“Let her go!” Aetas yelled. “Do you know what you have done? Marko could kill you right now and he’d have every right. I could kill you,” he growled, lifting his hand to face his palm toward us. “She. Is. Not. Yours!”
Aetas’ eyes were getting darker as his gaze stayed on Hunter.
“You will let go of her right now or so help me, you’re going to regret it.”
Already Hunter’s bite was easing, but his hold wasn’t. He turned, putting his back to the wall as he kept his arms tightly around me. My shoulders twisted, rocking to try to break his hold. Regardless that his bite turned me on, it didn’t have nearly the power Marko’s did. After the initial shock, my blood quickly put a stop to his poison.
“Hunter,” I whispered. “You have to stop. You’re hurting me. You don’t want to hurt me, do you?”
His grip loosened, but not fast enough. Aetas’ energy spiked to unbelievable heights and I watched as his face turn emotionless. He looked like nothing but a shell before me, and it only took a few seconds for me to piece it all together. That’s exactly what he was. He had Hunter locked within his own mind, just as Aetas had done with me on more than one occasion.
Hunter’s body was rigid, but I easily pried his arms off enough for me to break free of them. Marko’s eyes were wild as he pressed his hands into the barrier between us. He looked on the verge of some sort of breakdown—torn between fear and fury.
“I’m okay.” My hand lifted to try to calm him, but he rammed his fist repeatedly into the wall while he tore into it with his nails. When a yell escaped his mouth, I somehow managed to catch his gaze with mine. “I’m alright. Breathe.”
“I’m trying not to kill him, ma minette. I’m trying so hard for you, but I cannot bear this. What he did … I want …” He paused, throwing his shoulder into the shield once again. “I’ve never wanted to hurt someone as much as I want to hurt him. He has to go. He has to leave here right now, or forgive me, but I do not think I can resist these urges he brings out in me.”
“You will resist,” I hissed within my mind. “You have to. If something happens to you, we’re both dead. Do you understand me?”
I looked over my shoulder, taking in my leader and Hunter. I could kill them right now. I could …
No. I would not think such things. If I killed Aetas, the main members would rise against me. I’d be charged and sentenced to death. But if he hurt Marko, did I have a choice?
“Resist,” I repeated. “Go to the room and I will meet you there. Do not argue with me and obey your Mistress. Obey your leader.”
Marko’s lids lowered and he exposed his fangs for only seconds before the roar followed. Nearly black eyes turned darker as he flexed his jaw and pointed. “Do not order me to do that.”
“I just did. Go.”
The panic only worsened in his stare. Marko slammed against the wall once more before he took a step back. At the gesture of my head, he distanced himself even more, but he didn’t leave. He stood, hovering, appearing light on his feet as he paced back and forth. He was ready to spring forward. Ready to attack once the wall fell.
“Get your ass in the room, Marko!” My loud yell tore his eyes from Hunter, to come back to me, but they didn’t stay. He wasn’t listening. The fact that he wasn’t internally forced to obey told me just how close our powers were equal to each other. Moments like this, where he peaked in his protectiveness … he only grew in strength.
I switched over to French as I tried to get his attention. “You once told me there was nothing you wouldn’t do for me. That the only reason your heart beat was because of me. Do you remember that?”
In jerky movements, Marko’s stare returned.
“You also took vows. You swore your alliance to me. Do you withdraw from your statement? Am I no longer your ruler?”
“Ma minette, you speak of what I can’t control.” His tone was almost unrecognizable. “I cannot leave you here. It is impossible for me to act on. Order, or not, you are my mate—my concubine. That—” A pained expression drew in his features. “That son of a bitch took something that was mine. He hurt you, again! I felt it! He goes too far and he has to pay. He has to learn right now that you are off limits to him. He has to learn from me.” The last came out so loud that the floor shook with his anger. The long pointed tips of his fangs were cutting into his lip and he did nothing to wipe away the blood that was trailing down his chin.
