Shock slid through Ronan as he stared at the female hunter. He hadn’t expected her to leave the club, to come out here, and he certainly hadn’t expected the rapt way she watched him. He’d seen many beautiful women over the thousand years of his life, but none of them had captivated him in such a way.
The battle and his men faded away as he stared at her. The wind tugged at her silvery hair, whipping the loose strands of it around her oval-shaped face. Her azure eyes watched his every move. The look on her face said she couldn’t figure him out, but then he had no idea what to make of this woman either.
Kadence felt time crawl by as they gazed at each other, but when Logan suddenly crashed into the vamp, she realized only mere seconds had passed. Asher barely dodged out of the way of the vamp and Logan as Logan propelled the vamp into the brick wall.
“Ronan!” the auburn-haired man shouted.
“I’m fine,” the one wearing the sunglasses grunted, and she realized he was Ronan.
Kadence took a step forward to stop Logan from attacking him, but then her heritage, her common sense, kicked in and disgust at herself filled her gut. He was a vampire for crying out loud! What was the matter with her?
Her first time out of the stronghold and she was having the warm and fuzzies for her worst enemy. She was an idiot and a pitiful excuse for a hunter.
Taking a deep breath, she struggled to control the accelerated beat of her heart as Ronan hit Logan, knocking him backward. “Declan, go that way,” Ronan ordered with a wave of his hand at the auburn-haired man. “Killean, that way,” he commanded the one with the scar.
Kadence’s hands went to two of the stakes tucked into her inner coat pocket when she realized there were two more vamps in the alley. Declan moved to the right as Jayce fired a shot at Killean, hitting him in the shoulder. Killean lunged forward, knocking the gun from Jayce’s hand with one blow.
Killean jerked Jayce forward, but instead of sinking his fangs into Jayce’s throat and tearing it out, he threw Jayce away from him. Killean could have killed Jayce, there was no denying that. Instead, he’d pushed him away. Kadence’s mind spun as she tried to understand what she’d seen, but none of it made any sense.
“Kadence! Get out of here! Now!”
Nathan’s bellow made her cringe, but she wouldn’t follow his command. She had to witness what happened here. Kadence gasped when Logan brandished a stake and tried to plunge into Ronan’s chest. Ronan grabbed Logan’s hand and tore the stake away as if Logan were no more than a child. With a flick of his fingers, he tossed the stake aside.
His lethal fangs gleamed in the dim light of the alley, but instead of striking, he pushed Logan away from him like Killean had. Kadence watched as the vamps lined up on one side of the alley, with the hunters moving to position themselves on the other side. The vamp who had killed her father thrashed in her brother’s grasp, his red eyes blazing like rubies in the sun. His florid face and wheezing breaths led her to believe his windpipe had been crushed at some point.
“We are at a crossroads,” Ronan stated.
His deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Kadence shook herself. No matter how compelling she found him to be, he was a vampire, plain and simple.
So caught up in her own confusion and emotions, she failed to notice what had happened during the fight. Her brother and the hunters were lined up on their side, closest to the wall, with the vampires lined up before them.
Which would have been fine. Her brother had her father’s killer. Kadence was more than happy to leave here with him, more than happy to go somewhere else to dispose of the monster, while they left the rest of the vamps alone, for now.
The real problem was that she’d been separated from the hunters and was stuck behind the vampires.
CHAPTER 6
“Do you plan to fight to the death?” Ronan asked.
“If that’s what it takes, considering it will be your deaths, not ours,” Nathan replied.
Declan and Killean chuckled while Ronan shifted his stance. Kadence’s heart leapt into her throat. “No,” she croaked.
Once the word was out of her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake. Until she spoke, everyone had forgotten about her. Now, all eyes turned toward her.
“Kadence, leave!” Nathan spat.
Her eyes flew around the group. Her hand trembled as she lifted it to her treacherous mouth. However, she couldn’t run from here. She couldn’t lose her brother, and for some strange reason, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to Ronan either.
