Her Vampire Bad Boy

by Trim, Brenda

  We’re family, and he supports me regardless, because he understands what it is to love another beyond reason.

  Nodding in acknowledgement of the unspoken message, I take a deep breath of the desert air. Lucius clasps my shoulder. “You always have a place at my side. Let’s rescue your woman.”

  “Garrett and his men are standing back,” Selene adds and focuses on the base of a mountain in the distance. “We can trust they won’t allow anyone that gets past us to leave the area.”

  “She’s close. I feel her,” I tell them. “I assume they’re in a cave, given the faint scent of her. Do either of you know it?”

  Lucius’s gaze travels over the area before landing on me. “Not very well. I’ve run with Selene through here, but I haven’t explored any of the caves.”

  “Fuck,” I curse. “I was hoping to get inside before we are seen.” Shrugging my shoulders, I bounce on the balls of my feet and am about to take off when Garrett lopes up in wolf form. After a rapid shift, he stands before us naked with his hands on his hips.

  I want to punch him and continue on my way. The fact that he might have information about Harper is the only thing keeping me in place. “What do you know?” I demand, out of patience at this point.

  “That she’s being held hostage and tortured by an unknown alpha and two dozen of his men in a cave about three miles to the east.”

  Hearing confirmation she is being harmed erodes more of my non-existent control. “Why the fuck haven’t you gone in to save her?”

  Garrett crosses his arms over his chest and glares at me. “Because we only discovered them an hour ago, and her scent made it clear she belongs to you. I will not risk my men should something go wrong. But,” the alpha informs me as he holds up a hand to stop the words chomping at the bit to fly from my mouth, “they stopped hurting her shortly after we arrived. I think the alpha is planning something which is why I called Lucius right away.”

  “We need to surprise them to have an advantage,” Lucius decides as he stands there with his hands on his hips. “Can you tell us anything about the cave they have her in?”

  “There are three guards at the mouth of the cave and there are two caverns further inside which is where I suspect they have her. We don’t know which one, but the noise is too low for them to be closer to the entrance.”

  “We can handle two dozen,” Selene declares with a gleam in her eye that tells me she is looking forward to the fight to come.

  “We will handle any that make it past you,” Garrett tells us then shifts back into his wolf.

  “I’m going to take out the guards and go for Harper,” I inform them.

  “We will be right behind you. Leave two of the guards to us. Do not go into the caverns without us,” my sire orders me.

  “I can’t promise that,” I reply and blur into motion before he can stop me. No more fucking talking. I need to get to Harper. I hear Selene and Lucius behind me followed by Garrett. I’m surprised that his animal is following us.

  Within minutes I see the opening and the guards with their backs to the desert. Assholes trust they will hear an enemy coming in time to ward of an attack. My fist plows into the first one’s head before any of them know we’re there.

  Lucius and Selene each strike one of the other guards. Dragging the first guard outside, I drop it by Garrett’s paws and head into the cave system. Harper’s scent is tainted by the pain she’s experienced.

  My chest is in a vice. I swear the dead organ will give out any moment. I slow my movements and try to be quiet when I hear a man talking deeper inside the cave. The power in his voice tells me he is the alpha.

  I pause and take note that Lucius and Selene are next to me. What is the dead asshole saying? “Bring the dress. Once she is bathed, we will be mated, and I can implant her with my heir.”

  I don’t hear anything else as rage overtakes me. I run into the cave on the right and punch a fist through the chest of the closest male. Something hits me on the back of my head, and I stumble before I can reach Harper.

  Shouts fill the small cavern as chaos erupts. I remain focused on the shifters surrounding me. There are four of them, and they are blocking me from reaching Harper.

  Not for long. I’m going to take out everyone and everything in my path. Crouching down, I blur and ram into the legs of the male furthest away from where Harper is lying. I won’t put her in any more danger than she already has been in.

