by Bethany Shaw
Zak had caught a rabbit and was cooking it on a spit over the fire. To her knowledge, he hadn’t eaten since their venison feast a few days ago. If she was starved, he must be famished. She shuddered. He needed blood—human blood, and she was the only one around who could supply it.
Her gaze slipped to Zak. She watched as he stared intently into the fire as if he were deep in thought. The flames danced across his face, making him appear dark and dangerous, which he was, but it shed him in a light that made him attractive.
His muscles rippled beneath his tattered shirt and part of her wanted to reach out and touch him. Why did she keep having this reaction to him? It must be because she was stuck with him, and only him. She loved Trent. The guy she never thought about. She was a horrible girlfriend, but I’m not really his girlfriend anymore am I, she thought sadly. Trent. Trent. Trent. Zak was the enemy, no matter how nice he was to her right now. She couldn’t ever forget that. The second they returned home he would murder her best friend. Hell, he’d already hurt Trent.
Zak blinked and met her gaze. She darted her focus away, staring at the trees behind him. Heat blossomed over her cheeks and burned to her ears, having been caught staring.
She shot up from her seat and walked over to the rabbit, removing the meat from the fire. It looked done. She set it down on a rock and picked up the makeshift knife Zak had set out.
He usually did this for her, but she needed something to do to keep her thoughts off him. She sliced into the animal and cried out as the scorching heat burned her fingers. Reeling back, she cut her palm with the knife.
“Crap,” she hissed as she stared at the blood welling on her palm. “I’m such a klutz,” she berated herself.
“Let me see,” Zak said from behind her.
She turned and gasped, realizing he was inches from her. “I’m fine,” she stammered.
“I can smell your blood,” he commented.
Cadence swallowed as the black spidery veins trickled across his temples and a golden hue lit up his eyes. She pulled her hand back and pressed the folds of her dress over the wound. Yeah, because that would stop him.
“I’m in control, Cadence. I won’t hurt you,” he promised.
She hesitated, watching him wearily. “When is the last time you ate?” she wondered aloud.
“It’s been a while,” he admitted.
She’d eaten two meals—sometimes three, every day. Zak had made sure of it. Her fingers trembled as she lifted her still bleeding hand from her skirt. What am I doing?
“You...you won’t bite me, right?” She offered her palm up for him to see.
He narrowed his eyes at her as he licked his lips.
“Go ahead,” she said as she drew in a sharp breath.
Zak’s eyes lit up and his fangs dropped. “Are you sure, sweetheart?”
No! She drew in a deep breath and let it out. Zak needed to feed. Without him she’d be completely lost. There really wasn’t another choice. “You need human blood to function. I’m bleeding...” she trailed off.
Zak grasped her arm, tugging her to him, and pressing her forearm against his chest. He closed his eyes as he inhaled deeply.
Her breath caught in her throat. What was she doing? She’d lost her mind. What if he lost control and drained her dry?
Zak leaned forward and licked the rivulets of blood that beaded down her arm. His tongue was like velvet as he dipped his mouth around her arm, soaking up every last bit of crimson. He stopped at her palm, gently sucking the blood from her wound.
Cadence shivered as he tugged her closer, his mouth suckled her palm greedily as his tongue flicked over her wrist. Heat flooded her and she shifted on her feet, hoping he couldn’t smell her arousal. Her pulse roared in her ears, and she drew in sharp pants that made her chest heave as he drank from her. A raw desire pooled in her belly and she fought the urge to reach up and stroke his face with her free hand. Her eyes were transfixed on him, watching in awe as he suckled her hand. This had been a very bad idea.
Zak rolled his tongue over her palm a few times before looking up at her. "You taste like heaven, sweetheart."
His gaze met hers; his face was mere inches from her. All either of them had to do was lean forward and their lips would touch. What would it be like to kiss him? No! I can’t think like that.
Cadence tugged her hand out of his grasp and turned back to her dinner. What are you thinking, she asked herself for the billionth time.
“Perhaps it’d be best if you left the carving to me, Cadence,” he said, her name rolling off his tongue like liquid silk. “I wouldn’t want you to cut yourself again.”
Cadence nodded and pulled away from him. “Thanks.” She walked to the tree line and stared off into the distance. That had been too close. She couldn’t let Zak get that close again.
Zak’s hand landed on her shoulder as he yanked her backwards, putting himself protectively in front of her.
“What are you doing?” she questioned confused.
“Shhhh,” he shushed her as he narrowed his eyes and peered into the darkness.
She stilled, the hairs on her arms prickling. He heard something. But what? She squinted, staring into the distance. A blur of movement flashed in the distance. She could barely make it out as it approached at an inhuman speed. Who or what was that?
Chapter Seven
Zak pulled Cadence tighter against him as the supernatural being approached. Her body pressed tightly against his was enough to make his insides scream with desire. He needed to focus on the unknown at the moment, and not Cadence’s intoxicating smell or her soft curves pressed into him.
The footsteps slowed as the creature approached. He pulled Cadence behind a thick tree trunk, wanting to remain hidden until he saw who, or what, the threat was. Never give away the upper hand. He had centuries of experience being hunted; he knew what he was doing. A few more steps and the vampire would be in view.
