They ignored him, their focus solely on Annalise. Cain pulled her swaddled form into his arms, his voice a battered rasp, “She’s his wife, but she’s my called mate. And she’ll die if I don’t save her.”
Adam put his body protectively between his brother and the Bishop. “Please…” He glanced at the male who held the highest authority in their order. “He speaks the truth, Eleazar. She was my salvation, and he is hers.”
The Bishop shook his head in defiant refusal. “I cannot allow this.”
“She’s with child.” Grace appeared at the end of the hall, her clothes drenched and muddied, her hair a wild mess. Her eyes met Adam’s and she nodded. “I felt the baby earlier today. She planned on telling you after the wedding.”
The Bishop sighed. “She should have transitioned hours ago. I’m afraid—”
“Then let them try!” Gracie shouted at the Bishop who stood twice her size.
The man’s jaw ticked as his eyes narrowed on her. “We will never speak of this to anyone.”
Gracie nodded and turned to Adam. He faced Cain. “Now.”
Cain tore open his wrist. Blood trailed down his arm as he pressed the opening to Annalise’s lips.
He cradled Anna’s head, sweeping her hair aside. Adam watched her flesh shift from white to pink and relief collided with regret.
His vision blurred as Cain’s grip tightened around her. Pulling her closer, his head lowered, and Adam flinched as his brother bit into her neck, emptying her of his blood and replacing it with his own.
His heart froze to a glacier of ice. Cain’s shoulders bunched as he moaned and fed off her vein.
A crushing ache formed in Adam’s chest. The chamber silenced, except for the slow sipping sounds of his brother stealing his soul.
Visions of Annalise flooded his mind. The first time he heard her laugh. Their first dream. The way her voice lilted when she sung. The feel of her in his arms the first time they danced. The first time they made love. The taste of her skin. The velvet touch of her body to his.
Each vision stabbed through him like a red-hot poker, leaving nothing but an empty hole in its wake. He released a shaky breath and willed himself to stand.
Cain lifted his head, his eyes dilated and his fangs red. His purr hummed in the silence.
Annalise lay motionless, her lips coated in his brother’s blood. No one spoke.
Their worry crippled him. Cain gently rocked her. Time suspended.
A scraping wheeze broke the silence as Annalise’s chest expanded. Grace gasped and Adam’s muscles locked with denial, shaking him to the bone.
Cain’s arms tightening around her. “She’s waking.”
“Impossible,” the Bishop hissed.
Her lashes fluttered and her finger’s twitched. Adam panted, each breath more shallow than the last. As Cain’s fingers tenderly brushed the side of her face, he felt the caress ripping away his soul.
“Her mind’s waking,” Grace whispered, a smile tucked in her voice. “She’s coming to.”
Annalise licked over her lips, and he spotted the protruding tip of a fang. His relief left him staggering, as heartache dropped him to his knees.
Her head tipped back as she drew in a slow breath through her nose. Her skin pinkened to a vital shade of peach, and her lashes sprung apart, revealing twin diamond eyes.
“Ainsicht…”
His brother’s stare hit him like an anvil.
Annalise’s stare found him then jerked to Cain. She sprung to her feet, her motions quick and agile, her hands grabbing for the falling sheet before it touched the ground.
“Where am I?”
Adam and Cain stood. She stepped back, her gaze darting to the Bishop then Grace.
“She’s confused,” his sister explained then clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “And she just figured out how to block me from entering her mind.”
“Anna,” Adam whispered, approaching her slowly. “You’re safe.”
She cocked her head, lifted her wrist, and sniffed. Her gaze narrowed on Cain.
She dragged a thumb over her lower lip and sucked it into her mouth. “This is your blood.”
Cain nodded, his eyes unblinking as he studied her. “There were some … complications.”
She jerked her head toward Eleazar. “Who’s he?”
“I’m your Bishop.”
Her eyes narrowed. She gripped her stomach through the quilt, her gaze snapping to his sister. “Grace?”
