by Casey Lane
I fell to her side, pushing the others aside so that I could inspect her properly. Sucking the air through my teeth, I attempted to pull her crisp clothing off, the heat of it still melting her skin, but she cried out in pain. Unable to cause her more pain I stopped, unsure what to do next.
She was suffering and I knew that death would be a welcome guest. I remembered the past when I discovered her dead body, eyes staring wide at me in the stillness that only death can command. Her hair, dripping wet, spread out and mixed with mud.
“Detrand.” I was ripped back into the present. Her voice was a whispered plea and I was staring at her charred body. Opening her eyes, she blinked at me. “Please, Detrand.”
I knew what she wanted and I shook my head, unwilling to give it. I cried freely, in pain and grief at her suffering unable to bear. “No.”
Her hand, weak and unsteady, raised towards me and touched my knee. I clasped it, remembering the pain of her first death, and how it ripped through my body, tearing me in two, and I shook my head. “All you need is blood, you will heal quickly.”
I placed my wrist in front of her lips. Sophie placed her hand on my wrist, turned her face and pushed my hand away.
“Sophie, you must.”
She stared at Rowan’s feet, silent.
Adelade leaned over me, using my shoulder to balance her, her concern for Sophie showed plainly on her face. “Maybe I could—”
“Adelade, go away.” So close, her blood called to me and I breathed in slowly, my fangs extending. I wanted to tear into her body, I was so weak from the pain of Sophie, one of mine, and needed the fae to renew her magic.
She jerked up. “I just think that—”
I growled and gripped the edge of her pants, even as my strigoi threatened to emerge.
“Rowan, go get the fae. Take Adelade with you and attend to her arms.” They were blistered and red and I knew that we kept salve that would dull the pain and heal it with incredible speed.
Rowan dragged Adelade way who was stubbornly trying to offer her blood to heal Sophie. As soon as they were gone, I looked up at Lula.
“I need you to persuade Sophie to drink or she will suffer horribly, and die.” I looked up into her face now and saw that tears were streaming down her face. “Can you do this for me?”
She hesitated, but nodded. “I can try.”
“Don’t try, Lula. Do.” I stood up and, determined that my presence would only make things worse, I backed away slowly to give her space. Watching from a distance, I mentally willed Lula to convince her. As she spoke softly in Sophie’s ear, Rowan’s large shirt slipped from her shoulder, revealing her bare back spotted with his bites.
“Sophie,” Lula’s voice caught. “You know I can’t do this without you. I need you.”
I closed my eyes now, not wishing to hear her words, and the images of my life with Sophie filled my mind. I rarely called upon these memories for they were painful: the death of my children was still so raw and fresh even after all these years, that the guilt I felt for being unable to help them was a constant throb in my chest. But I opened myself to them now and my daughter’s bright smile entered my mind. My sob caught in my throat and I pushed the memories roughly away; they were still too agonizing.
I couldn’t let go of Sophie, not yet. She was my only connection to that gilded age, of when we were happy and so innocent of the beasts that lurked in the night. And she hated me for it even as she still loved me, even though my betrayal was so thoroughly selfish. I couldn’t give her up, even after all these years, and longed for the only woman I ever loved to remain by my side.
Then her lost soul appeared by my side. Still drenched from death’s ocean waters all those years ago, she stood silently watching Sophie and Lula. The ghost gripped my arm tight in anticipation as we waited wordlessly for Sophie to make her decision, and then she slowly began to fade as Sophie gripped Lula’s wrist to her mouth, drinking.
I felt a tingle of magic spread over my body and I turned towards the fae Raisa.
She bowed deeply until she touched my feet. “I’m sorry, my Lord. I was busy helping the line.”
I leaned to whisper in her ear so that Adelade who was giving Sophie her wrist now in order to keep Lula from fainting from a loss of blood, couldn’t hear me.
“I could’ve killed her.”
She looked up and faced her. “But you didn’t. And you won’t.”
I raised my eyebrow. “I almost did.”
She smirked. “As I said, but you didn’t.”
Sighing, I gave in to her game. “And why is that?”
She smiled brightly, and I felt her calming presence wash over me. “I cannot answer that because your love for her is yet to be determined.”
She got up to move away and I growled, pushing away the calm her magic afforded me. “I do not love her. She is a curse upon my blood.”
She turned back to me to call out before she moved away. “Funny, she thinks the same about you.”
I looked at Adelade, noting the smears of char on her face and clothing and a strange sense of admiration for her courage to enter the blazing home washed over me. She saved Sophie. “She would be right.”
I looked to Sophie and could see that she was sitting up, and the women were buzzing around her, trying to make her comfortable.
I turned away. Sophie wouldn’t wish to see me now.
A carriage drove up the path and Lily tumbled out staring at the house, her mouth wide open in shock. I made to go to her. I was tired, and my strigoi needed strength. She would do nicely for now. As soon as I began in her direction, Raisa stepped to her and pulled her back into the carriage.
Sighing at the realization that Lily would no longer be at my beck and call, I called for Rowan.