Later, when she was alone, she would kick herself in her stupid ass for finally encountering vampires in the world and turning into a complete idiot because one of them fascinated her. For now, she had to completely ignore her bizarre reaction to Ronan as the other two did absolutely nothing for her.
“The fight is a draw. No more blood has to spill,” she said. “We have the one we came for. There will be other nights to continue this.”
“And more innocent deaths before then!” Nathan sneered.
“Nathan, please, I can’t lose you too!” she cried.
So the hunter, Nathan, was her lover or husband, Ronan realized. He eyed the vein in Nathan’s throat and licked his lips as he contemplated ending his competition for her.
“Get out of here, Kadence!” Nathan yelled at her.
A low growl emanated from him over the way Nathan spoke to her. Declan and Killean exchanged startled glances, but neither of them could be as surprised as he was over it.
Nathan tightened his hold on Joseph’s throat. He seemed to think Ronan was going to charge him to take Joseph back. However, Ronan had no intention of going anywhere near Nathan, not if it meant leaving Kadence unprotected.
“Nathan—” Kadence started.
“I said leave!”
The roared order echoed throughout the alley. Kadence preferred not to see the bloodbath she was certain was about to unfold, but she wouldn’t let it happen if she could somehow stop it. Her fingers slid away from one of her stakes as she looked to Ronan, whose head was turned in her direction.
Everything she’d been taught over the years told her he was evil. However, something within her said he wasn’t. That belief might get her killed tonight. If it did, then she well deserved to die for her stupidity, but she couldn’t bring herself to attack someone who hadn’t come after her.
“I’m not leaving,” she declared as she looked back to her brother.
Nathan’s eyes widened. Declan glanced over his shoulder at her, an approving smile curving his full mouth. Before she could think about what that smile meant, a large hand enclosed on her arm. She spun to face the two men who materialized from the shadows behind her.
The one holding her stared back at her. His pitiless black eyes caused chills to run down her spine. His sandy blond hair framed his handsome face as his upper lip twisted into a sneer of disapproval.
She didn’t have to see his fangs to know this was another vampire. Dread flared through her as his grip became bruising. The other vamp who had appeared with him moved forward to join Ronan and his group. Kadence’s heart sank as she realized the hunters were now outnumbered.
She didn’t get any murderous vibes from Ronan, but she had no doubt the vamp holding her would break her neck and step over her dead body with the same amount of consideration he gave to pulling on his socks.
“Hello, boys,” the vamp holding her greeted, his voice as glacial as the rest of him.
“About time you showed up, Lucien,” Killean said.
“Looks like Saxon and I are just in time, Killean,” Lucien replied with a shrug. “Quite the pickle we’re all in. Especially Joseph there,” he nodded to the vamp Nathan held. “Looks like everyone’s after your blood, asshole.”
Joseph opened his mouth to respond, but only a choked ugh sound came out. Hatred churned in her gut as Kadence gazed at the vamp who had killed her father. She knew his name now, but to her he would always be the vamp who had torn her world apart. The o
ne who had propelled her into breaking free of the boundaries she’d chafed against her whole life.
“Let go of her!” Nathan snapped at Lucien.
“Is she what I think she is?” Lucien inquired, completely ignoring her brother’s command as he bent toward her to inspect her more closely.
“She is a born hunter,” Killean answered.
Kadence leaned away from him and, before she could think about it, kicked him in the shin. Lucien jumped and surveyed her with more interest. “Feisty little hunter, aren’t you?” he murmured.
“Let go of her, Lucien,” Ronan said. “She has no part in this.”
Kadence gawked at him. Was Ronan, the vampire, trying to protect her? Even Nathan looked confused by his words.
“From what I can tell, they have Joseph and we have her, so I think she has a big part in this,” Lucien replied. “Not to mention, no one has seen a born, female hunter. She may be something we can use to our advantage against these do-gooder, idiotic pricks.”
