by Susan Bliler
Bronx growled low and nudged her shoulder. Sam rolled to her side and eyed the beast while the deafening melee continued around her. She attempted to get to her feet, but couldn’t even mange a sitting position. Bronx licked her again, and then spun quickly in a flash of fur as he lunged at something—or someone—that had drawn his attention.
Chapter 31
Concentrating only on the simple act of breathing, Sam felt herself slowly coming back to herself. Her eyes took in the room at a glance, and she wasn’t surprised at all to find Skin Walkers now fighting alongside the Keepers and their Soul Sentries. Fear was swift when she realized that half the room wouldn’t know that she’d been working with Monroe. All they knew for certain was that she was Odium’s sister. Even if she survived her brother, she certainly couldn’t survive the Walkers.
Wiggling her fingers to get her circulation going, she struggled to move her head, searching for Bellis. In front of her, Fatal fought with a Megalya, while behind him she watched as Commander Conn Drago pulled his Angel, Aries, up from the ground and studied her before turning to attack the Megalya who’d jumped her from behind.
The battle wouldn’t last; it couldn’t. The numbers were about even, but with the Keeper’s Soul Sentries, and the Skin Walkers shifting, the carnage was escalating, and not in Megalya favor. They were dropping like flies and Sam was glad for it.
Scanning the room, she struggled to her knees as her strength slowly came back. She eyed her belly and moaned at the intense pain still throbbing there. Although the psyblade had been removed, the anguish of the assault was still strong. In fact, if she hadn’t confirmed it for herself, she’d have thought the blade was still lodged in her.
A shout drew her attention, and through the thick of the fight, she saw Bellis battling Odium. Bellis’ shoulder was bleeding, and blood dripped from Odium’s sharp teeth. She knew her brother had bitten Bellis, because without his psyblade he had no other weapons aside from his jagged teeth, sharp claws, and brute strength.
Odium twisted his fist in Bellis long hair, and as he jerked to pull Bellis in, Bellis reached out with clawed hands and sliced through his hair, cutting the black satiny length to free himself. It was startling, causing Sam to cry out.
Sam’s gaze jerked around the room searching for Bronx, and her heart gave a relieved thump when she saw him holding one of the Megalya guards to the ground, vicious jaws clamped around the monster’s throat.
Sam struggled to get to her feet, but was knocked to the ground when someone backed into her. She hit the ground hard and could only grunt at the jarring impact. Cursing her weakness, she fought to get to her knees a second time, but just as quickly as the small amount of strength had returned to her, it was just as quickly beginning to wane.
Tears of frustration blurred her vision and she sucked them back. Bellis needed her, and she was too weak! Her fingers brushed something on the floor, and she blinked back tears long enough to turn and focus on Odium’s psyblade. Even as her fingers curled around it, her head snapped up, eyes locking on her brother.
Once again, his teeth were locked on Bellis, and she could hear Bronx whine, knowing the beast wanted to aid the Walker but couldn’t. Keo called out from where he was battling, but he couldn’t get to Bellis either. She could.
Sam struggled to her feet and swayed. She took a step, locking her knees when she nearly buckled. Pain exploded through her body as something hard slammed into her back, and she flew forward before hitting the hard ground and sliding several feet. Too weak to even turn to see what or who had attacked her, she shook her head to clear it of the fuzziness, relieved to see the psyblade still gripped in her hand. Lifting her head, she scanned the room, searching for Bellis. He was close. Sam prayed for strength as she struggled to her feet once more.
Odium’s broad back blocked her view of Bellis as she approached. The monster was actually laughing with his teeth locked in her Walker. My Walker! She staggered at the thought, but there was no time to think about what she felt for Bellis or what that said about her considering his recent betrayal.
Sam lifted the psyblade with shaking hands. She hoped her brother had a heart, as she gauged where it should be, then plunged the blade into his back with all her weight. The Megalya arched, tossed his head back from the pain, and spun on her. Odium lunged, mouth open wide, teeth tearing into her throat as they both crashed to the ground. She heard Bellis roar before something warm splashed across her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if it was her own blood or Odium’s. Body still too numb from the psyblade, she felt a ripping sensation and gasped. Odium was ripped from her, but this was it. She wouldn’t get to tell Bellis what he’d meant to her, but at least she’d saved him from Odium.
