I cringed. “You’re probably right. Just keep trying to get as far away as you can. I’ll come to you when I’m able. Feed Marko as much as you can. If you find a vampire more powerful, make him feed my mate, too.” I closed my eyes, letting myself experience the butterflies that came along with my feelings toward Hunter. I’d done so well at pushing them away, but I didn’t have to anymore. “I miss you.”
My heart exploded in rhythm and it wasn’t from me, it was from him. “And I miss you. I … love you. I’ve always loved you, even when I hurt you.”
“I know. I love you, too. Take care of Marko. I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”
I cut off my thoughts, not allowing Hunter to come back through. The longing to be with him and Marko was almost too much. I shifted and Aetas’ eyes—Marko’s eyes—flew open. The intensity had me momentarily frozen. Did he know I was talking to Hunter? Could he hear? I wasn’t wearing my crown, but I was hoping his blood within me was enough to keep him out of my head.
“Let’s take a bath. I want to hold you some more, but I need you clean. The blood is too much. I can’t think with the smell.”
“Of course.” I tried to lift, but didn’t get a chance to make it far before he jerked me into his body and eased us to the end of the bed. When he stood and made his way into the bathroom, I tried to calm the nervousness. It wasn’t the bath that I feared, but him. I wanted to escape his presence. The energy he was throwing off was only getting worse. Darker. I’d felt this before. This evil, and it had been in my own Marko.
“Can you stand?”
My feet hit the ground, but he held on, letting me test my strength. I gave a quick nod as I gripped to the countertop. He cautiously let go of me and made a dash to the large marble tub. He had the water on and was back at my side within seconds.
Up and down, his stare traveled over my face. From my eyes to my lips, he went back and forth for what seemed like ever.
“What are you thinking?” Fuck, I was afraid to ask, but I had to know.
Slowly, I was led to the tub. He bent down, testing the temperature before he glanced back at me and turned the water off.
“The strongest here besides myself is Lucille. I will take her blood. For you,” he said between clenched teeth. “Not because I want to.”
“Thank you.” The whisper was forced. I was too afraid to say anything else.
Marko walked up the four steps that led to the massive tub and I held his hand, following. When my toes dipped into the water it was ice cold. I gasped, jerking my foot back, but he was ready for my reaction. Arms locked around my waist and he was suddenly spinning me. Water engulfed me as he stood at the edge, holding me down. At the frigid temperature, I couldn’t breathe. It stole my oxygen, rushing into my open mouth and nose from the shock.
“What did you tell him?” He yelled. “What did you tell Hunter? I know you were talking to him. I felt your change. You were afraid, but then you were happy. You love him more than me, don’t you?”
Coughing wracked my body as I clawed at his hold. Half of my head was out of the water while the other half was submerged. His words were distant, but all too clear.
“M—ark—o!”
“Admit it! You love him more than me. I would kill for you. I would kill you for myself!”
My screams were muffled through the gurgling. The heat that burned inside of me from my powers sizzled, but if I used them on Aetas, they would hurt my Marko. Panic left me fighting with everything I had. I didn’t need air to survive. I didn’t. But the tortuous feeling of drowning was enough to fuck with my head to make me think I did.
Air collided with the remaining water in my mouth and I gagged as I tried to take a deep breath. I was pulled up so fast that it forced the water down my throat. One minute Marko was there, the next gone. My body shook violently as I scrambled out of the tub.
Where had he gone? Hunter … was he looking for my bonded? I had to get out of here. There was no saving Aetas. I thought there might be hope, but I was wrong. All I could do at this point was save myself.
Chapter 29
Hunter
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Over and over, my finger connected with the trunk of sedan I’d stolen. My mind was racing as I filled up the car with gas. I couldn’t breathe. What the fuck was happening at headquarters? Something bad, that was for sure. I wanted to go to Tessa. No, I needed to go to her.
Marko was awake and trying to strengthen his legs by walking the length of the car on the passenger side. He watched me as he did so, his eyes studying my every move.
“What’s happening? You’re not telling me something. Have you heard from Tessa?”
My jaw clenched and I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. “She’s coming to us the first chance she gets. Soon. Very soon.”
I was beginning to stumble over my words. I hated not being truthful with Marko, but it was for the best. Worrying would only make things worse for him.
Brown eyes narrowed as he stopped and rested his arms on the top of the vehicle. “Very soon. What happened? Is she okay? Does Aetas know, yet?”
My head shook. “No. He doesn’t know.”
“Is she okay? You avoided the question.”
Again my jaw tightened. “She’s okay.”
“As in at the moment or in general?”
“Look, she’s fine. She’ll be here soon.”
My body was trembling uncontrollably and I gasped as my breath disappeared.
“Hunter?”
Like a fish out of water, my lips opened and closed. Air wouldn’t come. The panic left me stumbling a few steps behind me. I looked around wildly, not sure what to do. I had to go to her. I had to, but what about Marko? What about our kind? The questions were easily dismissed as I knew she was my only concern at the moment.
“Hunter!”
