to save her life.”
“He managed to save both.”
“Dante is special. He has gifts that no other human or vampire possesses, and neither he nor I understand exactly what’s going on with him. But don’t discount yourself, Logan. Zabrina—”
“You call her Zabrina?”
“Sure. Why not? She no longer deserves any honorific from any of us. Anyway, Zabrina wouldn’t have
brought you down here as a surgeon if she didn’t believe you had the skills. She has the ability to bring only the best down here to do her bidding, and she brought you.”
For more reasons than one, though I didn’t add those last words. I needed to butter Logan up to get him to release me. Telling him Bonneville had another purpose—which I hadn’t quite figured out yet—wouldn’t help me.
“Sometimes I hear voices,” Logan said.
“I know. But you’re medicated. You said they’re under control.”
“They are. I think. But sometimes…”
“Sometimes…what?”
“Sometimes the voices make me hurt people. I’m a doctor. I don’t like hurting people, Erin.”
Chapter Two
Dante
“Dad!” River lunged toward the monstrous thing on the other side of the arena.
“Riv, no!” I jumped at him, yanking him backward.
“He’s my father, Dante. He’ll know me.”
“Does he look like he knows anything right now? Look in his eyes.”
“I have. That’s how I know it’s him.”
“All right. Forget his eyes. Look at his brute body. Is that him?”
“So he’s been working out.”
“That’s not from working out, Riv. He’s pumped up on steroids. She mutilated him, turned him into a beast.”
“Fuck you, Dante. You have your father. I want mine. Dad!”
I yanked him back once more. “My father is dead, Riv. And here’s the thing. We need to figure out how to get out of this, because the only way we can save Erin right now is if we kill Uncle Brae. I’m not willing to do that. Are you?”
“Of course not!”
“He’s a poster boy for ’roid rage. We can’t engage him.”
“He doesn’t seem to know we’re here.”
“Not yet. Let’s try to keep it that way. She’s clearly willing to sacrifice him, though I’m not sure why.”
“How do you know that? Maybe she’s willing to sacrifice us?”
“No. She’s—”
I stopped. Was she? One of the rare vampire twins—my father—was already gone. But if she had his sperm, she had no need of him. Perhaps she’d already taken Brae’s sperm as well, and if so, maybe he was dispensable. Ten years of sperm harvesting would’ve given her a freezer full.