Ronan spun toward them. The fury emanating from his body caused her to step back. Lucien squeezed her arm, eliciting an involuntary wince from her. Adrenaline spiked through her as Ronan stalked toward them with menace exuding from every inch of him. She’d been wrong about him; he was going to drain her dry before tossing her lifeless body aside.
Kadence refused to cower from his approach as she defiantly lifted her chin. She’d put up one hell of a fight against him, though she was certain he could crush her skull with only one of his hands. Her fingers twitched toward the stake at her side while she awaited her opportunity to inflict as much damage as possible. Ronan would remember her years after he’d killed her, she’d make sure of it.
“Stay away from her!” Nathan’s bellow rent the air.
Shoving Joseph at Jayce, her brother rushed forward. Killen stepped forward to block his attack. Kadence screamed and lurched forward to help her brother as he barreled into Killean. The two of them tumbled to the ground in a frenzied heap.
Lucien jerked her back before she made it two steps toward them. Ronan’s hand lashed out to grasp Lucien’s forearm.
“I said let her go!” Ronan ordered.
Kadence’s jaw dropped.
“What is the matter with you?” Lucien demanded.
“Let her go.” His hand squeezed Lucien’s arm to the point where Kadence was certain the bone would break.
Lucien released her, and his brows furrowed as he studied Ronan. “I’d rather fight anyway,” he muttered before stalking away from the two of them.
It was then that Kadence realized the battle had commenced again. The only one hanging back now was Jayce, but he’d been saddled with Joseph.
“No!” Kadence stepped forward, determined to stop this, or at least try to help as her brother and Killean circled each other like wolves.
“No.” Ronan stepped in front of her, his solid body blocking her way.
He became all she could see as his chest alone was three times the size of hers. He was not as tall as the others, but there was no doubt he was the strongest one here. She didn’t have to see him in action to know that. Every strand of her DNA was aware of what stood before her: an old vampire with more power than she could begin to comprehend.
Her lips parted on a breath as her eyes fell on his shaded ones. She had no idea what it was about him, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care that he was a vampire—not when her skin felt electrified by his nearness and her nerve endings tingled with her need to touch him.
She craved more of him.
Thousands upon thousands of hunters were turning over in their graves right now. Self-hate skittered through her, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull out her stake and attack him.
Ronan shifted as the scent of her arousal on the air caused him to harden. She wanted him too. Her forehead furrowed in confusion over her reaction to him. He completely understood her confusion as he felt it too.
He didn’t know what drove him, but he had to know if her skin was as supple as it looked. Without thinking, he reached out to touch her cheek. Beneath the pads of his fingers, her skin was like fine spun silk. She didn’t recoil from him, didn’t look repulsed. Instead, to his amazement, she turned her cheek into his hand so that her lips brushed against his palm.
A loud crash from behind him jerked them both apart and brought the world rushing back in around him.
“Shit!” he hissed.
How could he have forgotten about the fight behind him? How could he have left his friends to fend for themselves against the hunters and Joseph?
“Go!” he gruffly commanded her. “Get to safety.”
He turned away from her, knowing he would never see her again.
“Wait!” Her pale hand on his arm seared into his flesh, causing his teeth to scrape together when his cock jumped in response. He was not some horny teen, yet this woman had somehow managed to reduce him to that when his men needed him. He glanced at her over his shoulder. “Please, don’t do this.”
“We don’t want this,” he replied coldly, pulling his arm away from her before she distracted him further from his duties.
“I… I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“No, your kind never has.”
The anger in his voice would have deterred anyone else; it didn’t deter her though.
“Please, I can’t lose him,” she whispered. Anger surged through Ronan; she was lusting over him, but still pleading for her lover’s life. He contemplated killing Nathan, simply so the man couldn’t continue to have what he so desperately craved for himself. “Not my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Yes.”
