by Cali Mann
My heart squeezed. She was helpless and doomed.
I remembered that feeling well. When my parents had tossed me out, I’d had nowhere to go. None of my friends from school would take me in. Their parents were just as religious as mine were. I lived on the streets, begging. And even then, everyone looked at me as if I was going to take their last dollar. Even if the humans couldn’t tell I was a vampire, I looked dangerous. As if I was a vicious monster who couldn’t be trusted. Despised for something I couldn’t control. Abandoned by those who should love me.
Was Hailey really any different? Seen as a monster because of what she was? Because of something she couldn’t control?
I wrapped my arms around her and stroked her hair as she sobbed. Why had her lovers left her now, when she needed them the most? Every time I saw her, she had unraveled a little bit more. And this was the last time. If they tested her tomorrow, the Council would know and she would be executed.
She leaned into me, seemingly comforted by the closeness of my body. How could I deny her that on her last day?
I inhaled, her lavender and blood scent rushing over me. My hunger raged. It didn’t make any sense. She didn’t have a cut on her. Why did she smell like food?
Her hands appeared, folded in her lap. Next came her shoulders under my embrace, then her eyes gazing up at me. “You’re hungry.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. “I am, but it has nothing to do-” My eyes sprung open and I stared at her slashed wrist. “Why?”
She huffed. “I’m dead anyway. Might as well do some good before I go.”
I wanted to say no. I wanted to be the better man and leave her with what strength she had, but my fangs ached.
Lifting her arm, Hailey offered herself to me.
“No,” I said, leaning closer, letting the scent of her fill me. She smelled of woman and sex and freedom and air. She would taste even better.
“I insist,” she said with a small smile.
My tongue flicked out, tasting her, and I was lost. My hand came around her wrist, pulling her to me, and my fangs pierced her soft flesh. I sucked, her warm blood sliding down my parched throat.
More and more of her body appeared under my gaze: her back, her stomach, her legs, and her feet. Every curve shone through her nightgown in the harsh florescent lights of my cell.
She groaned. Her hand slipped between her legs, touching herself through her thin panties.
I watched. My eyes glued to the movement of her fingers. Dampness appeared on her underwear. Heat swirled through me that was more than her blood on my tongue. I released her wrist, backing away. No, this was wrong. She wasn’t mine.
Hailey moaned. “Sciro,” she gasped.
My heart sped up at the sound of my name. Despite my worry, I found myself at her side once more, my lips pressed against hers as I kissed her. She was a tornado that pulled me in, and I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to escape. The kiss deepened, her arms slipping around me, holding me to her.
The smell of her surrounded me—blood, lavender, and sex. My thoughts fled, and I was here in this moment, holding the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I kissed down her neck and into the crevice of her cleavage. I ripped open her nightshirt, the buttons pinging as they fled across the floor. Cupping her breasts in my hands, I nipped at them.
“Yes,” she gasped, arching toward me.
I took her invitation, teasing her nipples into stiff peaks, and then I bit harder, making her moan. My hands slipped down her body, across her stomach, and over her hips. My cock, ready and hard, pressed against her thigh, begging entrance.
But I held him off. I lifted the band of her underwear and stroked my fingers along her skin. “Hailey,” I whispered. “I’m not going to stop like I did before.”
Confusion clouded her face for a moment, but she met my eyes. “I don’t want you to. Fuck me, Sciro.”
A low growl of satisfaction ripped through me. I hadn’t even known I wanted this until she lay before me, naked and asking. Shoving her legs apart, I positioned myself between them. Her hands reached for me, stroking my hard length.
She tried to pull off her underwear and I ripped them away. She smirked. “You owe me—” but her face fell, remembering she wouldn’t be around to collect that debt.
I drove myself into her wetness. She moaned.
“Forget that,” I said, battering her with my thrusts. “We are here. Now.”