He turned towards me. “Go for Stefano, tell him to bring workers to repair the house. Tell him we’ll pay him double if they complete it within a fortnight.”
He nodded, his body stiff at my direction. As I turned towards the house, I saw Adelade turn to stare at me. I growled and turned away quickly. I held no spark of love for that woman, only a curiosity for her blood that called to me like a siren. I entered the house and, after noting that we would have to throw much of the furniture out, I went down the hallway towards my workshop.
I opened the door and, smelling only the faint whiff of smoke, I closed it behind me. I went to my project and ran my hands over it, content that it did not burn with the house. It was almost done, and I admired its design.
My thoughts tumbled around me as I determined who set the fire. I believed the Fae King, that he didn’t set the blaze, and even though many of the humans were unhappy with their burdensome tax, I doubted that they would dare set the blaze. If they did, they would suffer as no human had suffered in this town.
My mind grew darker; it must be the shifter. He dared enter my own home and set fire to it. With my family inside. I would reach down his throat, pull out his stomach, and eat it in front of his convulsing body.
He must’ve killed Agosto as well; he could have an evil witch at his command for him to enter Agosto’s room in the night. He would suffer, even as Agosto, with his head torn off by my hands. My strigoi purred at this thought as it emerged, and I planned all the things I would do to punish him for his wickedness.
I had a mind to storm down to the shifter home now but I knew if I did, I may destroy the whole house. No. Myla would bring him to me, I had no doubts of her abilities. But I stared at my creation, feeling the curves of the wood as the darkness of my strigoi took over my body. I would kill the shifter.
Magic burst through the air and I swiveled towards the Fae Queen, overcome with a desire to release my emotions.
“I swear that the Fae had no hand in this.”
I grabbed her and pushed her atop my desk, pinning her down. Her eyes smoldered and she leaned towards me. “I can’t stop thinking of you, ever since I saw you last.”
“Did you return for more?” I ripped her clothing from
her and dropped them to the ground, and then I was naked and plunged inside her.
She ran her hands down my body and, even though she was dry, I pushed through and began to pump my hips. I gripped her breasts harshly, pinching and pulling her nipples and she wrapped her legs around me, moving to my rhythm and urging me on with her cries. I leaned over and bit her neck. She withered under me, her nails scratching my back as I bit her body over and over. Giving in to all feeling, I grasped her breast with my hand, bit the tip and pulled her blood into me, even as I released myself into her.
The touch of her blood made me feel warm and fuzzy, and only then did I realize that I’d just bonded myself to her. I yanked her off the desk. “Witch.” I spat her blood to the floor, even though it was too late.
She grinned. “I did so enjoy it, though.” She tilted her head. “And I think you did, too.” She turned quickly towards the door and then disappeared with a whip of her hair against my bare chest.
I had my clothes on just in time for Myla to crash through the door. “My Lord, I found him.”
I growled and pulled her arm out the door. “Took you long enough.”
“I’ve been searching for him all evening, since you came to me. He wasn’t in his usual places, Lord, and I had to bribe his cousin to reveal his location.”
“You did well then.” I rushed outside with her by my side and commanded my driver to bring out my carriage. I left the driver behind, and took the reins with Myla by my side on the buggy bench.
“Show me where he is.”
She directed me, fiddling with her hands as we went along the road. I kept getting distracted by them but moved forward with swiftness until we came upon an ancient forest, with trees so aged and entwined, that their spirits whispered of long-ceased elf wars that raged the land.
I jumped down and Myla landed silently next to me.
“He’s in there?”
She nodded and pointed towards a small opening in the woods. “We follow the path to a small cabin.”
I gripped her arm, preventing her from moving forward. “Did he burn my house?”
She looked up to me, eyes wide and shaking under my touch. She stuttered her answer, but nodded her head. “His cousin admitted to it. He tried to use witch magic, but it wouldn’t catch, so he had to use the oil from his lamps.”
I nodded. Our house held protections against malevolent magic, preventing the fire that would’ve burned the house in minutes. I growled. If the magic had worked, everyone inside the fire would’ve burned.
I looked at Myla, probing her softly with my senses. She still loved that bastard, and when it came down to it, she would prevent me from my revenge.
I pushed her back into the carriage and locked her inside. “Stay here.”
She cried out, banging against the door, but I turned away from her and went for the trail.
Chapter Eight
I entered the cabin in a rage and he was ready for me, springing from the corner, already changed into his wolf form. I grappled with him as we fell against the ground. Then he was on top of me, clamping down on my arm.
I cried out in pain and, using my powerful legs, I pushed him off of me. His teeth ripped through my forearm as he flew back into the bed behind him. Yelping, he fell to the floor and I jumped on him, my hands at his neck.
“You almost killed my whole family, and for that you will suffer.” I pulled him up and threw him against the wall. He slid down to the floor but rebounded quickly and was on his feet. He jumped against me, his jaws aiming for my neck and he managed to grip it tight before I peeled him off and slammed him against the drawers. It shattered as soon as he hit it and splinters flew through the air, spraying me. He fell to the ground, panting under me.