Marko’s voice tore my eyes away from the daze my anxieties caused. Before I could answer a weird thickness edged to the back of my throat. I didn’t think, I ran to the side of the building, trying to conceal what I knew was coming.
Tessa.
Dark smoke poured from my mouth as my palm pushed into the brick of the building. Footsteps pounded and I staggered a few steps to take my mind off of the gagging sensation.
“Holy shit. Are you sick? Hunter.”
Marko came closer and tears filled my eyes from the sensations. Feet began to appear and relief took the prominent role as Tessa began to become solid.
“Oh …God. That’s amazing.” Marko walked closer and within seconds, Tessa was before us. She wore a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She’d never looked more human since I’d become a vampire. She was hugging her chest and tears were already streaming down her face. Marko didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms. Her stiffening might not have been noticed by him, but I saw the haunting look in her eyes. Hesitantly her hand reached for me and I threw my weight forward, wrapping myself around both of them. I didn’t care what Marko thought. Tessa needed me and fuck if I was going to withhold myself from her for a second.
“Where are we?”
I kissed her forehead, wrapping around them tighter for only a split second before I glanced up to Marko. His confliction and awkwardness was obvious, but there was something else—an acceptance.
“An hour or so south of Dallas.”
“Not nearly far enough,” she said, wiggling out of us. “We have to go. We can’t waste any time.”
“What happened?”
Even as Tessa stepped away, I held to Marko, helping him walk as I followed Tessa’s impatience steps. I pointed to the car at the gas pump and she nodded, avoiding Marko’s question.
“Ma minette. What happened?”
Her shoulders drew back and she let out a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder. When she got to the back driver’s side door, she gave him her attention, frowning as she did so.
“Aetas isn’t well. He’s losing his mind. His obsession with me is out of control. I could have not saved him or ei
ther of you if I would have stayed. He would have killed me.”
“He hurt you. Let me see.” Neither was a question, but a demand as he broke away from me and went toward her.
“I do not think it would be best,” she whispered under her lips.
A tear raced down her cheek as she turned away from him. Marko mirrored her actions, moving to the side, putting himself in front of her. When he pulled her into him, Tessa’s hands shot to his chest, gripping into his shirt.
“Look at me, love. Let me see what he did to you. I have to see.”
Tessa’s energy pulled me in and I felt her mind open. Our bond fed me images. Ones I knew Marko was seeing as I was. It started with him wanting her to feed from him, and then went into the drugging—the accusation of rape. From there … the attack. My mind reeled and reality and what I was seeing blurred through the rage that engulfed me. When it got to him trying to hold her under the water, I was shaking so much that my legs felt like they were going to give out.
“There has to be a way for him to die.” Marko jerked her into his body holding on tightly. “Fucking … Jesus. To see myself do that, knowing it’s not me … I have no words. My heart hurts for you, ma minette. I’m sorry. I tried to tell you not to go back.”
“I thought I could distract him enough for you both to get to safety, but I did what I could. When he left, I had to go, too. I think he’s looking for Hunter. I think he went to kill him.”
Her eyes came to me and I shrugged. “Let him look. He’s not going to find any of us.” I took the nozzle from the tank and glanced at Marko before holding my hand out to Tessa. He let go and she threw herself into me while I hugged around her.
“We will figure this out. You know me, I won’t stop until we’re all safe.”
“I know. I’m glad you’re on our side. After all the predictions,” her stare came up. “I was so sure we’d be fighting you at the end.”
“Everyone doubted my love for you. Maybe even I did, too.”
“I didn’t,” Marko said, pulling open the back door. “Never doubted it for a second.”
A smile came to my face and I eased my hold. Tessa stepped back, moving in closer to Marko. When she went to join him, I got in, leaving the small store. I wasn’t sure how much longer we’d make it. The cash I’d stolen from one of the houses we’d broken into on our way out of the city wasn’t much. Soon, we’d need more. There had to be another way.
“What do either of you know about the Dallas circle? Is it worth heading there? Can we risk it? We need resources and allies.”
My eyes shot up to the review mirror and I took in Marko holding Tessa. He looked huge in the confined space.
“It’s risky. You saw what met us when we left our city. I have no doubts it’ll be like that everywhere. Besides, our kind would have fled.”
“Where to?”
Marko’s eyebrows drew in. “It’s hard to say. Abandoned houses, small towns outside of the city … as far away from danger as they can get, I assume. This has never happened to us in my lifetime. I don’t know.”
Silence lasted for a few minutes before Tessa’s head lifted from his chest. “What if we found a place and you projected your power. The survivors would come. They’ll want someone to lead them.”
Marko’s head tilted as he thought. “Yeah, but if they feel me, who else will? If there’s any enforcers in the area, they’ll come as well.”
“True,” she whispered, “but perhaps they’ll be on our side. I mean, if they see you here, and they can confirm that you’re also at headquarters, maybe they’ll follow us. Maybe they’ll see what Aetas is doing and get people to join our side.”
“Can we risk it?” I looked back at their reflection. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s only going to take one mistake for Aetas to find us.” My brain pushed through the fog of my past. Although I had remembered so much, I almost felt like I was forgetting something. Or someone. “What about the humans? Is it possible to get them to fight with us to end this war?”