She nodded, breathless. Her hips rose to meet me, driving my cock as deep as it could go. The warmth of her folds wrapped around me, squeezing, and the rest of the world was erased.
Pleasure swept through us, driving us toward our release. We gave and we took. Nothing could stand against the power of our joining, not even my heart. We came together in a torrent of sensation, pushing each other to greater and greater heights.
I lay against her, listening to her heart pounding in her chest. Sweat soaked us both. I tried to focus on the room that seemed to spin around us.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
A smile spread across my lips. “Thank you.”
“I should go.”
“Shh,” I said, stroking my hand across her brow. “Stay and rest. Tomorrow will come soon enough.”
24
Adrian
We arrived back at the gates of Thornbriar, and they were closed tight. Brenton had landed outside the grounds because we weren’t sure we could sneak back in. What if they’d changed the guard schedules? We didn’t want to get shot out of the sky.
When we’d gotten back to civilization, all of our cell phones had dinged with a million texts from Hailey, some rambling and some short, but the gist was she was going stir crazy cooped up all this time. Worse, the Oracle was testing her today. We needed to see her immediately.
The guards stopped us. “No one in or out of Thornbriar.”
“Well, we’ve already been out,” Terrin said. “Might as well let us back in.”
They stepped forward almost as one person and peered at us through their helmets. The front one flipped back his visor. “Who are you?”
I smiled and told him my name. “Adrian Hightower. My mother will be expecting me.”
“But will she be expecting them?” He jerked his head toward the rest of our group. “Get their names and business,” he said to his men. Then he stomped back to the guardhouse, and I heard the crackle of the intercom.
The men wrote down everyone’s name and one of them took it to the head guy. He talked for a while through the intercom, but I didn’t have a vampire’s hearing. All I heard were growls.
I glanced back at Abigail to see if she was listening, but she just looked dazed and confused. A lot had happened in the last few hours. I’d almost forgotten this was her first time in the outside world in almost twenty years.
Brenton also stared off into the distance, and I could feel the grief radiating off of him. We needed to get him to Hailey. She was the only one he really talked to. But she was going in front of the Oracle. Today.
The head guard finally came out of the guardhouse and marched over to us. “The Councilwoman—your mother—will be down shortly to greet you.”
“You don’t understand,” I blurted. “We have to get inside now.”
“Not possible,” he said, turning away to go over the list that his men had collected. “Not until you’ve been vetted.”
“Hailey’s going into the Oracle now,” Terrin hissed.
“I know that,” I muttered. “Sir—” I tried again, but the supervisor only glared at me darkly.
“What are we waiting for?” Neera asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
I shrugged. “A Councilwoman is coming down to greet us.”
We waited impatiently, stomping our feet on the cold ground. It was early yet, so the sun hadn’t yet warmed the air, though it wasn’t nearly as cold as Kaiden’s stronghold farther north had been. Spring was better established here in the southern mountains.
Mother approached the gat
e, looking as composed as ever. Her blonde hair was tied back and she wore a navy-blue wrap coat.
“Well, Adrian, you have been busy.” Her eyes scanned over our group, considering. A shadow of surprise passed over her eyes. If you didn’t know her like I did, you wouldn’t have seen it. “Abigail, so good to see you among the living.”
“Sarah,” Abigail said, inclining her head. “It’s been a long time.”
“And who are your friends?”
“I am Kwan,” she said, stepping forward. “And this is Neera. The three of us were held captive by Kaiden Hartsman until these brave boys saved us.”
One of the guards gasped. Must have been young. I kept my eyes on my mother’s face.
“Kaiden has four mates,” Mother said as calmly as if she was discussing the weather.
“Three now,” Abigail said, her voice far away. “Judith . . . she died.”
“Along with my mother and father,” Brenton choked out gruffly.
“Brenton McKinnon,” Mom said, her eyes softening for a brief second. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” he replied, his eyes on the ground.
Mother frowned, a small divot appearing between her perfectly arched eyebrows. “Now, why did you boys decide to go on this rescue mission?”