His sister stepped into the cell and approached slowly, pressing a hand over Annalise’s flat stomach. She smiled. “Your immortal blood supports him.”
Her mouth twitched into a smile, her eyes finding him. Her emotions washed over him. Relief. Contentment. Joy.
He dropped his gaze to the floor.
Joy shifted to concern. “Adam, what’s wrong?”
His head lowered under the weight of his shame. “I was wrong, Annalise. My blood, my actions… All of it wrong.”
Her voice hardened as it often did when she argued. “What does that mean?” Her words pushed through clenched teeth.
He couldn’t meet her gaze.
“What does that mean, Adam?” When he couldn’t answer, she snapped, “Cain?”
His brother’s tone stayed gentle as if he were calming a wild animal. “It means your body wouldn’t respond to Adam’s blood. The wedding took, but the bonding did not.”
“We’re married?” she snapped. “I was unconscious!”
“Think of it as marriage by proxy,” the Bishop suggested.
Annalise scoffed. “Who are you, again?”
“Your Bishop.”
She huffed out a laugh. “No.” Her eyes narrowed on Adam. “Marrying me when I’m unconscious doesn’t count.”
“I’m afraid it does,” Eleazar said, his tone and expression forbidding further argument.
She glared at the Elder and Adam stepped forward. “Nothing’s been consummated.”
Her eyes flashed to him, her anger spiking through the air. “Excuse me?”
His chest restricted as crushing pain cinched around his heart. “You bonded with Cain.”
“Your child’s inside of me!” When no one responded, she looked to Grace. “What’s going on?”
His sister wrung her hands, deep regret seeping from her pores. “Cain’s your true mate.”
“No, he’s not.” She turned to Cain and shook her head. “I love Adam.”
His brother’s lips compressed into a straight line. “I’m aware. But it’s my blood that brought you back to life. You’re only Adam’s wife.”
“Only his wife?” Her voice ricocheted off the walls. “Adam, say something!”
His eyes squeezed shut. He’d said it to her before, but he never thought saying it to her again would bring so much pain. “A bond is always stronger than marriage.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Annalise’s mind tried to follow, her memories distorted and her eyes distracting her thoughts. Though the room—wherever they were—was dark, she could see every nick in the wall, make out every feature on his face.
Adam wouldn’t look at her.
Her ears twitched as she tracked the slow slither of a worm working through the plaster stockades, the tiny ticks of a centipede’s feet marching along the rafters. They were underground, but she could hear the soft prattle of drizzle on every slender blade of grass several feet above.
Her senses pulled, distinguishing the climb of the sun, and the heat of its approaching rays. Her body dialed into its energy, like a clock winding for the day.
An incredible calmness twisted through her, coiling with expectation and vitality. Her legs shifted, muscles bunching with an urge to run.
But Adam wouldn’t look at her.
She breathed, scenting the earth’s mantle and the pheromones intruded on her sensory exploration. Her eyes narrowed on Cain. That scent came from him.
Where were her clothes?
Her gaze shifted to Adam
. “How did I get here?”
His head hung low, his gaze on the opposite wall. “You were injured. I lost control. I injured you with my carelessness. I had no choice but to start the bonding—”
“And marry me while I was unconscious.” She could just imagine the male dominant horseshit they consented to on her behalf.
“Without consummation, we can see about having the marriage annulled.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why is Cain’s blood on my lips?”
“You were hurt. You lost a lot of blood and when the resting started, your pulse stopped. Your body would have died if not for…”
She glanced at Cain. “Your blood saved me?”
Cain nodded.
More imposing than gravity, Adam’s emotions weighed on her like a lead blanket. Fear, regret, sadness, relief, gratitude.
“Adam,” she snapped and he flinched. “Look at me.”
His head lifted and the emotions hit harder. His agony twisted her insides. “Who am I?”
He swallowed. “You’re Annalise.”