Harrison.
All the tenseness left his body and he felt Cadence relax against him.
Harrison looked different. He was the same physical age, but he’d cut his hair short. His heart no longer beat, which meant he was a vampire now, too.
"Harrison?" Cadence said pulling away from Zak as she walked over to his brother.
Zak followed behind her. Harrison was a good soul, but her blood was still fresh, he’d hate for his brother to lose control.
"Cadence. Zak." Harrison said his face tightening as he frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded taking a menacing step toward Zak.
A low growl escaped Zak despite himself. He would never hurt Harrison. It was more of a reflex. His actions caught his brother off guard and only deepened his scowl.
"I saw everything, Zak. I saw what you did to the villagers, the werewolves."
He swallowed as understanding filled him. Harrison had seen his siblings and he lose control. They had killed and maimed their home and the village the werewolves lived in. They had acted like savage monsters with no humanity whatsoever. Especially himself.
"Harrison." He wanted to explain, but didn’t know what to say. Nothing he said would make it better.
"I helped you," Harrison yelled, hurt as he balled his fists at his side. "I thought I was sending you home to a better future. You killed all those people. How could you? I thought I sensed something about you when I saw you, something dark, evil. I should have listened to my instincts."
"I told you to leave and not come back, if you turned," Zak growled. Harrison wasn’t supposed to see any of that. He cursed himself for not shielding his baby brother from the horror.
"I thought we could be together once you turned, too. I had a whole story made up about how I was alive. I wanted us to be a family. I had no idea you would turn into such monsters," Harrison accused.
His heart broke a little at that statement. Harrison should’ve left. The boy had no idea what was to come, and he could only imagine what he had seen. Harrison had idealized him at one point. Clearly, that was n
o longer the case. His brother stared at him with disgust and disdain.
"They didn't know what was happening. No one prepared them for the blood lust," Cadence spoke up coming to his defense.
Zak’s eyes widened as he stared at Cadence with bewilderment. She offered him a small smile before continuing, "Obviously, your siblings let their emotions get the best of them. Vampire emotions are heightened, especially when they first turn. In their defense, they didn't understand why they craved blood or how to control it."
"Do you know what they did?" Harrison asked frowning at her.
"No, but I know what it's like to have a power and not truly understand it. Or control it," she admitted with a shudder.
What had happened to Cadence? She still owed him an answer to a question. He would have to play his card at the right time.
"They killed half our village, and slaughtered almost all of the werewolf village," Harrison pointed out.
"They killed you," Zak said darkly. "We thought they took your body. It was only our natural instinct to attack. I know now why you disappeared, but we didn’t know that then."
"Is that why you let it go?" Cadence whispered as she shot Zak an accusing glare. "The wolves attacking me,” she clarified. “You knew, you knew what would happen to them. I should’ve known what you meant when you said they’d pay for it," she mumbled to herself.
"Did you really think I’d just let that go? They did try to kill you. I wanted to alter time. To kill them right then, but I knew they’d die in an excruciatingly painful way, eventually," he smirked as he recalled the screams from that night that still echoed in his mind even after all these centuries.
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "But you...oh never mind. It was wrong and you know it." She crossed her arms over her chest and stamped her foot as she shook her head.
Silence consumed them. Zak licked his lips as his gaze flicked from Harrison to Cadence. Both were mad at him. They didn’t understand the need to kill. They probably never would. Even as a vampire, humanity still spilled off Harrison. The boy didn’t have an evil bone in his body. Good for him, he thought genuinely.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to see you again," Harrison said breaking the silence. "I wasn’t sure I wanted to see any of you again. After what mother did...after what I saw my siblings do. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a vampire anymore. Then I realized you were different when I helped you with the spell. You’d learned control. You’d changed, at least I hope you have.”
Zak resisted the urge to flinch. He was just as deadly. The only difference was he’d learned to be more discreet over time. It drew less attention from the witches. Harrison didn’t need to know that.
"I'm sorry that you had to see that, Harrison. You have to understand—"
"I don't understand, Zak," Harrison snapped interrupting him. "Nothing you say is going to make me. But you're my brother, and I couldn't abandon you. I figured you’d appear by the caves sometime...I just didn’t know when. I’ve been going to the caves every full moon for years. I missed the past one on accident and of course that’s when you came through. I’ve spent days looking for you."
Warmth flooded him at his brother’s words. Even after witnessing his siblings and he at their worst, Harrison still wouldn't abandon him. His brother was accepting him regardless of who he was and what he had done. "Thank you,” he said quietly.
Harrison nodded and met his eyes for the first time. “You’re welcome.”
“What year is it?" he asked next, already dreading the answer. There was no way they were in the right time.
"It's 1236," Harrison said looking at him with interest.
"Ugh. Why is it only 1236?" Cadence groaned as she sat down on a fallen log and covered her face with her hands. "This is awful."
Zak felt her pain. He was just as frustrated by this as she was. His mother was still trying to kill him. The last thing he could afford was to give her another month to do it. His family could be dead by the time they made it home. "Do you know why we are here? In this time?" he asked his brother.