Head falling to the side, her vision began to darken as she took in the sight of the Megalya being defeated. She’d done it! She’d helped the Skin Walkers into the Hive, and they were killing the Megalya monsters. She could die happy, but… She tried to turn her head to look for Bellis, but her body wasn’t working now, and when she blinked her eyes opened only a fraction. Her one regret would be Bellis. Bellis! He was her last thought before the darkness claimed her.
***
Bellis held Odium’s head as Bronx paced back and forth, growling in front of the body that was no longer attached. Bellis dropped his trophy and rushed to Sam when he saw a fellow Walker turn with a snarl and eye her crumpled body.
“NO!” Sam was in his arms in an instant, and relief flooded him when he saw her chest move with her breathing, but only barely. Bronx wasn’t so easily convinced. The cheetah whined and nudged Sam’s shoulder, turning to butt her with his head, needing a reaction from her.
“She lives,” Bellis soothed both himself and Keo’s Soul Sentry as he stood with her.
The battle was done. Skin Walkers, Keepers, and Soul Sentries were all that remained…and Sam. His…Megalya?
Ignoring his own wounds, Bellis got to his feet and rushed toward the door. He needed to find Jenny.
Suddenly, his path was blocked. His head snapped up to meet the enraged eyes of Fatal.
“Where do you think you’re taking my prisoner?” the ruling Keeper snarled. He was covered in blood, and looked terrifying, but Bellis wasn’t backing down. Sam was wounded and needed help.
He snarled viciously, “Move motherfucker!”
Fatal argued, “She’s an enemy!”
“She killed Odium.”
“You killed Odium!”
“A feat that would not have been accomplished without her aid.”
Fatal’s teeth gnashed together. “Put. Her. In. A. Cell!” He angled his head. “Or let her die.”
Just the suggestion had Bellis’ animals surging to the fore. “She’s not dying,” he gritted out, stepping forward in challenge even as Fatal mirrored him. Now move or die!”
Keo and Bronx immediately stepped forward. “I’ll ensure she’s shackled,” Keo offered quickly, “She won’t get away. Not this time.”
Fatal’s curled-back lip twitched as he eyed Bellis, but he tore his gaze from the Walker to eye his Keeper. “Make sure of it.” Then he turned back to the carnage, leaving Bellis to take Sam to help.
Bellis stalked to the door with Bronx and Keo on his heels. The beast hissed at Fatal disapprovingly as he passed. Bellis didn’t falter. Sam needed medical attention and he was going to take care of her before anything else.
In the tunnel Keo spoke quietly from behind him. “Transport is waiting outside. Jenny is at the North Fortress. Your Ruler knew it was closer to the Hive. They are waiting for any casualties.”
It was all Bellis needed to know. He was grateful that Keo was helping and simultaneously pissed. The Keeper had burst into the Hive demanding Sam, but why? Did he feel he had a claim to her? If so, he was sorely fucking mistaken.
Chapter 32
Bellis’ gut twisted with worry. Something bad was happening, and it wasn’t just that Sam had been attacked and wasn’t waking up.
During the battle, he’d s
een that fucker, Odium, stab her with that strange knife, but Sam had been recovering. When Odium spun on Sam and tried to rip out her throat, Bellis’ heart had slammed to a stop. He’d gotten Odium off his injured Sam, but the wound had been bad. In the transport vehicle to North Fortress, Keo helped him hold Sam’s mouth open as he’d ripped open his own wrist and poured his blood into her mouth. Sam hadn’t woken up though, and she couldn’t swallow. Panic had taken him at that point and the drive to the North Fortress had felt like an eternity.
Jenny had been awaiting their arrival and they’d rushed Sam to the infirmary. There were tubes and needles, and then Bellis was attached to Sam in some sort of rapidly set up blood transfusion. It didn’t work. When Jenny got scared, Bellis became terrified. Jenny was never scared, but he knew the Doctor still didn’t know what Sam was or how she worked. When she told him nothing was working, and that Sam was bleeding out, he’d demanded she think of something. He wasn’t ready to lose Sam, not now, not like this. Jenny had pulled a long syringe and directed Bellis to be ready. She gave Sam a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, and when Sam gasped to life, Bellis guided her mouth to his throat and forced her to drink. At first she’d fought, then she bit him hard and choked. It took what felt like forever for him to feel her lips lock around his skin, mouth tugging. She drank weakly at first, but then more strongly. Needing to make sure it was enough, Jenny didn’t break them apart even when Sam drank from him for so long that Bellis grew weak.