“Try again,” she gritted.
“You’re Annalise Hartzler.”
That sounded strange, but right. “Say I’m your ainsicht.”
His eyes wavered under a sheet of tears. “I can’t,” he wheezed.
She hadn’t realized she moved, until her hands gripped the bars. “No! You look at me—in the eye—and tell me I belong to someone other than you.”
He held her stare, but said nothing.
“I’m your ainsicht. Say it!”
“You’re my … wife.”
“What else?”
He shook his head and she shoved him, once again not realizing she moved, and underestimating her strength. His back hit the wall, a splitting crack crawling up the plaster.
“Cain, control her,” the Bishop guy said.
She spun and growled at the stranger, but he growled back with startling authority and she scurried back a step, sort of like a kitten trying to take on a tiger. Okay, he was scary. She didn’t like him and his by proxy bullshit.
Footsteps shifted behind her and her scowl cut to Cain. “You lay a hand on me and I’ll rip it off.”
He smirked and dropped his arm. “Feisty.”
“You have no idea.” She turned back to Adam. “Adam, you either own this right now, or you don’t deserve me. Screw the rules. Everything you wanted is right in front of you. I did this for you. Not them.”
Silence.
His refusal to claim her sliced her in ways she didn’t realize a person could bleed. Her insides twisted, his rejection scoring her heart with permanent scars. Not only were her senses heightened, her emotions were running on full octane. She needed to get out of there.
She needed to escape the pain. “I see.”
Her chest restricted as she stared at him, the crushing sense of rejection stabbing deeper than she could bear. Where would she go? Who would she be?
Her hand went to her stomach, penetrating regret for their unborn child cramping through her. Tears rushed to her eyes. “You should have let me die.”
A growl vibrated from his chest, but it only heightened her anger.
“I thought you were stronger than this. I thought you loved me.”
His face pinched as he stared at the floor.
“I loved you,” she whispered, her heart shattering.
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t! Don’t you dare apologize to me when you promised never to hurt me.” Tears slip past her lashes unchecked, and her voice broke. “I trusted you.”
He responded with gutting silence, and his indifference slayed her.
“Get out,” she hissed, pointing down the hall. “Leave!” When he didn’t move, she slammed him into the wall. “Get out of here, you coward! I can’t bear to look at you!”
Cain caught her arms and she shouldered him off.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Annalise, stop!”
Her hand closed over her mouth as she stared at him in utter disbelief. “You said you’d always want me…”
Cain’s voice spoke over her sobs. “Take her to the house, Grace.”
Grace pulled her along, holding tight to her shaking hands. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
But Annalise had no home. She had nothing.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Pain exploded, doubling Adam over, as Cain slammed his fist into his stomach the moment they were alone. Adam crumpled into a gasping heap on the floor.
“What is wrong with you?”
He sucked in a restricted breath and pushed his back against the wall, his legs sprawled and trembling. He deserved the pain. He deserved death.
“How could you let her walk away, Adam? She’s everything to you!”
Wheezing, he shut his eyes and let his misery swallow him whole. “I’m nothing to her.”
Cain’s foot slammed into his ribs, snapping bone and Adam slouched to the floor. He’d already damaged so much. He wouldn’t fight back.
“Why? Because the Elders say so?” His head whipped against the pavement as Cain’s fist cracked into his jaw. “What do they know, Adam? Where were they when we needed them, other than in our way?”
He tasted blood and forced himself to sit up, his arms pushing through the tremors as his back pressed into the wall. “She needs you.”
The punch came before he was ready, snapping his head into the wall. Blood filled his mouth and he spit.
“You’re her husband. You vowed to protect her.”
“She doesn’t need a husband!” He argued through gritted teeth. “She needs her mate. You share a sire bond. Nothing can touch that!” The words, although from his mouth, detonated in his soul. The gutting truth gnawed into him, so deep he no longer wanted to breathe. “End me now.”