A scream broke through the shield, so loud that it made my hands fly to my ears. I spun, just in time to see Hunter crumble to his knees. A haunting expression clouded his stare as he looked up at Aetas, but it faded just as fast. He sprung, lunging toward our leader with his claws extended. My vampire instinct had me thrusting my body forward and grasping his wrist just as Aetas latched to his face and twisted his neck, breaking it. The action and thud of the body sent my hand flying to my stomach from the instant nausea.
“He has so much to learn.” Silence. “I offer my most sincere apologies.” Aetas turned to face both me and Marko. “I thought he was more stable than he is. I was wrong. I ask that you please forgive my misjudgment. You won’t have to worry about it again.”
Marko was still seething. Still appearing threatening as he began to walk closer. “Let her out. Let her out right now!”
The shield rippled and Marko stalked forward, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling my back to fit against his chest as he held on.
“Master Delacroix, I know what happened was—”
“You don’t know,” Marko exploded. “You don’t know because you’ve never bonded. You’ve never loved anyone but yourself.” His hand lifted and Marko pointed at Hunter’s lifeless body. “By your law, I have every right to kill him. I could finish this right now.”
Aetas glanced at me and his jaw clenched.
“I do not want him to die.”
“That’s not how it works,” Marko said, holding me tighter. “His life is mine. He dies if I say.”
“Yes…But surely there is something you want more than revenge? You know how we play this game.”
The thudding in Marko’s chest was so powerful that my own instantly matched it. Thoughts pushed in and I could feel peace edging within, calming the swift beats. Hunter—dead. My vampire took pleasure at the revenge that would come.
Aetas glanced down at Hunter. “Perhaps you’d like to spare him in exchange for something more, something very important to you? Maybe a chance to be ruler of this city again?”
I gasped, glaring at Aetas. “Marko would never—”
“Not good enough.” Marko said, cutting me off. “What he has done cannot be forgiven for something so petty. Give me what I am owed. Give it to me and I will let him live.”
“W-what?” My face turned up to Marko and I couldn’t stop my lips from separating in shock. Vampires were beginning to crowd in, and I wasn’t the only one noticing. Aetas scanned the room before he turned back to Marko.
“You want to be one of my members.” There was a coldness in Aetas tone. A disgust he couldn’t hide no matter how hard he tried.
“Never,” Marko spat. “I want rank. Higher than your creation will ever have. Everyone knows Hunter will only ever be a prince. The Black King and Queen locked their titles in, even after death. They can’t be touched. I want to be a king of my own line. I deserve it. You’re aware of how powerful I am. You can grant me the status. You can make it official right now, in front of this entire city. I will take nothing less. King or death for Hunter. Your choice.”
Aetas stare cut over to me and I could almost hear his silent words of, I told you so. Pain shot through my chest and I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. Marko was choosing to be royalty, rather than ending the life of the man who had tried to kill me? Betrayal had never sliced so deep.
Nearly silent steps brought Aetas closer. His gaze bore into me and I couldn’t stop the stinging burn of my eyes while I glared up at him. There was no emotion present that I could detect. Not until his li
ds drifted down the slightest amount and slowly rose to Marko.
“You want to be a king? So be it. The night of your guests’ arrival there will be a coronation. It’ll be what your dreams are made of.” He lowered his voice as his top lip pulled back to expose his fangs. “It’ll be a night you’ll never forget.”
Chapter 9
Hunter
“Wake the fuck up.”
Pain flared across my cheek causing my eyes to snap open. I took a deep breath, memories flooding me of the pain I’d experienced as my creator snapped my neck like a twig. I should have been dead, but my mind told me instantly that something so small wouldn’t end my life.
An enraged expression was being cast my way and I slowly pushed to sit on the bed I was lying on. The need to attack again, to kill Aetas, was all I knew. Somehow I managed to control myself as I reined in my emotions.
“What you did to the princess …”
He trailed off. His breaths were coming out heavy as he began to pace. Not once did his stare leave me.