“Your brother will be safe.” If he wasn’t already dead. “Now go!”
“Thank you.”
His chest constricted at those words. “Go.”
Ronan didn’t look back at her as he ran toward the others. A good fight and death were what he needed to purge himself of his reaction to her.
CHAPTER 7
Kadence rounded the corner, but went no further. She couldn’t leave. Her brother was fighting for his life, and that man, that vampire, was there. The warmth of Ronan’s fingers still lingered on her cheek. He hadn’t acted like her enemy. She supposed his strange behavior could be some sort of sick, vampire trick, but she doubted it. He’d had the perfect opportunity to kill her. He could have easily struck her down, or had his friend do so. Instead, he’d told her to run.
The monsters she’d always been taught vampires were would have killed her without a second’s hesitation. Those monsters wouldn’t have told her that her brother would be safe. What had just happened between them was not normal and she needed answers.
She also hadn’t come all this way not to watch Joseph die.
Kadence crept back to the corner of the alley and poked her head out to watch the battle. She pulled her crossbow free and loaded it. Her hand squeezed on her weapon while she watched them all fight in a flurry of fists and blood, but the vampires still didn’t go in for the killing blow. Now that she was watching more closely, she realized they spent most of their time deflecting the hunters’ attacks. The hunters were outnumbered; this fight should be over. It wasn’t.
The more she examined the vampires in action, the more she began to question if Ronan and his friends were the murderous, mindless creatures she’d been taught to hate her whole life. They seemed to be something different, something she’d never known existed when it came to vampires. Something she didn’t think any hunter had ever known existed.
Ronan cut his way through the thick of the fight. Seizing Logan and Nathan by their necks, he lifted them and threw them toward where Jayce and Asher stood with Joseph. Kadence couldn’t help but marvel over the amount of strength Ronan possessed. He’d tossed them both aside as if they weighed no more than a feather. The other vampires fell into line behind him as the hunters grouped together. Blood tricked from the injuries the hunters had sustained, but none of them
were mortal wounds.
“Give us Joseph,” Ronan commanded. “We will take care of him.”
“Set him lose to kill more, you mean,” Nathan said as he slid his crossbow free of his hip.
“He’ll never know freedom again,” Ronan replied. “He’s ours to destroy. Give him to me.”
Nathan’s crossbow dipped a bit before leveling on Ronan’s broad chest, right at his heart. Kadence’s breath stuck in her throat when Ronan stalked forward as if he didn’t see the weapon. The resolute expression on Nathan’s face was one she recognized well. The bolt fired less than a split second later.
Ronan didn’t change his course or even blink when he plucked the bolt out of thin air and tossed it aside as if it had been an annoying fly. Kadence gaped at him. She’d never seen anyone move that fast before, had never thought it possible that someone could.
Before anyone could react, or Ronan could reach Nathan, Joseph shouted a command. “Now! Attack now!” The words were garbled, but his windpipe had healed enough for him to speak again.
Kadence frowned as she tried to figure out who he was yelling at. The others in the alley exchanged a questioning glance. Ronan leapt forward, his hand encircling Joseph’s throat. He looked about to tear Joseph from Jayce’s grasp just as another vampire leapt on top of the brick wall. The feral-looking vamp with the blood-red eyes was followed by a dozen more vampires.
Ronan froze with his hand around Joseph’s throat as he gazed at the Savages perched on the wall like gargoyles ready to take flight. Their putrid odor barely pierced through the stench of the alley. It hit him that Joseph had lured them into this area of the alley because of the amount of trash and the fact that his cohorts could remain hidden on the other side of the wall until he was ready to draw them forth. If he hadn’t crushed Joseph’s windpipe, the Savages would have arrived sooner.
“Well, that’s a heap of shit right there,” Declan said and reached over his back to slide two swords free from under his coat.
Eternally Bound (The Alliance, Book 1) Page 4