Cain’s eyes flashed with fury. “Your indifference is selfish.”
“I’m anything but indifferent!” Adam growled. “What would you have me do? I have no right to her! You’re my brother! There are laws!”
Pain welled in his chest until he could no longer breathe. How could anything hurt so much and not destroy him.
“Please, Cain… I can’t bear it.” They would share a life, a home, a family. What of the child now in her womb? Would it ever recognize Adam as anything more than an uncle? Cain was not a selfless man, and once he accepted his fate, Adam would have nothing.
Perhaps Annalise knew this and that was why she insisted they help him. “She practically chose you—”
White light exploded behind his eyes as Cain’s fist crashed into his skull. Bone crunched at the bridge of his nose as blood seeped down his face.
“You’re pathetic,” Cain sneered. “Your loyalty should be to her, not me. And certainly not them!”
His head throbbed, and a roar ripped from his throat. “I am loyal to her!”
“How? By abandoning her?”
“This is best for her! This is best for everyone. This is how God intended—”
“She loves you, you fool! Leave God out of it!”
He turned away, his gaze dropping to the spatters of blood on the floor. “She’ll learn to love you.” The pain bloomed in his chest, overtaking his heart. “Loving her is simple, Cain. You won’t have to try.”
“Is that what you want? Her in my bed with your bastard child between us?”
His eyes squeezed shut. “You won’t let that child know the difference. I know you.”
“I’m not interested in raising your son. You sentence me to an eternity of knowing she wanted you first. How long will she picture your face when I touch her? Dream it’s your body filling hers?”
Bile rose as he covered his ears. “Stop. Please.”
“But that’s what you’re asking of me. You want me to stand in your place.” Something shifted in his voice. Inadequacy rolled off of him, and he stepped back. “I’m on this earth to serve as your backup.”
Adam looked up at him, eyes pleading and face bloodied. “Does she n
ot call to you? Have you not shared dreams? Your refusal can only go so far, brother. I know the truth. Denying the hold she has over you is only denying the inevitable.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’ve spent so much more time with her and yet… You still don’t fully know her. She’ll fight me, Adam. She’s fierce and strong and she’s far past pissed. You say she’s mine, but she’ll never accept that. Our God holds no authority over her will. And what will happen when I grow tired of waiting for her consent?”
“In time she’ll—”
“No!” He yanked him off the floor, onto his feet, and slammed his back into the wall. “I will not force myself on her! And how dare you suggest she learn to accept anything she doesn’t want. You are her protector!”
“She doesn’t belong to me!”
“Then who, Adam? Who does she belong to? That female is more English than anything else. This is not my battle. It’s yours.”
“And I lost!” he shouted, finally shoving Cain’s hands away. “I had her—I had everything—and I lost all of it! God has—”
“Your God has betrayed you!” He pointed down the empty corridor. “She would never betray you in such a way. She sacrificed her entire world for you. She agreed to marry you. She even tried to…” His voice broke as he looked away. “She even tried to save us.”
Adam’s brow tightened as he watched Cain struggle to process everything they’d gone through. He was unaware Cain knew about their pre-marital bargain.
“I was going to take her from you,” Cain whispered, his eyes unable to meet Adam’s. “I was angry. Why should you get her? I went to the house. You were with Grandfather and Father, away in the barn. The rain covered the voices, and I could have stolen her right out from under your nose.”
Adam’s gaze dropped. “Why didn’t you?”
He laughed. “She’s rather adorable when she’s stubborn. Honestly, as titillating as it might have been to drag her kicking and screaming out of there, the thought exhausted me. She wanted you. And she had no shame in telling me—over and over again.”
Cain paced to the opposite wall, pressing his back to the plaster and sliding his back down until he sat on the floor. “I think she’s the sort of female who’d fight me forever. I don’t want that. I don’t want the fight. I don’t want to be anyone’s second choice. I’d rather have no one.”
Original Sin (The Order of Vampires Book 1) Page 40