“Whoa.” Marko’s head shook, forcefully. “No way. Even if by some miracle we win, we want them to think we’re dead. We have to go back into hiding. It’s going to take time to recover from this massacre. And this could be far from over. We have no idea how many of us are left, but Tessa is right in the fact that we have to find them. We have to figure out a location where we can hide and not be found—by humans or Aetas. Somewhere good.”
I scanned the dark sky, looking out into the far stretches of the horizon. “We have a few hours of night left. Do we stop outside of the city or do we keep going and push to see how far we can get? We can grab a hotel, but truthfully, we can’t afford it.”
Tessa looked between us and I saw her features turn serious as she began to think.
“Dallas will have survivors. Their city was bigger than ours. We should stop there before we continue on.”
“We can’t actually go into the city,” I said, glancing at her. “They have the roads blocked. They’re checking everyone who goes in and out. At least that’s how it was in Austin. We had to steal a car outside of the check point. I told you, it’s bad. Worse than you could imagine.”
Her hand rose and her fingers pressed into her forehead as she closed her eyes. “I should have known that. Alright. So we steer clear of the city. We find a place for the night—a house, and we see if anyone comes. Maybe we spread the truth and keep going. We tell as many as we can, and we get them to wait for our call.”
“Always a leader.” Marko’s lips tugged at the side and his head lowered to nuzzle against hers. “I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you. It was in your blood from the beginning. We’re lucky to have you.”
“A leader would have stayed. She would have sacrificed herself for her people. I left, Marko. I may have just doomed us all.”
“Do not for one second blame yourself.” Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “This sacrifice you speak of was a suicide mission. Your death would have been inevitable. You did the smart thing. You got out of there. The time makes no difference. One day, one year, if Aetas wants us dead, he’ll come looking.”
“He’s right,” Marko agreed. “He ate your skin while you were unconscious. He is not well, ma minette. Not even close.”
Tessa’s face dropped color and she took in a slow deep breath. I had to take one too for the nausea that hit me.
“How are you? Are you healed well enough?”
Tessa pulled the t-shirt away from her chest, glancing down. At Marko’s gasp, my head lifted higher to try to see.
“Well?
Neither answered me as Marko let out a threatening sound. “I saw it in your memories, but you wouldn’t look directly at what he had done. Fuck!”
“It is healing,” she whispered.
“I will make this up to you. I swear to you that I will. I should have never tied with him in the first place. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I want to see,” I snapped. “She’s my mate, too.”
Tessa’s frowned as her eyes met mine and her head turned to the side as she pulled the t-shirt down to her cleavage. The bright, red gouges were still embedded deeply into her chest. Although the muscle was healing, the deep lacerations still looked horrific, even in the dim surroundings.
My eyes darted back to the road, only to return as she let the t-shirt go back into place. Bile burned my throat and I knew there was no stopping what was coming. I hit the brakes hard, pulling to the shoulder. I barely managed to get the door open before I barreled out. I felt sick with myself. I’d felt the pain, but I never imagined. I should have gone—should have fucking tried to do something.
“Hunter.” Tessa jumped from the car, walking over at a fast speed where I paced approximately ten feet away. “Don’t be upset. You—”
“Should have stopped it,” I yelled. “I should have fucking—God!” I spun around only to head back to her. “Let me see, again. I want to see every place he marked on you.”
&n
bsp; “This is not the time.” Her voice was low but firm. “We have to find somewhere to stay.”
I pulled her into arms, burying my face in her hair. Her stiff posture eased into my hold and she loosened completely, molding herself into my body as her arms wrapped tightly around my neck.
“I’m sorry. I’m starting to think that I’m not a very good mate to you. You deserve someone like Marko who can protect you. I’m just not there yet.”
Tessa’s head leaned back while she looked at me. “You’re so much stronger than most newborns. Look at you. You’re rational, you’re beginning to tap into your gifts. Hunter, you have to give yourself time. Within the next year or two, you’re going to be unstoppable to most.
My head shook. “That doesn’t help you now.”
“Hold me,” she breathed out. “I’ve missed you.”
A frown began to appear only to vanish at her words. I held to her tighter, going back to breathe her in. A car approaching in the distance had me tightening my grip for only seconds before I pulled back.
“We have to go. You’re right. We have to get settled for the night. We’ll stop in the next town. Then, I will hold you.”
Tessa’s eyes searched mine and I couldn’t help but delay our separation. My fingers dug into her back and it was almost impossible to move passed the desire to kiss her. I couldn’t though. Not yet. I wouldn’t ruin this with Marko by jumping the gun. Our new relationship was going to work and nothing was going to stop it.
Chapter 30
Marko
I broke from Hunter’s neck, moaning at his increasing power. It’d only been a few hours since our last feeding, but the truth couldn’t be denied. He was growing in power and was a lot stronger than any newborn I’d ever come into contact with. Even Tessa when she was close to his age, and that was scary.
“You good?” He glanced back, searching my face.
“Yeah. I’m better already. Thanks.”
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