I looked at Terrin, and he stared back at me. What did we tell her? Admitting it had been for Hailey would only speed up her execution.
“Their friend,” Neera said, her hands still folded across her chest. “Sciro?” She looked for our nod. “He has been imprisoned for Samuel Ward’s death?”
“Yes,” Mother said.
“Kaiden returned to our dwelling—I cannot call it a home—boasting of his kill. Samuel was a good friend to me once.” She seemed sad.
“When did you know Samuel Ward?” Mother asked. Her voice was kind, but her eyes were sharp.
“We crossed paths when he was mated to the spirit shifter, Trisha,” Neera continued. “He told me to leave Kaiden. He worried about me.”
“I don’t think his kindness is in question,” the Councilwoman said. “Only his killer. Why would Kaiden risk coming to campus and killing Professor Ward?”
“They hated each other,” Abigail spoke up. “And after Trisha went on her rampage, killing all those people, Samuel turned against spirit shifters. With good reason.”
I frowned at Abigail. What did she mean? Yes, what Professor Ward’s mate had done was terrible, but did she really think all spirit shifters were bad? Would she still accept Hailey? Had we made a mistake bringing her here?
“All of you heard Kaiden boast about killing Samuel Ward?” Mother asked, her words sharp and crisp.
“Yes,” the ladies said, nodding.
“And you all came here of your own free will? None of you wishes to return to Kaiden Hartsman?”
“Absolutely not,” Abigail said, and the others chimed in after her.
“The boys came to rescue you out of a desire to help their friend, Sciro?”
“Not exactly—” Abigail began, but I cut her off.
“Brenton’s mother came to us. Abigail is her friend.” I glanced at Brenton. “Was her friend.”
“Ah,” Mother said, her eyes still suspicious.
“My mother came to you first.” Brenton’s head had come up, and his eyes were blazing.
Aileen had asked all the Council members for help, and they’d turned her down. None thought Abigail important enough to save, even if it would destabilize Kaiden.
“Yes, well,” Mother said calmly. “It wasn’t a priority right at that moment. But now that you are here, you can come inside.”
“And Sciro will be let free,” Terrin said.
“We have nothing to say he wasn’t involved,” Mother said. “But we will consider it under this new information.”
A low growl echoed through the group, and I wasn’t sure who it came from, but I definitely had the same sentiment. We followed my mother into the school grounds, the guards parting for us. We walked up to the doors of Thornbriar. When we reached the steps, Mother stopped and spoke to someone. Then we all entered as a group. The halls were quieter than usual, with only a few students darting here and there.
“How are the tests coming?” I asked.
“Half the school already,” Mother said. “No sign of a spirit shifter.”
They hadn’t gotten to Hailey yet. Maybe there was still time. “I’m hoping to get to see Hailey. Is she still in her dorm?”
“Her suite’s occupants were taken down this morning. They should be almost done now.”
Terrin’s growl rumbled next to me, and I ignored him. We needed to be smart here. How were we going to save Hailey? “They’re waiting in the hall like we did?”
Mother nodded.
“I’ll just duck down and say hello, then,” I said. Terrin looked at me and I shook my head. Let me go alone. If we all go it’ll look suspicious. I thought the words hard at him, and he seemed to get it.
“No,” Mother said, a stern note in her voice. “I need you all to give statements about your experience.”
I grinned. “I’ll be right back.” I turned to dart down the hall, and ran into the head of Council security, Logan Myers. Logan and I had tussled before.
“A problem here, Councilwoman?” Logan drawled.
“No,” Mother said with an overly sweet smile. “My son was just accompanying us to give a briefing to the Council.”
Logan raised an eyebrow. “Owning up to your responsibilities, are you?”
With a shrug, I followed along as they headed toward the Council’s temporary quarters. The guys lagged behind with me, letting the women go ahead. Logan and his goons were even farther behind us, but despite his lack of respect for me, he didn’t encroach too much.