I called on my senses to torture his mind, to feel the burn of the fire that Sophie felt and he withered across the floor, howling. I built up the pressure and even though not a singe of his hair was on fire, he felt as if he was burning to death.
I released him and attacked. Panting, he rolled out from under me and then bit me. Pain shot up my leg and into my groin. He shook his head and I crashed to the ground. Gripping the floor with his deadly clawed feet, he pulled, trying to rip the calf from my leg. I growled, and it came from deep inside me. He would die this day!
Grappling with my calf, I kicked him in the head with my other foot.
He yelped and let go, giving me a moment to tackle him to the floor. I straddled him and he pushed against me, his wolf legs too weak in comparison to my strength. I wrapped my hands around his furry neck.
“You killed Agosto, and for that you will die.”
Choking noises erupted from his throat and he began to transform back into a human, but I didn’t release my hold on his neck. Just then, Myla burst through the room and cried out. She tackled me, but I elbowed her as she made contact, and she flew against the back wall. I leaned in, increasing the pressure on his neck. “You will never feel the sun on your back or run wild in the woods; you’ll never have another lover under you, or know what it’s like to be a father. The woods may take your body, but I will take hold of your soul and keep it with me, so that I may call on it when I please.” His eyes grew wide, and he choked out, trying to speak. I whispered in his ear. “You should’ve been content to be with Myla, instead of aspiring to defeat the strongest vampire hold in the country.”
Myla was at my side again, trying to push me off him, and he grasped at her. Suddenly she threw herself on me and the force of her desperation to save the wolf she still loved pushed me to the side.
He inhaled sharply and blurted out, his voice a deep rasp. “I didn’t kill your Master. I swear it.”
In a blur I broke his neck and it hung limply to the floor. He was dead.
“No!” Myla clenched his body tight, and I stood up. My neck and leg burned, I was certain I would need blood to heal.
I stared down at her, straightening my clothes, and considered taking her blood for her interference but decided against it. No, I would regain my strength from my own family.
She cried now, tears streaming down her face, but I held no compassion for her. Maybe her life would be better, maybe they would allow her back in the pack.
I began to walk away, allowing her to keep his body so that they could bury him in the way they deemed respectable. I esteemed the shifters enough to allow them his body in death.
“He didn’t kill your Master,” she cried out to me.
I turned to her. “He meant to burn my whole family in an attempt to weaken me as the leader of your pack. For that, I dealt him death. I recommend you warn your pack that any who dare harm me or my family will receive the same punishment.” And then I left, taking the carriage with me. The shifters would feel his death through their bond, and would be here shortly.
I dropped from the carriage and handed the reins to my driver to take care of the horses. He stared at the blood dripping from my neck but I pushed past him. My neck throbbed and my leg shook under me as I limped towards the house. I wanted to collapse in the driveway but I pushed myself towards the smoking house, unwilling to show my weakness. Several humans and supernatural beings milled about, busy with the repairs to my home, and if they caught a whiff that I was vulnerable in any way, it may embolden any of them to attack.
I entered the front door and called for Rowan, then went to my room. Opening the door, I discovered that one of the walls to my room had collapsed, and the floor was halfway blackened. I fell to my bed, and the ashes floated through the air.
Rowan appeared at my door, his hair a jumble and his eyes glazed over.
“It is finished.”
“You caught the man who lit the house on fire?”
“Yes. That and killed Agosto.”
“Was it the shifter?”
“Uhmmm.”
He gripped the edge of my bed. “And he admitted to it?”
I grunted. “He is finished.”
He sighed and turned to leave.
“Ro
wan, I need you to renew the wards over the house. The Fae have been able to enter the home too easily and we need to put up a barrier against that.”
He nodded his head and moved towards the door.
“I also need you to send for Lula. I need to heal from this horrible bite.” I was already beginning to heal, but my blood was still dripping at my neck and it itched.
He swiveled around. “I will not. She has already lost enough blood tonight.”
I raised my eyebrows. “She should’ve recovered enough by this time.”
“Why not call for one of Sophie’s humans?”
I shook my head. “They are needed now more than ever to help Sophie to recover.”
He huffed. “Adelade then.”
I grew impatient. “Rowan.” My voice was a warning. “Send Lula to me, I need her. I cannot drink of Adelade.”
“Why not?”
“If you aren’t aware at this point why I cannot drink from Adelade, then you have no need to know the answer. Lula has healed me before, she will do it again. I only require enough to heal the wound on my neck and leg.”
His eyes darkened. “She is not your toy.”
I sat up, using the post of the bed to help me. “And she is not yours either. You will send her to me, and I will ask her, to see if she is willing.” He stared at me defiantly and I took in his appearance. I inhaled a deep breath, knowing that his actions were becoming more and more emboldened, and that I must face the truth of who really killed Agosto. An ache grew in my chest, but it must be done.
“Have you been drinking tonight Rowan?”
He snarled. “Only from the staff.”
“We don’t drink from the staff, Rowan. You know that.” I pulled myself to the edge of the bed and leaned towards him.
His hands shook as he began to back away from the bed, but his face was stoic. “Lula is not yours to command, you gave her to me as a gift. She is mine, and only I will drink from her.”
