by Ginna Moran
I scream out, squishing Wesson’s heart harder, feeling his insides slide through my fingers as I pulverize the one thing that keeps that asshole alive.
Wesson jerks, his body giving out on him.
“Keep her with him, Morgan,” Thaxton says to the guy standing behind me. “We’ve already lost Galveston. We’re not losing Wesson too.”
I land on top of Wesson, thrashing to pull my arm free. His brothers have a death grip on me, stopping me from jerking my hand away. And then Thaxton unsheathes a blade. Fear pours through me as he aims it at my arm.
“Gwen, ease your fingers off his heart now. If you don’t, I won’t hesitate to sever your arm. You don’t need it to be an intended.” Thaxton aligns the knife with my arm.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I screech, my breath coming out in pants.
“Five seconds,” Thaxton says.
My body wants to test his resolve and to discover whether or not he’s bluffing. I want more than anything to jerk my arm back and remove this douche’s heart, but just the idea of the agony Thaxton is willing to inflict on me leaves my blood running cold. My mind whirling. But, still my hand won’t release.
“Four.” Thaxton taps the sharp blade on my skin hard enough to make me wince.
“I’m going to kill you next,” I say, grinding my teeth together.
“Three.”
Ah, hell.
Fuck.
“Two.”
I squeeze my eyes shut.
“One.”
I brace for unbearable pain in silence, refusing to give in to my fear or my body’s sudden need to start sobbing.
“Last chance, Gwen,” Thaxton says, drawing my attention to him. “I mean it.”
Thaxton and Morgan are so focused on me that neither of them sees the hulking form of Bronx materialize behind them. Bronx’s sudden presence gives me the burst of bravery I need, and I glower and try to jerk my arm free of Wesson’s chest.
Thaxton raises his arm, his fangs extending, readying to send enough force down to cut my arm free. He wasn’t bullshitting me after all. This guy is a lunatic.
Bronx blocks Thaxton’s blow with a bloody dagger, swinging it up and toward Thaxton’s neck. Morgan releases me to attack Bronx to stop him from beheading Thaxton. I automatically pull my arm free of Wesson’s chest cavity still squeezing the warm, bloody organ. Thaxton roars, fighting Bronx harder. He manages to knock Bronx into the side of the house. Too many figures blur around in a fight, and I scramble to search for a weapon on Wesson’s dead body. I tug a knife free, and concentrate on who I could possibly fight in this mess.
“Damn it, Gwen,” Grayson says, reaching down to grab me.
I swipe the blade at him, stopping him in his tracks. “Stay away from me.”
“You’re going to get killed out here,” he snaps, trying to close the space again.
His distraction works, because Silas hooks his arms around me from behind, pinning me against him. Grayson disarms me and grabs my chin to hold my head in place. He glares into my eyes, his brows furrowed, an almost feral look in his eyes capturing me. I don’t know who the hell this guy is, but he’s not Grayson. Grayson would’ve never set me up like this.
“Stop fighting us, Gwen,” Grayson says. “You need to get your shit together and listen. We’re not the enemies. We’re your family. The Barons are your family.”
I suck my bottom lip between my teeth to stop it from quivering. My voice remains locked in my throat. I don’t know what I could say to him to get him to realize that he sounds utterly crazy.
“Gwen!” a familiar voice calls from behind us.
I twist in Silas’s arms, trying to break free at the sound of Mikkalo’s voice. “Help me!” I scream.
Mikkalo yells, and something crashes. I can’t see anything from my spot in Silas’s arms. Grayson pulls out a gun and fires it, and I startle with each pop. My ears ring, quieting the noise until all I can hear is the sound of my beating heart.
It’s like the world slows. My vision blurs with tears, betrayal running so deeply through me that it feels as if Grayson takes a dagger to my stomach and rips it up through my heart and neck and to my mind, destroying everything. I had no idea I was capable of hating my brother, but it’s more than that. I don’t only hate him, I despise him.