“How do you feel?” He goaded. “Can you feel her in you? Does her blood comfort you? Does it fucking make you want more?”
The last came out loud and threatening as I sifted through the sensations within. I could feel her presence, and I did want more. Her flavor had been heaven. The sweetness of her power was intoxicating—addicting.
“Answer me, Prince. Was breaking the law worth the small sample you experienced? Did you know because of your stupid actions, Master Delacroix will be a king? A title I swore I’d never give him?”
Aetas lunged toward me and I sprung from the bed to put my face only an inch from his. We were both panting. Both ready to go at each other’s throats. Darkness crept into my mind and I suddenly got flashes of the tortuous mindfuck he’d put me through before he’d broken my neck. His power was so much greater than mine. He could have killed me in that black abyss. Somehow I knew that.
“Let him be king,” I said in a raspy tone. “A king does not define greatness, his actions do. Besides, the higher the title, the harder he will fall when he fails in what he wants.” I bit my bottom lip, bumping Aetas’ shoulder as I walked around him. “When he loses everything, including his queen, tell me how great he will be then?”
“You’re so sure Tessalyn is what you want.” He laughed and I turned around to meet his narrowed stare. “But your own greed and stupidity make you blind to the truth. She will never be yours, Hunter. Not with the hate she harbors for what you did.”
“You’re wrong. She will overlook our past. My change is a new start for both of us, and I plan to show her that.”
Aetas’ head lowered and his eyes were cut up as he moved in closer. “It’s going to be hard showing her when I plan to not let you see her. Do you hear me? You are forbidden to get near the princess. At least until your lessons are over. That could be years. Decades, even.”
My fangs shot down into my lip, stinging and drawing forth the essence of my blood. Of his blood. Heat burned my eyes as I projected every ounce of hate I felt toward my maker. Tingling raced over my skin and what appeared to be dark shadows against the walls grew and moved toward me. My stare went to Aetas as he laughed under his breath. Was this one of his tricks, or something more? I couldn’t help but feel these dark silhouettes were real.
“I have some mending to do. You will remain here. If you try to leave …” Aetas smile grew. “Well, you’re welcomed to try, but I wouldn’t recommend it. My enforcers are the best in the world. They’d love nothing more than twist your body like a pretzel. Disobey my orders and who you are is of little consequence. They’ll eat you alive.”
In quick strides, he left, slamming the door behind him. I turned in a circle, watching the dark misted figures began to turn into smoke. It spun around me slowly and I hissed, ready to fight. As fast as it began, it stopped, becoming a single form. The black morphed with color and my mouth separated as the princess was suddenly before me.
“You’re not real,” I breathed out.
“Am I not?”
I glanced at the door, only to return to her light green eyes. “Aetas …”
“Doesn’t know all of my tricks.” A smile grew and she stared me up and down as she began to walk around me. I turned, following her movements. Her blood in my veins heated and made weird tugging sensations. I knew she was doing it, but why, I wasn’t sure.
“I didn’t meant to hurt you.”
“Don’t lie to yourself, Hunter, it makes you look like a fool. You didn’t care if you hurt me in that moment. You wanted my blood and you would have done anything to get it. Admit it.”
My brow furrowed as I watched her come to a stop. “You’re right. I wanted it, just as I do now.”
“Too bad. My blood does not belong to you. But yours.” Tessa stepped in, reaching up to place her palm against my cheek. “I do believe that yours will be beneficial to me.”
“You want to feed from me? Why? How will it be beneficial?”
Her hand slid down the side of my throat and her fingers stopped over my pulse point. For seconds she remained quiet, just watching my face. My cock hardened and I licked my lips as I fought the urge to push her on the bed and fuck her as hard as I could. There was no room for passion, just raw, bloody lust.
“You and I are going to have a secret no one can know about, Prince. Not Aetas, and not Marko. In our world, there’s no one you can trust.” Tears came to her eyes. “It’s an ugly truth. A heartbreaking one.”