Sometime during the feeding Jenny stopped checking on Sam’s vitals and started checking on Bellis’, but he shook her off. If Sam needed all of his blood, she’d have it. Bellis kept Jenny from separating them until he finally passed out. When he woke, he was alone in a med bed in a curtained off section of the infirmary.
Rolling to his side, he fell off the bed and struggled to his feet. He was weak as hell, but he had to find Sam, had to know she was okay.
Jenny rounded the curtain and held up her hands, rushing to him to help hold him up. “She’s alive!” were her first words, and while they were a relief, they weren’t enough to soothe his inner beasts. He had to see Sam, had to confirm with his own eyes.
“Get back in bed,” Jenny commanded, and when he tried to shove her aside she yelled, “Somebody help me get this big bastard back in bed!”
Keo jerked the curtain back and stepped toward him, but then slammed to a halt, his eyes going round as he asked, “Who’s…who’s he?”
Who’s he? What in the fuck does that mean? Bellis snarled in annoyance at both Keo’s dumb question and the fact that his legs still weren’t working properly.
“Keo, help me!” Jenny chastised. “It’s Bellis!”
Something about the fact that Jenny needed to explain to Keo who he was made him wonder what in actual fuck was going on. He tried to take a step around Jenny, but his leg buckled and he was going down until Keo rushed him and slipped under his arm, helping Bellis back on to the med bed.
Once he was settled, Keo stood over him and breathed, “Holy fuck! What happened to him?” He turned accusing eyes on Jenny and growled, “What did you do?”
Was he scarred? He didn’t remember being seriously injured in the battle. He watched as Jenny crossed to a table, retrieving something before coming back. In her matter-of-fact doctor voice, she stood over Bellis and explained calmly. “Sam drank from you, do you remember?”
He nodded.
“She was badly injured, Bellis, and she had to take more blood from you than normal. She took more than she ever has before, but she lives. That’s what’s important, right?”
Fuck yes.
Jenny frowned hard. “The transfusion didn’t work, so she had to feed directly from you. She…drew you into her. I’m running tests, but whatever happened went both ways. She’s been affected as well. Know that I believe it’s only temporary. I’m still waiting on test results.”
Her remark had him struggling to sit up, but Jenny and Keo’s hands on his shoulders kept him pinned down.
“Listen!” Jenny demanded. “She’s okay, Bellis! So are you, aside from…” She lifted the object she held and handed it to him. When he saw he held a mirror, he didn’t understand. He lifted it while frowning at Jenny in confusion, but when it was in front of his face his eyes slid to it and his heart stopped.
Slowly, his hand lifted and once his fingers were visible in the mirror he turned and looked down at them. This wasn’t him, but it…was. Looking back in the mirror, he sat up and touched his face, unsure of what he was seeing. His black skin was gone. In its place was tan-colored flesh. His hair was still black, but his eyes were no longer inky wells. They were neon-blue like Sam’s. He didn’t recognize himself, but he was sitting here touching his own face, so he knew it was real.
Peeling back his teeth, he found his elongated incisors were still there, thank fuck! Still, shock tore through him. He’d been too young when he’d first shifted to remember what he looked like in his normal skin. In fact, he’d grown to see his dark skin as his normal skin, so it was alarming to see himself like this now. Words escaped him and he simply stared, gape mouthed, at his reflection.
It wasn’t like he’d expected when he’d imagined his coloring coming back. He thought he’d feel relief or pride, but right now the only thing he felt was disjointed. His hand moved to his shorn hair, and Jenny spoke quietly. “While you were out, I cleaned that up for you. It must have gotten hacked off during battle? Anyway, this looks better than it was.”