  I send the guy backwards, but before I can stand and take out another, claws embed in my side. Curses leave my mouth as I unleash my own claws then turn and slash through flesh and muscle. The shifter howls as the blows fall and intestines spill out.

  My head is knocked to the side by one of the other shifters while I was distracted. The male is young and holding a stick that he probably hit me with. The cuts in my shoulder are still seeping, but they are knitting closed.

  I rush at him and throw him away from me then blur to kick him back the direction I threw him from. He was heading toward Harper. No way will I allow her to come to more harm.

  “So, you’re the vampire trying to steal my mate,” the last shifter close to me announces as he stalks toward me with extra swagger in his step. It’s the alpha, I realize at the same moment his words register. This is the guy trying to impregnate Harper and force her into a mating.

  Needing the other two males out of my way, I bend down and twist the neck of the first guy I hit. The snap echoes in the small room. Footsteps thunder outside the space, but I can’t afford to pay attention to them.

  With a running leap, I jump at the guy I just kicked and run my claws across his throat. The disemboweled one won’t be a problem any time soon. Selene backs into the space and is fighting a couple shifters. For a split second I’m torn and check to make sure she’s able to hold her own. I don’t want anything to happen to my sire’s mate. I know how devastating that would be.

  By the time I turn around, the alpha has Harper in his arms. “I’ll be going now. This is the last time you will lay eyes on my mate,” he informs me.

  Like hell. I can’t afford to sit back. Lucius is engaged and so is Selene. God only knows if Garrett and his men are busy, but I am not leaving Harper’s fate to anyone else.

  “I don’t know who you are, but you picked the wrong woman. She’s mine,” I declare. It does what I hope and makes the alpha angry.

  “I’m her fucking fiancé. I’ve been dating her for years. She will never be yours,” he replies.

  This must be the boyfriend she ran away from. I smile wide and shake my head. “Must be nice in your delusional world.” In a movement too fast for a human to follow, I bend down and grab the stick off the ground then lunge for the alpha.

  His arm is wrapped around Harper’s throat. In a split second I catalog the position of her body. Her head is lax and hanging to the right side. Blood seeps from numerous cuts on her face. My gut twists when I register the fact that not only is her heart beating sluggishly, but her face is so swollen she’s unrecognizable.

  Adjusting my aim, I plunge the stick through his throat and nick Harper in the process. The alpha releases his hold on her. I catch her before she hits the dirt floor. The alpha collapses to the ground and I carry Harper gently away from the grim scene.

  Lucius stops me before we make it out of the cave. “She won’t make it.”

  My head lifts from Harper’s battered body and my heart shatters in a million pieces. “No!” I scream. “She can’t die.”

  The denial tastes like ash as her heart stutters and slows. Barely any blood seeps from her wounds at this point, and I know Lucius is right. I’m going to lose my reason for living.

  Agony rips through my system as I fight the inevitable. I cannot survive without Harper.

  Time to greet the sunrise.

  Chapter 13

  Liam

  “Change her,” I turn to Lucius and demand. “You have to save her. She can’t die.” I fall to my knees clutching Harper to my chest.


  Lucius drops to one knee beside me. “Do you know what you’re asking?”

  “Yes. I’m asking you to save her life. I cannot go on without her. I need her, sire,” I admit openly as the tears well in my eyes.

  I’ve never been so overcome by anything in my life. It’s not a fear of my own death that has me begging my sire for help when moments ago I was ready to walk into the sun. I simply cannot stand the thought of Harper not being alive and well. This world is a brighter place with her in it.

  Selene goes to Lucius’s side and places her hand over his. She doesn’t say anything but Lucius’ shoulders soften.

  The vampire king leans down and kisses his mate before turning to me. “Very well, Liam. I will turn her, but you have to know there will be certain conditions before I begin.”

  I nod before he even finishes speaking. “Anything. Just save her.”