A whistle sounds through the air, cutting apart the silence muffling the world around me. Thaxton, Freeport, and Morgan appear beside us a dozen feet away. Everett, Bronx, and Jameson materialize on the other side with me and my brothers in the middle. I’ve never seen so many vampires hurt, the fragrance of their blood wafting through the air, blending into a perfume that stabs at the wild, savage predator inside me.
“You will never overpower us, Royales,” Thaxton says. “Not without your brother.”
“Zaire was not what brought us power and strength,” Bronx says, tightening his hand on a dagger. Blood splashes across his shirt, but I can’t tell if it belongs to him. His split lip looks like it heals already, and apart from a small cut on his throat, most of his injuries consist of bruises.
Everett and Jameson look far worse. Jameson’s eye is so swollen that it remains closed. I’m nearly certain that Everett’s arm might be broken by the way he holds it close to his body, his handsome features seemingly permanently pinched in an expression that mirrors my own despair.
“Is she worth it?” Freeport asks. “You have no idea what you’re getting into. You will never maintain the life you have as long as you possess her. She will die due to your inability to not only protect her but handle everything that comes along with her.”
Jameson growls and flies forward, not giving a damn that Grayson fires his gun at him. The Barons fly toward us in a race of who can get to me first. I swallow my fear instincts and ram my head back into Silas’s nose. He swears, unable to hold me any longer. Instead of running away like my body wants, I scramble to run toward my guys.
A figure blurs between us, and I scream out at the sight of Corona flashing his fangs. He shocks the hell out of me by locking his hands around my waist only to throw me into the air like the little doll Francisca claimed me to be.
“I got ya, Gwen,” Mikkalo says from somewhere under me.
His muscular arms envelop me, cradling me against him. He darts away and into the orchard. Setting me on my feet, he searches over me, making sure I’m okay. I throw my arms around him and hug him. I don’t give him a choice but to pick me up again. He keeps his eyes open, paying attention to our surrounding as I kiss him.
“I was so scared,” I whisper into the crook of his neck.
He hugs me tighter. “I’m sorry, Gwen. We underestimated the power of the Baron Coven. We haven’t heard of them because they’re unregistered. Half of them are from before the uprising. It takes all four of us to overpower one of those assholes.”
I shudder a breath, groaning. I had no idea. Laredo was the youngest and created after The Divide. But if some of his brothers are older than the uprising? Shit. They’re probably responsible for it. I always thought it was Donor Life Corp, but it seems that everything I thought I knew has been muddled by a lifetime of my mind being manipulated.
“We have to help them,” I say to Mikkalo.
He shakes his head. “No. Bronx will kick my ass.”
“If they’re as powerful as you say they are, then if we don’t, he won’t get the chance to be pissed off at you. Come on, Mikkalo. We’re a team. I can handle myself. You know that.” I cup his cheeks in my hands, feeling his stubble under my fingers. I beg him with my eyes.
He tightens his jaw. “I’m not letting go of you, Gwen. You want to fight? We fight together.”
I nod and kiss him, tasting the sweet tang of dried blood on his healing split lip. Mikkalo carries me to the edge of the grove surrounding the vast property. It’s so strange seeing the mansion in a place I know Blood Rebels reside, the community around here somewhere.
The fight between my guys and the Barons continues at full force. I
’m nearly certain it won’t end until everyone on one side is dead. Without hesitating, Mikkalo sets me on my feet, clutching my hand. I’m of better use on my legs than in his arms. This isn’t my first fight after all, just my first against a whole bunch of incredibly powerful vampires.
“Thaxton, there she is,” Freeport calls, pointing in our direction.
“Damn it, Mikkalo,” Bronx shouts. “Get her out of here.”
Everyone’s attention falls on me, and I grip Mikkalo’s hand tighter, bracing myself for the fight now flying at us inhumanly fast. Thaxton closes the distance first, risking trying to snatch me away. Mikkalo swings me off my feet and spins me a full circle so fast that I don’t realize it until my body collides into Thaxton’s back, and he stumbles off his feet.
Thaxton lands in the dirt and rolls over to catapult up, but Mikkalo’s quick to kick him down. He jabs his dagger into his shoulder blade so hard that it stabs all the way through him, imbedding in the compacted dirt.