His hair was shorter than he’d ever had it. Clipped closed to his head on the sides, it was longer on top with a fringe of bangs hanging into his eyes. He didn’t know this person, but he swallowed hard and lowered the mirror. “Sam?” She was his only concern right now. He’d deal with his appearance later. Right now, he had to see that she was in fact alright.
Jenny’s voice was quiet as she replied. “As I said, she was affected as well.”
Dropping the mirror on the bed, he was shoving to his feet when the sound of footfalls made him lift his head to snarl at the approaching figure.
“You’re coloring is hideous, Demon Walker. You look sick!” Fatal frowned at Bellis, his eyes flicking around the small exam room before he turned to Keo. “Where is my prisoner? In a cell, I hope?”
Bellis’ expression hardened, his words drawing Fatal’s attention. “Fuck your cell, she’s injured. Where is Monroe?”
“Who cares, and not here.” Fatal looked down his nose at Bellis, thick arms crossing over his chest.
“Monroe is on his way,” Jenny quickly interjected.
“I want Sam released,” Bellis demanded, knowing that without Monroe, there was no way Fatal would believe Bellis or Jenny’s truth about how Sam was working with them.
“And I want her locked up.” Fatal countered, before turning.
He was halfway out the door when Bellis’ deafening roar jerked the ruling Keeper to a halt. “Stay away from my Angel!”
Fatal flashed a sinister smile over his shoulder. “Angel? She is no mate of yours.”
“She is, and I will fight for her.”
“I assume you’re speaking of the Keeper’s mate challenge. There is no one to fight. No one challenges your claim.” Sinister eyes slid to Keo. “No Skin Walker wants her, no Keeper either.”
Keo tensed, but kept his mouth shut.
“I want her.” Bellis challenged. “My claim is legitimate! There isn’t any reason I can’t have her.”
“She’s tainted. You know she is Megalya.”
Bellis steeled himself. “I know. I don’t care.”
“You should! We are still finding out what happens when mating with humans. Mating with a Megalya is unacceptable, and will not be permitted. On this, both Monroe and I agree. They don’t want her, and neither do I, but I’ll keep her to ensure she’s no threat. Perhaps some experimentation, to find easier ways to defeat our enemy.”
Bellis hopped off the table and staggered. He still wasn’t one hundred percent, so ph
ysically challenging Fatal right now wasn’t the best course of action. Still, there was no way in hell he was letting the Keepers experiment on Sam. “We should test to see what happens when one of us mates with one of them. If they can be changed, to be like us.” Bellis was grasping now, he knew it, but he just needed to stall until Monroe arrived, or until his strength came back. Challenging Fatal over Sam would only get her hurt.
“Not worth it,” Fatal shrugged. “She’s the only female of their kind. We shouldn’t even experiment on her, we should just kill her and be done with it. But,” his gaze slid to Jenny. “Your Doctor is persistent.”
“I’ll fight to have her, Fatal, and I’ll kill to protect her.”
“Why?” Anger flashed in the eyes of the ruling Keeper as he fully turned to face Bellis. “Find another! What is your fascination with this one?”
“She has marked me.”
The ruling Keepers eyes traced up and down Bellis’ frame. “I see no mark.”
“She has marked my soul.” He dipped his head, his eyes narrowing. “They are marks that cannot and will not be removed. She is mine!” For emphasis he added, “And as long as my halo is on her, you’ll keep your fucking hands off her or face the wrath of the entire Skin Walker population!”
Fatal’s eyes shot to Bellis’ throat. His high-collared shirt had been removed, he assumed when Jenny tended his wounds, but just to make sure, he lifted his chin, exposing the brand that circled his throat where his halo once lay.
Fatal’s angry eyes shot to his, and the ruling Keeper hissed, long and loud.
Chapter 33
Sam groaned as she woke, and without even opening her eyes she grumbled, “If I have to wake up like this one more fucking time…”
A soft chuckle floated through the room, and her eyes slit open as she searched the room for Bellis. She’d heard him, she knew she had, but when her eyes landed on a Sentry standing near the door, hurt ripped her breath away. Bellis wasn’t here. Even after she’d tried to save him, even after she’d been willing to risk her life for his, he’d left her…again. The pain of the realization was all consuming, and hurt more deeply than the throbbing in her stomach.