  Lucius chuckles, but the sound holds no mirth. “You say that now, but this is not going to be an easy road for anyone. Harper will remain in our care until she no longer needs my assistance and is under at least a semblance of control. And, you will not be able to see her until that time. Plus, she is different. I have no idea how, but that might complicate matters further. Only time will tell how this process will go for her.”

  My immediate reaction is to deny his words and inform him I am not leaving her side, but I recall the early days after my transition. I was consumed by bloodlust. All I thought about or cared about was feeding. And taking from Lucius was the only thing that kept me semi-sane and sated.

  On that thought my inner demon reared its ugly head and snarled. No way could I even think about Harper drinking Lucius’s blood. If I do, I will kill my sire where he crouches.

  I’m going to have to watch him feed from her. Multiple times! It’s not easy to turn a human into one of us. I know the process involves at least three blood exchanges, which doesn’t sit well with me. In fact, it nearly sends me over the edge. Too fucking bad, I tell myself. Otherwise I will be forced to leave right now and I’m not ready to part from her yet. I just wish I was powerful enough to turn her myself, but I’ve never changed anyone and I refuse to take any chances with Harper’s life. It’s not easy for a vampire to turn someone, and humans will not survive the transition if the vampire isn’t powerful enough. As difficult as I know it will be, I have to allow Lucius to do this.

  “How long?” I ask, my voice hoarse with emotion.

  “You may never see her again,” Selene cuts in. My head snaps in her direction and my eyes narrow.

  “Are you planning on keeping me from her?” I bark.

  Shaking her head, she lifts her chin and narrows her eyes right back. “No, but she might not want anything to do with you after this. She was pissed at you before, after you denied her a future with you. Turning amplifies everything, as you know. She might hate your guts when she wakes up.”

  I didn’t think anything could cut me anymore, but those words destroy what was left of my heart. “That’s the risk I have to take. She has to be alive. I’m hoping to tell her I was an ass, but if she won’t listen it will still be worth it. She’s courageous, and loyal. She will never turn on you. Her inner light is too bright for her to succumb entirely to the darkness of the change.”

  Lucius stands up and motions to the cavern she was in previously. “Bring her in here. We need to clear the bodies before I get started.”

  I stand, refusing to let go of Harper. Lucius and Selene are already hefting bodies from the cavern. When I see her old boyfriend lying in a puddle of blood, I put her down as far from the mess as possible and pick up the male’s body.

  Blurring through the tunnels, I emerge into the desert and tear him limb from limb. Garrett and his wolves are there in human form as they pile bodies on one another. No one makes a move to stop me as I take out my anger on the scum that ended Harper’s human life.

  If not for this piece of shit I would have lived out her life with her and walked into the sun after she passed. Now, she’s going to be turned into a being that might hate me and want nothing to do with me.

  Heaving, I stalk back to Harper’s side wishing I could rewind time and ensure her safety. By the time I get back there I notice Lucius and Selene are moving the last of the shifter corpses. Using my feet, I kick the dirt and move as much of the blood from around Harper as possible. I don’t want her tainted by anything to do with that shifter.

  Lucius stalks back into the cavern and pins me with his stare. He stops mere inches from my face and grabs my shoulders. “I need your promise that you will hold your shit together. For anyone else I would never think about doing this in a location surrounded by shifters,” he whispers to me. “You and Selene will be my lookouts and protect me while I do this.”

  I clasp his forearm. “I will protect you with my life,” I vow.

  “You know I won’t let any of them near you. But I instructed them to burn the bodies, so your scent will be masked,” Selene informs Lucius.

  Lucius kisses Selene before he goes to Harper’s side. Her heart stops, and I grab hold of her shoulders. Selene’s palms stop me before I can do anything else. Lucius bites into his wrist and pries Harper’s mouth open.

  Holding his bleeding arm above her, several drops fall on her tongue. When her mouth is full, he massages her throat. It’s not until I see her swallow that I realize he’s trying to get her to drink his blood.