It’s enough to slow Thaxton down so that he can’t get to his feet. Mikkalo goes in for the kill blow, swinging his arm to add enough force, but Freeport knocks Mikkalo off balance, sending him crashing into me. I hit the dirt with a thud, the breath escaping my lungs. Mikkalo rolls on top of me, acting like a shield as the two vampires close the distance, preparing to retaliate with what I can only assume to be a fatal attack.
Something inside me snaps, and I thrust against Mikkalo so hard that I throw him off to switch places. A knife jabs into my back, and I scream out in pain, my eyes blurring with shadows.
“Gwen!” Everett yells.
My surprise move freezes the Baron brothers, my loud voice enough to distract everyone from the fight. Growls reverberate through the air, and Bronx, Jameson, and Everett take advantage of their hesitation. They rush toward us so fast that Thaxton shoves Freeport and the two of them disappear. So do the other brothers. I don’t think anyone was prepared for the fact that I chose Mikkalo, Bronx, Jameson, and Everett. I didn’t just choose to be with them. I chose to be part of their team, to fight with them, to die for them if it came down to it.
A massive explosion shakes the world around us, and Everett scoops me into his arms. Bronx helps Mikkalo to his feet, and Jameson leads the way away from a billowing cloud of smoke wafting into the glittering night sky.
I squint through my blurring vision at the orange and yellow flames eating away at the mansion. I don’t know exactly how it happened or who started it, but I do know that the place belonged to the Baron brothers, and I can’t help wondering if it was their doing.
“Everett...my brothers?” The question comes out softly, just a breath on my lips.
He adjusts me in his arms, careful to keep pressure on the wound on my back while hugging me against him. “They took them.”
I rest my cheek on his shoulder. “I don’t understand any of this. What happened?”
“We were all set up. Both our coven and the Anderson Coven,” Bronx says, answering my question.
I rest my face on Everett’s shoulder, my mind whirling but my body wanting nothing more than to give into the sudden exhaustion consuming me.
Everett strokes the small of my back, the sensation feeling so incredible. “She needs blood, but I don’t think she’s strong enough to bite me.”
“Mind if I help? I know it’s awkward as fuck—”
“Anything for our girl, Bronx,” Everett says.
I expect Bronx to shove his arm between my mouth and Everett’s shoulder, but instead, he leans over and sinks his teeth into Everett’s other shoulder. Everett shifts me again, filling my senses with everything he is. Blood coats my lips, and I find the strength to latch onto him. His blood tingles down my throat and sends a burst of energy through me. I suck harder, digging my fingers into his shoulder, making him moan softly.
“Stay close,” Bronx says. “No one let our girl out of arm’s reach. We’re meeting with the remaining Anderson Coven members outside the rebel nest.”
I blink a few times, trying to wrap my mind around his words. “Wh-what?”
Jameson pops in my view. “Don’t worry, Gigi. Common enemies sometimes salvage alliances. At least temporarily. Don’t look at or say anything to anyone, okay?”
It’s not like I’d want to. I wish we weren’t meeting them at all.
Everett kisses my temple. “I know it’s not ideal, but no one will dare mess with the strong, fierce, dhampir who can rip a heart out.”
“And eat it,” Mikkalo says, forcing his mouth to smile.
I release a sigh and nuzzle my face into the crook of Everett’s neck. The four of them slow at the soft murmur of voices. My chest clenches, hearing the husky voice of Corona. And then I hear the soft cries of people.
I tense, my stomach flip-flopping, threatening to expel Everett’s blood. It didn’t even dawn on me that there would be captives. It claws at me worse than I expected, especially because these people somehow found themselves in the Baron brothers’ clutches.
“The rebels will not be hurt, Gwen. I promise.” It’s like Bronx reads my mind, or maybe he hears my suddenly furiously beating heart. “I didn’t risk our safety for them to end up dead.”
“What will happen? Will you take them to Crimson Vista? Add them to the donor pool?” Because if that’s the case, they’re dead. No Blood Rebel would ever submit to such a life. They think death would serve a greater purpose, reminding humanity what things have come to.
“Ms. Gallagher, is that what you want for the people who deemed you a traitor to her own kind?” Corona’s voice stabs into me.