“What are we going to do?” Brenton hissed.
“Let’s get this done,” I said under my breath. “We’ll get them settled and answer their questions, then we’ll go for Hailey.”
“We need to go for her now. They’ll know soon,” Terrin whispered.
“Even if they know, they won’t execute her right away. She’ll have to go before the full Council,” I murmured, trying to think through our options.
“How do you know?” Brenton asked.
I tried to smile reassuringly. “I know the Council. They’ll want to know how she evaded detection. They won’t kill her until their curiosity is satisfied.”
“Security will be even tighter, then.”
“We just plowed through an evil mastermind’s home and escaped alive. I think we can do it.”
They grunted, but it was the best plan that we had. It was the only plan that we had.
25
Sciro
The guard banged on the door, yelling, “Breakfast.”
I woke, my arms empty. Hailey had been there much of the night, curled up next to me. I knew because I’d been watching her, the way her dark lashes lay against her cheeks, her hands curled into fists, ready to fight whatever creatures visited her dreams.
Now she was gone. She would die today. The idea hurt me more than I thought it should. Pushing my emotions down, I climbed off the cot and stumbled over to the door. I took the tray from the guard and mumbled, “Thank you.”
The meals had gotten better once they found out I wasn’t a spirit shifter, just a potential murderer. It looked very similar to what I would have gotten in the cafeteria, plus a half-full bag of blood. I was full after feeding on Hailey the night before, but I gulped it down anyway. I was going to need all my strength.
Hailey would die today.
I swallowed. I shouldn’t have cared. Of course, I did. We’d made love. But I shouldn’t care this much. It shouldn’t hurt as if they were cutting off an arm or a leg. We’d gotten closer over the last few days. Her nighttime visits had been welcome. I was bored and lonely, and it had been nice to have someone to talk to.
Grimacing, I stuck my fork in my eggs. Still, I shouldn’t have fucked her.
She was Terrin’s and Adrian’s and fucking Brenton’s. I didn’t have the right. But she’d felt so good in my arms. So right.
I was a jerk. A bad friend and a worse packmate. What had I been thinking? I hadn’t been thinking. That was my problem. Ever since I’d met her, I’d been crazy, jumping to conclusions and letting my fears run away from me. Was it her spirit energy? Did it somehow affect me? I took a bite of the bacon and scratched at my shoulder. . . I froze. No fucking way!
Spitting out the bacon, I yanked my shirt off and stared at the vine and leaf pattern etched into my skin. She’d mated me. Even if I survived the trial, I’d die anyway because my mate was dead. I was doomed.
And she had four mates. Did that mean that she’d be balanced now? Had her father been right? Finally sane, and executed on the same day. Hailey had some shit luck.
26
Hailey
I woke to sunlight streaming through my window. My head ached, and my stomach growled. Had I been up all night? I blinked. There hadn’t been . . . oh yeah, today was the day I got tested by the Oracle. Today was the day I failed. It might even be the day I died.
Like a petulant kid, I wanted to pull the blanket back over my head and pretend it wasn’t happening. If I couldn’t see it, it would all just go away, right? But it wouldn’t. Forcing my sore body up, I climbed out of bed and stared down at my own nakedness. Hadn’t I put on a nightshirt last night? Or at least panties?
I scratched my head and dropped my bare feet to the carpeted floor. Padding across the room, I reached for the half-full water glass on my desk. The water soothed my parched throat. Why was I so sore and tired? I felt like I’d been fucking half the night.
My back itched something fierce, and I tried to scratch it, but it only burned more. I grabbed a small mirror off my dresser and tried to peer at it. I’d left the window open last night. Had I been bitten by a bug?
The tattoo on my back was thicker and darker and fuller somehow. It was hard to see in the small mirror. What was going on? It didn’t make any sense. Had I been visited by my air shifter mate in the night? I snorted.