"I don't. I spoke with Lise’s mom after everything calmed down again. She was surprised to see me alive and concerned when I told her how it happened. Thankfully, she was kind enough not to hold our mother’s treachery over my head. She told me a bit about time travel...at least what she knew. Her and Mother had looked into it a bit after I died to see if they could change my fate. Time travel is complicated, and dangerous. We couldn’t be certain what time you ended up in. The only thing we concluded was that time travel was linked to the full moon. I knew you were from the future, but you never told me when. I've been coming to look for you for over two hundred years. I'd almost given up. But this isn't the right time either, is it?" he asked looking at Cadence who just shook her head that was placed in her hands.
"No, it’s not. We missed the mark by several centuries," he said quietly. At least they had moved forward. For a while he had been afraid they had traveled further into the past.
"I’m staying in a village. It is about half a day’s walk this way," Harrison said pointing in the direction they had come from.
"What happened to the old village?" Cadence asked.
"After my siblings attacked it, most of the survivors fled. They didn't feel safe there anymore," Harrison explained looking at the ground.
"Do you have a witch at this village?" Zak asked. Hopefully, there was a chance they could still get home.
"Yes," Harrison said confidently.
***
Zak looked at the small bedroom he and Cadence would be sharing. She sighed as she brushed past him into the room and sat on the bed. Looks like he had another month to look forward to sleeping on the floor. What was he becoming? Any other girl he would force to share the bed with him or force her to sleep on the floor. Any other girl would already be dead.
Cadence was getting under his skin. The more time he spent with her, the more he realized this was more than just some strange infatuation. He liked her, cared for her. The thought made him shudder. Love was a weakness. Love?
"I hope you don't mind; this is the only other room I have," Harrison apologized from behind him. "I can figure something else out. Unmarried men and women do not usually share a room."
"It's fine. Thank you." Cadence smiled genuinely.
"Yes, thank you, Brother," Zak said as he looked back to the room and saw Cadence on the bed. He envisioned ravishing her on that bed in so many different ways. If only she would have him. If only his brother knew what was going on in his head he would demand they find another place for Cadence.
***
Zak's senses peaked. A shimmer in his dream nagged at the back of his mind. Darkness and a dense, rolling fog fluttered around him. He knew he was sleeping, but something wasn't right. There was a presence in his mind. He'd given other people dreams to gain information from them; never had someone dared to enter his head before. He would kill anyone who dared violate him like that.
He knew it wasn't Cadence; she was too good hearted to do something like this, and he doubted she had the ability. And Harrison, it had been a long time for him...but he was still his brother. So who? Two figures approached, their forms growing larger as they walked through the thick, white fog.
Zak growled as he raced towards the people. His fingers laced around a neck and he lifted the person off the ground, dangling their feet. Cool hands gripped his hand as the person gasped.
"Zak," Grace squeaked, clawing at his hand.
Grace? What the hell? He released his grip, dropping his sister. She collapsed into the fog, before she stood up and fixed an angry glare on him. "What are you doing? How did you get here?" he asked slowly as he noticed the other figure—a witch from Cadence’s coven.
"I don't know how much time we have. I need to see Cadence," the witch demanded, eyeing him.
He sighed flicking his gaze from the witch and then back to Grace who gave him a small nod. "She'll help us fight Mother once she sees that Cadence is safe."<
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"How do you want me to show you Cadence?" he questioned, lifting one eyebrow up. There was only one way he could think of, and it wasn’t going to go over well with Cadence.
The witch glared at him for a long moment. He smirked; she had to be thinking the same thing as him.
"Can you give her a dream to bring her here with us? If she is in your subconscious she should be here as well," the woman suggested quietly with a heavy sigh.
He grinned. "You’re giving me your permission to get inside Cadence's head?"
“Can you do it?” the woman asked narrowing her eyes.
“Of course. I doubt your friend will be thrilled,” he cautioned. It could be a bit tricky to reach out to her given his current state, but he was a strong enough vampire, he could probably manage. “Give me a moment.”
He closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on Cadence’s bewitching eyes. It wouldn’t take much to touch her mind with her being close to him in slumber.
"What the hell do you think you’re doing?" Cadence's angry voice sliced through the air as she twirled around in the fog.
"Cadence," her friend whispered.
Cadence swung around, her eyes searching as she walked through the dense fog. "What is going on? Jaime? Is that you?"
"Cadence,” Jaime gasped, sprinting to her friend and enveloping her in a tight hug. “I had to make sure you were okay before I agreed to help them. It was my idea for Zak to get in your head. Sorry, I know how much you must hate this. It's just, I needed to be sure you were alive and that Liana really did this to you before I agreed to work with the vampires," Jamie said apologetically as she pulled back and studied her friend’s face.
Cadence nodded her head. "I'm okay. And it was Liana who sent us here. I saw her do it. She knows she sent me here, too. Trust me, it was no mistake."
"I’m so sorry this happened to you. Are you okay?” Jaime asked in one breath.
“I’m fine. Zak and I have been working together,” she assured, sharing a look with Zak before turning back to her friend.