If Everett didn’t squeeze me tighter, I would snap at Corona. I’d thrust myself away and take his heart, crushing it like he did to mine when he murdered Kyler. When he separated my brothers. When he blackmailed my guys.
“It’s Ms. Royale, and do not speak to her,” Bronx says, his voice deepening with threat. “Do not look at her.”
“Do not even fucking breathe near her,” Jameson adds.
Bronx holds his arm up, stopping Jameson in his tracks. The command doesn’t stop Mikkalo. He strides closer and swings, punching Corona in the face. The vampire flies off his feet and hits the dirt with a snarl. But he doesn’t get up or try to fight back. He doesn’t even meet my gaze as I pull away from Everett to peer behind me.
“Mr. Royale,” a sultry, feminine voice says. Brooklyn saunters from her spot near the side of a small house. “Is that really necessary? You have already shown my father his place. He will not test your power again.”
Father? What the hell?
“He’s not actually her father,” Everett whispers. I realize I might have murmured my confusion out loud. “Every coven has a different infrastructure. Some leaders choose to treat their members as their children, funneling power to only them instead of spreading it evenly.”
“That’s so weird,” I say.
Everett chuckles. “It works for some. Not for others.”
“...no idea. Be grateful that he’s still breathing.” Mikkalo returns to our side, and I reach out and touch him. I missed half of what he said, but from the silence filling the air, it was enough to shut Brooklyn up.
Bronx closes the distance to Brooklyn and whispers something too lowly for me to hear into her ear. She nods and returns to her spot without as much as another look. Mikkalo and Jameson close in tighter around me, their muscular bodies shielding me from anymore looks. Stepping away, Bronx assesses the situation, strolling to the captive humans.
“The Hunters’ humans will be returned to Brentwood immediately after we wipe their memories of tonight. They will have only found an abandoned community.”
Bronx squats down and extends his arm to the familiar, beautiful woman who was determined to bone a baby out of my brother. Xochitl’s bottom lip trembles, and she opens her palm to take what Bronx offers. I inhale a sharp breath at what looks like a chunk of flesh. Xochitl whimpers and closes her hand without dropping it.
“She will return Mr. Ga
llagher’s tracking device.”
I groan, drawing Bronx’s attention to me.
“The Barons removed it,” he says to me, remaining expressionless.
Bronx continues to instruct the surrounding vampires with orders. Something about his authority leaves me gaping at him, entranced almost. I’ve seen him act as a leader for his brothers, but seeing him control the Anderson Coven too kind of turns me on. He looks sexy as hell with his straightened shoulders, rippling muscles, and dark eyes that turn to me every few seconds like he has to assure I’m okay at this short distance away.
“What will happen to us?” a human man asks, daring to speak.
Bronx rubs his lips together, looking at me once again. “You will continue living as you are.”
Corona raises his brows. “Mr. Royale—”
“Do not question my decision. You and your coven may leave. Check in once the humans are returned to the Hunters. If Brentwood has the need to retaliate for your fuck-ups, you will accept it without complaint. You will also give me the locations of the remaining Gallaghers. If I retrieve them all unharmed, I will consider allowing you to maintain power. But betray me again and you’ll see what I’m truly capable of. Understand?”
Corona nods. “Yes, Mr. Royale.”
Bronx flashes his fangs. “And speak of the Barons to no one. The offense will be punished by death.”
The vampires scatter, taking the three women from the Hunters with them. Everett finally sets me on my feet, but Jameson quickly scoops me up to nuzzle his nose to mine before he kisses me softly. I sink into him, devouring his affection like it’s the one thing that can ease the ache inside me, filling the cracks and holes the shit show of tonight left behind.
“Brothers, take care with their manipulations. We cannot afford any fuck ups. All of them must believe that they saw Gwen die tonight. We have enough to worry about without having Blood Rebels continuing to threaten Gwen. Until we know what the Barons’ next move is, we must take every precaution we can. Also, do whatever you can to gather as much information short of causing permanent damage.” Bronx pats Everett and Mikkalo on the back, sending them toward the people.