Tessa’s hand slammed into the middle of my stomach and I gasped as she grabbed to what Aetas had—my core. Fire blazed on my insides and I grasped her wrist, holding securely, trying to pull it away.
But I couldn’t.
“I’m going to make you stronger,” she whispered. “And in turn, your blood is going to come alive inside of me. It’s going to grow and tie. We’ll always be connected, dear friend. Even if we hate each other in the end.”
Her hand gripped to the back of my neck and I moaned through the pleasurable sting that came from the tearing of my skin. Powerful venom sent a shock to my heart and the adrenaline had me wrapping around her waist to pull her into me.
“Yes,” I moaned. “God, yes.”
Deep sucks were all I felt as I spun us around and crashed back onto the bed to let her straddle me. My fingers dug into her hips as she continually tugged at my very soul.
“Pain shouldn’t feel this good. I want to stay in this beautiful hell forever. This moment,” I managed. “With you.”
I was growing weaker by the minute. The room was beginning to spin with the amount of blood she was draining from me, but I didn’t care. It wasn’t until the aching warmth in my core began to vibrate and zap that I blinked through the haze. Tessa’s tongue licked over the wounds and she broke away, inhaling deeply as blood raced down her chin.
“Perfect. So good.”
She was practically purring as she lowered the top half of her body. Her breasts pushed into my chest and she cupped to each side of my face as she came down even more. When her lips brushed against mine, I hungrily awaited more.
“I don’t have much time. Stay strong, but get stronger. The more powerful you become, the closer we’ll be. The more you’ll feel me. Even far away, we’ll be able to talk to each other. Would you like that?”
Her finger traced over my lips while I nodded.
“Good. I want that, too. But in the meantime, I need you to ease up on the possessive, she’s mine attitude. I am not yours Hunter. Not like that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t share other things. We can still be close,” she said, lowering her voice. “But let’s not let them know that.”
“Alright.” My agreement was nearly nonexistent. The twinges were getting more intense. Tessa flinched, but grinned as she pressed her lips softly into mine.
“I have to go. For the next few hours, rest your eyes and put all of your focus into our connection. Let it grow. Then try to speak to me here,” she said, pushing her finger into m
y temple. I will do the same. And remember…not a word.”
Tessa’s body faded and within seconds the black smoke was swirling and disappearing into the far wall. I let out a loud groan, adjusting my cock as the aching only grew worse. Jesus, that bite. My body was still tingling with her venom, and my heart, it was racing, or had it grown a life of its own? Fuck, each slam threatened to break through the skin.
The door opened and I didn’t even bother sitting up. Aetas stopped before me, scanning the room.
“What it is?” The deep tone that left me had me clearing my throat. Aetas’ head turned toward me and he tilted it to the side as his lids dropped, suspiciously.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. I’m just laying here.”
He moved in closer. When his hand reached for me, I bared my fangs. It didn’t stop him from pushing my face to the side to expose the side of my neck that Tessa had fed from.
“What is this?” The mattress dipped under my shoulder as Aetas pushed into it. “Blood?” My head was jerked back toward him. “Who fed from you?”
“No one.”
Pain burned over my cheek as the back of his hand connected. “Don’t lie to me! I’ll give you one more chance to tell me the truth. If you fail to do so, I go back inside your head and find out for myself. We both know how that’s going to play out.”
My lips tugged to the side at the half ass smile I threw him. “I’ve always loved a good battle, but you won’t find the answers you seek. I’ve already forgotten. I remember nothing. Nothing.”
Chapter 10
Marko
For days Tessa avoided me. She barely spoke. She wouldn’t even really look at me. I started to apologize for what I had done, but I couldn’t find the words that explained my reasons for sparring Hunter’s life.
I’d acted spontaneously, going with my instincts instead of what was morally right. But I had my reasons, and they seemed justifiable in my mind. Still, I couldn’t make them sound good enough in an explanation so I avoided one. I just wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold out. We weren’t okay. We were drifting from each other and I couldn’t stand it.
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