  My shoulders sag when I realize her heart is beating, only so slow it seems as if it has stopped. I hold Harper’s cold hand between both of mine and rub it, trying to warm her.

  “I will need to take from her,” Lucius says in a low voice as he meets my gaze over her body.

  I swallow the growl that fills my throat and watch Harper’s face. I don’t know how I am going to watch another vamp feed from her and not rip into him. Regardless of who it is.

  “Maybe your blood will be enough to heal her,” I suggest. “Do you think that’s possible?” Vampire blood has healing properties when ingested by humans. I want to believe that she’s not too far gone. As miraculous as vampire blood is, it cannot bring someone back from the brink of death.

  Selene and Lucius are watching the shallow rise and fall of Harper’s chest. It’s Selene that finally answers. “No. She’s too far gone. Lucius could give her everything he has, but it will not bring her back.”

  “I know you’re right. I can do this,” I say more for myself than them.

  Lucius lifts Harper’s hand and bares his fangs while keeping his eyes on me. It takes every ounce of my considerable strength to keep my jaw clenched and my body in place.

  Fast as lightning, my sire’s fangs strike the vulnerable flesh of Harper’s inner wrist. My control snaps and I launch myself through the air at Lucius. I pass within inches of crushing Harper as I barrel into the vampire feeding from my mate.

  Our bodies collide and we roll across the dirt floor. Selene screams and jumps over Harper’s body. The singular focus has me punching Lucius in the face. After the second blow, he catches my fist and reverses our position with ease.

  It’s then that I know he allowed me the punches, otherwise they never would have landed. He was prepared for my attack while I thought I had my shit together. Panting, I stop fighting to dislodge him from my chest.

  “You done?” he asks with a lift of his mouth. A mouth stained red with my kitten’s blood. Just like that I am back to bucking and trying to make him pay for biting my woman.

  A fist to the side of my head stops me cold. It hurt like fuck, but I know it was Lucius getting my attention. Time is of the essence here, and I am delaying everything. “Sorry. I’m good.”

  Lucius stands and extends his hand to me. I clasp it and allow him to help me to my feet. “You cannot stay if you continue to attack me.”

  “You can get the fuck out now,” Selene declares from her position next to Harper. I look over and see that she is holding onto her wrist. To stop the bleeding.

  Shaking my head, I a
m tempted to take off, so I don’t endanger Harper anymore. Thanks to me she was losing more blood she didn’t have. Her normally radiant skin is pale and dull. There are deep bruises covering her entire face, and more cuts than I can count.

  The way her hand hangs limply in Selene’s grasp does more to make me get my possessive rage under control than anything could. It’s a sight that will cause me nightmares for centuries to come.

  “It’s okay, pet,” Lucius assures his mate. “I knew he would attack. He can’t help it. There’s no way I could stand by and watch anyone bite into your flesh, either.”

  Selene nods and allows Lucius to take her hold on Harper’s arm. “I can’t wait to give her more of my blood. I have to proceed now.” It’s a warning for me, but my weak legs give out and I’m back at Harper’s side.

  I lower my forehead to hers and try to find her scent under the morass of death and heartache. With a hiss, my sire bites into his arm and dribbles more blood into Harper’s mouth.

  I sit holding onto her hand as if my life depends on it, because it does. I want to believe she feels me here, willing my strength into her failing body. As I scrutinize her face to determine if her injuries are healing, Lucius strikes.

  My body jerks, but I lock it down before I move an inch. No way am I causing Harper more harm. I needn’t worry because Selene’s hands land on my shoulders at the same moment. She isn’t taking any chances with her mate either.

  Selene is strong. Likely stronger than Lucius, I think, as she crushes my collar bones. Agony races through my nerve endings but that doesn’t come close to matching the pain in my soul.

  I could lose Harper, even if she manages to transition.

  “You realize she might not make it through this, right?” The question startles me. I hadn’t considered that before; but when Lucius poses it now, I realize I should have. Not every vampire can turn a human, and not every human can survive the process.